The Highly Anticipated Release of Sage Accpac ERP Version 6.0A
Blog by Doug Deane
The Highly Anticipated Release of Sage Accpac ERP Version 6.0A
Everyone in the Sage community is eagerly awaiting the release of Version 6.0A of the Sage Accpac ERP suite. This version of the software is a leap forward for Sage Accpac ERP in that it presents the user with a browser-based user interface (UI) that has been designed using the Google Web Toolkit (GWT).
The new UI has been designed to allow the user to navigate as quickly and as intuitively as possible, based on their specific job duties (i.e it’s roles-based). As you can see from this screen shot, the user is presented with a dashboard style screen, that displays their mission-critical data in a graphical format, and allows them to navigate accordingly. Each user can personalize their own portal, and system security assures that each user will only be allowed to view or change information that they are allowed to access.
The UI also allows quick access to inquiries on an ad-hoc basis and facilitates the creation of quick information lists and reports. User-created queries can be saved and reused. The new UI will replace the existing Sage Accpac ERP desktop.
Crystal Reports is still used as the default report writer, but in the new release, query results are shown using the Crystal web view in a separate tab on the Accpac portal, as shown in the attached screen snapshot.
Along with the dramatic improvements made to the UI, Sage has also added significant functionality to SageCRM and to the ERP accounting modules. Improvements have been made to SageCRM in the area of quote-to-order workflow, in the elimination of the Lanpak requirement for SageSCRM order entry users, and in support for SageCRM 7.0. Users will now be able to create quick product quotes in SageCRM, and turn them into orders without exiting SageCRM.
Last of all, a much requested change has been made to the ERP module functionality. Users now have the ability to lock fiscal periods by module. Modules can now be locked down until the fiscal period closing has been completed, preventing unwanted postings into the wrong fiscal period.
The new 6.0A release is due out in the third quarter of this year, and it is eagerly anticipated by the Sage Accpac ERP partner channel and by end-users. The use of the GWT in the design of the UI, and in the design of the version 6.1A accounting modules, will bring Accpac ERP one step closer to being a truly web-deployable product. The new design will allow it to be deployed in a public or private cloud, and we’ll undoubtedly begin to see a high end-user adoption rate for Accpac ERP delivered in a SaaS model. Sage has beta-tested Sage Live in the UK, and I don’t think it’s a stretch of the imagination to expect to see a version of it soon in North America, using Sage Accpac ERP and SageCRM.
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Doug Deane is President of DSD Business Systems, a national provider of on-demand (cloud) and on-premises ERP and CRM software, specializing in wholesale distribution, manufacturing, warehouse management, inventory, business intelligence and eCommerce software. DSD offers Sage 100 (formerly MAS 90), Sage 300 (formerly Accpac), Sage 500 (formerly MAS 500), NetSuite, Sage FAS, Sage HRMS (formerly Abra), Sage CRM, Sage SalesLogix, Extended Solutions, and Custom Programming.
