Inventory Too Complex for Excel? 4 Signs You Need to Upgrade

Inventory Too Complex for Excel? 4 Signs You Need to Upgrade

Is your inventory management system a mine field? Are you constantly battling:
  • Data-entry errors?
  • Limited user access?
  • Yesterday's info (or last week's)?
  • Minimal analysis and forecasting?
Then you're probably using a spreadsheet.
Spreadsheets are certainly one of the most convenient tools, free to download and simple to use. And yes, you can make a lot happen in a spreadsheet.
But a growing business soon goes beyond the constraints of Excel. Paul Trujillo of Wasp pointed out some of the downsides to using Excel for inventory management back in 2013, and his insights still hold true today. It's a question of priorities: With limited time and resources, is working the spreadsheet really the best investment?
The question is even easier to answer when you consider some of the benefits of upgrading your inventory tools. A process using barcodes and scanners helps you:
  • Easily track large quantities of items
  • Reduce data-entry errors and confusion
  • Open the information to multiple team members
  • Provide real-time data about your warehouse
  • Eliminate guess-work
  • Generate clarity on what you need and when you need it
To learn more about how upgraded inventory systems can also integrate material resource planning, provide profit margin notifications, and automatically handle reorder/back order/special order fulfillment, read Paul Trujillo's full article on Wasp.
Labor Day – A Tribute to Those Who Get the Work Done

Labor Day – A Tribute to Those Who Get the Work Done

Your business thrives based on the quality of work that your team produces. So a national holiday is a fitting way to honor the people who move the work forward each day.

Another way to tell your team they’re important is by providing high-quality tools, including software that helps them succeed. We’ve all felt the frustration of working with technology that complicates more than facilitates. aACEsoft, whether on Mac or PC, streamlines each phase of your team’s labor.

  • aACE Accounting helps your managers track a sale from the lead to the balance sheet, while controllers can easily hop from a single entry in the GL to anywhere in the transaction chain.
  • aACE Customer Relationship Management (CRM) gives a 360º view of your business relationships and full insight into your contacts with vendors, partners, and more.
  • aACE Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integrates sales, operations, and accounting, helping to increase visibility, automate workflows, eliminate double-entry, and reduce errors.
  • Inventory is integrated seamlessly throughout the entire aACE Software solution, helping your team plan more productively and accurately, preventing costly mistakes and reducing excessive inventory.
  • aACE order management provides your order writers with tools to reduce transaction times, ensure compliance, improve oversight, all to increase customer satisfaction.
  • aACE production management modules replace redundant systems and spreadsheets. It helps your team coordinate job tracking, time entry, inventory application, and purchasing.
  • aACE shipping and receiving tools help your department properly schedule shipments, accurately invoice customers, prevent the shipment of unpaid goods, and reconcile courier statements.

aACE Software is a value-rich alternative to systems such as Xtuple and Accountek. Learn more about the possibilities today.

Easy to Use ERP Solutions Have Higher ROI

Easy to Use ERP Solutions Have Higher ROI

DID YOU KNOW? The Best-in-Class leading organizations look for ERP solutions that are easy to use and employee friendly. Even the most functional of ERP solutions is a waste of money if employees can’t use it. A user-friendly ERP solution will lead to a higher employee usage rate and the solution’s benefits will more quickly and profoundly manifest themselves throughout an organization.
Download the full report here

Run Your Business on a Mac

Run Your Business on a Mac

Software for Mac

Robust Operating System
OS X is called the world’s most advanced operating system by Apple. The Mac environment is extremely user-friendly, incredibly stabile, features world-class security features, supports a vast majority of software needed by businesses and even supports Windows.

Business Management Software
aACE Business Suite has you covered. It’s a cross-platform, complete enterprise solution for 10 to 999 users. So even if part of your office continues to work on PC while some departments switch to Mac, you can use one business management solution company-wide. aACE can be customized to fit precise business management needs and it integrates well with other solutions and third party services such as shipping, positive pay, credit card processing via XCharge, Magento and Zen Cart. Read more about aACE software integration »

Office Products
Standard office products such as Word and Excel are available on OS X with Microsoft Office for Mac and Apple iWork provides many of the same software tools as Microsoft Office. OS X also offers businesses many built-in tools to run right out of the box, with features such as: Mail, Address Book, iCal, built-in PDF support.

Windows Compatibility
If you use software that only runs on Windows, software solutions such asParallels or VMWare can be installed on a Mac which will allow you to run Windows software simultaneously with your Mac OS X applications. Switching back and forth between the Mac environment and Windows is as easy as switching windows.

Hardware for Mac

What Hardware Will I Need to Run My Business on a Mac?
We recommend a dedicated server to run aACE Business Suite. This can range from a Mac Mini to a Mac Pro. The client workstations can be either Mac or Windows.

Backing up Business Data
It goes without saying that all data related to your business is of upmost importance. Losing any of it could be catastrophic. The Apple Time Capsule works well for regular back ups to an external drive.

For extra assurance against accident, theft, or natural disaster, consider off-site backup management and data recovery through a service like CrashPlan.

Knight Hardwood Flooring: From Sage to aACE

Knight Hardwood Flooring: From Sage to aACE

Knight Hardwood Flooring switched to aACE from Sage MAS 500, ERP software that they found to be overly complicated and difficult to use. As they expanded from one location to four they found that training new employees on their software was time-consuming, and the system’s compartmentalization made it difficult to spot and correct mistakes. After seven years they knew they needed a change; they began looking for a solution with a reputation for helping growing small-to-midsize businesses like theirs. aACE’s approach has been proven to stand out from the rest.

Read our latest case study to learn how aACE’s world-class support and tailored fit helped Knight Hardwood’s Todd Breedlove spend more time managing his business and less time managing his software.

CHALLENGES & aACE SOLUTIONS:

Complicated Software

Prior to implementing aACE, Knight Hardwood Flooring had been using Sage MAS 500, ERP software that they found to be overly complicated and difficult to use. Training new employees on the software was extremely time-consuming, especially as they expanded from one location to four, and the system’s compartmentalizations made it hard to spot and correct mistakes. aACE is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, so that you can focus on managing your business rather than your software.

A Need to Downsize

Knight Hardwood’s previous solution required them to maintain five servers. Without a dedicated IT staff, this became a challenge. aACE is designed to be hosted in a single server.

Bulky Customization

Because they’d had their previous software extensively customized, that customization had to be rewritten every time there was an update. As a result, they weren’t always able to run the newest version. aACE is designed for easy customization so that your solution will always be a tailored fit.

Expensive Support

Knight Hardwood was paying a hefty premium for Bronze-level Sage MAS 500 support, which only allowed them to email questions, plus a large hourly fee to their reseller if they needed support by phone. Both options cost a lot and offered very little. aACE offers white-glove service and world-class support at reasonable prices growing businesses can afford.

 

Click here to Download the Case Study

Do you or someone you know need a change from one-size-fits-all ERP tools? Check out our videos to learn more about whether aACE business management software for Mac and PC can help accelerate your company.

Jobs

Jobs

JOBS AND TASKS

  • Manage projects by deliverable or phase.  Create jobs to manage specific aspects of a project. A job can be a deliverable, a phase, and have as many tasks as required.
  • Delegate and schedule tasks.  Manage your own tasks as well as those you have assigned. Use resource forecasting to balance workloads.

tasks1manufacturing-task-grouptasks2professional-services-task-record

 

 

ASSEMBLIES AND JOBS

    • Assemblies.  aACE supports both single and multi-level assemblies. Each assembly is assigned a job number when an order is opened. The ID of the job reflects its position in the work breakdown structure (WBS).
  • Job Management and Tracking. Tracking information in the job communicates the current stage of production based on the currently incomplete task. Use of color coding immediately indicates whether a job is pending, on schedule, or past due.
  • Job and Task Scheduling.  Preferences allow managers to determine whether the deepest assembly is scheduled first or last. The duration of each job is a function of the associated task group. Anchor settings within the task group and department start/stop times determine the schedule for each task.
aACE To Help Easily Manage Orders

aACE To Help Easily Manage Orders

ORDER ENTRY

  • Order Entry.  Build each production item in a hierarchical view selecting components from the options interface or from the master list. Costs include fixed and variable material costs, fulfillment (labor) costs, and component/sub costs.
  • Margin Pricing and Progress Billing.  Price production items based on a margin that takes into account the full cost of the inputs, including bill of material components, optional components, and fulfillment labor costs. Progress billing allows for the billing of orders in percentage or fixed-dollar installments.

orders1manufacturing-production-orderorders2manufacturing-purchase-orderorders3product-based-order

 

 

 

ORDER MANAGEMENT

  • Regain lost sales through alternatives and suggestive selling. The aACE order entry interface provides links for alternative products and upgrades. Alternative products might include generic or premium versions. Upgrades might include complimentary items, service agreements, or warranties.
  • Accept payment at point-of-sale.  aACE’s payment dialog supports cash payments, fully PCI-compliant credit card processing, a “bill me” option for clients with extended payment terms, and the ability to apply account credits.
  • Know available inventory and easily manage back orders.  Order entry personnel can see available inventory balances and quickly investigate existing demand and anticipated shipments. Items can be flagged as back-ordered at point-of-sale or via the pick process. Receipt of back-ordered goods will auto-generated the necessary outgoing shipments.
  • Pick, Pack, and Ship.  aACE features robust processes for managing the pick, pack, and ship process. Our Shipping Log module supports incoming shipments (receiving), outgoing shipments, and both incoming and outgoing returns.
  • Auto-generate purchase orders for drop-shipped items.  The process sends a notification to the procurement group with a link back to the newly created purchase orders. Order entry personnel can also manage the procurement process directly from the sales order if applicable.

orders5professional-services-expense-envelopeshippin2product-based-shipping-log

More Features

More Features

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

  • Accurately estimate your true profitability.  Build multi-level estimates to more accurately estimate diverse cost and pricing requirements.
  • Prevent important dates and steps from being missed.  Create templates for common workflows and automate production tasks and schedules. Templates can transform estimates into production plans.

TIME AND EXPENSES

  • Capture time when it occurs.  Start or stop the clock for a task while you are working on it. Review and submit your day’s time using aACE’s Time-Clock or Time sheets modules.
  • Eliminate the administrative overhead of financial staff.  Built in approval processes allow supervisors to approve their subordinate’s time and expenses. Time and expenses — approved!

RATES AND RATE CARDS

  • Establish flexible and dynamic rates.  Bill clients fixed prices, fixed mark-ups, a percentage mark-up, or a percentage margin. Volume discounting is also supported.
  • Create rate cards for specific clients, client groups, or special circumstances.  The rate cards module supports standard types of rates as well as fixed and percentage discounts.

PAYMENTS AND COLLECTIONS

  • Track invoices easily.  Record conversations regarding invoices using aACE’s activity tools. Update each invoice’s tracking status and expected date of payment.
  • Know when a payment is received.  aACE can send the project manager a notice when a payment is received from a client, eliminating the need for managers to constantly check in with the A/R staff regarding when work can begin.

PRODUCTS AND PRICING

  • Bill of Materials and Options.  Managers can configure both bill of materials and options for assembly items. Bill of material components typically remain hidden during order entry and represent the implicit aspect of production. The options interface allows managers to specify different and custom configurations for user selection during order entry.
  • Fulfillment Budget and Schedule.  Items in aACE can be assigned to a task group (Bill of Operations). A task group is a specific set of steps that need to be taken during the production process. Each task contains information about the labor category, duration, budget, and assignment.
  • Create robust pricing and commission models.  aACE supports fixed prices, mark-up and margin percentages, specific client discounts, group discounts, and volume pricing. Commissions can be fixed amounts, a percentage of the price, a percentage of the margin, and can change depending on the volume of units sold.
  • Automatically update product costs and cost-based prices.  Managers can configure aACE to automatically update the estimated cost for an item based on purchasing activity within a selected number of days. This process automatically updates margin and mark-up based prices and eliminates the need to manage estimated costs.
  • Establish margin controls and notifications.  Managers can configure aACE to automatically send a notification if an item is sold with a margin less than a selected percentage. Know if your margin is being squeezed by increasing vendor prices or overly aggressive sales personnel.

PROCUREMENT

  • Reorder management made easy.  aACE auto-generates purchase orders when an item’s balance falls below the reorder threshold. The process chooses the preferred vendor, sets a quantity that will restore the item’s balance to its target balance, and sends a notification to the procurement group with a link back to the newly created purchase orders.
  • Procurement Planning.  Production managers can select substitutes, keep the preferred vendor or choose from alternative vendors for an order. Purchase orders can be generated at the point when components are required in the production process.
  • Receiving.  Managers are automatically sent a notification when goods are received by the receiving department. Notifications can be sent within aACE, as emails, or text messages.
  • Ensure goods are properly delivered.  Procurement managers can set the tracking status of the purchase order, record conversations, and scheduled follow ups in order to ensure that the product is properly delivered.
  • Know your vendors.  aACE automatically creates vendor/product associations based on purchasing activity. Product managers can enter the product code, procurement lead time, and MSRP for each vendor.

INVENTORY

  • Auto-Apply.  Bill of material components can be flagged to auto-apply the inventory costs when inventoried item selection is either impractical or impossible. Similarly, inventoried items procured for a specific job can be auto-applied upon receipt if the goods are moved directly to the machine.
  • Operator Entry.  The aACE task interface allows operators to record inventory usage throughout the production process.
  • Back flush Entry.  aACE supports back-flush entry for assembly items, allowing job managers to simply enter exceptions at the end of the production process.
  • Mobile Inventory Counting.  Count inventory with an iPad and a laser barcode scanner.