Bennett/Porter News
Welcome to our new Bennett/Porter newsletter! Monthly we would like to update all our valuable clients about what is happening with Bennett/Porter as a whole, as well as, relevant news and updates for each of the services we offer.
As you may have noticed over the last couple months, Bennett/Porter has undergone some major visual changes with our new branding and new website. Rest assured though, our team is still as friendly and committed to your success as always; if not more!
Acumatica News
Acumatica unveiled some of the new features and capabilities of 2024 R1 during its annual Summit event in Las Vegas. 2024 R1 delivers hundreds of improvements and feature-rich functionality to users, each addition and upgrade intentionally engineered to improve usability, drive productivity and efficiency, boost sales and help businesses compete in their markets. The updates also enable Acumatica customers to capitalize on the trend toward cross-industry convergence and capture new market share.
“This release not only delivers essential enhancements businesses need today but will also help our customers reimagine how they operate and compete in today’s dynamic and increasingly interconnected markets,” said Ali Jani, chief product officer of Acumatica. “We’ve received very positive feedback to the beta version of 2024 R1, and we’re excited to see how these enhancements help our customers increase productivity and drive business growth.”
Also included in the 2024 R1 release and teased in the Day 2 Summit Keynote is a developer preview of the product’s new user interface (UI), with a controlled release of the new UI scheduled later in 2024 before general availability in 2025. The new UI enhances usability, delivers unmatched personalization and improves customization. Key Acumatica 2024 R1 highlights include:
Construction Highlights:
- Access AP cost transactions related to progress billing lines from a new pro forma invoice side panel for timely vendor payments and increased billing accuracy.
- Empower users to enter and process negative expense receipts to make a full or partial refund to the corporate credit card for faster and simpler GL account reconciliation.
- Ensure accurate and efficient handling of pro forma invoice corrections with a streamlined workflow for previously closed and released accounts receivable documents.
Manufacturing Highlights:
- Provide manufacturing workers the flexibility to report production operations when they run in parallel.
- Optimize MRP generation with ‘planning horizons’ that enable organizations to define time-constrained data for inclusion in supply and demand calculations.
- Configure MRP and DRP to include or exclude sales order types to improve planning by excluding returns and other orders from inventory planning calculations.
Distribution Highlights:
- Improve demand planning and forecasting with time-phased purchase orders, kit assembly and warehouse transfer recommendations with the new Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP) application.
- Streamline small parcel and LTL shipment processing workflows and configure packing and shipping scenarios with Acumatica and 3G Pacejet. The enhanced integration of these shipping and processing capabilities, now in the core of the Acumatica solution, provides transparency for shipment data with no need for separate customization.
- Expedite return material authorization (RMA) processes with improved document searches using invoice and line details such as sales order type and number, inventory ID, lot or serial number and order dates.
Retail and Commerce Highlights:
- Gain a unified connection between Acumatica and Amazon with synchronized data for order fulfillment, product availability, Amazon fees, payments and taxes.
- Increase efficiency and accuracy by directly importing exchanges to Acumatica from a Shopify POS order for the same product at the same or different price or for another product at the same or different price.
- Use bidirectional sync to import products from Shopify and BigCommerce stores to Acumatica through the Commerce connector.
Financials and CRM Highlights:
- Streamline point-of-sale (POS) payment transaction processing by using credit card readers to record payments directly from the Acumatica solution without third-party software.
- Automate vacation and sick time tracking with new features such as banding rules, anniversary date resets and simplified adjustments. Enable administrators to manage paid time off during employee probation and plan for future changes.
- Reduce errors and increase operational efficiency through enhancements and updates to Acumatica Payments, a new feature launched in 2023 R2, that streamlines payment processes. Acumatica Payments helps simplify credit card payments, bill processing and field service payments – improving cash flow, profitability, customer loyalty and more.
- Tailor email templates by branch for CRM, project, service management and subcontract communication.
Platform and Developer Highlights:
- Calculate ratios and improve reporting flexibility using Generic Inquiry results as input to other inquiries.
- Simplify no-code workflow creation with new sequential actions independent of conditions, enabling faster workflow processing.
- Access to developer preview of the product’s new UI.
Customers and vendors can sign up now for brief video training sessions, scheduled for April 9-11, showcasing the advantages of the 2024 R1 features by following this link: https://bit.ly/4a2wJfV. Each session will include a live Q&A with Acumatica product experts.
Sage 100 News
Sage will release version 2024 of Sage 100 this month, and it will reportedly include twenty new enhancements. While the full documentation on the new features won’t be available until the new version is out, here are some highlights of the new features to be included:
Improved audit trail (customers, vendors, items, employees)
- This enhancement improves security compliance by broadening the scope of tracked and printed data on the audit trail report.
Quick completion of Purchase Orders
- Allows customers to close a partially received purchase order. There’s also a new status of ‘received’ for when a PO has been received but not yet invoiced.
Delete/Change Warehouses
- Allows users to eliminate warehouses when they become obsolete, or to modify or remove a warehouse when the location closes or relocates.
Full product search, includes auto-complete
- Currently, our customers must run a Build Search Index utility if they want to update customer, employee, or vendor account records. But now the records will update without having to do this if they check a box which will automatically update the search index.
Sales Order “Ordered Quantity” Display in Red
- The Ordered Quantity will be displayed in red if: 1) the ordered quantity exceeds the quantity available, 2) the ordered quantity exceeds the quantity on hand, or 3) the available quantity is lower than the reorder point.
“Restricted Mode” added to Library Master Administrative Tools
- Allows Sage 100 Administrator to prevent users from logging in
Sage plans to release the first Product Update for version 2024 in July, and this update will address any issues that may have been reported by users in the initial release. It is at this time that Bennett/Porter will begin scheduling client upgrades to version 2024.
As is the case when Sage releases a new Sage 100 version, when v2024 becomes available, another version will be retired – and in this case it will be version 2021. Once retired, Sage will no longer release Product Updates or fixes for version 2021, and support for this version by Sage will be limited. Bennett/Porter will continue to support version 2021, and our billing rate for retired Sage 100 versions will apply.
If you would like to upgrade your Sage 100 this year, please contact our office with any questions or to begin planning your upgrade project.
People Savvy HCM News
As the People Savvy HCM team at Bennett/Porter, we’re excited to expand our payroll and human resources solutions with a powerful new addition: HR Sidekick. Specifically crafted for the dynamic needs of modern businesses, HR Sidekick offers unique features that streamline your HR tasks, making management a breeze and fostering a thriving workplace.
Discover HR Sidekick’s Standout Features:
- Extensive State and Federal Law and Compliance Library
- Employee Handbook Builder
- Job Description Builder
- Salary Comparison Tool
- HR Forms and Policy Templates
- On Demand Certified HR Advisors
- AND SO MUCH MORE!
HR Sidekick isn’t just another tool; it’s your strategic ally in navigating the complexities of HR management with ease and confidence.
👉 Embrace the Future with HR Sidekick Eager to see how HR Sidekick can revolutionize your HR operations? Click here to learn more about its capabilities and how it integrates into our suite of HR services. Don’t HR alone for a moment longer.
Managed IT Services News
We’re excited to share an important update to improve your experience with our Managed IT Services. In our continuous effort to make our services as accessible and user-friendly as possible, we’ve upgraded how you access Team Viewer on our website.
What’s Changed? Previously, accessing Team Viewer required locating a small link at the top of our site. We’ve listened to your feedback and are happy to announce a new, more visible solution. Now, you’ll find a prominently highlighted button dedicated to Team Viewer access. This upgrade aims to make your navigation smoother and more intuitive.
Consistent Quality and Workflow While the access point has evolved, rest assured that the workflow and the high quality of assistance you’ve come to expect from us remain unchanged. This enhancement is part of our commitment to providing you with the best possible support experience.
We’re here to assist you every step of the way. Should you have any questions or require further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
