While there hasn't been a major release of Sage 100 ERP since Version 4.5 back in 2011, there were still plenty of noteworthy changes in 2012. Along with a brand overhaul and new name for your business software, there were a range of enhancements, new features, and pricing options designed to give you better value for your investment. Here is a look at the year in review.
SAGE INTELLIGENCE ENHANCEMENTS
As the official replacement for FRx, it's no wonder that Sage put so much effort into developing smart new enhancements for Sage Intelligence Reporting. New features such as the Report Designer Add-in provide additional drag-and-drop Excel financial formulas, while Reporting Trees allow you to create a visual model of your company's reporting structure. To get the most out of your Sage 100 intelligence reporting tool, be sure to join The B.I. Community, where you'll have access to demo videos, product specs, downloads, chat rooms, discussion forums, and much more.
For those of you still holding onto FRx, remember that the FRx Conversion Assistant was created to help you convert your FRx catalogues – including columns, formulas, row formats, and more – to Sage Intelligence. Please note that "official" support for FRx ends on December 31st, 2012.
REBRANDING OFFICIALLY ROLLS OUT
This year, Sage implemented a major brand overhaul. In an effort to consolidate dozens of product names and resources under the "Sage" brand, the names of many core accounting and ERP lines were changed. As a result, your Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 software is now officially called Sage 100 ERP and comes in Standard (formerly MAS 90), Advanced (formerly MAS 200), and Premium (formerly MAS 200 SQL) versions - each designed to match the complexity of your business.
For more information, visit http://na.sage.com/sage-na/company/brand
NEW SHIPPING SOLUTION
2012 also brought us SmartLinc, a new "Sage Endorsed" shipping solution for Sage 100. It provides all the benefits you'd expect from an automated shipping solution like real-time address correction, label printing, shipment tracking and history, and more – all combined with the benefits of being a cloud-based solution. That means there's very little set up and you can access SmartLinc anywhere.
NEW PRICING OPTIONS
Taking a cue from the software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model, Sage is now providing Sage 100 customers with the option of subscription-based pricing. This pay-as-you-go option for Sage 100 ERP requires less up-front capital investment than the traditional user/module-based pricing. However, the long-term cost of ownership can potentially be more depending on the modules used and your specific business needs.
Need help figuring it all out? Be sure to Contact Us with any questions about upgrading, updating, or anything in between!
GET THE WHOLE SCOOP
This post is an article that appeared in our Sage 100 ERP newsletter for Year End 2012. To see all the articles in this newsletter issue, click the thumbnail image below.
