For those anxiously awaiting the Payroll Update file for Sage MAS 90 and 200 including changes affected by the new HIRE Act and the Q2 Form 941, the wait is over.
On the support pages, Sage has posted the file for versions 4.30, 4.40.0, and 4.40.0.1. The file for versions 3.71-4.20 will be posted next.
During the first online meeting of the MAS 90 and 200 User Group meeting, we were able to cover several different aspects of the version 4.40 release that we have covered here in the past or as part of the updated What’s New in Sage MAS 90 and 200 4.4? web pages including the Top Reasons to Upgrade MAS 90 and 200. In particular, we discussed Product Update 1 and the scheduled Product Update 2.
What are the features of the newest releases that have the greatest affect on you as a user? If you were able to attend the meeting, please let us know what you thought of the meeting.
Why are we using a software application to manage our financial data? Of course there are several answers (and several of them, if not all are correct), but if we ask a series of “why” questions, we will arrive at the core reason: to understand data and make decisions. To make decisions, the data must be organized.
This is the reason so many users say that reporting (specifically custom reporting) is so important to their organization. The data has been collected, indexed, and stored, but if it cannot be organized into logical and comprehensible outputs, the software application is not serving its primary function of organizing financial data.
There are a number of tools to organize the data in Sage MAS 90 and 200 including Crystal Reports. After including the classroom course Introduction to Crystal Reports on our class schedule for several years, in 2009 we added Data File Structures and Crystal Reports: Beyond the Basics (a total of five full days of classroom education). These five days alone won’t be sufficient to qualify any user as a Crystal Reports expert; practical, in field application of the knowledge is required to master Crystal Reports for MAS 90 and 200, but these courses are a good start.
Introduction to Crystal Reports
(soft prerequisite: Data File Structures)
December 7-8
Data File Structures
August 9
October 25
December 6
Crystal Reports: Beyond The Basics
(hard prerequisites: Data File Structures, Introduction to Crystal Reports)
August 10-11
October 26-27
If you are interested in these or any other courses but your schedule does not permit you to attend, leave a comment below and we will see if arrangements can be made to accommodate your calendar.
If you are accepting credit cards as a form of payment, July 1, 2010 will be a big day. This is the day be which all credit card merchants (businesses accepting credit cards) must be using a PA-DSS compliant payment application. If you are using MAS 90 or MAS 200 to process credit cards and running versions 4.30.0.18 or 4.40.0.1, you are in the clear for this requirement. If you are accepting credit cards through some other process like a stand-alone point of sale or other software application, you will need to verify that it is also PA-DSS compliant.
Beyond the PA-DSS requirment (the software portion of compliance) which was setup by the Payment Card Industry, there is also the PCI-DSS (Data Security Standard), technological and physical controls of card holder data and the processes used to manage those controls. These physical controls include addressing details like where records are stored, who has access to these areas, how the records are retained, and when they are destroyed. There are varying levels of controls for the varying types of merchants, but if you maintaining card holder data in MAS 90 or MAS 200, you are considered Level 4.
To meet the standards, you must complete a Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). To give you an idea of how seriously these standards are taken, the Level 4 SAQ includes 222 questions. The good news is that you don’t have to handle this on your own. Sage has partnered with a Qualified Assessor (QA) in Trustwave. For $85 annually, Trustwave provides an SAQ assistance tool, security awareness training for your staff, and will complete monthly security scans (better than the quarterly scans required by PCI-DSS).
Be certain, there is a great deal of work to do and detail to monitor, but consider the risk if you customer data is compromised:
By working with a QA like Trustwave, you will ease the burden of becoming compliant and reduce your risk of exposure. If you have done everything you can to maintain your compliance, your business should receive some sympathy from the card brand if data is compromised.
I have mentioned it before and will mention it again. Sage has created a PCI Compliance website. The information is thorough and updated often.
The July edition of the Sage MAS 90 and 200 User Group will be our second online meeting. We will look at plans to replace FRx through BizInsight, a business intelligence and reporting tool from BizNet Software. Both FRx and Custom Financials users will learn about the additional flexibility and capabilities BizInsight provides. Following the presentation, we will following with a live Question and Answer session.
Join us for the 60-minute meeting on July 22 at 10:00 am. Space is limited so reserve your seat now.
Here is a short description of BizInsight directly from BizNet Software:
Looking for a suitable replacement for FRx? In addition to replacing FRx, are you also looking to enhance your financial reporting and analysis capabilities? BizNet Software has the answer. BizNet’s BizInsight™ is an Excel-based financial reporting and analytics solution that delivers simple, yet powerful, reporting and analysis capabilities to business users. Designed with the assistance of FRx professionals, BizInsight makes it easy to gain immediate control of the entire reporting and analysis process and allows users to produce reports accurately, efficiently and more easily than ever before.
According to Jacqueline Li, a Product Manager with Sage, in a discussion thread on LinkedIn, Sage MAS Intelligence will be released in August. Business partners are scheduled to receive the release in advance for an opportunity to train and become familiar with the features of the new reporting tool.
You can compare the features of Sage MAS Intelligence with other available reporting packages. After it become available, expect to find a full review of features or a presentation during an upcoming User Group meeting. We have a presentation of BizInsight, another FRx replacement, schedule for July 22 online User Group meeting. Invitations will be released closer to the date of the meeting.
The Sage MAS 90 and 200 User Group moves online for the first time. Users considering an upgrade to version 4.40 will learn some of the available features; users already upgraded will learn some of the lesser know but more useful features. Q&A will follow the presentation. As always, we will close with the open dialog.
Space is limited for this 45-minute meeting so your registration is required. Simply send an email and your invitation will be on its way.
The Sage MAS 90 and 200 User Group has met each quarter for the past eight years but in 2010 meetings were suspended while we listened to and reviewed the input of several attendees and facilitators. After a six month break, the User Group is returning with more information, more input, and more productive meetings.
Rather than attendees, the User Group will now offer membership and members will meet each month. Yes, twelve meetings a year sounds like a lot but now the group will meet online twice a quarter with one live meeting each quarter. The online meetings (which will vary from 30 to 60 minutes – you will know in advance) will include a presentation, an update, an introduction to a new feature, or some other information and will also include a real-time Question & Answer session. The live meetings will continue to include updates about the software, development, and Sage as well as feature highlights and other presentations. These 90-minute live meetings will continue to include the open forum in which users share and ask questions of the group members including the support and training professionals attending.
We have always been careful avoid a sales pitches. The User Group is designed to enable users to do more with their software and to create a resource users can depend upon for information. In order to do that, the User Group needs its members to come prepared to each live meeting with a question, an idea, a frustration, or even a success story so we know what matters everyone attending and everyone attending can learn.
Meetings will resume beginning this month with an online meeting June 24 at 10:00 am when we will share details about the latest release of Sage MAS 90 and 200. For users that have already upgraded, this will be a chance to learn about some features you may not have encountered. For users that are considering their upgrade, this will be a chance to learn about the different features that will become available. Space is limited for this event so register quickly when you receive your invitation. You can also leave a comment below or send a message to ensure your spot is reserved before the invitations are released.
On July 22, the second online meeting will include a closer look at Excel-based business intelligence and reporting tools and in August we will host our next live meeting at the Acuity Financial Center.
What is the paperless office? How you can work toward becoming one.The paperless office is no longer the office of the future. This basic idea is now in the forefront of almost every industry. Attend this free webinar to learn how to create a work environment where paper is wisely used or virtually eliminated.You will learn that “Going Paperless” can save you money, boost productivity, and make electronic documentation and information sharing easier. Sign up today, seating is limited.Sitting 1 Date: Thursday, June 17 , 2010Time: 2:00PM EST | 30 min + live Q & ALead by: Rolando Barberis
Sitting 2 Date: Tuesday, June 22 , 2010
Time: 2:00PM EST | 30 min + live Q & A
Lead by: Rolando Barberis
