By now, most of you know that Sage Summit 2012 is just months away (for frequent updates visit Summit’s twitter page or search with the hashtag #SageSummit) and I simply can’t wait.  It’s in Nashville, and though I’m no huge fan of country, I am eager to see the performances of Trace Adkins, Jake Owen, and Montgomery Gentry, plus more!  It really seems as though Sage is ramping up their CRM and partner efforts and hitting us in our musical soft spots.  Who isn’t a sucker for good music?

At this year’s Summit, there are going to be topics on the latest ERP innovations, HRMS software, and CRM technologies.  Last year had some pretty good topics too.  Blytheco Director of Client and Partner Strategy, Apryl Hanson, chose to travel throughout the Summit venue interviewing worthy participants.  Watch her interview with a True Commerce rep and learn how you can harness its supply-chain power!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTLdRAmpdp8

TrueCommerce EDI Solutions are the only EDI providers with a platform that offers true one-stop shopping with everything your business needs for EDI compliance. Their EDI software solutions integrate seamlessly with the leading ERP systems and accounting software packages, and provide you with all components needed to implement EDI in your environment.

For more info on how to increase your sales with a cloud-based EDI, download a free demo.

The post Remembering Sage Summit 2011 and EDI Provider True Commerce appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

eRequester is an e-procurement system designed to manage internal purchasing and payment processes from start to finish (you can actually learn more about this new service by attending our free webinar later in June). eRequester helps create and manage purchase requisitions, purchase orders (POs), receiving, expense reimbursement requests, RFQs, non-PO invoice approvals, workflow, approval routing and more.

Users can request items, services, or payments by entering data in the web interface and once submitted, requests are routed for approval to designated approvers. Approvers can review, approve, reject and take other actions regarding the pending requests. Once approved, requisitions are easily converted to purchase orders or approved vouchers. POs can then be emailed to vendors or printed. Key information is captured in the requisition history to provide an audit trail and facilitate internal communications.

Flexible Controls to Manage the Purchasing Process

eRequester addresses common control issues with traditional paper-based and
antiquated systems by offering the following tools and modules:

• Web requisitions
• Oversight and audit trails
• Reminder notifications by email
• Tracking against budgets
• Document attachments such as backup, quotes and invoices
• Flexible search options
• Decentralized receiving
• Mobile approvals
• Requests for quote
• Non-PO invoice approval
• Vendor punchout
• Easily integrates with Sage MAS 90/200

eRequester is about managing your procurement processes for control, efficiency, reporting and auditing.

eRequester’s administrative controls support flexible workflow and authorization
routing to ensure that organizational policies, business logic and financial
best-practices are at work.

eRequester is a competitively priced strategic investment, that provides
an easy-to-use web interface to manage expenditures, create visibility,
and provide internal controls to aid with SOX compliance.

For more information on the benefits of Sage MAS 90/200 download our free whitepapers and other resources.

To attend our free webinar on adding intelligence to your procurement process, click here!

The post Intro to eRequester: Web Purchasing and Expense Software for MAS 90/200 appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

NetSuite provides an integrated software-as-a-service (saas) business management application for accounting and financials, enterprise planning, manufacturing, e-commerce, customer relationship management, and reporting.
The core application provides functionality for order and billing management, global subsidiary and business unit management, and partner relationship management.

NetSuite differentiates itself on its foundation on a single customer record, so sales, support, billing, accounting, shipping, and business intelligence all access the same data. Other components of NetSuite to support software companies include:

• Revenue accounting. Support for revenue recognition standards, automated revenue calculation, and pre-built revenue recognition reports help companies to manage and support revenue recognition requirements.
• Renewal and maintenance revenue management. Data configuration and workflows to support both subscription-based and maintenance-based ongoing revenue streams enable companies to target renewals and contract end dates, manage billing, and identify cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.
• Industry-specific dashboards and metrics. Role-based dashboards and prebuilt reports provide real-time visibility into licenses, maintenance, and deferred revenue projections.
• Support for software-related financial management requirements. Support for SOP and EITF standards help software companies to manage business growth while institutionalizing support for key audit requirements.

Nucleus found many software companies deploying NetSuite either moved from an on-premise application such as QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics GP, or ACCPAC, or had been using custom in-house applications to support their business. To understand the impact of adopting NetSuite on software businesses, Nucleus conducted in-depth interviews with 23 NetSuite customers in the software industry.  They asked questions about:

IT savings 

Most software companies moving to NetSuite fell into two categories. Some companies were using homegrown or basic applications such as QuickBooks that could not support their needs for growth or reporting. Others were using multiple on-premise applications and sought an application with lower support costs and a more integrated view of their business. Those in the former category were able to save on general employee productivity because of fewer system crashes and less time spent in spreadsheets. Most of those replacing on-premise systems saved both software license maintenance costs and IT staff.

Nucleus found software companies moving from on-premise applications to NetSuite eliminated an average of $23,000 in software license maintenance costs per year, with a high of $50,000. IT staff savings for those companies ranged from 50 percent to 65 percent of total IT time. These savings reflect the change companies experienced in moving from other applications to NetSuite. Many also recognized that moving to an integrated enterprise application environment in the cloud enabled them to support growth that would have required significant additional investments in software, hardware, infrastructure, and personnel to support. Nucleus analysts estimate that an onpremise application providing similar functionality would cost at least $50,000 in initial software fees, $20,000 in hardware, and $50,000 a year in license maintenance and support costs for a low-end on-premise ERP project.

The amount companies can expect to save on IT with NetSuite will depend on the number and support cost of applications that will be replaced and the amount of IT time spent on building custom reports. In many cases, customers can justify their NetSuite investment based on IT savings alone.

For more on how NetSuite can benefit your business and save you money, download the free whitepaper.

The post How NetSuite Affects (and Improves) Software Companies appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

Many small businesses started out using Intuit’s Quickbooks Online for their financial needs.  This makes sense – it’s very popular, increasingly affordable, and is a brand that is synonymous with accounting.  QBOL is still a viable option for those small businesses that have only basic accounting needs such as recording Accounts Payable and Receivable transactions.  But those small businesses that are beginning to expand may find the need to set aside Quickbooks for a more comprehensive option with more features.  Here are the top indicators that you might need to switch from Quickbooks Online to something else.

• You’re using hours and valuable staff time outside of Quickbooks Online in order to initiate manual or paper processes.  If you’re frequently and manually entering data, it might be time to reconsider.
• Do you sell products online?  If so, you should know that QBOL has no integration possibility with Paypal, the world’s largest internet transaction provider.
• If you need full system integration, you’re too big for QBOL.  Many businesses like to link their front-end and back-end processes (CRM and ERP) for better efficiency and continuity.  As QBOL doesn’t have a native CRM system, adding an app like Salesforce will cost you at minimum an extra $39 per month, per user.
• If you need real-time visibility, QBOL is a no-no.  QBOL only offers limited visibility into consolidated and operational details.
• If you need support for multiple locations and/or currencies and are having difficulty managing these issues
• If you’re experiencing revenue leakage as a result of inefficient, manual revenue management processes. Most companies are able to recover 5% of total revenues when they graduate to a professional system.

Join the thousands that improved their businesses and made their processes more efficient by graduating from Quickbooks Online to Netsuite.  Netsuite is a comprehensive cloud-based ERP/financial system that is fully scalable, customizable, and integrates quite well with other apps.

Click here for a free whitepaper on the importance of running your business software in the cloud.

The post Top Indicators that You’ve Outgrown Quickbooks Online appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

For those of you not yet familiar with Netsuite or Quickbooks Online, you should know that at their core they are both cloud ERP platforms and with their frequently discounted pricing, QBOL might seem like a more viable option (Online Plus package is now going for $16.95 down from $34.95) – but that should tell you more about QBOL’s sales and satisfaction rate more than anything else.  Where Netsuite and QBOL majorly differ is that one is a scalable complete accounting, inventory, CRM, and e-commerce cloud system with a simple user-interface and the other is primarily used for accounting purposes and offers complex bare-minimum options.  After reviewing the top ten differences between Netsuite and QBOL, it’s kind of easy to see why so many more seem to be more pleased with the former.

• Quickbooks Online doesn’t include a dashboard, making user interaction more difficult and less visual. Netsuite on the other hand, has a dashboard, a tailorable interface, plus the option of role-based presentation. For a product demonstration to see exactly how this looks, click here.
• Netsuite has the ability to link with and support campaigns within teams while QBOL does not.
• There is no keyword marketing support within QBOL.
• Unfortunately, QBOL lacks any inventory management.  That’s a shame really as so many require inventory management as a part of their ERP platform – particularly when those risk having lost, damaged, or unaccounted-for inventory.  Netsuite is complete and offers inventory tracking and support.
• Quickbooks Online lacks a native CRM system.  Many people nowadays want a one-stop-shop for both their ERP and CRM needs and understand the importance of integrating the two. Netsuite is that one-stop-shop.
• You need a third party integration program called AccountDynamics (extra $39/month) to synchronize between salesforce and QBOL.
• You cannot track purchase or sales orders within Quickbooks Online. In Netsuite, you can.  D’oh!!
• QBOL doesn’t have change orders.
• Nor do they have work orders.
• And last, but certainly not least, the customer data you’ll find in Quickbooks Online is scarcely limited.  While Netsuite gives you a ton of demographical and marketing info, QBOL only offers customer name and contact details.

Check out this free recorded webinar on why next-generation sales professionals leverage Netsuite for cloud ERP.

@BlythecoLLC

The post The Top Ten Reasons to Choose Netsuite Over Quickbooks Online appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

Recently I was walking through a warehouse with the owner of a small distributor, when one of his employees brought him a widget that had been damaged by a forklift. The owner told him to trash the widget, and to tell accounting to write it off (the value of this widget was $170). This got me thinking, “are they aware of the cost to replace this widget?”

Later, I asked the warehouse person how much they would need in sales to replace this widget; he said $170. Well, not exactly – let me explain.
In order to replace the cost of the damaged widget, the money must come from the margin of future sales. This company earns a 2% margin for this widget, so they must sell 50 widgets, just to pay for the widget that was damaged! That is $8,500 in additional cost!
$170/.02 = $8,500 in new sales needed to replace said damaged widget $8,500/$170 = 50 widgets

This example doesn’t take into account carrying costs; if carrying costs were 30%, the replacement cost would be $11,050!
To avoid making a mistake like this it’s wise to make sure your inventory is optimized.  No one likes paying more than they have to!

Again, to break even on lost, damaged or stolen inventory, the replacement cost comes from future profits!  How much harder must your sales team work to make up for damaged, lost or stolen inventory?

These little inventory costs that occur daily and weekly add up over time, and at the end of the year, these “little” costs can have a substantial effect on the bottom line.  Therefore, it is important for employees to understand costs associated with inventory, and the impact it has on the company’s financials.

Get your free inventory management resource kit today.

@ERPSalesExec

The post What is the Cost of Damaged, Lost or Stolen Inventory? appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

A dynamic beer market along with a conservation mindset is driving a strong demand for paperless processing systems.

Join our panel for a discussion of how enabling paperless processing throughout an organization from accounts payable and accounts receivable to sales order processing and other non-accounting applications reduces your “carbon footprint” and contributes to sustainability.

Our panel includes:

•         Kurt Gail, VP Finance, West Side Beer Distributing
•         Richard Simmons, Sales Director, Altec, Inc.

Companies like West Side Beer and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company are experiencing up to a 40 percent increase in productivity and realizing a return on investment in nine months or less by automating their labor-intensive paper processes through the capture, workflow and delivery of documents.

Hey, whoever thought Blytheco would have gotten into beer.  Surprisingly, we have, and now have a myriad of resources for beer breweries and distributors alike. To see just how well doc*link is working, check out this testimonial by Bill Bales, CFO of the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.  I’m glad he’s happy with doc*link by Altec. Hurray!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ6AQVCSrfw

The post doc-link by Altec Makes Brewing More Efficient appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

Blytheco and Altec are celebrating American Craft Beer Week! This event is May 14-20, and features events all over the country from brewers, wholesalers, retailers, and beer enthusiasts celebrating craft beer in all its glory.

How are we celebrating? We’re proud to host Michigan’s largest beer distributor West Side Beer Distributing – West Side’s CFO Kurt Gail specifically, along with Richard Simmons, Altec’s Director of Sales, on a free web event focused on the beer business on May 15: “Paperless Processing for Beer Companies: A Panel Discussion.”

West Side’s website logo says “The Business of Beer,” and that’s what we’re focused on at Blytheco. We realize that good beer is an art form and distributing adult beverages for a living is a pretty good reason to celebrate in itself, but when it comes down to it, your beer distributorship or brewery is a business, and you need help with the back-office stuff to achieve your goals.

Our online panel discussion will highlight the powerful combination of sustainability and efficiency offered by paperless processing solutions, and will answer your questions about how it works and how you can benefit.

Kurt and Richard will discuss the trend of going paperless in the office, and how it can not only save trees, but make your beer business more efficient AND enable faster growth with LESS overhead.

So sign up today – the webinar is Tuesday, May 15 at 1pm Eastern.

The post Blytheco Celebrates American Craft Beer Week appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

Last week we discussed the 10 best ways to improve your ERP strategy.  Now, we’re going to discuss the 6 best practices when implementing them. When choosing to implement a new ERP system it is extremely important to consider all the inherent risks that will arise throughout the process. Implementing an ERP system will affect multiple people, groups, stakeholders, and business processes in your organization.  Any project, software-related or not, that deliberately crosses organizational boundaries is ripe for potential complexity and risk.

1. Define clear goals and objectives

Make sure you clearly define what your organization is looking to achieve with implementing a new ERP system. An ERP system will affect many departments and business processes throughout your group. Making sure you clearly define what objectives, needs and deliverables each group within your organization is looking to achieve will help better ensure the system you choose is capable of effectively achieving the overall goals.

2. Choosing the right software

To gain full value from an ERP system, you must match the software to your organization’s information needs, processes, functional requirements, and workflows. Consult various vendors and ensure that the ERP system you are sold can truly fulfill your needs.  Here are just some of the few ERP systems out there.

3. Prepare for business transformation

ERP is fundamentally about changing, or transforming, information flows through an organization. By definition, therefore, both roles and processes are likely to change during the ERP implementation. Many projects neglect the need to devote time and resources to change management. Ensuring that a clear process is defined and implemented to help workers through process of change from the old system to the new.

4. Training and Support Resources

A new ERP system will need highly qualified consultants experienced at implementation and training. Make sure the vendor you choose has consultants readily available to train and support your staff on the daily use of the system and any problems and questions that could arise. Also make sure that there is a clear training program defined for new hires and is supported by the ERP software company.

5. Clear Implementation plan and timeline

A crucial part of implementing an ERP system is deciding the exact steps of how it will be done and when. Make sure all affected departments in your organization are consulted as to when the best time it is to implement the new system. For example, choosing to implement an accounting ERP system at year-end accounting closing would be a bad decision. Making the cut over to a new system in the most crucial periods of business is not a good decision.

6. Allocate the necessary resources

Ensure that you allocate the necessary resources, both financially, managerially and end to end support for training and change management. Allocating not enough resources to the overall definition of your organizational needs, choosing of the right software and preparing for the overall change, can break your business.

To meet the new Sage ERP family, check out this webinar.

The post 6 Best Practices for Implementing Your ERP System appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.

Enterprise relationship planning, or ERP, is by no means a ‘piece of cake’ to implement. Horror stories abound about failed installations, unresponsive vendors, and wasted investments. ERP can indeed be complicated, however many organizations can’t find themselves able to function without it— It’s used anywhere from the optimization of inventory management to the organization of accounts payable. Despite the ubiquity of ERP among many organizations, it can still be difficult to grow your business with the right ERP tools.  Thus, when wanting to implement a new ERP system, it’s important that it efficiently brings together different aspects of your back office for greater insight into business processes.

Today’s ERP offerings are still convoluted, but smaller companies especially have more choices in ERP solutions designed for their requirements. In order to implement ERP effectively, you should remember to stay close with your vendor in order to have easy access to customizations and configurations, choose the right delivery and access model for your business, and of course, use this list as a guide!

1. Focus on the ways ERP can optimize your business processes.

You must first know exactly how your business operates.  If you have in-house human resource functions along with the need to manage products or inventory, you should totally be aware of these needs before you can identify the ERP functionality that can support your various business processes. It’s important to be open to some change, however; an ERP implementation can alter some business processes, and your organization will need to adapt its processes to match.

2. Understand your organization’s business goals and decide how ERP can support them.

ERP is intended to boost your company’s bottom line by optimizing your business processes, so it needs to be linked to your organization’s business goals. To this end, it is probably not a bad idea to integrate both your business’s CRM and ERP initiatives. It’s crucial, then, that you identify the ERP functionality — from advanced financials to supply chain management (SCM) to sales force automation (SFA) to workforce management — so it can help you attain those goals. Your ERP goals need to be specifically outlined and defined.

3. Understand your back office workflows.

Simply put, you need to know how your employees perform their jobs every day in order to maximize efficiency. These results should be gauged daily and compared to the amount of production at [the very least] the end of each week.

4. Consider Web-based ERP solutions.

Everybody’s doing it!  Most notably SAP, Microsoft, and Sage have moved into the cloud and now offer full-featured hosted ERP solutions that are delivered via the Internet. If an on-premise solution is not available to you because of limitations in IT staff, SaaS might be actually be a better option for you.

5. Involve employees from IT and the departments impacted by ERP in the implementation.

It’s important that everyone is on the same page – not just the people physically installing the new system.  Furthermore, since many departments within an organization are affected by ERP, it’s good to have a consistency in understanding among employees. It is important for the people who use ERP on a day-to-day basis to also be a part of the implementation process as they can provide feedback on how to optimize system functionality.

6. Dedicate members of your IT staff to your ERP implementation.

Even if you’re working with a vendor to install an ERP solution, you should have some employees focused only on the implementation.  Needless to say, your vendor probably won’t be around as constantly as your employees, and it never hurts to have some extra brains around in case of a system failure.  This is why it’s also important to frequently back up your data!

7. Full ERP implementation rarely happens overnight

Be patient. Most ERP deployments take several months or even a year to be fully implemented — Yikes?!  No, don’t fret; this timeframe is typical for most ERP modules in midsized-to-large businesses but not necessarily indicative of small business ERP implementations. ERP systems should be installed in phases, one at a time, and must be methodically tested.

8. Limit customization of the ERP solution.

There are so many ERP solutions available that you’ll surely find one that matches your organization’s business processes. While some customization is typically necessary, remember that the less you need to customize the solution, the easier it will be to maintain and upgrade, particularly if your current IT staff changes.

9. Budget for training.

Most modern software is so user-friendly that most people can boot up and go.  ERP is unfortunately not like most modern software.   Luckily, there are places like us that offer On-Demand training for many Sage ERP products. These feature tutorials, how-tos and other whitepapers.

10. Prepare data for the migration earlier rather than later.

Business data is at the heart of every ERP solution, and it must be migrated from your legacy databases to the new ERP software. To be effective in the system, data must be accurate, complete, and consistent — that means cleaning it before migration. Start cleaning your data early in the implementation and create data entry standards that will be in place by the time the system is live.

For an overview of the Sage ERP family, check out this product portfolio.

The post 10 Tips on Improving Your ERP Strategy appeared first on Think, The Blytheco Blog.