Technology in Practice

I don’t know about you, but every time I call customer service for something I end up having to provide all of my information and give a five-minute monologue over the phone only to get transferred to someone new to do it all over again. It’s 2022. Hasn’t caller ID been out there since the 80’s? At the very least, someone should know who I am and what I’ve ordered. You would think so, but the grim reality is that a lot of businesses have been sliding by without investing in their customers’ experiences . The days of making an initial sale and high fiving the person next to you with an ‘Our work is done here’ attitude is long gone. We’re in a global market now. Everything is accessible and every business has a competitor. Consumers are savvy and those consumers are your customers. They are the winners in this digital economy, and we cannot ignore it. There are high standards created by this new world in which we live and although we are running businesses, we all have experience as a customer in some way or another. We must meet and hopefully exceed their expectations of customer service. The fact of the matter is that everyone at your organization should know and have access to all your customer information in one place and instantly. No matter what the department, everyone is making sales at your company (or at least keeping them). Your customer service team is EVERYONE who ever interacts with your customers AND it should be driven by next generation technology and power. Watch this recorded webinar and learn more how to optimize your business processes, minimize overhead, and increase efficiency to help sustain and retain your customer base. They deserve the best and that’s what you’ll give them.

Sage recently sent an email (see it at the bottom of this thread) where they announced two important items that may directly impact your company’s ability to work within the Sage 100 product. For your convenience, we have highlighted the key points and next steps below. We also hosted an informative webinar: Changes to Sage 100 that May Impact Your Ability to Operate, where we went over this in detail, as well as the options available so your staff can continue to work efficiently. The Impact to Sage 100 The changes announced affect those who are not upgraded to Sage’s currently supported versions, as well as those not fully patched on the current editions. Here are instructions on how to check what version of Sage 100 you are running. Emailing From Sage 100 Stops Working On October 1, 2022 On 10/1/2022 Microsoft is disabling basic email authentication. Google shut this off in June of 2022. Basic email authentication is currently used in many versions of Sage 100 and allows your company to be able to do the following: Email Invoices to Customers – this also applies to quotes and orders Email Statements to Customers Email Purchase Orders to Vendors Email remittance advices to Vendors and Customers Email reports to your team Sage 100 Will Go Into “READ ONLY” Mode – September 2023 Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a common methodology used for servers to communicate with each other. Some editions of Sage 100 use TLS 1.0 and 1.1 which are seen as security risks by the software industry. Most published have depreciated these versions and now use TLS 1.2 or 1.3. Sage is joining the other publishers in depreciating TLS for 1.0 and 1.1 if you are not upgraded and fully patched on current editions by September of 2023. FAQ: What Can you Do in “Read Only” Mode Both these changes impact all users – even those organizations only using an instance of Sage 100 for reporting or Inquires. NEXT STEP – Watch Our Webinar   Changes to Sage 100 That May Impact Your Ability To Operate Watch Now We reviewed the details around Sage’s end of support for Transport Layer Security (TLS): and the options your company has so that your staff can continue to efficiently work. Agenda: What is OAuth and why will my email stop working 10/1/2022 What is Transport Layer Security & why may Sage 100 go into “Read Only” Why Avalara customers have to update their Sage 100 before 12/31/2022 Options and Alternatives available for OAuth emailing Options and Alternatives for READ ONLY mode Creating a Digital Road Map Plan for the future / keeping Sage 100 current Q/A

A feature of fixed assets that is not used often is the Fixed Asset Group.  Setting up and managing fixed assets by group will ease data entry and provide more granular financial tracking by asset type.  Read this blog post to learn how to configure fixed asset groups and assign them to your fixed assets. STEP 1 Create a new GL account for Fixed Assets, mark the checkboxes ‘Fixed Assets Tracking’ and ‘Expense Creation’. STEP 2 Create the FA Accounting code accordingly. It is not necessary to give these new codes names similar to the GL account’s name, but it helps. To use these FA Group Accounting Codes, X3 FA must have a ‘FA Group’ associated. This is what we’ll do in the next step.   STEP 3 Go to Setup > Fixed assets > Associations.   There are two main groups in these associations—Assets or Expenses. We’ll use Assets. Then click on Enter Values: STEP 4 Here we’ll create the Value 15220. Click on ‘New’: In the Value field, enter the 15220 Acc Code just created, or look it up from the list with the magnifying glass: STEP 5 The next step is to choose the depreciation method, along with the duration in years. After that, you’ll be all set to create a new asset or to capitalize an expense going to this asset group, which in turn is associated with the 15220 account: For more information on creating a Fixed Asset Group Association in Sage X3, please contact us.

Sage 300 ERP is a comprehensive and robust platform for managing all aspects of your business. However, as with any software package, it has certain areas where functional gaps exist that may hinder its ability to fully address your business needs. Small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs) using Sage 300 often become accustomed to the workarounds needed to address these shortcomings, but understanding when a business annoyance becomes a business hinderance will help you determine the steps you need to take in order to get the most out of your ERP system.  Identifying the Issues As the core of the technology stack, many companies have invested significant time and money into the processes necessary to make Sage 300 adapt to the demands of their business. For example, a survey of 100 finance executives across the biotech and life sciences sectors revealed that finance personnel are spending much of their time, “aggregating and manipulating data in Excel instead of taking advantage of reporting automation to analyze data and inform strategic decisions for their business.”  If your organization is facing similar issues that require manual processes to be put in place, it’s important to determine the right time to explore alternative options for addressing the gaps.   Filling the Voids of Sage 300 ERP Even if the functional gaps of your current system aren’t to the point of detriment, there are steps you can take now to better prepare your business for the future.  For instance, there is an update coming to Microsoft Exchange that involves changes to Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols. Users that are not on a supported version of Sage 300 (version 2020 or higher) will not receive the proper updates to their system and will lose associated communication functionality.  Along with ensuring that your ERP is updated to a supported version, there are a multiple of third-party add-ons and custom services available to help plug the holes that are inherent in the system.  If you find that these options won’t provide sufficient relief or that the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) increases significantly with multiple add-ons, then migrating to a Next Generation ERP may be a better alternative. Much of the functionality provided by third-party add-on to legacy ERP systems now come standard in ERP solutions such as Sage Intacct. These cloud-native solutions also remove the need for time consuming updates and allow users access from anywhere with an internet connection.   “Understand how and when to fill the functional gaps of your Sage 300 ERP that are a creating a burden on your business”  Building the Bridge After coming to terms with the functional limitations of your Sage 300 ERP system, the only non-viable solution is to do nothing. As software continues to rapidly evolve, maintaining the status quo will only put your business further behind the curve. Creating and adhering to a technology roadmap will allow you to better understand your technology needs both today and in the future.  Net at Work partners with SMBs across many different industries to help companies identify the right ERP solutions to fit their needs. You can learn how you can get the most out of your Sage 300 system or if it’s time to migrate to a Next Generation ERP by watching this recorded webinar Bridge Your Sage 300 Gaps today. 

As a leader in the construction space, you’re accustomed to boom-and-bust cycles and experienced at having to keep the lights on during lean periods. With that said, recent market conditions have gone beyond the standard definitions of boom or bust, making for a hard-to-define and very unpredictable climate. What can you do to build consistent prosperity as factors like high inflation, labor shortages, and interest rate increases put stress on your business? Your internal management approach and your choice of enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology can play a significant role. You may be surprised at just how impactful an integrated next-generation construction ERP solution can be. Challenges Facing Construction Businesses The ever-evolving economic factors putting pressure on your construction company demand a response. The winds within the industry can change seemingly overnight, making it important that you have the technology in place to roll with the punches — or even get one step ahead of the next move. While there are a near-unlimited variety of factors that can put your bottom line at risk, you can get a solid overview of the issue by looking at three: inflation, labor, and interest rates. Alongside the problems brought on by these issues, it’s worth noting how a construction ERP deployment can help your business cope. Rising inflation means higher material costs Construction firms have spent several years coping with rising material costs. Following a devastating series of increases during the COVID-19 pandemic due to supply chain breakdowns, inflation took hold. Since there’s little your business can do to directly lower prices or single handedly fight inflation, your response will have to be an internal one. How construction ERP helps: With an effective ERP solution, you can gain visibility into your costs. By integrating your business’s financial and operational sides, you can overcome the silos that would otherwise prevent you from making clear, fully-informed budgeting decisions. You can use increased visibility into costs to highlight problem areas and make adjustments like renegotiating contracts, resequencing scheduling, or proactively adjusting billing. Worker shortages mean you’re paying premium wages There are a number of factors and high-level policies that can affect the availability of skilled workers for the construction sector. And when there are few people, you may end up paying more. Recent data and analysis have borne this out. The General Contractors Association of America issued warnings about a lack of training and work authorization programs and noted that hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees had risen 4.5% year over year to $36.55. How construction ERP helps: One way to offset high costs during tight labor markets is to achieve more productivity with your organization’s current staff. A high-quality ERP solution delivers this improved productivity by reducing manual calculations and automating common tasks. This technology can also assist with retention, as “digital-native” younger employees will feel more positive about working in a connected, efficient workplace. Increasing interest squeezes cash flows Interest rates that remain high, even as other large-scale factors change around them, can have a direct impact on your ability to run a profitable construction business. High rates constrain both your ability to borrow and potential customers’ ability to start new projects. This calls for drastic measures to repair your cash flow. How construction ERP helps: A modern ERP for construction delivers real-time data access as well as forward-looking analysis and insights. With this knowledge in hand, you can make strategic decisions about how you manage your cash. Such information is especially useful to protect your budget when planning a major move like a merger or acquisition. 8 Benefits of ERP for Construction Firms An ERP platform can become the heart of your firm’s digital operations, serving as a central source of data truth and the connector between all your construction management software. As it unites your information and people, it can have a massive effect on your overall performance. The following are eight specific advantages of using ERP software tuned for the construction industry: 1. Simplified, User-Friendly Operations Working on the construction project management aspects of jobs can be complex — add in resource oversight and finances, and there are several difficult processes ongoing in your office at any given time. A well-designed ERP system streamlines all these operations and provides a single interface for users across teams and functions. This is especially important when your firm is running multiple jobs at a time, or you’re working with a limited number of people. 2. Enhanced Productivity for Staff. In addition to simplifying back-office work through a unified and well-designed interface, a purpose-built construction ERP solution can deliver another major advantage for staff: increased productivity via automation. Common everyday tasks such as data entry can take up large portions of an employee’s time and attention. Automating this work not only puts more hours back in your team’s days, it decreases the risk of human error brought on by data entry mistakes or the proliferation of inconsistent offline spreadsheets. 3. Visibility and a Single Source of Data Truth All that information uploaded into the business’s systems — as well as the content already residing in its disparate servers and applications — becomes part of one whole when you use a capable construction ERP system. Since numerous functions — from planning to governance and beyond — count on data consistency and visibility, this is a major advantage. Over the past decade-plus, the use of cloud computing has delivered a new level of data access. Cloud-based construction ERP technology allows employees at various locations to work from a consistent set of figures, whether they’re logging in from one of multiple offices, from home, or from a construction jobsite. 4. Actionable, Real-Time Insights. Acting as a source of data truth doesn’t just mean providing access to the raw numbers. High-quality construction ERP software also includes analytics tools that allow users to derive insights about patterns in the information. This allows your firm to make intelligent decisions in the management of its contracts and jobs, getting ahead of potential issues. The most useful data-derived insights come via dashboards and visualizations that clearly display trends. Such user-friendly analytics tools help leaders make quick decisions based on solid facts.  Those decisions can shape day-to-day work or the direction of the entire firm’s strategy for months to come. 5. Enhanced Ability To Collaborate Cloud-based ERP systems offer more than data access to team members around the world — these technology tools also provide spaces for collaboration. By interacting directly with important documents such as blueprints, as well as contracts, financial information, and more, team members can ensure colleagues see all their comments and changes. These collaboration features remove the risk that comes from emailing documents back and forth. When users are constantly creating new versions of important files, it can be difficult to know which takes precedence, potentially leading to confusion, delays, and costly mistakes. 6. Smooth integration of disparate tech systems One of ERP’s most important roles is as the connective tissue between the systems responsible for discrete functions like inventory and asset management, finance and accounting, construction project management, governance, resource allocation, field reporting, and more. Clear communication between these systems leads to faster, more accurate work. Information can easily be lost in translation when the pieces of your technology stack don’t talk to one another. A slow, inaccurate work environment can result from such a lack of connectivity and integration. The best ERP technology will integrate with a wide variety of other construction software tools from various manufacturers to ensure the business is able to build a unified environment. 7. Accurate, streamlined financial management Financial management is one of the areas where it’s especially important to work with an ERP system designed with construction in mind. Solutions that include reporting, job costing, and automated billing features targeting construction firms can become an essential part of your organization’s tech stack faster. The best ERP systems will also include analytics features dealing directly with finance and accounting. Giving financial employees and departmental leaders a clear, at-a-glance way to engage with performance data can help with budgeting in terms of time spent on tasks as well as decision-making accuracy. 8. Built-in governance and compliance Managing multiple kinds of regulatory compliance is a major priority in the construction sector — and is just the beginning. Being in line with rules should be a starting point for your firm, rather than an ultimate goal. Purpose-built ERP systems come with governance features built in, easing the process of getting into compliance. Regulations applying to construction firms cover everything from digital matters such as data storage to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules relating to safe job site practices. Having an accessible place to store important information relating to compliance programs, such as employee certifications and test results, is another vital role of construction ERP technology. Investing in tools and technologies that can increase productivity should be a major priority, and the features of an ERP platform add up to deliver improved performance throughout your organization. Especially when viewed as a connective system at the heart of your business’s tech stack, the quality of your ERP matters. See how an ERP system provides access to accurate production-related data and other vital information for your construction firm. How To Find the Best Construction ERP Software for You It’s important to note that there’s a difference between purchasing a construction ERP system and purchasing the best construction ERP software for your specific needs. By reviewing a particular solution’s list of features, you can ensure that it will be able to deliver the construction management advantages described above, rather than falling short. Scalable, cloud-based design: Cloud access is the key element in many enterprise software deployments — ERP is no exception. Cloud-based solutions are accessible from anywhere, which is especially important to construction managers accessing and entering real-time data from the job site. The cloud also enables scalability, so you don’t have to replace your solution as your company grows and it allows you to receive automatic updates, ensuring the solution doesn’t fall behind on new features or security patches. Purpose-built features for construction: Customizing a general ERP solution to suit construction usage can be far more expensive and time-consuming than using a product designed from the ground up to suit the sector. Features such as raw material management, compliance, project accounting, and field reporting may be lacking in solutions not meant for construction use, along with the ability to seamlessly work with specialized documents such as blueprints and 3D building models. Governance, compliance, and data security features: Noncompliance and more general governance failures can come with severe consequences. Whether it’s an OSHA fine for employee certification record-keeping violations, a loss of reputation after a data breach revealed insufficient data security, or anything in between, a destabilizing event can set construction companies back. This is why it’s essential to find ERP software with effective security and governance features. User-friendliness and accessibility: No technology tool can reach its fullest potential if it’s difficult for end-users to engage with. Not only does a complex or unfriendly interface cut into efficiency gains, it can discourage users from working with the technology at all. By purchasing a user-friendly ERP solution, you can deliver quicker uptake and deeper engagement with the construction software’s feature set. Ability to integrate with other technology: Because creating a connected, consistent software environment is one of the major objectives associated with modern ERP use, it’s important to ensure your chosen system integrates with the other parts of your tech stack. Native integrations can deliver effective data movement between platforms, saving time and making your team more efficient. Selecting technology that doesn’t truly meet your organization’s needs will likely prove costly, whether over the short or long term. Whether you go over budget customizing an ERP platform that lacks specialized features for the construction sector or are forced to replace an unsuitable or non-scalable system within a few years, the costs of suboptimal ERP deployments add up. Once you see the power of a purpose-built construction ERP system, with a long feature set and support from a knowledgeable team of experts, you’ll realize the value this technology can deliver for your business. Get Started Experiencing the Benefits of Construction ERP As a modernized, scalable cloud-based ERP solution designed for the construction industry, Acumatica can serve as the centerpiece of your firm’s tech stack, providing a single source of truth and uniting all your disparate systems to enable more effective operations every day. Its specialized modules deliver forecasting, payroll, billing, compliance document management, mobile access, and more. Whatever processes your organization is currently following, the new system can integrate smoothly into your workflow and begin delivering value on a short timeline. When an expert team from Net at Work handles your Acumatica ERP implementation, there’s no need to worry about whether the system will be configured correctly — you can be sure you’re off to a good start. Net at Work experts understand how to tailor systems to construction companies’ specific requirements and minimize the disruption of a new solution coming online. Following the ERP implementation, they remain available for ongoing support. With such a knowledgeable partner organization on your side, your team can stay focused on value-adding work without worrying about optimizing your ERP deployment. Learn more about construction ERP systems or contact us.

It’s hard to avoid a hazard you can’t recognize. Imagine you’re driving in a foreign country. You come upon a low water crossing sign but can’t identify the writing. Drive on and you’re going in blind to the inherent danger. Cybercrime works similarly. If your employees don’t know what to look out for, threats can be difficult, if not impossible to spot. In fact, that’s precisely how many malicious actors operate: disguised as benign. Continuous employee cybersecurity training not only brings an essential awareness to real online risks, but it’s also a hedge against company losses. To repeat, that’s ongoing training, preferably with actionable practice and knowledge application. In an interview with TechRepublic, Wesley Simpson, COO of (ISC)2, refers to security training as people patching. “Your people are your assets, and you need to invest in them continually,” Simpson says. “If you don’t get your people patched continually, you’re always going to have vulnerabilities.” Don’t want your employees to be an easy mark or a weak link? These four training practices can help staff adopt safer, long-term cyber behaviors. “Your people are your assets, and you need to invest in them continually. If you don’t get your people patched continually, you’re always going to have vulnerabilities.” 1. Don’t Just Review Best Practices, Practice Password Security It’s one thing to teach about password hygiene. And an entirely different thing to actually practice it. After all, you can’t just talk about taking a bath and begin smelling better. In addition to reviewing password best practices with your team, have them take actionable moves to make their passwords more secure. The most practical first step is to roll out a password manager. In addition to generating long, strong, unique passwords for each account an employee has, the tools also keep track of those passwords. Some can even automatically sign you in or allow you to share login information with your colleagues. The latter can be particularly helpful if your employees work remotely or in a hybrid environment. 2. Help Employees Decipher Phishing & Social Engineering Attempts To err is human – not an individual flaw. If an employee falls victim to the above, keep in mind that these schemes succeed by way of extreme manipulation. Couple that with inadequate company-provided security training and it’s a recipe for disaster. Phishing scams and social engineering attacks are designed to weaponize our most basic human emotions. A hacker’s main goal is to hook, line, and sinker anyone who lets their guard down. Experienced cybercriminals can use the information they’ve deceptively gathered to target your network in the process. But identifying “phishy” smelling scams isn’t always easy (that’s kind of the point). Giving employees a quick reference checklist can be useful in helping them vet suspicious emails or messages in real-time. Be sure to instruct them on who to reach out to and where to send anything that seems out of the ordinary. 3. Include Cyber Training During Onboarding It’s important to help employees start off on the right foot. That’s why cybersecurity is as important as any code of conduct. Be sure to include relevant information about just how prevalent cyber threats are, especially for small businesses. The more compelling the stats, the better. Emphasize that keeping the company safe is everyone’s job – not just the IT team. You may also want to provide new hires with guidelines or reference tools they can turn to should a suspicious situation arise. 4. Periodically Test Staff Skills If you’re in office, you’ve probably practiced a fake fire drill or inclement weather plan to ensure employees know how to respond under pressure. Conducting unannounced cyber exercises uses the same logic. Having IT send a fake phishing email or hiring a third party to simulate some other type of attack can be a great way for employees to put their newly acquired cyber skills to the test. It also gives them an opportunity to learn from their mistakes in a low-risk environment. At an organizational level, these teachable moments can show where there are larger knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in subsequent cyber training sessions. Remember: if you want employees to make cybersecurity a priority, your organization has to do the same. Investing in their cyber skills now could be what saves your SMB from financial ruin down the line.

Sage 100 ERP software has helped thousands of small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs) run their operations successfully since its inception in 1985. However, the software possesses inherent functional gaps that can become acutely more painful as businesses evolve over time. During the webinar, “From Pain to Gain: How to Best Approach Your Sage 100 ERP,” over 50% of polled SMB executives acknowledged that labor-intensive reporting is especially burdensome to their organization, while 25% of attendees indicated business impacts associated with limited industry-specific functionality and 18% admitted that multi-entity management and consolidation and segmented GL accounts are a struggle. Plugging the Functional Gaps Substantial effort, time and sometimes dedicated personnel and procedures are required to manually alleviate issues stemming from these and other gaps. In one instance, an accounting executive running a legacy Sage ERP disclosed that storage fees were incurred to stockpile files used as part of their paper processes, in which documents were physically handed to the appropriate personnel for approval authorization and stored in cabinets. For organizations experiencing these and similar issues, the key is determining when the added time and cost of plugging these gaps outweighs the value of the Sage 100 ERP instance. The webinar recounted a methodology recommended by Forrester Research during a previous event as one such exercise companies could enlist to help make this determination. Another option available to Sage 100 users is the Net at Work Business Health Assessment (BHA), a complimentary, online tool that enables organizational leaders to input their strategic initiatives to assist with prioritizing recommendations for aligning technology in support of that overall direction. Exploring Sage 100 Migration Options When Sage 100 functional gaps do not pose a true hardship to organizations yet, there’s options to fill the void now. Lisa Margolies, co-presenter and Net at Work Sage 100 Practice Director, reported on those options during the webinar. In some cases, third-party add-ons and custom services can bridge gaps. But “most [users] are aware that Sage only supports the current version and two versions back…so upgrading is always your best option, and you should always be on a supported version,” reminded Margolies. But if those gaps are too wide and the combination of options presented by Margolies increase the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of Sage 100, Next Generation ERP solutions may be an appropriate shorter-term strategy. Next Generation ERP, such as Sage Intacct, standardizes much of the manual or third-party functionality typically found bolted onto instances of Sage 100. Workflow approvals, dimensional accounting and real-time dashboards and reporting, for example, are native to this type of cloud-based ERP software. “Everyone is on a different timeline with different circumstances and requirements. It’s important to acknowledge that you move at the right time based off of your assessment.” – Tom Thornton, Net at Work Sage Intacct Practice Director The Deciding Factor The deciding factor, ultimately, is your technology roadmap. A product of undergoing the BHA, your roadmap helps you identify the right combination of technology at the right time to support your strategic endeavors. Drawing parallels from the technology shift in which businesses switched from DOS-based to Windows-based products in the 1990s, co-presenter and Net at Work Sage Intacct Practice Director Tom Thornton believes this will also be the case with Next Generation ERP. “Everyone is on a different timeline with different circumstances and requirements. It’s important to acknowledge that you move at the right time based off of your assessment… There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution for every organization in every industry,” Thornton stated. To uncover the full insights shared during this webinar, watch the recording of “From Pain to Gain: How to Best Approach Your Sage 100 ERP” today.

Women at Work and the D&I Committee joined forces this year and co-presented a Learn and Lunch to celebrate Pride on June 23rd. Aiming for a casual, relaxed event, we encouraged Net at Work employees to order lunch from a local LGBTQA+ restaurant, and then gather on Teams to learn about important dates, events, and cultural happenings within the community. Thank you to all our presenters for your contributions and insight. We appreciated the attendees’ comments and interactions as we celebrated 150 years of LGBTQA+ history paying tribute to the past, present, and future. From historical timelines, important leaders, and the arts/literature, it was a fun lunch with so much to learn. We even had a surprise video introduction supporting a local drag queen performer adding fun and flair to the lunch. We hope if you’re in New York you get a chance to visit the Stonewall Inn Monument dedicated to the those that paved the way and continue to make a difference. Another important fact we all reviewed is that there is still work to do—supporting organizations that have a positive representation in the community and spreading the message of love and acceptance. A recording of our Learn & Lunch has been made available for Net at Work employees in the Resources tile of the Women at Work SharePoint portal. Happy Pride!

The war in Ukraine. Soaring gas and food prices. Rising interest rates in an effort to control surging inflation. Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) throughout North America are feeling the impact of the current economic climate. 91% of SMB owners indicated these economic trends are having a negative impact on their businesses, according to Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Businesses survey from April 2022 – which is a reported 86% increase from earlier in the year. Inflationary pressures topped the list of significant challenges identified by these businesses, and for good reason. How quickly an organization can respond to challenges in the marketplace can often be the difference between success and failure – and the current inflationary period is no exception. Companies that have a good handle on their margins and can adjust pricing rapidly to minimize their absorption of rising costs will have a leg up over those that lack profitability analysis and/or possess an intensive and drawn-out process to roll out new pricing. “Companies that have a good handle on their margins and can adjust pricing rapidly…will have a leg up over those that don’t.” Weathering the Economic Climate But if you’re shaking your head – maybe your margins aren’t fully known, or there are several hurdles you need to regularly jump over to release new pricing – you now have a major opportunity to weather this period and prepare your business for either a “soft landing” or a full-blown recession in the coming months. Cloud-native Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), otherwise known as Next Generation ERP that includes Business Intelligence (BI), enhanced workflows, flexible commerce, a platform ecosystem and global/scalable financial functionality, allows you to routinely understand the profitability of product lines, projects and more as costs climb (and fall). Armed with this real-time data, you’re in a better position to align costs and pricing closer for more accurate forecasting and control over what should be driving your business, regardless of economic conditions. If you’re struggling with data siloes, which are often inherent to legacy ERP systems like Sage 100 or Sage 300 ERP systems, and they’re holding back your ability to lessen the impact of inflationary pressures, we’re here to help. Net at Work remains one of the top 100 Value-Added Resellers (VAR) today, providing the leading technology and expertise to make your ERP migration journey a seamless one. Learn more how you can best position your SMB organization against inflation by watching this recorded webinar for “SMB Talk: Cash Flow Limitations Caused by Inflation.”