Join the Sage Accpac ERP v5.6
Controlled Release Program!

We are now recruiting partners to participate in the Controlled Release program for Sage Accpac ERP version 5.6 and would like you to join today. The scheduled Controlled Release start date is October 5, 2009. With your help, we are sure to ship a high quality product. Note: To ensure we provide an excellent customer experience, we are limiting the number of applicants that will be selected.

What is the Controlled Release Program?

Sage Accpac version 5.6 is well on its way towards General Availability. We have completed Alpha and Beta testing cycles. Controlled Release is the next step in our endeavor to continue the successful tradition of launching a high quality release on time. Controlled Release software is ready for "real world" environments as it has gone through the rigors of internal and external testing. The ideal candidates for Controlled Release are customers that can leverage the new features and will be excited to put them to work in their business.

Participating in the Controlled Release program gives you the opportunity to get up to speed on the new release, and assist your customers who will benefit from early adoption of the new features and enhancements. It will also give you the chance to provide feedback directly to Sage, building strong relationships and sharing your expertise. You will also gain comprehensive insight into how to introduce new functionality to your customers and prospects resulting in higher upgrade and new revenue sales. Do you have a customer that is looking for improved reporting, serial/lot tracking, or a faster bank reconciliation process?

  • Sign Up Now

Program Details, Benefits, and Requirements

Benefits

Be the first in your industry to upgrade to the new Sage Accpac ERP 5.6 program. Participating in the Controlled Release program provides you with early access to the newest Sage Accpac product. We have validated the effectiveness of this product through rigorous rounds of testing internally and externally. Sage is committed to ensuring that the Participants in the Controlled Release program have a smooth, and as seamless as possible, experience converting to the new Sage Accpac ERP 5.6 version.

For Customers:

For Partners:

Customers participating in the Controlled Release Program will receive:*

  • Dedicated Support Analysts for Controlled Release calls
  • Exclusive phone number for Support
  • Calls to Support will be routed to a Senior or higher level Support Analyst
  • Controlled Release Project Manager dedicated to the program
  • Upon completion of the Controlled Release program, you have your choice of:

    • Three months of Unlimited Customer Support including phone, chat, and e-mail support
    • All-Inclusive Comprehensive package of v5.6 AnyTime Learning Course**

Partners actively participating in the Controlled Release Program will receive:*

  • We are very excited that the Beta and Controlled Release programs are part of the Scorecard:

      Possible score of 0-2:
      0 = No participation in either
            program
      1 = Participation in Beta or
            Controlled Release
      2 = Participation in Beta and
            Controlled Release

  • Exclusive phone number for Support
  • Calls to Support will be routed to a Senior or higher level Support Analyst
  • Access to 5.6 Sage Accpac Partner Re-Certification courses offered through Anytime Learning earlier

* Only North American participants are eligible to the incentives.

** Must sign up for AnyTime Learning courses within 3 months of their availability

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Enhancements

Bank Services

  • More straightforward and automated Reconciliation
  • Reconcile accounts faster than ever and get through month-end in record time
  • Fast and accurate view of cash position
  • Better insight into Cash Flow through improved reporting
  • Single page for deposits and withdrawals
  • Popup to show how book balance is calculated
  • Multiple lines for a Bank Entry Distribution Codes and Distribution Sets & Reverse Bank Entries with improved Reversal Process
  • New bank security resources for separation of duties

Serialized Inventory/Lot Tracking

  • Save money with newly-integrated and improved Serialized Inventory & Lot Tracking, now built into IC, OE, PO, and more
    • Licensed separately (but no data activation)
  • Gain tighter control of stock levels
  • Improved traceability
  • Efficiently manage product recalls and chargebacks
  • Enables Fast and Accurate Serial/Lot Tracking, eliminating costly mistakes and allowing you to get your work done faster!
  • Better performance
  • Serial/Lot costing methods
  • Mask structure per item rather than per system. Single segment is variable (unrestricted)
  • Allow quantity to be different at the item level rather than the system level
  • Auto-allocation of serials and lots

Inventory Control in SN/LT

  • More Optional Fields selection for Serial/Lots. No longer restricted by four optional amount, four optional date, and six optional text fields
  • Lot Release Functionality

Accounts Receivable

  • Option to sort by Original Document Number in Receipt Entry (useful when paying retainage invoices)
  • Navigate and find information in record time with embed AR Uni-Inquiry
  • "Sort by" option when printing AR/AP cheques

Accounts Payable

  • Option to sort by Original Document Number in Payment Entry (useful when paying retainage invoices)
  • "Sort by" option when printing AR/AP cheques
  • Apply AP prepayments to specific PO

Project & Job Costing

  • Take Control of Project Billings and Revenue Recognition utilizing More Detailed Information
  • Print Revenue Recognition Worksheet
  • Print Billings Worksheet
  • Print Revenue Recognition Worksheet
  • Inventory Control compatibility with Serial/Lot Tracking
  • Project search on Contract Maintenance

Payroll Employee Level Security

New Integration features with SageCRM

  • Solo Integration: Users are now able to view Accpac companies and synchronize non-Accpac data on the Solo client.
  • Relationships: Customer National Account relationships are maintained between CRM and Accpac.
  • Salesperson Integration: We have provided the ability to set the Salesperson Codes on companies which are promoted to Accpac.
  • Customer/Vendor Number Changer Support: SageCRM integration has provided support to the number changer products to change the customer/vendor number in CRM.
  • Customer/Vendor Comments: Customer/Vendor comments can be displayed from the Customer/Vendor Statistics tab, or directly from the A/R or A/P Inquiry tab.
  • All Shipments: A new menu choice has been added to the O/E Inquiry menu that provides the ability to display all shipments.
  • All Receipts: A new menu choice has been added to the P/O Inquiry menu that provides the ability to display all receipts.
  • Tax Information: Where total tax amounts are displayed the amounts are hyperlinked and when clicked display the breakdown of the tax by tax authority.
  • Customer Price List: New menu choice has been added to the O/E Inquiry menu to display the customer price list information.
  • Vendor Contract Costs: A new menu choice has been added to the P/O Inquiry menu to display vendor cost information.
  • Serial/Lot Number Integration: Serial/Lot number integration has been added to O/E and P/O inquiry.

New Module - Sage Accpac Intelligence

  • Easily create new reports that allow you to quickly analyze sales, inventory, purchases, and GL trends, and even drill down into detailed transactions
  • In-depth financial, operations and strategic planning intelligence so that you are always in-the-know
  • Familiar Excel format and functionality to analyze information
  • Support business strategy and decision making through advanced analysis of trends and what-if scenarios
  • Create OLAP cubes that enable multi-dimensional analysis of financial, sales, and inventory data

New Reports - Better Insight into Your Business

  • Bank: Deposit Register, Bank Entries Posting Journal, & Transaction History Inquiry
  • GL: Trial Balance & Transaction Listing
  • PJC: Print revenue recognition worksheet, Print billings worksheet, & Serials and Lots Report

Report Improvements

  • Purchase History report: Ability to select transactions printed on the report by year/period as well as by document date
  • Purchase Order Action report: Ability to print by document date, and create a new report to sort by item numbers.
  • User selection passed down from the inquiry to the report:
    • Purchase History Inquiry/Report
    • Sales History Inquiry/Report
    • Transaction History Inquiry/Report
    • Sales Statistics Inquiry/Report
    • Transaction Statistics Inquiry/Report
  • Improved Sales History report
  • Sales Commission report: Add ability to group by customer and create a new report to print commission totals
  • Invoice Action report: Replace "Order Type" drop down list with multiple check boxes such that multiple selections can be made
  • User selection should be passed down from the inquiry to the report: Sales History Inquiry/Report
  • Item Valuation report: Improved performance.
  • AP: Aged Cash Requirements, Overdue Payables, & Aged Payables
  • AR: AR Statements & Aged Trial Balance

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Partner Requirements

All Sage Accpac Partners are eligible to apply. Each partner must commit to bringing one customer into the controlled release program. Space is limited. Sage will review all applications and determine which partners and customers will be accepted into the program. We need participants from a variety of industries to take the software through real-world testing with unique and larger data structures. All associated partner fees must be negotiated with your customer.

Requirements for participation include:

  1. Complete and return the controlled release application
  2. If accepted, sign and return the non-disclosure agreement, attend the controlled release kick-off webcast, attend Anytime Learning Training prior to the controlled release start date
  3. Advise Sage controlled release contact, Raji Dhillon at beta.accpac@sage.com of the scheduled installation date, and when the installation has been completed
  4. Complete installation at the customer's site by October 13, 2009
  5. Customer site is running live on controlled release build by October 13, 2009
  6. Open controlled release customer support cases by phone when issues occur, and provide as much detail as possible in the case (i.e., specific steps to duplicate)
  7. Support your customer in setup and issues that arise during the controlled release program, with assistance from Sage's Support team

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Key Milestones & Dates

Dates

 

September 16, 2009
Controlled Release Applications forms due to Sage

September 21, 2009
Sage notifies partners & customers that they have been accepted or rejected

September 25, 2009
Non-disclosure agreements due

October 12, 2009
Complete Customer installations

Week of September 28, 2009
Controlled release kick-off webcast - partners & customers invited

Week of October 5, 2009
Begin controlled release (download or DVD installation)

Week of November 13, 2009
End of controlled release program (certificates will be sent to participants)

 

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Customer Profile

We are looking for customers with a variety of system scenarios to participate in this program. Ideal candidates will meet one or more of the following system test requirements:

  • Currently on a valid Software Assurance plan
  • Work heavily in the areas that been modified in the Sage Accpac ERP 5.6 Release
  • Willing to submit a copy of their data so that Sage can perform a test conversion ahead of time, to minimize risk when the Partner performs the live upgrade of the data. The converted data is to be used for the sole purpose of testing by Sage, not as a replacement for the live conversion.

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Sage Commitments

Sage values your support in our controlled release program. Our goal is to provide you with a positive controlled release experience. We commit to the following to make this controlled release program a success:

Commitments

 

  • All Participants will receive at least one "check-in" call from Sage
  • Will convert the copy of your database that you provide onsite, prior to your live installation

  • Will provide Support staff via phone over the installation weekend (October 10 & 11)

  • Priority Support will be provided by a Senior Support Analyst
  • Issues that are not resolved by Support will automatically be escalated to Sage Accpac's development team for review
  • A dedicated phone number will be set up for Support issues for controlled release participants

  • Controlled Release software has successfully completed a full alpha and beta testing cycle

Note: We need to know all Sage Accpac Developer Partner Products, 3rd party add-ons and customizations to determine eligibility. If a customer has other Sage North America Integrated Solutions or extensive customizations they are NOT immediately disqualified from the program.

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Controlled Release Application

The Sage Accpac ERP Controlled Release program is currently not accepting applications. Thank you for your interest.

 

Please answer all of the questions. The more information you provide, the better your chances are of being selected as a Controlled Release Participant.

* indicates required field.

Partner Information

Partner ID:*
Contact Name:*
E-mail Address:*
Company:*
Country:*
Phone Number:*

Customer Information

Client ID:*
Contact Name:*
E-mail Address:*
Company:*
Country:*
Province/State:*
Phone Number:*
Number of Users?
Current version of Sage Accpac:*
How long has your business utilized Sage Accpac?
Are you willing to submit a copy of your data to Sage in order to facilitate a quicker review and turn-around of issues that may be encountered?*

Systems and Environment

Operating system will you be using:
Which database platform will you be using?
Do you use Workgroup or Server?
What are your Server specifications?
Internet connection speed:
What are your workstation specifications?
How much memory (RAM) does your computer have?
Are you utilizing a network?
Do you have remote users?
What type of printer do you use?
What Web browser do you use?
What e-mail program do you use?
What version of Microsoft® Excel® are you using?

How You Use Sage Accpac

How many companies do you run in Sage Accpac?*
What is the size of your largest database?*

What Modules do you Utilize in you Business

Accounts Payable*
Accounts Receivable*
Alerts & Alerts Server*
Bank Reconciliation*
CRM Solo*
FAS*
General Ledger*
General Ledger Consolidations*
Intercompany*
Inventory Control*
Lot Tracking*
Multicurrency*
National Accounts Manager*
Number Changer*
OPS Inquiry*
Order Entry*
Payroll*
Project Job Costing*
Purchase Orders*
Return Material Authorization*
Sage Accpac HRMS*
SageCRM*
Which version of SageCRM do you have installed?
Sales Analysis*
Serial Number Tracking*
Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator*
Unidev AR Inquiry*
Do you have any Report Customizations?*
Do you have any Form/Screen Customizations?*

Third Party Products

Do you use any Sage Accpac Third Party products?*

If you answered No, you are finished. Please click Submit at the bottom of this page.

If you use Sage third-party products created by the following companies,
please provide a list of the products used.

Accellos
Altec
AutoSimply Manufacturing
Greytrix
Iciniti Corporation
MISys
Norming Software International Ltd.
Orchid Business Systems
Pacific Technology Solutions Ltd.
Stonefield Software
Systronics
Technisoft Pty Ltd.
True Commerce EDI
Warehouse Management
Wellspring
Please list any other Sage Accpac Third Party products here:

Testimonials

Here's what our Sage Accpac ERP 5.5 Controlled Release Participants had to say...

The Sage Accpac ERP 5.6 Beta program ran from June 1 to July 24, 2009. Our participating Partners put the product through 8 weeks of testing, focusing on a different module every week.

Here's what our Sage Accpac ERP 5.6 Beta Testers had to say about the product:

 

Alpha Software Systems

The best product so far, by far!

Efe Oputu

BusinessLink New England, Inc.

Product is well thought out, adds valuable features and performed great!

Ed McCarthy

EZ Consulting

With the release of 5.6 Sage ERP is moving to the next of end to end Software

Eddie Zoellner

M&C Mgmt Systems, LLC

Finally an ERP system that is reasonably easy to use and has all the functionality that any small or medium business would require, including CRM.

Joey Shull

M.W. Consulting Inc.

We went to the Summit to bring you Innovation and great insights with Sage's latest innovative release of Sage Accpac ERP v5.6. We are working with you to deliver better enhancements with your business in mind.

Fay Hall.

PC Ware Business Solutions

5.6 has many new features that will save customers time and money.

Zev Kizelnik

Systronics LLC

Accpac 5.6 is more convenient now and smarter.

Ani Vardanyan

Triad Software Services

Kudos to the organization of the Beta Program and appreciate the efforts at Sage.

Sundaresan Ramanathan

21st Century Systems Corporation

The speed of 5.5 is noticeably improved over 5.4 and 5.3. 5.5 is the most stable release of Sage Accpac ERP ever. The quality of the 5.5 software build surpasses that of ANY prior release of the product. Based on our experience internally and with our two Controlled Release candidates, the SM, GL, AR, AP, IC, OE, PO, MC, OF modules are ready for general release.

C. Stuart McKelvie, President

Caron Business Solutions

Based on the results of Valley Traffic, this is an excellent version. I have received zero issues specifically related to 5.5. Donal, one strongest endorsement from Caron is that we are now recommending our new clients or upgrading clients to move to 5.5 as soon as it's released, based on our positive Controlled Release experience.

Fan Chun, Co owner & Director of Services

Plus Computer Solutions

Sage Accpac 5.5 is a high quality release. Our customer has been live on the product for two months without any issues.

Ian Dobson, Vice President Consulting

e2e Business Management Solutions

The new CRM integration is much improved and easy to install. I like the more flexible look ups that can be done by date range, item range etc. A sales person has the full functionality from within Sage CRM, no need to call accounting or log into the accounting system. A CRM user can work through the sales cycle from lead to sale conclusion. If selling to an existing customer, CRM provides the user with real time information directly from the accounting system, whether it be balances, outstanding orders or sales history.

The Sales Person can view accounting data from multiple accounting databases. There are a number of security settings within CRM allowing or restricting the user from accessing accounting data or making use of accounting functionality like the Order Entry or AR Batch List screen

Hilton Robinson, President

North 49 Business Solutions

The customer, Indufast, had experienced numerous challenges after upgrading to 5.4 and were even considering other options.

We were anticipating quite a bit of activity and possibly many hours onsite for the upgrade and install of ERP 5.5 at Indufast. We expected numerous challenges which did not materialize. It turned out to be a "Non event", the install went perfectly. The client's system was up and ready by 7pm that night. Indufast are very happy with the quality and performance of 5.5. I believe this speaks highly to the fact that 5.5 is stable and ready to release.

Rob Eichhorn, CEO

Canuck Place

We consider our upgrade to Sage Accpac 5.5 to be very successful and we have had absolutely no issues or problems.

We specifically appreciated the enhancement to Account Payable being the separation of Document Date and Posting Date on AP Transaction Entry and the addition of multi-user entry and posting, which allows us to process batches simultaneously.

We were also impressed with the addition of rollup accounts, and definitely foresee us using this feature in the future. The separation of Journal Entry and Journal Posting rights is also appreciated.

In all, we are extremely happy with the upgrade and the enhancements have increased the functionality and flexibility of Accpac without taking anything away.

Russell Cullingworth, Director, Finance

Rana Medical

Our experience has been very good. The upgrade process was seamless, our staff were up and running with Sage Accpac 5.5 in less than 4 hours. It has been very stable. The users have been happy with the new features and I've noticed some speed increases as well. Sage did a great job making this release enterprise-ready.

Warren Massey Vice President, Technology & Support Services

Valley Traffic

The transition from 5.3 to 5.5 was smooth and seamless. It is a stable product and ready for general release.

Sage Accpac 5.5 has many beneficial new features. The new drill down features in PO, OE, and IC are particularly useful. We also like the new functionality for adding items through the inventory wizard

Trevor Paine, CGA. Controller

Indufast

Sage Accpac 5.5 is flexible, stable and fast. The drill down capabilities in Purchase Order significantly improves efficiency for our staff. We also liked the reintroduction of batch totals and purchase order taxes into the product. Based on our experience Sage Accpac 5.5 is ready to release.

Ted Clark, President