Are you looking for a Sage MAS 500 module to help you with bank reconciliation and more? In MAS 500 the cash management module is the place to perform bank reconciliations but it also has additional features that assist with banking functions.

The main features of the cash management module automate the bank reconciliation process in the following ways:

1. Many banks now provide an electronic file of cleared checks. MAS 500 can import these electronic bank files of cleared transactions to save time in your reconciliation process.
2. If bank transactions are missed or only appear on the statement, you can enter any bank transaction, such as bank fees, interest, or adjustments, on the fly while reconciling your account. This saves time instead of going to a separate data entry screen for recording adjustments.

In addition to these bank reconciliation functions, the cash management module also includes the following functionality:

During the setup of the module you can define an unlimited number of user-defined transaction types with a default offset account for quick processing of bank transactions. An example of these could be: Bank Charges, Bank Interest Earned, Transfer to and Transfer From.

You can also define your own tender types for cash, checks, credit cards, money orders, drafts, or coupons.

Most of the deposits to bank accounts are handled through the Accounts Receivable module. You can choose to automatically create the deposits when processing a cash receipt in Accounts Receivable or you can have the system manually post the deposits, where the user has the choice of reviewing or combining the deposit batch with another manual deposit.

Cash Management in MAS 500 also supports integration with the multi-currency module. Therefore you can:

• Set up bank accounts and enter transactions in currency other than the home currency
• Create multi-currency deposits
• Transfer cash from bank accounts with different currencies
• Override exchange rates to modify the settlement amount

The Cash Management module in MAS 500 can simplify deposit generation and reconcile transactions. With the Business Insights Explorer tool you can quickly analyze cash transactions and see history or detailed account statements. This module is designed for any transactions that affect the bank account giving you one central module for looking at bank activity.

While Crystal Reports and Business Insights Explorer/Reporter are still available to you, Sage has created Sage MAS Intelligence, powered by Alchemex, to give you valuable insight into your business data and operations, allowing you to make more effective decisions.  Sage MAS Intelligence will be available to MAS 90 and MAS 200 users in August and MAS 500 users shortly there-after.  Leveraging Microsoft Office Excel, Sage MAS Intelligence enables you to create real-time automated reports with up-to-date and accurate information.

Sage MAS Intelligence has several tools to make your reporting and business intelligence customized to your unique business needs, including:

If you own FRx, you will automatically receive Sage MAS Intelligence Report Manager licenses when it becomes available.  Additional Report Manager licenses, Report Viewer, Connector, and Report Designer licenses will need to be purchased separately. 

Contact Socius to learn more or for help integrating Sage MAS Intelligence into your Sage MAS ERP software solution. 

Sample Dashboard:

Sample Report:

Earlier this year, Sage announced that it would no longer be releasing the monthly updates to the MAS 500 ERP product.  Instead, they are now releasing a product update once every 3-4 months.  Less frequent updates mean less time upgrading and more time using the system to better manage your business data and processes.

These product updates not only include resolutions to known issues, but also enhancements to MAS 500’s features.  To learn about what enhancements are in store for future MAS 500 product updates, download the Sage MAS 500 Roadmap.

The Q4 2010 update will be focused on Business Insights and Intelligence and will help FRx users bridge the reporting gap that is being created by the discontinuation of the FRx solution.

The article focused mainly on database structure and typical user amounts to define the difference between the three MAS software solutions.  There are, however, greater distinctions between the products, many of which directly affect manufacturers. 

Although they are built on different databases, Sage MAS 90 and 200 have the same six manufacturing modules: 

• Bill of Materials
• Inventory Management
• Materials Requirements Planning
• Purchase Order
• Sales Order
• Work Order 

These modules provide detailed and accurate tracking and reporting throughout the entire manufacturing process-from forecasting to the shop floor, and on to completion.

If you are a manufacturer looking for an end-to-end solution that includes relationship management tools, Sage MAS 90 or 200 Extended Enterprise Suite (EES) includes most of the manufacturing modules as part of the flat, per-user pricing.  The remaining manufacturing modules are available to be added to the EES solution. 

On the flip side, Sage MAS 500 ERP was built from the ground-up with Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Basic and Microsoft Office technology.  The twelve Sage MAS 500 manufacturing software modules optimize manufacturers’ operations for maximum productivity and provide a real-time business picture to enable you to manage profitability with insight.  These modules include:

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Advanced Planning and Scheduling
• Engineering Change Management
• Estimating
• Light Manufacturing Advanced Kitting
• Material Requirements Planning
• Product Configurator
• Project Management for Manufacturers
• Shop Floor Control
• Planning, Scheduling, and Optimization
• Process Manufacturing
• Service Management

Sage MAS 500 manufacturing software meets the diverse business requirements of varied industries, including industrial, chemical, high tech, automotive, consumer packaged goods, food and beverage and other industries.

To learn which Sage MAS ERP solution is the best fit for your manufacturing organization, request a complimentary Business Strategy Assessment from Socius!

You can use multi-currency with the following MAS500 modules:

• GL
• AP
• AR
• Cash Management
• Sales Order
• Purchase Order

In MAS 500 you define a home currency, for example USD (US dollar). The home currency defines how all the reports and transactional values in the system will be displayed.

Now you can define all the natural currencies for transactions. There is no limit to the number of currencies you can setup. In setting up these currencies you can define GL accounts for realized or unrealized exchange gains or losses by currency.

The multicurrency module is also where you maintain the exchange rate tables ..called schedules. You can define the exchange rates with effective dates and expiration dates if needed. You decide how frequently the exchange rates are updated..daily, weekly, monthly. You can also link an exchange rate schedule to a customer or vendor, or to each customer or vendor location.

Some other features specific to the MAS 500 multi-currency module include:

• Revalue the natural currency of transactions or accounts to reflect their current value, and automatically post the unrealized gains or losses.
• Revalue invoices, vouchers, or general ledger accounts marked as “Revalue.”
• Handle cash receipts, invoices, and credit memos in different currencies.
• Apply exchange rate schedules to a specific company or to all companies defined in Sage MAS 500.

 Multi-currency can save time and increase accuracy by automatically performing currency conversions for accounting transactions. The multi-currency model can help streamline period-end processing by eliminating the complication of having to manually adjust for multiple currencies and exchange rates.

By Jeff Steel, an Ohio Sage software consultant

There are several ways that your Sage software solution can help you “go green” and gain operational efficiencies all at the same time.  Many of these tips center around electronic document management for your Sage ERP software solution.

Email customer communications instead of printing and mailing

• Print files to PDF instead of hard-copy, send those documents to your customer by email, and save the environment by not using ink, toner, paper, envelopes, or transportation resources.  With immediate delivery, you’ll be able to increase customer satisfaction and your efficiencies by confirming orders with customers before they ship, and eliminate the lag time waiting for the mail to arrive. When your customer contacts you to inquire about their order, your computer screen will display the customer’s exact copy. And, you’ll be able to resend the customer a duplicate copy with the click of your mouse.  View these PDFs by date, source, user ID, and file name.  The system also records a record of when the file was sent.

Send vendor communications, including POs, electronically

• Print purchase orders (POs) to PDF and send them by e-mail directly to the vendor – all in one smooth process. You’ll improve the timeliness of communications and order turnaround times while you’re saving on paper and postage. You can retrieve archived POs and payments by date, source, user ID, and file name.

Email reports to your team

• All Standard reports are available in PDF format from the Paperless Office Report Viewer.  You can distribute the reports to the team electronically and save them in the archive for reference!

Complete period-end processing without printing

• Using period-end reports in PDF format saves on paper costs, plus you can archive reports in a secure and searchable digital format.  All documents are available for electronic retrieval through the PDF Viewer. The Viewer enables you to specify any combination of company codes, modules, and documents to view – so you see only what you want to see. Automatically name and save PDF files, eliminating the risk of accidental overwrites.

Electronically archive important documents

• You have the ability within the Sage MAS ERP system to electronically save important documents such as financial reports, customer invoices, and purchase orders, using an efficient archive system.  Eliminate paper and printing costs.  Your staff can easily access needed files, view or email them, and return them to archive. This will help you reduce time spent in retrieval and your need for physical space to store these important documents. Plus, easily keep multiple backups of important documents electronically.

Visit the Sage Online Community for more tips.

• Provide more “Value for the Maintenance” Dollars
• Focus on Quality and Upgrades

In an effort to provide more value to existing users so that they are getting the very most for their maintenance dollars that they can, Sage is planning to:

• Implement enhancements that were rated as high priorities by customers
• Commit to releasing regular product updates
• Release a financial reporting solution that will serve as an alternative to FRx

Sage’s focus on upgrades and quality extends beyond the MAS 500 product.  They are committing to develop better educated and more highly certified consultants and resellers so that their customers feel more confident that they are getting the highest possible level of service and support.  Additionally, Sage is improving the quality of the user experience through reducing the impact of upgrades on customizations so that any new features and functionality are more readily accessible.   The focal point for product enhancements will be in the areas of manufacturing and distribution functionality. 

To see a breakdown of how and when Sage plans to take action on this plan, download the full Sage MAS 500 Product Roadmap.

• Provide more “Value for the Maintenance” Dollars
• Introduce New and Improved Capabilities

Their tactics for increasing the value that existing users are able to get from the system include:

• Incorporating the features and functionality of the most popular Extended Solution titles into the core product
• Implementing the most requested customer enhancements
• Providing ongoing product updates with additional features and minimal disruption

Through new releases, they will be expanding the functionality to include:

• Additional SageCRM Options for both Sage MAS 90 and 200
• A new financial and analytics reporting solution that will provide an alternative to FRx
• Microsoft SQL Server Support for Sage MAS 200

Download the complete Sage MAS 90 and 200 Product Roadmap to learn when to expect new updates and releases, what Extended Solutions are being incorporated into the core product and when, as well as what new intelligence tools you can take advantage of soon. 

The answer to all of the above is YES.  For more than one attachment, simply create additional memos.  One attachment per memo is allowed.  The sample below shows a PDF document being attached to a memo. 

Easy as 1-2-3!

1. Click the memo button beside the invoice field.
2. Enter a code and description. 
3. Attach the file.

By Alan Niergarth, a Sage ERP software consultant for Socius.

• When to replenish a product
• How much you should order
• From whom you should order the item

The replenishment module uses many different formulas to predict the variables listed above. The replenishment tool gives suggestions for purchasing, but the user has the ultimate decision in what to buy.

Without going into detail of all the formulas that make up the replenishment values, I wanted to focus on 3 primary formulas that can be controlled by the user and form the basis of the replenishment calculations.

Daily Demand

This is the estimated daily demand of the item in the warehouse. This is calculated using the projected demand and the number of working days in a period. We can build different formulas for each item/warehouse combination. The demand formula is projecting future sales demand of the product using past sales history. We can also assign different weight factors for the analysis.

Projected Lead Time

This is the number of days to replenish the item. This can be calculated using the prior receipts from a primary vendor. This formula can also be weighted to help calculate an accurate lead time.

Safety Stock

This is the number of days you want to keep a quantity on hand. It is used for unexpected sales and potential delays in the receipt of items. For example, your safety stock formula may have a 5 day supply. The system calculates daily demand * 5.

There are other field values that are used in the final replenishment calculation than just the 3 above. Some of these are:

• Target order requirements from vendor
• Typical order cycle with a vendor. E.g. We do not want to run out of product if our typical order cycle with a vendor is 3 times a year.
• Trend percentages
• Replenishments costs
• Carrying costs

Putting these values together can create a very intelligent replenishment system if desired. Keep in mind, MAS 500 can also handle simple replenishment suggestions. If item A falls below 20, order to fill a maximum quantity. MAS 500 is flexible enough to handle a variety of replenishment needs.

By Jeff Steel, a Sage ERP software consultant for Socius.