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Top 5 EDI Software Providers for 2017

Posted by Peter Heinicke on Sun, Sep 25, 2016 @ 05:57 PM

Large retail customers (Walmart, Target)  now drive EDI adoption. They simply inform their suppliers that EDI is mandatory for keeping their business.

Paperless document transfer
systems allow faster transactions with fewer errors; this might seem reason enough to migrate to EDI software, even without customer and vendor pressure. 

But the improved performance that EDI can bring usually requires that software integration with back end software already be in place, as well as the capability to translate outgoing invoices into the varied EDI formats that customers' systems might require. Both requirements can be difficult and intimidating for a small enterprise to successfully implement. Any software integration project can encounter unexpected pitfalls, and the sheer number of document formats and transport protocols that EDI supports adds complexity that can be both daunting and confusing. 
 
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Transport protocols include HTTP and HTTPS, POP3 and SMTP, OFTP, SOAP, WebDAV, X.400, and EDIINT AS1, AS2, AS3 and AS4. The file formats supported by EDI are also very numerous, and include comma-separated value files and  EURITMO as well as:
  • ANSI X12
  • GS1 eCOM EANCOM
  • XML
  • Tradacoms
  • EDIFACT
  • CEFIC 
  • EDIBDB 
  • EDIFICE 
  • EDIFURN 
  • FORTRAS 
Nonetheless, many enterprises do attempt to individually accommodate the format requirements of each customer and vendor, and to establish integration between incoming EDI data and often legacy accounting and business systems. Homegrown works-for-us EDI software integration is still being used but is no longer a top EDI software solution. Companies just starting with EDI tend to use web or fax based services. The trading partner sends the order to the service which then emails, faxes, or provides a web interface to retrieve the order. Costs per order can be as much as $20, but the implementation costs are minimal. 

Fortunately, the emergence of cloud and Software-as-a-Service providers means that small businesses and understaffed information technology departments have an alternative to pulling their hair out over EDI integration with their existing back end accounting software. A number of vendors offer managed and hosted EDI solutions with the EDI capability your business partners are asking you for, and to provide it in much less time, and with much less stress, than this might otherwise take.

Here are some of the most prominent vendors, and a quick look at some of their services:

Redtail Solutions
 has a managed cloud EDI solution that natively integrates with Microsoft, Sage and AccountMate software. Their 3PL Link product provides an electronic link from your accounting system to your third party fulfillment providers.

123 EDI has software, EDI Engine, that supports all versions of all standards for EDI software, and can translate XML and flat files as well. 123 EDI also offer both hosted and managed EDI. Their software accommodates many interfaces, for example Quickbooks, Peachtree, Sage, UPS, DHL and FedEx.

EDI Consulting Group offers many EDI software integration solutions tailored to specific tasks, such as FAX 2 EDI and PDF2EDI and EDI LINK, a bridge from EDI to your accounting software that generates sales orders from incoming customer purchase orders and translates outgoing invoices into EDI data formats. EDI Consulting supports all EDI formats including  X-12, UN-EDIFACT, and XML. We do a lot of business with this EDI provider.

Which of these vendor is best for you? If your business needs EDI today, outsourced solutions may be the place at least to start. If you have the time available to map out and implement an organized and incremental roll-out, you may want to keep at least some of your EDI capability in-house, if your information technology department has the required capabilities.You may also want to bring fresh eyes in to analyse your EDI needs and capabilities. Call PC Methods Inc. at the number above and we will be happy to discuss your EDI requirements and potential designs for a solution that fits your business.
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Tags: ACCPAC ERP, Accpac Pro, ERP systems, Sage Pro ERP, "EDI software"

New Feature requests for Sage Pro ERP

Posted by Peter Heinicke on Sat, Jul 14, 2012 @ 11:35 AM

Sage has seemingly reversed a policy to deprecate Sage Pro Series. This makes sense because Sage Pro is the only open source product Sage has in its ERP arsenal. One of the indicators of this shift in policy is a new website inviting anyone to post new feature requests for future version.   At the time of this writing there were 16 ideas posted. You can also vote on other ideas that have been submitted. If you need it sooner than the next release of Sage Pro, please call Precision Computer Methods Inc. at the number above and we can quote your idea on your system for you. For most ideas, there is no charge to obtain the quote.

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Tags: SAGE PRO, ERP systems, Sage Pro ERP, SBT PRO, ERP software

Cloud-based version of Sage ACCPAC

Posted by Peter Heinicke on Wed, Feb 15, 2012 @ 05:09 PM

It’s well known that enterprise resource planning (ERP) software increases productivity and efficiency by integrating vital internal and external business functions.

And for many businesses, Sage Accpac is the ERP software of choice because of its ease of use, depth of functionality, adaptability to changing business environments, and scalability to manage growth.

However, the upfront IT costs of an in-house implementation of Accpac can be prohibitive, particularly for young, growing businesses. Fortunately, Accpac is available as an off-premises, hosted, Cloud solution—eliminating the need for expensive software and hardware investment.



Benefits of Sage Accpac

Sage Accpac helps disparate business functions coordinate to increase performance across the board. Working seamlessly with Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 and numerous databases (e.g. Pervasive, Oracle, MS SQL), Accpac synchronizes all information so that all employees in each functional area of your company are working together to achieve maximum efficiency.

Sage Accpac applications include:

  • operations and distribution management
  • accounting and financial management
  • payroll management
  • global operations management
  • services and project management
  • customer relationship management (Version 6 is integrated with Sage’s award-winning CRM solution.)
  • human resource management.

Not only will Sage Accpac aggregate information and supply it to all stakeholders, it provides analytic tools to empower informed decision making at the rapid pace demanded in today’s fast-moving business environment. As a specific example, consider how instant integration of human resources, project management, and customer relationship management can allow you to provide more accurate project price quotes.

Another key benefit of Accpac on the Cloud is that—due to its “pay for what you use” model—it’s easily scalable as your company grows. That’s true even if you expand internationally, because the software works with numerous currencies and five languages.

Implementation Steps

Although the Cloud-based Accpac is relatively easy to put into operation, it pays to work with a Sage Certified ERP consulting and services firm that can help ensure you get the package you need and then educate your employees on how to get the most benefit from the software.

Your employees won’t have to be “techies” to effectively use Accpac if they receive the proper instruction, including in-person training, online help, user manuals, and procedure guidelines.

The Bottom Line

You can improve your company’s efficiency—and therefore its profitability—by linking together all the moving parts of your business with the top-rated Sage Accpac ERP solution. And with the Cloud version, there’s no need for the bulk of the expense to be incurred at the outset. You can benefit from using Accpac now—and as your business grows. Talk with an PC Methods about how you can take advantage of this opportunity. The latest version of Accpac is Sage 300 ERP.

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Tags: Sage Accpac, Cloud Computing, ACCPAC ERP, Sage 300 ERP, ERP systems, quickbooks Pro

How you can turn orders into cash using EDI ASN's

Posted by Peter Heinicke on Thu, Jun 23, 2011 @ 02:46 PM

(Reprinted with permission from Redtail Solutions, one of PC Methods EDI partners)

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Tags: ERP systems, EDI, ASN, Supply Chain Management

Putting barcodes or RFID's on your ACCPAC ERP forms and why

Posted by Peter Heinicke on Wed, Apr 27, 2011 @ 09:31 PM

Why and how do you put barcodes on your accounting forms. Which ones can help you the most? This question when addressed properly can save a lot of time and effort on your ERP system's users part as well as on your business partners. It is not difficult to add barcodes to forms such as checks, purchase orders, sales orders, etc. There are even free fonts available which make adding the barcodes as easy as adding any other text string to an ERP system form. Any process where the ERP user has to read a form and retype the information into a computer is a potential process which can be improved by a barcode on the form. Since errors cost an average of about $50 to find and correct, it is well worth it to try to reduce them. The careful thought comes in during the selection process. Logical things to barcode include:

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Tags: ACCPAC, SAGE PRO, ERP systems, Sage Pro ERP, Barcodes

First Look at Sage Pro ERP Version 2010

Posted by Peter Heinicke on Tue, Jan 18, 2011 @ 11:55 AM

The world of business is continually evolving, and so, therefore, must your business management software. That's why the team at Sage is always in communication with their extensive customer base, so that they can be constantly improving their software. One of the results of this collaboration is Sage Pro 2010. Some of the many new features will allow you to:
 
  • Eliminate the need to pay extra for custom reports.
    A new customizable report option grid allows you to create custom filters and sort options for your reports and then save them for reuse.
  • Access your favorite data drillers quickly and easily.
    A new data driller organization tool allows you to define Dataview Groups and associate default data drillers to each.
  • Make sure preferred customers have priority on available inventory.
    A new check box in Sales Order lets you reserve inventory for a particular customer order, thus eliminating the risk of penalties due to low stock.
  • Streamline your data import process with enhanced import options.
    • A new display indicating the current import status.
    • Quick Import no longer prompts you at each stage of the process, and now runs silently in the background.
    • New import options include Item at Location and Item Supplier. You can now also import line-level descriptions and import and export vendor cost levels.
  • When importing payroll posting, there is an option to print the invalid posting report prior to completion.
  • Enjoy enhanced flexibility in exporting data.
    You can now export from Data Center tables sending your tables and fields to several formats: Microsoft Excel, ASCII Delimited, XML, and CSV.
  • Save money on payroll printing.
    The overflow check stub feature prints the overflow of check stubs to blank paper or a separate printer when a check has more than 12 advice lines.
  • Set up multiple Inter-Company Transaction accounts for clearer audit trails.
    The Inter-Company Transaction (ICT) module now allows you to select any General Ledger account as the Inter-Company Clearing account.
  • Easily access more details on Inter-Company Transactions through enhanced reports.
    You can run a summary report for Inter-Company Transactions that were distributed in the source company, received from other companies, or consolidated, distributed, or received.
  • Enjoy expanded compatibility options.
    Sage Pro ERP is now compatible with Microsoft Office® 2007 and Microsoft SQL Server® 2008.
  • Edit partially-released work orders.
    You can now edit the required quantities of released component lines of a work order keeping work orders more up to date.
  • Change the order quantity of Sales Order finished good line items.
    Edit the order quantity of finished good line items easily. And when the quantity of that line is changed, reconfiguration of components takes place automatically.
  • Improved performance in a multiuser environment.
    Sage Pro 2010 technology facilitates storing the screen positions in a local table instead of the system table SYUFSPR if preferred.
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Tags: ERP systems, ACCPAC | SAGE PRO | IT Consulting, SBT PRO

Common IT Mistakes Made to Meet Security Compliance

Posted by Peter Heinicke on Wed, Apr 07, 2010 @ 10:47 AM

Companies often make mistakes when rushing to meet regulatory compliance deadlines. You should be careful to ensure you don't weaken your company's security in the process. Below are 5 of the most common ways companies make these security missteps:

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Tags: ERP systems, PCI Compliance, Credit Card Processing, Accounting systems