The Value of SageCRM for Accounting - Part I

SageCRM offers tremendous benefit to your accounting operations. This is Part I of IV on some of the benefits that you can get out of the SageCRM application.  Let’s explore.

SageCRM provides an “AR Collections Manager” that allows your accounting personnel to prioritize and manage customer collections and rapidly convert outstanding invoices into cash in the bank.  The AR Collections Manager consolidates outstanding account information into a single view that combines graphs and data in tables that allow you to quickly identify potential problems and schedule follow up action.

Plus, the integrated Calendar and Task Manager takes you beyond a static printed aging report and arms you with tools to prioritize collection calls, escalate accounts, and schedule automatic email reminders.  And since everyone in your organization is working from the same Extended Enterprise database, your sales people will have access to customer history and can help keep the collections process moving during their interaction with customers.

Multi-currency environments are no problem with company specific totals.

Synchronize information by company, or all companies simultaneously.

Contact Us to learn more about this powerful new option for your Sage Accpac system that will unify every element of your business.

Today, nearly all businesses accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment. To protect your customers’ sensitive data, the payment card industry has developed a set of standards known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or simply PCI-DSS.  As a merchant, you must be compliant with the new PCI-DSS requirements by July 1, 2010 or risk losing your ability to process debit and credit card transactions.  Let’s take a closer look.

Becoming PCI-DSS Compliant

Developed & enforced by the 5 major credit card networks including Visa, MasterCard, JCB, American Express, and Discover, PCI-DSS requirements apply to all businesses that store, process, and transmit cardholder data.  There are 12 requirements that fall into 6 categories as follows:

• Build and maintain a secure network - includes firewalls and passwords
• Protect cardholder data - data encryption and storage procedures
• Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program -  anti-virus and operating system security
• Access Control Measures - covers both electronic and physical access and handling of sensitive data
• Monitoring and Testing Networks -  schedule regular tests of security measures
• Information Security Policy - formalized security policy that’s updated and distributed regularly

PCI-DSS Resources

There is a wealth of information and resources online to help ensure that you are compliant with the new PCI-DSS requirements by the July 1st deadline.  In fact, Sage has developed a dedicated website for Sage Accpac (as well as MAS 90/MAS 500) customers at:

• www.SageAccpacInfo.com/PCI 
• www.SageMasInfo.com/M90PCI 
• www.SageMasInfo.com/M500PCI

You’ll also find complete details on the official PCI Security Standard website at www.PciSecurityStandards.org.

The Lighter Side of PCI-DSS

Contact Us and we’ll email you a FREE copy of the e-book “PCI Compliance for Dummies.”

This comprehensive e-book explains how to comply with PCI-DSS requirements,      presented in plain English and in a light-hearted fashion.

Please be sure to contact us if you have specific questions about PCI-DSS compliance and your Sage Accpac system.

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of a 2002 law that created a national board that polices auditors of public companies, ruling that it violated the constitutional requirement on the separation of powers among the branches of government.

The high court's ruling on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) could put pressure on Congress to revisit the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law, opening it up for potential changes in the reporting duties of companies.

The court's mixed ruling held that the board violated the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers principle, but also held that the law does not violate the Constitution's appointments clause.

At stake in the case was how corporate America is audited and a key provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law adopted in response to the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals early in the decade.

The ruling was a victory for the Free Enterprise Fund and a small Nevada accounting firm, which argued that the law unconstitutionally stripped the president of power to appoint or remove board members or to supervise their activities.

Board members are appointed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and can only be removed by the SEC for cause. The board, set up as a quasi-private agency, has the power to impose rules and to inspect and fine accounting firms.

The board is funded through fees it collects from public companies. It inspects thousands of auditors, including the Big Four accounting firms: Ernst & Young LLP, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche LLP.

The Free Enterprise Fund and the accounting firm sued in 2006. A federal judge and a U.S. appeals court rejected the challenge.

The Supreme Court's majority opinion said the limits on the removal of board members violated the separation of powers requirement.

But the court also held that the unconstitutional provisions can be separated from the rest of the law.

Effective July 1, 2010 credit card processing companies must use a PA-DSS-certified payment application. Although Sage ERP Accpac does not process or transmit credit card data, it does store data. Therefore, Sage Software has created a scrub utility to safely remove this data. Equation can help and assist Sage Accpac ERP users comply with this PCI and PA-DSS requirements. Failure to run the utility could result in fines and penalties, and it may include the risk of losing the ability to process credit card transactions altogether! As such we strongly encourage you to contact Equation Support to help implement and deploy the utility.

Call us today at 866.436.3530 Option 1

Please note that Sage Software will be sending out an email communication to all existing Sage Accpac clients in regards to the new scrub utility.

From printing and clearing posting journals to deleting history, we'll cover the why's and how's of year end processing. This session will cover System Manager, General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, and will include a period end and year-end checklist for you to use at your company.

The cost of the webinar session is $80 and will last approximately 1 hour. At the time of signup you will receive an email confirmation and will be invoiced for $80. Signup is based on each GoToWebinar connection; meaning if one workstation connects with multiple users gathered around the workstation it counts as 1 user.

Title: Sage Accpac Year End & Purging History
Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/286343777

Are you emailing from Sage Accpac but having to print invoices or orders one at a time and then you have to enter the customers email? If you would like Sage Accpac to be able to bulk fax or email based on a customer or vendors preference join this webinar to see how easily this can be done. Fax or email any document from Sage Accpac which includes: Order Confirmation, Purchase Order, Invoices, Statements, Check Advice from a wire transfer.

When:
Thursday, June 17, 2010
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act was signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010. This act has two main provisions that impact employers.