For An Obligation Free Quote
As we move towards the halfway point in the year we hope your sales figures are hotter than ever. Please view the following information pertaining to the release of Sage Evolution V9.10 as well as Kiteview’s Managed Services / SLA offering.
Sage have announced the release of Sage Evolution (Sage 200) version 9.10 which should be available next month. The new version will come with some very nice new features and functionality which we will be communicating in our next newsletter.
However as long standing customers will know, any new release especially when it is a major version, comes with it’s fair share of teething issues and are normally addressed / corrected in further version build releases. It is for this reason that we ask that you hold off on any upgrade plans until such time as the new version as been adequately tested and is stable to deploy.
Kiteview will communicate when the new version is stable and will be in contact should you wish to upgrade accordingly.
Kiteview has finalized a Managed Services / SLA structure that we feel will add the best value to you as a customer as well as help budget for certain support requirements on a monthly basis. The Managed Services / SLA offering includes the following options:
ANNUAL UPGRADE
– To the latest stable and tested version of Evolution
– The upgrade includes a test upgrade, live upgrade as well as post go-live onsite support
UNLIMITED SUPPORT DESK SUPPORT
– Pricing based on the number of core users registered on your Evolution package
ANNUAL SITE AUDIT
– Includes spending time with end users to identify if they are processing in the most correct and efficient manner
– There is also a data audit done to identify that there aren’t any high level data integrity issue
MONHTLY FIXED ONSITE SUPPORT
– The number of monthly hours are left to the discretion of the customer
– There is a one month carry over of hours should they not be utilized in that specific month
The above options are not all mandatory and the Managed Services / SLA contract can be amended to cater for your specific needs.
For more information please contact Sean Lawless by clicking the button below to schedule a meeting to discuss further.
For An Obligation Free Quote
The mobile phone has changed the way in which Kenyans manage their money, thanks to the runaway success of mobile money solutions such as M-Pesa. Now, it’s about to transform the way that Kenyan businesses of all sizes operate by giving workers access to their business applications and data wherever they are.
That’s according to Mohammed Mosam, Divisional Director for Sage Evolution. He says that growing penetration of smartphones in the Kenya market, paired with cheaper, more reliable and faster mobile connectivity, means that companies of all sizes can enable on-the-go productivity for their workforces.
Says Mosam: “According to Safaricom, 67% of new mobile phones sold in Kenya are smartphones and 100 000 new smartphones are shipped to customers each month. Our customers want to use these smart devices to transact and work anywhere and anytime. We have built our Sage Evolution ERP and HR solutions for this new mobile world.”
Sage’s mobile applications allow users to access a real time bird’s-eye view of the business’s financial status, including sales and purchases. Employees can see customer and inventory information in real-time, allowing them to be more productive and responsive, says Mosam. “Imagine the flexibility it will give you if you are able to log on to your accounting software from your smartphone to view a dashboard to see how your company is performing, view customer information, record notes and create quotes or invoices, wherever you are,” says Mosam.
Sales teams can create on-the-spot quotes and take instant orders. They’re always working with the latest information so it’s virtually impossible to promise the customer something that can’t be delivered. Plus, because orders are received so quickly, delivery is faster. And in the human resources space, employees could be empowered to make applications for leave, salary advances, loans, bursaries or other financial assistance, online or via their smartphone, no matter where they are in the world.
Adds Nikki Summers, Sage Pastel’s East Africa Regional Manager: “Kenya has pioneered mobile technologies such as mobile payments, and we’re expecting the market to be as excited about the possibilities of mobile business software.
A stricter focus on regulatory compliance and corporate governance throughout Africa – including Kenya – is driving demand for enterprise resource planning, human resources, and payroll software across the continent.
So says Nikki Summers, Sage Pastel’s East Africa Regional Manager, who adds that lawmakers and regulators in Kenya and other parts of the continent are seeking to make their economies more competitive by aligning them with international accounting, labour and corporate governance standards.
“Kenyan businesses of all sizes are being put under significant pressure to improve financial controls and regulatory compliance,” says Summers. “As a result, we’re seeing demand grow for business software among start-ups as well as for existing companies that have not yet automated their processes or whose technology is outdated.”
There is an especially large move towards automation of the HR and payroll functions, adds Gerhard Hartman, Head of Sage HR Africa. Organisations in the private and public sector recognise that they can no longer rely on manual payroll and taxation systems to keep up with regulatory demands and the growing complexity of their payrolls. “Moving to automated payroll software helps them to ensure accurate calculations and keeps them up to date with the latest legislative changes.
By automating payroll and HR processes, Kenyan companies can save time, work more efficiently and focus on growing their businesses rather than on doing manual paperwork,” Hartman says.
Without robust payroll systems and processes, companies cannot meet regulatory requirements such as remitting various payroll taxes and levies in a timely manner. And as the workforce and the business grows, so does the legislative and regulatory burden as well as the amount of administration associated with the payroll and HR function.
Sage HR Africa is committed to providing business solutions that are tailored to the needs of the Kenyan market, adds Hartman. The company is at the forefront of HR and payroll legislative changes in the country and will continue to update its solutions for the latest laws and regulations in conjunction with government and local authorities. Regular software updates ensure users always process on the latest software and legislative version.
Article credit: Sage Pastel
South African businesses of all sizes have a great opportunity to help address the country’s growing youth unemployment crisis while benefiting from a tax incentive by taking advantage of the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI).
That’s the word from Rob Cooper, at tax expert and Director of Legislation Updates and Proposed Legislation at Sage VIP Payroll & HR, speaking at the Tax Indaba 2014 held in Sandton from 9 to 13 June. He says that South Africa’s unemployment rate of around 50% among people under 25 poses a threat to the country’s future sustainability and prosperity. By helping youngsters to join the workforce, companies can develop their workforce of the future as well as help alleviate the social instability that arises when there are too many young people without work.
Says Cooper: “This crisis is weighing very heavily on the government’s mind, hence the fast-tracking of the ETI into law during 2013. Now that it is in place, the ETI offers employers some generous incentives for helping to bring the young into the workplace and helping them to develop skills that will make them employable into the future.”
The ETI encourages employers to hire young people by reducing the PAYE that the employer is liable to pay to SARS based on the number of young people employed. This reduces the cost of employment to the employer while leaving the employee’s earnings unaffected.
The Employment Tax Incentive legislation will be in effect for an initial three-year period from January 2014 to December 2016. During this time, all employers in the private sector who are registered for PAYE and have their tax affairs in order can take advantage of the scheme, says Cooper.
Companies can claim the ETI for people they directly employed after 1 October 2013 who meet the following criteria:
The tax benefits of the ETI can be generous for employers who use it strategically, says Cooper. For the first 12 (qualifying) months, the monthly value of the ETI is per qualifying employee is:
For the second 12 months, the monthly value of the ETI is:
“These incentives mean employees have a perfect opportunity to start putting young people into unfilled jobs that they did not urgently need to fill, “says Cooper. “They can bring youngsters on board and start training them up and make them productive while they benefit from the subsidy. They can also benefit by bringing in casuals to boost their productivity.” Companies that employ a qualifying casual for R200 per day for 10 days per month will get a reduction of R1 000 from monthly PAYE for the first 12 months, for example.
“If you are an eligible employer with at least one qualifying employee, a good payroll software package should be able to automatically calculate your ETI amount in respect of all the qualifying employees,” says Cooper. “You then need to declare the total ETI for the month on the new EMP201 form.”
The ETI is just one of the many pieces of legislation and regulation that make it imperative for businesses of all sizes to have an automated payroll solution in place, says Cooper. An automated solution will take care of calculating the complex formulas, generating the relevant compliance reports, and keeping accurate records, sparing the person responsible for the payroll reams of manual paperwork.
Adds Steven Cohen, managing director of Sage Pastel: “It’s also essential to have a robust accounting package that is tightly integrated with your payroll software to keep ahead of SARS regulations and other compliance requirements. The right software will help you to stay up to date with SARS’ ever-changing requirements.”
Kiteview Technologies (Pty) Ltd was founded in May 2010 to provide the Sage Evolution Business Management solution to the SME market. The management team of Kiteview have combined +30 years of experience in the delivery of small to mid-market Financial & Business Management solutions. This experience, combined with a sound project implementation methodology has helped in Kiteview’s growth, becoming a Super Platinum status partner for SAGE Pastel within just 1 year.
Sage Pastel Accounting has launched Sage Evolution 7, bringing customers a new version of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite that delivers the efficiency and productivity gains offered by the latest mobile and cloud technologies.
With Sage Evolution 7, Sage Pastel Accounting has moved onto a new Delphi XE5 technology platform to ensure that your investment in the software will be safe for many years into the future. Drawing extensively on customer feedback, Sage Pastel Accounting has built the new version of the software to help you increase productivity, reduce the margin of error, and eliminate unnecessary duplication of work.
Sage Pastel Accounting’s managing director Steven Cohen says : “Our product team looked closely at the latest industry trends as well as customer feedback and business requirements to design a new platform that will evolve alongside your business well into the future. We have especially taken note of how many of our clients rely on cloud services and mobile devices in their day to day operations. Our new ERP solution has been designed to make it easy for your end-users to be productive wherever they are, while providing a smooth road into an increasingly mobile and cloud-driven future.”
One of the key enhancements available in the new version of Sage Evolution is a Mobile Module that allows the sales force to capture sales orders on tablet devices. The data syncs with the ERP solution, eliminating the need to recapture data and reducing the margin of human error. A cloud-based Sage Inventory Advisor module, meanwhile, gives visibility into critical inventory information wherever you might be.
Recognising that mobile and cloud access to the applications opens new security risks, Sage Pastel Accounting has further tightened the security features of the software in the new version. You can now use more complex passwords or biometric identification (thumb or fingerprints) to protect your accounts. In addition, Document Profiles allow you to control which data and information different users in the organisation may access.
“Featuring an all-new technology platform and including a range of enhancements to the user experience, this is a key release for us,” says Mohammed Mosam, Sage Pastel’s Product Manager for Sage Evolution. “With Sage Evolution, you can focus on running your business according to your business rules and accounting, while knowing that our software helps you to minimise errors and duplication of effort while maximising productivity and efficiency.”
Sage Evolution 7 also boasts a wealth of new usability features to help you work faster and more accurately. Sage Evolution has taken the opportunity to give the software a new look and feel by changing the icons to create a more user friendly interface. The icons were selected to represent the different modules more effectively and assist users to easily navigate their way around the software.
Some of other features and functions in Sage Evolution 7 that will help you enhance productivity and save time include:
Kiteview Technologies (Pty) Ltd was founded in May 2010 to provide the Sage Evolution Business Management solution to the SME market. The management team of Kiteview have combined +30 years of experience in the delivery of small to mid-market Financial & Business Management solutions. This experience, combined with a sound project implementation methodology has helped in Kiteview’s growth, becoming a Super Platinum status partner for SAGE Pastel within just 1 year.
