Current Version of Sage 100 Contractor

The latest and greatest version of Sage 100 Contractor at the time of this posting is version 19.4.52. We bring you this as a public service, so that you may keep your program up to date and take advantage of the most recent features and functions.

Reports – Windows into Your Business

Sage 100 Contractor comes, right out of the box, with nearly 1,200 system reports, yet some of our most frequent questions are about tweaking or customizing reports!  Most of the system reports were written with the report writer module that comes with the program, but some of the more complex reports rely on special programming to collect data or control the appearance of the report.  Most of report questions seem to be about these complex reports, ranging from adding or deleting data to changing the report selection criteria to rearranging how the data appears on the page.  Too often, we have to inform the client that the complex report they want to have modified cannot be changed because of the special programming in the report.  The only way to determine if a report is locked and cannot be modified is by looking for the Modify Report button on the report printing screen when the report is selected.  If the Modify Report button is present, the report can be modified.  If the Modify Report button is not present when the report is selected, that report is locked and cannot be modified.

If a report that has most of the data you want appears to be locked, don’t despair!  Depending on the changes sought and one’s tolerance for slower report generating speed, we may be able to create a new custom report that can collect and present the requested data.  Flesh out what your report should look like, perhaps in Excel, and send it to your Certified Consultant for an opinion as to whether it can be done with the Sage 100 Contractor report writer.

If the report cannot be generated with the included report writer, we have had great success using a third party reporting program to create quite complex reports that can solve almost any reporting problem.  If the data is available in Sage 100 Contractor, we can extract the data and present it in a format that meets users’ needs, usually at a very reasonable cost.

Consider also the ability to export system and custom reports from Sage 100 Contractor into Excel, where data can be added or removed and formats can be tweaked to meet one-time requests.  This is not an ideal solution for reports that may be needed regularly, but for random requests, this can be a viable and affordable option.

Save Time with Project Work Center

So often, when working with a client to resolve a problem with one of their projects, I’ll jump to menu 6-12 Project Work Center and plug in the job number.  The client then stops me to ask what I’m doing. I realize that I have another opportunity to train users about the usefulness of the Project Work Center!

Project Work Center was designed with project managers in mind, bringing all areas of the program preloaded with the job number, into one central work area.  The best part of the project work center is that one gets a much more comprehensive view of the data related to a project.  If you look at Purchase Orders, your first screen is a complete list of all the purchase orders for the project, from which you can select and drill down into each record.  If you look at Subcontracts or Change Orders, in each case, you start with a complete list of all that data for the project and you can drill down from there!  Open Receivable Invoices/Credits and you see all receivable invoices related to the job.  Open Payable Invoices and you see all open payable invoices for the job.  Any report related to a specific job is preloaded with the job number to ease the process.  The right side of the project work center loads with a hot list of flagged items related to the project and summarized data about the project.  The menu structure on the left side can be customized to trim out menu items that are not used by a particular user.

Project Work Center, originally created for project managers, can be an invaluable tool when performing Job Autopsies, or whenever anyone needs to deal with one project at a time.

Call Mathieson Consulting for more information and training.

What’s New in Version 19.3?

Yes, the current version of Sage 100 Contractor – 2014 is version 19.3!  Its availability was announced in mid-June by email.  There were several enhancements in this version, but a few that are particularly worth noting are:

Integration with Sage Payment Solutions - For users that process credit card payments from customers, the program now connects with Sage Payment Solutions to provide seamless processing of credit card payments from customers with a cost-effective merchant card service provider. Sage Payment Solutions can also enhance collections by generating ACH virtual check payments.  All customer data is safely stored in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) – an important necessity.

Expanded State Certified Payroll Reports - For users that must supply certified payroll reports to State Labor Departments, the program’s integration with Aatrix now prepares and, where available, e-files state certified payroll reports in all 49 states that have their own reporting requirement. 

Drag and Drop Files and Shortcuts on Your Sage 100 Contractor Desktop - I think this is an underappreciated enhancement that can benefit most users.  Are you tired of having to jump out of Sage 100 Contractor to locate and open a spreadsheet, document or folder while working in the program? Now users can drag and drop those files and shortcuts right onto your Sage 100 Contractor desktop and ease that process. 

The program help system and your favorite Certified Consultant are available for your assistance with these new features.

Use Other Forms of Templates to Ease Data Entry

Sage 100 Contractor often uses grid structures for data entry.  Grids look like your excel spreadsheets, with columns and rows.  In grids, users can copy data from excel or other spreadsheet sources and paste the data into the Sage 100 Contractor grid.  There are a few exceptions where the grid may have formulas embedded in specific protected columns, but the program will tell you if you attempt to paste data into a protected column.  Just like with copying and pasting in excel, after you have copied a block of cells from your source, put your cursor in the top left cell of the target range, right click and select paste.  In some circumstances, users may find it easy to assemble data in a spreadsheet and then copy and paste it into a Sage 100 Contractor grid.

Grids in several modules of the program permit the use of special files that function as templates.  When a user has a grid of data in one of these modules that the user may want to use again, the module permits the user to Export the grid into a template file specific for that particular module.  This Export is usually found in the Options dropdown menu of the module.  Then, when a user wishes to use a previously saved template, the Import function found in the Options dropdown menu will load the template data quickly and completely.  These exported grid files may also be used to temporarily save data while a user is performing what-if analyses or other testing – when the analyses or tests are complete, the user can import the saved grid file and bring the data back to the starting point.  Modules that employ these grid templates include:

• 6-2 Budgets
• 6-9 Proposals
• 6-10 Unitary Proposals
• 9-5 Takeoffs
• 10-3 Schedules

Contact Mathieson Consulting for additional information about these useful tools.

Use Templates to Ease Data Entry

The ability to create data entry templates has been available in the program for many years, yet I often find that users are not using templates because they were unaware of them or forgot that they existed! 

Templates help by reducing the amount of repetitive data that must be entered in a screen.  Take a look at data entry where you find yourself entering same or similar data over and over again or a type of transaction that you enter repeatedly.  Enter the repetitive data for a type of transaction and save it as a template in the “File>Save as Template” drop down menu.  Then, when beginning a repetitive transaction, go to “File>Load/Delete Template” and select the type of template you want to start entering.  You will see all the repetitive fields already completed and all you must then do in enter the non-repetitive data, review it and save it.

Templates in Sage 100 Contractor are found in most data entry screens, including

·         1-3 Journal Transactions

·         3-2 Receivable Invoices/Credits

·         3-5 Jobs (Accounts Receivable)

·         3-6 Receivable Clients

·         3-7 Progress Billings

·         3-8 Loan Draw Requests

·         3-9 Unitary Billing

·         3-10-1 T&M Billing Setup

·         4-2 Payable Invoices/Credits

·         4-4 Vendors (Accounts Payable)

·         4-7-3 Enter Credit Card Receipts

·         5-2-1 Employees

·         5-2-2 Payroll Records

·         5-5-1 Daily Payroll Entry

·         6-4-1 Change Orders

·         6-6-1 Purchase Orders

·         6-7-1 Subcontracts

·         6-11-1 Requests for Proposal

·         6-11-2 Requests for Information

·         6-11-3 Transmittals

·         6-11-4 Submittals

·         6-11-5 Plan Records

·         6-11-6 Daily Field Reports

·         6-11-7 Punch Lists

·         6-11-8 Correspondence

·         8-3 Equipment

·         9-2 Parts

·         9-3 Assemblies

·         11-2 Work Orders/Invoices/Credits

·         12-2 Inventory Allocation

For assistance in the creation and use of templates, give us a call.

How Can Sage 100 Contractor Help the HR Function?

When one scans the Sage 100 Contractor menus and data screens, there is only one menu item that explicitly describes itself as pertaining to the Human Resources functions in a company – Menu 5-3-9 HR Forms.  While this menu item is potentially a great aid to generating the various forms and documents that may be needed to properly communicate between employer, applicants, employees and various government agencies, it is by no means the only part of the program that can aid in Human Resources functions.  With a little imagination, we can provide significant support for many of the requirements of a Human Resources department:

• The 5-2-1 Employee record should be the central repository for all employee data, from the obvious information like pay rates, address, social security number, phone numbers, email address and the like, to a separate table for an unlimited number of contact people for each employee.  Don’t overlook the ability to track the accrual and use of Sick Leave and Vacation hours.  There are also several fields that can be relabeled and repurposed to meet specific needs.
• The Employee Licenses table can be used to track Drivers Licenses and Trade Licenses that have expiration dates.  Consider what other licenses you might need to track – think of an expiring Resident Alien or Employment Authorization card as a License to Work….  Never lose track of the fact that an alien worker may no longer be eligible to be employed if they haven’t renewed their paperwork and given you proof of the extension. 
• The Employee Training table can be used to track various training opportunities, especially those safety trainings and certifications that need to be redone periodically.  Consider other “training” opportunities that should be revisited periodically – think of a regular performance review or a regular compensation review as training opportunities.  By properly configuring the training item, one can track when the last training occurred, when the next training should occur, and keep notes as to what occurred during the training.
• Attachments to the Employee record are often overlooked.  Scan the employee resume or application, tax forms, form I-9, other employment packet forms, an employee photo, and anything else that can be reduced to an electronic file and attach it to the employee record so that it is always instantly available for reference.
• Use Alerts Manager to create periodic automatic queries of Employee data to identify areas that need attention this week, or this month or next month.  If the data is maintained in the database, it is likely that we can configure Alerts Manager to notify the appropriate personnel that an important action is about to require attention.

If you would like help with implementing any of the functions, give us a call at 480-471-5305.