Technology in Practice

Sometimes a supplier may require a deposit before commencing work on an order, or the order may have to be paid in advance. In this blog post, we will review the steps you need to take to record payments against a purchase order in Sage X3. Steps to Record Prepayments for Purchase Orders Create a Payment Term with the Payment Type ‘Prepayment’. This will automatically fill the Prepayment section in the Purchase Invoice.   Create the Purchase Order and assign the Payment Term “Cash in advance” (CIA) or another similar term that has the Prepayment Type on it. Note that modifying the Due Date percent in the Prepayment configuration will change how much is due in advance and how much will remain as an open item. Below is an example of this—25% due immediately and 75% due 30 days later. Another point to consider is that it’s not mandatory to use Prepayment Terms for generating a prepayment. In that case, the Prepayment section of the invoice will have to be manually filled. Note in the Prepayments section how the information for the prepayment is automatically generated: Note that this screen can also be reached by going to the menu option Purchasing / Order / Prepayment management: After the Order and the Prepayment are created, we need to issue the check to prepay for the Order. This is done in AP-AR Accounting / Payments / Payment – Receipt Entry: Create the payment by selecting the PO just created. Note that the ‘Type’ in the payment is CCFOU, this is automatically assigned by the system to manage the prepayment: Post the payment: Now, proceed with the normal reception of the goods and Receipt of Invoice: After posting, note how the Open Item reflects the prepayment. In this example is added the $2066.22 payment. If a partial payment were made instead, it would apply that portion only. In this example we paid 100% of the open invoice. For more information on recording a prepayment against a purchase order, or for any other Sage X3 questions, please contact us.

The FBI, the DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a joint alert to warn hospitals and healthcare providers of imminent ransomware attacks from Russia. This security advisory describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) associated with cyber criminals that could target organizations in the Healthcare and Public Health Sector (HPH) to infect systems with Ryuk ransomware. The government agencies receive information about imminent attacks, threat actors are using the TrickBot botnet to deliver the infamous ransomware to the infected systems. “CISA, FBI, and HHS have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers. CISA, FBI, and HHS are sharing this information to provide warning to healthcare providers to ensure that they take timely and reasonable precautions to protect their networks from these threats.” reads the alert. TrickBot is a popular banking Trojan that has been around since October 2016, its authors have continuously upgraded it by implementing new features. In early 2019, researchers spotted a new TrickBot backdoor framework dubbed Anchor that was using the anchor_dns tool for abusing the DNS protocol for C2 communications. Several groups of experts linked both TrickBot and Ryuk threats to cybercrime gangs operating out of Russia. Ryuk first appeared in the threat landscape in August 2018 as a derivative of the Hermes 2.1 ransomware, that was first spotted in late 2017 and was available for sale on the open market as of August 2018 Unlike other ransomware gangs, Ryuk ransomware operators did not announce to avoid targeting healthcare organizations during the COVID-19 A few weeks ago, Universal Health Services (UHS), one of the largest hospital and healthcare services providers, has shut down systems at healthcare facilities in the United States after they were infected with the Ryuk ransomware. A few days ago, Microsoft’s Defender team, FS-ISAC, ESET, Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs, NTT, and Broadcom’s cyber-security division Symantec joined the forces and announced a coordinated effort to take down the command and control infrastructure of the infamous TrickBot botnet. Microsoft has taken down 120 of the 128 servers that were composing the Trickbot infrastructure. Microsoft announced to have taken down 62 of the original 69 TrickBot C&C servers, seven servers that could not be brought down last week were Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Original post

The kickoff of the NetSuite Now On Air virtual conference gave participants a chance to learn about NetSuite’s latest product enhancements and get a glimpse of features in the works for 2021. With the changes businesses around the world have experienced this year, NetSuite is focused on helping companies become more agile, operate more efficiently and collaborate more effectively to improve performance across their organizations. This first week of this monthlong event showed how NetSuite’s financial management, budgeting and planning solutions give organizations the tools and insights they need to balance their short-term priorities and long-term objectives. “NetSuite’s strategy is based on automation and intelligence throughout the suite,” said Andrew Hery, director of product management at Oracle NetSuite. “Automation and intelligence reduce the need for staff to perform mundane, repetitive tasks, increase data accuracy and allow teams to spend more time on data analysis, planning future growth and making long-term strategic decisions.” Hery explained how the combination of automation, intelligence and a unified technology platform improves finance and accounting operations by enabling team members to focus on managing exceptions instead of performing time-consuming manual tasks. He then showed how these components come together within NetSuite, demonstrating several new features and product enhancements that will increase financial visibility, increase accounting efficiency and vastly improve the monthly close process. Smart Automation NetSuite automates the movement of cash into and out of your business with intelligent, rules-based workflows for managing check runs, reconciling bank and credit card accounts, and allocating customer payments to open invoices. NetSuite’s Bank Feeds SuiteApp automatically collects bank account and credit card data from thousands of financial institutions in North America and EMEA. Automated reconciliation compares transaction data against the general ledger, matching existing entries and flagging exceptions for review. Enhanced workflows use machine learning to improve matching results over time as more transactions are processed. The Accounting Cycle NetSuite is reimagining the accounting cycle. While many accounting professionals dread the words “month-end close,” NetSuite helps eliminate the headaches, overtime and intensive effort required to close the books. Automated account reconciliation, intelligent accruals and enhanced intercompany accounting features save time by limiting the need for manual journal entries. A pro forma dashboard provides all of the information needed to review the current state of the business. Visibility into financial details, including transactions that haven’t posted, and automated exceptions allows accounting managers to address issues as they occur, rather than waiting until the end of the month. New period close management features give accounting leaders the ability to develop custom closing task lists, assign responsibilities, track the status of pending tasks, attach documents to individual tasks and collaborate with staff members to ensure the close process runs smoothly. Better Budgeting NetSuite Planning and Budgeting brings together powerful analytics tools and comprehensive, department-level budgeting to help organizations develop effective, adaptable plans that reflect short-term business realities but don’t ignore long-term objectives. A new dedicated budgeting solution adds capabilities for revenue and expense projections to help finance teams automate the budgeting process, eliminate manual data collection and reduce budgeting cycle times. Grow Your Business with NetSuite NetSuite’s financial solutions help companies make more informed decisions about how they use their financial resources. Intelligent automation increases accounting efficiency and accuracy, and solid governance, risk and compliance features give stakeholders greater confidence in business results. These capabilities combined with a unified platform that spans the entire organization provide a solid foundation for building a successful business. “By focusing on visibility and intelligence,” continued Hery, “NetSuite will become a trusted advisor, offering insights and recommendations throughout the everyday decision-making process.” This article was originally posted on the on NetSuite.com and written by D. Scott Beaver

A direct importer of fashion-forward furnishings from China, Nice Link Home Furnishings distributes its products through major eCommerce and brick-and-mortar retailers including Wayfair, Costco, Ashley, and Macy’s. Nice Link, running on QuickBooks, knew it needed to modernize its company’s technology and select a partner that could advise it on the immediate challenges, and be able guide them into the future. Net at Work, a full service technology consultancy, and agnostic solution provider, is the team Nice Link invited in to assist in the evaluation, selection, and implementation of their new ERP solution. “Net at Work’s team of consultants not only have a firm grasp of accounting and distribution best practices, they come with tremendous cumulative experience working with similar companies.” Nice Link ultimately selected Acumatica Cloud ERP, and was fully prepared to handle the Pandemic lockdowns which had resulted in a boon to eCommerce, with online spending in May 2020 up 77% over the prior year. Thanks in large part to its new ERP integrated EDI, their customers, mostly large B2B businesses selling online to consumers, now send their orders via EDI which are automatically confirmed and brought into Acumatica for fulfillment. Prior, Nice Link simply couldn’t process the order volume that has had such a positive impact on their business. The full Nice Link Home Furnishings story can be read below. To learn more about how Net at Work & Acumatica Cloud ERP can accelerate your transformation and unleash the power of your business, visit here.

The Sage X3 Online Help Center is available 24/7 to provide users with version-specific information to assist in the use of Sage X3. It is the same content used by Sage Support. How do I access the Online Help Center? If you are logged in to Sage X3, click on the question mark in the top right corner of the toolbar. Next, click on Online Help Center. This will launch a new web page in a separate tab in your browser. You can then access any documentation that is available on the page such as: Home What’s new Technical help Product help Quick start How to Tutorials Knowledgebase, etc. If you are not logged in to Sage X3, you can access the help center directly by visiting: https://online-help.sageerpx3.com. Below is a description of the documentation you can expect to find. Home The Home tab contains listings of the newest how-to guides and tutorials. It also has a History section so you easily find the articles you were just reviewing and return to them. And there is a section for your Favorites so you can click and access the articles you identified as Favorites. What’s new Here you will find release notes for your specific version describing new features and changes. There are also links to the Readme documents. Technical help Looking for the relationship between tables? Check out the Data module. It is a great help when you are creating reports. Product help This is probably the most familiar section of the Online Help Center. The functional help explains the overall purpose of the function, what tables it uses and what the fields are. It also provides explanations for common errors. Quick start Quick starts are short guides with print screens and numbered steps. Need to set up a Sales Rep? There is a one page guide. There are quick starts for running inquires. These are great reviews if you haven’t used a task in a while or for examples if you are training someone new. How to Here you can find more in-depth guides for such topics as implementing Sage Sales tax, using Project Management, implementing Sage Payment Solutions or developing a new legislation. There is even a document on Stock Valuation. These are version specific and up-to-date. New ones are being added regularly. Use these to ensure you are using the latest and greatest information. Tutorials The tutorials section includes short videos on a range of topics such as PJM and Asset Inventory. New topics continue to be added. The new additions are listed on the Home tab. Knowledgebase These are mainly procedural knowledgebase articles. Hopefully this post will help you access all of the information available to you in the Sage X3 Online Help Center. Plus, visit our Sage X3 Insider Center for Resources like: Sage X3 Tips, Tricks, Videos on Features, Modules and 3rd Party Solutions. Should you need more information regarding the help center or any other Sage X3 issue, please contact us. Note: Content for this blog post was originally posted on Sage City Community by Pam Nightingale, March 31, 2019.

This year has helped to expose even the smallest weaknesses in supply chains around the world. As a result, many companies are reevaluating their supply chains to understand how they can adapt and become more resilient to constant changes and unpredictable demand. .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%; } NetSuite has completely re-designed its approach to the supply planning process, most significantly with the addition of materials requirements planning (commonly referred to as MRP) functionality, which increases supply planning insight and efficiency. With more robust functionality, the new and improved supply planning tools will provide product companies the adaptability and agility needed to successfully manage their supply chains. MRP Increases Efficiency with What-if Scenario Planning What-if scenario planning helps businesses get the right products in the right place so that they can increase fill rates, reduce stock outs and ultimately drive customer satisfaction. Many organizations today store products across multiple locations. What-if analysis gives you the tools to understand how to best use your inventory. Using scenario planning, businesses can mock up multiple scenarios and identify if it’s possible to speed up delivery by, for example, making changes to where goods ship from, and when. With NetSuite MRP, you can set supply planning criteria, including the planning horizon, included items, locations and planning rules at the plan level vs. the item level. This allows businesses to build multiple hypothetical plans and run what-if scenarios to understand how changes will affect inventory levels and their ability to meet demand. MRP Saves Planners Time and Resources MRP consolidates planning information into a single screen, referred to as the planner’s workbench. This allows planners to: Evaluate actions and exception messaging Identify and react to supply and demand mismatches by pulling in, pushing out or cancelling orders Review recommended purchase orders, work orders and transfer orders and release those planned orders for execution Drive an approval workflow so that the appropriate departments are involved in reviewing, approving and implementing any changes required, such as initiating a transfer order The analysis is delivered in a logical layout that supports the decision-making process. With full pegging support, planners are also able to drill into supply and demand across locations for an item. MRP Provides a Dedicated Planning Repository If you are planning in real-time, with transactions or targets constantly changing, you may wind up over-reacting to small changes. The dedicated planning repository allows you to control the timing of the data you want to use within the ERP system and schedule data updates so that you’re getting more consistent, timely and predictable information with which to make decisions. Better Supply Allocation, Happier Customers As a part of the supply allocation functionality, you’re able to allocate inventory that has already been received and also inventory that you anticipate receiving, whether that’s on a work order or coming in from a transfer order or even coming in from a purchase order. You’re also able to allocate inventory that’s coming in on an inbound shipment, which is basically a collection of purchase orders that are managed on an individual shipment basis. This allows customer service reps validate supply and identify the earliest date an order can be filled. Contact Net at Work to learn more about 2020 release 2 updates for the supply chain and WMS. This article was originally posted on the on NetSuite.com and written by Matt Wisner, Abby Jenkins, Industry Principal for Manufacturing and Product Marketing Manager for Inventory & Order Management, Supply Chain & WMS

The coronavirus pandemic is just the latest event that has completely upended the food & beverage industry. While things appear to be stabilizing, now is the time for manufacturers to prepare and plan for the next major disruption. A key area that market leading companies are starting to address is their current IT investments and how they fit into business needs. In this on-demand session hear from Net at Work client Once Upon a Farm, a leading food manufacturer and Sage X3 user, who discusses how modern IT investments are helping them better manage costs, increase efficiencies, and optimize operations. In the session, panelists, including Samantha Marshall, Net at Work Sage X3 Practice Director, discuss the factors you need to understand to prepare for the future and uncertainty, including: Operational weaknesses and strengths revealed by the pandemic Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) criteria to ensure it can accommodate current and evolving business needs Best practices for implementing technology that allows you to be both efficient and flexible  Access the On-Demand Session Here Or, for more information on how you can be better prepared for the next major disruption, please contact us.

In this video we go over how to reconcile cash accounts inside Acumatica Cloud ERP. We’ll also go over what you can do if you make a mistake while reconciling. 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%; }

To ensure our clients receive the best possible support from our Sage X3 Team, Net at Work is pleased to announce new enhancements to our customer support model. Starting now, when you call into our helpdesk line, you may request to speak directly with an on call Sage X3 consultant immediately. For now, live support will be available between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern.  We are hoping to expand this service based on client feedback and results.  Outside of these hours, we are still available as we have always been, through email and direct lines.  We will still track the ticket in our system for management and reporting. You can reach our Helpdesk by calling 1-800-719-3307 or by emailing helpdesk@netatwork.com. We will have a mix of our highly experienced Sage X3 project consultants on call every day and you will be routed to one with the correct specialization to meet your needs—whether your question is based in finance (AP, AR, GL), distribution (SO, PO, IM), manufacturing, or technical. You can view their bios, along with bios for the rest of our Sage X3 team, on our website. Net at Work is proud to offer our clients flexible options for working with our team. Call us to take advantage of one of our Xperience Service Plans or continue to use our resources as you need based on time and materials. Reach out however you are comfortable but know that we are always looking at ways to improve your experience.