Keeping in Touch
Getting the Most from Your Sage MAS 90 / 200 Investment 
January 2010, Issue 26
Newsletter Contents
A Quote to Ponder
v4.4 is Just Around the Corner
Success Story
General Ledger Fiscal Year Update
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Greetings!
Happy New Year.  We hope you've survived the holidays (and still smiling!) and are coping well with the extreme cold temperatures we've been having.
 
This issue of Keeping in Touch provides a few tidbits for you to consider.
 
As always, we value your feedback on our monthly newsletters.  Click here to let us know how we're doing.
 
A Quote to Ponder
I hear and I forget.  I see and I remember.  I do and I understand - Confucius
 
Sage MAS 90 / 200 has a very consistent user interface.  Perhaps we're biased, but we think that the task menu layout is quite intuitive.  Don't be afraid to try new things and get more out of your Sage MAS 90 / 200 investment!
 
v4.4 is Just Around the Corner
The release of Sage MAS 90 / 200 v4.4 is just around the corner.  This release will bring Inventory Management, Purchase Order Processing, and Bill of Materials into the version 4 framework.  As well, the customer number field can be optionally expanded to 20 characters and the item number field can be optionally expanded to 30 characters.
 
Are you tired of always changing the % zoom on your preview reports?  Starting in v4.4, you can set up your personal preference to preview your reports at 150%, for example.
 
These are just a few of the features you'll find in v4.4.
 
Customers on a current software maintenance plan with Sage will receive an auto shipment of this version when it is released later this quarter.
 
Success Story
A couple of months ago, we invited customers to submit a success story for our newsletter.  This is one of the responses that we received from a long time client; the story highlights how creative thinking with Crystal Reports and Excel was used to solve busines problems.  Thank you Zein at Amtex (YARN) Manufacturing for your story.
 
The development and implementation of a custom written Component Requirement Report and an Excel based cash flow report reduced the time and increased the accuracy in the information we receive from Sage MAS 90.  For the Component Requirement Report, we had to manually compile into 1 worksheet vendor's PO's, customer orders and inventory on hand for over 150 items. This was a long and tedious job and at times, mistakes were made due to the complexity of the information in different formats. With the new Component Requirement Report, we are able to get the information we need accurately in a few minutes instead of hours.
 
The cash flow report quickly populates an Excel sheet showing our cash position for any week of the year.  Since we do a majority of business in the US, it has helped us in booking the correct amount of foreign exchange when it is required. This way, we can monitor the forex market and lock in exchange rates that are favorable to us instead of guessing what is required for when.
 
If you have a success story you would like to share, please click here and tell us about your success.
 
General Ledger Fiscal Year Update

In early January, we often get calls from clients asking how to set up a new fiscal year in the General Ledger system.  Sage MAS 90 / 200 will automatically set up a new fiscal year for you -- you don't normally have to do anything.  For example, when you make your first posting in 2010, a new year will be created in General Ledger | Setup | Fiscal Year Maintenance.

HOWEVER, we have seen problems in the past when a future year had been created in error and future year postings were posted incorrectly.  So, our recommendation is that if you go into General Ledger | Setup | Fiscal Year Maintenance and you see that future years have been set up, but there is a gap of missing years, you should manually set up the years that are missing.  For example, if fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2015 were set up, you should manually set up years 2010 to 2014 inclusive.  Otherwise, we have seen where postings after Dec 31 2009 will be posted to period 1 in year 2015.  If this has happened to you, there are utilities available to recalculate the GL period history.  If you need help fixing this, please submit a support case on our new web support system at www.munjalwhite.com/support

 

 
We look forward to your feedback and your ideas for future issues of our newsletter.  If you would like to contribute an article to a future newsletter, we'd love to have your contribution.  Please let us know how we can help you Get the Most from Your Sage MAS 90 / 200 Investment.
 
Sincerely,
 
    Shabnam and Robert