MISys Announces Version 4.0
At the Sage Insights 2009 Conference in Nashville last week, MISys announced that it is completing work on a new version of its MISys Small Business Manufacturing System called MISys SBM v4.0. This version presents a new Shop Floor Control module which offers a number of new features including tool maintenance, work centers, bill of material routings, and a very clever shop floor planning tool. Priced at $1500, the Shop Floor Control module is expected to be popular with manufacturers who need to know the precise material, labor, and overhead components of their product and the costs associated with them. The module allows them to collect actual material, labor, and overhead and to compare those costs to the projected values. When v4.0 is released later this summer, MISys SBM and MISys SAE will have comparable functionality.

MISys SAE Data Dictionary
The Data Dictionary for MISys SAE version 5.5 is now available. This updated edition includes all the new tables that were added since version 5.2.

Although the Data Dictionary is far too complex to qualify for the NY Times Best Seller list -- and it was rejected soundly by amazon.com -- the Dictionary is a valuable tool for MISys Business Partners and end-users who are writing complex custom reports. There is no charge for the Data Dictionary, but in order to receive a copy, you must contact the MISys Customer Service Department.

MISys SBM Pricing Model

In order to keep the cost of MISys Small Business Manufacturing within reach of cash-strapped manufacturing firms, MISys has adopted a 2-part pricing model which is described in the MISys SBM EULA. One part is an initial license fee and the other part is an annual subscription fee which must be renewed each year, just like your driver's license.
For maximum convenience, users are urged to provide MISys with a current credit card so the annual renewal can be processed seamlessly, without interruption. Users who prefer to pay by check will see a reminder each time they log in, starting 30 days before the license expiration date. No billing statements are sent, so to avoid disappointment, please heed the message.

Sales Lead Registration

MISys provides an important service to our business partners that allows them to register the names of any sales prospects they are following up. Because some prospective customers may consult with more than one business partner, the timestamp on each lead registration serves to resolve any potential "ownership" conflicts.

Now that content related to MISys Manufacturing for Sage Accpac ERP has moved to a new home on the web at www.accpacmfg.com partners wishing to register leads for MISys SAE are urged to go to
www.accpacmfg.com/bpartners/leadreg.php

Partners who wish to register leads for MISys Small Business Manufacturing (the new one that works with a number of different accounting products including Sage Accpac ERP) should instead go to www.misysinc.com/bpartners/leadreg.php

New Email Service
Starting with this issue of the MISys Update Newsletter, we are using a new broadcast email service which has necesssitated a few changes in the way our newsletter appears and is delivered.

First, our service provider strongly recommends limiting the width of the newsletter to 600px instead of our customary 1000px format. Determined to keep the 2-column format that has worked so well these many years, everything had to shrink, including the type size. We hope in doing so that we won't lose too many middle-aged readers.

In order to conform with the spirit and letter of anti-spamming laws, we had accumulated a list of customers who asked to be unsubscribed. We have painstakenly ported the old list over to the new service so, hopefully, we won't mail to anyone who doesn't wish to hear from us. If we fail anywhere along the line, please accept our sincere apology and click the UNSUBSCRIBE button that appears at the bottom of this page.

Your feedback about the new look and feel of our newsletter is always welcome.

Dateline Woodstock
We know that for many readers, April is a month to enjoy the Spring. Here in Vermont, April is still a winter month with an indication that Spring may be just hiding. Lately signs have indicated that the Solstace is inching its way northward. Last week marked the official Ice Out over at Joe's Pond. In case you didn't hear about this event on the evening news (it probably didn't make the cut) let us remind you that the good folks over at Harry's Hardware in Cabot; Joe's Pond Country Store and Hasting's Store, Dente's Market, Hope Cemetery, Barre Optical, Berg, Carmolli and Kent, and Yankee Clipper Barber Shop sell tickets to people who guess when the ice will melt. Proceeds from the campaign go to local charities. Determining the exact moment of ice melt was always an imprecise science until some clever Vermonters decided to rig an electric clock and an extension cord to a chair placed out on the ice. When the chair plunges through the ice, the cord is pulled out of the electric wall socket, and the clock stops. When the cord is retrieved and the clock raised, the official "ice out" time is announced to the world. When we called Fred Brown to find out how the ice was holding up he told us "There is still ice on the pond, but the rule is the ice out time is determined by the time the clock stops. That occurred in an unusual way this year: the winds were strong enough last night to push the mass of ice north; the flag and the block on which the flag sits moved with the ice and broke the electrical connection, and that stopped the clock. If you pass by the pond, you will see that the flag is still standing! My neighbor Homer said he doesn't think it has ever happened quite this way before."
So, that's the story of Joe's Pond for this year. Tickets will be on sale beginning in July.

Whew! I can't remember when we took so long to post to the MISys blog. Must be because the MISys Guys are so busy putting out great products! There is one item I'd like to remind all our MISys business partners about and that is the upcoming pre-conference training on MISys SBM which occurs on May 10th and 11th in Nashville. If you are going to Sage Insights this year you should take advantage of our pre-conference training which starts just before the Insights conference itself.

Take a moment to review the agenda along with completing the online registration form.

This workshop is being held exclusively for Sage Certified Consultants and Business Partners who wish to learn all about MISys SBM and get a better understanding of what types of manufacturing companies can benefit from MISys SBM and learn how you can get involved in a very lucrative industry. The session will conclude on May 11th with plenty of time to get to the Executive Keynote Address.

We encourage you to attend this training workshop to learn more about this awesome opportunity!