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December 2012

Inside This Issue Features Update from Jennifer Warawa Sales tax changes for 2013 Product Update now available Year-end activities and more Product Year-end assistance Training Opportunities Presentation skills workshop—live in Irvine, CA Finding the right training courses made easy! Sage 50 Accounting—Canadian Edition training videos Newsworthy Sage is giving away $30,000 in prizes to help new start-up businesses! Sage attends educational conference The 36 rules of social media Accounting Today.com—preparing your firm and clients for an emergency —by Jennifer Warawa Take a Break Social media for accountants—My Twitter profile is created; now what? The best careers for your zodiac sign Want to be a guest columnist in the Partner Pulse?

Update from Jennifer Warawa I can hardly believe that I write this on the precipice of yet another year, looking ahead to 2013! I say it every year, but the time just seems to speed up with the days (and years!) going faster and faster. As you prepare your personal and business resolutions for another year, make sure to set aside some honest, reflective time to evaluate the year that just happened before defining your next round of goals. Be specific about what worked both financially and functionally for your business—and what went sideways for one reason or another. Identifying how to spend your resources and how to course correct mislaid goals plays a critical piece in future planning. And while we are on the topic of resolutions, if you don’t currently have a Disaster Recovery Plan in place for your business, add it to your list of resolutions! In the wake of Hurricane Sandy my thoughts go out to all the people affected. As the cities rebuild and the communities refocus, I can’t help but wonder how many small businesses were critically impacted and how much business information and data was swept away in the floods. When you think of the services you provide to your clients and the guidance you give, consider making some suggestions on emergency readiness. I had the pleasure of providing an article on this subject to Accounting Today magazine, and I encourage you to take a look for more details on how to support your clients (and yourself!) in this regard. I think you’ll discover as you read through this newsletter that we tried to provide you with tips for surviving year end and tax season. As members of the Sage Accountants Network (SAN), I can assure you that your technical support calls are prioritized and queued for fast answers, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a wait. If you’re looking for tips to get quick answers without the elevator hold music, consider these tips: 1. If you really need to call, consider calling between 6–8 a.m. PT or between 5–8 p.m. PT. 2. Try online chat. You can continue multitasking, your phone line is kept open, but you’re still able to “chat” like you would a phone agent. Yes, it really is a real person on the other end of the chat window! 3. Visit the Year-End Centre. Chances are, if it’s a question about T4s, ROEs, advancing the year, or installing the software, you’re not the only person to have the question. Chances are good, you’ll find tips and instructions that help you with common year end issues in the Year-End Centre. I wish you all a warm, cozy holiday season and a prosperous, productive new year. I look forward to a new year full of innovation, excitement, and a continued partnership with all of our Sage Accountants Network members who do so much to support clients using Sage 50 Accounting.

In 2013, three provinces, British Columbia (B.C.), Quebec, and Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) will adjust their provincial sales taxes. For two provinces, Quebec and P.E.I., the changes in provincial sales taxes improve alignment with the federal government’s GST/HST sales tax system. In Quebec, the changes make QST more uniform with GST. In P.E.I., the combination of GST and Provincial Sales Tax (PST) will be replaced by a single harmonized, valueadded sales tax—HST, administered by the federal government. But for B.C., the change is to replace HST and to revert back to a combination of GST and PST where the PST is administered by the provincial government. As of January 1, Quebec businesses have to update their QST rate from 9.5% to 9.975%. In addition, Quebec businesses have to update the calculation of QST so that QST is calculated just on the selling price and is no longer calculated on the price plus GST. The Sage 50 Accounting 2013—Canadian Edition product update includes a QST wizard to help quickly update the QST tax information. The simplest and recommended way to update the QST is to wait until January, after all the 2012 transactions have finished being recorded, and then use the QST wizard to update the current QST tax and tax codes. However, if the business requires that transactions be recorded with either the old or the new tax rates, then the QST wizard can be used immediately to create a new QST tax and new updated tax codes. Businesses that create a new QST tax and new tax codes will also need to update new QST tax IDs and the default tax codes for customers and vendors. As of April 1, P.E.I. businesses (or businesses that sell in P.E.I.) have to charge GST/HST at 14%. Businesses registered for GST are automatically registered for HST. The rules for charging, collecting, and remitting HST are the same as those for GST. The Sage 50 Accounting 2013 product update includes an updated HST wizard to help quickly create the HST codes required for P.E.I. Businesses will also need to update the default tax codes for customer and vendors. Also as of April 1, B.C. businesses will have to charge GST at 5% and PST at 7%. Businesses previously registered to collect PST (or hotel room tax) will need to reregister prior to April to collect PST and get a new PST registration number. Exemptions under the previous PST system will return, and so will the requirement to document the PST registration number of the customer on the sales invoice to support tax exempt sales. Businesses will have to update their records to get the new PST registration number of their exempt customers. The product update includes a B.C. PST wizard to help businesses created since July 2010 quickly create the PST tax and the new tax codes required for B.C. (Before running the B.C. PST wizard, add an account for PST Payable if there isn’t one already.) Businesses will also need to update the default tax codes for customer and vendors.

Product Update now available

Sincerely,

Jennifer Warawa Vice President, Partner Programs & Channel Sales Sage North America Jennifer.Warawa@Sage.com Twitter: @jenniferwarawa

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Sales tax changes for 2013

A Product Update will be available in December for Sage 50 Accounting 2013 and Sage Simply Accounting 2012. The Product Update includes the federal and provincial payroll tax changes that take effect January 1, 2013. Only those customers who are running Sage 50 Accounting 2013 or Sage Simply Accounting 2012 and who are valid Sage Business Care Payroll, Gold, or Platinum subscribers as of December 17, 2012, will successfully receive the payroll tax updates. Customers running Sage 50 Accounting 2013 will also receive a number of other enhancements, including tax wizards to help update federal and provincial tax changes for B.C., Quebec, and P.E.I. For more information on the Product Update, visit our website.

SAN Partner Pulse December 2012

Year-end activities and more

Year-end activities and more (continued)

Year-end is fast approaching. This time of year brings all sorts of challenges to company files in regards to payroll and fiscal closures.

Advance fiscal/calendar year/year-end procedure:

Here is our calendar/payroll year-end checklist: 1. Check Data Integrity—on the maintenance menu, choose Check Data Integrity. 2. Back up your company files—on the file menu, choose backup and then fill in the screen. 3. Print payroll reports: • Payroll transaction detail • Employee summary for all employees • Employee detail for all employees • T-4 slips • Relevé 1 slips and summary Here are a few things that can help you with the transitions: Payroll: Run the year-end review (PIER) report. This report will identify CPP/QPP and EI discrepancies so that you can review and revise your payroll records before you produce employee T4 slips. Basically, the PIER report recalculates the EI and CPP based on the Insurable Earnings and Pensionable Earnings and compares it to the actual EI and CPP taken off. This report is based on the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) Pensionable and Insurable Earnings Review (PIER). The CRA checks the T4 slips you file to make sure that the CPP/QPP and EI amounts you reported are correct. Employee CPP/QPP and EI amounts are recalculated based on the pensionable and insurable earnings you reported. Any discrepancies between reported and calculated amounts for an employee are noted on a PIER listing. Here is our fiscal year-end checklist:

Before rolling into the new year, check your data integrity—make sure your accounts balance so you can make adjustments as needed before you change. Secondly, for assistance with which reports to run, you can use the business assistant checklist for calendar and fiscal year-end procedures. These can be found under the business assistant menu—checklists. Check off what you’ve done and see a list of what’s remaining. There are a few things to remember for this process: 1. You don’t have to wait until the new year to do the installation. The version comes with the 2012 tax tables and will be updated in late December for 2013 tables, which will only activate after you change your calendar year. 2. During the installation, disable your antivirus and firewall. This will remove the potential for them to block the program from installing correctly and prevent any possible issues. This should be done even if you are only installing the connection manager. 3. Before converting your file to the latest version, run an advanced database check on your file in the old version (maintenance menu—advanced database check) and do a backup. The advanced check will clear up any potential file corruption and assure that the conversion completes without concern, and it is always best to have a backup of your file prior to making any significant changes. Year-end assistance Sage has lots of options for you to get the information you need when you need it.

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1. Check data integrity—on the maintenance menu, choose Check Data Integrity. 2. Back up your company files—on the file menu, choose backup, and then fill in the screen. 3. Reconcile accounts—do this at month-end or when you receive your bank or credit card statement. 4. Print year-end reports—print reports as of the last day of the year. (print the ones that apply to your company business needs). 5. Print budget reports—print the comparative income statement showing actual and budgeted amounts. 6. Prepare this year's budget—update this year's budget using last year's comparative income statement. 7. Make year-end adjustments • Ensure that the “do not allow transactions dated before” option is set. • Process your adjustments with a date in the previous fiscal year. • Uncheck the “do not allow transactions dated before” option after you finish making adjustments.

Live Chat Available: 6 a.m.– 5 p.m. PT weekdays

Training opportunities (continued)

Sage E-marketing for you

Sage 50 Accounting—Canadian Edition training videos Get the most out of your Sage 50 Accounting software! The Sage 50 Accounting How-to videos offer easy access for clarification and simplicity of certain tasks and procedures. Watch Video Start Now

Learn how email marketing can help grow your business. We’ve included custom-designed templates for the Sage Accountants Network (SAN) that will help you stay in touch with your clients. Sage E-marketing is made available to members of the Sage Accountants Network at no additional cost. You’ll be able to:

Year-end e-learning Make sure you are fully prepared for the busy season by registering for the Year-End Training Series today! Sage U has all the courses you need to ensure a stress-free year-end season and a great start to the new year. Courses included in this series are: • Year-end in Sage 50 Accounting. • Payroll Year-end and Government Reporting in Sage 50 Accounting.

• Nurture potential clients with less effort.

• Identify your most interested respondents. • Understand the needs of your clients. • Put your Sage client list together quickly.

Sage Accountants Network connect series complimentary webcasts

• Customize and create your own professional email messages. Register Now for your complimentary account today!

Sage 50 Accounting—closing and preparing for year-end In this live webcast, you will learn how to: • Prepare and proceed with the year-end activities. • Use some tips and tricks for starting a new year (like the quick and easy way to update all employee claim amounts in ten clicks).

Training opportunities Presentation skills workshop— live in Irvine, CA Are you responsible for training colleagues or customers? Do you conduct presentations to peers or management? Attend this two-day in-person workshop to enhance your presentation skills. You will learn how to deliver effectively in various environments and what taboos to avoid that most presenters are unaware they do. The course is very interactive, enabling you to build confidence whenever and wherever you are presenting. This course is a prerequisite for Sage Partners enrolling in the Certified Trainer Program.

Tuesday February 5, 2013, and Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 8:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m. PT (U.S. and Canada) Finding the right training courses made easy! The new Partner Training landing page provides you with the ease of finding and registering for various types of training. Simply click the link provided to take you directly into Sage University where you can register for the course. • S tart on the training path that’s right for you at Sage University. Register for Realtime Training—classroom and seminar-style training. • B oost yourself to a new level by becoming part of a unique group with Sage 50 Accounting Gold Certified Consultants. • H elp your business grow with Sage 50 Accounting Platinum Certified Consultants.

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• Find Internet links to extra information on Revenue Canada and other resources. This webcast will be an open forum to answer any and all of your questions. Date

Time

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

10 a.m. PT

Thursday, December 20, 2012

1 p.m. PT

Friday, December 21, 2012

9 a.m. PT

Sage Accountants Network (SAN) webcast—upgrade from Premier Advsion to Certified Consultant Date

Time

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

10 a.m. PT

SAN Partner Pulse December 2012

Sage 50 Business Intelligence complimentary webcasts

Sage attends educational conference

Sage 50 Business Intelligence complimentary webcasts These webcasts will provide information you can use now! With Business Intelligence you have customized reports, on demand, without having to manually update any spreadsheets. In these sessions the presenter will be showcasing the features and benefits of this powerful reporting tool. Date

Description

Start Time

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Sage Intelligence Product Showcase: Creating Customized Reports from Standard Containers.

11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET Register Now

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Sage Intelligence Showcase: Writing Real-World Customized Reports. Attend this Sage Intelligence session to learn how to write fully customized business intelligence reports from start to finish.

11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET Register Now

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Sage Intelligence Showcase: Five Powerful Tips and Tricks for Highly Effective Reporting—Sage Intelligence can be as powerful as you want it to be!

11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET Register Now

Sage is giving away $30,000 in prizes to help new start-up businesses! There are a lot of challenges that face new businesses, from accounting and HR to marketing and sales. For over 25 years, Sage has been helping start-up owners meet those challenges. Right now, Sage is giving away over $30,000 in prizes to help start-up businesses get the help they need. From now through April, Sage is giving away a $1,250 business startup package each week. Winners will receive: • Five consultation sessions with experts from Small Business BC on legal matters, branding, social media, accounting, and human resources. • Their own business website, hosted for a year, from CityMax.com. • Sage 50 Pro Accounting 2013—Canadian Edition (formerly Sage Simply Accounting Pro) set up on their computer by a member of the Sage Accountants Network. If you know someone who is thinking of setting up a new small business or has just started a new small business, they can enter for a chance to win a business startup package.

The Sage Education team attended the Ontario Business Educators' Association (OBEA) fall conference in Kitchener, Waterloo, in November. Educators from all across Ontario attended this conference to meet up with colleagues and learn in the various hands-on sessions. Sage participated in a small trade show along with Sage 50 training sessions that provided attendees practical advice on what’s new in 2013 and creative ways to use Sage 50 in the classroom. Accounting technology tour a huge success We were on the road with the technology tour connecting with members of the Sage Accountants Network (SAN) during October and November, coast to coast ending in Vancouver. It was great to see everyone and to be able to discuss different business strategies like increasing productivity and ultimately profits. This was the twentieth year of the technology tour, and we were honored to be involved as a supporter of this cross-Canada 13-stop tour. There were almost 1,400 registered attendees, and the SAN membership turnout was as high as 70% at each of the 13-stop sessions. Well done! For those of you who attended, thank you for your feedback, passion, and support of Sage products and services. We look forward to future opportunities to interact and engage the SAN membership at next year’s technology tour. The 36 rules of social media

Preparing your firm and clients for an emergency now can lead to saved time and money later Your firm probably has plans in place for nearly any situation, but have you considered what should be done to prepare for, or in case of, an emergency? What about your clients? How can you help them be prepared and ultimately show your value as a business partner? There are many types of emergencies to prepare for: natural disasters and more common ones like theft, fire, and data loss. Making sure you are prepared for the worst before it happens can save time, money, and frustration in the long run. A July 2012 Sage study found that 61% of surveyed small businesses have not established a formal emergency or disaster preparedness plan. Those businesses cited not having any past issues to influence the decision to develop a plan (33%), not thinking about it (30%), or not thinking it is important for their business (27%) as their reasons. Let’s take it a step further. While it is extremely important for your firm to be prepared, there is also an opportunity for your accounting firm to step in and help your clients develop a plan for emergencies. This type of assistance can really show the value of your firm as a business partner, always looking for ways to help your clients succeed. Below are some tips to help prepare for, deal with, and overcome an emergency situation. 1. Draft and share a basic emergency plan—It is not always possible to plan ahead for a crisis, but outlining the potential main issues and the actions to take to prevent and/or solve them will give you a great advantage if an emergency does take place. Visit government agency or business association sites, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for resources and strategies to deal with both natural and manmade disasters. Then share your plan with others at your firm and your clients. Make sure to perform emergency drills and exercises with all employees at your firm and encourage your clients to do so as well. 2. Develop a disaster recovery plan—A good disaster recovery plan will include preparations for the resumption of applications, data, hardware, communications (such as networking), and other IT infrastructure. A solid backup strategy is important whether it be an on-site system, an off-site server, or the cloud. Backing up your firm’s information on a very regular basis—about twice each week—could be the difference between emergency recovery and the end of your firm. It is important for your clients to back up their data, and as a business partner you can benefit from recommending a strategy. 3. Understand digital doesn’t mean forever—Banks keep digital statements for five years, and then they’re gone. To avoid surprises, use software that creates and stores your financial statements or download your monthly bank statements—and back them up. You never know when you might need them. Inform your clients of this as well; many people don’t know their statements will disappear! 4. Have an attorney you can contact in case of emergency—Partner with a local attorney who can work with your clients through difficult situations. This can be a business opportunity for you and for the attorney and will give your clients peace of mind.

Preparing your firm and clients for an emergency now can lead to saved time and money later (continued) 6. Designate an emergency point person—It is essential that more than one person knows critical information, such as passwords or the location of an important document. Choose someone at your firm and have your clients select a trusted person who can implement the emergency plan, handle financial or legal matters, or recover information in the event you are unable to do it. 7. Consult with a professional—If you are unsure how to identify the potential issues your firm needs to be prepared for or how to plan for recovery, find a disaster expert who can not only point out possible crises you may not have considered, but also inform you of the best solutions for your type of organization. You can then share this information with your clients. Let Hurricane Sandy be a lesson learned in the importance of being prepared. Now is the time to get your firm ready and then lend a hand to your clients. Even though it may seem like your firm, or your clients, are in no immediate risk of a disaster, it is crucial to prepare for a worst-case scenario. Jennifer Warawa is vice president of partner programs and channel sales at Sage. This article was published in Accounting Today.com—Published November 19, 2012. Quote of the month “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” —Walt Disney

Being social Sage social media for accountants—a step-by-step guide My Twitter profile is created; now what? Twitter works like the news. It moves quickly, and information gets passed rapidly. All tweets need to be a maximum of 140 characters, so oftentimes links are provided to outside sources for additional information, like web pages or other social media sites. By creating your followers list, you are creating a “newsfeed” of tweets to view. Depending on whom you follow and how often they tweet, your newsfeed will update at a variable rate. If you like what someone posts, pay them a compliment and retweet their post. Not only does this expand their reach, it allows you to share something you enjoyed with your followers. To retweet, click the square arrow icon that says Retweet. An example of a Twitter page:

5. Get insurance and invest in prevention—While insurance may be costly and seem unnecessary for a rare, potential event, your firm will be glad it is covered if the situation does take place. Also, investing in a security system and waterproof safe may save you thousands if and when a crisis hits.

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Learn more about how Social Media can help grow your business at Sage Social Media Guide for Accountants.

SAN Partner Pulse December 2012

Being social (continued) Sage Accountants Network—Connect Are you interested in networking and connecting with other Sage Accountant Network members in your area? One of the most beneficial relationships you can have is connecting with peers through local regularly scheduled meetings. We are committed to supporting these connections and want to involve as many community members as possible. If you are interested in organizing or attending a local meeting in your community, contact Mark.Hubbard@Sage.com for details.

Key contacts Prioritized Technical Support: Call: 1-866-665-2559 Option 2, Option 1 (English), Option 2 (Technical Support). All Sage Accountants Network members are entitled to free, unlimited priority technical support with a second-level support representative. Account Management: Call: 1-866-665-2559 Option 2, Option 1 (English), Option 4 (Account Management). Key Web Resources: www.Sage50Accounting.ca

Take a Break The best careers for your zodiac sign (This article is for entertainment purposes only) Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) Key traits: Philosophical, optimistic, straightforward. You enjoy your freedoms of movement and self-expression and do best working in a field that allows you both. Best careers: Entrepreneur, airline pilot, sports industry, police officer, flight attendant. Careers to avoid: Any full-time desk job. Capricorn (December 22–January 19)

http://Partners.SageNorthAmerica.com www.SageU.com

Calendar of events Looking for training? Regional partner meetings? Conferences? Webcasts? Check out the Sage Accountants Network Calendar of Events If you are hosting a Regional Partner Meeting, we can add your event to the SAN Calendar of Events. Just email your request to Editor.PartnerPulse@Sage.com

Key traits: Ambitious, resourceful, patient, and authoritarian. Driven and competitive, any project you take on, you’ll do whatever it takes to be the best. Best careers: Finance, business development/management, doctor, trainer. Careers to avoid: A financially risky job or a career where there is no room for advancement.

Want to be a guest columnist in the Partner Pulse? You can submit your 500-word article or send us your article idea or feedback: Editor.PartnerPulse@Sage.com Submissions may be published at the discretion of Sage. Any ideas or feedback submitted may be used by Sage at its discretion.

©2012 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, the Sage logos, and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc., or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. SPK 12-02686 12/12