As with my former post on Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 product roadmap, let’s take a look at the Sage MAS 500 roadmap.  The roadmap (Sage MAS 500 Roadmap) outlines Sage’s future plans for Sage MAS 500.  I’ll summarize a few key points below.

• Product Strategy:  Sage wants to provide more ‘value for maintenance,’ which will include incorporating features and functionality based on top customer-requested enhancements.  The idea is to release new features & functionality over time with regular product updates, rather than waiting for “major” upgrades.
• New financial reporting alternative:  Business Insights Intelligance, a new reporting tool in a familiar Microsoft environment.  FRx will be supported by Microsoft until December 31, 2012.
• Focus on enhancements to advanced manufacturing/distribution.
• Goal to reduce impact of upgrades on MAS 500 customizations.

Following is a general timeline for Sage MAS 500 product updates.

1. Product Updates for Version 7.3 (December 2009, February 2010, May 2010)
2. Version 7.4 (Quarter 2, 2011)
3. Product Updates for Version 7.4 (expected to be released every 3 to 4 months after the official release of 7.4)
4. Version 7.5 (Quarter 4, 2012)

Visit the Sage roadmap (Sage MAS 500 Roadmap) for more specific details about Version 7.3 features, as well as a retirment schedule for previous versions.  And, as always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

The recipe comes from a cookbook called A Treasury of Great Recipes (copyright 1965) compiled by Vincent & Mary Price.  You know, the same Vincent Price from the movies!  He was a great cook too!  He and Mary traveled extensively and this book contains their favorite recipes from restaurants around the world.  The Chicken Tetrazzini is from Sardi’s in New York.  Vincent notes in the book that the Chicken Tetrazzini dish was invented for opera star Luisa Tetrazzini, who lived and sang in the days when calories really didn’t count.  Beware, there is LOTS of butter & cream in this recipe!

John’s mom and dad received the cookbook as a 5th wedding anniversary gift, and John’s mom prepared recipes from it frequently.  She gave it to us when we first met; so not only do we enjoy making the recipes but every time we prepare one of them, we think of her as well.  Mrs. Shaver passed away from breast cancer in 1989.

Mary and Vincent were great hosts as well, and often had a houseful of dinner guests to share their cooking creations with.   The same holds true for John and me; not only do we love the cooking part but we love sharing our dishes with guests.  There is no better feeling than to watch dinner guests eat the meals we’ve cooked and hold their plates out for more!

Here is the recipe.  Enjoy!

Émincé of Chicken Tetrazzini Au Gratin

1. In a skillet, melt 1/4 cup butter.  Saute in the butter 1 cup sliced mushrooms for about 5 minutes.
2. Add 3 cups diced cooked chicken and shake well to distribute chicken and mushrooms evenly.
3. Add 1/4 cup sherry, stir, and cook 5 minutes.
4. Add 1 cup supreme sauce (recipe follows), stir well, and add 1/2 cup hot light cream.  Mix all thoroughly.
5. Simmer slowly for 5 minutes, and stir occasionally, so sauce does not scorch.  Do not let it boil.  Taste for seasoning and add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt, if necessary, and 1/8 teaspoon white pepper.
6. Presentation:  Take an 8-cup buttered casserole or 6 individual buttered baking dishes.  Cover the bottoms with 3 cups cooked spaghetti (cooked according to package directions).  Fill with hot chicken and sauce, and top the large casserole with 3/4 cup hollandaise or top each individual portion with 2 tablespoons hollandaise (recipe follows).  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and brown lightly under broiler.

Supreme Sauce

First, you’ll need to make Chicken Velouté:  into container of an electric blender put 4 tablespoons butter, 6 tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, 1/2 cup cream, and 2 cups hot chicken stock. Cover container and turn motor on low speed.  When blades have reached full momentum, switch motor to high speed and blend for 30 seconds.  Pour into double boiler and cook over simmering water for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  To make the Supreme Sauce, add 1/4 cup cream to 1 cup hot Chicken Velouté.

Hollandaise Sauce

1. In small saucepan heat:  1 cup butter until very hot, but not brown.
2. Into container of an electric blender put:  4 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco.  Cover container and turn motor on low speed.  Immediately remove cover and pour in the hot butter in a steady stream.  When all butter is added, turn off motor.
3. Serve immediately or keep warm by setting container into a saucepan containing 2 inches hot water.  If the sauce becomes too thick to pour when ready to use, return container to blender, add 1 tablespoon hot water, and blend briefly.

Greetings Aries Technology Group readers!

My name is Adrian Montgomery, Marketing Director at Aries Technology Group.

I will be using this blog to keep you informed of upcoming events here at Aries Technology Group.

We have serveral webinars scheduled the first one is regarding Avalara.  Please see below for a description and register today!

Join us for a Webinar on March 10

Attend this informational webinar focused on

Sales Tax Audit Challenges and Solutions to Protect Your Company.

Become fully automated and completely audit compliant with AvaTax!

AvaTax can Automate the entire Sales Tax Process, including:

• Sales Tax Rates – no more Tax Codes and Schedules to maintain
• Product Taxability Rules – map to your Inventory Items
• Sales Tax Return filing and payment remittance
• Seamless integration to all major ERP’s including Microsoft, Sage, Quickbooks, Epicor, NetSuite, Intacct, Infor and Exact
• Achieve compliance automatically – 14,500+ unique tax jurisdictions and with 100,000+ taxability rules
• Audit protection – Average sales tax audit penalty = $35,000
  Street address level tax assignment – More accurate than ZIP codes
• Industry leading training and support – included

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/645291600

It is never to early, though, to ask “what’s next?”  In answer to our questions, Sage has released a public ‘roadmap’ (MAS 90 MAS 200 Roadmap) for the MAS 90/MAS 200 product line.  This roadmap outlines Sage’s future plans for MAS 90/MAS 200.  I’ll summarize a few key points below.

• Product Strategy:  Sage wants to provide more ‘value for maintenance,’ which will include incorporating features and functionality of popular Extended Solution titles, implementing top requested customer enhancements and providing ongoing product updates with minimal disruption.  The idea is to release new features & functionality over time with product updates, rather than waiting for a “major” upgrade.
• Microsoft SQL Server Support
• New financial reporting alternative:  Business Insights Intelligence.    FRx will be supported by Microsoft until December 31, 2012 and Sage is targeting Quarter 2, 2010 for this new reporting tool in a familiar Microsoft Excel interface.

Following is a general timeline for Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 product updates.

1. Product Updates for Version 4.4 (March, June, September, December 2010 and March 2011)
2. Version 4.5 (Quarter 3, 2011)
3. Product Updates for Version 4.5 (September, December 2011 and April 2012)
4. Version 4.6 (Quarter 3, 2012)

In addition, Sage has announced the following Product Retirement Schedule.

1. Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 Version 3.71:  September 30, 2010
2. Sage MAS 200 SQL Edition Version 3.7x:  June 1, 2011
3. Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 Versions 4.0, 4.5 and 4.1:  September 30, 2011

Visit the Sage roadmap (MAS 90 MAS 200 Roadmap) for specific details on what’s included in the Product Updates and new versions.  And, as always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

• Expanded Customer Numbers in Accounts Receivable.  The Customer Number field can be expanded to 20 characters in Version 4.4.  Customers can continue to use  the seven-character customer number but you now have the opportunity to expand to include helpful information such as company name, store number, city, etc.
• Expanded Item Numbers. You will be able to expand the Inventory Item Number field from the current 15 characters to up to 30 characters.
• Streamlined Physical Count. The Quantity on Hand information will be printed on the physical count worksheet in the same sort order as is in the system.  When physical count is complete, you can set the system quantity as the default, so data entry personnel need only make an entry when there is a discrepancy between the system count and the physical count.
• Automated Standard Cost Adjustments. The new Standard Cost Adjustment feature will simplify the process of adjusting the standard costs for inventory items using that method.
• Increased Decimal Precision. The number of decimal places in the Quantity field in Inventory Management will be increased to four, making it consistent with the four decimal places in Bill of Materials.  When raw materials are converted to inventory items, rounding discrepancies will be reduced.
• Purchase Order. Additional selection criteria will assist with identifying sales orders from which you need to generate purchase orders, for easier drop shipment processing.
• Bill of Materials. In Version 4.4 the Bill of Materials Inquiry and the Where-Used Inquiry will present a more comprehensive view of data.  You can view everything related to the bill and its sub-assemblies or components without having to go to another window.

Other great new features include:

• Persistent Report Preview. A user will be able to set a default magnification level when previewing a report, so that reports automatically display at that level each time they are previewed.
• New Business Insight Explorer Views. BIE offers powerful, easy-to-use inquiry and analysis capabilities.  Views added in Version 4.4 include Item Quantities by Warehouse, Vendor History Purchases, Bill of Materials, Component Where-Used, and Open PO by Vendor Name.
• New Business Framework. With the 4.4 release, four more modules are migrated to the new Business Framework:  Inventory Management, Purchase Order, Bill of Materials and Bar Code.  The addition of these 4 modules to the business framework adds faster entry with the dual-grid design, personalization of the entry screens (resizing, deleting or moving unneeded entry fields), hyperlinks providing quick access to related tasks.  In addition, role-based security enhancements have been added to these four modules so tighter security controls can be added by user.  Batch entry is now available in these four modules as well!  You can save report settings by user, as well as set the ‘keep window open after print or preview’ by user.
• New Custom Office Enhancements. Custom Office provides the ability for administrators and users to modify their system screens with UDF’s and tables to add new functionality.  Enhancements in 4.4 allow the ability to program events (i.e. the clicking of a button to make something happen) without user interaction.  Customizer modifications will saved when upgrading to 4.4.
• Parallel Migration. Parallel Migration provides the ability to migrate from previous versions of Sage MAS 90 or 200 (version 3.71, 4.0, 4.05, 4.10, 4.2 and 4.3) to version 4.4 with more freedom & control over the upgrade process, and removes some of the time constraints previously experienced with the upgrade process.  You will be able to continue normal business operations while the upgrade is being installed on a separate, parallel location until everything is ready in the new version.
• Updated Business Desktop. A new information center section will include a Community Form, Sage Newsletter, and Tell Us What You Think Section for more real-time information about Sage and their products, training, and other information.

Additional Information:

• Extended Solutions. Some Extended Solutions will be rendered obsolete by the new features and functionality of 4.4.  Many other Extended Solutions will be retired by Sage but continue to be available to licensed Development Partners to be brought up to 4.4 compatibility.  And, for a few select Extended Solutions titles, the main features & functionality will be incorporated into the core Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 product over the next few releases.  Please contact me for further information regarding specific Extended Solutions.
• Other Considerations. The 4.4 release will use Sage MAS Fixed Assets 2010.1.  Business Alerts 5.1, Credit Card Processing (by PCCharge Payment Server) 5.8.2, Crystal Reports XI, and FRx 6.7 w/SP 10.

At this time Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 Version 4.4 Windows 7 compatibility testing is still underway.  Sage expects to have compatibility information published by the end of March 2010.    For more on Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 Version 4.4 new features, please click on the Sage MAS 90/Sage MAS 200 Version 4.4 Release Guide Sage MAS 90-200 4 4 Pre-Release Guide 11-30-09

And, as always, please feel free to contact John or myself with any questions!

Anyone whose business accepts credit cards should be aware of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements for storing, processing and transmitting card information.

If you can get past the fairly monotone narration of the video, it does a good job of both explaining the technical requirements for securely handling credit cards and the processes that MAS 90 and MAS 200 use to assist with adhering to those requirements.

MAS 90 and MAS 200:

• Currently, Sage does not support either MAS 90 or MAS 200 on Windows 7.  Support for Windows 7 is expected to begin with the release of version 4.4.
• Version 4.3 will not be supported on Windows 7 until the release of Service Update 18.  That service update is expected to be released by March 31, 2010.
• Version 4.4 should start shipping to Sage business partners by mid-February.  Customers can expect their copy of version 4.4 to arrive by the end of March.

MAS 500:

• Version 7.3 is supported on Windows 7.
• None of the older versions of MAS 500 will be supported on Windows 7.

We encourage you to check with Aries before purchasing new PC’s with Windows 7 so that we can keep you posted on Sage’s support policy for that operating system.  Please call or e-mail us with any specific questions.

Stay tuned for another post this week regarding the new version 4.4 of MAS 90 and MAS 200.

• Tech Talk.  Amy will keep you up to date on all of the Sage, MAS 90, MAS 200, MAS 500, CRM, FAS and Abra news.  You will learn about new features, upcoming new versions, tax table updates and more.  Her section will also include how-to videos on a variety of subjects such as:
  • How to reverse a payroll check in MAS 90
  • How to create a MAS 90 Visual Integrator job
  • How to create an FRx report for MAS 90/200 or MAS 500
  • Using the MAS 90/200 ODBC data source to export data
  • How to import a journal entry into MAS 500
  • How to setup the Abra Link for MAS 90/200
• Ramblings.  John’s thoughts and observations about general business topics for small and medium-sized businesses.  Have you been thinking about social media for your business?  How do you choose a website designer?  How do you effectively manage projects for your business?  Would you like to know why work sucks and how to fix it?  Or maybe you would like to know where to get great barbecue (the noun variety, not the verb).  Or even where to eat on your vacation in Myrtle Beach.
• Webinars.  Adrian will be posting event details for our upcoming monthly webinar series.  A list of webinar subjects can be found here.

We will be adding a fourth section titled Customer Spotlight where we will feature one of our customers every month.  The section will contain an overview of our customer’s business and how Aries has helped them achieve their goals.

You may be wondering why would name our newsletter Ramifications.  Well, the first reason is that it is play on words based on our company name.  In Greek mythology, the constellation Aries represents the ram.  Secondly, the ramifications of a decision regarding a technology project can have dire consequences for your business if you do not have a thorough understand of the issues.  To use a medical analogy, would you want to have triple bypass heart surgery without a doctor giving you an extensive check up?  The same is true of technology projects.  Undertaking one without the proper diagnosis can result in the death of the patient:  your business.

The newsletter is being designed by Chad Barr and his awesome team at CB Software.  Chad’s company is an integral part of our internet marketing strategy including the design of our website.  Keep an eye out for my upcoming blog article about how to choose a great website designer.

Below is a mock up of what the newsletter will look like:

The Aries Webinar Series is a monthly educational webinar series which will focus on technology and general business subjects relevant to small and medium-sized businesses.  You can view the schedule for upcoming webinars along with a description of the topic by visiting the webinar section of our website.

These webinars will be presented by Aries team members and by featured guests.  Some of the future topics are:

• Sales tax audit challenges and solutions to protect your company
• 17 things you should be doing right now to reduce outstanding accounts receivable balances
• Do you want to increase cash, profitability, sales and company value?  Learn from Johnny Gates, a partner with www.b2bcfo.com, how he has helped small and medium-sized businesses achieve those goals.
• How can my company benefit from an internet marketing strategy?  Chad Barr, president of CB Software, will demystify internet strategies and explain how internet marketing, if used properly, can be a valuable and cost-effective tool for your business.
• Are the costs and stresses of managing your network, workstations and servers keeping you awake at night?  Hosting and managed networks may be the answer.  Brian Strong from Claris Networks will talk about how to reduce those costs under control and get rid of the stress of dealing with IT issues.

Here are the details for the first webinar:

She will be keeping all of our current and future customers up to date on the latest topics and trends in technology and business.  You can look forward to her section in our monthly e-newsletter.  She will also be coordinating our monthly series of free webinars.  For a list of webinar topics, please click here.

Adrian worked for Sage as a regional account manager for several years.  For our customers that means she understands both the software and the business challenges that small and medium sized companies face.

To learn more about Adrian, how she got into the industry and why she enjoys working with our customers, check out her bio on our website.