Sage Accpac ERP Software Support Hub

Starting with the March 31, 2010 US Payroll Tax update, and July 1, 2010 Canadian tax update, Activation Codes are no longer required when installing the update. However, in order to actually install the update, there are a few requirements.

Before installing the payroll tax update, verify your service pack or product update level first:

• If you are on Payroll 5.4A, you will need to install Service Pack 3
• If you are on Payroll 5.5A, you will need to install Product Update 2 or Product Update 3
• If you are on Payroll 5.6A, no Product Update is required

To verify what service pack or product update you have installed, click the System Information option in the Help menu in your Sage Accpac ERP program. Service Packs and Product Updates can be downloaded from http://support.accpac.com/techsupport/Service_Packs/a4w/. If you do not have the required patch, you may get an error message when installing the tax update:

"The installed version of System Manager is not compatible with the Payroll tax update version. You will not be able to install this tax update. To resolve this issue, please read KB article 28923, or contact Customer Support."

If you receive the above message, just install the necessary patch and install the payroll tax update again. If you are still running into issues, please feel free to contact Customer Support at 800-253-1372.

Product update 3 is now available for the following modules, with the exception of Customer Number change.

• Account Code Change
• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• AR Inquiry
• Customer Number Change (PU2)
• General Ledger
• Inventory Control
• Item Number Change
• Lot Tracking
• Ops Inquiry
• Order Entry
• Payroll - Canadian
• Payroll - U.S.
• Project & Job Costing
• Purchase Orders
• Serialized Inventory
• System Manager
• Uni Sales Analysis Product
• Vendor Number Change 

Install the product updates only on the computer(s) where the Accpac program files are installed locally.

For example:

If you are running Accpac in a client/server environment where Accpac is installed only on the application server, install the product updates only on the application server.  There is no need to install the product updates on the client workstations that are running Accpac workstation setup.

If you have X number of client workstations were Accpac is installed locally, install the product updates on these client workstations.

To see a list of changes included in product update 3, please visit:

http://support.accpac.com/TechSupport/Service_Packs/a4w/WhatsNewInPU3.pdf

With new releases of software, there are always compatibility questions that arise.  Unfortunately, finding this information is not always easy.

Here are a few common questions and answers related to HRMS 10.0

Q: Is HRMS 10.0 compatible with Accpac ERP 5.6 and 5.5?
A: HRMS 10.0 is only compatible with Accpac ERP 5.6.  HRMS 8.5 and 8.3 are compatible with Accpac ERP 5.5.

Q: Is HRMS 10.0 compatible with 64bit Windows Servers?
A: Yes, HRMS 10.0 is compatible with Windows Server 2003 and 2008 64bit.  However, to run HRMS 10.0 on a 64bit Windows Server, you will need to use 32bit compatibility mode.

Q: Is HRMS 10.0 compatible with 64bit Microsoft SQL Servers?
A: Yes, HRMS 10.0 is compatible with Windows SQL Server 2005 and 2008 64bit.  However, to run HRMS 10.0 on a 64bit Windows SQL Server, you will need to use 32bit compatibility mode.

If you are using HRMS 10.0 Abra Workforce Connections, the Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server must be 32bit.

HRMS 8.5 and 8.3 are not supported with any 64bit Windows Server or Microsoft SQL Server.

If you are unable to find your answers in our Knowledge Base at kb.accpac.com, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop us an email.

Yes, it is actually that time of the year again already. To help you get through the tax season with a little bit more ease, here are some tips when filing your T4s electronically:

1. Electronic T4s have a XML format. However, if you attempt to print the T4 through the T4 report icon and export it using the XML format, that file will be rejected because it does not have the correct format. You need to use the T4s Electronic Filing icon instead.
2. Enter the SIN number for the owner in the SIN of 1st Proprietor field. When needed, you can enter 0's in that field.
3. Transmitter Number is assigned to you by CRA. It will always start with MM follow by 6 digits.
4. Submission Reference ID is a field where you can enter a number to keep track of how many times you have submitted your T4. For example, you may want to enter 001 for your first submission.
5. You will also need your Business Number when filing your T4s. Enter the business number in the Reporting ID box in the EI Rate in the Income Taxes icon in Payroll Setup. If EI is exempt, enter the number in the INCTAX tax code.

Short and sweet. You should now have the basic info that you need to file your T4s electrionically.

I joined the Sage Accpac ERP support team back in October of 2007, without knowing much about the product at that time. Two years later when I am about to leave the support team for a different position in Sage, I’d have to say that what I know about Accpac is still very limited.

Accpac is a complete package with a very large number of functions and options which could satisfy many different kinds of business needs. Supporting our clients as well as resolving program and user/environment issues pushes me every single day to learn more about our products, database systems, our customers, and everything that’s related.

Although specializing in certain modules and 3rd party products is our main task as support technicians (and I am quite familiar with some of them) I still wish that I would have learned a bit more about the Operational Suite, and some other related products, such as HRMS and Insight.

Fortunately being in a different position will still allow me to access our online learning tools and resources such as Sage University and the Accpac Online Community where I can keep myself updated with the newest product knowledge.

The time I spent in Accpac support has been quite a ride. There are ups and downs, but mostly ups. Since our company is getting stronger day by day, and every new Accpac release ) improves upon the previous version, I believe that's what had made my time in support so special.

Have you come up with any new year's resolutions for this year? I haven't checked the statistics, but I would say most of them are never fulfilled. If there's one thing that you should have completed this year already, that's installing and activating the payroll update.

You can access your payroll update and activation codes by going to http://www.sageaccpac.com/myaccount. For Canadian Payroll, depending on what version you are on, you will require 5.4I, 5.5F or 5.6B. For US Payroll, 5.4L, 5.5G, or 5.6C.

Let me say again, if you have not installed AND activated your payroll update yet, you need to do that immediately. You must have it activated before you run any 2010 payrolls or print any government reports such as T4 or W2. If you still have 2009 payrolls that you need to run, you should still activate the 2010 payroll update first. The program will continue to use the 2009 tax tables to calculate last year's payrolls. There's no "Payroll Year End function". For Canadian Payroll, remember to update the Personal Tax Credit Claims ONLY when you are ready to do your 2010 payroll. You don't want to be using the new amounts when you still have 2009 payrolls to run.

If you have any questions in regards to the update, and I mean anything, I suggest checking the Readme and the Tax Update Notice first. Access them through the Online Documentation folder under the Sage Accpac directory on the Programs List when you click the Windows Start button. The following is a list of knowlege base articles (http://kb.accpac.com) that may be useful as well:

• KB 22335 - Checklist for Payroll Year End (the FAQ)
• KB 22285 - Backing Up and Restoring a Database
• KB 22278 - Installing and Activating a Tax Update
• KB 22276 - Adjusting Employee Federal Personal Tax Credit Claims (for Cdn Payroll)
• KB 22279 - Adjusting Employee Provincial (or Territorial) Personal Tax Credit Claims (for Cdn Payroll)
• KB 28618 - Changes to 2009 W2s On Paper Function for New Jersey (for US Payroll) 
• KB 24258 - HOW TO: Adjust and Correct T4 Box Totals
• KB 20687 - How to Adjust Box 1, 3, 5, 16 and 18 Amounts on W2 by Using Transaction History

I was away from the office last Thursday and Friday, because I didn’t want to get up too early after the Lady Gaga concert on Wednesday night. In the end I was glad I did, because the show turned into a giant party. Everybody had a good time, and I was exhausted but I didn’t have to worry about not having enough sleep.

On Friday I decided to get my mind away from work a bit more, so I started installing a PC game I recently purchased called Borderlands. I build all my PC’s from scratch. The current machine sports the latest hardware - AMD Phenom II X3 720, Radeon 5850, 4GB Ram, dual OS with Windows 7, of course.

Since the installation of Windows 7, I have played a few games on this machine and never had a problem. But this time is a bit different. I spent an hour trying to get the game installed, then spent another couple of hours reinstalling it, tweaking it to get it to run properly. After I had wasted the whole morning, I noticed that Windows 7 is actually not among the supported OS's for the game.

I had no other choice but to load the game on to the secondary OS of my PC, Windows XP. Although the XP system is used as a backup system and not for gaming purpose – it has inferior performance in terms of gaming – Borderlands ran smoothly on it and I was kicking myself for not trying that sooner.

What I have learned from this? If I had applied my work knowledge (doh!) and read the system requirements first, I would have avoided wasting time and energy.

So before installing Accpac 5.6, please review the system requirements and recommendations to avoid any unnecessary work. Trust me, I wish I had.

The wait is finally over. After months of beta testing, we are proud to announce the official release of version 5.6. It is available for download as of this moment, and the official ship date for the product will be December 07.

I still remember the time when we released our products in separate phases, Financial modules first, then Operation modules. It's much more convenient for the clients now since they don't have to plan for multiple upgrades. Plus they don't have to worry about compatiblity issues between versions. Better yet, we have put this new version through a good amount of testing with some selected customers before releasing it. You can expect a much more stable, and problem free product. We have come up with a couple of articles that you may find useful when upgrading to 5.6. You can access them by going to http://kb.accpac.com.

• 27465 - Default Financial Reports in Sage Accpac ERP 5.5/5.6 have different account group specifications from new companies created in Accpac 5.5/5.6
• 28290 - Error is Received During the Activation or Upgrade Process to Version 5.6
• 28112 - Upgrade Older Versions of AR Inquiry to Sage Accpac ERP 5.6
• 28245 - Which version of Sage Payroll Service Integration would be compatible with Sage Accpac 5.6?
• 28111 - Updated - Technical Changes for Sage Accpac ERP 5.6
• 28333 - Pre-installation Checklist for Sage Accpac ERP 5.6
• 28334 - What's New in Sage Accpac ERP 5.6
• 28375 - In Accpac 5.6, Bank Services uses AP/AR transaction date to determine the posting period of the transaction.
• 28221 - Viewinsert of ASGEN1(CADEDL) (1965 c:\dev\lic56a\source\views\snlit.updg.c)
• 27930 - Steps Required Before Upgrading to Bank Services 5.6A

So what are you waiting for!? Upgrade to 5.6 today!

I was at Sage Summit 2009 last week, and I have to say that it was a very successful event. It was well organized, smoothly run, and greatly satisfying for our customers, business partners and our own Sage staff.

City of Atlanta gave us a few days of warm November weather that I have not experience in Vancouver. It also showcased a city with long history, as well as new and trendy city planning and designs. The CNN center tour was spectacular, so was the World of Coca-cola, not mentioning how many different soft drinks I have tried there. The Night at Aquarium brought all of us to the largest aquarium in the world, where we saw some amazing ocean species.

I was even more impressed with Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s speech and the emotional stories he told us about war and about people, and also the stories of our customers – how they deal with the economical crisis, how they manage and fight through tough situations, and how they succeed.

I was glad that I could meet many of our customers, and talking with them face to face, hearing the difficulties they were experiencing with software, and helping them by doing everything we could. And I was happy that I was able to give them a hand, a piece of information they needed, and ultimately helping them with their business needs.

It was overall a great experience for me, and many people at the Summit. It was upbeat, encouraging, and informative. If I get the chance again, I would go again, and I would encourage all of you to participate as well.

I think the new Windows 7 TV commercials have a really nice personal touch and are very cute, especially the little girl, Kylie, although I still think Mac has the funnier commercials. With the launching of the new Windows operating system, you must be wondering if Sage Accpac ERP is compatible with it.

Sage Accpac ERP version 5.6 will be compatible with Windows 7 when it is released in December. Although there will be not official testing of version 5.4 and 5.5 with Windows 7. We will also start support them with Windows 7 when 5.6 is released.

If you are using Pervasive SQL Database Engine, you will need version 10 SP3 (10.3). Only a trial version is available at the moment, but the full version should be available at the beginning of 2010. If you are using MS SQL Server, you will be require to install SP3 for SQL server 2005, and SP1 for SQL server 2008.

Once all the testings have been finalized, the information will be posted on our website. So for the most current and updated information, be sure to check our knowledge base and our system requirements page. I never had the chance to play with Vista, mainly because I'm happy with XP, and because of all the bad experiences I've heard. Hopefully, Windows 7 will be a much better experience.

Here's the newest from our Product Management Team:

The Sage Accpac 5.6 Controlled Release program is starting to recruit.  Take the plunge and be the first in your industry to go live on Sage Accpac 5.6. Apply Here.

Taking part in this program will give you access to priority Support (via phone) during the program.

What’s expected of you?

If you’re interested, talk to your Partner about applying. If accepted, your Partner will be sent a copy of the newest version to install at your work site. You are expected to run live on the latest release, and if you encounter any issues, report them to us immediately.

Incentives are offered and are listed on the Controlled Release website. Apply early and note that not all applicants will be accepted.

I have to say that it is a great opportunity to take advantage of the incentives offered, to try out the new features in 5.6, and most importantly to give us your “real world” feedback on how the new version works with your specific business needs.

Our last Controlled Release program for Sage Accpac ERP 5.5 was a great success. We are confident that the same will happen for 5.6.

Windows 2008 server has been certified as a supported platform for Sage Accpac ERP since the release of 5.5 Product Update 1.

But from what we have heard from our customers and partners, it still gives them occasional headaches when they need to setup Accpac on Windows 2008 Server machines.

Again, our analysts here are working hard to make sure the latest information on Windows 2008 Server is in the online Knowledge Base at kb.accpac.com.

Here are a few common questions related to 2k8 server, and the answers to them:

Q: I want to setup Web Deployment on my new Win 2k8 server, but it has a different IIS, I don’t know where to start!
A: The detailed setup documents in KB article 27089 can walk you through the process.

Q: Can Pervasive 9.6 be installed on Win 2008 server?
A: According to Pervasive, such configuration is not support, please check KB article 26876 for more details.

Q: We can not use our Windows Vista machines to sign into Accpac, the sign on procedure hangs. The shared data folder is on our Windows 2008 server.
A: The combination of Vista and 2008 systems might be causing the issue, KB article 27000 explains the situation and gives steps on how to resolve it.

And there are many more articles on other win 2008 related subjects.

If you are not able to find your answers in our KB however, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop us an email. We like challenges.

It's almost time for Sage Summit again. For those of you who are not familiar, Sage Summit is our annual conference that allows our customers to discover proven tips, tricks, strategies, and skills that will help you boost productivity and save your organization money.  Have you register for it yet?

I highly recommend attending this year's event if you have not been to one yet.  If you have, we would love to have you there again. I had a blast when I attended last time in D.C.

This year's Summit will be in Atlanta, Georgia November 9-12. There will be hands on training sessions, round table discussions, trades shows, and networking events. And besides work, you can attend Summit's Night at the Aquarium at the world famous Georgia Aquarium. Oh, and if you visit the Support Center, you will run into Kurt and Dave from the Support department. Yes, this is the very Kurt that partners with me on this Blog.  Be sure to drop by and say ‘hi’!

For more information, you can visit http://www.sagesummit.com/index.cfm. If you have any questions, you can always message Kurt or me.

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I personally like Financial Reporter a lot.

It’s a compact and yet powerful tool. FR does not require additional software other than Sage Accpac and Microsoft Excel, also the reports are portable. And since it utilizes Excel as the macro base, all the handy Excel functions are the added bonuses.

My favorite thing about Financial Reporter is that the process of customizing a report is very thought-provoking.

All the benefits, of course, would only be beneficial if Financial Reporter starts properly, right? I have compiled a list of error messages that we get questioned about the most, as well as the Knowledge Base articles that could resolve them:

1. Runtime error '429': ActiveX component can't create object – KB 21493
2. Error on running STARTGL9200 or STARTGL9100 in xla macro – KB 24244
3. Microsoft Visual Basic. Run-time error '91':Object Variable or Width block variable not set – KB 23601
4. cmdStart: Error on running InstalledAddinAndXLStard – KB 26267

There are more that people might encounter, but generally speaking, FR errors could be resolved if the following conditions are met:

1. Users have sufficient permissions on the operating system
2. Excel installation has the proper components required by FR
3. Security clearance is given to FR regarding macro or file permissions
4. Accpac and Excel applications are up to date
5. Last but not least, the shortcut to start Accpac should be pointing to the correct Runtime folder.

After resolving the initial errors, Financial Reporter will be much more interesting to work with. If you happen to run into any different error messages starting FR, we’d like to hear from you.

Now a days, you can find almost everything on the internet, restaurants reviews, bank account information, cheap flight tickets, etc. And if you are using multicurrencies in Sage Accpac ERP, you are probably using the internet to check the latest exchanges rates.

Instead of manually entering the exchange rates, have you tried using the GETRATES macro? It grabs the exchange rates from the internet and puts that information into Sage Accpac ERP. "Didn't you talk about macros in one of your previous blog already?" You may ask. I did, except we recently notice an issue with the website where the exchange rates are retrieved.

Like many websites, the addresses can be updated or they may no longer be valid. As a result of a change in the website address to Sauder School of Business from the University of British Columbia, the GETRATES macro no longer works. That is where the macro grabs the latest exchange rates. Their new address is http://fx.sauder.ubc.ca/today.html. So to get the macro working again, you will need to modify it. Refer to KB 27004 if you need the instructions on how to do so.

Now that I have finished my blog, I can go back online and search for cheap flight tickets and hotel rates for my next vacation.