It's okay, you're not alone. Here is a PDF manual for the rest of us. PCI Compliance for Dummies.
Still confused? then Contact BKD , We can help!
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Well, the long weekend came and went bringing with it the unofficial start to summer. It also brought two new videos to our expansive video library. So grab a tall, cool glass of lemonade and watch a few!
Using Purchase Orders without Inventory Control to Manage Expenditures: Sage Accpac ERP allows you to track and manage your company's expenditures and capital investments, even if you don't use the Sage Accpac Inventory module. In this tutorial, we show you how to do this using Sage Accpac Purchase Orders, and again, Inventory Control is not required for the method we'll demonstrate. (8 min 21 sec)
Customize Grids & List: SageCRM presents information in several formats including lists and grids. In this tutorial, we show you how easy it is to customize Lists and Grids to present the information that's most important to you. (5 min 35 sec)
Remember, we are always looking for new subjects, so feel free to contact us with your suggestions.
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PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) is a series of standards adopted by major players in the credit card industry (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex and others) to ensure the security of users' credit card data. The standards have been rolled out gradually over the last few years and the July 1, 2010 deadline is the last phase where it applies to ALL merchants who handle credit cards. Any business or organization that accepts even one credit card must adhere to the standards.
It's important to note this is not legislation, but a set of standards that were voluntarily adopted by the industry. However, there will be audits by the credit card issuers, and merchants who are audited and fail to comply may be subject to fines or even have their ability to accept the issuers card revoked.
Sage has published an excellent landing page as a resource for PCI-DSS Compliance: www.sageaccpacinfo.com/pci Be sure to note the link at the bottom of this page to the PCI for Dummies document, which is very readable and informative.
There are 12 requirements that fall into six categories:
- 1. Build and Maintain a Secure Network: Install and maintain a firewall and use unique, high-security, passwords with special care to replace default passwords.
- 2. Protect Cardholder Data: Whenever possible, cardholder data must not be stored. You must also encrypt any data passed across public networks, including your shopping cart and web-hosting providers.
- 3. Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program: Use anti-virus and keep it up date. Develop and maintain secure operating systems and payment applications. Ensure the applications you use are compliant (see www.visa.com/pabp).
- 4. Implement Strong Access Control Measures: Access to cardholder data - both electronic and physical - should be on a "need-to-know" basis. Ensure those people with access have a unique ID and password. Do not share logon information.
- 5. Regularly Monitor and Test Networks: Track and monitor all access to networks and cardholder data. Ensure you have a regular testing schedule for security systems and processes including firewalls, patches and anti-virus.
- 6. Maintain an Information Security Policy: It's critical that your organization has a resource for governing your company's data security. Ensure you have a policy and that it's disseminated and updated regularly.
Much of what is required to adhere to PCI-DSS standards is common sense (don't leave sensitive credit card information lying around where anyone can steal it) and/or are measures companies should have in place anyway (secure your network with a firewall; have virus scanning in place).
Anyone who accepts credit cards needs to complete the Self-Assessment Questionnaire. There is a link here: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/saq/instructions_dss.shtml. Depending on the size of the merchant and the volume of transactions they process, you may have to have work with an outside assessor.
Here are some specifics that may apply to you:
Credit Card information stored in Accpac is BIG no-no. Sage added fields for retaining customer credit card data in version 5.4, prior to PCI-DSS standard being adopted. Although the data in these fields is encrypted, the encryption level isn't sufficient and the application security may not be sufficient. Credit card data also should not be stored in other fields in Accpac, such as reference fields, description fields, and optional fields.
- If you store Credit Card in Accpac, it must be removed. Sage has announced they will be releasing a utility to remove Credit Card data from the credit card-specific fields in Accpac. You may use this utility when it becomes available, or you may remove it manually. If you are storing credit card data in other fields in Accpac (reference fields, description fields, optional fields) this data should be removed immediately, as it is not secure. BKD can assist with assessing the scope of this data removal and helping you to scrub your database of sensitive data.
- Do not store Credit Card information in any other electronic form, such as Access or Excel.
- Do not transmit Credit Card information non-secure means, like email, text message or chat.
- One of the PCI standards is to restrict access to CC data only to people who have a "business need to know". Limit access to credit card information within your organization to only those people who need to see it, and only when they need to see it. It should not be stored electronically or on paper where anyone who does not need to see it can get to it. If you record credit card numbers or other information on paper, those paper records need to be secured or shredded.
- Compliance is not a "one time" thing. Assessments must be continued quarterly and annually.
- You do not need special software PCI-DSS compliant. Compliance is as much about proper policies and procedures, and having them documented, as it is about technology.
However, if you are seeking a secure, automated solution to processing and transmitting credit card charges, BKD can make appropriate recommendations. Contact us at www.BKDai.com or call to 503-598-8895.
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Sage ERP Accpac Version 5.5 Product Update 4 (PU4) for System Manger
The Sage ERP Accpac Version 5.5 Product Update 4 is required for your customers who will be installing Tax Tables in either Canadian or U.S. Payroll , purchasing additional Lanpaks or switching Lanpaks from one database type to another, ie. from Pervasive to MS-SQL.
Contact your Sage Accpac Business Partner today.
For BKD clients email support@bkdai.com or call 503-598-8895.
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Make Sure you're running with the Latest Software Features, Fixes, and Functionality!
Sage ERP Accpac Version 5.6 Product Update 1 (PU1)
Sage Accpac ERP Product Update 1 is critical for clients using Version 5.6 upgrades. Your Business Partner can access updated files for Sage Accpac Version 5.6 Product Update 1.
You may encounter issues in Bank Services and/or Purchase Orders if you do not apply this product update. The update includes all of the hot fixes that were recently released to resolve this issue.
Contact your Sage Accpac Business Partner today.
For BKD clients email support@bkdai.com or call 503-598-8895.
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April Showers brought May Flowers, and 6 fresh picked videos! Stop by and pick a whole bouquet of our latest videos.
This month's new videos are:
Building a New Report in Sage Accpac Intelligence (6 min 38 sec) Starting with version 5.6, Sage Accpac ERP now includes Sage Accpac Intelligence, an Excel-based reporting and analysis tool. It comes standard with a number of reports, and with the included Report Manager license, allows you to build new reports from your Sage Accpac data. In this tutorial, we show you how to build an inventory report, but the concepts can be used to build reports from your other Sage Accpac modules as well.
Bank Reconciliation in Version 5.6 (6 min 28 sec) The Sage Accpac ERP bank reconciliation module received significant enhancements in version 5.6. In this tutorial, we run through an example reconciliation and point out some of the new features along the way.
Working with Multiple Instances of a Data Entry Window (2 min 52 sec) Many accounting system users frequently work with multiple customers at the same time. This is particularly true for people in customer service and telesales departments. Accordingly, the ability to have multiple orders or customer records open simultaneously would be a great benefit to these employees. This feature is available in Sage Accpac ERP and in this tutorial, we show you how to enable and work with multiple instances of a data entry screen.
Adding Search Fields to Finder Screens(3 min 55 sec) One of the most common requests during setup of SageCRM is how to add fields to the finder screens to allow searching by additional criteria. In this tutorial, we show you how this is done.
Outlook Contact Synchronization in SageCRM (6 min 58 sec) SageCRM provides tight integration with Microsoft Outlook for your contacts, calendar and email. In this tutorial, we demonstrate how to synchronize your contacts between these vital applications.
Sending Mass Emails (7 min 47 sec)Sending your newsletter, product and service announcements and marketing messages is an easy task using the mass email function in SageCRM. In this tutorial, we walk you through the process.
Take a deep breath and enjoy! We are always looking for new subjects, feel free to contact us with your suggestions.
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We recently published a blog article about the changes in laws pertaining to credit card processing. You only have until June 30th to have your ducks in a row.
Sage had indicated they would be providing more information and it is available as of today. Sage info regarding this change can now be found at http://www.sageaccpacinfo.com/PCI/.
As indicated in our previous alert you can also find more information at the official PCI Security Standard website at: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/index.shtml.
Don't delay. This could have a huge impact on your business. Do your homework today.
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Take action before July 1, 2010.
As you may be aware, the five major credit card networks established the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) as a set of requirements for merchants to use when configuring their IT and payment-processing environments. If you store, process, or transmit cardholder data, you may be subject to these requirements.
Merchants must comply by July 1, 2010, or risk losing the ability to process credit cards. For complete details on these requirements, visit the official PCI Security Standard website at: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/index.shtml
On April 12, Sage will send letters to your, our clients, letting you know more about this requirement and providing a link to a resource landing page. The letter will be followed by email communications on April 19 and 27. The resource landing page is currently in development, but when it goes live next week, the URL will be http://www.sageaccpacinfo.com/PCI/. This landing page will provide links to FAQs, Sage contact information, credit card and PCI security standards information, Trustwave certification services, webcasts, and more.
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Tax Table Update-March 31, 2010
Note REQUIRED product updates and new changes to Activation for Sage Accpac!
The U.S. government recently announced payroll tax changes that may affect you. These changes have been incorporated into the March 31, 2010, payroll tax updates, which will be available according to the payroll ship dates schedule.
To download tax table updates online, you may simply select the Download Tax Table link on the Customer Account Page. To receive tax table updates on disk, you can select the Order PUP on Disk link on the Customer Account page, or call the Sage Customer Care team at 800-642-7693, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. A shipping charge of $19.95 plus tax will apply to payroll tax updates on disk; this charge covers any shipments released for the remainder of a client's subscription year.
Important Update-Installation Process Change
Starting with this Payroll Tax update, and the July 1, 2010, Canadian tax update, Activation Codes are no longer required. This modification to the installation process requires some additional requirements. Please ensure you update your installation process appropriately.
CRITICAL - Product Update Requirements
Before installing the payroll tax update, you must verify your service pack or product update level first. More details on the error you will receive if you are not funning the correct Product Update for your version can be found HERE in our FAQ pages. TO verify what service pack or product update you have installed, click the System information option in the help menu in your Sage Accpac ERP program. Service Packs and Product Updates can be downloaded from http://support.accpac.com/techsupport/Service_Packs/a4w/.
- If you are on Payroll 5.4A, Service Pack 3 is required
- If you are on Payroll 5.5A, Product Update 2 or Product Update 3 is required
- If you are on Payroll 5.6A, a Product Update is not required
Special Requirements-Florida
The Florida SUTA wage base readjusted was back to $7000 from $8500 effective January 1, 2010. This change requires special considerations for processing payroll for employees in Florida. Please ensure you read the U.S. Payroll Tax Florida Update Details document and follow the outlined requirements before processing your payroll with this update.
Special note for users on Accpac Payroll 5.4
Tax table updates for version 5.4 will be available through the end of 2010, however beginning with the January 2011 tax table update, version 5.4 will no longer be supported. Users on version 5.4 will need to upgrade to version 5.5 or 5.6 before January 2011.
Resources
Our FAQ pages offer several articles to assist with completing your update, including:
Contact BKD with any questions Monday - Friday 8-5 pm
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Selecting new software is never easy. Where to begin? It's something most of us do so infrequently during the course of our careers that it's difficult to know where to start.
How to Choose an Accounting System (More tools at the bottom of this post.)
First, are you certain you need new software? Do you feel like you're missing something?
Do any of these apply to your organization?
- Your company has outgrown your current system.
- It doesn't do what you need it to do.
- Your processes have changed the way you do business.
- You're using DOS software.
- You're using a PC-based spreadsheet (for example, Lotus or Microsoft Excel) or an introductory accounting package (for example, QuickBooks).
- It doesn't "talk" to other software products.
- You've got a legacy system - some "old iron" customized for your organization - which people may not necessarily like, but they understand and can use without much effort.
- Your software is so old it's getting difficult to find quality support.
- You are a fast-growing company and need a system that can grow with you.
- You want an e-business solution with an integrated financial backend.
- You have international requirements that aren't being properly met.
- You want the freedom to choose among multiple operating systems, databases, and applications as your business expands or changes.
Many organizations stay with their current accounting systems too long: users are comfortable, they fear adjusting to a new system, and the significant time and resource involved in an upgrade.
But comfortable doesn't always cut it -- especially when it comes to the financial health and long-term success of your business.
Ideally, you want software that's simple, intuitive, and closely matched to how you already do business. Be sure the system can (1) Customize easily to fit the special needs of your business, (2) Embrace industry-standard technology quickly and easily, (3) Deploy flexibly to new IT paradigms such as application hosting and (4) Scale to the changing size of your business.
What a Good System Should Deliver
Properly installed and implemented accounting software can contribute many benefits to your organization, including:
--Better Decision-Making Capabilities
Sound accounting software can provide both a snapshot-in-time look at your organization, as well as the detailed reports and other data necessary for long-term strategic planning.
-- Improved Cash Flow
Cash management is essential for all businesses. Integrated billing, inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable allow you to manage that valuable cash more easily and efficiently. Better cash management provides your organization with more options for revenue-generation campaigns and long-term growth.
-- More Accurate Information
With fully integrated accounting software, you'll not only have more information at your fingertips, you'll have more accurate information. Unlike a manual accounting system, where a great deal of time is spent cross-checking figures recorded in different ledgers (and where the potential for errors dramatically increases) - in a good computerized accounting system, information is entered only once and is used throughout the system.
-- Greater Ability to Analyze Your Data
Integrated accounting software provides real-time access to your organization's critical financial information. This provides you with greater control and the ability to more efficiently manage the components of you business.
-- A Foundation for Growth
The right accounting software can help you as your organization grows: expanding as your business expands, allowing for additional users, and offering the kinds of reports and other business intelligence data required.
Contact BKD, Inc. today for a free needs assessment. We'd be pleased to assist you in your software search.
More resources to help you:
10 Signs You Need New Business Software
What to Do When You've Outgrown Your Business Accounting Software
5 Mistakes When Choosing an Accounting Package
Outgrown QuickBooks?
Lease to Own (software and services)
How To Choose An Accounting System
How To Choose A CRM System
How To Choose A Distribution System
How To Choose A Manufacturing System
How To Choose A Warehouse Management System
How To Choose A Service and Maintenance Management System
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