Resources for Sage X3 Users

Once again, it is time to start preparing 1099 filings for calendar year 2022. Sage recently released the 1099 updates for 2022 for Sage X3. In this post, we will review what you should expect if you are on a covered version, and what we recommend you do if you are not on a covered version. SAGE X3 Sage released the 1099 update for 2022 which covers Sage X3 2019R5 (v12p20) and higher If you are on a covered version, Net at Work will: Refresh a test folder if required (time depends on folder size) Install the patch on a test folder in your environment Support testing and training as required Install the patch on your production folder NOTE: patch installation does not require downtime while a folder refresh does If you are NOT on a covered version (including all releases of V11), Net at Work recommends purchasing and using 1099 Express If your 1099 reporting is company based, you can simply extract information from Sage X3 and place it in the required format for use with 1099 Express If your 1099 reporting is site based, Net at Work will need to build queries to get information in the required format for use with 1099 Express For more links to Sage’s 1099 update for Sage X3, please check out this Sage City post. Please contact helpdesk@netatwork.com to coordinate patching, if you need support.

Sage X3 2022 R4 now uses a new HTML rich text editor that can be enabled to use HTML for all rich texts in the application. Historically, Sage X3 has used RTF for rich texts embedded in the application. Rich texts are used mostly for customer-facing texts attached to documents such as Sales Orders, Invoices, or labels, and also for some internal documents. RTF is a proprietary format initially promoted by Microsoft® to allow the exchange of rich text between applications in the Office suite and other text-editing software. Although it still occasionally appears in the Microsoft® context, it has been largely superseded by HTML5. From 2022 R4, the Sage X3 rich texts can now use HTML. This avoids most of the issues that appear when rich texts are translated back and forth from RTF to HTML to be displayed on screen. The HTML scope used by X3 has been adapted to cover only features supported by Crystal Reports for all texts that may appear in a report. This is to guarantee maximum similarity between the report (rendered using Crystal Reports) and the text displayed on screen (rendered by your device’s browser).  SOLVING RICH TEXT EDITOR ISSUES WITH THE NEW EDITOR The move to HTML solves all rich text editor issues that were related to the back-and-forth conversion from RTF to HTML, mostly around the differences between rich text features as displayed on screen, and as printed through Crystal Reports. YOU CAN SWITCH TO HTML PROGRESSIVELY AND PAINLESSLY From Sage X3 2022 R4, you can activate the flag Use HTML for rich texts in Administration > Global Settings. This enables a new HTML rich text editor in all of Sage X3. When this is done: Any rich text created or modified from that point on will be stored as HTML. Existing texts that have not been modified will still be stored as RTF. This allows you to progressively move to HTML with no disruption to existing rich texts. However, this requires you to review your custom reports using Crystal Reports designer, to modify the fields that display rich text so they can display both RTF and HTML during the transition phase. This is done simply by modifying the formula used in Crystal Reports to determine how to format a rich text field. The estimated update work is around 5 to 10 minutes per report. This work has been done by Sage in the 64 standard reports that contain rich text fields. Reports that do not use any rich text field do not require any modification. You can modify the reports before switching to HTML text. Reports will continue displaying RTF as usual. Read more below to learn how to switch rich text management to HTML. For any other questions about Sage X3, please contact us.

Discover the essential inventory processes to increase supply chain visibility to ensure your supply chain is recession-proof. Whether it’s a black swan event, labor shortages or an increase in inflation, the bottom line is that the more prepared your business is, the quicker you can adjust your supply chain planning to respond to these events. And change happens quickly. NBC news recently highlighted, “Last month, Target issued a warning similar to Walmart’s, saying consumers were shifting spending away from items that proved popular during the early days of the pandemic, like appliances and furniture, to merchandise like luggage and cosmetics.” As customer demand slows down for certain products and suppliers remain unreliable, making the wrong decisions on what products to replenish or manufacture today can hurt your profit margins. Potentially, you could find yourself with surplus stock of the wrong products, and with rising operating costs, holding additional stock that isn’t selling will add financial strain on your business. In this article, written by our partners at Netstock, we will explore how a recession can impact your supply chain and steps you can take to recession-proof yours. HOW CAN A RECESSION IMPACT YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN? A challenge to balance inventory planning As cash flow tightens and the flow of materials slows down due to unreliable supply, this adds immense pressure on knowing what and how many products to order or manufacture to meet changing demand. Businesses often over-order and take on the additional costs of holding excess inventories to ensure they meet demand. Conversely, some businesses will slow down orders to conserve working capital as material prices can overshoot revenue, often leading to an out-of-stock situation, resulting in lost sales. A decline in available cash flow As material costs and holding costs increase, this can reduce your available cash flow, which can be used in other areas of the business to combat the effects of a recession. Your customers may also make late payments, affecting your cash flow, bloating your accounts receivable, and potentially impacting your ability to pay your accounts on time. Reduced workforce Deciding to downsize your workforce is the most challenging aspect of steering your business through a recession. If there is reduced demand for manufactured products, plants are often forced to close, and layoffs will occur. Reducing wages or benefits as a solution to preserve jobs can impact the overall morale and level of productivity within your business. It’s often a no-win situation. STEPS TO HELP RECESSION-PROOF YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN 1: Focus on your high-velocity, profit-generating products When working capital is tight, unreliable suppliers add complexity to your inventory planning. You need supplier performance visibility to know which stock items need your attention. The ability to automatically classify your inventory according to sales and velocity gives demand planners the visibility they need to understand what stock items need attention immediately. Not all products hold the same value, and classifying stock into ABC, such as A: highly profitable items, B: medium range items, and C: less profitable items, is essential. Classifying your inventory enables demand planners to have agility and speed – why? You quickly focus 20% of your attention on items that generate 80% of your sales. What if you have excess products? Classifying products according to their sales velocity [how quickly the product sells] will help guide how you address this challenge. If you have a product in excess, it may not be the end of the world. If you know that product sells well [like an A item], based on its classification, you can keep that product in excess and just stop ordering until you are at your model stock level. If you have an excess of slow-moving products and, after reviewing your projections discover you may only return to your model stock level for that item in two years – you’ll have to decide if: You’ll sell those items at a reduced price through promotional campaigns, or if You’re prepared to incur additional holding costs of carrying those products for two years. With the increase in inflation, it may be smarter to eliminate these excess products. “Classifying your inventory allows you to rationalize your product line, making more informed decisions on where to focus your time and resources” – Barry Kukkuk, Founder and President, Netstock USA 2: Use supplier data to reduce supplier risk The more you know about your suppliers and how well they perform, the better you can outsmart your competitors and serve your customers. Given the unreliable nature of customers, missing out on a sale can leave a lasting effect on your profits and the potential for repeat business. More than ever, businesses need to re-evaluate their supplier network to ensure they work with reliable suppliers who can support and improve target fill rates. Visibility of supplier data will: Immediately highlight which suppliers are consistently delivering on time and in full Identify critical suppliers where you can potentially re-negotiate better terms & conditions Classify your suppliers by identifying which suppliers to replace due to poor performance or consolidate if you have too many suppliers for one product Identify trends where you may need to consider alternative suppliers for your profit-generating products Regardless of disruption, always follow supplier best practices and build strong relationships with your suppliers, encouraging two-way communication. The more you know what’s impacting your suppliers, the better you will be able to adjust your planning where necessary to keep serving your customers. Be prepared and create a backup plan within your supplier network. Identify and create a secondary list of reliable suppliers who enable you to be flexible and reduce risk. In developing an ongoing relationship with these suppliers, you’ll also learn more about their terms & conditions, processes, and security measures they have in place. Given the recent increase in cyber-attacks, such as the recent HanesBrands ransomware attack, working with suppliers who have a solid security policy and processes in place that will protect their customer data is vital. 3: Align supply and demand with S&OP Regardless of whether your business is being impacted by disruption or if you are introducing a new product line, each department in the business must work together with the same data to enhance forecasting, lower inventory costs, and grow revenue by increasing the success of sales and marketing campaigns. Improving your internal process leverages data across departments, breaks down siloed working practices, and enables smart decision-making. 4: Ensure your planning solution enables the team to thrive For businesses to succeed in any environment, the management principle of aligning people, processes, and technology is still extremely relevant. What’s the point of having a great team and effective processes without the right technology in place to support your business goals? Managing your supply chain and planning your inventory on static Excel spreadsheets will drastically limit your business’s ability to be agile and respond to change to ensure you meet demand and increase sales. While spreadsheets will always perform a necessary function, they cannot support a business in managing the complexities of multi-departmental collaboration or adjusting data as change happens, all attributes of what supply chains need to thrive in turbulent times. The right supply chain planning software will enhance data from your ERP, with built-in best practices that automatically monitor demand and supply risk for you, adjusting inventory levels to balance your inventory investment with the desired target stock fill rate. Effective technology will also empower your team, increasing productivity in the right areas of inventory planning. With less time spent working off complex spreadsheets, demand planners can focus on improving forecasting and ensuring the right products are being ordered in the right quantities. The most important aspect to consider is how a recession will impact your team. Preparing your supply chain for a recession requires setting aside time to review your inventory planning processes. Investing in the right technology will also offer relief from traditional manual inventory processes, increasing your team’s productivity and ultimately lifting work satisfaction. For more information about how you can recession-proof your supply chain or to learn about Netstock Inventory Advisor, please contact us.

It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it is also one of the busiest. As if all the holiday prep, and travel, and festivities aren’t enough, it’s also Q4! Which means many organizations are knee-deep in budgeting and planning for next year. As the days get shorter, so does your time to get ready for the new year. In this blog post, we’ll review some of the step you can take now to ensure you start the year off right. PREP FOR NEW FISCAL YEAR Create new fiscal year and confirm end dates  (Common Data > GL Accounting Tables > Fiscal Years) Create new periods and confirm start / end dates (Common Data > GL Accounting Tables > Periods) Open 2023 fiscal year Open 2023 fiscal period(s), confirm stock status is open as well Run year end simulation to allow for 2023 financial report, you will need to rerun as changes are made in December (Financials > Utilities > Closings > Year End Simulation) Run Cost Transfer to move STD Cost into 2023 STANDARD MONTH-END PROCEDURES Validate shipments and invoices. If shipments cannot be validated, change ship date to next period. Post all payment and invoices Run Stock Accounting Interface and confirm there are no errors Run WIP Posting and confirm there are no errors Run Final Validation for the month Run the closing report to identify any errors If you have any questions regarding year-end or would like some assistance, contact us. We’re here to help you finish strong and start the new year right. For more information from Sage, click here.

Back in September, we introduced you to the new Sage Enterprise Intelligence (SEI) Web Workbook—specifically focusing on how to create dynamic Gantt charts as one example of what you can build with the tool. Today, we’re going to take a look at more features of the Web Workbook. ACCESS WORKSHEETS DIRECTLY WITHIN SEI The Sage Enterprise Intelligence (SEI) Web Workbook allows users to benefit from the familiar functionalities of Excel and the advanced reporting and analytic capabilities of SEI. You can now access and view your workbooks on any device without opening a second application. You can also view your workbooks from your mobile phone and Mac computer, which you can’t do with the Excel Add-In. Get all your analysis and reporting done in one place – SEI. Create your report, add images, export copies to Excel, or share with colleagues while maintaining your layout and user permissions. Build dynamic dashboards from your workbooks. SMART CACHING With the first phase of the cache in the Formula Wizard, an AI-based caching system analyzes your formulas in real time and optimizes your workbook for you, so you don’t have to. This saves you the manual work of configuring your references and caching. Comparing different data sets is also easier. With the Excel Add-In, you must log in multiple instances to open the same workbook. Using the Web Workbook, you log into SEI once and open the same workbook several times. That’s it! And because all open workbooks share the cache, they can now load faster. EASY FILTERING Do you want to see the sum of all transactions for a specific region greater than $10K from June last year until June this year? Using the new filtering options in the Formula Wizard, you can add multiple filters and filter groups to get as granular as you like. You can start by selecting your dimensions and measures using the search bar instead of scrolling down a long list of options, then use any of the new operators (check them out below). With the new filter options, you can add more complex filters to calculate things like 12-month rolling and link them to other filters with “and” “or” conditions. Build complex filters to find exactly what you’re looking for.   DYNAMIC GLOBAL VARIABLES Any Global Variables created, like Current Month or Current Year, can now be added to any cell in your worksheet and referenced in your calculations. Instead of manually adjusting the cell’s value when you access your workbook, the cell gets updated automatically. For example, if your Global Variable is your current month, then every cell that makes reference to that Global Variable will be updated to the current month’s results when you open your workbook. Add your Global Variables with a few clicks. MORE EXCITING FEATURES Enjoy new formatting features to help you customize the look of your worksheets. Now you can create different drop-downs with the click of a button. And no formulas or reference lists are necessary to change a cell to something like a Date Time Picker, Color Picker, or Slider. You can even link a Checkbox List to your data and watch your visualizations change as you select and deselect items from your list. Stay tuned for more cool formatting features available in the Web Workbook as they continue to be released. Cell type options allow users to select how information is displayed and how users can interact with that information. An example of a Checkbox List created to filter based on the Facility. Cell Dropdown options help users easily select data. This feature can help create input form controls, advanced structured forms and other interactive forms and dashboards within the spreadsheet.  A check box list is an interactive checklist with multi-selection field values. It displays a group of items via multiple check boxes embedded within a single cell. Users can click the check box to select or deselect a specific option. Sparklines can be used to quickly visualize data and transform it into a compact form in a cell. It uses data from a range of cells to help you easily analyze data at the cell level. HASSLE-FREE UPGRADES Administrators rejoice! Upgrades are now a breeze. Once you upgrade your server, all users will have access to the latest Web Workbook version, and you won’t have to upgrade each workstation individually. Web workbooks can be accessed within Nectari and viewed anywhere, from any browser. Additional Resources SEI Web Workbook Feature Sheet Introducing the Web Workbook How-To Video For more information on the SEI Web Workbook, please contact us.  

If you’re like the typical business owner, you spend a lot of time worrying about your suppliers. After all, your suppliers are the ones who help you get your products to market! It’s essential to have a good relationship with them to ensure that your products are made efficiently and on time. In this blog post, we will review 7 strategies for managing supplier relationships and achieving better results. 1. CONSULT WITH YOUR SUPPLIERS & SEE THEM AS PARTNERS Getting input and seeking constructive feedback is a great way to build a true partnership rather than a relationship based on an economic transaction. 2. CULTIVATE LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS Long-term partnerships allow you to create a more trusting relationship, ensuring supply even when faced with disruption. Read the full article from our partner Expense Reduction Analysts or contact us for more information.

For our clients using ADC Shop Floor Control, you may find that your time is off by an hour now due to the end of daylight saving time (DST). This is because the clock Sage X3 uses for shop floor is not aligned with your server time. If you are in a time zone where the clocks change (like most of North America this past weekend), you will need to update the Time zone difference parameter: GPA/CTL/SFTOFFSET. This parameter is used to define the time zone difference for a site using coordinated universal time (UTC). If you have sites that are in different time zones, you must specify the offset from UTC. The parameter value is the offset from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for the site location. For a site in New York City, the parameter value is -5. For a site in Paris, the parameter value is 1. While this may seem like busy work, it is actually a design feature of Sage X3. Because Sage X3 allows you to run in different time zones for each site, you have to create site-specific offsets to ensure your users have a localized experience with shop floor functionality. If you need additional help adjusting Sage X3 for the end of daylight saving time, or for any other Sage X3 questions, please contact us.

Avalara and Sage have been sending communications recently about the upcoming deprecation of Avalara support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1.  Avalara will only support TLS 1.2 starting in February 2023. In this post, we will review this issue to ensure that all our Sage X3 clients are up to date on the regular updates that Sage and Sage-connected solutions provide.  As always, the Net at Work recommendation is that all our clients remain on fully supported versions of Sage X3.  There are enough of our clients that are on non-supported versions that we felt this information is necessary to ensure you know your options depending on your risk tolerance. If you are on the following patch versions of Sage X3, you are under support from Sage Software and already using TLS 1.2 so no action is necessary and no need to read further. Version 12 patch 28 (aka 2021 R4) and higher Version 11 patch 22 (v11.00.22) and higher If you are on an earlier version, please read on. Avalara will provide a sandbox environment that communicates with TLS 1.2 only for all clients. All Sage X3 clients using Avalara need to be aware of this change. We have included below a short list of steps to take. You are welcome to do these steps internally. You can also reach out to our Net at Work Team, and we will be happy to assist you through the steps to ensure you are all set for this change.  If you would like assistance, please enter a ticket by emailing our HelpDesk. You need to complete the following steps: Sandbox Account: The first step is to setup a sandbox account. From conversation with Avalara, this is something you will need to initiate. Here is a  link with steps to request your Sandbox from Avalara. Feel free to contact your Net at Work Account Manager to assist with this step. Testing against Sandbox: Once you have made the request, Avalara will provide you with an Account ID, License Key and URL for the Sandbox. These should be updated in your TEST or PILOT folder. Please do not update your Production folder with it. Once that is done, please complete a Sales Invoice or Sales Order transaction with sales tax calculation. If you can complete the transaction without error on your TEST/PILOT folder, it means that your solution is compatible with the new Avalara web service TLS requirements. Please send us confirmation that you have successfully completed your testing. If you need assistance, please enter a ticket by emailing our HelpDesk so we can schedule our consultant to provide you with support. If you receive a communication error when doing the test, what is next: Please enter a ticket by emailing our HelpDesk so we can help you with options. Sage is not expected to issue a hotfix for older versions at this point. We would then discuss a Sage X3 upgrade project (or patch upgrade project for v12) to complete before February 2023. Sage indicated the versions supported and already using Avalara TLS 1.2 are: Version 12 patch 28 (aka 2021 R4) Version 11 patch 22 (v11.00.22) On independent tests run by other teams, some version 12 and 11 of lower patches have passed the TLS 1.2 compliance test. In other words, even out of Sage compliance, there should not be an issue – depending on your tolerance for risk and the importance of Avalara to your business, you could decide to do nothing.  If you do encounter an issue on the deprecation date, we will do our best to assist but the worst case scenario will be a loss of Avalara functionality pending an upgrade. Reference Articles : Avalara Article : KB Article to test TLS 1.2 Compliance Sage Article : Sage KB Article For more information, please contact us.

The Net at Work Sage X3 team held our multi-day team offsite event this week, and it was packed full of team building, fun and celebrating! The Sage X3 team met to collaborate and learn from each other and our sponsors. We even had Rob Sinfield, SVP of Sage X3, join us from England to present the top-secret roadmap (and we can’t wait to share some of the news!) We had sessions on everything from patching best practices to cost accounting – a great mix of functional and technical topics for the team. It was great to see everyone – almost 90 people across our Sales, Consulting, and Executive Management teams. We talked a lot of shop and had a little fun to foster a deeper sense of community and team spirit. Amazing how this team has grown. It was great to be together. A small group of clients joined us to share ideas and opportunities around Sage X3 and working with Net at Work. The collaboration and knowledge sharing were extremely valuable, and we have some great ideas for improving in 2023! We will be doing more regional events in the coming months. Thank you to all our sponsor partners for your support and for joining us in Virginia. And thank you for your patience as we catch up a little bit but rest assured that we are returning from this trip better educated and excited to bring you more value to unleash the power of your business! Thank You To Our Partner Sponsors