Monday, June 29, 2009

MISys SBE to SBM Conversion
Since announcing the retirement of MISys SAE Small Business Edition on June 1, we have received a number of inquiries from users wondering about their upgrade options. The easiest, and certainly the most economical option, is to crossgrade to MISys SBM. Assuming your Upgrade Subscription Plan is up to date, you can crossgrade at no cost, paying only the next year's Subscription Plan. For complete information and confirmed pricing, contact MISys Customer Service at 802/457-4600.

Friday, June 26, 2009

MISys SBM Functional Comparison

Because more and more people have been learning about the enhanced functionality built into MISys SBM, we've been fielding questions such as "What do I get if I switch to Small Business Manufacturing?" To help you understand what you get (and what you give up) we've published what we hope will be a handy comparison to MISys SAE. Check it out!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

MISys Adopts NPS Methodology

Although MISys, Inc. has enjoyed steady revenue growth year after year, we have never felt that counting dollars was a good measure of our success as a company. Since we want to be the best software company you've ever done business with, your opinion of our product and services provides our management with a more meaningful guage of our progress.

Earlier this year we distributed a survey which asked the question "How likely are you to recommend our products and services to a friend or colleague." Some of you may recognize this question as The Ultimate Question devised by Dr. Fred Reichheld to produce what is known as a Net Promoter Score. The answer revealed that MISys has a great many promoters, but the real value in asking is being able to track the growth of the NPS over time. So take this as fair warning, that from time to time, we will be surveying our customers to measure our progress and to ascertain ways to improve the value of the products and services we deliver to you. We will try not to be obtrusive. Your participation is always appreciated.

PS: If you ever have a thought, a comment, suggestion, or gripe, don't hesitate to contact our President and CEO, Dave Brown, at 802/457-4600 x232.

Monday, June 22, 2009

MISys SBM Advanced Purchasing
As you probably know, the Advanced Purchasing module for MISys SBM is an extra-cost component that allows you to create, track, and process purchase orders. Since most people already have the ability to create purchase orders, whether from within an accounting system or by hand-writing paper forms, it may surprise you to learn that over 90% of users purchase this module within 60 days of implementing MISys SBM.

The reason may be that functionality included in Advanced Purchasing (but missing from other systems) plays a key role in helping you purchase just the right material at just the right time. And that leads to cost savings that can easily justify the purchase of the entire MISys SBM system in just the first year of operation.

Because Advanced Purchasing was designed specifically to service the purchasing needs of a manufacturing firm, you may still need your accounting system's PO module to service to sales side of the house.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Accounting Solutions Conference
If you are an accounting professional, computer consultant, or software reseller, keeping up to date with the latest technology trends is critical to providing value to your client services. One of the best ways we know to learn best practices, network with colleagues, and update your understanding of new technologies is to attend this year's Next Generation Accounting Solutions Conference, November 9-12 in Orlando, Florida.
November may seem a long way away for planning your travels, but this is such an important conference we thought, by mentioning it now, you'd be more likely to include it in your plans. MISys has already registered to exhibit our Small Business Manufacturing software and to be hosting one of the key conference workshops. Take advantage of Early Bird Pricing and sign up today.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Dateline Woodstock
Woodstock residents are waiting for next week's town meeting where we are slated to hear a proposal from Greg and Bobby Underhill, two local real estate developers, on the subject of building what they are calling Woodstock International Airport. It is generally agreed that the chances of Woodstock (a town of 2800 residents and 14 paved roads) ever having an international airport is mighty slim. Nevertheless, we expect Town Hall to be packed on Tuesday night, whether they be friends or foes of the Underhill boys. Town residents are mindful that the last major development organized by Greg and Bobby was never even submitted to the Woodstock Development Board, but resulted in a 2x3-foot Information Booth being installed on the Town Green somewhere, according to Police Reports, between 2 and 4am on June 5, 2001. Many are suspect that the Underhills will use the same stealth tactics to slip an International Airport in under the radar of the Development Board. Excuse us for editorializing for a moment, but we think there are at least two reasons (maybe more) why this is an unlikely scenario. First is that when MISys first relocated to Woodstock, the Great Debate, consuming many hours of heated discussion among Townspeople of every sort, centered on whether the Prosper Village road should be paved. We can tell you that 22 years later, the road is still unpaved, although the subject consumes at least 20 minutes of debate during Town Meeting each March. Second, the largest city in Vermont (well, OK, the only city in Vermont) is home to Burlington International Airport (BTV) and those of you who are adept at locating cheap air travel to anywhere can confirm that you cannot actually go anywhere outside the United States of America from Burlington, Vermont. Although the MISys guys are frequent air travelers, we rarely ever patronize Burlington International Airport because, from what we can tell, the only place to can actually go from there is Philadelphia. And, no disrespect to any Philadelphians (3 of whom use our software), we have never determined that a stop in Philadelphia would enhance any trip we might make. So, we're going to show up at next Tuesday's meeting, just to see what the Underhill brothers have in mind, but we think that direct 747 service from Bejing to Woodstock is a long, long way off.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Track labor by the hour or job
Have you seen our Labor tracker module? many of our customers have asked us for this feature rich component for years. Check it out on our web page at: http://www.misysinc.com/misbm/labortracker.php

Friday, June 12, 2009

If you haven't been to one of the MISys training webcasts then you probably don't know about all the features and functions of MISys. When our customers take a training webcast the first thing they usually say is, "Wow I didn't know MISys did that". Don't miss out. Check out the training dates and MISys courses offerred monthly at: http://www.misysinc.com/misbm/training.php

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

MISys SBM works with Accpac ERP

I know we have mentioned this before but there are many Accpac ERP users that still don't know that MISys Small Business Manufacturing (SBM) now works with Accpac. Same great integration as MISys SAE. Check it out on this web site: www.misysinc.com

Monday, June 08, 2009

MISys SBE Officially Retired
The Small Business Edition of MISys Manufacturing for Sage Accpac ERP (MISys SAE) is no longer available. Resellers and end-users looking for a cost-effective manufacturing control system that integrates with Sage Accpac ERP should look instead at MISys Small Business Manufacturing. Although MISys SBM does not install inside the Accpac System Manager as did its predecessor, the new software actually has more functionality than Small Business Edition and requires only one Sage Accpac LanPak for multi-user operation, making MISys SBM a much more affordable solution. Users of MISys SAE can crossgrade very inexpensively to MISys SBM and have their data converted automatically. Click here to read the complete press release.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Quantum Manufacturing Edition Orientation
Last week we completed -- with a huge turn-out -- the second of two online workshops designed to introduce sellers of Peachtree Quantum accounting software to the wonderful world of manufacturing.

In the first session, we surveyed the market of small- to medium-sized manufacturing firms, discussing their needs and how Peachtree Quantum (with the addition of MISys SBM) now offers industrial-strength functionality.

In the second session, we explored the features of MISys SBM that are included in the core Quantum Manufacturing Edition: multiple locations, raw material and WIP inventory control, multi-level bills of material, revision control, stock check, stock transfers, work order processing, physical inventory, and period end processing.

In a third, so-far unscheduled, session we might have a look at the modules that can be added on to QME to meet the needs of manufacturing firms who demand more advanced features.

If you are a Peachtree partner and think you would benefit from a session on the advanced and extra-cost modules available for QME, please contact MISys Customer Service at 802/457-4600 or email customerservice@misysinc.com.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

MISys SBM Training Abounds
Now that Spring has come Vermont, MISys University is busting out all over with new online training workshops on various aspects of MISys Small Business Manufacturing. Start with the special 2-day workshop on MISys SBM Basic Operations, then move on to more advanced topics such as Advanced Purchasing, Advanced Production, Material Requirements Planning, and even Serial/Lot Tracking. For those of you with a special interest in accounting, don't miss the Accounting Tutorial slated for June 23.

Except for Basic Operations which repeats every month, these workshops are scheduled on a demand-driven basis. If the workshop you wish to attend is not currently scheduled, be sure to click the "Add To Wait List" button and add your name to our waitlist. There's no obligation. When a sufficient number of people have been waitlisted for a workshop, they will be contacted by MISys Customer Service to see if they are still interested.

Can you think of an SBM topic not covered at MISys University? MISys Customer Service is always happy to receive your suggestions.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Dateline Woodstock
Jim Clifford, the fellow who sells advertising for the Woodstock Standard, our weekly newspaper, stopped by MISys World Headquarters the other day -- just checking in, as he said. But based on the litany of questions that followed, we rather suspect that Jim was setting us up for a full page color spread. That visit reminded us that, in what seems like a previous life, we advertised our software in numerous magazines ranging from PC World to Manufacturing Today. In this online age, those magazines have either disappeared entirely or been reduced to a front and back cover and a handful of pages. According to a recent study sponsored cooperatively by The Gartner Group and the Vermont Maple Syrup Producers Association, there are now a total of 13 Vermonters who promote their commercial interests on various "social networks." Until recently, most of the social networking that happened around Woodstock took place down at the Squat and Gobble (our local diner). Now a few of us have been experimenting with LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter. Most of us have pretty much given up on LinkedIn because it seems to focus on keeping in touch with people in your past. We don't know about you, but a great many Vermonters are here to be freed of the people in their past. So LinkedIn is a non-starter. Facebook seems to be aimed at kids who find tales of college-aged debauchery and explicit hip-hop lyrics to be compelling content. The jury is still out on Twitter, but since Tweets are limited to 140 characters, the concept seems to be more consistent with what Vermonters call "the simple life." Don't look at other people's Tweets for examples of good content -- even the Twitter sites of companies we work with and admire most: Sage, Intuit, and Microsoft. If you believe the emails that arrive daily, there is a webinar you can attend (for a small fee, no doubt) that will reveal the magic in using Twitter as a means for promoting your goods and services. Right now, it seems like Twitter is the playground for people with excess time on their hands -- posting messages about things that, in the pre-Twitter era, used to pass un-noticed. Perhaps we'll wake up to the true value of social networking one of these days. In the meantime, suffice it to say "MISys is on Twitter."
Read the front page of the Woodstock Standard this morning.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

FREE Help!
MISys SAE and SBM have extensive online help. Just hit the F1 key when you are in a MISys feature or function. Not only is the help extensive and valuable to getting you the information you need but the author has hidden his Key lime Pie recipe too. Can you find it?