Sage announced that as of March 31, 2011, that they will no longer sell V-Technologies' StarShip Parcel and StarShip Freight products for Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200, Sage ERP MAS 500, Sage BusinessWorks Accounting, or Sage PFW ERP. This does not mean that you have to change to a different product, if you are currently using StarShip. All this is saying is that Sage will no longer Sell the product as a Endorsed Solution. Sage will not continue to develop the link and support of the StarShip Link will discontinue over time.

Sage will continue to support the StarShip Link (developed by Sage) for on-plan customers who are on currently supported versions of Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200, and StarShip Parcel version 10.1.1 and earlier (per the Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 Supported Versions document).

StarShip Link will not be included in Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 Version 4.5.

Customers who have a current maintenance or support plan that extends past August 31, 2011, and includes StarShip Link, will have their next year's maintenance or support plan extended for a pro-rated period, based on the remaining period of support for StarShip Link.

V-Technologies has already built into their current version of StarShip the use of the Business Object Interface this integration to Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 replaces the StarShip Link that Sage will no longer support. While the workflow is different with the Business Object Interface, the connection between StarShip Parcel and Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 remains. Contact us for inquiries about the StarShip Business Object Interface integration.

V-Technologies will continue to provide maintenance and support for the StarShip Freight and StarShip Parcel products for Sage customers who are enrolled in a StarShip support plan with them.

 

 

What is new in Sage MAS 90 and 200? Sage created a table to show you just some of the differences from version 4.0 to the current 4.4 version.

Features	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.1	4.05 & 4.0
Pay Vendors electronically using ACH**
Deter check fraud using Positive Pay**
Efficiently and automatically reconcile checks**
Search more efficiently by lot or serial number*
Avoid duplicate pick sheet printing*
PA-DSS compliant safeguards to secure credit card information*
Parallel Migration - Conveniently move up to the current release, minimizing downtime
Improve productivity with more information in expanded customer and item number
Apply customizations that survive upgrades & simplify the process of applying them
Easy access to information on the new Sage MAS 90 and 200 desktop
Business Insights Explorer - ad hoc reporting - additional views for IM, PO, BOM
Preview reports using your personalized magnification levels
Match your Inventory Management workflow with Dual Grid flexibile & easy personalization
Achieve greater productivity using batch entry for Inventory transactions
Streamline your physical count with expected quantities default
Use zero cost valuation for tracking inventory of manufacturing samples or vendor over-runs
Utilize informative Back Order Fill reports
Match your Purchase Order workflow with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Increase productivity using batch entry for Purchase Order Receipts, Returns, and Issues
Simplify standard cost adjustments
Match your Bill of Materials workflow with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Match your Bar Code workflow with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Maximize raw material accuracy with increased decimal precision
Paperless Office - email, fax and store electronic documents
Federal and State eFiling & Reporting - eforms filled in for you, eFiling optional for a fee
Keep Window Open After Printing - return to criteria selections for adjustments
Direct Deposit - Productive and secure Payroll add-on
StarShip Freight - optimized pallet shipping
Business Insights Dashboard Enhancements - start your day with the info you need most
Business Insights Explorer - Quick Click Charts
Business Insights Explorer - ad hoc reporting - additional views for AP, GL, IM, PO
Match your Accounts Payable workflow with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Improved User-Defined Fields (UDFs) for AP, AR and GL
Add User-Defined Tables (UDTs) to simplify inclusion of UDF's in reporting
Additional CRM Integration options
Business Insights Explorer - turn data into actionable knowledge with ad hoc reporting
Match your Accounts Receivable workflow with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Match your Sales Order workflow with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Match your RMA workflows with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Match your Bank Rec workflow with Dual Grid flexibility & easy Personalization
Customize standard reports using Crystal Reports
Power of the Right Click - improve productivity with relevant options for related tasks
Enhanced Sales Order integration options with Job Cost
Additional options for powerful credit checking minimizes risks
Job Cost Enhancements to improve your reporting and billing abilities
Enhanced Standard General Ledger financial reporting
Business Insights Reporter - Wizard based interface for custom reporting
Personalize screens for optimal data entry, sizing, save settings, set default printing
Smart Memos (ePost-it Note) follow workflows & provide detailed information & attachments
Access related tasks faster using Hyperlinks with a single click
Intuitive set-up wizards used to activate new features in system
Fiscal Year & Period flexibility provides a financial snapshot at any accounting period or year
Powerful security settings by role for access to activities down to the task level
Retain valuable traceability information with user and date timestamps
Business Object Interface - API that enables integrations & enforces business rules
General Ledger - more flexible budget maintenance up to 99 budgets
GL Account structure expanded to allow 32 characters and 10 segments
Payroll enhancements when posting by department

** Features and functionality added to Sage MAS 90 and 200 4.4 in Product Update 2.
* Features and functionality added to Sage MAS 90 and 200 4.4 in Product Update 1, available to customers on a maintenance or support plan via a convenient compact download from SageOnline.

 

Sage is encouraging all customers to be current on their software. Being current helps companies to utilize the current operating systems like Microsoft Windows 7 and Microsoft Server 2008. Current software will have updates and bug fixes available to customers on subscription. Updates and bug fixes keep customers from losing productivity by not forcing them to create workarounds and troubleshoot issues that are already fixed in the update.  Sage's plan is to provide customers with plenty of notice to ensure that customers continue to run their business on a supported version and get the most value from their investment. Below is the current schedule for product retirement:

Product	Retirement
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 3.71	Sept 30, 2010
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.0, 4.05, 4.1	Sept 30, 2011
Sage ERP MAS 200 for SQL 3.7x	Sept 30, 2011
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.2	Sept 30, 2012
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.3	Sept 30, 2013
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.4	Sept 30, 2014
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 EES1.0, 1.1, 1.2	May 30, 2011
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 EES 1.3	Mar 30, 2012
Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 EES 1.4	Sept 30, 2012

As you can see, any customer on 3.x version software is no longer supported by Sage. That doesn't mean that you can't get support. MBA Business Software offers support for legacy versions. Like Sage, we do strongly encourage all of our customers to stay current to get the most out of their software investment. Contact us today to see if you are on an unsupported version and to find out how you can get current.

Now available is Product Update (PU) 4 for Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 released from sage on December 27^th 2010. This is the sourth Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200 4.4 Product Update and is available for download from Sage Online. This update focuses on year-end changes and program fixes. New features and functionality are added in Product Update 5 that is scheduled for next year.