Sage Accpac ERP v.6.0 – Scheduled for Release December 2010

Sage ERP Accpac Version 6.0 focuses on most-requested functionality by customers. Various aspects of this release are designed to help you improve productivity, make better business decisions, and accelerate your company’s growth. Exciting new tools, such as the new desktop Portal help you to accomplish everyday tasks faster. The new Snapshots capability provides secure access to important business metrics, and a new inquiry tool facilitates the creation of customized lists that can provide the answers you need to make better business decisions.

New Desktop Portal
Sage ERP Accpac Version 6.0 introduces a new desktop Portal similar in appearance and concept to My Yahoo! or iGoogle. The Portal simplifies navigation and gives your team faster access to information so they can accomplish everyday tasks more quickly.

An intuitive new task layout allows you to find information faster. Simply select the associated link to launch a task. New components, such as Inquiry screens and Snapshots, will open a new tab within the Portal, making multi-tasking as simple as clicking on a tab. Naturally, the portal is fully secured, and task availability is dependent upon the userís security access to modules and tasks.

The Portal lets you easily create custom shortcuts to the screens you use most. The My Shortcuts bar hosts personalized shortcuts and a row of thumbnails associated with Sage ERP Accpac forms.

The system will continue to support the classic Windows-based user interface in parallel, allowing you to adopt the new Portal at your own pace. We encourage you to try the Portal because it has been designed to eliminate many challenges reported by customers associated with the classic desktop. To encourage adoption, the Portal does not utilize a user license. This benefit is for a limited time only, and is designed to allow you to provide key information to stakeholders without impacting your total cost of ownership.

The Sage development team was able to implement the new version without changing the business logic, due to the superior three-tier architecture of Sage ERP Accpac. This means that applications that are currently integrated with Sage ERP Accpac can become more accessible and user-friendly.

Fast And Easy Access To Information
The new Sage ERP Accpac Inquiry facilitates quick access to customized lists to give you the answers you need to make better decisions. The highly intuitive interface puts tailored access to information within easy reach of users with only minimal training and IT support. Users can create personalized query lists in just a few minutes without the knowledge of databases, programming or Web technologies. Now it is easy to create database connections, add fields and customize data.

Your team will be able to uncover opportunities and highlight possible issues, make better decisions, and execute appropriate actions in response to ever-changing business needs. Version 6.0 supports the new Inquiry functionality in the Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and General Ledger modules.

Proactive Trend Analysis
New Sage ERP Accpac Snapshots give executives and managers fast, secure access to key performance indicators (KPIs). Each Snapshot includes drill-down capabilities to underlying financial reports. The graphical presentation of information helps with quick identification of trends or issues for more proactive business decisions. Version 6.0 includes the following configurable Snapshots:

• Income Statement – This Snapshot summarizes revenues and expenses for each group category of a company for a selected period of time. You can drill down from the chart components to view reports for each Group Category as well as to view the complete Income Statement. Select from options to view the report by fiscal year, period, or quarter.
• Balance Sheet – You can use this Snapshot to summarize assets, liability and equity for each Group Category for a company for a given point in time. Configuration options allow you to select fiscal year/period. Drill down from chart components gives access to reports for each Group Category and the Balance Sheet Report.
• Aged Payables – This graphical presentation of outstanding Accounts Payable items organized into aging periods is useful for payable analysis. The drill down from the chart columns gives you access to the aging report for the period selected, and a summary report for all outstanding items. You can choose to display aging as of due date or document date.
• Aged Receivables – You will find the graphical presentation of outstanding receivables organized into aging periods useful in analyzing collections. Drill down from chart columns to view a report for the aging period selected as well as view a summary report for all outstanding receivables. You can choose to display aging as of due date or document date.
• Days Payables Outstanding – This KPI is a financial ratio expressed in terms of the number of days accounts payable are outstanding. You can set the target Payables Outstanding Days to see how you are tracking against your goal. The formula for the ratio is: Ending Accounts Payable balance divided by annual purchases, and then the result multiplied by 365 days.
• Days Receivables Outstanding – This Snapshot provides you with a financial ratio expressed in terms of the number of days accounts receivable are outstanding. You can set the target Receivables Outstanding Days to see how you are tracking against your goal. The formula for the ratio is: Ending Accounts Receivable balance divided by annual billings, then the result multiplied by 365 days.

Supervisors and managers can place the Snapshots in their Portal, giving them the ability to monitor these key performance indicators throughout the work day.

SageCRM Workflow
Version 6.0 also includes SageCRM Workflow Enhancements that improve information flow between the front and back office; see page 4 of this newsletter for details.

Sage ERP Accpac Version 6.0 is scheduled for release in December 2010. You are entitled to software upgrades, including Version 6.0, as part of your Sage ERP Accpac Software Assurance plan. Give us a call if you need to renew your plan, or with your questions about the release.