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Sapphire SunSystems Customer Newsletter

Ian Caswell  - Managing Director

Welcome to the latest edition of the SunSystems customer newsletter. I hope that you enjoyed the recent Bank Holiday.   Many thanks to everyone that attended the User Day on the Isle of Man last month. Paul Calladine, who looks after our customers on the Isle of Man was instrumental in putting together a very informative day which was well received, with feedback including:   “Enjoyable, worthwhile day” “I learned a lot which I need to cascade and put into use on agenda”

The dates have now been set for the User Days in both London and Manchester. The London event will be taking place on 10th September at One Great George Street and following the success of last year, the Manchester event will be at the Museum of Science and Industry again, on 18th September. We have set up a microsite where you can register your interest and also put forward your suggestions for the agenda – please click here to view: http://www.sapphiresystems.co.uk/user_day_sun/ .

In addition to the User Days taking place later this year, we have several customer seminars and webinars lined up in the coming months. Please speak to your Account Manager, or check the Website http://www.sapphiresystems.co.uk/training_events/customer.htm , for further information. Please remember that if you are not free on the dates scheduled, but are interested in the subject matter, we are more than happy to make arrangements to cover these topics at a time that suits you – your Account Manager is here to help.

I am always keen find out what you think of the Sapphire newsletter, as well as any feedback you may have on Sapphire’s service to you as a whole, so please email me your thoughts at ian.caswell@sapphiresystems.co.uk.

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Tony Martin  - Client Service Director

A cornerstone of Sapphire’s success is our commitment to delivering excellent client service. Of course that is easy for us to say. The people best suited to judge whether that is true or not are you, our clients. There are a number of times when we actively seek your feedback, such as when you have attended a training course, when we have closed a support call or when we send out our annual client survey. However, we encourage comment and feedback from you at any time and positively welcome your thoughts. The more responses we get to these requests for feedback the more representative are the statistics produced but more importantly, we get to see where we may be getting things wrong (or right) and we get the chance to react to your changing needs and concerns. For example, the introduction of our serialisation database came about because of client feedback.

So please, when you can, let us know what you think. Complete the surveys, speak to your account manager and always feel free to contact me on 020 7648 2000 or at tony.martin@sapphiresystems.co.uk. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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What can you expect from us this year?

As always, there will be keynote sessions from both Sapphire and Infor in which you can learn more about the future of Infor SunSystems and what’s new at Sapphire.  Add to this the chance to meet with many of Sapphire’s support, consulting and services staff… together with many other SunSystems Users and I am sure you will agree that this event is one not to miss!

Influence the Agenda

The Agenda will be formalised on 1st August 2008 and we would welcome any ideas and suggestions you might have to make the User Day an event that is closely tailored  to the requirements of you and your team.  To contribute, please submit your ideas  to us as soon as possible.

Places are reserved on a first-come first-served basis and so please enrol as soon as possible by clicking here.

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As a user of SAP Business One, one of the world’s leading accounting and ERP systems, you have access to a fully integrated and feature rich business solution product that helps you run your business in the way you want. Can you say the same about your Payroll system?

As well as being Europe’s biggest supplier of SAP Business One, Sapphire Systems works with Earnie from Intex Software, one of the UK’s leading payroll software suites. Earnie has been helping employers manage their payroll for over 20 years and is used by more than 20,000 organisations.

Earnie offers full integration facilities with the important business systems that you use, such as:

• SAP Business One for recording payroll information in your accounts and job costing

• Vision, where you can report on information from your payroll system alongside data from your accounts system across multiple periods and companies

• An HR system where you need to store data or indeed transfer data from HR to payroll

Earnie also offers you enough flexibility to allow:

• The filing of end of year figures online

• Payslip distribution

• Bureau service for clients

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 Introduction:

The search for a new financial accounting solution

Significant growth and diversity of 19 Entertainment meant that the financial management team found that Sage, their existing accounting package, no longer met their requirements. They had a need for a financial accounting solution that would give them consolidation and flexibility.

Following a review of the accounting packages available on the market, the decision was taken to implement Infor FMS SunSystems. 19 Entertainment is made up of a number of statutory organisations, so SunSystems is a good fit as its excellent functionality make it possible to run 1 set of ledgers, rather than multiple sets; enabling consolidation of accounts for the group. Mike Feely, Finance Manager at 19 Entertainment, said “We have lots of projects and divisions, so the ability to cut and dice results – for example by project – is very useful.”

Sapphire’s credentials

Commenting on why 19 Entertainment decided to work with Sapphire Mike states “We chose Sapphire as our implementation partner as they are the leading provider of SunSystems.”

The Project Management team at Sapphire ensured that the implementation of SunSystems at 19 Entertainment went smoothly with Mike noting “The initial roll-out phase was pretty quick, just 3 or 4 months, which was well inside of our expectations.”

Now that the solution has been in use for a while, Mike says “SunSystems delivers pretty much everything we could want from an accounting package and the Vision reporting tool extremely flexible. Since implementation we have benefited from significantly improved reporting – previously there was a reliance on use of Microsoft Excel.”

The team at 19 Entertainment remain pleased with the decision to work with Sapphire; “We enjoy a good working relationship with Sapphire” states Mike, going on to add “The support provided is first-rate: the support team are very responsive and provide an excellent service via the support hotline and by email. The support desk is never understaffed and we always get the answers we need within a few hours”

Speaking on the day to day use of SunSystems Mike says “It’s different to smaller packages, so it took a little while for some members of the team to get used to it: SunSystems forces you to use basic accounting principles more than smaller systems. It’s pretty straight forward to train people that are new to SunSystems in the use of the solution; we now have no problem in training new starters in-house. I would say that we typically have 10 people at our London HQ logged into SunSystems at any time.”

Understanding your business

Mike advises others undergoing a review for a new financial accounting solution take as much time as possible over the planning stage, and really understand the output of the system before implementation. He recommends SunSystems as a “good mid-tier package that is very flexible, with good reporting capability.”

Ian Caswell, Managing Director at Sapphire, concludes “SunSystems copes well with multi-currency reporting, so is great for organisations with operations in more than one country. Also, I am often surprised by the number of organisations that are forced to rely on spreadsheets for important management information as their finance systems don’t work hard enough for them – it can cause disconnection between business strategy and operations. The unique combination of flexible analysis capabilities and integrated business analytics means that SunSystems delivers powerful reporting coupled with real-time alerts in order to highlight areas that need immediate action, anywhere within the business. In the highly competitive entertainment industry this kind of timely information is invaluable.”

For more information on Sapphire please call us on 020 7648 2000 or visit our website at: www.sapphiresystems.co.uk

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Latest Course Schedule Now Available! We are pleased to announce that the latest training courses are now available from the Sapphire Training team. Please click here to request your copy. Alternatively you can Please call our Training Advisor Sharon Stevenson on 020 7648 2000 or email training@sapphiresystems.co.uk for more information.

SunSystems Version 5	Duration	Cost	Training Centre
Ledger Accounting	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
System Administration	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
Fixed Assets	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
SunSystems Customisation	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
SunSystems Collect	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester

SunSystems Version 4	Duration	Cost	Training Centre
Ledger Accounting	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
System Administration	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
Multi Currency for Ledger Accounts	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
Process Manager	2 days	£690.00	London & Manchester
Report Writing	1 day	£345.00	London
Fixed Assets	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
SQL Administration	2 days	£690.00	London & Manchester
SunSystems Collect	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester

SunSystems Vision	Duration	Cost	Training Centre
Vision 5 Executive Foundation	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
Vision 5 Executive Advanced	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
Vision 5 XL Foundation	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
Vision 5 XL Advanced	2 days	£690.00	London & Manchester
Vision 6 Executive	1 day	£345.00	London
Vision 6 XL Reporting	1 day	£345.00	London & Manchester
Vision 6 XL Advanced	2 days	£690.00	London & Manchester

New Courses Coming Soon:

We have recently introduced some brand new courses for Sun version 5.3. We are currently in the process of creating the course specifications, but if you would like to know more please call our Training Advisor Sharon Stevenson on 020 7648 2000 or email training@sapphiresystems.co.uk for more information.

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International Blindness Charity selects Proactis from Sapphire

Sapphire to enable global procure-to-pay capabilities at leading sight saving charity

Sapphire Systems today announced that it is to supply and implement a 150 user Proactis Spend Control solution at Sightsavers International.

Sightsavers works with partners in 33 countries to help combat blindness and restore sight through specialist treatment and eye care. They also support people who are irreversibly blind by providing education, counselling and training.

Carole Webb, Procurement Officer, at Sightsavers said: “We needed a solution that would strengthen the effectiveness of Sightsavers’ global procurement activities, reduce unnecessary administration time, eradicate duplication of effort and improve management information. There was also a real need to replace the current paper-based system as there was no central record for activities carried out by the various departments at our Head Office in Haywards Heath, let alone our overseas offices.” Carole added “We are a Procurement Team of 3 people and we have our work cut out with over 1000 products on the standard list of equipment that is procured and supplied to offices and partners around the world. The products vary greatly - from pharmaceuticals to vehicles and ophthalmic equipment to textbooks.”

The Project Team conducted a formal tender process outlining Sightsavers’ requirements - which included integration with their existing SunSystems financial accounting solution. Carole explained: “Sightsavers chose Proactis from Sapphire as it provides the functionality that our rigorous procurement procedures demand. Sapphire supports our SunSystems application, and so the fact that Sapphire can support both solutions was a plus point. What’s more, the implementation of Proactis will provide us with a good opportunity to upgrade to the latest version of SunSystems too.”

Nick Williams, Sightsavers’ Account Manager at Sapphire, outlined three significant benefits that the organisation will see post-implementation. He said “A major consideration for Sightsavers is the low bandwidth internet connections available in many of the countries in which the organisation operates. Proactis facilitates worldwide use as users don’t need to remotely login to a UK server-based system.” He continued, “The Stores Module in Proactis will also prove a real benefit to Sightsavers as it will enable them to take advantage of economies of scale with functionality to efficiently manage storage, allocation of stock and deployment of their resources”. Nick concluded, “Finally, as a web based solution that eliminates the need for paper-based reporting, Proactis offers a carbon neutral solution which is a real plus point for an environmentally-aware international organisation such as Sightsavers.”

Of Sapphire, Carole said: “The Sapphire team was very helpful: they demonstrated the benefits of Proactis with workshops, gave us the ability to discuss our requirements in detail and subsequently demonstrated the solution in action with our own items and suppliers.”

Looking ahead, Carole says: “We look forward to working together with Sapphire to achieve a successful implementation. When Proactis is implemented we’ll receive support for the full procure-to-pay process - from sourcing to order placement and monitoring; as well as providing a wide range of management reporting options.”

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These webinars are free of charge to all our SunSystems Customers and all that's required to participate is a phone line and an internet connection. To enrol on any of the webinars listed below please visit: www.sapphiresystems.co.uk/training_events/customer.htm We look forward to welcoming you!

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As our general awareness of the importance and potentially lethal outcomes of environmental impacts has grown, the task of investment appraisal has become complicated by the need to recognise and account for environmentally induced future costs. Total Cost Assessment or TCA is one technique that provides long term and comprehensive financial analysis of the full range of internal or private costs and savings of an investment. This includes less tangible costs, into the financial evaluation of projects and programmes so that environmental considerations are fully accounted for. Niki Leahy, FSN senior writer explains the technique.

Total cost assessment expands traditional financial analysis by including a consideration of:-
 

Developments in TCA have been led by the chemicals industry, with other sectors including utilities and pharmaceuticals also active in applying the technique. Other industries where uncertainty in the potential and / or future costs of environmental remediation and clean up is increasing are also using the assessment process.

As an investment appraisal technique, total cost assessment comes into its own when it is used to assess with greater accuracy, which environmental investment is the most economically favourable. As a methodology, it can also evaluate the potential health impacts and costs that may result from exposure to environmental pollutants. However, its primary role lies in including the costs and benefits derived from the environmental initiatives and policies on the balance sheet and in decision making. It does this by identifying, analysing and improving cost estimates in key areas such as energy, waste and pollution prevention, both internally and externally, as the case studies below illustrate.

Evaluating environmental projects using TCA means that projects that may appear to be financial weaker using conventional analysis look stronger and more competitive once their true return has been identified. For example, an investment in a process change that considers only direct labour and material costs over a three year period will appear a poor investment option until the full environmental costs of the existing process – including disposal costs, regulatory permits, worker health, liabilities for spills or leaks are included in the analysis which is considered over a longer period. This may well yield an impressive rate of return and a shorter than expected discounted payback.

The table below illustrates a conventional & TCA approach to financial analysis for a pollution prevention alternative. This process modification would require a capital investment of approximately £1.7m, and changes to operating costs.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers' (Centre for Waste Reduction Technologies) TCA programme identifies five types of costs; type 1 are direct costs; type2, potentially hidden costs; type 3, future & contingent liability costs; type 4, internal intangible costs; type 5, external costs. Potential costs are identified first using company specific information. The analysis is stream lined by considering only those costs deemed potentially high. Probability is also assessed. Type 3 future and contingent liability costs considered include data drawn from past data and future estimates for spending on pollution control equipment, remedial costs of plant contamination, natural resource damage costs, potential liabilities for offsite contamination, industrial process risk, including cost data for past industrial accidents.

A similar TCA model to the CWRT one has been developed by the US Tellus Institute. This stratifies costs into four tiers, omitting the external costs which are accounted for under a full cost assessment process.

The Tellus Institute have also developed a spreadsheet software application, P2/FINANCE, which is designed to capture a broad range of potential environmental costs and savings, including internal indirect and less tangible environmental costs, using profitability indicators and time horizons that capture long term characteristics of environmental investments, over appropriate timeframes. As well as the additional costs and savings that a TCA can reveal, anticipated changes in annual revenues can also be calculated. A TCA analysis can help identify where improved customer service can be made, or where additional services or product types can be developed, as well as quantifying improved overall process controls, increased capabilities, and faster turnaround.

In summary TCA can be used as a model for making procedural changes and operational changes, as well as for decisions related to capital equipment purchases. Traditional business financial decision tools focus on the financial impact of a purchase or operational change without considering the environmental aspects. Main considerations were capital cost, operational cost, interest cost, and return on investment. This approach ignores key changes that every business must be concerned with, including the impact of investment decisions on employees, on energy requirements, on permits, on plant layout and so on. By considering environmental impacts upfront, a company can anticipate future environmental impact – making sure that there are no costly surprises later.

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Introduction

While all organisations – whether in the private or public sector – have some sort of annual planning and budgeting process, it’s typically not tied to the strategic planning process. As a result, many organisations fail to have the appropriate resources (capital, human resources, raw materials, etc.) at their disposal to successfully execute strategy.

CorPlanning enables organisations to plan and budget in the context of strategic objectives and initiatives. An integrated component of the CorVu 5 Strategic Management System, CorPlanning links the planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes to business strategy.

Key Benefits:

LINK PLANNING TO STRATEGY
Translate strategy into operational targets and initiatives

IMPROVE ABILITY TO ACT AND REACT
Quickly react to market, competitive, and organisational changes

ACCELERATE THE BUDGETING AND PLANNING CYCLE
Maximise participation, collaboration, and ownership in a centralised process

REDUCE OPERATIONAL COSTS
Reduce cost to manage planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes

IMPROVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
Reverse the typical 80/20 input/analysis ratio for the budgeting and planning process

DRIVE PROFITABLE GROWTH
Analyse the business impact of hypothetical scenarios in real time

What sets Corplanning 5 apart:

COMPREHENSIVE CAPABILITIES

FLEXIBILITY
 

LOW TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
 

SCALABILITY
 

EASE OF USE
 

Key Features:

PLANNING TEMPLATES
 

PLANNING METHODS
 

VISUALISATION
 

DATA COLLECTION AND CONSOLIDATION