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Sage Training in the workplace

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Published: 12May2006
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Sage Training - A helpful guide for anyone that has had the task of company accounting dumped on them using Sage Software without the investment in training. If you need to have Sage training because you are not sure of what you are doing then conveniently place this article on the bosses chair to bring it to their attention.

Sage Accounting software programs are great for recording business transactions and providing management data instantly when it's required. But why do so many business owners believe that buying a piece of software will transform their business overnight without the in-house skills to use it? And this doesn't just apply to accounting software! "Oh well, you can use a keyboard, so you can do the accounts" this is usually a major part of the decision making process when small businesses buy accounting software.

The person that can use the keyboard is struck with paralysis because they don't know anything about accounts and are too frightened to say "well if I’m going to do the accounts using Sage I'm going to need Sage training because it takes three years to become qualified as an accountant and I don’t know anything about it and your expecting me to knock out management accounts for you at the end of the month." "Oh just read the manual" comes the reply

Manuals only make sense when you've been shown how to do it Is it me or do manuals only make sense when you know how to do something? Manuals tell us how the programs work they are not very good at how do I process this credit note because the goods have been returned and we need our money back. There just isn't enough room in the book to cover every possible human encounter. About 80% of the transactions require only about 20% of the effort because they are straightforward and obvious to a book-keeper, once the rules are learned. The other 20% or so of transactions require 80% of the intellectual effort. Trawling through a manual without any accounting experience or Sage training is definitely a non starter.

Sage training in the classroom This is the next step up from reading the manual. There are many Sage training organisations you can visit, including Sage Software PLC, who can provide you with excellent training facilities and guide you through the software. Sage training in the classroom usually takes the form of a fictitious company with a training manual that has preset tasks for entering various transactions. Those preset tasks don't always match your business transactions.

The Sage classroom training is very good for learning how to put the data in but it doesn't teach you the accounting that goes on in the background. You need to understand what goes on in the background if you are to produce accurate management reports and correct any input errors. There's one thing that's annoying about classroom training and it's that person that sits at the front and asks all the questions they already know the answer to so they can impress others. Hogging the limelight and the tutor's time. It's in that instance when you wish you weren't so gentlemanly or lady like so you could get up and punch them on the nose. Sage training in the classroom is recommended if all you want to do is input data.

Sage training in the workplace One to one Sage training is by far the best way to learn how to use the program but be wary, the person training you should be a qualified book-keeper or Accountant. Make sure you see their credentials One to one Sage training by a qualified person means you will learn more than how to process transactions, you will learn how to get out what you put in and apart from statutory information you will be able to handle any question your boss wants to throw at you. Funnily enough they all seem to ask the same questions, How much do we owe, how much do they owe us, how much have we spent on, etc.

Sage training at your desk means it’s your data you're working on; the invoices, credits, customer receipts and purchase payments that you are familiar with on a daily basis. Sage training in the workplace is less expensive than classroom based training: In a classroom environment there is more than you being trained and you have to share the instructor with other learners who will have had to pay the same amount as you. Workplace Sage training is more efficient in that the instructor spends more time with you on specific issues relevant to your business and what you need to know Specific written training procedures for how you use the Sage software in your business can be created so that anyone can process data consistently with management needs.

Software is just a tool, and without an experienced person behind a tool usually leads to disaster - Education is often considered expensive but it lasts a lifetime (which is more than can be said for software) If your boss wants to go to bed at night comforted by the fact that the accounting function of the business is in safe hands then suggest some investment in training. But don't waste their time, if you really don't want to learn the accounts tell them so - You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink! And if you really want to become fully conversant with accounting procedures then contact anyone of the worldwide accounting bodies for more information.

Anthony Fallon is a qualified Accountant and provides workplace training for Sage Accounting Software. He can be contacted through the Warrington Web Works website at http://www.warringtonwebworks.co.uk

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