Sage brings greater financial control to business management

Medium to large companies with key implementations of Sage CS/3 and Enterprise business management solutions are now able to handle more complex financial processes following Sage Enterprise Solutions' (SES') release of project billing and credit management modules.

The modules - which add onto (and integrate with) the core SES business management solution infrastructure - are expected to find favour with small, medium or large companies that charge on a project or consulting basis; benefits will also be brought to organisations that require centralised management of complex debtor and creditor procedures.

"The Sage CS/3 and Enterprise solution sets are, ostensibly, the same; the former is complied for Unix-based open systems, though, and the latter for computing infrastructures driven by Windows NT/2000 operating systems," explains Lee Mounter, business advisory manager at Sage Enterprise Solutions in SA.

"They create an integrated, single-entry, highly visible environment [Unix or Windows-based] that brings the production, distribution, finance and service functions of an organisation together."

Attention has been paid to developing solutions that afford greater financial control because SES believes it's an area that's critical to the success of a business. Funds are among a company's most important assets, says Mounter, so invoicing, paying, collecting and managing them is crucial.

From a project billing standpoint, the new module for the Sage CS/3 and Enterprise solutions handles the specific requirements of project-related billing and accounts postings. It integrates closely with two other modules - project ledger and resource ledger - and allows an organisation to define the services provided to customers and the subsequent rules regarding when and what to invoice.

"Users of Sage Enterprise Solutions' products can now accurately define fixed-price stage payments, they can create and track time and material invoices, examine revenue and cost accruals, recognise the revenues that are being generated, and then handle how their services are being invoiced," adds Mounter.

The credit management module gives users of SES solutions the ability to control credit using an integrated transaction enquiry and call logging process. Developed primarily with the credit controller in mind, it's the first time that SES users will have a dedicated module that handles the total credit function.

"The solution supports diary management and the entry of logged calls with free-format text, as well as creating a list of target calls automatically," says Mounter.

"It also centralises and streamlines the storage of information on the promised date of cheques, the ad hoc generation of statements and reminder letters, and the forecasting of cash flow. These are all processes which are vital for effective credit management."

The new modules - and, indeed, the greater CS/3 and Enterprise solutions - are available through Sage Enterprise Solutions' network of value-added resellers in SA. More information can be found at http://www.itweb.co.za/office/sage/ or www.sageenterprisesolutions.com.