MAS 90 Accounting Software Newsletter Best Software MAS90 MAS200 MAS500 Saleslogix DSD Business Systems San Diego

DSD Business Systems News
Product News, Tech Tips and the Inside Scoop
August 2003 l www.dsdinc.com l 619-683-9900

Index

MAS 90 / MAS 200 - MAS 500 - Enhancements - CRM - The IT Guys

MAS 90/MAS 200

MAS 90 and MAS 200 Promotions

Existing Customers
$400 Per User Credit for MAS 200 or MAS 200 SQL Upgrades* – Receive a $400 per user credit for MAS 200 or MAS 200 SQL upgrades from MAS 90 (must have 3 or more MAS 90 users).

$125 Rebate for RMA Module*
Purchase the RMA module and receive a rebate of $125. Discount is based on SLP.

$500 Off FRx Desktop Upgrade from FRx Standard*
For a limited time, Customers on FRx Standard can upgrade to FRx Desktop for a discounted price. Customers using FRx Standard will need to upgrade to the Desktop version with the release of 4.0.

Receive 15% Off Any FRx Add-On Component*

Receive 20% Off the Credit Card Processing Module*

Discounts on Gold and Silver Plan Upgrades *
10% Discount on Silver plans when a customer upgrades from Basic Plan to Silver Plan. 20% Discount on Gold Plan when a customer upgrades from a Basic Plan to a Gold Plan.

$1000 Silver Support Plan Tailored for Smaller Maintenance Needs*
For customers who are currently not on a Sage Software Phone Support Plan, and pay less than $1000 for their annual maintenance plan, Sage Software is offering Silver Phone Support for only $1000, a $500 savings off the regular price.

For more information, contact Stephanie Smith at 619-683-9900 or StephanieS@dsdinc.com.

* Some restrictions may apply, please contact Stephanie Smith for promotion details and expiration dates.

Upcoming MAS 90 and MAS 200 Classes

Library Master & Security	$425	Aug 11, Sept 15, Oct 13
General Ledger	$425	Aug 12, Sept 16, Oct 14
Accounts Payable	$425	Aug 13, Sept 17, Oct 15
Accounts Receivable	$425	Aug 14, Sept 18, Oct 16
Inventory Management	$425	Aug 19, Sept 23, Oct 21
Sales Order	$425	Aug 20, Sept 24, Oct 22
Purchase Order	$425	Aug 21, Sept 25, Oct 23
Crystal Reports (2 days)	$800	Aug 25- 26, Oct 27-28 (2-day class)

You must sign-up a week before the class to reserve your spot!

All classes are held from 9am - 5pm, and cost $425 per person unless stated otherwise. Lunch is provided. They are held at the DSD Building in beautiful Mission Valley in San Diego.

To register, call Sandy McCauley at 619-683-9900 or e-mail SandyM@dsdinc.com

How to Clear Backordered Purchase Orders

by Ken Phillips

In MAS90 and MAS 200, completed Purchase Orders that have been completed longer than the specified number of days, assigned in the Purchase Order Options (Number of Days to Retain Completed PO setting), are purged automatically during Period End Processing.

For the Purchase Order status to change to Completed, the Ordered quantity must equal the Received Quantity. And if the Purchase Order Option flag "Post A/P Invoices" is turned on, then the Ordered quantity must equal the Received Quantity and the Invoiced Quantity. See notes at the end for exceptions.

The Daily Receipt Registers/Update process compares the lines for all POs and completes the purchase order when the quantity ordered = quantity received = quantity invoiced. (See notes for exception based on PO settings).

It is important to investigate and understand the reasons that a Purchase Order is in a Backordered status so the proper procedure is used for clearing the Backordered status. Before proceeding determine why the ordered quantity does not match the received and invoiced quantities.

To verify the quantities for the three amounts, run one of the Purchases Clearing reports from the P/O Period End menu. Run the report option for Purchases Clearing in Open P/O format. A more summarized Report Master or Crystal report can also be created, selecting on a calculated field (Quantity Ordered minus Quantity Invoiced) if the calculated value is zero. (This report would also list all purchase orders not invoiced yet).

Example #1: Ordered = 10 Received = 8 Invoiced = 8

Solutions:

A. If the remaining 2 are to be received, process a Receipt of Goods (with an invoice number) for a quantity of two.

B. If the remaining 2 are NOT to be received, change the ordered quantity from 10 to 8 (in Purchase Order Entry).

Once the three quantities match, and the order is accepted in Purchase Order Entry, the PO status will be changed to Completed.

Example #2: Ordered = 10 Received = 10 Invoiced = 0

In this scenario the invoice was usually entered directly in Accounts Payable. Since a G/L posting of Debit to Inventory and Credit to Purchases Clearing was made when the Receipt of Goods was updated there is a Credit amount in the Purchases Clearing Account.

Solutions:

A. Turn off the "Post A/P Invoices" setting in Purchase Order Options. This will cause the system to disregard the invoiced quantity field. In Purchase Order Entry, change the ordered quantity up to 11 and click OK to accept the line. Re-select the line, and change the ordered quantity back down to 10, click OK, and accept the order. This procedure will change the PO status from Backordered to Completed. Be sure to turn the Purchase Order Options "Post A/P Invoices" setting back on before entering or updating any new receipts.

A general ledger correcting entry will be required to balance the purchases clearing account. The correcting G/L entry should be:

Debit: Purchases Clearing

Credit: The A/P expense account the A/P invoice debited

B. Process a Receipt of Invoice for the quantity 10. Since MAS 90 won’t allow you to use the same A/P invoice number, add "-A" to the end of the original invoice number (or something similar) for tracking purposes. Then in A/P Invoice Data Entry, adjust the newly created invoice to 0.00 using the A/P expense account the original invoice debited. This will have the net effect of debiting Inventory and crediting A/P

Example #3: Ordered = 10 Received = 12 Invoiced = 12

Solutions:

A. If the order was over- received then process a return of goods with an invoice number for a quantity of 2 (since MAS 90 won’t allow you to use the same A/P invoice number, add "-A" to the end of the invoice number (or something similar) for tracking purposes.

B. If the quantity of 12 received is accurate, then change the ordered quantity to 12 and accept the order. The order will change to a completed status.

Notes

Entry of a Purchase Order does not create a G/L entry. The Purchases Clearing account only comes into play when a receipt of goods is processed without an invoice.
A completed Purchase Order will remain in Purchase Order Entry until the Purchase Order Option "Number of Days to Retain Completed PO" setting is exceeded, AND a Period End Processing is performed.
There is a setting to "Automatically Close Partially Received POs" which allows a percentage variance between the quantity ordered and received/invoiced quantities. If the variance is set at 10% for example, and 10 were ordered when 9 are received and invoiced then the PO will complete.
The option to "Purge Completed POs" under Period End Processing will remove completed purchase orders from the PO Entry files based on the setting for "Number of Days to retain Completed PO" in Purchase Order Options.
The "Purge Obsolete Purchase Orders" program (under the Period End Processing menu) purge all purchase orders prior to a selected date. This program will look at the purchase order Order Date (on the header tab), as well as the Last Receipt date and Last Invoice date on the Totals tab. All dates must be older than the specified purge date. A blank date is OK and will be purged.

Important

This function will purge all Purchase Orders regardless of status. A G/L journal entry must be made to adjust the Purchases Clearing account for those POs where the received quantity does not match the invoiced quantity.

Module Spotlight

Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA)

by Angela Davis

To stay competitive, virtually every company needs to process customer returns. As today’s customers demand a more specialized level of service, tracking and resolving these returns can be challenging. Available with version 3.7x, the MAS 90 and MAS 200 Return Merchandise Authorization module can handle returns and replacements with ease. Here are some highlights:

Issue Customer Credit, Replacement, Substitution or Repair for items based on the initial RMA request.
Cross-ship items to customers. Send replacement items prior to receiving the return and track what items are still to be received.
Print documentation for warehouse personnel to prepare for expected customer returns.
Receive returned merchandise by accessing original RMA request and determine what items are being returned to stock, scrap or the vendor.
Generate transactions automatically from receiving information. Credits, Sales Orders (for replacements) and vendor return of goods are all generated from the receipt, based on the information provided.
Access RMA Inquiry to check on the status of a return. This inquiry is automatically updated when an RMA is received.
Use Return Reason codes to track the top reasons that items are being returned.
Calculate Restocking Fees on certain items or product lines.

If you are interested in this time saving module, please see the RMA Promotional Discount information in this newsletter, or call Stephanie Smith, at 619-683-9900, for further details.

MAS 500

MAS 500 Promotions

Family Upgrade Program
Receive 20% Off SLP or 0% Financing on MAS 500 Migrations*

Customers using a variety of Sage Software products can upgrade to MAS 500. Receive a 20% discount off the MAS 500 list price, or receive 0% financing on product purchases through the American Express Business Finance Program.*

Existing Customers
Receive 15% Off Project Accounting*

Receive 15% Off Any FRx Add-On Component*

* Some restrictions may apply, please contact Stephanie Smith for promotion details and expiration dates.

For more information, contact April Holman at 619-683-9900 or AprilH@dsdinc.com.

MAS 500 Free Webinars

These web-based seminars are available so you can discover how MAS 500 can be used to improve your business.

For more information or to sign-up, visit: http://www.bestsoftware.com/sales/seminars/Default.htm

AUGUST
Date	Seminar Topic	Time (P.T.)
8/14	Overview	8:30 a.m.
8/14	Project Accounting	10:00 a.m.
8/21	Customization	8:30 a.m.
8/21	e-Business	10:00 a.m.
8/28	Distribution	8:30 a.m.
8/28	Manufacturing	10:00 a.m.

Enhancements

Products of the Month:
APMU A/P Multi-Company and GLMU G/L Multi-Company

APMU Multi-Company allows a managing company to process A/P transactions for an unlimited number of "subsidiary" companies. Invoices can be distributed to other companies that have a General Ledger database. Each line item entry of an Invoice contains a new Company Code field. This new field defaults to the current Company - it may be changed to any other company that has been set-up for inter-company processing.

Invoices can be distributed to other companies that have a MAS 90 General Ledger database. Each line item entry of an Invoice contains a new Company Code field. This new field defaults to the Current Company. It may be changed to any other company that has been set-up for Inter-company processing.

When an Inter-company Distribution is made, the Open Invoice is entered into the Current Company's Aging. A General Ledger transaction is written to the other company's Daily Transaction File, containing a debit to that other company's expense account, and a credit to the predefined Inter-company Allocation account. A pair of Inter-company Allocation Accounts must be set-up for each subsidiary company.

GLMU Multi-Company is designed to allow a managing company to process G/L transactions for an unlimited number of "subsidiary" companies. GLMU is compatible with DSD APMU. They can be used together or separately.

G/L transactions may be distributed directly to other companies that have a MAS 90 General Ledger database. Each line item entry contains a new Company Code field. This new field defaults to the Current Company. It may be changed to any other company that has been setup for inter-company processing.

When an inter-company distribution is made, a transaction is written to the other company's Daily Transaction File. For each transaction distributed to another company, a corresponding amount is posted to both companies' Inter-company Offset Accounts, in order to keep each of those General Ledgers in balance. A pair of Inter-company Offset Accounts must be set up in advance for each subsidiary company.

During line entry for an inter-company distribution, the General Ledger Account format, and the <F2> List Mode feature reflects the Chart of Accounts and the number format for the subsidiary company.

Inter-company Allocations are available in General Journal Line Entry, Recurring Journal Entry, Transaction Journal Entry, in Standard Journals, and in Allocation Maintenance.

For more information, contact Kim Clark at 619-683-9900 or KimC@dsdinc.com.

CRM

Zero Percent / Zero Cost Leasing Available on all SalesLogix Purchases!

Let's face it. Investing in high-quality CRM software isn't cheap. Add to that the customization usually required to get it to work the way your company works, and budgets can be busted in a flash. SalesLogix has taken the pain out of purchasing an all-encompassing CRM package. You can now get zero percent leasing through American Express on approved credit. This allows you to "spread" the price of SalesLogix out over 12, 24, or even 36 months, without ever accruing a finance charge (or "money factor" as they say in leasing.) Leasing offers significant advantages to businesses, and you can't do better than zero percent leasing.*

* Some restrictions may apply, please contact Stephanie Smith for promotion details and expiration dates.

Contact Nicole Stone (NicoleS@dsdinc.com), Stephanie Smith (StephanieS@dsdinc.com), or Kathy Moreno (KathyM@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900) today to find out more about zero percent leasing.

Contact Mike Mahoney (MikeM@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900) for an analysis of your current TeleMagic software and in making the best recommendation about which CRM product is right for you.

To find out more general information on SalesLogix, please contact Stephanie Smith (StephanieS@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900).

Mistakes When Implementing a CRM Solution! (continued)

In the June newsletter, we talked about mistake #1: Failure to Factor in Strategy and mistake #2: Customers don't want to be managed. In the July newsletter, we talked about mistake #3: Lack of Success Metrics and mistake #4: Underestimating Data Integration Issues. The June newsletter can be found at http://www.dsdinc.com/newsletters/2003-06_DSD_News.htm and the July newsletter can be found at http://www.dsdinc.com/newsletters/2003-07_DSD_News.htm.

Here's the next two in our series....

Mistake #5: Underestimating Systems Integration Issues.

If you cautiously got through #4 intact (underestimating data integration issues) then comes the thornier of the two integration topics, systems integration. A good CRM system is expected to retrieve data from, and pass data to, a number of different systems, such as accounting, shipping, inventory management, etc. In fact, it's no longer acceptable to keep the CRM/Sales system and the accounting system separate. These systems must talk to each other.

How often should the system talk to each other? Daily, hourly, constantly? What kind of traffic on the network occurs when they do talk to each other? Are there some items that can't be done while the systems communicate? These are the issues that need to be addressed as you put the CRM system in place.

Mistake #6: Ignoring Business Practices.

Which should come first, the process or the data? The answer is they both depend on each other! Your business practices and processes are integral to the success of your CRM system. Data must be made to follow the business process, but conversely, sometimes the business process needs to be altered because of where the data is. A good CRM solution makes takes a look at both to come up with the most efficient way for both data and business processes to flow through the organization.

Please contact Mike Mahoney (MikeM@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900) for more information.

ACT! Technical Tip

One of the benefits of Windows is the ability to copy or cut and paste text and other data. Prior to Windows, the screens were all character-based and single-session, so this was impossible.

ACT! presents a few challenges in the copy and paste arena. For example, when you receive an e-mail from a name you vaguely remember, it seems only natural to highlight and copy (using Control-C, Edit|Copy or right-click/Copy) the last name from the e-mail and then paste it into the Lookup/Last Name to run a quick search.

However, ACT! will not let you do that - at least not in the way you might expect. If you right-click on the search field, no popup menu appears with the option to Paste. But, ACT! does accept the Windows keyboard shortcut command which is to press the Control key (holding it down) and then pressing the letter V key (Control-V). The information in the Windows clipboard is pasted into the Search For field - you can click OK to run the lookup.

TeleMagic Technical Tip

Error 4: End of File Encountered.

This is probably one of the more common errors that occur in version 3.x of TeleMagic. When this occurs, it is most likely occurring for one particular user, and all other users are fine. In this case, the "save setting on exit" feature is at fault.

To fix, use Windows Explorer, browse to the TMWIN directory on the network drive, look for the "Users" folder underneath, and then look for a folder that corresponds to the user ID of the person getting the error 4. In that folder, delete the SAVED.WIN file. That user should then be able to use the program normally again.

The IT Guys

Got Spyware?

by Andrew Ault

The Internet is the wild frontier. Sometimes it seems that anything goes and everyone is gunning to get into your computer. If your browser seems to open more than its share of pop-up ads, even where you think they should not be...you've probably got spyware installed on your machine! Spyware can include data mining, aggressive advertising and tracking components.

Ad-Aware is a software tool that finds and kills spyware.

If you are not a computer expert, you will want to get your IT department to install and use Ad-Aware for you. In any case, this is a powerful piece of software and requires some reading of the help file to use safely. But, if spyware is reducing the effectiveness of your computer, Ad-Aware can provide the means to find and eliminate it.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

If you decide you need professional help, call our IT Guys at 619-683-9900!

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