Version 2016 of Sage 50 has been released. This will be the first version to automatically download in the same manner as a payroll tax update or interim releases (such as 2015.3). It will need to be installed on the server first, and it will require a data conversion process the first time you open your company. So even though you’ll be prompted to install it as if it were a small update, consider carefully when you actually want to upgrade. In addition to being the first version to download automatically, it is also the first version that will be able to determine your serial number automatically during installation so you won’t have to hunt down that email notice that you may or may not have received.
Aside from the installation changes, new features and changes for version 2016 are as follows:
Process Credit Card Refunds from inside Sage 50 – If you use Sage Payment Solutions to process credit cards right in the Receive Money window of Sage 50, you’ll be happy to know that you can finally process a refund the same way. Just bring up the receipt that originally paid the invoice and click the “Issue Refund” link. A new receipt will be created and its status will show “Approved – Refund Receipt.” The original receipt’s status will then show “Approved – Refund Issued.”
Sage iPhone App – lets you see customer information, item purchase history, and quantity available for items on an iPhone. You must have a current Business Care plan but, other than that, there’s no charge to use the app. Of course you can choose to upgrade to Sage Mobile Sales (subscription required) if you want to be able to enter quotes and orders from an iPad. You can find more details and download the no-charge version at http://na.sage.com/us/sage-mobility/sage-mobile-sales.
Convenient Signup for Payroll and Credit Card Processing – In-program signups have been added to make it easier to sign up for Credit Card Processing (Sage Payment Solutions) and payroll, including Sage Full Service Payroll.
Microsoft Outlook Integration Removed – Previous versions could sync customers, vendors, and employees with separate Outlook contact lists. This feature has been removed due to the small number of people who used it.
Windows XP and Server 2003 No Longer Supported – This corresponds with Microsoft ending support for both of these products. If you are still using Windows XP or Server 2003, you will need to upgrade your operating system before you can upgrade to Sage 50 2016. Keep this in mind if you do payroll in Sage 50 2015 as it will become obsolete later this year. Actually, support for Windows XP and Server 2003 was dropped with Sage 50 v2015 but it still ran fine, at just wasn’t officially supported. But in version 2016 Sage has switched their .Net version to 4.5.2, which won’t install on XP and Server 2003.
Easy Conversion of Sales Orders and Purchase Orders to Invoice has been fixed. – Version 2015.3 added a button to the sales order window to convert an order to a sales invoice and an equivalent button in the purchase order window to convert a PO to an accounts payable invoice. A bug that was in this feature has been fixed so that changes made to the order’s header information, such as such as the ship-to address, will now be copied correctly to the invoice.
