Technology in Practice

Physical inventory counts are never any fun for those involved. Physical counts, typically done annually, require every item of inventory to be manually counted and — particularly for those relying on paper and pencil, or even spreadsheets — this can be a very manual, time-consuming and error-prone process. While there are ways to ease the pain of the physical count process, most product companies will have all hands on deck for the physical inventory count. If resources are tied up in counting, they are not doing their usual jobs, which can ultimately result in lost sales or lost opportunities. It can be a significant burden. The Problems with Physical Counts In order to conduct that physical inventory count, businesses need to make sure the inventory is locked down and that there are no transactions in the system between the time the count is performed and the time it is approved, or the count results are posted. This disruption in operations is not only costly, it can also affect a company’s ability to provide the expected level of customer service. Also, counting inventory is a specific skill set that employees from other departments may not have. It requires an understanding of the layout of the warehouse or the shop floor, as well as the nature of the inventory itself. Consider how an item is packaged and palletized in addition to the different units of measure. Good counters know the product, know how to count, measure and maybe even weigh the inventory. It is difficult to take someone without regular inventory and counting responsibilities and expect the level of accuracy required, as they are unfamiliar with the nuances that need to be considered when counting inventory. And don’t forget the dreaded recount! Inevitably, during a physical inventory count, organizations find some type of large discrepancy which needs to be reconciled — it can take a lot of time and effort to go back and figure out what happened. Most likely, while all of this research and reconciling is going on, the entire team is sitting around waiting to see how much of the inventory they are going to need to go back and recount. The one thing we can be sure of with an annual physical inventory count is that it isn’t the most accurate, or effective, way to count inventory.  Unfortunately, they are a necessity for almost any product company and are critical to ensuring accurate inventory records and financial statements. So what can businesses do to make the physical count process more manageable? The best way to improve the physical count is implementing regular cycle counting. Cycle counting is the process of counting a few items each day, with the goal of counting all your inventory over a specified period. Cycle counting can be incorporated into staff’s daily tasks so that you’re not relying on overtime or temporary staff to do it. The Premise of Cycle Counting According to the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), there are five major elements to ensure a successful cycle counting process: A Dedicated, Regular Team. The concept of cycle counting is that you have a dedicated team or individual who is trained as a cycle counter. These people should be familiar with the inventory and the transactions that cause the inventory to move. A Regular Schedule. A cycle counting program needs to be based on a regular schedule. If you want an auditor to excuse the need for an annual physical count, then you will want to have proof of regular cycle counting activity and document your process. Frequency-Based Methods. Items should be categorized using something like ABC Analysis and then establish a frequency for how often each category will be counted. Results-Oriented. Establish how you plan to measure success. There are many ways to track inventory accuracy, but you should agree on a metric that is easy to track and can be reported on regularly. This will be an important KPI when it comes to providing auditors with comfort that inventory is accurate. Variance Research. Lastly and most important, the intent of cycle counting is not to simply fix inventory errors. Although truing up the inventory is a by-product of the process, the dedicated team should be focused on eliminating the cause of any discrepancies. A good cycle counting program should drive continuous improvement throughout the operation, by identifying those root causes and working with the right co-workers to fix the process so that errors don’t persist.   This article was originally posted on NetSuite.com and written by Abby Jenkins, NetSuite Product Marketing Manager

Segregation of duties is a fundamental principle of many regulatory mandates including the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act. Technology may make it simple for one person to do the job of many, but it also increases the risk of concentrating too much power in the hands of a single person. Maintaining tight internal control over technology-enabled processes requires effective division of duties. Organizations must be able to record the presence and enforcement of this division of duties to meet SOX Section 404 criteria. With the release of Sage X3 2021 R1 (Version 12.0.25), two new features have been introduced to help ensure compliance: Bank account management – Segregation of duty To manage segregation of duties and follow the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act security rules and best practices, two parameters control bank account entry authorization. These parameters are in the TRS chapter, AUZ group, and operate independently of one another. At the payment level for a given user: When BIDPAYENT – Authorize bank acct. no. entry is Yes, the user is authorized to enter a bank account in the Payment entry (GESPAY) or Payment proposals (PAYPROPAL) functions. At the business partner level for a given user: When BIDBPENT – Authorize bank acct. no. entry is Yes, the user is authorized to enter a bank account number for a business partner in the BPs (GESBPR), Customers (GESBPC), and Suppliers (GESBPS) functions. Note: These parameters are set to Yes by default. Select No to remove user authorization at one or both levels. Payment remittance approval – Segregation of duty At the payment type level, you can decide if payment approval is required to process a payment and create a bank file. Approval is authorized at the user level. A bank file can only be created for payments where no authorization is required or for approved payments for manual and automatic remittances. Outgoing payments can be approved at the payment level or the manual remittance level. At the remittance level, mass approvals or mass removal of unapproved payments is available. Payment approval versus payment type is controlled during the import/export process. To see the full release notes for Sage X3 2021 R1 (Version 12.0.25) please click here. For more information on segregation of duties or any other Sage X3 question, please contact us.

In this blog, we will show how to use the data templates of Sage X3 to update data in your system. In this example, we will be setting the 1099 flag on the supplier records included in the spreadsheet. When executing these kinds of operations in Sage X3, it is important to always test in a pilot or test folder before executing the steps in production. And always do a data backup before executing these imports in your production folder. We begin by creating a template to assist in updating the 1099 box. We have named the new template SUPPLIERS_1099. We take the existing SUPPLIERS template and delete all addresses and other repetitive info and add the FRM1099 and BOX1099 fields. Please note that the FRM1099 is referenced in a ref table 3601. For information on how to access field definitions in Sage X3, see the technical help section of the Online Help Center as referenced in this blog: How to Access the Sage X3 Online Help Center. Here is the screenshot of the template just created: The template is flagged as “update”, so it will overwrite the info for the files with no other modifications of the data not changed. After the template is created, go to Usage / Export, and run it as an Excel or CSV export: Upon execution of the export and making the necessary changes, you can save the field as delimited text: Please note that you will have to open the .csv file in Notepad++ or a similar editor and replace the “,” with semicolon “;” prior to importing the template. We can use Excel to edit the fields: Go back to Sage X3 and re-import the file: The file is now imported, here’s the log: As a final step, review the vendors to make sure that it all looks good: For more information on importing data to update fields in Sage X3, or for any other Sage X3 questions, please contact us.

In this video, we’ll focus on NetSuite‘s demand and supply planning capabilities. We begin by calculating item demand plans for four projection methods: linear regression, moving average, sales forecast and seasonal average. We then dive into supply planning parameters around lead time, safety stock, lot sizing method, supply type and demand source. Once parameters are set, we’ll create an item supply plan using inventory balances, forecasting and planned work orders. We’ll conclude by demonstrating how to automatically generate mass work orders. Contact Us if you have any questions or would like more information about NetSuite features and enhancements. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Visit our NetSuite Learning Center to take advantage of educational whitepapers, eBooks, webinars and to stay up to date on the latest in NetSuite best practices.

Many growing manufacturing businesses operate with fixed budgets and finite resources. Forced to put out daily fires, fulfill the most pressing customer requests and manage customer issues, managers don’t always have the time or energy to develop—and put into action—new strategies for growing profits. Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or a veteran business owner, there is always room for operational improvements. Fine-tuning your processes today will help your business run more smoothly and boost profitability. In this white paper explore six key strategies other manufacturers have used to improve their results, from top-line revenue to ecommerce to cost-cutting. It includes the top profit-building strategies that growing manufacturing businesses are using to improve business processes, gain market share and grow their bottom lines.

In this video we discuss best practices for setting up filters in the system as well as properly attaching files within Acumatica. These strategies can help optimize your day to day workflow and ensure that you are looking at the data that is most important for that task. Contact Us if you have any questions or would like more information about Acumatica features and enhancements. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

In this blog post we’ll take a closer look at signNow for NetSuite. With signNow, an eSignature solution, you can send contracts, purchase orders and have sales quotes be signed electronically. With the signNow Netsuite integration, you can automate data entry and easily collect in-person signatures without leaving your NetSuite account. Streamline Your Workflow With a Complete E-Signature Solution How it Works Build E-Signature Workflows Create and send quotes, orders and NDAs for signature to multiple parties in any order without leaving NetSuite. Collect Signatures In-Person Allow clients or colleagues to sign your documents in-person using a smartphone or tablet. Enable Data Binding Complete a document with data from NetSuite records or populate Netsuite record fields with new data from a completed document. Benefits Accelerate Your Business with Digital Workflows Reduce Your Time to Revenue Save time closing deals by getting your sales quotes signed in-person on the spot using a smartphone or tablet. Automate Data Entry Set up fields to be populated with NetSuite data or place Netsuite data on your contracts automatically. Customize Quotes and Purchase Orders Prepare business documents for signing by adding fillable fields. Make them conditional or required. Track Document Changes Track all edits and e-signatures with timestamps for every change made in a document. Manage Business Operations with Ease Set expiration dates and automatic reminders to ensure all your templates are signed and submitted on time. Ensure Data Security Verify the signers’ IP addresses with audit trail and set two-factor authentication for stronger data protection. Watch a Quick Demo Video: .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Visit our NetSuite Learning Center to take advantage of educational whitepapers, eBooks, webinars and to stay up to date on the latest in NetSuite best practices.

A food recall is every Food & Beverage processor and distributor’s biggest threat to profitability. But it doesn’t have to spell disaster for your business – as long as your team is prepared. Pairing your needs with the right technology platform will help safeguard daily operations as well as mitigate damages to your reputation and bottom line in the event of a recall. Watch this on-demand web event to find out how Sage X3, purpose built for the food and beverage industry, addresses: Traceability: identify and stop contaminants before they taint the supply chain Compliance: track, report, and set parameters that ensure compliance at all times Crisis Management: easily develop, maintain, and execute crisis preparedness plans Access the On-Demand Session Here For more information on managing food recalls with Sage X3, please contact us.

Are your auditors requesting SOC1 compliance reports for Sage X3? Sage Software has released information regarding SSAE 16 and SOC compliance reports via Sage Knowledgebase article 22901.  Because Sage X3 is not a multi-tenant application hosted by the publisher, it is not appropriate for Sage to provide a SOC1 report for Sage X3 under the SSAE certification guidelines (NOTE: Sage Intacct DOES provide a SOC1 report because clients are hosted by Sage on a multi-tenant cloud with Intacct.) Does Statement of Auditing Standards SSAE 16 certification apply to Sage products? Summary Does Statement of Auditing Standards SSAE 16 certification apply to Sage products Does Sage provide an SOC1 report Resolution **SSAE 16 effectively replaced SAS 70 as the standard for reporting on service organizations** SOC1 Report (Service Organization Controls Report) is under the SSAE-18 standards. SSAE-18 supersedes SSAE 16. Because Sage products are provided as packaged software solutions rather than as services, SSAE 16 certification does not apply. The Statement on Auditing Standards SSAE 16, Service Organizations, is an auditing standard that was issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The intent of the standard is to provide a guideline to ensure that adequate controls are in place over service organizations and service providers. SSAE 16 applies when financial statements are audited only if the organization obtains services from another organization. Sage accounting and specialized solutions (such as Sage X3, Sage 100, Sage 500, Sage FAS, Sage 300, Sage Pro, and Sage Business Vision) are provided as packaged software solutions rather than as services. Organizations that use Sage accounting solutions are always in full control of their data – from establishing access, entering information, and producing reports. While organizations may provide data or reports to Sage for specific projects (for example, professional service engagements), no data is ever automatically sent outside of the organization’s control. Under no circumstances is Sage represented as a service provider for retrieving, analyzing, and reporting on any organization’s information. Additional information For more information regarding a SOC1 report, please visit: https://www.ssae-16.com/soc-1/ or contact us.