Fix Accounting

E-filing 1099s from Sage 50

It recently came to my attention that the state of Oklahoma is now requiring anyone who sends out more than five 1099s to e-file a copy with the state. Since I’m in Oklahoma I felt like I needed to address this. The IRS also requires anyone filing more than 250 1099s to e-file. So this tip is for those two groups of Sage 50 users, and anyone else who’s tired of mailing paper forms.

If you do payroll in Sage 50, you have access to 1099 e-filing through the payroll tax forms (Aatrix) . But the process isn’t as smooth as it is for W-2s, so you may want to consider a 3rd party add-on. We’ll look at the Aatrix option first since that’s built into Sage 50.

By going to the Reports & Forms menu from the main Sage 50 window, then Forms > Tax Forms. Select Payroll Tax Forms from the list and then click the Preview and Print button. In the Payroll Tax Form Selector window, make sure the form type is set to Federal. Then select 2017 1099-MISC from the list of available forms. Make sure Frequency is set to Yearly, and set the year to 2017. Click OK. The next screen asks you to select a data option. At this point you’ll discover that even though Aatrix forms are built into Sage 50, the 1099 process isn’t truly integrated with Sage 50. At this screen you have to choose between importing data from a CSV/TXT file or manually entering it.

Next to the option “Import 1099 recipient data from a CSV or TXT file” there is an Instructions button. It will take you to this page on the Aatrix web site. You can also find similar instructions in knowledgebase entry ID:10519 on Sage’s support site. They instruct you to view the 1099 Vendor Report (Reports & Forms menu > Accounts Payable), then click the Columns button and select All. Use the Excel button to send the report to Excel, making sure to choose the “Raw data layout” option. Finally save that file as a CSV file. After selecting that file on the Select Data Option window you’ll be presented with a very easy to use window that lets you drag and drop field names from your file onto an image of a 1099 form to let the program know where each piece of information should print. The lower part of the screen even gives you a preview of the data from each field. When finished, click the Mapping Complete button. You’ll be walked through answering a few questions and filling in your own company information (it doesn’t automatically read your company information like when printing W2s).

Eventually you’ll be presented with a grid of data that was extracted from your CSV file. Immediately you’ll see that the imported data will take a lot of work to clean up. Every line (individual payment) from the CSV file gets imported as if it will get it’s own 1099, instead of one total for each payee. When you try to go to the next screen Aatrix will see the duplicates and offer to combine them, which would be great if it worked. But in my testing, every time I tried it gave an error and couldn’t do it. So I had to manually delete all the extra rows and type in the correct amount on the remaining line. It also doesn’t split out first and last names, you must do that manually too. And you have to tell it which ID numbers social security numbers and which are FEIN. The filing state isn’t populated either so you’ll have to add that to each line. Also, the payee’s with less than $600 also get imported so you’ll have to delete those.

All of those problems can be addressed when you create the import file. But it takes a lot of effort, time, and knowledge to rework the Vendor 1099 Report in Excel into a layout that doesn’t have all of those problems. I had hoped to give a step by step tutorial in this newsletter but it turned out to be beyond the scope of what I can explain here. I assume that’s why Sage and Aatrix chose to skip over all of that and pretend they gave you instructions that work. If you feel up to trying it, I recommend you read the Excel tip below and well as this tip from a previous newsletter. Both will be helpful with converting the 1099 Vendor Report into a proper import file.

If don’t want to try to build an import file, you have the option to manually enter your 1099 data. I’m not sure if I’d rather do extensive editing of the imported data or just enter it from scratch. You can decide that for yourself.

Once you have the data in Aatrix you can choose the full service option that includes printing, mailing, and e-filing; or print 1099s on plain paper (you should use perforated paper for the payee copy) and just have Aatrix e-file the federal and/or state copies for you. To e-file, you’ll have to create a login and provide a credit card for the charges.

While getting your data into Aatrix is much harder than it should be, the good part about using Aatrix for your efiling is that you don’t have to know anything about where or how to upload your file. They take care of all of that for you.

The 3rd Party Option

There is a product available from iBrain Inc that can read your Sage 50 data and create a file in the proper IRS format. Prices range from $47 for up to 30 1099s to $445 for unlimited 1099s (support is purchased separately). When I reached out to other Sage 50 Certified Consultants looking for a way to e-file 1099s, the people from iBrain sent me a demo copy of their software. While I haven’t actually e-filed 1099s with it yet, I have installed it and created a test file. And I can say that (unlike Sage & Aatrix’s instructions) their manuals do give you step by step instructions that actually work. If you follow their instructions the software installs and works as described. In a relatively short time I was able to install their program, correctly import data from my test company, and create a file suitable for submitting to the IRS or Oklahoma.

Overall, I found getting correct data into iBrain’s e-file program to be a straightforward and reliable process. The only downside is that it only creates the file, which you then submit on your own. However their documentation even gives some instructions to guide you through the process of submitting the file to the IRS.

If you want to e-file 1099s with the IRS you need to go to https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/requirements-for-filing-with-fire ahead of time to be prepared for the requirements.

A note to Oklahoma users. According to Oklahoma’s E-Filing FAQ page, they participate in the combined federal/state program, meaning that they will get your 1099 filing information from the IRS if you e-file with the IRS. But if you file your federal copy on paper you’ll need to upload your file to the state using the OKTAP website.

Summary

While it’s nice to not have to purchase additional software or manually upload files, having to manually enter or correct all of your 1099 data can be a high price to pay for that convenience (in addition to the processing fees). If you have to issue very many 1099s the time and effort saved by having your data imported into iBrain’s add-on program will easily offset the extra work of installing another program and submitting the file yourself.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Sage 50 Crashing After Windows 10 Update

After installing the latest Windows 10 update (the Fall Creators Update) Sage 50 is crashing when launching certain tasks. The solution, until Sage releases a patch, is to run Sage 50 in compatibility mode for Windows 8. Just follow these steps:

Right-click the Sage 50 Accounting icon on your desktop and select properties.
Click the Compatibility tab.
Check the box located in the Compatibility mode section and select Windows 8 from the drop down menu.
Click OK to save your change and close the Properties window.

Launch Sage 50 from the desktop icon and it should work like normal again.

You may have problems emailing invoices, reports, etc. from Sage 50 using Outlook when you have set Sage 50 to run as administrator. If that happens you’ll also need to set Outlook to run as administrator.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Sage 50 2018.1 New Features

2018.1 Update for Sage 50: In November Sage released an update to Sage 50 2018. All users with a current subscription or Business Care Plan should be automatically notified when it is ready to be installed. If you don’t want to wait for it you can go to the Services menu and choose Check For Updates. All new features in this update only apply to Sage 50c users, in other words, those with a subscription license, not a traditional license. For more on the difference see Sage 50c vs Sage 50 – The Straight Answers

New feature in 2018.1 are:

Sage Bank Feeds – allows you to easily and securely establish an online connection with your bank to download activity from your bank into the Account Reconciliation window in Sage 50. This provides an automated alternative to manually downloading an .OFX or .QFX file from your bank and importing it into the account reconciliation window. Like the manual import process, bank feeds simplify the process of matching up the transactions in Sage 50 with the transactions from your bank and and ensuring that all transactions on your bank statement are accounted for in Sage 50.
Sage Dashboard and Office 365 enhancements – Sage Dashboard is a new app that makes graphs and charts for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Revenues/Expenses available in Office 365 so you can view the dashboard anywhere you have internet access (requires both Sage50C and Microsoft Office 365).
Cloud & Mobile Navigation Dashboard – Sage 50 now includes a new Cloud & Mobility navigation that provides access MS-Office 365, Sage Drive, and Sage One integration.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

1099 Vendor Report – It’s not just for January

There’s just over two months until the end of the year. If you’ll have to issue 1099s, now is a good time to make sure you have everything in order. Sage 50’s 1099 vendor report is a good tool to help you with that task. Go to the Reports & Forms menu and choose Accounts Payable. 1099 Vendor Report will be at or near the top of the list of reports.

The standard report will list all current year payments to 1099 vendors, unless those payments went to GL accounts that have been excluded from 1099s. It will also show what kind of 1099 the vendor will receive and what their total is for the year. I would recommend that you add Address and Tax ID Number columns to the report. Just click on the Columns button and check the Show box next to those items. Adding the phone number will make it easier If you need to confirm information on the report. To make the report easier to read you can use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change the order of the columns and the Column Break check boxes to control which items are grouped together in a column.

If anyone is missing, or the amounts don’t look right, Make sure their 1099 Type is set correctly in Maintain > Vendors. And review the 1099 Settings tab in Maintain > Default Information > Vendors.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Recording a Refund From a Vendor or Miscellaneous Cash Receipt in Sage 50.

It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes you get money back from a vendor. How do you record the refund in Sage 50/Peachtree? It’s not hard but you’re probably so used to ignoring the option that you don’t even realize it’s there. And you don’t have to resort to using a general journal entry or setting the vendor up as a customer. Let’s look at a couple of scenarios.

In most cases this will be a two step process. In step 1. open the Receive Money window (Tasks menu > Receive Money). There’s a drop down list to the left of where you normally enter a customer ID. That is what most people overlook. Open that list and change it to Vendor ID. Now you can select a vendor ID instead of a customer ID. Complete everything else in the upper half of the screen just as you would for a payment from a customer. In the bottom half of the screen, the Apply to Vendor Account tab will already be selected. You can enter a description if needed. The GL Account will automatically be set to the accounts payable account; Do NOT change it. If you set the GL account to anything other than Accounts Payable your aged payables report will no longer match the accounts payable balance on your general ledger. Enter the amount and click Save.

If you got a refund from a vendor, normally it would because you had an outstanding credit with them. So step 2 is to apply the refund to the credit. You’ll do this in the Payments window (Tasks menu > Payments). Enter the vendor ID, a dummy check number (you could use the refund check number if it isn’t similar your own check numbers) and the date. On the Apply To Invoices tab, the receipt you just entered will show up as if it was an invoice. Check the Pay box on its line and check the Pay box for the related credit memo. If there is no credit memo, you can either stop and enter one (Tasks menu > Vendor Credit Memos) or select the Apply To Expenses tab and enter a negative amount to offset the amount of the refund. The GL Account should be the relevant expense account. If merchandise was returned use the Item ID with a negative quantity so that inventory will be corrected. When you’re done, the total payment amount (in the top half of the window) should be $0.

There’s another method that only requires one step.but it has a drawback that I’ll explain at the end.

Once again you’ll start in the Receive Money window (Tasks menu > Receive Money). Skip over the Customer ID/Vendor ID entirely and simply type the name of the vendor/payer into the Name field. Complete the rest of the top half of the screen like you normally would. On the Apply To Revenues tab, enter a description, GL account, and amount. Click Save and you’re done.

The second method is fast and simple but only appropriate for what I would describe as a miscellaneous receipt, and here’s why. Since you don’t enter a vendor ID, this transaction won’t be linked to a vendor or show up on any vendor reports. That makes it harder to find later. It also means you can’t apply it against an open credit memo. Save this method for oddball items that you might be tempted to record as a general journal entry. At least this way they’ll show up on the cash receipts journal and can be grouped into the rest of the deposit.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Patch for Sage 50 2018 to Fix Slow Drop Down Lists

Shortly after Sage 50 2018 was released some users reported that drop down list, such as customers or items, were very slow to open. The problem is limited to very large lists. Sage has responded quickly with update 2018.0.1. Sage is recommending that only user who are experiencing the problem install the update, so I would not expect it to show up as an automatic update. But anyone who is experiencing this problem in version 2018 can download the patch here.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Adding “Cleared Date” to the Check Register in Sage 50

One of the new features in Sage 50 2018 is the ability to add a column for “cleared date” to the check register and cash disbursement journal reports. Adding the column is simple, just click the Columns button when viewing either report, scroll down to the end of the list of available column and check the Show box next to Cleared Date. You can use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change the column order if you don’t want Cleared Date to be the last column on your report. Click OK to see your new report. If you want the new column to always appear on your check register (or cash disbursement journal) click the Save button and give the report a new name. You new report will show up in the Accounts Payable report list with a blue wrench on the icon, indicating it is a custom report. The original report will still be on the list too.

If you’re interested in having this information on your reports, then it’s important to understand where the date comes from. The date that Sage 50 reports as the cleared date will be the statement ending date from the account reconciliation at the time the transaction was marked cleared. That means that if you reconcile monthly, all of the payments will have the same cleared date (the statement ending date). If you reconcile more frequently, such as daily or weekly, AND you set the Statement Ending Date field in the account reconciliation to the date you are reconciling as of, then that date will be stored as the cleared date for the payments marked as cleared during that session. If one of those transactions gets un-cleared and re-cleared on a later daily/weekly reconciliation, the cleared date will be updated to the new statement ending date.

As a final experiment, I tried reconciling by importing a QFX file downloaded from my bank, hoping that Sage 50 would use the cleared dates from that file, but it didn’t. The cleared date still got set to the statement ending date.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Sage 50 2018 New Features

Version 2018 of Sage 50 U.S. Edition (formerly Peachtree Accounting) released on July 12th. As usual, notification to users of the update will be staggered to spread out the load on Sage’s servers. There are several updates, some big and some small, including the first significant update to the user interface in about 10 years. So here’s my take on what’s new in Sage 50 2018.

This first group of new features apply to everyone, whether you have a Sage 50c subscription or have stayed on a traditional plan (click here for an explanation of the differences)

User Interface Modernization – This will definitely be the most noticeable change in version 2018. Software trends change and software publishers have to keep up or risk being labeled as out of date (a very bad thing in the tech world). The main Sage 50 window has been given a very modern look with a mostly monochrome color scheme, plenty of white space, and flat appearance for all icons and menus. It is designed to work better with today’s high resolution monitors and adapt better to different window sizes. For example, if the window is too small to display all the buttons on the toolbar, an arrow will appear allowing access to the remaining buttons.

Other changes that affect the appearance include updated Icons, pie charts have been replaced by doughnut charts, the customize link in the shortcuts area has been replaced by a gear icon, and your Sage 50 version (Pro, Premium, or Quantum) is shown in the bottom right corner. Your first impression will be that the main window with the Business Status/My Dashboard, the navigation centers, and the management centers, has changed a lot. But the good news is you won’t have to relearn how to use the program. The changes are just to the look and feel. The layout and functionality of the menus and navigation centers are unchanged. I’ve always thought that Sage 50’s interface was well organized and made the program easy to navigate. So I was glad to discover that the familiar structure is still in place.

The strange part is that, so far, only the main window has been updated; when you open a task or maintenance window that window will look like it did in version 2017. This makes the program feel like it has a split personality. I assume other screens will be updated later, but Sage hasn’t released any information about their plans.

Inactivate Inventory Items Based on Last Activity Date – You can now select inventory items by last activity date and mark the whole group as inactive, just like you can do for customers and vendors. This saves having to mark obsolete items as inactive one at a time.
Cleared Column on Check Register – You can now add a column to show Cleared Date on the Check Register and Cash Disbursements Journal reports. Just click the Column button in the report window and check Cleared Date to show the date the transaction was cleared in account reconciliation.
Improved Options for Click To Pay – The 2017.2 update gave users of Sage Payment Solutions to option to include a payment link in emailed invoices so customers can pay online by credit/debit card or e-check (ACH). But they made the very poor decision of universally turning on the option to display the “Pay Now” link in all emailed invoices. You had to manually turn it off for each customer. Fortunately version 2018 gives you the choice to turn that option off for all customers.

The remaining new features apply only to Sage 50c subscribers.

Sage Capture – This new app allows you to snap a picture of a receipt and enter the details for the transaction on your iPhone/iPad (sorry, no Android version yet). Later the transactions can be imported into Sage 50. The photo will added to the transaction as an attachment and will be stored in your OneDrive account. This feature requires MS-Office 365 Business Premium.
Sage Intelligence Reporting Cloud – This takes advantage of the new Office 365 integration by making Sage Intelligence Reporting financial reports available from your Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium dashboard. Several balance sheet and income statement formats are included and can be customized, or reports can be built from scratch. These reports can be generated in a web page (HTML) or exported to the online or desktop versions of Excel.
Office 365 User Roles & Permissions – Five new security groups have been added in Office 365 to give you more detailed control of how Office 365 users can access the Sage 50 integrations, such as Sage Contact, Sage Capture, and Sage Intelligence.
AP Automation – Sage 50 will be able to integrate with Beanworks, a service that provides accounts payable automation. It can automate the process of entering/coding invoices, approving invoices, and making electronic payments.

I do have one warning about the 2018 upgrade. There have been reports of drop down lists (customer ID, item ID, etc.) being very slow on large data sets. If your customer, vendor, inventory, or other maintenance items are limited to a few hundred items each, you probably won’t notice a difference. But in an extreme example (I’ve not had the opportunity to confirm this), one user with 55,000 customers reported the customer ID drop-down taking 15 minutes to open. So if you have a very large data set, you should wait until this problem is resolved before upgrading.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Sending Sage 50 Invoices to More Than One Email Address

Do you have customers that want you to email invoices to more than one email address but you assumed it can’t be done because there’s no opportunity to select a second contact? Well, there’s a simple work-around, other than manually adding another recipient in Outlook.

In Maintain Customers/Prospects, the E-mail field on the General tab is the only customer email address that Sage will let you send invoices, sales orders, or other forms to. But that field is 64 characters long. In most cases that’s enough room for more than one email address. Simply enter both address with a “;” between them, like this:

Anything you enter into that field will be passed to your email program and be placed in the “To” field of the email. Since most email programs let you add multiple recipients by separating their addresses with a semi-colon, your email will be sent to both addresses.

Sage 50 / Peachtree Tips

Sage 50 – A workaround for Item IDs that are too long to see in transaction entry screens.

Many people ask if there’s a way to make the Item ID column wider in transaction entry screens, such as Sales Invoicing and Purchases/Receive Inventory (AKA Enter Bills). Even though there isn’t, there is a work-around that can work for many people.

The basic idea is to add the Item ID to the Item Description and turn on the “2 line display” option. Here are the steps in detail.

The first step would be to go into Maintain Inventory Items, copy the Item ID, and paste it into the beginning of the Item Description field. This creates two complications. (1) The Description field may not be long enough to hold both the ID and the description. (2) You probably don’t want both the ID and description to show in the description on invoices or purchases orders. Both of those problems can be resolved by making sure a description is included in the Description For Sales and Description For Purchases fields, which you’ll find at the top of the General tab in Maintain Inventory Items. The Description for Sales and Description for Purchases will both override the shorter main description. That means you’ll be free to use the item ID plus an abbreviated description in the Description field.

To speed up that process, you could export the item list (File menu > Select Import/Export), then edit the file in Excel and import it back into Sage 50. ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP BEFORE IMPORTING ANYTHING INTO SAGE 50. If something goes wrong, there’s no way to undo a backup. You have to restore a backup made before the import, or manually edit all of the affected data.

The second step is to go to the Options menu > Global > General tab, and set Line Item Entry Display to “2 Line”.

Now in the transaction entry screens, the Item column will still be too narrow, but the Item Description (which now also holds the ID) will be visible in a second line below the original line.