Business Solutions
Would You Like To View Sage 50 Data From Within Sage CRM?
With over 250,000 customers across Ireland and the UK, Sage50 really is the preferred Financial Solution for SMB’s, this proven solution has been the backbone to many organisations for the past decade.
What some customers do not realise is that they can now view valuable Sage50 data from within Sage CRM. In this article I can share with you some practical examples of Dashboards that can be created by pulling data from Sage50 into Sage CRM, these dashboards can be created on both Cloud and on-premise editions of Sage CRM.
Sage 50 Orders/Quotes Dashboard in Sage CRM
A Sales Manager who, as a CRM user, would like to view specific Sage 50 transactions for an upcoming sales meeting.
By using Sdata, there is now the ability to display both header and line item details of the desired transactions directly through a Sage CRM gadget.
For example; Sage50 Sales Orders, Sales Quotes and Sales Order Deliveries can be set up as Interactive Dashboard Gadgets in CRM, as below:
Posted under: There’s An App For That – Sage 50 Mobile App
By Simon Bell, Product Manager at Sage
There is no doubt about it wherever you look these days the Smartphone is everywhere – slowly but surely becoming the ubiquitous mobile device type across most sectors of society. Webpages are generally designed for consumption on a larger screen, with the best will in the world, mobile web browsing can be a tedious job of pinching and scrolling etc and this is where apps come to the fore.
Apps are designed to enable simple user interfaces to access data or information, many standard apps simply add a presentation layer to a website interface. This is not coincidence, have a look at the heritage of most app design firms and you will quickly discover that many are web developers that have found new life in the app space. The really great apps do more than provide a website repurposed however, they add real value, by leveraging device capabilities to provide a mobile intuitive user experience and more importantly they add value for the user.
At Sage we have a dedicated mobile team that understand this idea who have worked to produce great applications on different platforms to give our customers a means to harness the mobile opportunity to add flexibility to their working experience. The latest addition to our mobile app family is Sage 50 Mobile for iPad offering a tablet specific user interface that is simple and intuitive and complements perfectly our desktop software.
The Inside View – Comparing Sage 50 and Sage 200
By Frank Kelly, Commercial Development Manager at Sage
In my experience of working with Sage customers, I sometimes find that company growth and development can put pressure on software, leading to a system that no longer matches business and customer requirements. If customers are looking to upgrade to a larger software system, it is important that they do it correctly and for the right reasons.
Common changes undertaken by Sage 50 customers that lead them to consider an upgrade to Sage 200 include expanding their product range, increasing their employee numbers, placing more emphasis on trading with overseas customers, and increasingly complex business processes. Changes like these are the trigger to reassess a business system and look at new ways of doing things. Does this sound like your business right now? Then read on.
CRM: Bridging The Sales And Marketing Disconnect
By Darren Sexton, CRM Channel Sales at Sage
Sometimes in companies that have both sales & marketing departments there can be a disconnect between both departments. Sales people are always complaining that the marketing people are not generating enough leads for them. Marketing people are always highlighting the amount of leads they have generated that have not been converted to sales. So who’s right?
CRM is really just a tool that enables companies to put structure to how they run their business. If a company has been in business for a long time without using CRM then they are obviously doing something right, however, if they had a tool that gave them greater clarity on how their business was running, then maybe the company could become even more successful. Sometimes information that highlights the deals that you have lost is more important than the deals you’ve won.
Growing Pains – Accommodating Business Growth Beyond Sage 50
By Sinéad Hayes Sales & Marketing Manager, Advent
I recently met up with a Sage 50 user, Tom who runs a medium sized distribution business. Tom has been using the software for many years. His company just loves the software – in his opinion it is so easy to use and has really helped the business to get to where it is today.
So, we chatted more about the business, the challenges they face and the opportunities that lie ahead. Tom has worked in the business a long time (although he would not give me any specific number!) and it is apparent that he along with his team is driven, focused and passionate about the business.
As we evolved the conversation into looking ahead to the future, it became apparent that Sage 50 really wasn’t going to be a long term solution. Cracks are beginning to appear and although it is all working fine at the moment, Tom was concerned about a few areas in particular. What if I add another 1, 2 or 3 users? Tom’s Sage 50 is already at 9 users, so adding a few more licenses will mean he will soon reach a cul-de-sac as 10 is the maximum.
10 Ways To Get More From Your Accounting Software
By Sinéad Hayes Sales & Marketing Manager, Advent
Making the most out of an existing accounting software investment is important. Upgrades may include new features, but you may already have what you are looking for right in front of your eyes.
If you think you should be getting more out of your accounting software, but you are not quite sure where to start, then maybe the following points will help;
1. See how many spreadsheets you are using and what they are for.
You may find that some of the spreadsheets contain information that could just as easily be input directly into your accounting software. Why keep external spreadsheets if you don’t need to?
2. Look at the number of documents (such as Invoices, Statements, Remittance Advices) that are printed out from your accounting system.
It goes without saying that the more documents you can send electronically, the more you save on postage, toner, stationery and time. It doesn’t need to be all or nothing – even a small increase in the number of documents being sent by email will result in immediate savings.
3. Review what other software is used in the business.
Are there processes that could be better managed by connecting different systems together? It’s worth asking the question – there could be a simple way of joining up different systems.
Get Ready For The Future, A Special Report From Sage
As published in the Sunday Business Post on 25th March 2012.
Sage Ireland launched Sage in the Cloud earlier this year, which brought the concept of the cloud to life through a quirky and innovative device that created floating cloud shapes using a foam printer – visit Sage Ireland’s YouTube page to watch. For the past 30 years, Sage has supported the business software industry and, in the last number of years, provided hosted online software solutions for a range of customers. With the Sage in the Cloud campaign, Sage is encouraging businesses across Ireland to experience the cloud for themselves by exploring free trials on www.sagecloud.ie
Businesses need to become more agile to survive and thrive in the emerging new economy. The last fewyears have all been about battening down the hatches, scrutinising the cost base and trying to make more savings. But with the ESRI forecasting some growth this year and the suggestion that green shoots are slowly appearing, there’s good reason for businesses to look ahead with more optimism. There’s only so long a business can put off investing in new technology before the effects damage the long-term prospects of the company, rather than save it money.The time to stick is over, according to Peter O’Rourke, head of channel and corporate division, Sage Ireland.
‘‘In order to be competitive in what’s coming down the track, you are going to have to have the tools to make you more agile,’’ he said. ‘‘You are going to have to respond more quickly and efficiently to your customers, and be more dynamic with product development cycles.’’ He paints a picture of a truly global economy, where a competitor could be in China as well as round the corner. ‘‘Everything is happening faster and bigger. At Sage, we see ourselves as drivers of change, efficiency and ultimately growth.We partner our customers, helping them to survive and thrive in a fast changing world.’’
How To Get Your Hiring Right
As published in the Sunday Business Post on 25th March 2012.
Getting more out of existing staff and hiring the best-possible new recruits becomes even more essential as businesses start to focus on the future.
Ryan Reid, field sales manager, Sage
Sage has built on its strengths within the business community, developing human resources (HR) management and payroll solutions that address the needs of larger companies in the mid-market sector of between 15 and 500 employees. The payroll function is naturally closely related to accounts management, but Sage’s HR software, which it acquired some years ago from a company called Snowdrop, enables tighter and more efficien tmanagement of the most important asset many companies possess – their employees.
‘‘HR and payroll are intrinsically linked,’’ said Sage’s field sales manager Ryan Reid. ‘‘HR software takes somebody from the point of job application through to retirement. Organisations in the mid-market are now looking for one solution to address these functions.’’
Reid said that in today’s challenging business environment, the number of applications for advertised posts is increasing rapidly. Organisations trying to make the best decisions onwho to hire are often swamped in applications which impose burdens of time and management on HR decision makers. ‘‘In these times, organisations can’t afford to make bad hires,’’ he said.
Help For Ambitious Irish Firms To Grow
As published in the Sunday Business Post on 25th March 2012.
Sage’s success with mid-market companies is based on delivering all the business advantages of an ERP system without the complexity and implementation headaches.
Peter O'Rourke, head of channel and corporate division in Sage
In the 15 years since Sage set up in Ireland, it has built a base of 40,000 customers, many of them midsized businesses regarded as the engine room for economic recovery. It is well documented that the company is the largest provider of accountancy software to small firms in Ireland, but Sage also has the biggest share of companies with more than e1 million in annual turnover and up to 500 employees. ‘‘These companies may well have other businesses springing up around themand there’s a real synergy between what
they do and the national economy,’’ said Peter O’Rourke, head of channel and the corporate division in Sage Ireland.
They are also defined by their complexity. As a company grows, every aspect of the business is affected, and entry-level accountancy software struggles to keep up. They need to think about an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution, according to O’Rourke, because of the typical trajectory that a growing business takes. ‘‘They start adding employees and get into payroll and managing employees. ‘‘They find themselves with a sales team who people want to look after customers and manage the sales cyclemore efficiently,’’ he said.
How To Keep Customers Satisfied
As published in the Sunday Business Post on 25th March 2012.
Customers should be for life, and your relationship with them needs to grow and evolve as their needs and the economy changes. That’s the message fromTom Nolan, head of strategic account management for Sage,who believes that during times of economic
hardship it makes sense to hang on to the customers you have at the same time as trying to find new ones. The challenge for Irish midmarket companies under pressure to keep their customers happy is how to make the most of those relationships. The answer
lies in customer relationship management (CRM) and, according to Nolan, it’s not enough to simply have access to customer information in a database, it’s more important to be able to make that information work hard.
‘‘There are companies out there that think they don’t need separate CRMsystems, they keep their customer data in their enterprise resource planning [ERP] systems but that’s manifestly not enough,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s vital that mid-market companies invest in CRM to grow their business.You need to have focused systems within your organisation that allow you to implement your best practice processes against your customer base to deliver the right level of customer service. CRM at its most basic is a tool that allows companies to maintain an ongoing relationship with their customers throughout all parts of the business,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s about maintaining a 360-degree view of your customer and understanding all the dealings you have with them.’’
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