Sage Line 50 training...

Creamy Goodness

right first off, apologies if this is in the wrong forum but this seems like the most logical place to put it.

My dad's company recently updated their accounts system to sage line 50 v11.

the workers there (5 of them) are basically illiterate when it comes to basic computing skills nevermind sage and how it works.

before sage they were using a customised program which was based on foxpro i think i'm not sure and were very static on how it worked.

they basically had a routine of how to do what they needed to do and that's it.

now since one of the brothers of one of the employee's suggested sage they went with it and was told all the wonderful stuff it could do...

but the problem is they aren't willing to learn it and are looking to me for help. now to be completely honest i do not have the energy or the will to go and learn sage for myself and then to try and teach it to them.

so what i'm looking for is anyone that has any reccommendations on companies that will do a full routine check on sage - to make sure it's running efficently as possible - and also to give them training on how to effectively use sage to it's maximum. they have all these ideas on how sage should work but they just aren't willing to learn how to use these features themselves.

thanks for your help in advanced guys

qwertz

Sage themselves do training.

Creamy Goodness

qwertz wrote:

Sage themselves do training.

AFAIK it's only class room styled training ie. they take you to their class room and teach you how to use their software on not very real world sanarios.

qwertz

Not that I would recommend them (due to personal reasons) but either Sage themselves or one of their partner companies can be booked to go onsite and do exactly what you want.

Dummy

Our company got one of their resellers out and they were really good and very helpful. They came to us and simplified what we were making over-complicated for ourselves. Sorted out an issue on our payroll for us too at the same time.

Cannot remember the co name just now - just that they are based in Rathcoole. I know their first names but am kicking that I can't remember the co name. It will bug me to Monday.

We took out a maintenance contract with them and they upgraded us from version 10 to version 12 as part of the deal and we get version 13 automatically in October / November. And the maintenance was much cheaper than Sage.

Good luck

Addition: They are based in Greenogue

RandomOne

Cremo wrote:

but the problem is they aren't willing to learn it

so what i'm looking for is anyone that has any reccommendations on companies that will do a full routine check on sage - to make sure it's running efficently as possible - and also to give them training on how to effectively use sage to it's maximum. they have all these ideas on how sage should work but they just aren't willing to learn how to use these features themselves.

thanks for your help in advanced guys

They're going to have to, since even if you could help them initially, you can't be there or on the end of a phone everytime they need to do something!

If you're really, really stuck, I could come out and do it, but I'm in West Waterford (boundary Cork County) so it would be a bit of a hike. Whoever they use for their accountants may well have someone who could come out for a day/two for training, and will know their business so which functions are useful and which are superfluous.

antoinolachtnai

First of all, adopting software purely on the recommendation of what someone's brother has is not the way to go. You really should have some sort of evaluation process, however informal of at least three packages. That said, Sage is not a bad choice. I am concerned that you are using v11 which is at least two years old. It is very important that you use the latest version of Sage, that you keep up-to-date, and that you have some form of service/support contract.

Learning enough of Sage to enter transactions is no big deal, if you have basic computer proficiency. Accounts staff should be willing to learn Sage, if only because it would open other employment opportunities for them.

I have seen something like this cycle with a customer of mine. The first thing is to make sure that someone is taking responsibility for the accuracy of records, for producing tax and company accounts, for producing management reprots and ensuring that correct backups and files are kept.

To get Sage to work fully, you need to understand accounting principles in a fair degree of detail. That is why you need your accountant on board. Note: a bookkeeper is not the same as an accountant. Presumably your OP's dad has an external accountant; some accountants are good at taking 'leadership' in these situations, some are not.

The second thing is all the process improvements that can be made. To be honest, I would be careful about the assumption that Sage is the complete solution for the company; Sage Line 50 is primarily about accounts, it's not really an order entry/management system or a management control system (although it may be suitable for that if you have the right add-ons and so on). In its most basic form, it is really a single-user system, not a system that everybody should be working on.

For sure, the accounts person has to become proficient on Sage (or something similar). Not to the extent that they know it backwards, but enough to work it. Changes to the company's process may also be needed, but it is a lot to expect of a bookkepper to manage this.

I should warn you, what your Dad's company is asking you to do is not easy, although it is possible. Mostly, it will require hard work (which you should be able to do if you have the time to invest) but you will also need some guidance.

Send me a PM if you think if you think I can give you a steer on this, no obligation!