Acorn IT Solutions

Consultancy   Analysis    System Design    Training    Implementation    Data Conversion    Customisation    Support

Consultancy

Acorn I.T. Solutions Ltd offer all companies a free consultation to determine how Sage could benefit your business.

We can offer you invaluable advice, and give you the opportunity to see if the Sage range of products would allow your business to function more effectively.

The aim of the consultancy is introduce ourselves, and to begin the process of determining your business needs.

System Analysis

We can help you analyse your present system, and identify your requirements.

Depending on the nature of your business this may only involve the Business Owner. For other businesses it may also involve the Accounts Staff, the Accountant, Production Manager, Store Person, Personnel Manager and anyone else who may have an input into how the business currently operates.

When implementing a new Accounts system, it is important to focus on how your current system works:

• What areas of your current system do you like?
• What areas of your current system are not working properly?
• How much time are you spending on key functions – Payroll, Vat Return etc..?
• What reports do you currently run?
• What information would you like from the system at the end of a week, month, quarter, year?

System Design

Sage has many solutions and our focus is to find a solution that meets your requirements. This will rely on 2 key factors: -

• Your System Needs
(which have been defined through the Analysis stage)
• Budget

Ensure that the system you are implementing, meets your requirements and can be configured for your specific requirements.

Ensure that your Budget has allowed for Training, On-going Support for your staff and configuration of the system.

We can propose a solution or solutions and make our own recommendations. These will be based on our extensive knowledge of the Sage products and also by examining similar companies in your business sector.

Project Management

To ensure that Sage works for your business it is essential that your company invest in training your staff, configuring it to suit your business, providing your staff with local assistance and making changes as your business grows. We can help you do this.

• When is your Financial Year end?
• When would you like the new system to be up and running?
• Who is responsible for inputting/importing the historical information?
• Configuration – Access Rights, Parameters, Settings?

Nearly 50 percent of projects fail to meet business objectives. Sound project management processes and techniques are essential for succeeding in IT.

Without an effective Project Management system, projects are destined to:

• Run over time.
• Go over budget.
• Fall short of goals.

Training

Training is invaluable to the success of your accounts system – It ensures that you as a company are fully utilising the resources and features available to you.

Example Training Format

The training is normally in half day blocks, but can also be taken over a full day (9.00am –5.00pm).

Below I have shown what is normally covered in each half day session. Please note that for each client these vary, and are very much dependent on each client’s requirements.

You can choose which areas are of interest to you.

Training Session 1 (Half Day)		Training Session 2 (Half Day)
Setting Up Company Defaults		Opening Balances
» Financial Year		» Entering Opening Balances for customer and supplier accounts.
» Tax Codes		» Using Journal Entries to reverse figures from Trial Balance
» Departments		» Entering the opening balances for nominal Records
Nominal Ledger		Processing Customer & Supplier Transactions
» Designing Nominal Records		» Processing Invoices & Credit Notes
» Control Accounts		» Processing Customer Receipts
» Chart of Accounts		» Supplier Payments
» Budgets		» Printing cheques
Customer Records		Reporting
» Defining a coding structure		» Customer Reports
» Entering Customer Records		» Supplier Reports
» Defining Customer Defaults		» Financial Reports
Supplier Records		» Amending existing Reports
» Defining a coding structure		» Creating New Reports
» Entering Supplier Records
» Defining Supplier Defaults
End of Day Routines
» Checking Data
» Backing Up Data

Training Session 3 (Half Day) Journal Entries » Processing Journal Entries » Skeleton Journals Bank, Cash & Credit Card Transactions » Paying Non Suppliers » Receiving Money which was not Invoiced » Bank Transfers » Recurring Entries » Bank Reconciliation VAT Return » Processing VAT Return » Reconciling VAT » Recording VAT Scale Charges » VAT Transfer Hire Purchase Agreements » Setting up and processing Hire Purchase Agreements Prepayments & Accruals Correcting Mistakes in Transactions

Training Session 4 (Half Day) Stock Control » Setting up Stock » Entering Stock » Stock Take Procedure Bill of Materials » Using Component Stock to make an end Product Sales Order Processing » Entering Sales Orders » Processing Sales Orders » Converting Order To Invoice Purchase Order Processing » Entering Purchase Orders » Recording Delivery of Goods » Matching Purchase Invoice with Order Invoicing » Product Invoicing » Service Invoicing » Printing/Posting Invoices

Implementation

Implementation includes installing the software, but also encompasses the many tasks that go with this:

• Configuring the software for your needs
• Training
• Modifying
• Assisting with queries and ensuring that it meets your requirements.

Implementation is fundamental in ensuring a return on your investment. All to often we hear companies say “We have Sage, but its still in the box..”

Data Conversion

For companies not using Sage software at present, we can assist you to import your existing data into Sage. This may mean simply customer and supplier details, but we can also bring in stock records, outstanding transaction and much more.

You want to identify the balance of maintaining historical information and introducing a new system.

Data conversion can be a complicated business. It is vital to choose the correct strategy. We are fully aware of the decisions that need to be made and of their implications. If you are uncertain about the strategy you have chosen, we could help reassure you that you are making the right decisions and offer suggestions that could help your project run to schedule.

Customisation

Want features specifically for your needs? No problem, we have experience in developing Sage software to fit your needs.

Sage software has not been developed for any one type of business. It can be used in all types of businesses. However the way a builder uses Sage may differ from the way a Government organisation uses Sage. They both are using the same package but the parameters within the package have been set to suit both their needs.

Customisation can also include writing specific reports or changing stationery layouts for companies.

Support

Our objective is clear - to get user Sage/Computer problems solved fast and efficiently as possible. With our extensive knowledge of all Sage Software we are confident we can cover all of your support and maintenance needs.

Support includes telephone support, dial-up/broadband and on-site assistance. It gives you the added security that you and your staff can speak to trained professionals and get assistance with your Sage software.

90% of our business currently comes from referrals – from companies who we currently offer support to. They may have purchased the complete solution from us – or they may have switched from a competitor who did not offer them the level of support they required.

We recognise the importance of providing assistance to businesses – we have the experience and the client base to prove that our business can support yours.