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Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200
NEWSLETTER
Volume 7 Issue 1,
January 2007 |
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Sage Software recently received recognition from two top industry
publications. The company ranked in the top 30 of Manufacturing
Business Technology’s Global 100 for the sixth straight
year. And for the second year in a row, Sage Software was selected
to the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 for outstanding
innovation in supply and demand chain services and technologies. |
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| Sage TimeSheet — MAS 90 Edition |
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Sage TimeSheet offers a Web-based
timesheet interface, this means that your
employees can have easy access even
when they are on the road. |
Do you track employee time and expenses
associated with your company’s projects?
Do you rely on spreadsheets, or perhaps
even pencil and paper? If so, let us introduce you
to a better way.
Sage TimeSheet is an ideal project-oriented
time and expense entry and tracking
tool, and it’s now fully integrated
with Sage MAS 90
ERP. Sage TimeSheet rovides
your employees with
an easy-to-use tool to manage
their tasks and track
their time, and it shares the
data with your Sage MAS 90
software. In this article, we’ll
provide some details of the
general capabilities of Sage
TimeSheet, and then discuss
the specific benefits of combining
Sage TimeSheet with
Sage MAS 90.
Expense Tracking
Sage TimeSheet includes an
Expense Sheet view where users
can enter their expenses directly into an entry grid
completely separate from time-sheet entry. Most
of us are familiar and adept with spreadsheet style
type of data entry where we can press the
Enter key to quickly save an entry and move to
the next cell. In the Expense Sheet view, the rows
represent tasks and the columns represent dates.
If a user needs details about the expense codes or
expense groups associated with a task, they simply
expand the task cell to display the details.
Expenses can be either price or quantity
based. Airfare is an example of a priced-based
expense item, while Copies is an example of a
quantity-based expense item. You can attach
notes to an expense entry to offer supporting
details. You can see a running
total of your expenses
by day and period, and Sage
TimeSheet even applies any
markup/markdown or tax
rate to the expenses before
displaying the total.
Using defaults can save
you valuable data entry
time, and reduce the opportunities
for data entry errors.
With Sage TimeSheet, you
can define several default
expense values, for example:
price, quantity, markup/
markdown percentage, or tax
percentage for each expense
item. In addition, you can
define a default description for
each expense. For example, you could establish
an expense item description Rental Car with a
default quantity of one.
Approval Process
It’s not always convenient to approve expense
reports along with an employee’s timesheet. Many
companies process timesheets weekly, or twice a
month, while expense reports are processed on amonthly basis. Sage TimeSheet facilitates this by
allowing managers to approve employee expense
sheets independent of timesheets.
Time Tracking
In addition to providing an ideal tool for the
entry, tracking, and approval of employee
expense reports, Sage TimeSheet is an efficient
and effective time-tracking tool.
Sage TimeSheet offers three different views
from which employees can enter their time. You
can decide which views to use depending on the
workflow of your organization.
The Time Sheet view displays a list of tasks
assigned to the employee. The spreadsheet look
and feel of this view provides an easy, intuitive
interface. Entering time is as simple as entering
time in the cell representing the correct date
and task.
The Day view provides a desktop calendar
interface. Rows represent the hours of the
workday. The range of time displayed is customizable
for each employee. For example, you
might choose to have the Day view display the
hours from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM in one-half
hour increments. Employees simply click on the
appropriate row, and a dialog box opens allowing
the employee to enter the details of their
time entry.
The Time Card view allows employees to
enter start and stop times for a specified day and
task. The program then calculates the elapsed
time. This view is useful for organizations that
must capture start and stop times.
Time entries recorded in one view are visible
from any of the other views and you can select
the entry view most appropriate at the time.
The Sage TimeSheet time entry screens
are clean, uncluttered, and user-friendly. As
a result, time and expense entry is likely to be
completed accurately — and on time —regardless
of the number of employees, job codes, or
cost codes you’re managing. After approval, the
time employees enter into Sage TimeSheet can
flow directly into your payroll system — eliminating
the need for another data entry step by
your payroll or administrative staff.
Flexible Approval Process
Sage TimeSheet provides an approval process
that allows for multiple approval steps and can
be configured to match your company’s procedures
and policies.
Do your employees divide their time
between multiple projects, with potentially several
project managers? With Sage TimeSheet,
project managers can review and approve the
hours and expenses for the projects they manage.
Integration With Sage MAS 90
You will need the Sage MAS 90 TimeCard module
installed to integrate Sage TimeSheet with Sage
MAS 90. Once installed, the TimeSheet module
data can flow to your Sage MAS 90 Accounts
Payable, Payroll, and Job Cost modules. Here’s
a quick overview of how the various aspects of
the integration work.
Employees are created and maintained in
the Payroll module, and transferred into Sage
TimeSheet with details such as Company Code
and Job Number.
Expense information in the form of Cost
Codes and Cost Types are imported into Sage
TimeSheet from the Sage MAS 90 Job Cost
module; and upon approval are sent to the Sage
MAS 90 Accounts Payable module allowing you
to conveniently reimburse your employees.
Employee time entries created within Sage
TimeSheet are exported to the Sage MAS 90
TimeCard module for subsequent transfer to the
Sage MAS 90 Job Cost and Payroll modules.
If you wish, Sage TimeSheet also can transfer
time directly to the Sage MAS 90 Accounts
Receivable module for billing.
The Benefits Of Integration
Together, Sage TimeSheet and Sage MAS 90
create Accounts Payable invoices for your
employee expenses, Accounts Receivable
invoices for employees’ billable time, and transfer
both time and expense data into the accounting
software allowing you to maintain an accurate
picture of your jobs’ profitability.
Entering and processing employee expense
reports is time consuming. With Sage TimeSheet
you’ll save time and effort because the expense
data is summarized for you, and after approval
is then sent to the Sage MAS 90 Accounts Payable
module for reimbursement.
Easy Access, Informative Reports
Sage TimeSheet offers a Web-based timesheet interface, this means that your employees can
have easy access in the office or can access Sage
TimeSheets remotely.
Comprehensive reporting tools provide
access to the data held in Sage TimeSheet. You
can analyze your data in multiple ways — by
project, task, employee, manager, and more.
Sage TimeSheet expands your project analysis
capability with Crystal Reports® and Excelbased
detail reports included with the software.
Use the reports as is or create custom reports
of your own design. In addition, it’s simple to export your report data to Excel, Word, or PDF
for further analysis or to share with others.
Insight Into Your Projects
Every business is unique, and Sage TimeSheet
allows you to utilize up to 10 custom fields
for each project level, facilitating sophisticated
tracking and analysis.
With greater insight into the time and
expenses associated with your company’s
jobs and projects, you’re better able to make
strategic decisions that enhance both efficiency
and profitability.
We would be happy to answer your questions
about Sage TimeSheet — MAS 90 Edition;
just give us a call. |
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| Shipping Efficiency |
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The Shipping Data Entry feature and bar
code technology in the Sage MAS 90 Sales
Order module — combined with StarShip from
V-Technologies, a freight manifesting solution,
can give you an automated pick, pack, and ship
engine that keeps the sales engine humming
and drives distribution quickly out the door
and to your customers. Let’s take a closer look.
Shipping Data Entry
Pick
Warehouse personnel use the Picking Sheets
generated by Sage MAS 90 to select the items
from your warehouse or storeroom shelves to
meet an order’s requirements.
Pack
From the Sage MAS 90 Shipping Data Entry
screen, the shipping desk personnel enter
an order number and record the quantities
shipped for each item on the order. With flexible
entry choices, you can key in the item number
or scan the bar code of the item number
being shipped. The item bar code may come
from the item’s label or from the bar-coded
item number field printed on the picking
ticket. The entry automatically increments the
quantity shipped. Alternatively, you can press
a single button to ship the remaining quantity
on the order.
Ship
Once quantities are recorded, you can assign
items to packages, confirm freight charges, and
make any necessary changes to the shipping
address.
Shipping Data Entry shares the same data
files as Invoice Data Entry, so creating a shipping
record automatically creates an invoice.
Your accounting department can review the
invoice data, print the invoice, and update. The
Sage MAS 90 Sales Journal update function is
still the only means of updating invoice information,
no posting occurs from Shipping Data
Entry. Until the Sales Journal is updated, you
can recall and make any necessary changes to
the order, while simultaneously changing the
invoice information.
Inventory tracks the Quantity in Shipping,
and dynamically deducts this quantity from the
Quantity on Hand to ensure an accurate realtime
count. Appropriately, Drop Ship items do
not appear in Shipping Data Entry.
Bar Code Automation
Bar code functionality can increase accuracy and
speed data entry. Scanners to read the bar codes
are relatively inexpensive, and when placed at each
warehouse packing station will serve to promote
fast, error-free order handling.
Your products may already have a label
with a bar code on them, or you may print
labels containing bar codes from within Sage
MAS 90. Many locations within Sales Order
and Inventory Management support printing
bar coded fields on labels and shipping documents.
Using Crystal Reports® and an add-on
bar code font software, you can create a bar
code of virtually any field, to add automation
and efficiency to the shipping and warehouse
control functions.
StarShip Interface
Sage MAS 90 boasts a strong interface with
StarShip, an industry-leading freight manifesting
solution. StarShip includes support for UPS,
and FedEx (Express and Ground). Support for
USPS, DHL, Spee-Dee, and a user-defined carrier
can be purchased optionally. Not only does
StarShip calculate the freight charges and produce
bar-coded shipping labels, it can even
shop for the lowest rates to your customers’
locations.
StarShip does not replace your shipping
carrier’s service, rather it is a tool that adds efficiency
by giving you access to multiple carriers
from a single interface — and provides twoway
communication with your Sage MAS 90
accounting software.
Automated Shipping Workflow
Here’s an overview of the automated workflow:
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Sales Order is entered in Order Entry. |
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Picking Sheets are printed. |
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At the warehouse, items are pulled for orders
using picking sheets and brought to the shipping
station. |
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At the shipping station, each item is scanned
or entered in Shipping Data Entry and the
quantity shipped is recorded. |
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Warehouse worker packs the order. There is
an option to either identify the contents of each
package or list the number of packages being
shipped for the order. |
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Once Shipping Data Entry is complete, the
worker clicks the StarShip button on the Shipping
Data Entry tab. This brings up the Star-
Ship entry window, populated with critical
fields such as the customer’s name, e-mail
address, ship-to address, invoice number, purchase
order number, ship-via method, C.O.D.
amount, and declared value. |
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With a system-integrated scale, the worker
places a package on the scale and freight is
automatically calculated. |
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A shipping label is printed from StarShip. |
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The worker clicks the Save button, and Star-
Ship writes essential data including the tracking
information and the freight charge back to
Sage MAS 90. |
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Lastly, a shipping document — a packing
list, invoice, or both — is printed.
We would be happy to help you design and
implement a shipping and bar code solution to
meet your company’s specific needs, just give
us a call. |
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| Tips & Tricks |
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Sage Software Online
Sage Software Online offers a wealth of information
for Sage MAS 90 ERP users. You’ll find
Hot Fixes, support information, product manuals,
and more. If you have not yet visited this
valuable resource, take a few moments to see
what it has to offer. To access Sage Software
Online, you must have a current agreement or
subscription plan with Sage Software.
If you do not have a current login to Sage
Software Online, go to the following URL and
click the Register Now link:
www.sagesoftwareonline.com/eServices
If your subscription plan has expired, give
us a call to renew it. |
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| In The Spotlight: Sage MAS 90 Extended Solutions For Shipping |
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In conjunction with our Shipping Efficiency article on page 3, here we will explore
two Extended Solutions for Sage MAS 90 ERP that increase the power and flexibility
of this vital function.
Picking Sheet Printing To Warehouse-Specific Printers
If you operate multiple warehouse locations, or even a large warehouse with multiple
pick and pack stations, this Extended Solution could be a solution for you.
Picking Sheet Printing to Multiple Warehouse Printers (SO-1198) adds the ability
to print Picking Sheets to printers designated by warehouse. A Printer Name field is
added to Warehouse Code maintenance. As you print Picking Sheets, the program will
direct the Picking Sheet to the printer you have specified, based on the warehouse code
referenced on each item line.
Enhanced Shipping Data Entry
Here’s a multi-faceted Extended Solution called Enhanced Shipping Data Entry
(SO-1404) that adds the following four options:
Remove Credit Hold Restriction And Warning
This option can remove the restriction and warning against processing Sales Orders in Shipping
Data Entry when a Customer is on Credit Hold or has exceeded their Credit Limit.
If you checked the Setup option, Process Orders for Customer on
Hold, then the restriction against processing an order for a customer
who is on Credit Hold is removed. If the order status is Hold, the user
will still receive a warning message.
If you checked the Setup option Do Not Warn When Credit Limit
Exceeded, and when the only credit problem is Over Limit, the message“Customer Credit Limit Exceeded. Do you want to continue?” will no
longer be presented.
UDF Values That Prevent Freight Recalculation
This option lets you define up to three values of a specified user-defined
field (UDF) that flag the system not to recalculate freight. When you
specified UDF Values That Prevent Freight Recalculation in Setup, and
the Sales Order Header Customer Office UDF is one of the non-blank
values specified, the Freight will default from the Order and is not recalculated.
Audible Alerts
When you have checked the Setup option Issue Audible Alert During
Certain Error Conditions, the system will issue audible alerts any time
the user over-ships a line or selects an item that is not on the order.
Color Code Unresolved Lines
If you checked the Setup option Color Code Unresolved Lines, all lines
will default into Shipping Data Entry in red. The lines change to black
as they are fully shipped.
Extended Solutions SO-1198 and SO-1404 are available for Sage
MAS 90 version 4.1. Give us a call for more details on these or other
Extended Solutions for Sage MAS 90. |
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© Copyright 2004-2010 Tango Marketing, LLC. www.tango-marketing.com All Rights Reserved. This newsletter and its content have been registered with
the United States Copyright Office. This content is licensed by Tango Marketing LLC and can be distributed by licensee until 07/31/2010 at which time the licensee must cease
distribution and use of this content unless permission in writing is obtained from Tango Marketing LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
The capabilities, system requirements and/or compatibility with third-party products described herein are subject to change without notice. Sage, the Sage logos, and the Sage product
and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc., or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
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