Accounting software Sage 50 gets credit and cashflow improvements

Compared to previous years, the launch of Sage 50 2009 was positively downbeat. The details were posted on Sage's UK website and those who were entitled to immediate upgrades were sent the CDs to install last week.
 
Perhaps because of the problems encountered two years ago with its new reporting module, Sage opted for a more organic approach. And with the economy looking bleak, the company has tailored the new version to match the market's mood, with improvements focused on keeping your head down and getting on with collecting the cash.

New cash management features
 
Several of the program's new ingredients tie into credit management and cash flow control. On the interface front, you now have the option to view a Dashboard of your credit position to see reports and graphics showing your debt situation and what funds are due in, disputed or owed.
 
The new Cash flow module, reached via an icon within the Customers Chase Debt, window or from the Bank Accounts and Suppliers Manage Payments modules can also display a summary of outstanding and recurring payments and recurring, effectively giving you an instant cashflow forecast, with the ability to change the date range as you wish. You can also pick specific accounts that you want to include in your forecast view and send the results to a colleague via email, or output the report to Excel for further analysis.
 
The most obvious addition to Sage 50's left hand task pane is a new Diary module, which looks very much like a stripped down version of the Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Like Outlook, the Sage 50 Diary lets you create tasks with automatic reminders that can be compiled into a To Do list. The tasks can be linked to specific customer or supplier contact details and in a neat touch, any promised payments will be entered into the Diary and will update the relevant cashflow forecasts when you refresh them.
 
The Sage 50 Diary is said to integrate with Microsoft Outlook for both tasks and contact details. There is a new Office import/export wizard option, but I was not able to test the facility with the online demo system.

Welcome improvements to error correction and bank reconciliation
 
Sage has improved two areas that may have been a source of user frustration. The new version makes it easier to fix basic mistakes and includes an improved better bank reconciliation system.
 
The Correction is reached via the File-Maintenance menu, which includes an Error Checking routine and the option to correct errors. The routine is claimed by Sage to be a single mouse-click operation, but an attempt to remove a pair of scissors from a multi-product sales invoice proved beyond my abilities - so I still had to delete the full invoice and issue a new one minus the unwanted scissors.
Continued on Accountingweb.co.uk