Archive

Sage ERP MAS 90, 200, and 500 Supported Versions

Published
by
Brian Rice
on August 6, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

The long-due (or long-threatened depending on your perspective) retirement of MAS 90 and 200 version 3.71 is creeping ever closer. Originally issued in November 2002, the release has avoided the peril of Sage’s previous n-2 (current release plus two prior) policy.

While the last Product Updates for version 3.71 was released in October 2005 and Quarterly & Year-end Updates were discontinued as of December 31, 2009, Tax Table Updates and Phone and Email Support by Sage have still been available. That changes on September 30, 2010 when sage discontinues support and Tax Table updates for this release.

Versions 4.00, 4.05, and 4.10 are scheduled for a similar fate with Phone and Email Support from Sage ending as of September 30, 2011, Quarterly & Year-end Updates ending December 31, 2010, Tax Table Updates and Hot Fixes ending on September 30, 2011.

A new contradiction to Sage’s previous policies, which one might suspect could change without much notice, is that all customers maintaining their Business Care agreement will maintain access to the online knowledgebase for even these retired versions.

Support Policy MAS

Important Extended Solutions 941 Update Needed for Q2 2010

Published
by
Brian Rice
on July 19, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

Following the release of the 2010 Form 941 Update, Sage has issued notice that systems running any of a number of Extended Solutions would also need additional updates for compatibility purposes. The entire list is included below. Notice that no Extended Solutions are listed for version 4.40 (Extended Solutions were either incorporated through a series of product updates or released to select programmers)

Important Extended Solutions 941 Update Needed for Q2 2010

The Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 Extended Solutions listed below require an update to be compatible with the Q2 2010 941 form changes. You should be using software showing a release date on or after 07/09/10. Please contact us to request your necessary title update by calling 800-390-3643 and selecting Option 1.

Effected Titles for Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 version 4.3, 4.2:

Title Description
JC-1095 Bill Rate Specified By Job/Employee/Cost Code
PR-1003 Extended Decimal Precision
PR-1015 Deduction Calculation Based On Earnings Type
PR-1018 Automatic Earnings Code Maintenance By Employee
PR-1019 Location Processing
PR-1023 Deductions With Monthly Maximums and Minimums
PR-1024 User Defined Payroll Cycle
PR-1040 User Defined Earnings And Deduction Types
PR-1044 Career To Date Hours Worked
PR-1051 Employee/Department Allocation
PR-1054 Payroll For Saipan
PR-1055 Deduction Calculation For Pension Plans
PR-1059 Tax Accrual Account Posting By Department
PR-1062 Employee User Defined Fields
PR-1064 Tax And Deduction Liability Check Generation
PR-1067 Additional Deduction Calculation Methods
PR-1072 Enhanced W-2 Form Printing
PR-1074 Enhanced Perpetual Payroll History Report
PR-1090 Multiple Concurrent Local Taxes
PR-1091 Enhanced Benefit Accrual
PR-1094 Exclude Employees From Unemployment Accrual
PR-1098 Union Payroll
PR-1100 Enhanced Workers’ Comp Processing
PR-1102 Accrual Yearly Limit Set by Months Of Employment
PR-1105 Deduction Taxability By Local Code
TC-1005 Temporary Employee Billing
TC-1017 Incentive Pay

Effected Titles for Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 version 4.10 / 4.05/ 4.0 / 3.71

Title Description
JC-1095 Bill Rate Specified By Job/Employee/Cost Code
PR-1003 Extended Decimal Precision
PR-1018 Automatic Earnings Code Maintenance By Employee
PR-1019 Location Processing
PR-1024 User Defined Payroll Cycle
PR-1044 Career To Date Hours Worked
PR-1051 Employee/Department Allocation
PR-1054 Payroll For Saipan
PR-1059 Tax Accrual Account Posting By Department
PR-1062 Employee User Defined Fields
PR-1067 Additional Deduction Calculation Methods
PR-1072 Enhanced W-2 Form Printing
PR-1074 Enhanced Perpetual Payroll History Report
PR-1090 Multiple Concurrent Local Taxes
PR-1091 Enhanced Benefit Accrual
PR-1094 Exclude Employees From Unemployment Accrual
PR-1098 Union Payroll
PR-1099 Reciprocal Taxation (Windows Only)
PR-1100 Enhanced Workers’ Comp Processing
PR-1102 Accrual Yearly Limit Set by Months Of Employment
TB-1000 Time and Billing Interface With TimeCard & Payroll
TC-1005 Temporary Employee Billing
TC-1017 Incentive Pay

Scheduled Product Updates

Published
by
Brian Rice
on July 19, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

The Sage MAS 90 and 200 Product Update 2 was released on schedule. A review of the product’s Public Road Map shows there are three remaining updates in the pipeline, each estimated to be release (approximately) over the coming successive calendar quarters. Here is a break down of the details expected to be included with each update. The information in parentheses is the former Extended Solution inventory number.

Product Update 3: estimated Q3 2010 release

  • Customers with National Accounts (AR 1068)
  • Price Level By Customer/Product Line (SO 1005)

Product Update 4: estimated Q4 2010 release

  • Contract Pricing By Valid Date (IM 1069)
  • Additional Pricing Tiers for Item Pricing (IM 1097)
  • Customer Discount Rate by Line Item (SO 1069)
  • Item Pricing By Total Quantity (SO 1173)

Product Update 5: estimated Q1 2011 release

  • Distribution Table For Invoice Entry (AP 1043)
  • Additional Check Printing Sort Option (AP 1077)
  • Multiple Company Aged Invoice Report (AP 1101)
  • Multiple Company Bank Reconciliation (BR 1002)
  • Security For Inventory Inquiry (IM 1111)
  • ‘Inactive’ Item Designation (IM 1244 )
  • Background Color by Company Code (LM 1028)
  • Enhanced Faxing for Paperless Office (LM 1033)
  • Enhanced Batch Processing (SO 1100)
  • Back Orders Allowed By Customer (SO 1269)

Sage MAS 90 and 200 Product Update Released

Published
by
Brian Rice
on July 16, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

The much anticipated batch of integrated Extended Solutions and enhancements that represent version 4.40 Product Update 2 have been released. We previously outlined the expected details and with the download available (active Business Care and user account required), there is now official documentation as well as granular descriptions.

Be careful to consider all of the integrated applications, enhancements and customizations your system is running. This is the equivalent of an upgrade: do not take a product update installation lightly.


Online Meeting: Sage MAS 90 and 200 User Group

Published
by
Brian Rice
on July 16, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

The Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 User Group will be meeting online again in July. Live meetings return (look for notices here) in August.

The July meeting will include a presentation of BizInsight, a potential replacement for FRx or Custom Financials (with additional flexibility and capabilities). Following the presentation and Q&A session, we will continue with the open forum where the floor is yours to share your stories or ask questions: your fellow users and service pros will be ready to help.

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 the publisher:

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.

Sage MAS 90 and 200 – 941 Form, Tax Table, New HIRE Act Updates Released

Published
by
Brian Rice
on July 1, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

Updated 941 Forms are now available through the 2010 Q2 Payroll Update. We encourage all Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 Payroll customers to download and install this update, which captures and processes the employee information required for compliance with the new HIRE Act. The new 941 form is required for Q2 filings for all Payroll customers even if the HIRE Act does not apply to you. New Tax Table Updates for 2010 Q3 are also available. To download the 941 Forms and Tax Table updates:

1.  Login to Sage Software Online by following this link: .

2.  For 2010 Q2 Payroll Updates, follow this link.

3.  For Tax Table Updates, follow this link.

Like all updates to a live system, every precaution should be taken including verifying a reliable back up (and working with a MAS 90 and 200 professional).

The HIRE Act encourages companies to hire unemployed workers by exempting certain wages from the employer’s portion of Social Security taxes (payroll tax exemption), and by providing employers with a business tax credit if new hires are retained for at least 52 consecutive weeks. For an employer to receive these tax benefits, the unemployed worker must be a “qualified individual”. A qualified individual is anyone who:

  1. Begins work for a qualified employer after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011
  2. Certifies by signed affidavit (under penalties of perjury) that he has not been employed for more than 40 hours during the 60-day period ending on the date the employment begins
  3. Is not employed to replace another employee of the employer unless that former employee separated from employment voluntarily, or for cause
  4. Is not related to the employer (under rules similar to those for related individuals in IRC §51(i) ) [ IRC §3111(d)(1) ].

The IRS has drafted Form W-11, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit, to help employers meet the second requirement under “qualified individual”. The form instructions state that the employee must complete and sign the affidavit, or a similar statement, under penalties of perjury, for an employer to receive the tax benefits under the HIRE Act. The Form W-11 requires qualified individuals to provide their name, Social Security Number (SSN), first date of employment, and name of the employer.

Additional information can be found on the IRS website.

New HIRE Act and the Q2 941 for Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200

Published
by
Brian Rice
on June 30, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

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.

Online: MAS 90 and 200 User Group Meeting

Published
by
Brian Rice
on June 29, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

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.

The Case For Organized Data

Published
by
Brian Rice
on June 29, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments

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.

Pending Product Update 2 for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 version 4.40

Published
by
Brian Rice
on June 24, 2010
in MAS 90 and MAS 200
. 0 Comments
Sage released MAS 90 and 200 version 4.40 with four scheduled Product Updates. Following the release of Product Update 1, the details for Product Update 2 have been released and include both Extended Solutions (which were previously available for an additional licensing fee) and user-requested enhancements for Bank Reconciliation, Paperless Office and Accounts Payable (with a data utility thrown in for good measure).
  • Bank Reconciliation – Automatically Reconcile Checks (similar to BR-1005) Efficiently and automatically reconcile check information you download from your financial institution. Use the new Auto Check Reconciliation Wizard to create the proper check setting format for your financial institution per their specifications. Or, your Business Partner can configure the setting in their office, export the file, and then import it into your system.
  • Bank Reconciliation – Enforce Tighter Controls over Bank Reconciliation Adjusting Entries (New) Further refine and control who is allowed to enter modifications to the Current Balance in Bank Reconciliation using a new option in Role Maintenance, Common Information. For banks defined in Bank Code Maintenance, you can specify the users who are allowed to access and make adjusting balance entries.
  • Bank Reconciliation – Enter Checks, Deposits, and Adjustments On-the-Fly (New) In Reconcile Bank, you have instant access to enter checks, deposits, and adjustments through a quick link button to bring you directly into Check or Deposit and Adjustment Entry for that bank — without navigating all the way back to the main menu to open a data entry screen, or existing your Reconcile Bank screen.
  • Bank Reconciliation – Conveniently Use Recalculate Outstanding Entries Totals Utility (New) To improve workflow, the Recalculate Outstanding Entries Totals Utility is available from the Bank Reconciliation module, via the Utilities Menu. This utility allows you to recalculate the totals of all outstanding check, deposit, and adjustment entries that have not been marked as cleared.
  • Bank Reconciliation – Positive Pay Export (similar to BR-1004) Deter check fraud using the new Positive Pay features in the Bank Reconciliation module. Positive Pay assists your financial institution to monitor against suspicious check activity using a file you create and submit for comparison and verification. The Positive Pay file contains key information, such as check numbers and dollar amounts, to identify only the checks you have issued and authorized for payment. Components of the check must match exactly, or the check will not be paid by the financial institution. Checks sent to the bank using Positive Pay are identified with an Exported check box In Check, Deposit and Adjustment Entry.
  • Bank Reconciliation – Positive Pay Export Wizard (New) Use the new Positive Pay Export Wizard to create the proper export file format specified by our financial institution, for comparison of the file you send with the checks that are presented for payment. To help you understand and translate formatting requirements, we’ve included a reference document that outlines the most commonly used field formatting and export details required by financial institutions. And, if your financial institution updates their specified file format, you can also use the Positive Pay Export Wizard to make the necessary changes without depending on a programmer to re-format it for you.
  • Bank Reconciliation – Expanded Comment Field (New) In Check, Deposit and Adjustment Entry, the Comment field has been expanded to 2048 characters to allow you to add information to track why the adjustment was made.
  • Accounts Payable – ACH Electronic Payments(similar to AP-1063) Increase your efficiencies, improve your cash management, reduce operating costs and lessen the risk of lost or stolen checks by paying vendors electronically using an ACH file created from the Accounts Payable module. Enable ACH electronic payments, define how they will be handled by your company, and the type of information that will be transmitted to your financial institution. You have the flexibility to select and set up one or more financial institution(s) for your electronic payments, and for each one you select, define the format and layout of the ACH file. The feature includes pre-note functionality, and flexibility in your electronic payment distribution, including options to allocate amounts between one or more accounts. ACH information on processed payments, historical information and vendors paid electronically is available on AP Reports. They can include auto checks, manual checks, voided checks, reversals, credit card transfers, electronic payments, wire transfer information in any combination.
  • Paperless Office — Accounts Payable Checks, Extended Stubs, and Electronic Payment Remittance Advices (similar to AP-1095) Save time, money, and the environment by utilizing Paperless Office to process, send and retain electronic copies of Accounts Payable checks and extended stubs, and remittance advices created for ACH Electronic Payments in PDF format. Add a unique message to include when emailing or faxing electronic remittances. The PDFs you create are also available to e-mail and fax, retrieve and archive. Easily access PDFs using the Vendor Viewer from Paperless Office or the Checks panel in Vendor Maintenance Inquiry.
  • Product Update Pre-Installation Scan Feature (New) Utilize the Product Update Pre-Installation Scan to ensure good data integrity during the installation process of Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.4 Product Updates. Conveniently add this maintenance step to your normal process whenever you install a new product update to ensure your data is sound. Determine your data’s health during your routine Product Update installation, and utilize Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 Library Master Utilities for corrections as needed.  Prevent spending hours correcting data from a power outage or other natural or human-induced disaster.