All of the Sage reporting tools fall under the current label of business intelligence applications.
So I own Sage 100, aka Sage MAS 90 / 200 and I want to know my reporting options beyond the Standard Reports on the Reports menu within each module à What are my options?
Here’s the list as I see it – in no particular order:
-
Sage MAS Intelligence
- BizNet
- F9
Things that you need to look at to help narrow down what
will work best for you and your organization.
Here are the current trends – nearly everything that is
currently being offered is Excel-based
reporting applications. Links are provided to access the MAS data, then
reports are generated using Excel add-in applications. It seems that most
companies have someone in the accounting department who is using Excel, hence
it has become the industry standard. It is important to decide what your level
of expertise is – not just with Excel. Do you want to be involved in the design
process? It is probably best to identify a point person for the reporting
master, if you will…
What is the scope of your need? Things to consider: design,
complexity, consolidation, presentation, graphics, distribution – the list
could go on. Things can get complicated fast. Think about things from small to
large, simple to complex… categorized where you fit – it will be very helpful
in deciding how to proceed.
And what about FRx. Yes, it is going, going, nearly gone.
Microsoft discontinued the product in month of 2009. Sage stopped selling it
but will continue to support the product through 12/31/2012.
So what does Sage do? What they do so well – buy a company that already has a reporting application. This time it was Alchemex. The original Excel add-in for Custom reports was F9. Age sold this product through its reseller channel for years. As you’ll see below, it is a very flexible tool that links formulas in Excel directly to data in MAS 90 /200. Once Sage bought Alchemex and relabeled it as Sage MAS Intelligence [SMI for short], they stopped selling & supporting F9 directly through the partner channel. One can still purchase it through Infor, the now current owner of F9.
So what does Sage do? What they do so well – buy a company that already has a reporting application. This time it was Alchemex. The original Excel add-in for Custom reports was F9. Age sold this product through its reseller channel for years. As you’ll see below, it is a very flexible tool that links formulas in Excel directly to data in MAS 90 /200. Once Sage bought Alchemex and relabeled it as Sage MAS Intelligence [SMI for short], they stopped selling & supporting F9 directly through the partner channel. One can still purchase it through Infor, the now current owner of F9.
Similar to the Alchemex product, there are numerous other
companies who have developed links using tools such an ODBC to connect MAS 90/ 200 data to applications such an Excel, Access, SQL Server, etc. One of the
other prominent players in this arena is BizNet. I’m not sure how and why Sage
chose Alchemex over BizNet and others. The point is that BizNet has cultivated
a relationship with Sage and many of its resellers and has developed into the
primary competition for SMI.
So now we have there two main players in the Excel based
reporting for MAS 90 / 200 and one minor player for lack of a better label –
SMI, BizNet, and F9. Look at the comparison chart [September 2010]. Although it
is a bit dated, it provides a good listing of features and comparison of SMI,
BizNet, and F9.
And by the way… all three these products work with other
accounting applications, not just Sage products. This discussion primarily
focuses on Sage 100, but the reporting options are available across many of
the Sage product offerings.
F9 – Financial Intelligence for Sage 100 MAS90 MAS200
Everyone’s using the ‘intelligence’ buzz word. Currently F9 version 5 only
works with General Ledger data. I suspect Infor [owner of F9] is developing
plans to provide access to other MAS modules, but that access is not available
today. That being said, what F9 does, it does well and they’ve been doing it
for quite a while. F9 is relatively simple and easy to use. If one knows Excel
basics, F9 should be within your capacity and does a great job with financial
statement reporting.
What F9 has to say:
F9 Hotlink
integrates live data from the General Ledger into Excel, you will never have to
manually create and customize your spreadsheets again. With a few simple steps
you will be able to create the reports you need quickly and easily. You can
manipulate your reports and refresh simply by clicking the F9 key on your
keyboard.
You know Excel...You know F9!
F9 Hotlink extends Excel’s functionality by adding new features, formulas
and commands that are specifically designed to access and analyze your General
Ledger. By accessing the G/L, F9 offers tremendous options for financial
analysis, forecasting, budgeting and planning. Leverage
your knowledge of Excel to get started with F9 Hotlink
immediately.
Sage MAS
Intelligence for Sage 100 MAS90 MAS200
Sage MAS Intelligence is robust. It contains a number of different components.
Just for fun let’s list them because that will help decided how you might use
this product and at what level of involvement… remember, I mentioned getting
clear about that early on.
Modules:
- Report Manager (replaces the FRx designer) – Author (design, create) reports
- Report Viewer – Run reports and drill down – no editing
- Security Manager – Defines security for reports (follows MAS security)
- License Manager – Manages licenses
- Connector – Consolidations, Connect to additional databases and tables
- Report Designer – Excel add-in that transform raw data into financial layouts
SMI is now licensed for all Sage 100 ERP customers – a
Report Manager license and a Designer license are included. If you want more
you’ll have to pay.
Sage released its FRx Conversion Utility Assistant for MAS
Intelligence in February 2012. It does not perform an automatic conversion, but
will assist in the conversion of FRx reports. In addition, it works only with
Sage 100 version 4.5 and FRx 6.7 Service Pack 11.
What Sage MAS
Intelligence has to say:
-
Excel based
- BI – Business Intelligence
- Sales Master
- Excel pivot table
- Security
- Report distribution [Html / Internet, Intranet
- Drilldown
- Better, smarter, faster
- Link multiple datasets
View a demo of the Sage MAS
Business Intelligence Overview [7 minutes] – a 40,000 feet view. Also check
out the
website for additional details.
BizNet for Sage ERP 100 MAS90 MAS200
BizNet software has been around for a while, having started in 2005. They too
have a great product and it too is robust. They claim to be up and running
within a day. BizNet is involved in every installation – perform by a BizNet
consultant… it’s just the way they do things. They have collaborated with Sage
resellers all over the country [and likely beyond]. So although they are not Sage’s
’flagship’ reporting application, they work closely with Sage and the Sage
business partner community. You can find various resellers offering Webinar to
demonstrate the BizNet product – it is a great way to get the overview of the
product offering.
BizNet Modules:
- Designer – create reports, access to analysis sets, change parameters, drill down
- Viewer – access to analysis sets, change parameters, drill down & refresh]
- BizBroadcast – publish, broadcast reports
What BizNet has to say:
-
100% Excel
- Fills Top 10 FRx Feature Gaps
- Real Time Reporting & Business Intelligence
- Drill to transaction detail
- Drag and Drop Report Creation
- Pre-built Connections, Content & Analysis
- Utilize Single Excel Template for Multiple Report Distribution
- Fully Deployed in Less Than a Day
- No additional Hardware
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