Features Added in System Manager 5.5A

This topic describes the new features and changes in System Manager version 5.5.

• Sage Accpac Dashboard

  Sage ERP Accpac Dashboard is a Web site installed with System Manager and accessed through your Web browser. The Dashboard site has links for sales, receivables, and payables with charts, graphs, gauges, and summaries that measure your organization’s key performance indicators.

  Note: Dashboard requires IIS (a Microsoft component). You must install IIS before installing Dashboard. For instructions and notes about installing IIS, click here.

  Using Dashboard

  To allow your users to easily launch Dashboard, you must bookmark the Dashboard Web site on their browsers. Also, you must assign to them the Dashboard security permission.

• Exchange Gain/Loss Method

  Some accounting standard-setting bodies require that you recognize gains or losses due to fluctuating exchange rates in the period in which they occur. Sage ERP Accpac 5.5 supports this standard.

  In version 5.5, when you select the Multicurrency option for your Sage Accpac system, you also specify when to recognize exchange gains and losses.

  The new Gain/Loss Accounting Method option, on the Options tab of the Company Profile, lets you select one of the following methods:

  • Realized and Unrealized Gain/Loss

  Or

  • Recognized Gain/Loss

  The gain/loss accounting method applies to revaluation in General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, and Accounts Payable.

  Click here for steps to use to switch from the Realized and Unrealized Gain/Loss accounting method to the Recognized Gain/Loss accounting method.

  Note: Once you choose the Recognized Gain/Loss accounting method and save the Company Profile, you cannot change the accounting method.

• Changes in Bank Services

  • Reconciliation Posting Date: This new field lets you specify the date to post a document/transaction to General Ledger.

  The Reconciliation Posting Date field now appears on the following forms: Reconcile Statements; Reconcile OFX Statements; Return Customer Checks; Reverse Payments.

  It also appears on the following reports: Reconciliation Posting Journal (Finder); Transfer Posting Journal (Finder); G/L Transactions Report (Finder); Create G/L Batch (Finder), and the Transfer Posting Journal report.

  In the Bank Transfers form, this field is labeled "Posting Date."

  • In version 5.5, empty deposits that appear on the Deposits tab of the Reconcile Statements form use a default reconciliation status of Not Posted.

  You can now select a new Deleted reconciliation status for an empty deposit. Posting a bank reconciliation removes a deleted deposit from the Deposits tab.

  • Clear History: This new form lets you remove posted bank transactions, printed reconciliation posting journals, and printed transfer posting journals.

  • Security option (in Administrative Services): A new Print Payment Register authorization lets users print the Payment Register report even if they do not have other rights for Bank Services.

  • Match Deposits By option: This new option in the Reconcile OFX Statements form lets you specify whether the program will automatically match individual receipt amounts or total deposit amounts when matching deposits.

• Changes to Bank Reports

  • Payment Register report (new)

  • This new report lists all withdrawals made from a particular bank for a specified period and from a specified source application. You can print criteria such as payment types and reconciliation statuses, sorted by Payment Number, Payment Date, or Vendor/Payee Code, and print payment details or a payment summary, as well as show missing check numbers.

  • Deposits Status report

  • Now allows you to select a deposit status of Returned.

  • The Deposit Date field has been renamed Deposit/Receipt Date.

  • Reconciliation Status report

  • Now allows you to select a reconciliation year and period for the report.

  • You can now also print a list of deleted deposit batches (choose the new option “Deleted” as the Deposit Reconciliation status). The Deleted status is used for deposits entered using Accounts Receivable, and is available only if all the receipt entries for the deposit were deleted.

  • Transfer Posting Journal report

  • On the report dialog box, you can now select whether to include tax information on this report.

  • On the Bank Transfer Posting Journal report itself, a new Reconciliation Posting Date field has been added.

  • Reconciliation Posting Journal report

  • You can now select Print Entry Tax Information to include tax information on the Reconciliation Posting Journal report. (These are taxes that were included with bank entries you added on the Entries tab of the Reconcile Statements form.)

• Changes to the Online Help

  • Feedback: You can send feedback directly to the writer of a Help topic as you view it. Click the feedback link at the bottom of Help pages (see below) to open your e-mail program and start a new message addressed to our documentation team. You write your comments in the body of the message.

  • Tasks-oriented links: Look for a new heading in the Help Contents called "What do you want to do?" Under this heading are subheadings for groups of tasks you might want to perform, such as “Reconcile a Bank Statement,” or “Change System Manager Options.”

  Topics for particular tasks, such as “Reconcile OFX Statements” provide step-by-step instructions for performing the task. They may also include steps you need to complete before or after the task, and links to related topics, as well as additional information pertinent to that task.

  • Changes to the Table of Contents: When you open a System Manager online Help topic, you will see Help folders for all activated Sage ERP Accpac applications (G/L, A/R, I/C, etc) at the bottom of the System Manager Help table of contents.

  Each application has its own folder, containing the complete set of Help topics for that application. This allows you to do a quick search for a topic in one of the applications without having to open the application's window itself.

• Database Changes

  • When you create system and company databases, the system database tables will now be copied to your company database, making certain functions (such as printing Crystal reports) run faster. The system database remains as a master copy.

  • When you create currency rate tables, you can now defer the propagation of currency rate changes by saving the changes to the system database's master copy. Then, when you want to use the rate changes, you simply use the Propagate button and dialog box.

• Activation Note

  To run Bank Services 5.5A, make sure you have posted all unposted deposits from previous versions of A/R before activating Bank Services 5.5A. Then activate Accounts Receivable 5.5A as well.

• Other Changes

  • You no longer need a separate license file for Timecard users.

  • The Start Finder First feature in the Properties dialog box is not available if you are running version 5.0 or later of Sage ERP Accpac applications. However, if you are running old applications (prior to 5.0) with System Manager 5.0 or later, you can still use the feature.

Upgrading from System Manager 5.3?

If you are upgrading directly from System Manager version 5.3, see Features Added in System Manager 5.4.