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Sage North America Support Resource Links: Knowledgebases, Communities, Direct Phone Numbers

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I just stumbled across this page on the Sage North America site. It lists all the direct technical support phone numbers for the various Sage products. It also shows direct links to the knowledgebase areas and the communities.

These links should be helpful for anyone using more than one Sage product. The page also gives you a nice “at a glance” view of the various Sage products.

Included are support links for the following products:
Sage Abra HRMS – 800-829-0170
Sage Abra Canada HRMS – 800-490-3711
Sage ACT! – 877-902-0597
Sage Active Planner – 800-457-5864
Sage BusinessVision Accounting – 800-215-5395
Sage BusinessWorks Accounting – 877-879-0455
SageCRM – 866-856-0703
Sage DacEasy – 800-322-3279
Sage ERP Accpac
Sage ERP MAS 90 / Sage ERP MAS 200 – 800-371-3602
Sage ERP MAS 500 – 800-944-5481
Sage FAS Fixed Assets – 800-331-8514
Sage Fund Accounting (Formerly MIP) – 800-945-3278
Sage Fundraising 50 – 800-945-3278
Sage Fundraising Online – 800-945-3278
Sage Grant Management – 800-945-3278
Sage Healthcare – 877-932-6301
Sage Master Builder – 800-866-8049
Sage Millenium – 800-945-3278
Sage Payment Solutions & Merchant Services – 800-261-0240
Sage Peachtree – 866-747-3888
Sage PFW ERP – 800-333-5242
Sage Pro ERP – 800-642-7693
Sage Project Lifecycle Management – 866-991-3360
Sage SalesLogix – 800-944-5709
Sage Simply Accounting – 888-522-2722
Sage Timberline Enterprise – 866-991-5606
Sage Timberline Office – 800-551-8307
Sage TimeSheet – 866-719-5198
Sage Timeslips – 800-555-2452

Notably missing from the list is Sage ERP X3 though we expect that at some point Sage will update their page for the support resource.

Sage Support Resources

MAS 90 Hot Fixes Now Log Their Status

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When you install product updates to your Sage ERP MAS 90 or MAS 200 the system automatically keeps track of which update you’ve installed. To view this information simply select “Help” and “About” from your menu.

Up until now tracking the status of minor patches, aka hot fixes, has been problematic. There’s not been an easy way to know if someone has loaded a certain fix to your system.

While you could compare program file dates between systems and track down changes that way – most people find that procedure too cumbersome.

Now Sage will create a folder — \mas90\home\hot fix into which it will insert separate text files for each hot fix that someone has installed. The file will have the HFT extension and be named with the reference ID of the hotfix itself. In each text file you can view the exact program that was replaced/modified enabling you to verify exactly which fixes have been loaded along with the product update.

via: 90 Minds consulting Group

Sage Extended Solutions Absorbed Into MAS90 & MAS200

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Sage North America appears to be formalizing their plans for including some of their popular catalog of Extended Solutions for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 into the core product beginning with release 4.4.

If you’re not familiar with Extended Solutions they were pre-written customizations (sold separately) that once installed work seamlessly within MAS 90 and MAS 200.

For years Extended Solutions were the “secret sauce” that Sage consultants used when they implemented new systems for customers.

During any ERP software implementation there’s usually a tiny bit of missing functionality that’s needed. For example finding a fixed cost Extended Solution that for example performed ACH Payments for Accounts Payable (not a core MAS 90 feature) was significantly cheaper and easier than hiring a programmer to modify the software to perform that task.

Sage Extended Solutions No Longer Sold

Beginning with version 4.4 of MAS 90 and MAS 200 Extended Solutions will not be sold separately. Instead Sage have taken the list of available solutions and intends to cull out the most popular ones for inclusion in future releases of MAS 90 and MAS 200.

Extended Solutions not selected for inclusion will have their source code made available to a number of select programmers (Master Developers) so that customers can have their enhancements upgraded.

Although some solutions with few users may not make it into Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 we understand that Sage will continue to provide support (without upgrades past version 4.3) for a period of time yet to be officially announced.

Note: As of this writing the site for Extended Solutions catalogs and pricing is down.

Exact Timetable For Inclusion Uncertain

We’ve yet to hear anything official on when these enhancements (shown below) will be included in the next release(s) of Sage MAS 90 and 200.

One source who attended a Sage meeting indicated that out of and estimated 700 titles (active & inactive) there will be approximately 56 preserved and rolled into MAS 90 and MAS 200 over the next 12-24 months in various quarterly updates.

Another approximate two dozen enhancements were listed as being un-needed due to functionality that was in the new version 4.4 release of MAS 90 and MAS 200.

An unofficial partial list (we think this list is close to what will be added in the first three rounds of updates in 2010 is almost certainly shy a few enhancements and probably subject to change – so take it with a grain of salt) of Extended Solution parts that may be rolled into the first release is:

March 2010: SO1096, PR1018, JC1046, AR1200, SO1271, AR1027, SO1035

June 2010: BR1005, BR1004

September 2010: SO1173, AP1043, AP1101, SO1354

According to consultants who’ve attended the briefings, Sage is selecting the enhancements to include based on the numbers of installed base users and the ease of embedding them in the future release.

Recommendations

While the exact timetable of when certain Extended Solutions will be included in the future releases of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 is uncertain we recommend reviewing the official Sage document below to see which of your enhancements is being incorporated in a future MAS 90 or MAS 200 list.

If your enhancement is not on the list you may be able to enlist the aid of a qualified Sage Master Developer to assist you in the upgrade process or to purchase a similar enhancement from another developer.

Fixed! – Default printer may now be assigned to standard reports and standard form codes after applying MAS 90 service update 23

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Users of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 may now correctly assign their default Windows printer to standard forms and reports.

This was always an option in the accounting software – however unfortunately it didn’t work (see Sage RES 490593).

As reported in the knowledgebase article (remember this applies only to version 4.2 as the issue was fixed with an upgrade to 4.3 or application of service update 23+ for v4.2
):

Reports should print to the Windows default printer when the standard report setting or form code is selected if the Use workstation default printer for standard report setting and Use Workstation Default Printer for Standard Form Code check boxes are selected.

Link: Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 Service Update 23 for version 4.2

Direct Deposit reversal issue fixed with MAS90 service update 11

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Sage just issued Service Update 11 for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 which fixes an issue that some have reported when attempting to reverse a direct deposit entry in payroll.

As reported by several resellers, the problem with Direct Deposit appeared to manifest itself when you tried to void a payroll check with direct deposit. Those amounts would be doubled during the payroll calculation resulting in totals that were incorrect.

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There are also several other important corrections for those using the following modules:

Accounts Payable

During the check register update, the discount is no longer removed from the invoice when paying a credit memo and invoice together and the total amount being “paid” is negative (so no check prints).

Accounts Receivable

The Customer Listing with Balances Report no longer prints the primary ship to code of the previous customer if the current customer does not have a primary ship to code.

The Global Customer Field Change Utility now updates all customers selected when changing the Payment Type to something other than a credit card type.

General Ledger

The Trial Balance Report now prints the correct period ending date when printing Ending Balance Only is selected as the Report Type to Print.

Payroll

In 941 Printing, the calculation for the SS Tips is now correct.

Sales Order

In Sales Order Entry and Invoice Data Entry, lines are retained correctly when inserting and exploding mulitple kits (exceeding 27 lines).

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Recommendations

If you are experiencing issues with any of the above (or see this Sage “what’s fixed” list for a more complete breakout of the fixes included in MAS90 service update 11) – then consult your Sage Business Partner about installing the latest service update.

If you’re not experiencing any issues, we generally would not recommend installing the service update unless (a) You are installing or upgrading MAS 90 or MAS 200 for the first time or (b) you are about to place a support call to Sage for a new issue.

Always remember that if you have enhancements or Extended Solutions that you need to check to be sure that installing a service update does not break any of your existing functionality prior to loading the update.

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