Technology Management's Software Answers Blog

Google in your printer

We continue to see the internet being linked to more and more devices, but I like the way they have incorporated Google maps into this new HP printer. So simple, why didn’t someone think of it before?

Warehouse Demolition Video

I’m currently pulling together content for events we’re planning to run in 2010 centred around using mobile technology in the warehouse.

However, judging by this video doing the rounds on YouTube, I think this company has enough on their plate!

Investing in ERP Software in a Downturn - the IT Challenges Now Faced (Part 2 of 3)

In the second part of this webcast Nigel Montgomery, Research Director at AMR Research, describes why upgrading or investing in a new Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution can be a smart business decision, even during an economic downturn.

 

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Customisation

One of the best things about Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 is the extent to which your users can customise the appearance of “pages” in the new Role Tailored Client (RTC).

Pages replace forms in the RTC as the main way of displaying data to users. In addition to the main part of the page, displaying either a list of records or details of one record, you will find the Action Pane (1), the Filter Pane (2) and the FactBox Pane (3).

These panes can be customised by the user, by clicking on the Customize options from the icon in the top right hand corner.

All of the actions available to the user are shown in the Actions, Related Information and Reports menus and users can show or hide items, change their order or group items together. Users can also choose which items are “promoted” to the action pane. This puts the name of the action, with its icon on the pane for easy access. Anything that appears in the menus can be added to the action pane. Users can also choose to give some actions a large icon to make them more prominent e.g. as the “New” action in the above image.

FactBoxes are used to display useful information related to the task in hand. For instance, sales statistics for the current customer, documents which are linked to a vendor or notes about a production order.

Users can choose the FactBoxes to display and also customise which data is shown within the FactBox.

This allows users to make the actions and information that they need easily accessible, reducing the need to hunt through menus and streamlining the tasks they need to carry out.

Another benefit of customising in NAV 2009 is that all of the customisation is stored in the database, rather than in a file on the local machine (the .zup file of previous versions), so users will see their customised pages regardless of the machine they use to log in.

It is also possible to save your customisation against an entire profile – so that all users who use that profile can see the changes. For example, order processors might have a report that they often need to run to show existing customer orders. An administrator could add the report to the customer list and promote it to the Action Pane for the order processor profile. The next time any order processor runs the customer list page they will see the promoted action, without having to add it individually.

Hosted Exchange. All the benefits, none of the worry

Recently I was talking to a business that had been without there Exchange Email server for a couple of days due to a hardware failure. It had really impacted their business and we were called in to see how we could offer some advice on preventing this happening again. As they had a single Exchange server we spoke about all types of different offerings to allow for a failover onto a secondary server etc… But the option that they really liked was getting rid of their Exchange Server all together but not losing the functionality they get from Outlook and Exchange. The solution, hosted Exchange, quite simply we run the Exchange server in a data centre which takes advantage of running on the latest technology, making sure it won’t go down. The data centre also boasts multiple air con units, its own generator for power and countless ways off accessing the internet. You run Outlook on your PC or laptop but just connect to the hosted Exchange server, all the normal features of Outlook are available as is Outlook Web Access (connecting to Exchange through a browser) Mail pushed out to mobile devices also works normally.

As there is no investment for the client on new hardware or extra Exchange licences, its a very low start up cost. You simply pay an amount per user per month, this also means that should you have seasonal workers or a large contract where you need to pull extra people into the business for a short time you only pay for them when they are working. Unlike traditional licencing where you would buy the Client Access Licence (CAL) and once you reduce numbers you are left with them on the shelf, at a big cost. Hosted Exchange costs start from £5.99 per user per month.

If you’re after more details please contact myself or Jon Archer on 1902 578300 email liam.walton@tecman.co.uk  or jon.archer@tecman.co.uk

 

• No up-front cost for hardware and software
• Pay by the month and by the amount of users
• Anti-Virus & Anti-Spam included
• High security encryption
• Use your domain name
• Access from anywhere on the internet
• Built-in support for Windows mobile devices
• Built-in Back-up & Recovery
• Advanced archiving available

VAT Filing Online

VAT management will be switching to online filing and electronic payment only from April 2010.

The HMRC VAT online service helps businesses to file VAT returns quickly and make electronic payments. VAT management will be switching to online filing and electronic payment only from April 2010. If turnover is more than £100,000, businesses will have to file their VAT return online for accounting periods that start on or after 1 April 2010. Or if businesses register for VAT on or after April 1 2010, they will have to file online regardless of turnover. (source: www.hmrc.gov.uk) Opera II, Opera and Capital Gold Accounts users can easily file their VAT returns online using the HMRC website, so currently Pegasus have no plans to change their products.

For further information please contact our Pegasus Team !!

Cross Border VAT Changes

As of January 1st 2010, Sales of Services need to be reported on your EC Sales Listing as well as Goods.

Changes to the EC Sales List format As of 1 January 2010, it will be a legislative requirement for a UK VAT Registered Business to declare any Intra-EC Services that they receive from a VAT Registered Supplier in the EC on the EC Sales List (ESL - VAT 101 form). The ESL currently includes the supply of business-to-business (B2B) goods to customers in the EU. From 1 January 2010, ESLs are required for B2B supplies of services. The default reporting frequency for both goods and services on the ESL will be monthly. But businesses may be able to opt to submit quarterly ESLs for services only. The amount of time that HMRC and other tax administrators in the EU are allowed to collect and exchange data between each other is being reduced to one month. This means that businesses are likely to have a certain number of days after the end of the reporting period to submit their ESLs: 14 days for paper ESLs 21 days for electronic ESLs Note: Intra-EC Services must (still) not be included on the SD report. Please note that the first new format EC Sales List will require submission by the middle of February 2010.  Details of the changes can be found on http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/ec-sales-lists.pdf Thresholds and Reporting Periods During the period 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011 quarterly ESLs can still be submitted if: • The total quarterly value of supplies of intra-EC goods, (excluding VAT), does not exceed £70,000 in the current quarter, or any of the previous 4 Quarters.  The place of supply for suppliers or customers of services The place of supply is used to decide where VAT must be paid and how VAT should be accounted for. From 1 Jan 2010 the place of supply for Intra-EC services changes to where the customer is, rather than where the supplier is. UK businesses need to account for VAT on these services as both the customer and the supplier of the service. The supplier will not account for VAT in their country. This is done under the so called ‘Reverse Charge’ provisions, which is also called the ‘tax shift’. The VAT Return will be updated by the customer for both the supply of the service by the supplier and the receipt by the customer.  A Service Item VAT Code will automatically update the following boxes: Box 1 - the amount of output tax (VAT due on sales) Box 4 - the amount of input tax (VAT due on purchases) Box 6 - the value of the supply (total value of sales) Box 7 - the value of the supply (total value of purchases) Software Release Schedule During November 2009, Pegasus will be releasing new versions of Opera II, Opera and Capital Gold Accounts.

For further information please contact our Pegasus Team !!

VAT Rate Changes

January 1st 2010 sees the VAT Rate increase to 17.5% again. The UK Government announced earlier this year that the rate of Standard VAT in the UK will increase back to 17.5% (after it was temporarily reduced to 15.0% on 1st December 2008) on 1 January 2010.

Opera II Opera II was amended in version 6.70.00 to use the Rate 2% field on the VAT Code when progressing SOP documents (Orders, Quotes etc) to Invoices; this should cater for the needs of the vast majority of users. For customers using version 6.70.00 or later, the Rate 2 fields on the VAT Processing Form needs to be updated with 17.5% effective from 1/1/2010. For customers with earlier versions than 6.70.00 of Opera II, the VAT Utility provided in November 2008 will need to be run if they have un-invoiced, SOP/Invoicing transactions with a VAT rate of 15.0%. However, there could be exceptions  - see Special Rules. Opera and Capital Gold The VAT Utility that was provided in November 2008 for these products will potentially need to be run. Special Rules If the goods are provided before the increase in VAT e.g. 22/12/2009 and then billed after the VAT increase e.g. 02/01/2010, the user can opt to apply a 15.0% VAT charge to the Invoice.  This is valid as the issue of stock was made whilst the VAT Rate was 15.0% and the Invoice was raised within 14 days of supply. This however will not save the customer any money as a lesser amount can be reclaimed as Input Tax therefore HMRC are advising that this is an unlikely working practice. For further details please see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/rate-rise-guidance.pdf

For further information please contact our Pegasus Team !!

Major changes to VAT

In 2010 three major changes to VAT will be introduced.

1. VAT rate

On 1 January 2010 the standard rate of VAT reverts to 17.5 per cent.

2. VAT registered businesses

The VAT rules for businesses who:

• supply services to or receive services from overseas businesses
• supply goods to other EC countries
• reclaim VAT incurred in another EC country

also change and where, how and when VAT is accounted for, completion of EC Sales Lists and reclaiming VAT incurred in another EC country are all affected.

You must consider now whether the changes affect you and what you need to do to prepare for them.

3. VAT filing and payment arrangements

Under Government proposals, from 1 April 2010 the way some businesses file their VAT returns and pay any VAT due will also change:

• all VAT registered businesses with a turnover of £100,000 or more (excluding VAT)
• all businesses newly registering for VAT, whatever their turnover

must file their VAT returns online and pay any VAT due electronically.

If your business falls into either of the above categories, the changes apply to all returns covering accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2010 and we will no longer issue paper returns for these periods.

Filing returns on paper will still be an option for the remaining VAT registered businesses, but this will be reviewed in the run up to 2012.

Follow this link for more information http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers-bulletin/bulletin33/majorchanges.htm

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Workshop Thursday 21st January 2010 Prepayments Workshop

Prepayments are payments that are invoiced and posted to a sales or purchase prepayment invoice before final invoicing.

In Microsoft Dynamics NAV  users can define prepayment requirements on customers and vendors for all items or selected items.

After completing the required setup, a user can generate prepayment invoices from sales and purchase orders for the calculated prepayment amount, and correct prepayment invoices as needed.

During this workshop we will

• Explain the requirements for setting up prepayments.

• Set up and assign prepayment General Ledger accounts.

• Set up prepayment numbering for sales and purchases.

• Set up default prepayment percentages on customers and vendors.

• Set up default prepayment percentages for Customer-Item and Vendor-Item combinations.

• Set up prepayment posting verification for sales and purchases.

• Explain the prepayment processing flows for sales and purchase orders.

• Describe the prepayment-specific fields on sales and purchase orders.

• Create sales and purchase orders with prepayment percents and amounts.

• Create prepayment invoices from sales and purchase orders.

• Explain the processes available to correct posted prepayment invoices.

Booking Information

Technology Management customers can book for free by following this Microsoft Dynamics NAV Workshop link