Category Archives: Sage 50 – Canadian Edition

How to Handle early-payment discounts and late-payment surcharges with your Customers

bookkeeping, Business Services, Sage, Sage 50 - Canadian Edition, small business, small business accounting, small business bc

If you offer an early-payment discount on credit sales, you have to charge GST/HST on the full invoice amount even if your customer takes the discount.

Example

You operate a business in Manitoba and the invoice shows the price of goods as $100 plus $5 GST. The credit terms of the invoice give the customer a 2% discount if the customer pays within 10 days. GST is $5, even if your customer takes the discount. The customer pays $103 [$100 plus $5 GST minus $2 (2% of $100) early payment discount].

If you charge late-payment surcharges, you do not charge GST/HST on the surcharge. GST/HST is payable only on the original invoiced amount.

Example

If you charge $5 for the late payment on goods invoiced at $100, GST does not apply to the late charge. Therefore, GST is still $5 and the customer pays $110 ($100 plus $5 GST plus $5 late charge).

When you invoice an amount that is already net of the early payment discount, charge GST/HST on the invoiced amount.

Example

You send a customer an invoice with instructions to pay $108 if payment is made by March 23, or to pay $118 if payment is made after March 23. You charge GST/HST on the reduced invoiced amount of $108, even if the customer makes the payment after the March 23 due date.

My Tips & Tricks when using the Multiple Warehouse tracking tool in Sage 50 Canadian Edition.

bookkeeping, Sage, Sage 50 - Canadian Edition, Sage Simply Accounting, simply accounting, small business, small business accounting, small business bc, West Vancouver Chamber

Sage 50 Canadian Edition allows small businesses to keep track of inventory stored at more than one location, for example at home in the basement or at different store locations.

Some business will have regional warehouses to cut back on shipping and or importing exporting cost. It can be very helpful to know what inventory is where to expedite deliveries, shipping and re-ordering of goods.

Drop shipments become manageable by creating a supplier as one of your warehouse locations which then allows you to ship direct from factory to customer.  Transferring between locations can also be done using the Inventory Adjustments & Transfers window. This fantastic feature is in the Premium and Quantum versions of the software.

Be careful with this powerful feature, once a location gets used in a transaction, it cannot be removed or made inactive. Locations cannot be turned off. If you want to edit location codes, be sure to do so before performing any transactions. You can set up as many as 100 locations.

To turn on: Go to the Inventory & Services Settings – Locations
The Product Analysis report is found off the reports menu on the home screen. Go down to Forecast & Analysis and then Analysis and click on Product Analysis. Depending on your selections in this window you will be able to return valuable detailed information on your inventory by warehouse location.

Dianne Mueller

Certified Sage 50 Trainer

Soma Small Business Solutions

Didn’t think I’d need a bookkeeper….maybe I do. If only I had time to find one.

bookkeeping, Sage 50 - Canadian Edition, Sage Simply Accounting, small business, small business accounting, small business bc, , , , , , , , ,

The title of this blog was taken directly from an email conversation between a mentor and a start-up business owner. This new entrepreneur knew it was essential to seek out a professional mentor that had, as he put it, done this many times before. In this particular email he had two questions for his mentor.

  1. Do you actually charge interest on overdue invoices? 
    1. Sometimes I charge interest.  I expect that you have been phoning and nagging at least weekly.  If not, you must.

       

  2.   I’ve got a student who has agreed to help me out part time – she’s perfect in that she has great skills and is super flexible.  Only we haven’t come to any terms about her employment/contract/whatever.  I think the easiest thing for me to do is to sub-contract her, but I’m not sure if there are any pitfalls to this idea.  
    1. It is my understanding from my bookkeeper that if you hire someone on contract and they do not have other sources of income you may be declared their employer and have to pay Payroll Source Deductions retroactively.  If you hire them as an employee, you have to pay Payroll Source Deductions monthly for the previous month’s pays. 

 

  1. Do you have a book keeper?

    1. Didn’t think I’d need a bookkeeper….maybe I do. If only I had time to find one.

       

  2. You do need a book-keeper. 

This mentor had learned from building a successful business a bookkeeper was needed. Answers to these questions are possible through outsourcing to a professional bookkeeper and implementing a computerized bookkeeping system. It is imperative to invest a little of that start up money on quality and accurate bookkeeping records.

You’ll be on top of the game and the competition with a simple click of a button or a phone call to your bookkeeper. Your financial statement and month end reports fulfill the checklist of a well managed company for all stakeholders. The institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada www.ipbc.ca is a great resource to help you find a qualified bookkeeper.

Monitoring the progress of your business from the beginning stages is critical for new businesses to grow and you need to prepare a cash flow plan. A professional bookkeeper can help you prepare budgets, cash flow plans and a break-even analysis by looking at your projections of revenue over variable and fixed costs.

With accurate bookkeeping you will be able to check on progress such as increased profitability tracking, accounts receivable monitoring, and controlling expenses. How does the data compare with your projections? Are you on track or falling behind?

Clean tax records will keep you and your business in good standing with your banker, investor and Canada Revenue Agency.

Your bookkeeper and accounting software will provide monthly financial statements and reports that provide a precise road map of which direction to take your business in the future. No more sleepless nights wondering if you have made the right decisions. You will feel confident with the numbers to back you up. Start focusing on what matters and hire a professional bookkeeper today. The rest will follow!

 
 

Dianne Mueller CPB

Soma Small Business Solutions

 

The Keys to Unlocking your Business Profits & Growth in Sage 50–Canadian Edition

bookkeeping, Sage, Sage 50 - Canadian Edition, Sage Simply Accounting, Sage Summit, simply accounting, small business, small business accounting, small business bc, , , , , , , ,

You know it is important to lower taxes and increase profits. You also know that it is imperative that you have enough money in the bank to pay the bills, but do you know how to access vital information and the Key Performance Indexes to measure your business progress in Sage 50–Canadian Edition?

Let’s start with the Income Statement and Balance Sheet found in the report center on the home page.

The Income Statement indicates:

  • Which expenses are paying you back and should be increased.
  • Which expenses should be cut back or eliminated.
  • Which products are profitable and which are not.

The Balance Sheet indicates:

  • What your business owns – Assets
  • What you business owes – Liabilities (or financial obligation)
  • Shareholder or Owners Equity – ROI (return on investment)

They also provide Key Comparisons information like:

  • Last month vs. current month.
  • Last quarter vs. current quarter.
  • Year to date. Year to date by month.
  • Current month to same month last year.
  • Current quarter to same quarter last year.

Combining these two statement numbers will indicate important ratios you can use to manage your success.

Increase your profits by utilizing the Business Performance Monitoring feature:

The key financial ratios of liquidity, efficiency, operating, financing and profitability are all at your finger tips in Sage 50–Canadian Edition. The software provides a detailed performance measurement explanation and graph to help you analyze the information in an easy to understand format.

You will find this Key Business Performance information in the Daily Business Manager under the Business Assistant Menu on the home page. Click on the radio button indicating Business Performance. To get a complete list of all ratios available go to the view menu and chose options. You are able to add any that do not appear on the main page to your customizable list. (See screen shots below)

It is important to know your strengths and weaknesses, manage spending and credit. Have money when you need it. These are all important ratios that Sage 50 helps you to reach and manage greater success.

Dianne Mueller CPB

Certified Sage Trainer

Soma Small Business Solutions

Soma Small Business Blogs 2012 in review

bookkeeping, Sage, Sage 50 - Canadian Edition, Sage Simply Accounting, small business, small business accounting, small business bc

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 3,500 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 6 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

#Sage50Canada Launch Party Oct 11th #WestVancouver #NorthVancouver

bookkeeping, Sage, Sage 50 - Canadian Edition, Sage Simply Accounting, simply accounting, small business, small business accounting, West Vancouver Chamber, , , , , , , , , ,

Soma Small Business Solutions would love to invite you to come find out whats new with Sage 50 Canadian Edition (formerly Sage Simply Accounting). Soma wants to assist you with this transition to the new name Sage 50 and get you informed and up to date with the new features and how they benefit your business. We will have ongoing demonstrations throughout the evening. Soma has Sage Certified Consultants and a Sage Trainer on Staff to help you!

We are very privileged to be able to host this “Sage 50 whats new in 2013” launch party at the North Shore Business Showcase put on by the West Vancouver Chamber. This event will Feature guest speakers on a variety of Business Topics. Call 604-926-6614 or visit above link for Chamber event Details.

Soma will have door prizes, refreshments and a demonstration of Whats New in Sage 50 2013 at our booth.

Looking forward to seeing our existing clients, and meeting everyone.

Park Royal North Mall 4:00pm-8:00pm Booth # TBA

Please Register to attend by following this link below

http://www.meetup.com/Sage50CA/Vancouvers-North-Shore-Sage-50-Accounting-Simply-Accounting/796952/

SIM101H3 – Sage Simply Accounting – Operating your Business
Hands-on Lab Series’

Inventory, Projects, Time and Billing, Budgets, Departmental Accounting and more Join us for this one day hands-on course and gain a solid understanding of what you need to utilize the operational functionality of Sage Simply Accounting.  The course will focus on Inventory, Project Management, Time and Billing, Budgeting, Departmental Accounting and related Financial Statements as well as Forms Customization.  We will also review the operational flow of all these different parts and explain how it all rolls up to your Financial Statements.
ANYTIME LEARNING INCLUDED: All Hands-on Training courses include access to the Sage Simply Accounting Orientation which provides you access to a number of FREE recommended prerequisite Anytime Learning sessions designed to provide you with the knowledge needed to get the most out of your training experience.View Sage Simply Accounting Orientation Content
AUDIENCE:   Great hands-on course for people new to Sage Simply Accounting or just looking to use more of its functionality.
Select Course Details for more information

REGISTER

List Price: $309.00
Early Bird Price: $289.00

Instructor: Dianne Mueller June 20, 2012 08:30 AM – 05:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)  Lab – Vancouver, BC  Directions  Course Details
Early Bird Price – Expires May 30, 2012: $289.00 (CAD

Sage Simply Accounting – Setup, Sales, Receivables and Financials

bookkeeping, Sage, Sage 50 - Canadian Edition, Sage Simply Accounting, Sage Summit, simply accounting, small business, small business accounting, small business bc
SIM101H1 – Sage Simply Accounting – Setup, Sales, Receivables and Financials
Hands-on Lab Series’

Join us for this one day hands-on course and gain a solid understanding of what you need to get started with Sage Simply Accounting. The course will focus on company setup, chart of accounts, and related financial statements as well as the setup of customers and processing their corresponding sales transactions.ANYTIME LEARNING INCLUDED: All Hands-on Training courses include access to the Sage Simply Accounting – Orientation which provides you access to a number of FREE recommended prerequisite Anytime Learning sessions designed to provide you with the knowledge needed to get the most out of your training experience. View Sage Simply Accounting Orientation ContentAUDIENCE:Great hands-on course for people new to Sage Simply Accounting or just looking to use more of its functionality.

REGISTER

List Price: $309.00
Early Bird Price: $289.00
Instructor: Dianne Mueller June 18, 2012 08:30 AM – 05:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada) Lab – Vancouver, BC  Directions  Course Details
Early Bird Price – Expires May 28, 2012: $289.00 (CAD)