The second update to Sage 50 version 2020 is scheduled to be released today. You should see a message in Sage 50 notifying you of the update within the next few weeks. These aren’t ground breaking new features but they (particularly the first two on the list) will be appreciated by most users
- Cash Account Default Setting: The cash account field in the Receive Money (AKA Receipts) window remembers the last account that was used. When transactions get posted to a less commonly used account, this often leads to future transactions being posted to the wrong cash account. Now there is an optional setting in Maintain > Default Information > Customers that allows you to set a default cash account for the Receive Money window. When this option is turned on, you can change the cash account in the Receive Money window but after saving the transaction, the Cash Account field will automatically revert back to the account defined in Customer Defaults. If you have set a default cash account for a specific customer on the Payment & Credit tab of the Maintain Customers/Prospects window, it will temporarily override the account set in Customer Defaults when entering a receipt for that customer.
- Wider Invoice Number Column in Receive Money and Payments windows: The Invoice column in the Receive Money window and in the Payments (Pay Bills) window has been resized to allow it to display the full invoice number even for invoices using the maximum 20 characters. No more guessing which invoice you are selecting!
- Drag & Drop Attachments: Sage 50 has, for many years, allowed you to attach files to maintenance records (customers, vendors, etc.) as well as transactions. They have now enhanced that feature so that you can drag an drop a file into the attachments window instead of having to browse for the file. List windows for Customers, Sales Invoices, Purchase Orders, Purchases, and Payments now have the option of adding an “Attachments” column so you can easily see which records have attachments. FYI this feature will not work if Sage 50 was opened using the Run As Administrator option.
- Easier Access to Aatrix Human Resources Forms: The 2020.1 update to Sage 50 added access to a library of human resources from from Aatrix (payroll and e-file subscriptions required). To make access easier, “Human Resources Forms” has now been added to the Forms button in the Employees & Payroll tab navigation aid.
- Inbox Notifcation Panel: The bell icon near the top right of the main Sage 50 window notifies you of messages from Sage. It now opens a new streamlined panel to make those messages easier to read and manage.
- Apps & Services Tab: The Cloud & Mobile tab has been renamed Apps & Services to provide more consistent naming throughout the program
Behind the scenes changes: Changes that Sage refers to as “technology modernization” have been implemented that “allows the Sage 50 U.S. R&D team to adopt new modern technology in the future and deliver enhanced product functionality and features compatible with the latest Windows OS.” I know it’s not very exciting when “updates” don’t result in new features. But it’s exactly this kind of investment that is needed to maintain Sage 50 and allow them to keep adding new features. And I’m glad to see Sage investing in this product.
