Looking at Cloud Based ERP, you may be wondering if it is right for you. So let's see if we can clarify some things for you. The implementation of a cloud based ERP has become a means to increase a businesses growth in revenue, and reduce operating costs.

Project management is the process of ensuring project objectives are met using the application of processes, methods, and skills.  More and more companies are investing into project management and are seeing the benefit of it.  This results in higher efficiency, lowered costs, and higher client and stakeholder satisfaction, which brings any business at a competitive advantage.

There are five basic phases of project management:

1. Project conception and initiation: Examine whether or not it benefits the organization.
2. Project defining and planning: Draft out an outline of the project plan and beginning stages of planning by calculating budgets and schedules and what resources are needed.
3. Project launch or execution: Responsibilities are delegated and teams are informed.
4. Project performance and control: Comparing progress to the outlined plan in phase 2, and adjust schedules accordingly.
5. Project close:

The project manager is responsible to ensure quality standards are met in every step before moving on to the next step.  This ensures that the project is kept on track every step of the way and will result in a successful implementation of the project.

Project management is increasingly important as projects are separate to usual business activities.  Projects usually require people to come together temporarily to focus on project objectives, therefore, effective teamwork is needed to ensure the project is successful.  The most important factor from project management is being able to streamline delivery process and cutting costs.  If a project has gone sideways, it may cost more to the business to try to fix the issues that have gone wrong which may be avoided in the first place with project management practices in place.  As stated in “In State of the PMO 2010”, 84 percent of the 291 project professionals responding stated that their companies have a project management department and has been demonstrating steady growth from 77 percent in 2006 and 47 percent in 2000.

Project management has a proven track record of being beneficial to the success of every project and should be measured by defining the business value of each project in measurable terms for each stage.  Being able to put value into measurable terms will help the team focus on the end goals and also indicates to them if they’re on the right track.  Value in every project is different, so the goal of the project manager is to identify these values and make them measurable.  Examples of measurable values may include factors such as budget or completing the project on time.  However, it should be consistent with industry standards and practices.  Therefore, project managers should be able to streamline efficiency using their industry knowledge as well as identifying measurable results that are inline with business values. 

Nobody knows your business better than you. BAASS Business Solutions works in unison with YOU to achieve your goals on every project and will ensure that your project is effectively managed and therefore ensures its success. Ask BAASS about your project management options on your next project or Contact us today for more information.

Setting up new accounting and business management software is no simple feat. The entire process can be a daunting one if you do not have a clear and concise idea of exactly what software your business needs and how you plan to implement it. When considering Sage ERP 300 (formerly Accpac) it is highly recommended you choose a firm that offers support through the entire process; from purchase to implementation and beyond. The team at BAASS Business Solutions can help you get the most out of your Sage ERP 300 software; in turn, increasing the efficiency of your most essential business processes.

Top Reasons to Go with the Pros at BAASS Business Solutions

• Design & Planning: This is the first step to laying the ground work for your new software. This can include a multitude of goal orientated ideas which can help you decide what software is best. Sage ERP 300 offers a wide variety of customization features including Abra payroll, employee self service, and inventory management. A Sage Consultant can help you determine what features will work best and how they can increase productivity, staff up-time, and promote better customer information management.
• Implementation & Training: Implementing Sage ERP 300 should be a strategically planned event. In order for each portion of implementation to kick off without a hitch, your consultant can help you plan and organize each feature. For example, training staff for use in essential processes should begin right away. As each aspect becomes fully functional, staff will have been trained and ready to begin using Sage features as soon as the program is up and running.
• After the Launch: After the launch of Sage has commenced, your consultant should continue providing services to help complete the transition. In addition, if strategies or services must be changed or upgraded, your consultant can accommodate these changes and help staff adapt.
• Continued Maintenance: Your consultant will be there every step of the way to offer support before and long after the switch to Sage ERP 300 is complete. Your consultant will periodically analyze usage information and staff feedback to ensure your current version of Sage ERP 300 increases business process performance.

At BAASS Business Solutions, we are dedicated to helping your business get the most out of your solution - whether you call it Accpac or Sage ERP 300 software. Please contact us for more information on our foundation-building consulting services. 

As your firm grows or your competitive environment changes you will probably need to replace your accounting software system at some point.  The key objective is launching this critical project at the right time.  If you wait too long, the pressure may be so high that you rush the purchase decision and that can lead to a disastrous outcome.  At the same time if you do nothing, you may miss an opportunity to compete more effectively in your market or run your business more efficiently.  What should you do and when should you start the process?

Is it too difficult or expensive to have a Credit Card processing system integrated with my accounting software? Studies show that more and more purchases are being made with credit cards each year, and vendors accepting credit card increase their sales by 15 to 50 percent.

Sage 300 ERP customers can take full advantage of this opportunity with the ease and efficiency offered by fully integrated credit payment processing.

Whether your customers place orders over the phones, through mail order, or through a web page, Credit Card Processing provides a complete solution.

Data can be entered through the Sales Order and Accounts Receivable modules. Sage Credit Card Processing adds functionality in key areas of Sage 300 ERP, including Sales Order Entry, Payment Entry, Invoice Entry, Invoice Processing, Cash Receipts, Down Payments, Customer Returns and Customer Maintenance.

Here is a sample Order Entry screen with pre-authorization

So, contact us today and find the answer to the above question.

In CRM we keep many additional details about our customers in addition to the standard details that you might find in any typical ERP.  CRM is designed to be able to handle these extra details by allowing us to add extra fields to a company’s details.  In this case, SIC codes.  In Sage 300, there is no place for a SIC code without creating an optional field.  Optional fields are a powerful addition to Sage 300 that allows for the creation of custom containers of information, like a SIC code.  Although Sage 300 and CRM are synchronized, you can’t expect two independent systems to be able to automatically keep up with structural changes made by the end user.

When the conversation started, we were talking about how are we going to get this piece of information reliably from CRM to Sage 300.  So I proposed a little piece of custom software that would check for changes in each and make the same change to the other, a common approach to address this type of functionality gap.  It’s not a difficult thing to create, but like anything else, it was going to take a bit of time. However, I then asked the magic question which should have been asked at the beginning...

“Why do you want to do this?”

To which he responded; “I want to be able to get a sales report that groups by SIC code”

SIC codes are in CRM and sales numbers are in Sage 300.  It seems logical that if you want to report on two pieces of data, to put one where the other is.  In this case, put the CRM data in Sage 300.

But wait! There is an easier solution! Just because data exists in two different places, does not mean we can’t combine them into one report. Using any number of techniques, we can create a single report that would give all the required results in far less time than creating a tool that moves data around.  Solutions like Sage 300 Intelligence are designed exactly for this purpose.

If you have Sage 300 5.6 or 6.0, you already own Sage 300 Intelligence and that is a great starting point.  If you have multiple sets of data that you would like to combine, let's see what we can do for you.

Contact us for more info and subscribe for more Sage 300 Tips & Tricks.