With the dark economic clouds still looming over the UK many organisations looking to purchase an ERP system are forced to chose betweeen price and functionality. Do you select a solution with a low price tag that may not suit your exact business needs. Or do you select the solution that ticks all the boxes but may strectch the budget beyond what is comfortable?

This trade off is familiar to many organisations. However, with Sage 200 ERP you don't have to chose between cost and functionality as it offers both - Sage 200 2011 is a comprehensive ERP system with a low overall cost of ownership when compared with its closest competitors. 

• One view of your business - connect disparate departments using Sage 200 for enhanced collaboration, efficiency and effectiveness.
• Make smarter business decisions - the Sage 200 Suite includes a Business Intelligence module enabling users to easily identify trends and maximise business opportunities.
• Anytime anywhere access - access Sage 200 regardless of your location using the comprehensive Sage 200 Mobile client.
• Save money - low total cost of ownership, half of its closest competitors.

  Find out more about Sage 200. 

DMC Software, leading Sage and Microsoft business partner, has facilitated the recent release of UK Biobank’s database of biomedical information to scientists with a sophisticated implementation of Microsoft Sharepoint and the Sage 200 Suite.

To achieve the UK Biobank’s requirements for sharing its database of health data, DMC Software has integrated SharePoint with the Sage 200 Suite to create an online portal where researchers can submit requests for data to support research projects. From the SharePoint portal information is automatically populated within Sage 200 CRM where the data applications are approved and automated workflows are utilised to project manage the release of data.

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We are in an era where technology plays an import role in our everyday lives - with many of us wondering how we ever survived before the introduction of the smartphone. The same is in business, IT and software play a significant role within the day-to-day running of a business.

A good Accountancy Solution is the backbone of every successful organisation. However, with the introduction of integrated software suites collaboration between disparate departments can be achieved for optimum organisational effectiveness- however many businesses fail to take this next step in achieving optimum efficiency.

Why? Maybe it's because in years gone by integrated software suites have involved large outlay? Integrated software suites are now readily available and there are multiple solutions for different business needs and, ultimately, different budgets. Take Sage for instance, they extend the functionality of Accounts solutions to include a CRM system  and other key management tools through complete business suites of software - Sage 50 Suite for smaller organisations and Sage 200 for the more complex needs of larger organisations.

See how you can benefit from a more joined up approach to business - find out more about the Sage 50 Suite and the Sage 200 Suite.

Sage 50 Accounts (formerly Sage Line 50) is an accounting software solution designed with the small business in mind. While Sage 50 is small in many ways it is big in functionality and many users fail to realise the full potential of the software due to lack of training.

Features available within Sage 50 Accounts:

• Business analysis by department tools
• Advanced business performance reporting
• Credit control capabilities
• Calculate, reconcile and submit VAT returns online

To ensure you maximise the potential of your Sage 50 Accounts solution consider Sage 50 Training or Sage 50 Technical Support.

With any software implementation - it is not only the cost of the software and services that needs to be considered. In many instances there will be a requirement of additional hardware to support the implementation. For many businesses the cost of hardware is prohibitive and often leads to the consideration of a lesser product.

Sage 200 ERP is a highly functional ERP solution designed for small and mid-sized organisations - Sage 200 is now even more accessible to businesses with the availability of Sage 200 Hosted. With Sage 200 Hosted organisations can remove the outlay required up front for hardware by using a virtual private server (VPS) which reduces the internal resources needed to maintain it freeing up financial resource to ensure the best fit ERP solution is selected (opposed to best cost).

Sage 200 Hosted Benefits:

• Retain full ownership of software licenses
• Maintain full control over the server
• High levels of security
• Unlimited data transfer

Find out more about Sage 200 Hosted. 

Many schools are moving over to academies in favour of the independence brought by academy status. However, with the independence comes the need for compliance. Many accounting packages used by schools don't have the functionality required to adhere to YPLA standards.

There are a few Academy Accounting software solutions available currently and The Academies Show 2012 offers an ideal forum for schools considering changing to become an academy can view them. Particularly notable is the Accounting for Academies platfrom offered by Sage Business Partner, DMC Software.

DMC Accounting for Academies benefits include:

• Approved by top 20 firm of Chartered Accountants MacIntyre Hudson
• Out-of-the-box YPLA Compliant Accounting
• Produces financial GAG reports
• Includes specialist reports to handle charitable reporting requirements
• Assists with management decision making
• Aids with budgeting

Find out more about DMC Accounting for Academies here, http://www.dmcsoftware.co.uk/Academies/ . Alternatively, register to attend The Academies Show 2012.

The latest trend for business applications is to move to the cloud (also known as Software as a Service or Hosted Services) due to the significant cost and efficiency benefits offered to an organisation.

DMC Software, leading Sage Partner and Sage Circle of Excellence Winners, are now offering Sage 50 Accounts as a hosted solution using a virtual private server (VPS). This new Sage 50 Hosted offering is exclusive to DMC Software and forms part of the TotalCare Managed IT Services range.

Benefits of Sage 50 Hosted Solution:

• No outlay required for hardware
• Access data anytime, anywhere using a web browser
• Small, manageable, monthly costs
• Scalable to meet your changing business needs

Find out more about Sage 50 Accounts and TotalCare Hosted Cloud Services.

Last month, Sage announced the release of Sage 50 Payroll 2012/13 (v18) - which is superceding Sage 50 Payroll 2012 (v17). 

Along with the release of Sage 50 Payroll 2012/13 comes a change in naming convention - the new name reflects clearly the tax year for which the Payroll software is appropriate. Other than a name change for Sage 50 Payroll, what else can we expect from the new relese?

• New Sage 50 Payroll Annual Licence Plan option
• New User Interface
• New Support Homepage
• New import options
• New Legislation updates
• Imporved integration;
• And more...

Find out more about Sage 50 Payroll 2012/13.

The Sage 200 Suite is an ERP solution designed to manage all business processes for efficiency and effectiveness. Sage 200 forms part of the Sage 200 base platform and offers powerful capabilities - yet, it is still the most under utilised module within the Sage 200 Suite.

How CRM can make a difference - Communicate. Collaborate. Compete.

Gartner define CRM as: “A business strategy whose outcomes optimise profitability, revenue and customer satisfaction… CRM technologies should enable greater customer insight, increased customer access, more effective customer interactions, and integration throughout all customer channels and back-office enterprise functions”.

Simply put, CRM is a business strategy…it’s not technology.

At the basic level it is good contact management, but if you extend the concept of CRM into your business it can be much more than managing who you contact, how you contact and when you contact. It becomes about the way you manage processes, from the way you sell your products or service a customer, to the way your run processes internally. So we can’t think that utilising CRM in your business is just a case of installing a new piece of kit and watching it magically solve all your business problems.

A successful deployment of CRM software focuses around three key things.

1) Communicate. Think ‘more haste, led speed’. Now’s the time to identify and connect with key stakeholders and really think about your business issues – what are you trying to solve? For example, are you trying to improve efficiency or better understand your customers? Once you’ve recognised those challenges you can begin to think in terms of measurements and identifying targets. This helps you develop clear strategic objectives and understand where you want to be, essential to proving the return on investment from your CRM solution.

 2) Collaboration. Interact with other areas of your business; you may discover things you’ve not thought of or get new ideas. Remember good collaboration can move CRM initiatives company-wide. Enquiring outside of your department can help you recognise where you can link up processes to provide the best value for your customers and share knowledge.

3) Compete. Of course you must spend time understanding the capabilities of CRM software packages but you must spend more time thinking about your own business. What are your core competencies compared to your competitors? How can your CRM make that competency even better? CRM can, of course improve your marketing function or empower your sales force, but successful CRM could be a whole lot more. Look long and hard at your products, your staff and particularly your processes. Where can you improve? Where can you add leverage? And can you use them as business drivers to make your CRM support you and go further?

Source: Sage Blog -David Beard, Sage CRM Expert

With the launch of Sage 50 Accounts 2012 came Sage 50 Mobile, a free application that provides access to your Sage 50 Accounts data while away from the office. And, yesterday Sage announced the release of Sage 50 Mobile for iPad - now available to download FREE from the Apple app store, as part of a continual drive to extend the compatibility of the service with different platforms.

Sage 50 Mobile Business Benefits:

• Free - that's right, Sage 50 Mobile is free to download and use, plus there is no limit to the amount of data transferred or mobile users.
• Access finance data anytime and anywhere - access the four main components of Sage 50 from your mobile devise - customers, suppliers finance and products and pricing.
• Improve customer service - with access to Sage 50 while away from the office you can be more responsive to customer requests while on the move.
• Simple to use - Sage 50 Mobile continues the ease of use synonymous with all Sage software solutions.
• Secure - in an age of sophisticated cyber crime, Sage 50 Mobile can offer peace of mind to users as all data is securely encrypted.

Find out more about Sage 50 Mobile. 

Sage 50 Mobile for Android coming soon...