Kirby, Pezzack And Associates Inc.

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BusinessVision 7.1

New CPA Cheque Format

New Network Monitoring services

Windows Vista and BusinessVision

BusinessVision 7.1 - New features improve productivity

January, 2007 - In December 2006, Sage released the latest upgrade to Sage BusinessVision, which is 7.1. There are many new features in this release that can significantly improve the productivity of your staff. For a review of the features added in the previous version (7.0), please visit here. For a brochure on V7.1, click here

The most exciting new features in version 7.1 are these:

Sales Analysis / Order Entry / AR:

	Automatically generate new sales order / quotation / credit note using a past transaction from Sales analysis as a template
	View the entire sales history of an item while creating a Sales Order to find pricing information or good prospects for a close-out or promotion
	Easily look up alternate parts to replace an item that's not in stock
	Discounts - can now apply to gross or net amounts, including or excluding freight
	Accounts Receivable can now notify you when a customer has overdue invoices, as well as when their credit limit has been exceeded

Purchasing / Inventory:

	Automatically generate a new Purchase Order based on an existing closed PO
	Automatically generate a PO based on inventory levels, reorder points, backorders, etc., and consolidate multiple POs into one for a specific vendor, or break a larger PO into several smaller ones
	View the entire purchase history of an item when creating a Purchase Order
	Change an "Issued" PO back to "Okay" status so it can be edited or corrected, then re-issued

Other:

	Payroll Direct Deposit can now be configured for each employee, not just at the company level
	For each of the Payment Terms you set up, you can indicate whether any discount taken/given applies to net or gross amount, and whether shipping gets discounted
	As usual, this upgrade is free to those on a current Software Assurance (i.e., Maintenance) plan
	Changes to the database are minimal, so most forms or custom reports will NOT need to be adjusted

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New CPA Cheque Format deadline, July 1, 2007 **UPDATED**

Spring 2007 - The Canadian Payments Association has once again delayed the deadline for its new cheque formats in Canada. Previously, the CPA had said that, starting July 1, 2007, all cheques issued in Canada must meet certain standards, in order to provide somewhat-improved security as well as improved electronic reading of cheques by the major banks.

As of Spring 2007, the CPA is still encouraging companies to be compliant with the new formats by July 1, 2007, but have now said that 'to help their business customers make a smooth transition, financial institutions will continue to process “old format” business cheques until implementation of the new clearing process begins in the latter part of 2008. This extended transition period, or “grace period”, will allow businesses that are still working on the changes to use up their existing supply of cheques and implement any required updates to software.'

Therefore, as you're ordering new cheques when you run out, you should order cheques that will be compliant (call us for recommendations), but there's no immediate need to discard old cheque stock otherwise.

We can design BusinessVision-compatible forms for (for version 5, 6 & 7 of BusinessVision). For more information, have a look at the CPA's site here

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Windows Vista and BusinessVision

February, 2007 - Microsoft have recently (and finally) launched their new Windows operating system for home and business PCs, called Windows Vista. This is the first major upgrade of its operating system since Windows XP was released about 5 years ago.

While Vista has hundreds - indeed, thousands - of improvements in terms of security, user interface, etc., many applications are not yet compatible with it - and BusinessVision is one of those. So, for the time being, we recommend that you don't purchase Windows Vista as an upgrade or on new PCs, since your BusinessVision software won't yet be set to run properly on it.

In the meantime, though, if you're buying new PCs this year, be sure to call us to find out exactly what specifications you'll need, so that when Vista becomes mainstream (probably by the end of 2007), you'll be set to run it without having to upgrade machines you just bought.