As we all know Sage 50 Accounts is the Uk's most popular small business accountancy package. Used by thousands of businesses world wide Sage 50 Accounts is used by businesses to complete accounts, raise invoices, issue credits and stay compliment with incoming legislation. While Sage 50 Accounts is the complete solution for small business accountancy it expectedly contains no functionality to help win new business and generate sales; after all that's not the job of an accountancy system.

So if you're looking to generate new business and increase sales revenue is there a software package available to not only you to do this but also allow you to work with your Sage 50 accounts system? Fortunately their is , in the form of Sage ACT!. Sage ACT! has been a world leading CRM package for over 20 years and is designed specifically to enable end users to generate leads and complete the full sales cycle. Coupled with integration with line 50 Sage ACT! because a very attractive prospect.

Sage ACT! is the complete customer relationship management package. It allows you to ensure that your customers and prospects are contacted on a regular basis and ensures you win more sales. Sage ACT has been developed by the same team that developed Sage 50 so you can expect a similar lay out and familiar buttons. From a training stand point it is very easy to use, although you should consider contracting in installation engineers if you lack the necessary.

Sage ACT is a great tool for winning new business and forms the perfect companion to Sage 50 Accounts for the small business.I've been using Sage ACT for a number of years although I have only just realised how good the integration between Sage 50 and ACT is. Defiantly worth considering if you own a small business.

Sage CRM to link with line 50? The Sage CRM rumour mill has been spinning out of controlling terms of up and coming integration between Sage CRM and accounts packages. According to my sources , Sage are planning to introduce a complete introducing a program that allows complete integration across the entire Sage range essentially allowing all products to communicate. In the Sage channel such integration is un precedented.

If it terns out to be correct one could theoretically integrate Sage CRM and SalesLogix with the complete Sage accountancy range. Such integration opens a hole host of new opens for software developers and allows businesses to cost effectively create integrated suites.

Should Sage's new integration tool exist it will make programs such as SalesLogix and Sage CRM much more attractive to those in the mid market arena. While integration has been touted many times before it seems for the first time that Sage is fully committed. The extra functionality that integration could offer Sage CRM and SalesLogix means that all using sage should hope it is true and not just a tech's pipe dream!

The new tax year always brings some legislative changes. Regardless of how slight these applications are it is integral that they are conformed to. Fortunately to cater for the some of the legislative changes that have been made Sage is releasing Sage 50 P11D 2008. Designed to allow employers to process expense and benefit claims  Sage 50 P11D is fully compliment with the up and coming tax year and is HMRC approved. Designed to give employers the peace of mind to complete their expenses with accuracy Sage 50 P11D fully integrates with Sage 50 accounts to allow you to automatically insert vital Data.

Sage 50 P11D allows your business to;

• Get the accuracy you need with calculations approved by leading tax experts Ernst and Young, and accredited by HMRC
• Keep information private with a choice of security levels
• Manage all taxable benefits and expenses accurately and easily
• Cut down on paperwork and get rid of time-consuming manual worksheets
• Transfer information quickly and accurately from Sage 50 Payroll
• No need for costly in-house tax expertise
• Reduce stationery costs by producing your own HMRC-approved stationery
• Get up and running quickly with our user-friendly guides
• Award winning support to help you get the most out of your software

The cost of this program is minimal, especially considering its ability to integrate with Sage 50 payroll and Sage 50 Accounts. Considering the level of functionality that is currently being offered by the Sage 50 range P11D makes for an excellent addition. If you're slightly worried about any new P11D changes do not worry for this software will talk you through everything that you need to know. Considering its small cost it is probably a worthwhile investment to ensure that your business doesn't get caught out by the new legislation.

The Sage 200 suite has recently been updated with the addition of the Sage 200 V5.10. This additional upgrade increases the functionality of the suite and improves the financial functionality of the product. Sage 200 v5.10 has been extensively tested on a seemly unlimited number of platforms including Windows Vista. Sage 200 v5.10 also integrates with the latest version of Sage 200 CRM v6.10. It delivers improved out look integration and data management facilities.

Sage 200 V5.10 consists of upgrades to Sage 200 Commercials, Sage 200 Project Accounting, Sage 200 bill of materials and Sage 200 construction. Sage 200 wholesale and retail are yet to be upgraded but are currently being reviewed. Apart for the retail aspects of the product Sage 200 is hugly improved,with the vast majority of bugs being fixed

Sage 200 is by no means as revolutionary as the conversion from Sage MMS to sage 200 but it still offers enough increased functionality to justify the upgrade price. Sage 200 CIS has also been improved although my expertise does not spread to the construction elements of the software. You can download a useful Sage 200 PDF here. You'll have to fill in a download form first.

I my opinion two of the best CRM and accounts products on the market are SalesLogix and Sage CRM. Unfortunately communication between these two products has been impossible until recently. DMC Software Solutions has spent the last 6 months developing a link, that works in multi currency between the two systems. This allows increased sales automation, effective credit control and an increasing smooth business administration process.

Customers in the Sage community have enjoyed integration between CRM software and accountancy software for some time now with the Sage 200 suite. This has however left those using SalesLogix in a difficult situation. DMC, one of Sage's business partners, developed the link to accommodate their own business needs before deciding to offer it to other clients. Subsequently interest has grown and installations are being planed.

Exact specifications of the link 200 web page are still a mystery the company has yet to release a web page. However the product will be launched as officially in may and more information will then become available. In the meantime checkout http://www.crm-developer.co.uk/category/Sage-200.aspx to see how the development process is going directly from the project managers at DMC.

For those of you who own or work for a small business you may be aware that HMRC is encouraging the use of electronic and automated payroll. Computerised payroll will become compulsory for small businesses after 2010 and HMRC is offering large, Tax free payments, to encourage customers to this earlier. This incentive will end soon, with the rewards for integrating payroll shrinking as time progresses. Therefore if you are looking to implement payroll software (you'll not have a choice in less then 18 months) now is the time to do it.

With HMRC are offering benefits of up to £200 to small businesses that introduce payroll before the deadline ends it is more then possible to implement a computerised payroll system for essentially no cost. Products such as Sage 50 Payroll (which is HMRC certified) cost less then £175 for a single user. I just thought you should be aware or this excellent offer before it is too late. If I were a small business owner I would jump at the chance to implement an essentially free payroll system. After all its not often the tax man gives you something back. While I'm slightly  biased I'd recommend Sage 50 Payroll with out question, its the best system for the small business owner. Just thought you guys might like to know!

Sage 50 accounts 2008, renamed from the Sage Line 50, that we all now and have used over the years, includes some new features to take it into the modern age. The software, which works in a similar way to previous incarnations remains the program of choice for small businesses and accountants across the country. There are however some subtle differences and new features in the latest version are designed to improve end user experience and efficiency. Sage 50 also includes better stock control features to reduce the risk of human error.

The main new features within Sage 50 are designed to meet with new HMRC regulations and allow users to submit VAT reports, payroll and returns online. By doing this businesses can be sure that they are complying with all current tax legislation and that they will not run the risk of fines.

Sage 50 can now integrate with successfully credit card machines to allow you to accept payment via payment automatically. Previously it was required that payments be entered manually.This feature, while admittedly not revolutionary will help save time and provide more affective shop front integration. Sage 50 now includes the ability to feed in data via RSS allowing  end users to enter data automatically from web sites and other external data sources.

To a similar end Sage 50 2008 now works and integrates with on line banking sources allowing end users to pay, receive and transfer money from Sage 50 into online banks. The payments received through online banks can be set to update in sage 50, reducing the amount of time that accounts professionals spend entering payments and editing debtors. This new feature essentially makes Sage 50 Accounts a much more rounded package and increases its ability to integrate with useful packages.

Sage 50 Accounts, despite its re-branding, is still a very similar product to Line 50. In fact, the product is almost identical to the last version of Line 50, with a few improvements. However, being able to integrate with e-banking means that it will save users time and that it might be worth while up grading.

Sage 200 has had a lengthy development process, evolving from the Sage 100, to Sage MMS and eventually Sage 200, it has taken the product some time to resemble what it does today. In September of last year the product evolved further, from accountancy product, to fully integrated ERP system and was re-branded as part of the shiny new Sage 200 suite. By linking up, and fully integrating with Sage CRM (Sage's mid market web hosted CRM product) Sage 200 has become one half of the Sage 200 Suite. The suite was originally designed to compete with ERP systems and provide businesses with a software package that could run an entire business. While this has yet to be fully realised, add-ons and new modules are beginning to give users new features and new functionality.

The Sage 200 Suite is designed to provide all users, whether they work in Sales, Marketing, Admin and Finance, with one system to use to allow them to complete important daily tasks. On the accountancy side of of things integration with Sage CRM offers a massive array of time and paper saving features. The latest version of the suite also incorporates the most up to date version of Sage 200, giving accounting professionals access to the most up to date systems that Sage provides.

Integration between Sage200 and Sage CRM allow time from the closing of a deal to invoicing, payment and delivery to be significantly reduced. Successful integration also reduces the number of admin professionals required to run basic functions and complete basic tasks such as raising invoices and processing orders. The Sage 200 Suite is also fully customisable allowing developers to link the program to a host of other applications and web sites should it be needed. Essentially the Sage 200 Suite can increase efficiency and function as a full business suite. Its features will mostly be felt by admin personal but the accountants amongst you will also find plenty of useful features.

If you're using either Sage CRM or Sage 200 you might want to consider utilising  the sister application. You should however be aware that a SalesLogix-Sage 200 link is also on the way. Pegasus and Microsoft also do similar products.

Welcome to my first real entry. This entry focuses on the new additions to Sage's latest upgrade for its mid market accountancy product- Sage 200. The new version, v5.10, offers some subtle differences to the previous incarnation and includes patches and updates to finally iron out outstanding issues, including those related to the Sage 200 suite and out look integration. The updates are designed to provide a more effective end user experience and to speed up the completion of basic tasks and transactions. The new version is also incorporated into the latest version of the Sage 200 suite, which provides fully integrated licences of Sage CRM and Sage 200 at a discounted price. While the new version contains a vast array of small changes I have listed and described those I think you'll mind most significant below. If contact me using the contact tab and I'll be able to send you some more information or point you in the right direction.

Sage has enhanced the profit and loss balance sheet reporting facilities allowing users to produce effective financial statements for the year. The new reporting facilities allow financial professionals to produce financial statements for the end of year with out having to close down the previous year. This is designed to take the pressure off accountancy departments at the hectic time of year.

Sage 200 now allows accounts professionals to process payments to suppliers that have a negative balance on their account. This was previously impossible and caused some difficulties when creating documentation to deal with the closing negative balance.

The Latest version of Sage 200 allows end users to export to Microsoft Excell 2007. The export facilities are also more effective allowing correctly formatted notes and histories to be successfully exported. It also ensures that column widths and headers are correctly formatted saving end users time and effort. With Sage 200 accountancy professionals can also import financial statements and templates.

The changes in the latest version of Sage 200 are small and won't have a drastic effect to your business but they might just allow you to complete tasks more quickly and efficiently. I have been able to give you a full break down of the new features but more information is available at www.sage.co.uk or www.dmcsoftware.co.uk.

Welcome to my Accountancy Software Blog, this new blog will aim to provide a host of information about about Sage Accountancy products. I will aim to inform you when new products, upgrades and patches become available and about what action should be taken in regards to upgrading. My knowledge base in regards to Sage accountancy products is large and I will attempt to answer any questions that you have. Look out for more information about Sage products, I'll update you on the latest version of Sage 200 soon. In the mean time there is useful some info available at www.dmcsoftware.co.uk