WHAT’S NEW IN SAGE 100 & SAGE 100CLOUD 2018

Sage 100 2018 has been released!  Sage has released a 9-page document outlining in detail, all of the updates included in the new version.  This document can be found on our Sage 100 Versions and Compatibility page.  However, this blog will provide a more general overview of what updates are included in Sage 100 & Sage 100cloud v2018 and what these updates mean for users.

Highlights Include:

• A redesign of the Job Cost and Payroll modules to improve performance and usability
• Spell checking in several areas including comments, memos, and messages that print on forms (Sage 100c only)
• Inactive and restricted statuses for warehouses (Sage 100cloud only)
• Improvements to the renamed Mobility for Bar Code module, including a simplified import process to extend support for mobile apps

Global Updates

The following changes have been made throughout multiple Sage 100 modules.

Spell Checking

A long-requested, in-line spell checker has been added so that misspelled words are underlined.  This can be applied to multiple locations like memos, invoices, statements, checks, Paperless Office, Customer and Vendor Contact notes, subject lines, multi-line user-defined field (UDF) and more.  The spell checker gives users recommended replacements as well as the option to ignore once or ignore all instances of the misspelled word.

Updated Desktop

The Sage 100 Desktop has received multiple updates including the option to minimize the desktop into a Toolbar Mode.  A Web Content tab has also been added to allow users to open a web page in a default browser rather than the browser embedded in the Desktop.  Forward and Backwards navigation buttons have been added to the embedded browser as well to allow users to navigate more easily between pages.

Crystal Reports 2016

SAP Crystal Reports for Sage (version2016SP04) now ships with Sage 100.  Users must uninstall earlier versions of SAP Crystal Reports before installing the new version.

Sage Fixed Assets users will receive an error message if Sage Fixed Assets and Sage 100 2018 are installed on the same computer because they utilize different versions of SAP Crystal Reports runtime engine.  An upcoming release of Sage Fixed Assets will resolve this issue.

Service Notification Maintenance

A new task called Service Notification Maintenance has been added to the Library Master main menu and the Payroll Setup menu.  This task can be used to manage who will receive email notifications related to Sage services, scheduled maintenance, unplanned outages, or other issues that may affect your ability to access the service.

Accounts Payable

The 1099 eFiling and Reporting task has been renamed Form 1099 Tax Reporting.  The minimum YTD Payment field has been replaced with a corresponding button.  Click this Minimum YTD button to open the Minimum YTD Payment window and enter the minimum payments for the corresponding Form 1099 boxes.

Accounts Receivable

Period Starting Date and Check Date have been added as fields to the Pay Cycle window that appears when updating the Commission Edit Register.

Inventory Management

A Status field has been added to Warehouse Code Maintenance.  The three status options are Active, Inactive, and Restricted.

Job Cost

The Job Cost module has been re-architected to improve performance and usability.

User Interface Enhancements

These changes have been incorporated to make it easier to access data and complete tasks. l Data entry grids are used to improve efficiency.

• Selection grids are available on most report task windows and elsewhere.
• Calculator buttons have been added to dollar amount fields.
• Calendar buttons have been added to date fields.
• Hyperlinks to related tasks have been added where applicable.

Batch Entry

Batch entry can be used in the following tasks:

• Job Posting Entry
• Job Billing Entry
• Field Report Entry

You can enable batch entry for each of these tasks and set the next batch number on the Entry tab in Job Cost Options.

History

On the History tab in Job Cost Options, you can select whether to retain history and set the number of years to retain history. The minimum is two years.

Utilities Menu

The utilities used to control the archiving, restoring and purging of Job Cost history have been updated for the new number of year’s option, and are now available on the Utilities menu. The Summarize Cost Detail utility has been moved to the Utilities menu.

Forms and Reports

• Report setting options now appear on the header area of the applicable report window. You can avoid reentering selections each time you print a report by creating a new report setting.
• SAP Crystal Reports is now used for all reports and forms. Non-graphical forms are no longer available.
• Selection grids have been added so that it’s easier to filter report data.
• The option to keep the task window open after printing or previewing a report has been added to report task windows.
• If you use Job Cost for billing, the invoice form will need to be reformatted.

Period End Processing Reports

The Job and Job Cost Code Detail tables no longer contain period-to-date, year-to-date, and job-to-date totals. If you have custom reports that contain this information, you must create a sub-report to summarize the data from the Job Cost Code History table to calculate the totals.

Period End Processing Reports

A Print Period End Reports check box has been added to the J/C Period End Processing window. If you select this check box, the J/C Period End Reports window opens when you click Proceed. The reports selected in Period End Report Selection are listed, and you can select which ones that you want to print. If no reports are selected in Period End Report Selection, the check box is not available.

Sage Mobility for Bar Code

The Bar Code module has been renamed.  It is now the Mobility for Bar Code module.  This newly designed module allows distribution and manufacturing companies to streamline supply chain operations with real-time communication with both iOS and Android mobile devices from directly within their Sage 100 system.  Users can utilize mobile apps for physical counts and mobile sales or even scale to full warehouse management, Work Order Automation, Sage 100cloud Manufacturing Automation, and Field Service all designed around and fully integrated with Sage Mobility for Barcode.

Some of the new functionality includes:

• Addition of EZ Import
• Major UI updates
• 5 User Pack of Scanco Mobility for iOS & Android
• Sage 100cloud users also get a 5 User Pack of Scanco Sales

Paperless Office

The Payroll module has been redesigned, thus changing a few things in Paperless Office as well.  You can now create and email employee payroll checks in PDF format.  The Employee Viewer task has been added to the Main Menu, and the View Stubs button in Employee Self Service has been replaced with View Documents.

Payroll

The Payroll Module has been modernized to improve performance and user experience and the module is now available for Sage 100 Premium in addition to Standard and Advanced.  Many Payroll tasks have been reorganized to be more intuitive for users and provide a better workflow and quicker data entry.  For more details on the various changes to the Payroll Module please visit the Sage 100 Payroll 2017 Installation and Upgrade Guide.

TimeCard

Because the Payroll module has undergone such extensive changes, it is currently not compatible with the TimeCard module. A compatible version of TimeCard will be released shortly.

Visual Integrator

You can now control whether users can create and run import and export jobs on a module-by-module basis.  Module options to manage job access have been added to Role Maintenance for a number of modules. All import and export jobs for the Job Cost and Payroll modules must be recreated.

For more information on version features and module updates please visit the full What’s New in Sage 100 2018 document released by Sage.

If you have any questions about these updates or would like to discuss upgrading your system contact one of our specialists today!