During the final MAS 90/200 User Group meeting of 2010, we thoroughly dissected the subject of year end processing. If you attended that meeting, please let us know what you thought by leaving a comment below or completing this short survey.
In January, the schedule will continue with an online meeting available to all users. After learning about BIE (Business Insights Explorer), SMI (Sage MAS Intelligence), BizInsight, and the retirement of FRx, we will be looking at the reliable and endlessly useful Crystal Reports and our top tips for your forms and reports. Details including time, date, and registration will follow after the first of the year.
With the introduction of Sage MAS ERP Intelligence (SMI), Sage has granted each system, at no additional charge, a license for one SMI Report Manager. Now Sage is offering two SMI promotions until January 31, 2011.
Current users can purchase the Connector module at 50% off the product price (without the Connector, only one database is available for reporting which means the Connector is required for consolidated reports).
The product cost of the Report Designer (which adds design features to the included Report Manager) will be waived by Sage but regular maintenance will still apply.
More information is available about SMI including FAQs, product brochures, installation guides and links to Sage University for training options.
According to communications sent to Sage Business Partners, effective September 30, 2010, Sage will be adjusting their policy regarding the F9 Financial Reporting module (developed by Infor Global Solutions and marketed and sold by Sage). With the release of Sage MAS 90 and 200 version 4.40 (rolling in several Extended Solutions, and the discontinuation of the remaining catalog of Extended Solutions) Sage has been simplifying the number of products in the MAS 90 and 200 line. I can’t be certain by while this policy change falls in line, it also seems to fall in line with the release of Sage MAS ERP Intelligence.
As of October 1, 2010, F9 will no longer be available for purchase through Sage for Sage ERP MAS products . F9 will still be available for purchase directly through Infor. There is no mention of maintaining compatibility for future MAS 90 and 200 releases.
For customers who are current on a maintenance plan, Sage will continue to provide support until their maintenance plan is up for renewal when the F9 license can either be exchanged for equivalent licenses of Sage ERP MAS Intelligence or contact Infor directly to purchase an F9 maintenance plan.
An official communication will go to current on-plan F9 customers including an exchange offer.
With the retirement of FRx, Sage went on a journey to find a replacement. While we tend to favor the structure and features available from BizNet BizInsights, Sage eventually selected (and re-branded a solution) Sage MAS ERP Intelligence which is now available for download (by logging on to Sage Online). The Sage MAS ERP Intelligence website is home to loads of information including a product brochure, FAQ, White Paper, and Installation Guide.
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.
With the information that the official FRx replacement for MAS 90 and MAS 200 will be announced soon, Sage has issued a Business Intelligence Comparison listing reporting and intelligence tools that are available (or planned) with MAS 90 and 200 as well as integrated third-party intelligence tools FRx, BizInsights from BizNet, Crystal Reports and F9.
The document shows how wide and well-developed Sage’s intelligence tools have become, all included with a current subscription/maintenance plan. It also shows how comparable the BizInsights and Sage MAS Intelligence features are.
The search began several months ago when Microsoft announced the retirement of FRx and in June 2010, Sage MAS Intelligence will be introduced by Sage as their recommended FRx replacement. Sage MAS Intelligence is powered by Alchemex and is built on the framework of Sage Accpac Intelligence and Sage Simply Intelligence.
Sage MAS Intelligence allows users to build reports within the familiar Excel application with access to all available modules; FRx only allowed access to General Ledger data. While FRx allowed access to multiple company databases for consolidated reports, Sage MAS Intelligence will require an additional license in the form of a Connector. These details are not official until Sage publicly releases a statement but the plan is to supply all current, on-plan end-users with a license of Sage MAS Intelligence Report Manager allowing a user to:
Author new reports (organizing, creating, editing), as well as filter and aggregate data based on existing data containers.
Run, edit and clone the standard report templates for management (financial reports, dashboards, financial trend analysis), as well as general ledger, sales, purchases, and inventory transactional reports
Set permissions/security on all reports.
Connection to one ERP company database at a time (if running two or more companies, user can redirect to relevant company connection)
Optional Import/Export functionality requires the purchase of an additional Report Manager License, the Designer Module, or Connector Module
Optional Report Scheduling requires the purchase of an additional Report Manager Licence or, the Designer Module, or Connector Module
Connections to other types of databases or more than one Sage MAS company database at a time requires the purchase of a Connector Module
Specifically the Connector Module allows access to information from multiple sources and consolidation of data from multiple companies. The Connector Module allows for consolidations and connectivity to unlimited ODBC data sources and includes a graphical join tool to simplify database queries.
Although it isn’t particularly clear how, the Report Designer extends the flexibility of the the Report Manager.
System requirements for Sage MAS Intelligence users Excel 2003 or Excel 2007 but to run the Report Designer, Excel 2007 is required.