Sage Simply Accounting Product Management

The program was very popular this year with almost 100 applications. We were only able to accept 50 into the program due to the support commitments we promise to our participants. I would like to thank all of you who did apply and hope we will have the same level of interest next year.

The participants have been using the new version since the end of July and we have received great feedback on how fast the installations were and how everyone liked the improvements to payroll and remittances. They also liked the little tweaks we did to improve their day to day usage of the product. We are confident that you will feel the same.

We truly value the time and effort our participants take to be the early adopters of the new release. For those of you who will be receiving the new release starting in October, I hope you will try to take advantage of the improvements sooner rather than later.

With Sage Simply Accounting 2012 out the door, we can now fully focus on Sage Simply Accounting 2013 for next year.

The Sage Simply Accounting 2012 Beta Program and R&D feature development wrapped up in the first week of June. From then, until the end of July, the R&D team will continue to test the completed product and address any issues that may be found. Once the R&D team is satisfied with the product and the business deems the product ready for market, we will start our Limited Early Release Program.

Unlike beta, where participants are just running a select number of transactions on a copy of their books to make sure things are working properly, this program has the participants using the new release for all of their day-to-day transactions. They are not simply testing the product, but using it in a real-world setting. The participants of this program upgrade to the new release before everyone else and are able to go about their business as usual. The purpose of the program is not to uncover issues, though this does occur at times, but to ensure the product is ready for everyone to use.

We appreciate the efforts our Beta Program and our Limited Early Release Program participants make to ensure Sage Simply Accounting has a strong and successful release.

- Alistair Ellis

Senior Product Manager

Since January 1^st 2011, most large companies in Canada have adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for their accounting processes and financial reporting.

Previously, all companies had to comply with a Canadian version of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as provided by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Canadian GAAP was similar to IFRS, and was already in the process of converging with IFRS. The change in requirements from Canadian GAAP to IFRS is part of the trend towards globalization of the world’s financial markets and their requirements for financial reporting.

Luckily, most small businesses in Canada are not required to adopt the new IFRS rules. Only those businesses in Canada that are a “publicly accountable enterprise” need to adopt and report using IFRS. A publically accountable enterprise is one that has stocks or bonds traded in an over-the-counter market or a stock exchange; or alternatively, as part of its primary business, holds assets in a fiduciary capacity for a broad group of outsiders.

But private companies have the option to adopt either IFRS or the new Canadian accounting standards. The new Canadian accounting standards for small private companies are very similar to the previous Canadian accounting standards. A private company might choose to adopt IFRS even if it is not required to, if it wants to be consistent and comparable with larger or foreign companies using IFRS, or expects that in the future, it will have to issue stocks or bonds.

The significant changes between the previous Canadian accounting standards and IFRS are:

- A partial shift from historical cost to fair value accounting.

     - Many items on the balance sheet can optionally be revalued at market value. Other items such as, stocks and bonds held for trading, biological assets, or some types of derivatives are required to be re-valued.

     - Minority interest is measured at fair value at acquisition date and is presented within the equity section of the balance sheet.

     - More details are required in the notes or in the financial statements. 

Also, IFRS continues to focus on reporting comprehensive income (a new requirement in Canadian accounting since 2005) that most small companies currently ignore or hide in the statement of retained earnings. The concept of comprehensive income allows assets and liabilities to be measured at fair value while reducing the volatility of profits due to the recognition of unrealized gains and losses.

Other changes include the standard terms and formats of financial statements. Although the terms and format of financial statements are not strictly specified in either the previous Canadian accounting standards or IFRS, the sample Canadian GAAP balance sheet looks quite different from the IFRS sample statement of financial position. For example, Canadian practice is to show the assets and liabilities in order of liquidity with cash, the most liquid item, first. International practice is to show assets and liabilities in reverse order of liquidity. The equity section also includes minority interest and other comprehensive income. The IFRS Income Statement has to include comprehensive income as part of the report, or provide the statement of comprehensive income immediately following.  IFRS income statements do not show extraordinary items.

 If the reversed liquidity order of assets and liabilities on the balance sheet, or the statement of comprehensive income, are a bit disturbing to many accountants in Canada, they better get ready for an even more disturbing proposed financial statement – a new format for the balance sheet where assets don’t balance with liabilities and equities. That unsettling discussion can be saved for another day.     

-  Jim Collins

Principal Business Analyst

Hi Everyone,

It’s Product Update time again! I thought I would take this opportunity to provide some additional information and resources to help you get your update easily and quickly.

The product update will be available June 16th for both the Canadian and U.S. 2010 and 2011 versions and you can get the update three different ways:
- Automatic Update right from the product (recommended)
- Manual Download from the website
- Manual Update from a CD

(Please note that if you want to receive your update on a CD, you must sign up for a CD delivery subscription, available for $29.95/year. CDs will be shipped the week of June 20th.)

The fastest and easiest way to get your product update is to either automatically update it from the product or manually download it from the website. This ensures that you will get your update when you want it and you do not have to wait for a shipment. If your software is already set up to automatically detect new updates, you will be prompted to update your software when you launch Sage Simply Accounting. If you are not automatically prompted, follow the directions below:

1. Launch your Sage Simply Accounting software
2. Under the Help menu, select Check for Updates.
3. Click the Check Now button.
4. Click the Download Now button.
5. Once the update has been downloaded, a screen will appear. Follow the directions on the screen

If you need some help or extra information to get you started, check our Product Update help page here:
http://www.simplyaccounting.com/supportTraining/product_and_payroll_updates/help/

Thanks Everyone and Happy Summer!

- Navrup Johal
Product Marketing Manager

Making and receiving payments is central to the effective operation of any sized business.  And when cash flow is tight, optimization of your payment processes down to the level of the tools you use is essential.  Sage offers a number of solutions for payment processing, but here we want to consider the EFT Direct solution.

EFT Direct is a utility that Sage has for doing vendor payments, customer payments, and employee direct deposit.  This product has been around a long time and is very popular with Sage customers and partners.  Sage also partners with Beanstream to provide integrated processing of EFT payments for vendor direct deposit, customer pre-authorized debit, and employee direct deposit.

For us at Sage, it complicates our portfolio and our cost structure when we provide multiple solutions for doing the exact same thing.  What’s more, the confusion it creates for our customers results in a bad customer experience in the purchasing decision making process. That’s why recently we were thinking we should discontinue the EFT Direct product and consolidate on the services provided through the partnership with Beanstream.  We thought we should talk to our customers about this. So we went out and met with customers using EFT Direct and customers using the integrated solution with Beanstream.

We found that we have many customers on the EFT payments service with Beanstream and they love it.  Creating a EFT payment is integrated into the journals and the information can be easily uploaded to the Beanstream site for processing.  Once uploaded, there is typically nothing else that the customer has to do.  In fact, many customers are absolutely blown away by the convenience and time savings when they make the switch to EFT payments. 

In talking to the EFT Direct customers, we found that they too love this solution.  With EFT Direct, customers need to install a separate application.  The application imports the payment information from Sage Simply Accounting and exports a payment file that can be uploaded to an online banking site.  Despite the additional overhead with EFT Direct, once the process has been setup, customers find it fairly straightforward.  The top three reasons why they love EFT Direct are:

1) price
2) the ability to leverage an existing trusted relationship with the bank
3) shorter processing time. 

These benefits provide a compelling advantage for our customers to choose EFT Direct and so we cannot discontinue EFT Direct without providing these customers with an equally effective alternative.  

Today we offer EFT Direct free with a Sage Business Care Gold service plan.  It can also be purchased as a standalone to work with other service plans or license only products such as Sage Simply Accounting Pro and Sage Simply Accounting Premium. As we look towards and beyond the release of Sage Simply Accounting 2012, we know the value provided by EFT Direct should remain available at no additional cost to customers and partners with Sage Business Care Gold.  This product is very valuable to our customers and we need to ensure it is priced appropriately to ensure its continued development.  In terms of future development, the usability of the product can be improved if we integrated it into Sage Simply Accounting and thereby not require the installation and maintenance of a separate application, while the setup process can also be made easier.  These items will be going into our product roadmap as we continue to build better solutions for our customers to operate and manage their business.

- Paul Ellis 
 

As you get ready for summer, we prepare to update the payroll taxes in Sage Simply Accounting. We will be releasing our July 1, 2011 tax update in the middle of June. If you are wondering what changes are coming, we can give you a sneak preview.

Canadian Tax Changes
On the Canadian side, there haven’t been any federal budget changes; therefore, there are no updates to the federal tax rates, income thresholds, or personal amounts at this time.

However, there are changes in some provinces, as stated in Canada Revenue Agency’s Payroll Deductions Formulas for Computer Programs, 94th Edition. Some of the changes are retroactive to January 1, 2011. The July tax update will make changes to the payroll formula within Sage Simply Accounting so that you are ready to process your first payroll in July 2011. The changes consist of:

Manitoba
Effective January 1, 2011, the province will increase the basic personal amount to $8,384 from $8,134. Since $8,134 has been used for employees for the first six months of this year, a basic personal amount of $8,634 will be applied for the remaining six months commencing with the first payroll in July. Effective July 1, 2011, the prorated basic personal amount is revised to $8,634 (formerly $8,134).

New Brunswick
Effective January 1, 2011, the province will increase the fourth income tax bracket rate to 14.3% from 12.7%. Since employees in this income tax bracket have been taxed at 12.7% for the first six months of this year, a tax rate of 15.9% will be applied for the remaining six months commencing with the first payroll in July. Effective July 1, 2011, the rates for the 4th tax brackets is 15.9% (formerly 12.7%) on income greater than $120,796. There are no changes in the other tax brackets.

Nova Scotia
Effective January 1, 2011, the province will increase the basic personal amount to $8,481 from $8,231. Since $8,231 has been used for employees for the first six months of this year, a basic personal amount of $8,731 will be applied for the remaining six months commencing with the first payroll in July. Effective July 1, 2011, the prorated basic personal amount is revised to $8,731 (formerly $8,231).

Saskatchewan
Effective July 1, 2011, the basic personal amount is revised to $14,535 (formerly $13,535).

If you are in the province of Manitoba, Nova Scotia, or Saskatchewan, Form TD1 has been revised for July 2011. General re-filing of the 2011 Form TD1 is not necessary; however, a new employee, a new pensioner, or an individual who wishes to change his or her provincial claim amounts, will have to complete the July 2011 Form TD1.  You will need to update the employee provincial claims before you run your first payroll in July in Sage Simply Accounting.

Our Product & Payroll Update web page (Canada) will be updated in the middle of June with information on how to get your July tax update.

U.S. Tax Changes
On the U.S. side, Sage Simply Accounting has released three tax updates since January 1, 2011.  Major tax changes were included in the January 31 tax update.  In this July 1, 2011 tax update, we will include the following two state changes:

Connecticut
Effective January 1, 2011, Connecticut Governor signed legislation that raises personal income tax rates for 2011 tax year. 
- The number of tax brackets has increased from three to six. The new brackets are: 3%, 5%, 5.5%, 6%, 6.5% and 6.7%.  
- The 3% tax rate is phased out for taxpayers with Connecticut adjusted gross income:
   Over $100,500 filing jointly 
   Over $56,500 filing single 
   Over $78,500 filing as head of household 
   Over $50,250 married filing separately

- The amount excluded from the 3% rate is taxed at the 5% rate. 

North Dakota
- Effective January 1, 2011, North Dakota has reduced its personal income tax rates retroactively. The state withholding tables has been revised. 
- The supplemental rate change from 3.44% to 2.82%

Our Product & Payroll Update web page (U.S.) will be updated in the middle of June with information on how to get your July tax update.

- Tracy Hartwell

On May 10^th and May 11^th, I was invited to participate in a discussion panel on small business hosted by the BDC, and co-sponsored by Sage. On May 10^th, the event took place in French, in Montreal, and on May 11^th, it was in Toronto, in English. Both events were recorded in front of a live audience and also streamed live over the Internet. View the recorded webcast in Toronto (you will have access to the video once you have registered).  It was very interesting to be part of both panels. My own expertise and interest in Canadian small business is actually a job pre-requisite, since our role in Product Management is to ensure our solutions meet real needs, and solve real small business “problems.”

In Montreal, the panel consisted of 3 participants: Matthieu, a young entrepreneur, Philippe, a seasoned professional accountant who supports small businesses, and myself, representing the software industry providing tools to small businesses. The discussion was moderated by Mathieu Cere of the BDC.  We represented the perspectives of three important stake-holders in the reality of Canadian small businesses, and each of us had a different, but complementary point-of-view as we discussed the findings of a recent survey conducted by Sage and the BDC on the “pulse” of small businesses. The biggest surprise for me came when we started talking about the aging population, and the number of small business owners who are planning on selling their businesses to fund their retirements. Both Philippe and I talked about the importance of preparation when planning to sell a business, but Matthieu surprised us when he talked about his view as a young entrepreneur, and his desire to acquire his aging competitors. It was an eye opening, and encouraging  discussion that we didn’t expect, but were happy to explore further.

In Toronto, the panel consisted of 4 participants: Evan Carmichael, small business guru extraordinaire, Dan Mason, master of making technology work for small businesses, Gary Fearnall from LinkedIn, and myself once again, representing the view of the Software solution vendor. This was again moderated by a member of the BDC, Shaun Rath. The discussion in Toronto focused a lot more around the technology that helps small businesses be compliant, be efficient, and market themselves. Having a member of the LinkedIn team on the panel provided a very informed point of view on the challenges of staffing with qualified applicants, and we ended up talking about staffing for quite a bit of time. Overall two very good events – the videos will be posted soon, so keep an eye out on our website or our YouTube channel for an update!

- Hugo Croft-Levesque

This is the first in a series of articles that will discuss the suggestions and feedback made by clients and staff for Sage Simply Accounting.  

In October and November 2010, clients submitted approximately 340 ideas to the Sage Simply Accounting Product Management team. Here are some highlights of what was submitted:

- 71% were either new ideas or duplicates of previously received suggestions
- 4% were suggestions about features that have already been implemented in previous releases
- 21% were requests for technical support or customer service

Of all the feature suggestions:

- 31% were general submissions and not tied to a specific module
- 28% were suggestions for AR/AP
- 18% were suggestions for Payroll
- The remaining ideas were distributed over Inventory, Bank Reconciliation, Project Costing, and Reports.

Here is a sampling of some of the new ideas with additional comments:

• Create a Charity Return
  A client who is a non-profit organization requested the ability to create a charity return from within Sage Simply Accounting. A number of our clients are non-profits who might appreciate and value this feature.
     
• Create a Commercial Invoice for Internationally Shipped Items
  Many countries, including the US, require commercial invoices for items shipped into their country. The critical requirements are fields for quantities and weight which are then added up and totalled on the invoice.   
  


• Automatic Allocation of Costs across Customers
  A client who is a real estate management company requested a common area cost feature. This would allow them to automatically allocate the common costs to their tenants and then reconcile the costs on their statements at the end of the year. Clients have previously asked for the automatic allocation of amounts between General Ledger accounts as a means of quickly allocating monthly expenses and overheads among departments or divisions. This request is similar but the allocation would be more complex since individual customer invoices would have to be created in Sage Simply Accounting. 
  


• A User Manager Capability 
  A partner wanted the SYSADMIN user to be given the ability to easily manage the settings and User Preferences of other users. This would make it make it much easier to set up other users.  

Below are some of the duplicates of previous suggestions:

• Easily Print Reports Without Zero Balance Accounts Showing
  A number of clients have asked to have a report or global setting where reports can be printed without zero balance accounts showing. Currently this option is available in the account ledger on an account by account basis.
  


• Mac, iPhone, and iPad Versions
  The increasing number of Apple laptops and desktops being used in business environments is probably driving this request. Clients do not want to run an emulator or boot-up in Microsoft Windows just to be able to use their accounting program. Clients are also looking for a smart phone version that will allow them to do some of their accounting on the go. With the recent launch of the iPad, one client asked for a version that will work on this new platform.
  


• Refund Customers for Overpayments
  Several clients want to easily refund their customers with a cheque or with another payment method when customers return items, or mistakenly overpay. 
  


• US Dollar Credit Cards 
  Several clients want to be able to use a US dollar credit card to record their payments to suppliers or receipts from customers. US dollar credit cards are readily available to Canadian businesses.
  


• Show Vacation Owed on Employee Detail Reports
  The Employee Detail Report shows several vacation amounts but not the one that most clients are looking for – the amount of vacation owed at the time of the paycheque. The report should also handle the impact of subsequent adjustments on the vacation owed balance.
  


• Calculate an Employee Deduction based on a Rate per Hour
  A few types of employee deductions are based on a rate per hour. The most common are union dues, or other types of union deductions. Sage Simply Accounting currently only handles either a fixed amount per paycheck, or an amount based on a percentage of taxable income. Several clients are looking for a rate per hour type of deduction.
  


• Mark Adjusted Entry as Cleared In Account Reconciliation
  A number of clients have asked that adjusted entries show in account reconciliation as cleared if the original entry was cleared. Originally, both the reversal and the new adjustment were left as outstanding. A number of years ago, the reversal became automatically marked as cleared. Now, the request is to mark the new adjustment as cleared if the original was cleared. Perhaps this should be limited to circumstances where the amount of the adjustment stays the same. 
  


• Allow Adjusting of Account Reconciliations
  A number of clients have also asked for the ability to adjust previously posted account reconciliations. There are some possible issues since adjustments could affect the opening and closing balances of previously posted account reconciliations. One possible solution is to allow account reconciliations to be rolled back, one period at a time. Another would be to add footnotes to the account reconciliation report to inform the reader of the resulting differences due to the adjustments.

We are very interested and eager to see your feedback on these or other suggestions. Use the comments section to get involved!

If you want to add your own ideas, then please provide us your feedback at:  http://www.ideascopeanywhere.com/Sage%2DSimplyAccounting/

- Jim Collins

The Sage Simply Accounting Beta program allows us to get new features and enhancements into the hands of our customers and partners before the development cycle for the new release is complete. The goal is to make certain that the feature does not have issues when used by our customers in the real world, and to ensure that the design and workflow of the new features and enhancements meets our customers’ expectations.

We have had a record number of participants this year. Over 100 customers and Sage Accountant Network members signed up to participate in the 2012 Beta program. We also had a number of our third party developers download the Beta to ensure their own products are working and ready to be used with the 2012 release this fall.

The Beta this year has focused mainly on the changes to our Payroll journals, especially the cheque run. Ease of use and speedier payroll data entry was a goal for our R&D team this year, and they definitely made some great improvements. Our beta participants have also added value by identifying some ways to improve the usability even more, such as selecting and unselecting employees to be paid and moving between the employee listing and details area.

The Beta cycle 2 was released last week and we look forward to getting feedback from our participants on the enhancements included in this new Beta cycle.

- Alistair Ellis

We have had a great response to our Sage Simply Accounting 2012 Beta program, with almost 100 participants signing up to take part in the program. This is the largest number of participants for our beta program and we hope to continue to see such participation in our other programs throughout the year.

We would like to thank all of the invitees who chose to participate as we do recognize the time commitment on your part and we do appreciate it.

It is almost spring and almost time for our beta program to start up again. We will be sending our invites out shortly to our Sage Accountants Network members and to some of our customers who have participated in the past or who have attended our Listening Tour last year.

We have a dedicated team of developers, testers, and support staff and they are active in the program. We want to ensure we get back to participants in a timely manner whether it is relating to issues they come across in the program or questions/comments on new designs and workflows.

For those of you who receive an invite, we do hope you will participate as having actual users of the program use it the way they normally do helps uncover issues earlier. Again these may be actually issues with the changes, or issues related to how the new feature works or how the new workflow has been designed.

The signup for the beta program will run until March 18^th and the beta release will be available the week of March 21^st.