For whatever reason, New Year’s Day seems to bring on a host of technology related problems. For example, this morning the BBC website was not loading pictures, and the Charlotte Observer’s Twitter feed was mis-tweeting (see http://twitter.com/cltobs). And who could forget last year’s login error in Sage Timberline Office, discovered by our own IT Group and quickly fixed by Sage Software once CIS alerted them of the issue.

As a valued client of Sage Timberline Office, you probably aren’t thinking about whether pictures will load on your website or if Twitter will “mis-tweet.” Nevertheless, the troubles of others remind us that regular maintenance and proper prior planning can prevent problems.* With Sage Timberline Office, that includes the following:

1. Purge vendors BEFORE you close the year in AP. Tools > Remove Vendors looks at the current year fields to identify vendors you’ve done business with. The current year totals roll over when you close the year. This tool also has a handy preview function, so you can see which vendors will be purged (please use it).
2. Archive data. Consider how much historical data you need in your Current file versus your History file. The smaller your Current file, the faster transaction-based reports and other functions will run. Archiving processes were (relatively) recently made available in Project Management, Service Management, and Property Management, so take some time to look at those modules too.
3. Consider your upgrade path for software and hardware. First, you need to install the year end release for the current software you have, be it 9.4.1, 9.5, or 9.6.  Don’t forget to download payroll taxes too!  Second, think about whether you want to upgrade to the next version.  For example, if you are upgrading hardware to Vista, Windows Sever 2008, or 64-bit, then you must upgrade to 9.6.  If your hardware is relatively dated, you probably don’t want to upgrade to a version that is designed to run on newer, more powerful workstations and servers.
4. Year end is a challenging time, but it goes more smoothly for a workforce that has good training.  Trained employees avoid errors, or correct mistakes on the first attempt, rather than “fixing” things incorrectly multiple times . . . or just using the software inefficently. Sage Timberline Office has several options: public and private classes (including onsite using our “mobile classroom” of laptops), online recordings (Anytime Learning), online assistance, our toll-free support line (888.865.9425), and onsite visits by consultants.  Call our support number or email me at towner.blackstock@cisinfo.com to discuss your options.

Happy New Year from all your friends at CIS Consulting Group!  May 2010 be a safe, productive, and profitable year for you.

*Fans of such alliteration will love “P-7″ even more: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pitifully Poor Performance.