As you aware, in the recent budget, the standard rate of VAT will be increased from 21% to 23% from January 1st 2012.

ORT Software has produced a set of guidelines for Hireman Pro users, available from here, outlining the procedure you should follow to get your software updated.

Please contact us on 071 9146815 if you have any queries prior to carrying out these changes.

As you are aware from the recent budget, the standard rate of VAT will be increased from 21% to 23% from January 1st 2012. We have written a set of guidelines for Sage accounts users which is available for download from here outlining the procedure you should follow.

Please ring us with your queries on 071 9146815, prior to carrying out any changes on your accounting software.

Payroll Software Updates Available via Download Only

Your Payroll Year End Update is now available to download. The Budget Update is currently in development following the Budget Announcement by the Government on 6th December 2011. This will be available to download through yourAuto-Update feature and via www.sage.ie/pye. We strongly recommend that you switch on the Auto-Update feature inyour payroll software. This will ensure that you receive all software updates as soon as they are released (including the PYE and Budget Updates). If you haven’t done so already, simply follow steps 1-3 below to switch on the Auto-Update feature:

1. Enter your Sage account number into the program, if you haven’t previously done so. In your payroll program go to the top toolbar, go to Help and then About Quickpay/MicropayProfessional. Select the Edit button and enter your account number. Click OK to save your settings.
2. To turn on the auto update service in your payroll program, go to the top toolbar, go to Tools and then Internet Options. Choose the ‘Recommended’ option and click OK to save your settings.
3. To turn on your Product News Feeds service in your payroll program, go to the top toolbar, go to Help and thenView News. Click on Configure feed. Select the Enable checkbox and click OK to save your settings.

Checklists

Micropay Professional PYE Checklist

Quickpay PYE Checklist

As a rule, anti-virus software can have a serious impact on the performance of Sage 50 running on a network. In the aforementioned article we outline how, in general, to configure anti virus software so that it doesn’t conflict with Sage. This blog post is an add-on to that article since we would like to specifically mention ESET anti virus software, a package that we have found popular with many of our support clients.

We would like to thank Des from DM Computing for his input to this article. He has devised the best way to configure ESET and passed it on to Synergy Network.

First of all to access exclusions you have to enter “Advanced Setup” – see below.

Then we recommend that you exclude all local Sage directories (as opposed to file extensions) and also your mapped drive to the Sage data (in this example s:).

Follow the rest of our original support article for advice on making reports run faster by creating a temporary reports folder on your computer.

Our advice is proceed with caution and if you have a support contract with Synergy Network, please call us first.

If you do decide to click on the “Fix” button, ensure that you carry out the following checks…

1. Backup your data. Newer versions of Sage 50 will force you to do so.
2. Check the number of transactions in Sage. You will find this in Help->About. If the number of transactions changes after clicking on fix, (even if your errors are fixed) you must restore the backup.
3. Check the aged balance warnings. You will find them in the warnings tab when you run File->Maintenance->Check Data. If the amounts change or if they were not present before fixing the data, you must restore the backup.

Basically if the fix routine results in zero errors but you now have a different number of transactions or postings to your creditor/debtor control accounts, you data is still corrupt. You must restore an error free backup.

For more information on Data corruption in Sage 50, please refer to our Knowledgebase articles.

The Minister for Finance has recently announced that a second reduced rate of 9% VAT will be introduced for the period July 1st 2011 to 31st December 2013. This 9% rate applies to certain goods and services (mainly tourism related) and full details can be found on the Revenue website .

We have written a set of guidelines for Sage 50 accounts users which is available for download here outlining the procedure you should follow.

Please ring us with your queries on 071 9146815, prior to carrying out any changes on your accounting software.

In recent years, Sage introduced a new feature for bank reconciliation, namely the ability to “save” your matched items so far. Prior to this, if you realised that you had forgotten to enter a supplier payment for example, you had to completely discard your work so far, exit the bank reconciliation window and enter your transaction. The introduction of the “save” facility meant that you could retain your work, exit the reconciliation window, and return at a later stage.

It has come to our attention however that some of our clients have been using the save feature instead of reconciling their work. We have encountered clients with a year’s worth of bank transactions “saved” as opposed to reconciled. Since the save feature was never designed to work this way, there is no guarantee that this saved file will be retained indefinitely. We have come across clients who have come in to work one day to find the bank reconciliation file has disappeared or even migrated to another bank account.  In this case, the only solution is to restore a recent backup.

In conclusion, the save feature is an excellent tool if used correctly. During training sessions we advise clients that they reconcile their bank statements one page at a time. This is an excellent way to minimise errors and makes differences very easy to track down.

If you are interested in Sage training with our accredited trainer, please contact Malcolm on 071-9146815. Alternatively, please contact support@synergynet.ie with your Sage 50 queries.

• Reporting
• Stock Control
• Security
• Accounting

Completing the NCT is easy – all you have to do is click HERE.

If you leave us your name and phone number (at the end of the survey), we can give you a call back and discuss any areas of Sage 50 you would like to explore further. ]]> http://www.synergynet.ie/2010/12/sage-nct-test/feed/ 0 http://www.synergynet.ie/2010/11/preparing-management-accounts/ http://www.synergynet.ie/2010/11/preparing-management-accounts/#comments Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:44:39 +0000 synergy http://www.synergynet.ie/?p=1048 In these hard pressed times, many small businesses need to make important decisions quickly to ensure that they stay in business. Decision making depends on having the correct information to hand whilst ensuring that this information is accurate and up to date.

Many companies running  their business on Sage Accounts or some similar accounting software become frustrated when they realise that they cannot acquire the correct information from the system.  In our experience working with SMEs over the years, there are a number of possible reasons for this such as:

• The auditor adjustments from the last audit were never posted to the system

• The bookkeeper does not account for depreciation or accrue for goods delivered but not yet invoiced

• There is no system in place for monthly stock valuations

• Bank reconciliations were not being done properly so not all the expenditure was being picked up

• The chart of accounts was not properly designed to produce the information required

• Some expenditure was being posted to the incorrect headings for example, Repairs and Maintenance being posted to Fixed Assets

Many bookkeepers in small companies may not appreciate all of the above issues, but with the right training and intervention, should be able to produce accurate Management accounts for the owner/manager on a monthly basis.

Here at Synergy Network, we  have worked with a number of small businesses recently to sort out their accounting software and train staff to produce monthly accounts. If you would like to avail of our expertise or you are concerned that you are not making the best use of your accounting software, please contact James Doyle on 071-9146815 or email jdoyle@synergynet.ie

In conjunction with Sage Ireland, we have prepared a document for you containing a checklist to assist you with preparing your payroll year end.

The document is available here. Please contact Malcolm on 071 9146815 with any queries.