Partner PulseSage Accountants Network

October 2012

Product news, support, and benefits in each issue.

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Inside This Issue

Training Opportunities

Partner training site—Finding the right training courses made easyTraining videos—Sage 50 Accounting Excel tips and tricks—Creating Excel formulae in your report

Newsworthy

Accounting today—Stop playing it safe and start marketing onlineSAN connectivity series—Interested in networking?

Take a Break

SAN connect mobile app—Social Intelligence: Learning to love the "like"Social media tip of the month—Creating a Facebook pageThe best careers for your zodiac signWant to be a guest columnist in the Partner Pulse?

Features

Update from Jennifer WarawaMessage from Pascal Houillon—Our commitment to our customers remains as strong as everSage Accountants Network adds IRS tax problem solving option to Sage Accounts NetworkAvoid check fraud—How to detect a bad check

Page 4

Update from Jennifer Warawa Message from Pascal Houillon

Happy October!

Many of us are still “glowing” from the excitement and success of Sage Summit that took place in August in Nashville, Tennessee. The Sage Accountants Network members were out in full force and were a dominant presence at the conference. There were many long-time Sage Summit attendees who said to me,

“I can’t believe how many people are here from the Sage Accountants Network!” The members who attended are already planning to attend next July in Washington, D.C., and it is expected to be an equally fantastic event (or even better). Mark your calendars for July 21–26, 2013, and start planning for it, because you definitely won’t want to miss it!

I’m hoping you caught “The Mentor” newsletter that went out earlier this month, which is our newest newsletter entirely focused on training opportunities for our partners and Sage Accountants Network members. If you haven’t already seen our easy-to-navigate partner training landing pages, make sure you visit them to learn about all the training opportunities available to you. Also, do you have ideas for training or suggestions for “The Mentor” newsletter? Send an email to Greg Dyer, our manager of partner training—he always loves to hear from partners. Greg is working on some exciting new partner training topics already, including Twitter training for all of you who are still trying to get more social media savvy.

Speaking of training, fall is a great time to get certified. If you’re looking for a way to differentiate yourself from the competition and position yourself as an expert, certification is the best way to do that. Visit our training landing page to learn how you can get certified today.

The fall is a busy time for us at Sage. The week after Sage Summit we were at the Boomer Technology Circles Summit in Kansas City and then headed to Chicago for the Midwest Accounting and Finance Showcase, which was a great event again this year. We’ll also be at the 27th Annual Florida Accounting show in Fort Lauderdale September 20 and 21, and then in October we’ll be at the Sleeter Accounting Solutions Conference in Anaheim, California. The Sleeter Conference is always a highlight for us, and this year, Sage Chief Technology Officer Himanshu Palsule will be sharing our technology vision for the next five years during a keynote session and will also be part of a related panel discussion. Fall is a great time of the year because I love being out on the road connecting with all of you!

I hope you have a productive kickoff to fall, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the events we’re taking part in this fall. In the meantime, let’s connect on Twitter and LinkedIn and stay in touch!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Warawa Vice President, Partner Programs & Channel Sales Sage North America Jennifer.Warawa@Sage.com Twitter: @jenniferwarawa

By now you are likely familiar with our new product naming structure, which you may have seen in Sage emails, product invoices, or on the New Sage website. While some products have changed names, the company and our commitment to our customers remain as strong as ever.

In fact, in August we made several announcements about our upcoming goals and strategies at Sage Summit, where thousands of Sage customers gathered to learn more about their software, discover new technologies, and exchange ideas, tips, and experiences. We also took the opportunity to share with attendees our focus for the near future. I thought you might be interested in getting a taste of that vision.

These days, fewer businesses operate exclusively in the office. Your software has to be accessible wherever you operate, which is why Sage foresees solutions like yours becoming more robust in the future. As always, our goal is to make your business life easier, which is why we’re focusing on making future versions of our products accessible online, any time, from anywhere, on any device. We’re also offering options like subscription-based pricing, cloud versions of our popular products, expanded offerings, and better support through Sage Business Care.

Watch this video from Sage Summit to see ways we anticipate our customers in the near future will rely on Sage to streamline their business.

We understand you’re busy. That’s why even if you aren’t able to attend customer events like Sage Summit, we provide many ways for you to keep up with Sage and to stay involved. Connect with us through Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or our product communities, and you’ll be able to learn what’s new, access product information from the experts, and develop relationships with fellow users, software specialists, and more.

As always, thank you for being a Sage customer. Pascal Houillon, President and CEO, Sage North America

 

SAN connectivity series—Networking

Interested in connecting with Sage Accountant Network members in your area?

One of the most beneficial relationships you can have is connecting with peers through local regularly scheduled meetings. We are committed to supporting these connections and want to involve as many community members as possible. If you are interested in organizing or attending a local meeting in your community, contact Mark.Hubbard@Sage.com for details.

SAN Partner Pulse October 2012

Avoid check fraud

Avoid check fraud (continued)Sage North America adds IRS tax problem solving option to Sage Accounts Network

Access to Beyond415 to help Sage Accountants Network members address IRS notices for their small business clients.

Sage, a leading global supplier of business management software and services for small and midsized businesses, announced today the addition of new services to the Sage Accountants Network that provide members with reduced-cost access to solutions that help simplify postfiling IRS tax management processes for their clients.

Sage Accountants Network (SAN) members in the U.S. can now receive a 15% discount on New River Innovation’s flagship product, Beyond415®, plus access to educational webcasts on a variety of IRS and postfiling-related topics, good for CPE credit.

“With the help of Beyond415, SAN members now will be better prepared to efficiently resolve postfiling IRS tax work, no matter the situation in which their clients find themselves,” said Jennifer Warawa, vice president, partner programs and channel sales, Sage North America. “Whether it’s a routine issue or something out of the ordinary, SAN members will have the guidance, procedural steps and the appropriate forms and templates to help put the issue to rest and turn their clients’ concern into confidence.”

Beyond415 is a web-based system for postfiling practice and procedure. The system helps firms save time, stay current, and empower staff to contribute on any client issues that come up after filing. From simple administrative tasks, such as authorizations, to complex client issues, such as audits, Beyond415 is the start-to-finish solution to the increasing volume of postfiling work.

The Sage Accountants Network offers resources to increase technical competency and help grow an accountant’s practice by providing informative communications and resources, product discounts, training, certification, and membership benefits related to the Sage portfolio of products. Through the Sage Accountants Network, accounting professionals also have access to Sage products that include accounting and business management software, support services, and automatically delivered upgrades and updates, including tax tables when applicable. In addition to software, members receive a complimentary listing in the Sage Accountants Network member locator.

How to Detect a Bad CheckBy CompuPay, a BenefitMall Company

According to American Banker magazine, “It is estimated that retailers throughout the nation lose $12–$15 billion each year due to the acceptance of bad checks.” You should examine all checks presented for payment to make sure they’re legitimate. Although any one of these signs does not necessarily indicate that the check is bad, any combination of them should signal a warning.

• Lack of perforation: Most checks are connected in a book and are removed at perforations. Lack of perforation may indicate a counterfeited check.

• Check number is low or missing: According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, “About 90% of bad checks are drawn on new accounts.” It stands to reason that caution should be exercised when accepting checks with low numbers (up to 400 on personal or up to 1500 on business accounts).

• Changes in font: If the font is uneven, appears in varying styles or sizes, the check may have been altered.

• Missing information: If the payee’s name, address, or phone number or the bank’s name or address is missing, the check may have been counterfeited or altered.

• Stains or discolorations: Checks altered chemically, or through the use of something as simple as an eraser, can leave changes in the color or tone of the check stock. What looks like a coffee spill may really be a sign of fraud.

• MICR encoding: Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) coding are the numbers printed along the bottom of checks. The special magnetic ink with which the numbers are printed is not glossy, so if they do appear glossy, they may be forged. If the check does not have MICR numbers printed on it, or if they do not include the check number, the check may be fraudulent.

• Signature: If the check is not properly endorsed, this may be a simple error or it may be an attempt at fraud. Putting security measures in place, knowing the signs of check fraud and responding to suspicions in a timely manner can help your business reduce the risk of being a victim of check fraud.

Training opportunities

Finding the right training courses made easy!

The new Partner Training land page provides you with the ease of finding and registering for various types of training. Simply click the link provided to take you directly into Sage University where you can register for the course.

• Start on the training path that’s right for you at Sage University. Register for Realtime Training—classroom and seminar-style training.

• Boost yourself to a new level by becoming part of a unique group with Sage 50 Accounting Gold Certified Consultants.

• Help your business grow with Sage 50 Accounting Platinum Certified Consultants.

 

Page 6

Creating Excel formulae in your report

Creating Excel formulae in your report (continued)

Did you know you can create Excel formulae as data expressions in the Administrator module? This can be very useful if you have a formula you need to be extended as far down the sheet as the rest of the data.

Method

1. Open your Administrator Module and browse to the container in which you want to add the Excel formula.

2. Right-click on the container and select Add Expression.

3. Select Excel Formula option.

4. Give the Excel Formula a name for example, "GrossProfit," then type in the Excel formula (do not put an = sign in front of the formula; Alchemex automatically puts it in when you run the report); click OK.

5. Open your Report Manager and browse to the report associated to the above container and double-click it.

6. Right-click on Columns and select Add Columns.

7. Select the Excel formula you created and click OK.

8. Run the report out; you will see your Excel formula in the data sheet (for example, Sheet1).

Notes • If you create an Excel Formula with a specific cell reference

(for example, Sheet1!A2), it will not be changed as the formula moves down the rows, (for example, all the rows formula will refer to Sheet1!A2). Alternatively you can use the column reference Sheet1!A:A.

• It is advisable to use named ranges in your Excel formula.

• Alchemex automatically creates a named range for each column in the data sheet of a report based on the name of the column.

Tip

It is easier to create the Excel formula on the data sheet of a run out report and then copy the formula back to the Administrator module.

Sage Simply Accounting training videos

Get the most out of your Sage Simply Accounting software!

The Sage Simply Accounting How-to videos offer easy access for clarification and simplicity of certain tasks and procedures. Watch Now

Sage 50 Business Intelligence Webcasts

These webcasts will provide information you can use now! With Sage 50 Business Intelligence you can have customized reports, on-demand, without having to manually update any spreadsheets. In these sessions the presenter will be showcasing the features and benefits of this powerful reporting tool.

Register Here

Training opportunities (continued)

SAN Partner Pulse October 2012

Newsworthy Newsworthy (continued)

Accounting Today—Stop Playing It Safe and Start Marketing Online

Just as driving 40 mph on the freeway can get you run over, being overly conservative as a professional services firm will get you left in the dust by your more aggressive competitors.

When it comes to online marketing, some firm leaders are moving aggressively to exploit this new approach to client acquisition, while the majority are staying in the slow lane, to the detriment of their firms’ growth and profitability.

Consider the following: Professional services firms that generate at least 40 percent of their leads online exhibit substantially higher growth rates and profit margins than their peers who are less active online, according to the Hinge Research Institute’s study, Online Marketing for Professional Services. The median two-year growth rate for the more aggressive group is about 54 percent—more than 30 percentage points higher than the growth rate of the less aggressive firms (see below).

 

Similarly, profit margin for the most active online marketers is 10 percentage points higher than the profitability of more conservative firms (see below).

 

Notice the narrow differential between the two conservative groups. Firms that generate no leads online experience a growth rate that is just 5 percentage points lower than those that generate a moderate percentage of leads online. When it comes to profitability, there is zero difference between those two groups. It seems that when it comes to the relationship between online marketing and financial performance, there’s not much difference between a minimal amount of activity and no activity at all.

Why do firms that generate a higher percentage of online leads exhibit better financial performance? Our data do not provide a definitive answer, but we think there are a number of factors at work:

Online marketing is less expensive over the long term.

Consider a firm that makes an investment in search engine optimization. After an initial upfront investment, leads will continue to flow in without incurring high ongoing costs.

Compare this to the sustained campaign expenses of traditional marketing techniques. According to The State of Inbound Marketing in 2012 by HubSpot, online leads generated from inbound marketing had a 62 percent lower cost per lead than those generated using traditional approaches such as trade show, direct marketing, and telemarketing.

Online marketing breaks down barriers.

Technology is shrinking the world around us. Due to online marketing’s greater geographic reach, firms can target clients anywhere in the world.

Online marketing can generate more targeted leads

Online marketing is powered in part by its focus on specific keywords and phrases that drive search engine traffic. For this reason, firms that are successful online marketers usually have a strong strategic focus on specific industries or services—or they quickly embrace that mentality. Also, when prospects search on highly specific keywords, they are essentially prequalifying themselves. The most astute online marketers are targeting their online content to drive higher margin engagements, further increasing ROI.

Driving up firm valuations

Whether you're pursuing a long-term strategy that involves shopping your firm to potential acquirers or grooming the next generation of leaders, firm value is likely at the top of your list of priorities.

The ability to produce higher-margin engagements at lower cost will contribute to higher value in the eyes of acquirers and potential talent. On the other hand, accounting firms that play it too safe in the digital marketing realm could face lower valuations in the eyes of potential acquirers and their own talent base.

Accounting firms lag other professions

When it comes to online marketing, accounting firms are late to the dance.

Whereas about 15 percent of all professional services firms in our study generated 40 percent or more of their new business leads online, only about 8 percent of accounting and financial services firms met this benchmark.

Accounting firms are also more conservative in their planned increases in digital marketing spending. Our research shows that the average accounting/financial services firm is planning to increase online marketing spending by just 22.5 percent—the lowest average increase of the industries we studied. Contrast that finding with a planned 94 percent increase by management consulting firms and 121 percent increase by technology firms. Accounting firms that fail to promote their services online may find that firms in other industries are encroaching on some of their specialized services, such as management and IT consulting.

Page 8

Newsworthy (continued)

The best careers for your zodiac sign

Libra (September 23–October 22)

Key traits: Diplomatic, artistic, intelligent, yet prone to indecision. Because you are graceful under pressure, you work best in partnerships with other people. Best careers: Architect, designer, lawyer, counselor, behind-the-scenes in the arts. Careers to avoid: conventional jobs that lack creativity and independence of mind.

Scorpio (October 23–November 21)

Key traits: Dynamic, creative, resourceful, strong willed. Outspoken and self-starting, you can only work in a career that you feel very passionate about. Best careers: psychologist, designer, law, humanitarian organizations, or charitable foundations. Careers to avoid: anything you perceive as shallow or materialistic.

Calendar of events

Looking for training? Regional partner meetings? Conferences? Webcasts? Check out the Sage Accountants Network Calendar of Events

If you are hosting a Regional Partner Meeting, we can add your event to the SAN Calendar of Events. Just email your request to Editor.PartnerPulse@Sage.com

Quote of the month

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.

-Henry R. Luce

Being social (continued)

Being social

Social intelligence: Learning to love the "like"

Social technologies have created new ways to start online relationships, but instant "likes" on status updates might make these interactions seem deeper than they are. As more companies embrace social networks for

productivity and customer outreach, workers using them for business must learn to communicate in these virtual spaces with as much nuance and depth as they do face to face. Read More

 

 

A missed opportunity

Given the relationship we’ve observed between online marketing and financial performance trends, we would expect to see the conservative accounting/financial services segment producing below average growth and profitability.

In fact, that is precisely what we found. Accounting and financial services firms report a median two-year growth rate of 18.5 percent and median profitability of 12 percent. Both statistics put them at the bottom of the list of sectors we studied.

Move into the passing lane

There are certain areas where conservatism can be more costly than decisive action. Driving on the highway is one, and online marketing is another.

On the other hand, CPAs’ relatively low level of participation in online marketing comes with a silver lining for those firms that do embrace it. When a firm’s competitors are proceeding with extreme caution, even small changes in strategy can have a dramatic effect.

Accounting firm leaders are faced with a choice: You can accelerate your online marketing efforts, increasing the chances that you will move ahead of your competitors. Or you can stay the course and hope for the best. Of course, as with any aggressive strategy, speeding up does have its hazards. But if you decide to stay in the slow lane, don’t be surprised when the more aggressive firms pass you by.

Creating a Facebook page

A Facebook page, sometimes referred to as a "fan page"; is a page that you can create on Facebook for anything you want—including your business. Think of it as a one-page meeting place, with information boards, links, a message forum box, RSS, and anything else you want. The best part is—anyone can create one!

Learn how to create a Facebook page and more in the Sage Social Media Guide for Accountants

Tweet of the month

Sage Summit

 

 

SAN Partner Pulse October 2012

Want to be a guest columnist in the Partner Pulse? Want to be a guest columnist in the Partner Pulse? (continued)

To kick off this section of the newsletter, we asked Leyla Szabo-Kustan of Mosaic West Consulting Services to provide her thoughts on one of the sessions she attended at Sage Summit in August. Here’s Leyla’s account of her session:

Sage Summit kicked off on Monday with an incredibly motivating keynote from Pascal Houillon, president and CEO of Sage North America, and Himanshi Palsule, chief technology officer and head of product strategy. It was such a tremendous start to the day, I wondered if SAN members would be in "brain overload" by the last break-out session. I was in for a surprise—those SAN partners who attended "Sage 50—Canadian Edition Consultant’s Best Practices" were fully engaged and ready for sharing and learning. The room was vibrant with animated conversation.

The roundtable sessions tackled five topics under the stewardship of table moderators that posed the questions and encouraged discussion thru sharing:

• Training—Crystal Barenz

• Reporting—Tony Yip

• Pricing—Jennifer Warawa (with support from Ed Kless and John Shaver)

• Marketing/Social Media—Peter Wolf

• Balance Work/Life—Nancy Harris

The moderators moved from table to table during the 90-minute session, which gave all participants a chance (however brief) to "tackle" all of the topics.

At the conclusion of the session each moderator shared with the room the common thread that they heard from the five table groups they had "toured." The learnings were wide ranging and in summary included:

• Training: who, what, when, where—and most importantly, why?

◦ The importance of continuously training: Sage Summit, online webcasts, CRA webcasts, HR training, and so on

◦ Specific training and training services offered: meeting your personal needs as well as those of your clients.

◦ Client training: must be client driven and class size be kept to a maximum of 12.

• Reporting: A value-added service to our clients, implementing and pricing.

◦ Customized report writing: It’s a steep learning curve; many consultants select to hire the skill.

◦ Reading reports: educating our clients on how to “read” reports.

◦ Pricing must reflect the expertise required.

• Pricing: The never-ending debate of hourly billing vs. value pricing.

◦ Analyze what your services are truly worth.

◦ Value pricing offers the opportunity to have fewer clients yet more revenue.

◦ The consensus was that there were many "dabblers" in the room (consultants doing some value pricing along with hourly billing). The recommendation was to "jump right in" to value pricing.

• Marketing/social media: Our changing world due to the WWW and social media.

◦ The partner community, at this time, isn’t fully accepting of social media and its merits for marketing purposes.

◦ It is not necessary to be a part of every form of social media: Select your area of expertise, select the form of social media you want to be present in—find the right fit for you.

• Balance work/life: Preserving ourselves, knowing our limits and boundaries.

◦ Know your work/life boundaries; "fire" clients that don’t conform to these limitations.

◦ Schedule a business appointment with yourself on a regular basis—and keep it!

◦ Plan your vacation schedule first, from there build your work schedule.

The summary points alone offer so much to consider—and by putting just a few of the recommendations into place, we, as SAN members, can only grow personally and professionally. Wouldn’t it be interesting to meet again next year in National Harbor during Sage Summit 2013 and see what long-term changes consultants have put in place in their practices as a result of attending this powerful and motivating session?

You can submit your 500-word article or send us your article idea or feedback: Editor. PartnerPulse@Sage.com

Submissions may be published at the discretion of Sage. Any ideas or feedback submitted may be used by Sage at its discretion.

Key contacts

Prioritized Technical Support:

Call: 1-866-665-2559 Option 2, Option 1 (English), Option 2 (Technical Support). All Sage Accountants Network members are entitled to free, unlimited priority technical support with a second-level support representative.

Account Management:

Call: 1-866-665-2559 Option 2, Option 1 (English), Option 4 (Account Management).

Key Web Resources:

www.Sage50Accounting.com

http://Partners.SageNorthAmerica.com

www.SageU.com

©2012 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, the Sage logos, and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc., or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. SPK 12-02511 09/12