Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. ~ Arthur C. Clarke

Welcome to the first of our newsletters. We will send our newsletters to you on a regular basis to cover the many and ongoing topical issues (power outages, crime and fuel prices among them) that impact directly and indirectly on businesses, their profitability, customer service levels and internal productivity.

We’ll also give you information on SYSPRO enhancements, along with technical and practical tips. Much of what we will share with you is based on actual situations that The Computer Bird has helped
resolve.

This month’s topic: How well is your company managing transport costs?

Keeping abreast of what transport is actually costing your business can be a daunting task, yet never has it been more important to do so. Figures released by the Department of Minerals & Energy show that diesel in Gauteng, for instance, cost 517.8 cents per litre in January 2006. In April 2008, the cost was 924.3 – and just a month later it is over R10 per litre.

There are many companies who, up to now, have not accurately analysed the cost consequences of an increase in the fuel price, or other linked items, and how this affects their bottom line. It has become such a major factor that every company must be in a position to calculate immediately how this will affect margins and how to react to cover these additional costs, whilst remaining competitive in the market.

The good news is that SYSPRO has the capacity and flexibility to calculate transport costs down to the product level. The functionality is embedded into the Sales Order Module under the heading of “Service charges.”

Some companies show transport as a separate charge, while others build it into the cost of the product. The system can be set up to accommodate your method of pricing: whether it is a fixed amount or a formula, SYSPRO allows you to itemise the detail in the background for internal analysis purposes, without necessarily displaying the detail on the invoice.

The options are variable and need to be set up to accommodate your own way of doing business. Call us if you need assistance.

Latest versions of SYSPRO – SP1 AND SP2

• Assessment of financial performance of your company through the new Ratio analysis queries and reports, accessed via general ledger queries and SYSPRO Reporting Services
   
• Ability to distinguish between current and non-current assets and liabilities when setting up general codes or structure definition to facilitate the calculation of ratios
   
• Reversal of a general ledger journal where it has been posted in error
   
• Additional security on general ledger report writer reports
   
• New display and entry forms for creating journals – simplified entry

• Separation of browse and maintenance programs for Asset Branches, Groups, Locations, Owners, Cost Centres, Types, Status, Disposals, Capex, Expenses and Mechanics, to enable users to customise toolbars, list views, docking panes and display and entry
   
• Capex budgeting and management reporting

• Selection of printing using standard documents, Word documents or SRS documents
   
• Concurrent accounts payable cycle to enable simultaneous payment transactions without locking out other users