Welcome to PA SunSystems eNewsletter

In this edition, many of you will be interested to read our Feature Article on which covers some of the key areas of cash management where good control and processes will be critical during these changing times.

We have enhanced the look and feel of our Customer Portal and created a new Satisfaction Survey to better serve your needs.

Coming up this quarter is the Sydney inTouch User Group, which we know many of you find highly beneficial and informative.

If you know of any colleagues interested in receiving this eNewsletter please email cathy.mcmahon@pa.com.au

We welcome any feedback you may have to assist us with serving you better.

Professional Advantage SunSystems Team
 

feature article: cash management

Now more than ever, cash is king. Every business needs to keep a close and guarded eye
on its cash position. On one side of the register is cash in - debt collecting. In uncertain times credit payment terms start to slip, promises to pay are broken, invoices mysteriously fail to arrive, the banking system is acting up and the boss who signs the cheques isn't at the office. We all know these excuses are the early signs of a company in distress. They are playing the slow-down-payments game to protect their reserves whilst they address their own cash management challenges. What little available money there may be goes to the suppliers that are strategically necessary or the most frustrating to deal with - the "squeaky wheels".

In the meantime you are funding their business and your profits are being depleted. You need to become the squeakiest wheel in their lives. Experienced collectors know that close monitoring of all your actions and communications with debtors plus timely and accurate follow-up on promises, and breaches-of, are some of the most important factors in getting payment made. In the event you need to take legal action, a detailed and accurate history
of your collections activity is critical in support of any claim put to a court.

On the other side of the register is cash out - purchasing and supplier payments. There are two common ways of controlling spend - track and manage it before there is any purchase commitment, and, track and approve supplier invoices to ensure appropriate trading and no duplication. Both of these in parallel of course give you the best spend control. Implementing a rules-based purchase requisitioning process will ensure that your money is spent from available budget - on approved goods and services - from your preferred suppliers - at contract negotiated rates. Implementing a purchase invoice control process ensures that only invoices that have been approved by the responsible person/group will actually make their way through to the payment run - and can only be paid the once, regardless of how many times they are presented by the supplier.

Digitising your collections and spend processes sets you up for success.
Talk to your Account Manager if cash is king in your business.

Professional Advantage wins award

As acknowledgement of our continuing dedication to the ongoing support and success of our
clients, Professional Advantage has been presented by Infor, the “Outstanding Performance in Australia/New Zealand Award for 2008”. Professional Advantage received this award during the Infor Asia Pacific Conference 2008, held in Shanghai, China.

NEW CUSTOMER PORTAL

To better serve your needs, we have updated our Online Customer Portal – eService. Users are now able to set up
“Favourite” products. When new items are logged in Products or the Knowledge Database for your “favourite” products,
you will automatically be sent an email alert.

We have also added a new Helpdesk Satisfaction Survey designed to collect your feedback on our response to
your support calls. Client feedback is always appreciated.

Click here to download the full case study

Workflow for SunSystems

Beyond Finance – Leverage SunSystems Across Your Business

This quarter sees the release for Workflow for SunSystems v3.0. Workflow for SunSystems addresses activities across your business, joining the dots between your people and your processes. It directs and controls many of the tasks that fall outside the traditional life-cycle of an Infor SunSystems transaction.

Workflow for SunSystems is a scalable investment. It has a portfolio of pre-built template processes that can be implemented as-is. Each template adds control to key processes that manage the vital data in Infor SunSystems such as new Supplier and Customer details. These extend participation to your non finance staff and those without Infor SunSystems access.   

Workflow for SunSystems goes much further. Not only can you modify existing templates but you can add completely new processes within its framework to address other management and operational challenges.  The solution has all the flexibility and control necessary to rapidly extend or plug gaps between any of your existing systems and to automate manual processes. The new release contains many new productivity features.
For example, it extends participation to your suppliers and customers, contains integrity checks against bank details; company registration number and Google map check on the Suppliers address.

Please speak to your account manager about the many success stories and to learn more about how Workflow for SunSystems and its iPOS equivalent 3P can address your process pains.

Online Knowledge Database - over 700 new articles

We have had over 700 articles added in the last 6 months. Have you visited our online
knowledge database at www.suncompanion.com?

Some of the topics include:-

• How do you turn off the message "Deficiency on the bank account - account will be overdrawn"
• How to extract all Data Access Groups and their relevant Operator Groups using SQL 2000 and MS Excel
• Payment Profile Setup has "account from" and "account to" ranges set but the PAY screen only prefills the
  from account, why is this?
• Is it possible to import multiple files using Transfer Desk?
• How do you force the entry of Asset Details for a particular Journal Type?
• What is Recover Failed Postings (RFP) and how do you use it?
• How can you add PA Products as a Menu and Shortcut into the SunSystems 5.3 Menu?
• How to use Payment Voiding to void an EFT payment transaction rather than reversing the whole payment journal.
• How to stop payment details and SABK files being overwritten for different EFT payment runs in Sun 5
• Instructions to register Q&A XL add-in in Excel 2007
• How to import, migrate, transfer SunSystems users to Vision/Q&A
• How to specify a default paper size in eRemit 5.2.7.4 (i.e. How to change Letter to A4).
• Are Infor's SunSystems Products supported on Virtualization software, such as VMware or Microsoft's Virtual Pc?
• Is it possible to extract held journals within SunSystems to a spreadsheet?
• How do I stop Authorisers from modifying timesheet data?
• How do I send an email alert for returned Timesheets?

To register for eService simply go to www.suncompanion.com. Click on the "New User Registration" button and complete all details.

Events

Intouch User group

Professional Advantage invites you and your colleagues to attend our
FREE inTouch User Group.

Don't miss out on our last webinar for 2008.

Latest Software Releases

What are the Latest Releases of Software for my system?

Sun v5

SunSystems v5.3.1 Global Security Framework 1.3
Query & Analysis 10.0.2
MS SQL Server 2000 (SP4)
MS SQL Server 2005 SP2

Information about enhancements and bug fixes included in this service pack is available from “Knowledge Tips” on http://www.suncompanion.com

Sun v4

SunSystems v4.3.2 Global Security Framework 1.3
Query & Analysis 10.0.2
MS SQL 2000 (SP4), MS SQL 2005 and Oracle 10g

Information about enhancements and bug fixes included in the latest service packs is available from “Knowledge Tips” on http://www.suncompanion.com

Latest versions of PA Software

This table includes releases which support MS SQL 2000 & MS SQL 2005* (*compatibility level reduced to 80)
Contact your Account Manager to confirm latest releases for Oracle.

* Information about enhancements and bug fixes included in each version is available from “Enhancement Lists” on http://www.suncompanion.com

learning and development

Why do so many attendees rate the Infor SunSystems Public Training courses as #1?

• “Practical exercise, easy to follow”
• “Positive & Enthusiastic Presentation”
• “Instructor did a great job with explaining”
• “Well run classes” 
• “Gaining more knowledge”
• “Learning how to do things more efficiently”

To view the course timetable, outline & booking form visit www.pa.com.au/suneducation

"I had Evelina for my first training course at Professional Advantage, and was rapt to
find out I had her again for Vision as she is fantastic!"

Jodie Butler- Billing Officer
International SOS Pty Ltd

new employees

At Professional Advantage, we take pride in our people, their skills & knowledge which empowers us to serve you with the highest
level of customer service.

Meet our new team members:

Leigh Symm Applications Consultant

Sohail Siddiqi Applications Consultant

Richard Oliver Technical Consultant

Luke Chang Client Services Consultant

Bin Hong Client Services Consultant

Varian Lee Client Services Consultant

Greg Turner Applications Consultant

Dean Graham Business Development Manager

Alexander Lamas Senior Developer

Span Somaraju Applications Consultant

Nelius Jordaan Business Process & Intelligence Consultant