Saturday, December 31, 2011

Starship Version 12 has been released

Starship Version 12 has been released mid-December 2011.  It is an upgrade path from Starship versions 9.x and higher.

V-Technologies will discontinue support for version 9.x on December 31, 2011.  FedEx will retire all API transactions as of May 31, 2012 -- so customers on version 9.x will no longer be able to ship FedEx packages after this date. It is recommended that customers still on this version implement a plan for upgrading. 

Some new features in Starship version 12:
  • UPS Paperless NAFTA certificate of origin.
  • Quantum View Notify - in transit notification.
  • Restricted articles for international shipments.
  • Rate updates effective January 2, 2012.
  • Support for FedEx Web Services.  This allows for expanded features such as FedEx SmartPost and Electronic Trade Documents.
  • Exclusive support for USPS Endicia.  USPS Manifest and Metered mail was discontinued in Starship version 11 and higher.
What for a future post with more information once we have a chance to work with the new version.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

C&G Consulting Named to Sage Software’s President’s Circle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!
Firm Ranked Number One for Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth in Mid-Market ERP Sales

Waukesha, WI (December 28, 2011) – C&G Consulting has been ranked number one in North America for year-over-year product revenue growth in Sage Software Mid-Market Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system sales. This top distinction has earned C&G Consulting a spot in Sage Software President’s Circle, an annual recognition of Sage’s top performers who assist small and medium sized businesses with cost-effective business management software systems. C&G Consulting is a Sage North American business partner specializing in the sales, implementation and support of Mid-Market ERP and CRM systems—including Sage MAS 90 ERP, MAS 200 ERP, MAS 500 ERP, SageCRM and Sage Peachtree.

“We honor C&G Consulting for its hard work and focus on our mutual customers, which has earned the firm the Sage North America President’s Circle Award,” said Tom Miller, VP of Channel Management for Sage. “Congratulations to the entire team at C&G Consulting for this accomplishment. We wish them continued success in the coming years.”

C&G Consulting partner Rick Sovitzky, CPA, CITP, is thrilled that his team earned the Sage President’s Circle Award for the first time: “An award like this is a tangible sign of dedicated teamwork and loyal, satisfied customers. Most new customers are referred to C&G Consulting by existing customers and referral partners. Our team works very hard to provide world-class service to help our customers utilize their business software systems in order to compete and win, both locally and globally.”
President’s Circle 2011 award recipients will receive further recognition from Sage during Sage Summit, a national event for Sage business partners and customers, to be held this coming August in Tennessee.

About C&G Consulting

C&G Consulting provides ERP and CRM business software systems and Managed Network IT services for mid-marketing companies located in the Midwest and around the Unites States from its offices in Waukesha, WI, Appleton, WI, and Northbrook, IL.

C&G Consulting is a division of Chortek & Gottschalk, LLP, a full service CPA firm providing audit, tax, fraud and litigation support services, and business consulting and advisory services with offices in Waukesha, WI, Northbrook, IL, Washington DC and Appleton, WI.


For more information contact:
Rick Sovitzky, Partner
C&G Consulting / Chortek & Gottschalk, LLP
(262) 522-8251 or (414) 698-8226
rsovitzky@c-gconsulting.com
http://www.c-gconsulting.com/

Sage MAS 90 / MAS 200 year-end payroll updates

Sage released new MAS 90 and MAS 200 updates for processing year-end payroll. The update needs to be loaded before running W-2s in MAS 90 / MAS 200 or in Federal and State eFiling and Reporting.


Main page for Year-end processing:
http://infosource.sagesoftwareonline.com/sw_attach/sso/mas90/ye.htm


Link to the interim release download (IRD):
http://infosource.sagesoftwareonline.com/sw_attach/sso/mas90/irdinstall.htm
Note that the download is supported with only the following versions:

o MAS 90/200 4.2, 4.3 SU 17-23, 4.4 PU 1-7
o MAS 90/200 EES 1.3 and 1.4
o MAS 200 SQL 3.74

Do not install this IRD for the following versions since the year-end changes are already included or are not applicable.

o MAS 200 SQL 4.45
o MAS 90/200 4.5
o Product Update 8 for MAS 90/200 4.4 (4.40.0.08)

Please read the 2011 Q4 IRD instructions carefully for your particular version of MAS 90 / MAS 200 for the steps to install the IRD properly. To ensure the accuracy of your data, please verify that the previous year’s IRDs and any updates have been installed as described in the 2011 Q4 IRD instructions prior to installing the 2011 Q4 IRD.

If you own a Sage Extended Solution or any other enhancement to MAS 90 or MAS 200, do not install this IRD before checking to see if your enhancement(s) will be impacted by the IRD.

The link to the 2012 Q1 Tax Table Update is here:
http://infosource.sagesoftwareonline.com/sw_attach/sso/mas90/90ttu.htm

The Tax Table Update includes the 4.2% employee FICA rate, $110,100 FICA limit, and .6% FUTA rate.

Contact us at 262-522-8260 if you have any questions or would like assistance applying the updates.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Phishing Email Outbreak

The C&G Consulting Support Center team has noted a marked increase in calls regarding malicious emails. The most prevalent of these are in the category of "phishing" emails. These are attempts to install malware on your computer or to steal information by trying to get you to click on forged email links. These links are either attached to the email, or are purporting to be links to the Better Business Bureau or financial institutions. The links are usually pointing to web address that are far different from what their label is displaying.

Protect your computer and your privacy by not clicking on links sent to you in emails unless you've checked the link and trust the source. If you "hover" your mouse over a questionable link without actually clicking it, Outlook will display the information about what the link is really pointing to. In most cases, the link is pointing to an entirely different web address than is purported in the text of the link in the email itself. Do not click on these kinds of links. Simply delete the email.

If you have further questions regarding email and security, contact us at 262-522-8226.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Important Changes Regarding PC Charge

PC Charge is a credit-card processor used by some MAS 90/200 customers.  Sage has announced that as of version 5.0, Sage will no longer support PC Charge as a compatible processing software with MAS 90 and MAS 200.

Version 5.9.3 will be the last version tested by Sage for compatibility with MAS 90 and 200.  Future versions of PC Charge released by Verifone may continue to function with MAS, however they will not be tested by Sage.

Sage encourages customers who process with PC Charge to look to Sage Payment Solutions (SPS) as an alternative.  SPS offers the following benefits:
- No additional software to install.
- Seamless integration with MAS 90 and 200.
- Comprehensive reporting via a web interface.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

MAS 500 v7.4 New Feature #3: Sales Order Negative Line Items

Sales order entry now allows negative line items for use with coupons, rebates, purchasing incentives and any other non-inventory item you need to add a negative quantity for on the order.






Thursday, December 1, 2011

Sonicwall Releases VPN Client for IOS

Sonicwall now has a native client application for Apple IOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch). Prior to this app being released, most VPN connections from the iPad required modification of both the Sonicwall and iPad networking settings. Now, for users of Sonicwall's SSL-VPN systems, the IOS device simply needs to run the Sonicwall Mobile Connect app. After the address, username and password information is entered, the VPN is simple to enable, and can even be connected automatically upon launching the app from the IOS device's home screen. After the VPN is enabled, all other apps on the IOS device can now access the remote network (the office network, in most cases). For example, WYSE Pocket Cloud or VMWare View apps can be used to connect to remote desktop Windows computers (RDP) and VMWare virtual computers. The Sonicwall Mobile Connect app is available for free on Apple's App Store.