Sage Line 50 tutorial is designed for book-keeping software, in this blog we will teach you how to use this software. In sage line 50 blog you will learn about how to install and operate Sage Line 50 and how to install on network.

Announcing Sage One

Sage One Sage One


We don’t normally allow product announcements on our blog, but we’ve just introduced an entirely new service that we think is worth a shameless plug!


Today we’re launching Sage One, our new SAAS offering for small business owners and their accountants.


Customers at its heart


Sage One has been developed with customers at its heart. We traveled the length and breadth of the country speaking to small business owners and accountants about what they would want in online accounting services. That information and input has been vital to our release of Sage One. It’s given us real insight into our customers, who they are and what their business needs are.


Three new services


Sage One offers three different services, tailored to particular needs:


Sage One Cashbook – Allows sole traders and cash-based businesses to manage customers and suppliers, enter transactions, record banking, and share data with their accountant.


Sage One Accounts – Provides the ability to create invoices, calculate and submit VAT returns online and view a snapshot of business performance. Ideal for small business owners who want greater control over their accounts.


Sage One Accountant Edition – Gives accountants anywhere, anytime access to client data and the ability to work collaboratively with clients in real time. Sage One Accountant Edition gives accountants the tools they need to save time, while providing their clients with a great experience.


Free 24/7 telephone support


Sage One requires no formal training and is easy to use, because it’s more than just software we include free 24/7 telephone support, email support and an online help centre.  Don’t take our word for it;  here’s what one of our customers think…


 


Yep, it works on a Mac


It’s also our first service for small businesses to work on a Mac and makes it easy for accountants and their clients to share data and collaborate whenever they need to.


Free 30 day trial


If you’re interested in using Sage One then just visit www.sageone.com and sign up for a free 30 day trial and let us know what you think.

Top 10 tips for HR to build effective relationships with line managers

The first topic we’ve been exploring at HR Vision is ‘Has HR become remote from the line?’ It’s been interesting watching Tanith Dodge, HR director of Marks and Spencer and Jo Hennessy, director of research, Roffey Park, discuss the issues and their experiences. No matter what your experience we hope you’ll find something that gets you thinking. And if it does, why not have your say and tell others what you think?



We all know that the HR function has transformed over the past decade. It is no longer administrative but specialist and strategic. However this does mean that HR are relying on line managers to ensure employees are motivated, productive, competent and fully engaged with corporate goals. Therefore it is vital that these two functions understand each other and work together but we know this can be challenging!


So how can HR build effective relationships with line managers to ensure they are working in partnership?


Here are my top 10 tips


1.       Coaching and development


Line managers need both skills and development to execute HR responsibilities. Make sure the necessary coaching and development is in place. This will give them confidence and mean they will be happier with the extra responsibilities.


2.       Be honest


If you are introducing a new strategy or policy and it will involve a lot of line managers’ time and resources, be honest with them and ask them how they feel about it. Involving them like this will automatically make them more engaged and cooperative.


3.       Timing of communications


When you are trying to communicate with any audience, timing is vital. Don’t try to communicate with your line managers during the busiest time for the business because it is unlikely you will be heard. Pick your moments to communicate carefully.


4.       Listen and respect


It is likely that they will have different views and attitudes to certain things but this does not mean that they are less important. In order to build an effective relationship you need to listen and respect their views and take on board what they say.


5.       Equip them with the right tools


If you are relying on line managers to manage many of the day-to-day duties of people management ensure that you give them the tools and equipment to make this as easy as possible. Self-service technology can significantly reduce the administration and save line managers valuable time.


6.       Support


Make sure the HR department is there to support line managers when needed and make sure line managers know HR is there to support them!


7.       Personal performance objectives


Make people management responsibilities part of personal performance objectives as this demonstrates corporate sponsorship of HR activities as being crucial to the business.


8.       Make HR’s role and contribution clear


Explain the role of HR as a strategic partner and showcase the benefits that it can bring to the business.  Provide examples of how HR can add value to the business on a strategic level now that it has moved away from tactical activities.


9.       Recognise them as strategic partners of HR


Line managers should be recognised as strategic partners of HR and given recognition and reward for their responsibilities


10.   Give praise


If line managers have implemented a new policy successfully, engaged employees effectively, or are just are just doing a good job, make sure you tell them!


Well, that’s my top 10. What would you add to the list?

How to survive Credit Crunch in England

Came across an interesting article -> that can be accessed from the following link

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/whats_new_oct08_how_to_survive_the_credit_crunch.htm

Credit Crunch can be effectively handled by the following ways

Ignoring your debt problems will only make them worse. Don’t ignore calls or letters from the people you owe money to (your creditors).

Contact them to explain why you’re having problems. The sooner you do this, the more options you’ll have for solving your financial problems.

There are many organisations which offer free and independent money advice such as Citizens Advice, Shelter, National Debtline, and the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. Their debt advisers can assess your situation and work out the best course of action for you. For details of organisations which can help, go to the bottom of this page.

There are some debts you need to pay first before others, because the consequences of not paying them can be much more serious. For example, mortgage or rent debts are a priority as if you don’t pay these you could lose your home. Debt advisers can help you plan your budget and pay your priority debts first.

Work out how much money you’ve got coming in and going out of your household on essential expenses like food and bills. Then work how much you’ve got left over to pay your creditors. If you can’t afford to pay back all the money you owe, work out how much you can afford and offer to pay this. A debt adviser can help you do this.

Are you getting all the money you’re entitled to?

There may be benefits or tax credits you can get such as Pension Credit or Disability Living Allowance which you haven’t claimed. Working Tax Credit is an in-work benefit which is not just available to people with children. You might be able to get it if you work enough hours and are disabled or your income is low enough, even if you don’t have children. You may be able to get Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit to help you pay your council tax and rent. You don’t necessarily have to be out of work to get these benefits. You may be able to get help with your health costs such as prescription charges and dental costs. You may be able to claim help with education costs such as school meals and clothing.

You may be able to get a grant to help you pay for things like fitting home insulation and improving energy efficiency. This can help cut down the fuel bills.

Your gas and electricity supplier may be able to help you if you have fuel debts.

To find out if you can get help, visit the British Gas Energy Trust website at: (New window) www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk or the EDF Energy Trust website at: (New window) www.edfenergytrust.org.uk.

There are also some charities which give grants to people to help pay their bills or buy essential items. You can find a list of these charities on the Turn 2 Us website at: (New window) www.turn2us.org.uk.

An adviser can help you maximise your income. For details of organisations which can help, go to the bottom of this page.

Look carefully at your spending and see if there is anything you are able to cut down on. For example, you could shop around for a cheaper gas or electricity provider, or look at cheaper mortgage or insurance providers.

You can find more information about changing your gas and electricity suppliers from the website of the consumer watchdog, Consumer Focus at: (New window) www.consumerfocus.org.uk.

To find out more about how to save money on financial products such as mortgages and insurance, go to the website of financial watchdog the Financial Services Authority at: (New window) www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.

You may end up paying back a lot more than you borrowed and at very high interest rates. You may not be able to afford the repayments and the loan may be secured against your home which you could then lose.

Always attend the court hearings yourself. Court proceedings do not mean that you will automatically lose your home. The court process acts as a final check to make sure repossession is the last resort. Some courts have advice desks which can provide last minute assistance.

Selling your home and renting it back might seem like a quick fix to your debt problems. But, many of these schemes offer very little security. You could end up paying very high rent or even being evicted. These schemes are also not regulated so you will not have access to the same protections as a mortgage holder.

If you are struggling with mortgage repayments you may be tempted to send the keys to your lender or abandon your property. Don’t do this without advice. You could still be responsible for the debt on the property and may be pursued for it years later.

Tags: consumer credit counselling, Credit Crunch, debt problems, independent money, money advice, pension credit, priority debts, tax credits, uk index, working tax credit


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Sage Peachtree 2011 Helps Small Businesses Stay Competitive

Sage North America announced today the availability of the Sage Peachtree 2011 product line, part of the broad portfolio of Sage business management solutions that service end-to-end business needs. A longtime favorite of small businesses and accountants, Sage Peachtree is easier to use than ever, providing companies with instant access to key information that makes billing customers, reacting to issues and controlling profitability easier than ever for small businesses, helping them to stay competitive in a rapidly changing economy.

“At a time when most small businesses need to do more with less, Sage Peachtree 2011 will help them to leverage efficiencies and answer the three most important questions of their day: are business activities on track, on schedule, and within budget,” said Connie Certusi, general manager, small business accounting solutions, Sage North America. “Sage Peachtree 2011 makes it easier for small businesses to quickly get the information they need so they can focus on what they do best: running their businesses.”

treamline Service Billing: Businesses that provide services can quickly invoice customers for any unbilled time and expenses; unbilled items can be filtered by date, customer or job. The outstanding time and expenses are then transferred directly to an invoice, increasing billing efficiency.

Improve decision making with the new Inventory and Services Management Center: A customized dashboard helps users process large quantities of information about a single inventory item or a service at a glance. It enables quick research, comparisons, and decision making, and helps small businesses easily see the impact of a service—usage, revenue, and more. The dashboard cuts time needed to track details on inventory for planning purchases, freeing that time for other activities.

Instantly identify Job Status:& Customizable job status indicators provide visual red/yellow/green “stoplights” for easy identification of what’s on or off track, and are completely customizable to suit the needs of individual businesses. Small businesses can easily delete, rename, or change the color-coded stoplight button attached to each status, with virtually unlimited status types, for easy monitoring.

Click here for Complete Release

Tags: business accounting solutions, business management solutions, sage business, Sage Peachtree, Sage Peachtree 2011, service billing, services management, small business accounting, small businesses, that provide services


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Sage To Partners: New Cloud Services Won’t Leave You Behind

May 21st, 2010 in SalesLogix CRM | leave a response

Sage North America is expanding into cloud computing with an on-demand version of its SalesLogix CRM application suite and plans to offer cloud-based “connected services,” modeled on Sage Payment Solutions, that extend the vendor’s on-premise applications.

But the software company is taking pains to reassure channel partners that its cloud foray won’t cut resellers out of the picture.

“We will ensure that you play a role,” said Himanshu Palsule, executive vice president, in a keynote speech Tuesday at the company’s Insights partner conference in Denver. “You will not be disintermediated by connected services. You cannot. Think about it. You still own the customer relationship.”

Sage executives, in fact, presented the announcements at Insights as a new business opportunity for solution providers, much as SAP did this week as it rolls out its Business ByDesign suite of on-demand applications.

“If you are a partner, this is a tremendous opportunity,” said Tom Miller, Sage vice president of channel management, in an Insights keynote. “You have the business knowledge. You have the business process knowledge. We see opportunity for you to add value to these connected services.”

for further details go to  http://www.crn.com/software/224900333

Tags: Sage Cloud strategy, SageCRM.com, SalesLogix CRM


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Sage Software launches ‘ERP X3 v6’ for mid sized and large businesses in the Middle East

Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM, and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations, has launched the ‘ERP X3 v6’ – the newest version of ‘Sage ERP X3’, the flagship ERP solution for mid-sized and large businesses in the Middle East. Built around the customer to place emphasis on ease of use, rapid deployment and cost effectiveness, the innovative solution focuses on cost and time savings, full interoperability among dispersed teams and customer experience improvement. The announcement follows the recent creation of an international team to support the development of the ‘Sage ERP X3’ business.

With hundreds of enhancements and new features, ‘Sage ERP X3 v6’ boasts of multi-currency, multi-country, and multi-legislation functionality to address the complex requirements of mid-sized and larger businesses. Compatible with ‘Sage ACCPAC’, a software that provides an integrated accounting solution, the latest ERP offering from Sage operates in 64 bits for Microsoft Windows Server 2008, RedHat Linux 5, IBM AIX 5.3, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Oracle Database 11g R2 with Real Application Clusters and EXADATA compliance. The solution is available in seven languages: English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, and can be deployed on a wide range of technology platforms and databases, thereby providing crucial flexibility for customers.

“The innovative, role-based web user interface of ‘ERP X3 V6’ makes manipulating complex and critical information easy and displays it exactly how the user wants thus improving interoperability across a business,” said Vikram Suri, Managing Director, Sage Software. “By launching this new version, we are aiming to help CFOs of global businesses get real-time visibility of their entire business and control over multi-legislation and multi charts of accounts. The development of ‘ERP X3 v6’ underlines our commitment towards helping businesses who cannot afford complex enterprise software, and we are proud to finally launch this solution here in the Middle East.”

Recognising that the needs of customers are changing, with an increasing demand for solutions to manage businesses on a global basis, Sage Software has created the global team, which includes key people from Sage’ worldwide business. Bringing together Sage Software’s local expertise and global resources, the team will focus on maintaining the relevance of ‘Sage ERP X3’ among today’s customers. The team will work closely with Sage’s local operations to ensure that the solution is complementary to local mid-market product offerings and includes international pre-sales and professional services, training, global R&D and global marketing and communications.

“Our established commitment towards delivering the specific needs of our customers is once again demonstrated by the creation of this global team to support ‘Sage ERP X3’ customers. This initiative will leverage our extensive local knowledge and strength at the international level, which have both contributed to our widespread success among established business as well as start-ups across the globe. As a trusted partner of many important organisations fuelling the world’s economy, we are proud of this exceptional step and we are confident of its success in the years to come,” concluded Suri.

Tags: 64 bits, aix 5, global businesses, microsoft sql server, microsoft windows server, real application clusters, Sage ERP, sage software, technology platforms, time savings


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The standard rate of VAT is returning to 17.5% on 1 January 2010 how do you apply it in Sage 2010

January 7th, 2010 in Sage 2008, Sage 2010, sage 2009 | leave a response

The customers will need to apply the 17.5% rate to all sales of standard rated goods and services taking place on or after that date.

What you should apply the new rate to:

All takings received on or after 1 January 2010All VAT invoices you issue to other VAT registered businesses on or after 1 January 2010

check further details on http://www.sage2010.com/

Tags: registered businesses, VAT Rate Change in Sage


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Sage Accounts 50 2010 launched

September 9th, 2009 in Uncategorized | leave a response

The latest Version of Sage Line 50 the premier product from Sage is all set to launch on 3rd August 2010.

As the Website “http://www.sage.co.uk/thinkingbusiness/default.aspx” says

The Key Features include

Improved User Experience

“Our usability improvements extend from simplification of core processes to navigation and accessibility to data.”

Data Import Wizard

A new easy to use import wizard allowing you to map fields directly to Sage 50 Accounts and save procedures for future use.

SagePay (Protx) Integration

Provide the option for immediate online card payments with a ‘pay now’ button that can be embedded directly into PDF files such as invoices.

Some other features income

Bar code generation, Cash register, Legislation updates including ECSL changes and improved video tutorials & EC Sales list changes where new legislation updates include regulations from HM Revenue & Customs for certain companies who trade in the EC.

Watch this space for more information an update on the same.

Please also check www.sage2010.com for more details

Tags: card payments, core processes, import wizard, legislation updates, Sage 2010, Sage Accounts, Sage Line, Sage Line 50, user experience, video tutorials, watch this space


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Sage Releases its latest in UK, Sage 2011, What is new in Sage 2011. ?

Click here for more details on Sage 2011

Whats New ?

Bank reconciliation

All the details you need are now on one printable screen. Complete customer and supplier receipts and refund without leaving the bank reconciliation to save you time.

Sage services

Find out exactly which Sage Services you can access with the new Services Toolbar in Sage 50 Accounts 2011. Update your Sage account details and access Sage software downloads.

Flat rate VAT

Set up and manage businesses on both invoice and cash-based flat-rate VAT schemes. Calculate the savings or losses to your business of flat-rate compared to standard VAT.

Charities

Manage your reporting by fund, produce Profit and Loss and Balance sheets without the need to export data.

Web store integration

Integrate your web store with your accounts. Using Sage Pay you can create new customers and products, sales invoices and receipts. Payments are downloaded automatically from your web store, saving you time.

www.sage2011.com

Tags: account details, balance sheets, bank reconciliation, data web, profit and loss, Sage 2011, Sage Accounts 50, Sage Pay, Sage Releases, sage software, sales invoices, web store


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Sage Launches ERPX3 in Australia and New Zealand

July 22nd, 2009 in Sage ERPX3, Uncategorized | leave a response

Sage, one of the world’s largest suppliers of business software today announced the availability of Sage ERPX3 for Australian and New Zealand customers.

Sage ERPX3 is the latest product in Sage’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suite designed to automate and manage business processes for medium to large organisations with between 100 and 5,000 employees.

Processes automated by the new solution include finance, production, sales, CRM, purchasing and stock management functions. ERPX3 is particularly targeted at businesses in vertical markets and industries including discrete manufacturing, finance, process manufacturing, warehouse management, distribution, pharmaceutical, medical and mining.

This latest release is specifically designed for deployment and operation over the Internet. For customers this means reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved speed and ease of deployment as they don’t need to invest in additional hardware or thin-client technology to roll the solution out. These are particularly high priorities for Australian and New Zealand businesses at present according to feedback from Sage’s extensive partner community of more than 30,000 resellers globally.

“A lot of ERP systems are coming to the end of their product life cycle at the moment and customers are assessing the upgrade options available to them,” said Mike Lorge, Managing Director, Sage Business Solutions, Australia and New Zealand.

“The typical challenges for upgrade and deployment are productivity loss when systems are down for cut-over or training occurs and ongoing management costs. We designed ERPX3 to address those challenges directly. It is quickly deployed, often alongside existing ERP solutions, and incorporates new graphics and an improved user interface that can be tweaked to reflect specific business and training needs, saving time and money.”

New features in Sage ERPX3 include:
· Improved interface and user friendless: Businesses can design graphical processes to augment traditional menus and navigation panes. This aids in training and adoption as graphics are more familiar and reflect specific business needs and user preferences
· Quick deployment across multiple branches/sites: Because ERPX3 is web-native, it can be deployed over the Internet allowing businesses to quickly scale access to connect new and remote branches to the database. For example, if a business has an office in Beijing and one in Sydney, employees from each office can log into the same system simultaneously, improving transparency and information access across the organisation.
· Multi-jurisdiction and Multi-lingual: ERPX3 includes the latest updates to accounting and tax management legislation across multiple jurisdictions allowing automatic capture and conversion of data for international trade. Users can login in the language of choice including English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.
· Improved data visibility and Business Intelligence: ERPX3 includes an easy to use, configuarable user portal including customisable graphical Business Intelligence views with full drill-down to the underlying data. Any data can be exposed in this manner.

Tags: management costs, ongoing management, partner community, process manufacturing, product life cycle, productivity loss, Sage, sage business, Sage ERPX3, Sage Launches, stock management


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Sage Software – A Guide to the Product Portfolio

April 27th, 2010 in Mas 200, Mas 90, Sage Accpac, Sage Simply accounting | leave a response

A very interesting analysis and study provided by Manufacturing Software Advice about Sage products in the US

The guide gives a pictorial representation of Sage offerings along with the Advantages of various product offerings and suitability to various industry segments.

A good piece of information packaged well in a small article

Excerpts

By market share, SAP is the largest business applications software vendor. Oracle is number two. You probably knew that. Do you know the third largest applications vendor?

Sage, with 8% market share, is the third largest business applications software vendor. And in the SMB segment (companies with fewer than 500 employees), it’s the largest. Sage is a $1 billion plus company whose software products power hundreds of thousands of organizations’ mission-critical functions. However, given the evolution of this highly acquisitive company, its product portfolio and corporate background might merit some explaining. We’ll give it a try.

Click here to read the complete article

Tags: article excerpts, business applications software, manufacturing software, market share, pictorial representation, product portfolio, sage products, sage software, small article, software advice


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Sage Accounts 50 2010 is set to launch on 3rd August 2009

The latest Version of Sage Line 50 the premier product from Sage is all set to launch on 3rd August 2010.

As the Website “http://www.sage.co.uk/thinkingbusiness/default.aspx” says

The Key Features include

Improved User Experience

“Our usability improvements extend from simplification of core processes to navigation and accessibility to data.”

Data Import Wizard

A new easy to use import wizard allowing you to map fields directly to Sage 50 Accounts and save procedures for future use.

SagePay (Protx) Integration

Provide the option for immediate online card payments with a ‘pay now’ button that can be embedded directly into PDF files such as invoices.

Some other features income

Bar code generation, Cash register, Legislation updates including ECSL changes and improved video tutorials & EC Sales list changes where new legislation updates include regulations from HM Revenue & Customs for certain companies who trade in the EC.

Watch this space for more information an update on the same.

Please also check www.sage2010.com for more details

Tags: cash register, code generation, core processes, hm revenue customs, legislation updates, new legislation, Sage Accounts, usability improvements, video tutorials, watch this space


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SageCover Services

SageCover services are designed for your business, developed to help you run your business more efficiently, more effectively and more confidently.

Much more than an advice line, you'll find that SageCover is a practical business support tool that helps you find exactly what you need to know. If you're looking for even more support, SageCover Extra provides a whole host of additional benefits, designed to keep your business competitive and efficient.

We've highlighted the differences throughout this article. Technical advisors can help by telephone, email or through remote access to your computerThere's an online library of business reports and guides, plus jargon-free answers to software queriesPractical tools help you carry out specific business tasks, from interviewing staff to writing a business planIt keeps you up to date with business news, legislation and Sage software through magazines and email alertsThere's support at key moments in the financial yearIt provides a data repair service, plus discounts on customised reports and software upgradesWhether it's software, business news or legislation, we keep your business up to date and running smoothly. All the help you need, when you need it.

Further support for Sage 50 Payroll
SageCover customers now have inclusive access to Sage HR Advice (Standard). It gives you access to a comprehensive package of online information, news, documents and guides to ensure you keep up to date on HR Management issues and changes in Employment Law.

One critical time of year is Payroll Year End. All SageCover Payroll customers will receive a Sage Payroll software update plus information on tax changes, to help ensure your Sage Payroll software is ready for the new tax year. Step-by-step instructions guide you through the actions you need to take. A dedicated Payroll Year End website contains answers to common questions, plus downloads for the Internet Submission module.

To purchase your SageCover please contact us on 0345 293 7793 or email info@accountingsoftwaredirect.co.uk

SageCover or SageCover Extra? You choose. All of the features described in this brochure are included with SageCover Extra. If you don't need them all, choose SageCover.


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The Krypton Factor, in association with Sage Software

Sage have renewed their partnership with ITV to fund a second series
of The Krypton Factor, which returns to ITV.

The TV show, which was originally presented by Gordon Burns, put
contestants through a series of psychical and mental tests, last aired
on ITV in 1995 after an 18-year run.

The Krypton Factor is due to run alongside the first part of a new
nationwide campaign launched by Sage to identify Britain's Business IQ
attributes. The campaign aims to understand, explore and celebrate the
qualities that make people in business more likely to succeed.

More challenging, tougher, and even better!

The Krypton Factor will test qualities such as mental agility,
discipline and determination all qualities that are key to business
success. The second series of The Krypton Factor supported by Sage promises to be more
challenging, tougher and even better...

Why not test your own Business IQ at http://www.trainyourbusinessbrain.com/


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FD Systems achieve award for "Breathtaking Customer Experience"

 FD Systems achieve award for "Breathtaking Customer Experience"

The Sage Circle of Excellence is Sage's process of measuring customer satisfaction and is awarded to the top 15 Business Partners based on scores from customer surveys undertaken by Sage.

With over 1,200 Business Partner in the UK, to be recognised in the top 15 for outstanding customer service is a fantastic achievement for FD Systems.

Nigel Griffiths Sales Director and Co-founder of FD Systems, explains "The Sage Circle of Excellence award really reflects our on-going commitment to providing outstanding service to our customers. The last 12 months have been tough for all businesses and it is without doubt that our teams hard work and continuing dedication to our customers has not only helped us to deliver an outstanding service, but to grow our customer base during this period of global economic uncertainty".

On presenting the award to FD Systems, Paul Stobart, CEO, Sage UK and Ireland commented: "Our Circle of Excellence Awards programme is testament to our passion for delivering an outstanding customer experience and we are pleased to be able to recognise that FD Systems are helping us to do this. We've been extremely impressed with what we have seen this year and are confident that in the year ahead we will succeed in getting even closer to our customers to provide outstanding service."


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Need your software in a hurry? Download available same day!

Need your software in a hurry? Download available same day!

If you cannot wait for your software we can send you a download as soon as we have your order. Call to arrange now on 0345 293 7793. 


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Up to 25% discount if purchasing Sage Accounting software for the first time .....

Call 0345 293 7793

Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 5:00

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Sage 50 Accounts 2011 Available Now

New Features & Improvements

§     The UK Flat rate VAT scheme

This scheme was introduced by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to simplify VAT for small businesses. Your software now supports this VAT scheme from recording your day to day business transactions, producing your VAT Return through to paying HMRC.

§     Bank reconciliation

While reconciling a bank account you can now add customer receipts or refunds as well as supplier payments and refunds to adjust your records. The Retrospective Bank Reconciliation report has been updated so that it now looks like a bank statement. A progress bar is displayed while your software is performing a reconciliation.

§     Emailing documents

Emailing certain documents has been simplified. Any document you want to generate from your software can be directly sent to email, provided you are using Microsoft Outlook or an Internet email service such as Google Mail.When you generate a document your software uses a layout to control what is included in the document and how it looks. The layout includes email options, which also control who the document is going to, a subject for the email, the format of document, perhaps you want to send it as a PDF, if the information is embedded in the email or attached as a document, whether the email is sent straightaway or put into your Inbox ready to send.

§     Sage Pay

You can now import your web sales from your Sage Pay account to Sage 50 Accounts. By downloading payments from your Sage Pay account your software now creates invoices and updates your accounts for you.

§     Charities (non-profit organisation)

A Profit and Loss and a Balance Sheet report can now be generated for each fund. Also, by choosing the chart of accounts for Charities when you install your Sage 50 Accounts, your software is automatically set for the needs of a non-profit organisation..

§     Sage Services (UK only)

You can now access a range of services directly from your software. Use the link to register online with us to create a Sage Login. Then record your login details in your software to access the services seamlessly

§     Favourite views

You can now set the software so that each time it opens it displays the area you use most often. You can also set your financial ledgers to display in list form, as a process map or as dashboard information.

§     Practical changes to several areas

A quick date selection icon has been introduced to the report criteria screens. e.g today, yesterday, this month, last month, this year, last year... 

Journals now include an Ex ref column, which you can use to add more details about a journal.

The customer, supplier and nominal activity windows now include the department associated with the listed transactions.

Accounts Plus and Accounts Professional only: The Disputed Items window now displays transactions for the first account highlighted from a list of customers, which can be selected from either the Chase Debt or Customer List.


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Sage Customer Development Award for FD Systems.

FD Systems has been awarded Sage Customer Development Centre for the second consecutive year.

Launched just last year, the Sage Customer Development Centre (CDC)
of Excellence initiative was formed to recognise Business Partners who
have the capability and expertise to best assist customers migrating
from Sage 50 to Sage 200.

FD Systems is one of only 14 Sage Business Partners in the UK, who
have been awarded this title, by demonstrating their expertise in the
marketing, sales, implementation and support of Sage 200 upgrades.

Working closely with Sage, FD Systems offers reassurance and support
by ensuring Sage 50 customers receive the correct upgrade information,
that the software is the right solution for the customer and suitable
training is provided.

Our proven track record of working with and supporting Sage 50
customers, from straight forward upgrades through to more complex
migrations has been recognised by Sage in naming FD Systems as a Sage
CDC for the second year running.


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New Sage 50 Training Courses available in Milton Keynes and Cardiff

We are pleased to announce that from September 2010 Accounting Software Direct will be providing Sage 50 Training with experienced Sage Accredited Business Partners at
Milton Keynes & Cardiff with more venues to follow....

Small class sizes with your own PC for hands on experience.

All courses - one day - £200 per person (excl VAT)

We can come to you for the day if this is more convenient giving you the added bonus of choosing from Sage Instant Accounts, Sage 50 Accounts, Sage 50 Payroll and ACT!
The exclusive day rate is £600 regardless of numbers (excl VAT)

Courses currently available from September 2010:

Sage 50 Accounts Level 1 - Set up and Go with the Core Functions

Sage 50 Accounts Level 2 - Advanced Functions

Sage 50 Accounts Level 3 - Commercial Functions

Sage 50 Accounts - The Basics

Call 0345 293 7793 to discuss your requirements.

More Details


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Sage Classroom Training Courses now available from Accounting Software Direct with 50% Discount

Did you know we also offer Sage classroom training courses at different locations across the country? Save ££'s on the RRP by buying genuine Sage Courses through Accounting Software Direct.

Want to learn how to get the most from your accounts software? Find out how to process a stress-free payroll year end? Or know how to link your Sage software to Microsoft® Office? Then you can get the knowledge, skills and confidence you need with Sage Training.

Is it for me?

Whether you're starting a new job, setting up your own business or you've been using Sage software for years, we're sure we have a course that suits. We offer various levels of learning, so if you need to know the basics or want to update your skills, you should find one that's right for you.

Why choose Sage Training?

Skill up - get the skills you need to do your job wellRaise morale - investing in people can increase motivationIncrease efficiency - use new or refined skills to become more productiveStay competitive - trained and motivated people help businesses stay competitive, improving loyalty and saving recruitment costs

Courses available for Sage Instant Accounts, Sage 50 Accounts, Sage 50 Payroll, Forecasting, Job Costing, Excel, Bookkeeping and ACT! at different locations across the country.

1 day courses £130 2 day courses £250 saving up to 50% on RRP

Sage has classroom training centres around the country. Birmingham, Bristol, Croydon, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, North London, Newcastle, Reading and Norfolk!

Call Linda on 0345 293 7793 to check availability

Click here for courses available


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Which Sage Accounts Package is right for me?

You don’t need any accounting experience to use Sage Instant Accounts. It’s easy to use, with help to get you up and running and show you every step of the way.It’s suitable for a wide variety of small businesses and simple to set it up to suit yours.Managing your money is now even easier, thanks to the new Dashboard.

Whether it’s taking and processing card payments*, recording till takings, or getting an instant view of your business trading position, vital information about your customers, suppliers and products is stored in one place.

Plus, you can run reports to see who is paying on time, and instantly see what money is owed in and what money is owed out – useful when prioritising which late payers to chase. In addition, the new Diary within Sage Instant Accounts works with Microsoft® Office Outlook, so it’s easier to log tasks, add reminders, and generally be that little bit more productive. You’ll be able to submit VAT returns online to the HM Revenue and Customs generate an EC sales list or calculate reverse charge VAT. Plus Irish VAT returns too, if you need to.

Keeping track of Health and Safety legislation isn’t easy, given they change so often. Sage Instant Accounts now includes one year’s free Health & Safety Advice Standard Online support. This service advises you of any changes and offers practical guidance to help you stay compliant.
*Additional charge applies

Specially designed for small and growing businesses, Sage 50 Accounts helps you manage your customers and suppliers and day-to-day finances, including VAT returns, stock control, invoicing and year-end accounts. Because it’s easy to use you can stay in control of your finances and share information with your accountant easily, giving you more time to run your business.

Sage 50 Accounts Plus combines all the classic accounting tools of Sage 50 Accounts including VAT returns and year end accounts, stock control and invoicing options. It also includes tools that help to manage project costs, budgets or manufactured and assembled products. By putting key information at your fingertips, it helps you make business decisions with confidence.

With Sage 50 Accounts Professional you can do more than just manage your day to- day finances. It also provides complete sales and purchase order processing, alongside stock control project management and foreign trading tools, so you can keep track of different areas of your business. With the flexibility to handle up to ten users and help you manage multiple companies, it gives


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Top recruitment tips

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The new Bribery legislation: the perfect Christmas present for Scrooge?

‘’Tis the season to be merry’ or so the carol goes but as Christmas approaches together with all of the associated opportunities for client entertaining, businesses are being told to beware of the anti-bribery legislation lurking over the horizon.

Lucy Cook, Sage Legal Team Lucy Cook, Sage Legal Team


The Bribery Act


The Bribery Act, expected to be introduced in April 2011, is an attempt to bring England’s anti-corruption laws up to date.  One of the offences to be introduced by the Act is ‘promising or offering a financial or other advantage intending the advantage to either induce another person to perform improperly a ‘relevant function or activity’ or to reward a person for doing so’.  Potentially, the laying on of extravagant hospitality by a company to prospective (or, in some case, existing) clients in the hope of new orders or the like could lead to prosecution.


Scrooge’s delight?


No doubt to the delight of Scrooge’s followers, some commentators are suggesting that the new Act will chime the death knell for corporate hospitality.  However, looking at the Act this seems to be at best, an exaggeration and at worst, scaremongering (particularly, when coupled with details of the fairly draconian penalties for breaching the Act). 


Keep it reasonable and proportionate


Scaremongering aside, so long as any hospitality is ‘reasonable and proportionate’ then companies have nothing to fear from the new Act vis-à-vis their entertaining plans for the festive season.  Government guidance on the Act is expected to be published early in the New Year and it is hoped that clear guidelines on what constitutes ‘reasonable and proportionate’ hospitality will be included in the guidance. 


The CBI recently called upon the Government to ‘put “beyond doubt” that bona fide corporate hospitality will not fall foul of the Bribery Act’ .  There is however no certainty that such guidelines will be forthcoming given the views expressed by the Government Spokesman for the Ministry of Justice who stated that ‘it is sufficient to rely on prosecutors to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate corporate hospitality’  (letter to the House of Lords 14 January 2010).   It is difficult to reconcile such a view with the general principle that laws should be fair and transparent. 


Moderation and transparency


Putting legal arguments aside, given the current economic climate and the associated general drive towards moderation and transparency in business, it is more likely that invitations to client hospitality events will feature local go-karting venues rather than trips to the Monaco grand prix and so are likely to fall within the ambit of what is ‘reasonable and proportionate’.


Businesses would be well-advised to consider the timing of any hospitality and to recognise that it may not be appropriate to invite representatives of businesses, which are involved in conversations or negotiations around new contracts or renewals of existing contracts, to any extravagant events.


It goes without saying that when making hospitality plans involving clients, businesses would be wise to take into account the circumstances, wishes and any relevant policies of the client business.  A business which has had a tough year might have concerns about the impression which could be created by its senior people attending particularly lavish events.  Depending on the client business, it may even be worth speaking to client organisations about how they support their chosen charities to see whether there are any opportunities to work together over the festive season to make Christmas better for those less fortunate.


So, the good news is no need to cancel Christmas just yet!  And a final word (or two) from Scrooge: ‘Bah, Humbug!’.

The cloud in 60 seconds (or thereabouts)

Having been subjected to the hype around Cloud technology for some time now, I’d imagine that many business owners are confused about what the Cloud actually is and how it might help them run their business.


To understand what the Cloud is let’s go back in time to understand where it came from.


Here’s my 60 second précis on the history of computing since 1970


The history of computing since 1970


Reading from left to right we can see that the 1970’s was the era of the mainframe, the 1980’s saw the emergence of personal computing, and the 1990’s welcomed client server computing and the introduction of the local area network (LAN). During which time we saw a massive adoption by businesses as they computerised some of their traditionally manual business processes.


Like all good things, businesses wanted more, they wanted more users connected to the network, and they wanted multiple sites connected to the network. However, scale of this nature resulted in higher costs, more in house IT people were required to keep the servers running reliably and efficiently, it was increasingly costly and time consuming to keep all the software up to date on all of the PC’s, and a new breed of network engineers were needed to setup wide area networks (WAN) and maintain high speed connections between sites in order to deliver acceptable performance.


Virtualisation and the Internet


Then some bright spark came up with the concept of virtualisation, whereby all the businesses software could be installed on a central server, instead of the local PC’s, and users simply log into the server to run their software from any business location.


Around the same time, circa the dot.com years, businesses also started to interact with the Internet, many hosting their own web sites and starting to trade on line. Once again, new skills were required to deliver this, and because businesses were reaching out beyond their own bricks and mortar, a brand new set of issues around security arose, enter to the world of firewall and security technology.


So, great opportunities for businesses, but increasingly costly to do it right, and at the end of the day most businesses aren’t interested in spending on IT infrastructure per say, they’re interested in making money.


Managed hosting


This time help is at hand in the shape of Managed Hosting providers such as Rackspace who specialise and excel in running highly resilient servers and IT infrastructure. So, we start to see the provisioning and operation of servers transfer from in house ownership to that of the Managed Hosting provider. Virtualisation and web presence is fully supported by the Managed Hosting provider and security is properly taken care of.


However, as businesses switch from in house to Managed Hosting, they need to create and pay for enough capacity with the managed hosting company to cater for their peak computing needs. Not a problem for businesses that have a steady and consistent need for computing power. However, for businesses that have occasional high computing demands around seasonal sales periods or heavy month end processing, it means paying for managed hosting servers that are mostly underutilised for long periods of time.


Cloud hosting


Not ideal by any means, but don’t worry, with a fanfare of trumpets, we’re saved again… enter the concept of Cloud Hosting as pioneered by the likes of Amazon Web Services. Unlike Managed Hosting, Cloud Hosting has no initial set up costs to provision servers and you only pay for the processing power that you use. The layman’s definition being, “think of Cloud Hosting like electricity, turn it on when you need it and turn it off when you don’t,” and so the phrase “Utility Computing” is reborn… I say reborn as John McCarthy had this vision way back in 1961.


More recently Cloud Hosting has further evolved into Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure being a good example, whereby a number of preinstalled services are available alongside Cloud Hosting.


Cloud is…


So there you have it, cutting through all the hype, quite simply the Cloud is Cloud Hosting and Cloud Platform right?


Unfortunately not… enter stage right the marketing machines of some very clever Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors. Somewhat different to virtualisation, SaaS is software that has been specifically written to run in a web browser and allows many tens (hundreds) of thousands of users all to share the same application and database. It’s actually a wee bit more complex than that, but that’ll do to make this point… Most of the SaaS applications in the world today aren’t running on Cloud Hosting or Cloud Platform, they’re actually running on Managed Hosting. In what can only be seen as a brilliant piece of marketing the technical definition of the Cloud has been changed to incorporate Managed Hosting.


But this leads to confusion as no longer is the Cloud a simple to understand hosting concept. And more confusion is to follow as some SaaS vendors set about alienating other software vendors who don’t provide an identical service to themselves, even though technically speaking they aren’t actually running on the Cloud themselves!


So there you have it again, the Cloud is now Cloud Hosting, Cloud Platform and some, but not all, SaaS applications running on Managed Hosting right?


Not quite… even more confusion follows as a raft of hardware vendors try to jump on the Cloud bandwagon, offering on-premise servers with built in connectivity to the internet as a “Cloud in a Box.” I’m sorry, but even using my wildest imagination this doesn’t tick the Cloud box for me.


Oh, and did I mention public and private Clouds and security and service level agreements… no, maybe next time?

Are you ready for the VAT increase in January?

We’ve known for a while now that the VAT increase was coming. In fact, we’ll finally come face-to-face with the 2.5% VAT rise on the 4th January. But while you’ve probably been busy planning for Christmas, has your business got its plans in place to cope with the new 20% VAT rate?


Well, if you’ve not given it too much thought so far you’re not alone. We surveyed 1500 of our customers and we found that nearly one in five small businesses are not ready for the increase.


So, what else did our survey find? Well, while 68% of small businesses are anticipating the effect of the VAT rise, a substantial 11% have yet to contemplate the impending changes, and a further 7% have expressed concern about their lack of preparation.


Suzanne Wardingham, our VAT Specialist, has outlined a number of measures that small businesses can take in order to ensure they are best prepared in January:


Getting prepared


We’ve set up a website to help our customers navigate the VAT change and find  details on what the changes mean for our software. http://www.sage.co.uk/legislationchanges


Pass on the costs?


In the past couple of years we’ve already had two changes to the standard rate of VAT, so making the change is not as much of a daunting task as it used to be for some businesses. As before, small businesses will have to decide whether they want to pass the costs on to their customers.


VAT return


As the VAT increase takes place on the 4th January rather than the 1st this time, there will be some businesses that have to complete a VAT return incorporating both standard rates of VAT. Where this is the case, we strongly recommend that the business owners seek advice from either their accountant or HMRC if they are unsure.


Ask your accountant


It’s likely that accountants will be busy with clients’ self-assessment returns towards the end of the year, so consult with them early on to understand how the change will impact day-to-day transactions.


Special dispensations?


Exploring whether there are any special dispensations for your business to help you manage the change more efficiently. Last time retailers received a two-week grace period to re-price stock on the shelves.


Be good to your customers


If possible invoice them before the increase so they will not incur the higher VAT rate and will appreciate the gesture.

HR Vision – bringing you the hottest topics in HR

HR Vision in partnership with SageHere at Sage HR and Payroll we’re working in partnership with HR magazine to produce HR Vision. HR Vision is a series of videos, in-magazine features and web content exploring key themes that will be of increasing importance in the future of work.  There will be 7 videos in total, released monthly from this month.


You’ll be able to watch interviews, read articles, post comments, have live chats, download white papers and have your say.


Each month I’ll be writing a blog around the topic, giving you my opinions, advice and experience. Look out for my first blog later this month on building effective relationships with line managers.

Business Start Up Show: It’s all about the people

Escape from the frozen North?


We’re at Business Startup show this week – Earls Court 2 Tuesday and Wednesday – and there will be more Sage people there than ever. That’s not because we all feel like escaping the snow in the North East or a few days on our feet – it’s because we seem to be in demand.


We go to lots of events, from local niche market to national large scale; and they’re all different in their own ways. Something always remains the same though. And that’s the reception we get from the people that come and see us.


That sounds really corny doesn’t it?! I’m not sure how to make it not sound corny or explain what I mean, but I’ll have a go…


Talking about business


I suppose the starting point is that all of us Sage people genuinely (again trying not to be corny) enjoy talking to businesses. Whatever size, market, type etc. it doesn’t really matter. Every business is unique so you never get bored hearing about their stories, challenges and ambitions.


And from our point of view it’s about understanding how those businesses work and seeing if there’s something we can do to help them to improve or make simpler.


We can also share a lot of knowledge about business in general so whether it’s VAT or business legislation we up for having a conversation about almost anything.


And most importantly we’re honest in what we do – if we can’t help we don’t pretend we can, but we do always try to learn about what businesses actually need to make things better… so we can improve ourselves.


Things tend to go from there.


Come and say “hi”


So instead of just saying ‘come along and find out about how to manage your finance, people, customers, payments etc…’,  I wanted to find a non-corny way of saying come and have a chat to our great people. Because they really are great.


Oh and for those that do want to hear about everything else we’re doing then here’s a list that just so happens to be the perfect size to fit in a tweet:


Free software coffees finance/payroll/hr/customer/payment advice balloons filming research camper van seminars workshops brightly coloured t-shirts


So come along and see us… that’s if you don’t get caught in a tube strike or snow deluge!

The Sage Apprentice

Here at Sage, we’re always looking for ways to ‘wow’ our people and make Sage a great place to be. One of the things we’ve come up with is The Sage Apprentice (our very own version of the popular TV show), which gives our people the chance to take part in something new and exciting. (We considered running something similar to another TV show where loads of people stay in a house for a few weeks, but then realised they have day jobs to-do!)


As if being chosen to be one of our 16 candidates isn’t enough, the winners (we’re working in teams rather than individuals) win loads of fab prizes, including an all expenses paid trip to South Africa to do conservation work in the bush. The other great thing is that any profit they make during the challenges will be donated to the charities each team has chosen to support – we like to link what we do back our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives whenever we can so charities and conservation work hit the mark big time!


How are we getting on?


Well, we went nationwide looking for candidates and after sifting applications (and one or two ‘debates’) we finally came up with our top 16 who come from Dublin, Manchester, Newcastle, Purley and Witney. So far, they’ve picked team names, chosen charities, set-up blogs and wikis and started getting really competitive.


And just to make it a little more competitive, we thought ‘how about asking our customers to tell us which of the team names they think is the best’ – choose wisely, we’ll be awarding some brownie points for the one with the most votes. [Thanks for voting everyone, the poll is now closed].


What’s next?


Each team will be awarded points for their performance in weekly challenges that take place over the next few weeks and end with a final challenge on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 December, where they’ll be grilled in the boardroom by our very own Lord Sugar (aka Paul Stobart – Sage UK & Ireland CEO).


With the first challenge underway and less than a week to go, we’re waiting with baited breath to see how they get on.

Do you lead like Simon, Cheryl, Danni or Louis?

Love it or loathe it, you can’t deny the impact that ITV’s The X Factor has had upon popular culture. Acres of newsprint have been devoted to it, some of its contestants can be seen in the upper echelons of the hit parade and, lately, even yoghurt companies have jumped up onto the bandwagon.


The X Factor is a massive money-spinner for ITV, and for Simon Cowell’s Syco entertainment company. In 2009, X Factor brought in £75m in revenue and is projected to smash through the £100m mark this year. And of this not including money made from the phone-In votes, live shows and appearances, merchandising, download sales via iTunes or the eventual record sales of the winner.


Like all great commercial enterprises, The X Factor is a success because of the vision and dedication of the people who make it. And like many great commercial enterprises, The X Factor has a distinctive leadership team – Simon Cowell and his three co-judges, Dannii Minogue, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole. Each of the judges brings a distinctive flavour, personality and style into the mix. The competition between the judges adds the element of conflict necessary to create the tension that is at the heart of the show’s weekly vote-off and it could be argued that the secret of The XFactor’s success lies in the interplay between these different leadership styles.


There are many academic theories and models out there that aim to unlock the secrets of effective leadership and characterise different leadership styles. Among these is Bass &Colleagues’ model of the five distinct styles of leadership. Looking at these five styles through the lens of The X Factor, we can see that our four judges match up with four of these distinctive leadership styles.


Simon Cowell – Directive leadership style
Characterised as a leader who exercises complete control over followers, the directive leader tells people what to do and when and how to do it. The classic Svengali, Cowell architects his act’s every move and song. His final act to remain in the competition, boy band One Direction, are a great example of Cowell’s directive style – the band itself was created by Cowell from contestants who had all auditioned as soloists.

Dannii Minogue – Participative leadership style

For Minogue, the directive leader is the antithesis of what she aspires to be; she far prefers reaching decisions by consensus and sees herself as a member of a team, rather than as someone atop a structural hierarchy.Minogue epitomises the participative leader, creating a real team atmosphere amongst her acts, who pick this up in turn, behaving in a very supportive manner to each other. “Team Dannii” contestants who have been voted off often go on to publically back their teammates to win. When her acts are criticised, Minogue is defensive and displays behaviours to suggest that she feels that she herself is in the firing line.

Cheryl Cole – Consultative leadership style

Similar to Minogue’s participative leader, Cheryl Cole is very much a consultative leader. She is at pains to stress the time she spends with her acts and that they are very much involved in the decision-making process. The consultative leader leverages the particular skills and talents of individuals in their team to achieve results; witness the four very different acts Cheryl worked with this year, each maintaining their distinctive style throughout the competition.


Louis Walsh –Delegative leadership style
Although his success with bands such as Westlife would suggest that he’s more of a directive leader, on the current series of The X Factor, Walsh has generally displayed behaviours more associated with the delegative style of leadership. Walsh has repeatedly stated that his acts are genuine and self-directive, autonomous artists rather than puppets dependant on his direction and advice. Walsh tends to avoid decision making whenever possible, for the most part doling out generic platitudes rather than constructive criticism. The delegative style is most effective when your team members are trustworthy and solid; the leader can trust them to make good decisions. However, the delegative style falls down when used with people who need more direction and guidance.


With all this in mind, we were curious to see who our customers thought would make the best boss. Out of the four X Factor judges, you may be surprised to hear that Simon Cowell was the runaway winner. Could it be that, when it comes to work and career, many of us still like the security and surety of someone telling us what to do? Are consultative or participative leaders less effective in practice? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.

The morning shift for working mums…

Everyday seems a bit like Groundhog Day, from the moment my eyes open at 6.00 a.m. I am subjected to a tsunami of things-to-do and decisions-to-make flooding simultaneously through my mind.

What shall I wear to work? Have I got any fresh bread for the packed lunches? Is it PE day? Have they done their homework? What shall we have for tea? Have I prepped for my management meeting? I must get cash to pay for Judo lessons. I must remember to put the bins out – is it blue bin week, brown bin week or green bin week? What happened to just having one bin – life was much simpler then. OMG, my eyebrows need waxed!

The Morning Shift for working Mum’s is quite simply 90 minutes of Swiss clock precision timing – if I have my children fed, dressed, teeth cleaned, school bags, lunch bags, PE bags and 2 x water bottles in the car by 7:45 on the dot and there hasn’t been any major G8-summit-style negotiations on sandwich fillers (usually a hugely complex battle between ham or tuna), my day starts well and I drop them off at Breakfast Club with a loving kiss and cuddle.

Occasionally, I have a ‘Bonus Day’ when I’m wearing something coordinated and I had a Moment-of-Delight when the dishwasher was empty as I went to put the breakfast dishes in. However, the moment my car door shuts after dropping the boys off I have a mental transformation from Mum to Marketing Manager.

The 40 minute drive to work is equivalent to a mental workout at the gym – I arrive with a cerebral list of things to do which has been prioritised, planned and programmed to maximise efficiency and delivery. I boot up the laptop, grab a coffee and I’m hot to trot. Those are the good days, which, given the complexity of the universe within which I operate, are few and far between. More often that not something happens between the early hours of 6.00am and 8.30 am to unbalance the perfect equilibrium which is required to enable me to arrive a work feeling like a woman-in-control.

Then, this morning I had an epiphany. I suddenly thought – hang on there just one minute. I have spent the last 11 years of my professional life marketing the truly tangible benefits that Sage software can bring to your business. It’ll make your business more efficient, save you time, save you money, help you reduce the stuff that zaps your time and let you concentrate on the things that matter…the list goes on. All of which sounds exactly what I need in my life as a working Mum. So do you know what? The very next call I make after I finish this blog will be to the Head of R&D to explore a software solution for working Mums, something miraculous to help me and no doubt millions of others achieve some of that efficiency and time effectiveness in my Mummy-life.

Now wouldn’t that be worth having?

Rebecca Barnett, Sage HR and Payroll

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