Sage Set up?

[kessock]

Hi Oh yea of great knowledge.

I need some guidance with regards to setting up my products in sage line 50.

I need to know how I should be setting the categories etc. I want to achieve the following to start with:

Category one (Cars/Trucks)
Category two (Planes)
Category three (Accessories)

From there I want:
Cat' 1 to lead to a sub category of 1. Electric 2. Nitro
Cat' 2 to lead to a sub category of 1. Electric 2. Gas Powered
Cat' 3 to lead to a sub category of 1. Car/trucks accessories 2. Plane accessories.

What I need to know is what I need to put where within Sage for it to work correctly when I send my products from Sage into Actinic using the link.

I don't want to go through creating around 7000 products manually for them not to turn out as they should within Actinic.

While I am asking questions here is another, if I create the web information within Sage using the web tab and also add the image there, will the image automaically be sent to the right place in Actinic or should I being doing something else with the images.

Any help will be greatly received.

Thanks.

Mark
www.kessockmodels.com

[Spark]

I'm no expert at all in either sage nor actinic so there may be much better options available.

If you use the web tab within Sage Line 50 V11 (FC) and check the Publish to Web box at the bottom of the description then, yes the files will be sent to Actinic via Actinic Link.

The Custom Fields on the Web Tab page (category a, b, c) will allow you three section / sub-sections in total. Category A being the main section heading and b & c being sub-categories of A.

So for example, if you wanted a section tree with Cars : Nitro : Pink - you'd set the main category as (a) cars with two sub-sections (b) nitro and (c) pink.

The category that you set in the main details page of Sage does not transfer to Actinic at all (so for Actinic, to my knowledge, is not relevant) and you can not have more than the three levels allowed by the three custom field categories.

As for the image files - when you call an image file into the web tab section of Sage it re-saves it (or at least it does in mine) within the ACCDATA/IMAGES directory. These upload fine within actinic as long as you don't have any other files of the same file name listed - so if, for example, within Actinic you are going to use extended info images and you've saved them within the site 1 directory, you would have to make sure that their filenames were different otherwise they will not upload (i.e., toy.jpg within an image file in the site 1 directory would need to become sagetoy.jpg or something within the ACCDATA/image directory).

Might be best to try it with a small number of products to start with though and see if Actinic Link transfers them correctly into Actinic, lets you add extended data & section / sub-section images (which aren't held within sage).

Hope that makes sense and helps a little but like I say, I'm no expert at all and the above is based on trial and lots of error! There may be faster and better ways to achieve the same thing and it may be possible to redirect sage to keep the image files within the site 1 directory (would mean that file names wouldn't need adjusting), but haven't figured out how to do this yet.

If you're creating a site snapshot though, the image files from Sage don't get included because they are not located within the site 1 directory.

Good luck.

[kessock]

super

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, at least I can now try to fumble my way through, as I really didn't know where to start.

Thanks again.

mark

[kessock]

Help!!!

Hi,

Still trying to get this working!

If I select the publish to web tab the and in the category A input Nitro Cars/Trucks, this will appear in Actinic after exporting etc etc but the information I write on the web tab of sage does NOT appear.

Can somebody tell me why.

Also when I import into Actinic I get the message "An error occured" but it does not say what or why!

Starting to think that Actinic are selling a product that doesn't do what it should.

Please help, as I am fast loosing faith in this not very cheap product.

Thanks.

Mark

[NVL]

Experienced user of Sage Link and V7.

Ensure that you have the export tab in Sage selected (this is below where you enter the decription in Sage for the web) and also the correct settings in the Sage Link software.

Advice; we have 5000+ products and the simplest way to operate is use Actinic as The Lord intended and Sage as Jesus agreed, using the Link facility only to save double keying of order detail for accounting uses... which is all it is really good for... on import.

Use Actinic to run your descriptions and images etc., as products created from components are negated and cause you double work where for each Sage product you'd update images and descriptions for a product which possibly doesn't exist in Actinic anyway if you built it from components with no orderline for main product. I'd advise you to unselect the choice to use Sage web fields... Thus only pricelists, prices and customers are exported and have effect upon your Actinic data.

To save time at creation import your data from a CSV into Actinic (flat file) and Sage using the same product references, this way they meet each other at import / export. Then create your product tree in Actinic manually...

Unfortunately Sage just isn't up to the job for direct web sales which surprised me too as it is a global product, it should be a seamless interface but just is not and having tried this every way the simplest method without conflicts (of which there are many) is to concentrate on Actinic as the main piece of software, Sage as the number cruncher.

I've placed a few threads up on this and ways to get around some restrictions with Sage for users with masses of data. Have fun...

[kessock]

Thanks

Hi Thanks for your reply.

Not quite the answer I was looking for, but at least I now know I purchased the wrong program.

I feel it wrong that Actinic is advertised as an easy to use program that easily integrates with Sage, as it simply does not.

Sage can be used as a very good web sales tool, as I have used it before but with the sage webshop add on.

Unfortunately I paid for Actinic before I got line 50 otherwise I think I would have gone the other way.

As for using Actinic as god, yes I can see the benefots, but unfortunately I also have to be able to link to an EPOS system as I want line 50, the EPOS and the website to run with as near to live stock levels as possible. As the Actinic checkout is NOT able to do this as yet I cannot go this route, also I think I would be very reluctactant to buy as I am sure it would be yet another nightmare to try and get my head around.

Remember we pay out a LOT of money for these programs to make life easy, and to be brutely honest this side of all my software is far from user friendly.

My advice is make sure this will work for you before you throw a lot of money into it.

Thanks again.

Mark

[NVL]

There are obvious security risks to the following suggestion.

I did consider loading up a webserver and partitioning a section so it ran like the host PC for all this software would and then using a CRON routine automate the processes, so that the data woukd not be real time but near as damn it.

Then using a remote tool operate the accounts data and / or uploads from a remote location, not had time to research this but it should work.

It sounds that "like us" you have spent the money and are now stuck with the product as you don't want to waste the cash. To be honest and as Actinic have stated that V8 will not have what we need I am looking at options, as usual the UK prices are mad but Volusion is one example of a system we are considering...

Sometimes you just need to cut your losses and consider what you are losing in sales rather than what this upgrade would cost, double edge...

Either way keep in touch with me as I'm talking to a developer at 2pm today, we are actively looking to improve things and perhaps if there's any common middle ground a cost share project could be discussed.

[kessock]

Update

Hi NVL,
Sorry time has past, did you get anywhere with your program or developer.
I still have not jumped either way, but am sick of the longwindedness of Actinic.
Please give an update.
Thanks.
Mark

[NVL]

We now have a fully operational Drop Ship program which fully automates the order download, refresh, export and multi-location email sending of despatch notes to various suppliers etc.

Works a treat, using it for several months with V8 business.

[kessock]

V8

Is V8 really that much better as I am getting conflicting information.
I really don't want to put good money after bad if it is going to be as time consuming to get right as the V7 I am running.
Thanks.
Mark

[NVL]

In all honesty it's the first step toward what it should be and looks like an upgrade, where V6 to V7 was a joke...

The layouts are better, the site design is mind bender however and uses far too many phrases and plug-ins to dynamically create pages, even with PHP and HTML knowledge I'm struggling compared to V7 templates.

All in all still a good value product but remains "behind" in what it could be.

Upgrade? Hard to advise, if you're living in harmony with what you have and your Grandparents are Jewish then you would be best to keep what you have but I can say that I'm happier to have upgraded. The biggest problem here is me as I'm too busy running my business to allow Actinic Software to run me instead as I just don't have the time to sit down and learn how to use this new system, a point I feel the designers overlooked...

[kessock]

Time

Hi NVL,
Thanks for the reply.
I too am trying to split myself in 3, my retail shop is manic (which is great), however I know I need to improve my ecommerce side of things.
I a getting sales through my site just not turning the number of visitors in to a very good sales figure.
The problem MUST be the site layout and user friendliness as I am one of if not the cheapest for my industry.
Any guidance would be good, but as you say it is far from easy to give Actinic the time it NEEDS to get it doing it's job properly.
With no I.T. training I really am running blind.
Thanks again.
Mark

[Bridget]

Actinic Link and Sage

Thanks Guys - I found this thread very interesting.

Our website has been doing very nicely recently and we need to look at ways of streamlining various processes to be able to achieve more in the day! We also have some major problems with Quickbooks which no-one seems willing or able to sort out. I have therefore been looking at Sage and thinking that Actinic Link would provide a time saving way of bringing the orders from Actinic into the accounts package. We currently re-type the order data into QB. So, my questions are -

1. Does Link work well for the transfer of orders?
2. Should I be using Sage or Actinic to monitor stock (I use QB at the moment)?
3. If Sage, what is the difference between the various versions of Line 50 as regards stock? The Sage comparison table says that Accountant Plus and FC have "Stock allocation" whereas Accountant has "Stock control".
4. Is Sage and the Link for it so much better than QB to justify the extra cost to a small business? I know we have to do something but it would be cheaper to start afresh with a new version of QB (knowing that the support available is basically nil).

Any thoughts out there ......

[kessock]

Sage

Hi Bridget,
I am no expert as you can see from the threads above, however this is my input.
Having looked into a number of accounting programs I decided on Line 50 Financial Controller, this was mainly due to to it being able to do everything my business wanted now and would want as I expanded.
There is very little point in buying the "will do for now" program only to realise six months or a year later that the extra few hundred pounds would have been wise in the first place.
We too are a small business, and have found the decisions hard ones.
Presently we are using Actinic as our stock control however if you want to use Sage then this (I think I am correct saying this) is not a problem by using the link.
If you are intending using an Epos system then you may well be better speaking to Actinic sales about there system, as they are getting sorting (soon I hope) to enable actinic/Epos and Sage to all work together for stock control. I am either going for that or the Paypoint on offer frm Sage.
We export all orders from Actinic into Sage using the link, and have found that this works extremely well without too much head scratching.
As I say I really really am not good at this and am always on here trying to learn, but with a forum like this and a few books I think that anything is achieveable.
There are things that are not as straight forward as they really should be, but I don't think it matters what you decide there will always be issues.
Hope this helps and not confuses.
Cheers.
Mark

[Bridget]

Hi Mark

Thanks for your response. I have had a look at the Sage products in more detail today. It all looks a bit daunting but it has to be faced. I have reached the same conclusion as you that one major change is better than having to spent time and money now only to have to change again in 6 months time. Epos isn't a problem for me at the moment because I don't have a retail outlet. I trade via the website and at events where I am too stingy to pay for electricity and so rely on writing all the sales down in my trusty little cashbook - quaint I know - and then typing them into the system as one sales receipt when I get home. As long as I can transfer orders from Actinic without re-typing that will be progress.

I've been taking a look at the books available for Line 50. Do you have any recommendations? There doesn't appear to be one in the "For Dummies" series which is a bit of a worry! The booklet for Actinic Link makes it clear that they are expecting you to have knowledge of Line 50 before you start so I thought I had better get reading. There goes my Christmas break what with that and the tax return!

Bridget
www.militaryfigures.co.uk