Getting Ready For Year-End

That dreaded time of year for most of our Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate clients is quickly approaching and will be here before you know it. One key to running a successful year-end is proper planning. Preparation is critical and part of the prepping is making sure you have the proper resources in place. Establishing a timetable or a having "to-do" list in place is helpful:

October: Schedule time with your consultant for year-end processing help. 

Early November: 
1) (Year-End Procedures Guide available )
2) Order your 2013 Tax forms at http://cpatechnologyforms.com  (25% discount if ordered by November 8, 2013)
Early-Mid November:   Enroll in Aatrix services
December: (Year-end updates available per download) Attend a year-end training class.
Late December: (2013 payroll tax update available)

Another key is making sure your key employees who are involved in the process commit to year-long education and training. Attending some of the many quality webinars, free breakfast meetings and classes that we offer help our clients achieve successful year-end processing.  CPA Technology offers hands-on, interactive year-end training where participants can upload their own data and leave with “their finished product.” (Register here) Another important and necessary part of year-end preparation is ensuring your software is up-to-date (version 9.8 or later) and supports the 2013 year-end updates. With that being said, there are two important points which involve upgrading your year-end software that are often overlooked which could spell disaster in the end:

1)    Not reading the release notes from Sage
We strongly recommend against aimlessly installing your software upgrade without going over any critical issues specified in the release notes from Sage and placing you company data at risk. Sage does a decent job in delineating any changes in database or file structures. It’s always crucial to backup your data.  (Test your backups by restoring them to test folders.  Periodic testing of your backup system is important because backup media has a limited life, backup devices may malfunction, and the backup software settings may have changed).  In case of a mistake or a computer failure during the upgrading procedures, you can quickly restore your data and perform the procedures again, saving valuable time and headaches.

2)   Not hiring a Certified Consultant

Don’t lose sight of the big picture. A fair amount of customers think they will save money by attempting an upgrade themselves by not bringing a Certified Consultant in to help. For an upgrade, this is penny wise, penny foolish.  Certified Consultants are well-versed on the pitfalls during the upgrade process and knowledgeable in navigating around a potential pricey setback. Getting the upgrade done correctly the first time will avoid more costly problems (and necessary fixes) down the road.

A year end resource page with helpful tips & tricks will be on our website shortly at www.cpatechnology.net. Year end can be a potentially smooth and trouble-free process with proper planning and year-end training.  Now is the time to get started!