Insights 2010 was a well planned and executed conference, thanks to Sage employee Suzanne Spear and her capable event planning team. The Colorado Convention Center had ample space for our conference and could actually accommodate events much larger than ours. And the two-story tall blue bear peering into the lobby of the Center certainly is impressive and humorous!

The Center includes the beautiful Wells Fargo Theater in which the Sage management team presented keynote addresses on corporate direction, partner programs, and product announcements.

The Theater was also the venue where Infoman received the prestigious Sage award for providing excellent customer service. We have only our valued clients to thank for this award, and the entire Infoman staff thanks you again for your votes of confidence!

Officially, the reform package is made up of two acts: the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” and the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act.” If you’d like to read a good summary of the acts’ hundreds of pages of text, check out this link on the site Lexology: http://www.editurl.com/gf7.

We’ll all learn more about what’s required of employers as the federal government (including the Internal Revenue Service) and insurance companies sort out the details. In the meantime, start to become familiar with the highlights of the reform package. You’ll be glad you did!

How do you expect health care reform to affect your business, including your business management software? Post a comment and share your thoughts!

Is your payroll tax table update subscription current? Whatever the new federal tax structure looks like for employers and employees, software companies will have to accommodate it. That means that you will need to install the latest tax table update, or if your accounting software allows manual changes to the federal tax tables, you must be prepared to make the appropriate changes.

What about the proposed tax credits? We don’t know what this will entail or how they will be calculated, but your payroll tax table update should allow you to handle whatever is finalized. If your accounting software requires you to make your own changes, be sure that you understand how to do so, and engage the developer’s technical support staff if necessary to make sure that your system is setup correctly.

Are you using a human resource management system (HRMS) to administer and track employee insurance and savings benefits? Historically, most employers didn’t consider an HRMS as required until they employed at least 50 people. (In the US, that’s the minimum number of employees above which mandatory HR-related reporting regulations apply.) As spreadsheets and/or standalone databases become increasingly difficult to maintain, even companies with fewer than 50 employees are realizing the benefits of efficiency, security, and effectiveness that an integrated HRMS provides. If you’re not currently using an HRMS that integrates with your accounting software, talk to us. We can provide you with information and guidance about this important issue.

Is your HRMS regularly updated for changes in federal laws relating to employee benefits? Whatever HRMS you’re using, be ready for changes in benefits and benefits administration. The changes may be straightforward (unlikely!), complex, or something between; regardless, your HRMS will need to be updated to accommodate the changes. You can be ready by making sure your HRMS software maintenance plan is current.

If the mandated federal laws have an impact on the laws of the states in which you do business, will you be ready? It’s certainly possible that new federal regulations will impact state laws as well. You’ll be ready by making sure that both your payroll tax table updates and HRMS system are capable of addressing state-level changes and that you’re guaranteed to receive these software updates when they’re released.

At this time, no one knows the exact details of the federal or state regulations that Congress will pass. You can be as ready as possible by reviewing the status of your payroll tax and HRMS software and related update plans. If you’re not current, get current now. If you’re not already using an HRMS–no problem. Call us at (425) 673-9299 or send us an e-mail. We can help!

Beware: You may be putting your data and your company at risk. Here are just a few of the risks that you’re flirting with:

Lack of backup. When users download data, then manipulate it and report on it using spreadsheets, that data may not be backed up. If the spreadsheet is deleted or lost, you may not be able to re-create it.

Broken formulas and/or spreadsheet links. One mistake or typing misstep could cause hours of research and frustration trying to determine the source of the error.

Subject to human error. When data is taken out of the context of your accounting system, logical errors and errors of omission are more likely to occur. You’re shortcutting the checks and balances that are built into your automated system.

Misstatement of data. Accidentally or otherwise, spreadsheets allow rows to be deleted and cells and formulas to be modified. No one wants to present financial or operational information that is inaccurate.

Lack of security.Your accounting software has security built-in. For example, with Sage Accpac ERP’s “G/L Security” feature, you can restrict which general ledger accounts, departments, etc. users can access and view. Once the data is out of your accounting system, you’ve opened yourself up to a security breach.

The solution to these potential risks? Use your accounting software and its reporting tools to produce information directly from your accounting software. A wide variety of tools exist to help you with this. In Sage Accpac ERP, for example, your options include:

• Financial Reporter–Excel-based financial reporting tool
• General Ledger Consolidations module
• Financial Link Pro reporting tool
• Custom reports and dashboards created with Accpac Intelligence (coming this fall in Sage Accpac ERP version 5.6)
• Custom reports created with Crystal Reports
• Custom reports created with Stonefield Query

Of course, you will need to consider data security issues with these tools, as well as validate the output that they produce. However, you will certainly reduce your risks of lost or misstated data by climbing out of the “spreadsheet jungle.”

In addition to viewing a demonstration of this reporting tool, I had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with Stephen Coull, director of Alchemex, the South Africa-based software developer. This reporting tool has been used with Accpac in Europe and Africa for a number of years and already has more than 10,000 users worldwide.

Accpac Intelligence can report on Accpac, CRM, HRMS, FAS Fixed Assets, and third-party data. Although only templates for Accpac will be included in version 5.6, users (and/or INFOMAN) can create templates for other data sources as well.

Including Accpac Intelligence with Sage Accpac version 5.6 is another example of Sage working hard to increase the Total Value of Ownership (TVO) for Sage Accpac ERP accounting.

Staying current with Software Assurance ensures that your Accpac investment will provide dividends for years to come.

This conference is an exciting opportunity for Sage Business Partners from around the world to meet, network, and learn about the latest products and product direction. Sage Software executives, product managers, product trainers, third-party developers (such as MISys Manufacturing) all present learning sessions, and there is a huge trade show full of software solutions.

Our goal for attending Insights is simple: to provide even better service to our clients. We do this by:

• Gathering as much as product knowledge as possible
• Locating and identifying solutions for our clients
• Speaking with Sage executives to understand future product direction and policy positions
• Networking with Sage employees and other Business Partners

Check out tomorrow’s blog post for exciting news about Sage Accpac ERP!

Just as revenue is an equally important component of your bottom line, there is another component of software ownership: value. Granted, value can be difficult to quantify. But here are a few points of value that can distinguish one software solution from another:

1. Better, faster, and more professional service to your customers.
2. A wide range of reporting options, from quick and easy ad hoc queries to complex custom reporting capabilities.
3. Secure transaction processing with an audit trail that can stand up to the closest scrutiny.
4. Integration across the spectrum of business applications, including financials, operations, human resources, customer relationship management, EDI, and so on.
5. Scalable system design that won’t require another investment when your company grows.
6. A network of certified, knowledgeable professionals whose business is making sure your company is successful with the software.

There are many more points of value to consider. The bottom line here: don’t be fooled into only considering TCO. The Total Value of Ownership (TVO) is equally–if not more–important!

I welcome your comments here or through our website: www.infoman-inc.com.

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Welcome to the INFOMAN Blog!

In these tough economic months, your business needs to do more than just survive. Now is the time to lay the groundwork that will allow your business to thrive in the coming economic upturn. Here are three tips that will help you be prepared:

1. Work smarter, not harder. Look for efficiencies available to you in your current systems, and look for possible efficiencies between systems. You may have to read some software documentation or speak with your software consultant, but chances are excellent that there are features in your software that you’re not currently taking advantage of that will make your life easier and your work more efficient.
2. Make sure your employees are trained to do their jobs. Trained, informed employees are more efficient and make better day-to-day decisions. Unfortunately, we see one scenario time and again: employee turnover causes loss of knowledge. The replacement employee receives little or no training and has to learn as much as possible by trial and error. Remember, an employee can’t do their best work if they’re not adequately trained.
3. Take a creative approach to solving business challenges. This is the time for you to think “out of the box,” to examine the procedures, processes, and systems you use every day. They may have worked for you in past years, but don’t assume that they are the best approach now. If your sales volume is slower now, make the time to review what’s working and what’s not. Think creatively about all the resources available to you, both internal and external, and use them wisely.

Employ these tips, and you will be prepared for the coming upturn.