Sage BusinessWorks Support and Insights

Reports have been customized by Sage Customer Support Analysts and available to download and import into your software.  If you visit our Sage KnowledgeBase article 74699 Customized User Reports Library it will show a listing of the reports that are available for you to download. Each report is available under the Attachments section.

The instructions for importing the reports are listed below:

Microsoft will be ending support for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008-based Terminal Server, Windows Small Business Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Small Business Server 2011 on January 14, 2020 are you prepared?

When Microsoft ends their support for an operating system, that operating system will also no longer be supported by Sage BusinessWorks.  Please review the information below…

Did you know there are a number of check options that can be set to control how your checks print without having to customize your form?

In Accounts Payable / Cash Management options can be set under CM, Accounts, Maintain Cash Accounts, ...Check Options

The options include:

• Date on Stub
• Print Company Name 
• Print Check Number

In Payroll options can be set under PR, Utilities, Maintain Payroll parameters, Checks...

The…

Today we want to discuss the process of how to prepare for a month end close and the importance of verifying you have a good month end close. 

The first and most import thing that you need to ensure is that you are making a Sage BusinessWorks backup prior to closing your month/quarter. Let's discuss the backup in a little more detail below:

System Files:

• Sage BusinessWorks system files include users and passwords,…

Included in the 2019 release of Sage BusinessWorks was a fix that enforces the requirement of the number format to be in a 2 decimal format (NNNN,NN). 

Import file format documentation has always stated that the requirements for the amount are NNNN.NN but prior to 2019 we would allow the import as NNNN, NNNN.N or NNNN..NN.

Allowing these formats would cause issues with the GL import. A change was made in 2019 that enforces…

The name may be deceiving but the Employee Advanced Pay and Hours Taken Report shows not only Advance Pay but also shows a listing of the following items and is listed by check:

• Vacation Earned/Taken
• Sick Earned/Taken
• Comp Earned/Taken
• Holiday Taken
• Advance Pay/Repay
• Draw/Draw Repay

The report is broken down first by employee and then by check. The report also has filters on Employee ID and Check date.

The report can…

That’s right! Sage BusinessWorks Version 2019 service pack 3 is now available for download on the Sage Customer Portal. A portal logon is required to download the product. 

 Important items to note:

• The service pack is only to be installed on top of an existing Sage BusinessWorks 2019 install
• The service pack can be installed at the server or any one computer that uses Sage BusinessWorks
  • There is no need to install…

Sage BusinessWorks Version 2019 will be released soon with some nice added features you've been asking for. New features appearing in 2019 Service Pack 3 include:

• Employee date of birth has been added to the Employee Master List
• Employee sick pay hours and amounts have been added to PR, Reports, Employee Reports, Employee Hours List
• Summary trial balance can now be run for a fiscal year or specific date range.  Please…

Payday comes and you are in the process of doing your normal payroll routine and all of a sudden your payroll calculation gets stuck, what should you do?

1. End the payroll calculation.
2. On the PR menu, point to Employees, and click Maintain Employees.
3. Look at the first record that displays.  If there is no employee ID in the field you have a blank employee record.
4. Click the Delete button on the blank record, if it is available…

We know reconciliations can be intimidating so we have created documents, and in some cases videos, to assist you with the process.  

Reconciling Cash/Cash Management to the General Ledger:

• Bank Reconciliation - Instructions and Troubleshooting - Article 97091
• Sage University class - BW - Sage BusinessWorks - Managing Your Cash Accounts
  • In this video we will take look at some common mistakes as well as troubleshooting…

Are you making a custom report or a connection with a third party software and wondering how to tell what the values mean in the Sage BusinessWorks tables and fields? 

See the attached PDF document for the complete Sage BusinessWorks Tables and Fields formatting.  The information in the tables and fields can be used to create a Crystal Report or query the database from Excel. 

You can also view the tables and fields knowledgebase…

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• If you are upgrading from a previous version of Sage BusinessWorks you should not be prompted for the product code. If you are prompted for a product code it is likely that you are attempting to run the install on the client and not the server.
• If you have BusinessWorks installed on a network, all downloads and upgrade installs must be performed directly on the server. If you are at a workstation, stop…

There are times where a user may get stuck or stranded in the program. Check the Network Status Report (File, Network Status Report from the Launcher Menu) and ensure you are the only user displaying.  If this report shows users who are not logged in or tasks that are not running, the user or task may have become "stranded."  If this happens to you please keep in mind the simple steps below to disconnect users…

OregonSaves is a mandatory retirement savings program for the state of Oregon. There is a standard rate of 5% for all employees. There is a process for opting out or changing the percentage rate through the plan facilitator.

Additional information can be found at https://www.oregonsaves.com/

To handle OregonSaves in Sage BusinessWorks:

1. Go to Payroll, Utilities, Maintain Deductions and enter new deduction. Under Meth…

Are you looking for additional or more detailed training opportunities? Maybe you are new to Sage BusinessWorks and would like some training? Anytime Learning Courses are available on Sage University.

To access the courses:

1. Go to http://sageu.com.
2. Log on if already registered or if new to Sage University select Create your Profile.
3. Once you have logged on go to the ‘Sage product training’ section and click on the ‘Select…

If the worst should happen, are you prepared?  In this day and age, it is critical to ensure your Sage BusinessWorks data is protected. With the influx of ransomware and virus attacks, it is becoming increasingly common for companies to have to recover from an attack and therefore it is important to ensure you have a backup plan in place.  

Keeping your financial information safe in the case of a server failure, computer…

Have you ever been in the time crunch, need to get the close done and then the worst happens…you have a power outage, a server disconnect, you get an error message or something just doesn't seem right? Let’s take a look at what you should do if you ever have something happen during a month or year end close.

1. Make note of any errors that occurred or what event led to the close not completing
   • If there…

Included with a module known as Custom Office the Attachment Manager allows PDFs, images or documents to be attached to a vendor, customer, job, part employee or general ledger account. You can keep important files right at your fingertips with the Attachment Manager. With it, you can attach objects such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, WAV files, bitmaps, and AVI multimedia files directly to records of accounts,…

Sage BusinessWorks Accounting 2018 introduced an option to 'Restrict accrual' - set a maximum accrual amount of vacation and sick time per year.  When the 'Restrict Accrual' option is selected, vacation/sick time will no longer calculated if the max accrual per year has been reached.

This option can be accessed in PR, Utilities, Maintain PR Parameters. Select the 'Restrict Accrual' checkbox in the sick…

Oregon implemented a new payroll transit tax that became effective July 1, 2018. The information below is just a reminder of how to account for the tax in your Sage BusinessWorks product.

Enter a new deduction for the added tax as follows:

1. Go to PR, Utilities, Maintain Deductions and click on New icon.
2. Enter Method 'Percent of State Taxable pay' and Category 'System' NOTE: Please check with your tax…

Starting with Sage BusinessWorks 2017 a link was added to the Sage BusinessWorks launcher view. The items in this section where derived from the top call generators.

• To view the frequently asked questions (FAQ) link ensure the launcher viewer is selected by selecting View, Viewer which will place a check mark next to Viewer and display the launcher viewer on the screen.
• Once the launcher viewer displays select the Frequently…

Call volumes fluctuate and can often result in longer than normal wait times to speak with us. When hold times are longer than usual, you may be prompted to accept a Courtesy Callback. Below are answers to some of the common questions about using Courtesy Callback:

• What number should I use for a callback?
  It is recommended that you use a number that can be answered even if you are away from your desk, such as your cellphone…