Sage Software Integrated EDI Solution - eBridge Software

eBridge ePortal community is growing

2009-07-15T16:39:00.002-04:00

eBridge is a leader in delivering EDI or eCommerce integration solutions to companies running various financial packages such as Sage Software MAS 500 across North America and overseas.

Our newest product is designed to help clients of all sizes save time and money, enhance Trading Partner relationships and grow their business.

The community is growing with roughly 300 customers on our ePortal solution alone, as of July 15,2009 Business Documents Transacted: 1,370,762

That is great for customers!

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager - Sage Software Products
Direct: 905-635-3309
Tel: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

EDI for Boscov’s

2009-06-25T15:19:00.001-04:00

If you are currently trading EDI with Boscov’s or just considering it you may find the following information useful. While working with a new prospect on an EDI integration project for MS Dynamics GP I came across Boscov’s EDI implementation guides and I have provided a link to all of their documents below.

212 Motor Carrier Delivery Trailer Manifest
214 Transportation Carrier Shipment Status
832 UPC Catalog
850 Purchase Orders
850 Purchase Order Pre-Pack
852 Product Activity Data
855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement
856 Standard Pack ASN
856 Pick Pack ASN
Shipping Container Symbol Marking
Contact List and Partnership Information
Store List

More information can be found at Boscov’s Vendor Area.

eBridge Software
Account Manager
Direct: 905-635-3309
Ph: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

Save Money Now

2009-04-24T16:32:00.002-04:00

It's time to do an economy related post on the Sage Software Integrated EDI solution blog I’ve had running successfully since 2007.

I have been calling a ton of companies lately with the same goal in mind and that is to find companies that are just requiring to implement EDI and need a solution or have been running EDI for years but paying excessive amount of costs.

In the case of the existing EDI user they have been set-up on some sort of Web based EDI solution and have been manually printing sales orders into their accounting system such as Sage MAS 90 and then going back to the same Web based EDI system to manually type in the invoice and send it back via EDI to Wal-Mart and probably paying a fee for that “otherwise should be free” service.

Since we're talking Wal-mart, when you walk into Wal-mart you will typically see 2 shopping carts at the front of the store showing 2 carts full of the same products with one with items bought at Wal-mart with the Wal-Mart receipt and shrink-wrapped, and other bought at a competitor with their much higher receipt shown in the same manner if we used the same scenario for EDI you can see the bigger picture.

Typical EDI providers will have a per document fee or Kilo Character service plan based on your monthly volume, below is an example of such costs.

Company - A
EDI Services – Transaction based Webforms
Manual Printing and Data Entry

KC/Qty Rate Amount
Monthly EDI Company Fee 1 50.00 50.00
Per Trading Partner Surcharge - 12 Partners 5 5.00 25.00
0-5 Documents - Free 5 0.00 0.00
6-20 Documents - @ $1.80 each 15 1.80 27.00
21-50 Documents - @ $1.55 each 30 1.55 46.50
51-100 Documents - @ 1.30 each 50 1.30 65.00
101-200 Documents - @ 1.05 each 100 1.05 105.00
201-400 Documents - @ $0.80 each 200 0.80 160.00
401-600 Documents - @ $0.55 each 42 0.55 23.10
Per Document Interconnect Fee 34 0.20 6.80

Total Monthly Fee 508.40

With this scenario the company is paying for someone to log into online to some Web site to view the EDI orders and print them then spend a few hours typing them into the ERP solution and then later going back to the same online system to type Invoices (810) and Advanced Shipping Notices (856) which has a whole other set of problems with functionality.

This company is paying about $6000-$7,000 per year for 12 Partners to use a website to get documents and send documents via EDI and handling this all manually. The solution is invest in an integrated solution that I can work with the customer to provide the cost for implementation and get onto our system that is not transaction based and will provide your company with multiple connections to not only normal Trading Partners but also 3PL ( Third Party Logistics ) providers and eCommerce platforms such as eBay.

The Sage Software EDI solution market space is full of companies and resellers that can either provide you with a service, sell you tools or build something from scratch, the choices are really up to you to decide and evaluate. I can tell you many EDI providers do not write their own EDI solutions and typically rely on another vendor to write the connections. Who does the support for this? eBridge does all of the integration work, we don’t customize the ERP solution in order for EDI to function like many of them do and we provide yes a True “ end-to-end solution “ that is complete by one company including the communication with No monthly transaction costs.

Save Money Now

eBridge Software
Account Manager
Direct: 905-635-3309
Ph: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

eBridge Software attains Sage Gold Level Partnership

2009-03-05T09:37:00.002-05:00

eBridge Software an established EDI, CRM, ecommerce and supply chain management integration Sage partner achieves elite status after rigorous testing and marketplace feedback for Sage’s Gold Partnership Program.

BURLINGTON, Ontario (February 24, 2009) - eBRIDGE Software (http://www.ebridgesoft.com), a long time Sage partner and leading provider of business software integration solutions for EDI, CRM, SCM and web store fronts, is pleased to announce that it is now a Sage Gold Tier Certified Partner. In order to successfully complete the certification, eBridge Software and their products had to meet stringent integration, documentation and installation standards and testing. Also as part of the Gold level partnership process, numerous business partners and a host of clients were required to respond to a survey outlining the eBridge commitment to support, customer and product satisfaction. Having experience in developing integration solutions for the Sage product line since 1993 has allowed eBridge to build up a vast technical understanding and knowledge unsurpassed by its competitors. In house experts allow eBridge to demonstrate a wealth of comprehension and expertise on which a small to mid-sized business can leverage when partnering with eBridge for integration to their Sage product. With over 1000 Sage customers, integration with all Sage SME accounting packages and over 25,000 documents, eBridge has emerged as the leader in providing quality Sage integration solutions.

Unlike other integration providers, eBridge has an end to end solution for the small to mid-sized business. “Having Sage recognize our commitment to providing solid, scalable end to end integration solutions for small to mid-sized business ” mentions Colin Brown, CEO of eBridge Software. “is certainly a statement to our marketplace that we are knowledgeable, committed and forward moving in the Sage market space”.

While eBridge boasts a wide range of integration to and from over 35+ accounting packages, in the case of Sage, eBridge integrates with the following products:

Peachtree by Sage, Sage Pro ERP, Sage Accpac ERP, Sage BusinessVision Accounting, Sage SalesLogix, SageCRM, Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 ERP, Sage MAS 500 ERP, Sage PFW, Sage BusinessWorks Accounting

About Sage Software’s Development Partner Program

The BMD (Business Management Division) Development Partner Program is designed to help ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) successfully develop, test and market applications that enhance and extend the functionality of Sage Software’s BMD solutions. The program provides extensive development resources, technical services, strategic product and marketing benefits that help maximize Development Partner revenue opportunities. Endorsed Development Partners, the highest achievable designation in the program, receive the greatest benefits by meeting rigorous strategic, technology and integration criteria. Sage Software supports the needs and challenges of nearly 3 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America through easy-to-use, scalable and customizable business management solutions. For more information on the Sage Software BMD Partner Development Program, please visit http://sagesoftware.com/partners/development_program/index.cfm

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager - Sage Software Products
Direct: 905-635-3309
Tel: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

A good reason to switch EDI providers

2009-01-12T14:54:00.005-05:00

During these economic times, companies will be looking to reduce operating expenses in order to remain competitive in the market place. There are numerous ways a company can reduce expenses during the downturn of the economy, for purposes of this post something a simple as ongoing IT costs may be just the area to look at instead of reducing valuable people and other resources.

A company transacting via EDI may still be using some sort of solution that uses a VAN service (Value Added Network) that is geared towards charging per document or per click. Companies should not be paying really anything to move documents over the internet as the internet is free and now the most widely used piece of communication method for just about everything from email, advertising to personal finance.

If your company is currently paying an EDI service provider for sending Web forms or even through another Sage Software partner that more or less has some sort of level of integration. Chances are your paying far too much for a service that should be free as well as still doing some form of manual process. I have recently spoken to customers paying 3-4K per month in transaction charges using some sort of Van when really they shouldn’t be paying anything for that service or at least at a rate far less then that for just maintaining the set-up.

For anyone currently planning to evaluate a new solution to replace an existing one or are just being asked to get EDI enabled to trade with feel free to give me a call, I would be more then happy to assist you.

Thank you,

Wayne

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager - Sage Software Products
Direct: 905-635-3309
Tel: 905-631-8333 ext. 247
Fax: 416-946-1805

wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

Happy Holidays From eBridge Software

2008-12-17T13:55:00.003-05:00

The eBridge Software Advantage -Why pay fees when you don't need to.

2008-10-15T15:44:00.006-04:00

Get all of your EDI problems relieved with one complete solution from eBridge Software with No Transaction fees!

How can this be you ask? If your a Sage Software using any Sage Software ERP package give me a call. We not only integrate regular EDI documents, you can also be flexible in integrating your Website or working with companies that demand more then basic EDI such as XML formatted sales orders. Most competitive products don't offer this level of functionality with true hands off integration.

If your currently using a Non-integrated solution or even a competing product and would like to save your company money. I'll gladly cut your VAN charges by moving to our solution as many customer have done though the course of this year. With the economy in a down swing more and more companies will be looking to save money and this is one way you can ensure your company thrives.

Why pay fees when you don't need to.

Great time to Switch providers.

Thanks.

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager
(Sage Software Products)
wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

eBridge Software Referral Partner Program

2008-09-09T11:01:00.003-04:00

Hi All,

Just thought I would put this message out there for Sage Software resellers with customers looking for an EDI solution. There are so many out there to choose from and you shouldn’t limit your client’s choices with very limited products. As an eBridge Software Referral partner you can earn extra revenue on your Sage Software opportunities. We handle everything from discovery to positioning the proper eBridge Solution as we have the benefit of being flexible to Sage Software customers.

The referral program is not limited to Sage Software resellers; Web developers will also be eligible to receive a referral for registered leads for the integration of clients Webstore (shopping cart) into a Sage Software ERP solution such as MAS 90 or MAS 500. We have 100’s of implementations with different Webstore products so there are no limitations.

With an eBridge Software solution in place a customer can handle all of their EDI requirements and even integrate their online business with 1 incredible solution.

Ask me about the program today!

Sage EDI Buyer's Guide Part 3 – eBridge ePortal

2008-08-13T09:56:00.002-04:00

For this segment of EDI Buyer's Guide we’ll touch on the eBridge ePortal and what this means to customers looking for either a simple integration solution, a way to reformat data automatically for other uses such as EDI to XML.

ePortal provides one solution for the exchange of business data by managing connectivity, data transformation, storage, and EDI compliancy functions, relieving your organization of the need to purchase and maintain multiple components.

ePortal with eBridge Integration Solution for Sage Software

Without going into a high level article about how everything works, with an eBridge EDI Integration Solution working with your particular accounting package (such as Sage MAS 500) you are connected to your EDI document exchange process to streamline the e-Commerce flow. This is not limited to just standard EDI either your system will now have the capacity to handle X12,EDIFact,Tradacomms,XML and a lot more. A very robust solution for a growing company to take advantage of.

With the ePortal solution there is no need for installing and also paying support fees for translation software or On-Premise communication, all of this resides on ePortal for our Bridge to automatically look for data or send data through working with your Sage Software ERP solution. There are a great number of benefits with buying a solution such as this, for one thing is there is No Transaction charges, Network fees or Kilocharacter charges. The VAN based EDI solution is slowly going away and numerous supported formats are being implemented by various Trading partners looking at moving away from a VAN, you don’t want your company having to implement some sort of custom fix or install a basic VAN only solution only to replace it in 2 or 3 years wasting money.

Just something to consider looking at different EDI solutions, there is are a ton of them out there to look at and each has it’s benefits and disadvantages. Best thing to do is really consider the bigger picture in terms of what your looking for in a solution.

For the next segment of EDI Buyer's guide, we'll talk about some common EDI transactions and more complex ones and what are some of the terms.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me,

1-800-755-6921 Ext 247

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager- Sage Software Products
eBridge Software

Is your EDI solution really integrated or is it manual?

2008-07-04T12:06:00.000-04:00

Is your EDI solution really integrated or is it manual?

After speaking with numerous customers and prospects over the past few months, one thing I have noticed is a lot of customers seem to be using an EDI solution that was sold to them as integrated when really there is an awful lot of extra work involved. As I dug into it a little deeper they all seem to say the same thing is that they are paying a lot for VAN (Value Added Network) fees and getting huge charge backs from Trading Partners. The charge backs were from their EDI solution claiming the ASN was sent but really it was not received and there was no proof in terms of an acknowledgement receipt.

When evaluating an EDI solution for Sage Software there are a number of Sage Software ISV partners out in the Market place, several are very similar in terms of the same sort of look and feel as using an email solution. And all of them will have a basic goal in mind and that is allowing the customer to have EDI with their trading partners.

Software is given away, what’s the catch?

Many companies give away their EDI software only to recoup on VAN fees or Kilo-Character charges you should ask yourself how much is this EDI deal going to really cost me and/ or the company? Do I have to have a person run this daily or add this routine on top of an already busy person in the company? How cost efficient can that really be and how do I solve that?

You can with unattended integration and having a solution in place that can handle all levels of communications and have the flexibility for you to either have your own communication or a more Hands-Off solution that includes everything from the connections to the communication with no monthly fees. It is possible.

Smoke and Mirrors

The EDI solutions that are based on an email style interface are good to get you by for basic EDI, that is handling typical EDI documents such as a Purchase Order (850), Invoice (810) or an Advanced Shipping Notice ( ASN / 856) . How do they handle other documents such as 3PL warehousing, do they have the expertise internally to program this or do they have to outsource this work to a third party programmer? Who supports it if something goes wrong?

When evaluating such as solution, ask yourself is this type of solution really integrated or do you need someone to highlight the orders or manage your EDI periodically during the day, click a button and then access some sort of stored procedure. Sure it sounds great on the surface and sure the order eventually shows up in your accounting package, but how did it get there? Can I make a change to match my specific business process?

Companies are unique

An EDI solution should not control you; you should be able to control your EDI. The fact is no two businesses are alike, so the way you sell shoes to Wal-Mart may be completely different to how your competitor does it. You should be able to make changes to how your Purchases Orders are brought into your accounting package as well as how they are sorted internally to match your business process. Are you able to manage or change your EDI solution so that it matches your companies unique requirements or allow for growth the way you need it handled and not how it’s set up for you and your expected to follow it.

Here are some questions that may be useful for you:

• Does the EDI provider write this stored procedure or is it customized and supported by an entirely different company?
• Once this procedure is executed is it just dumping the file into your database and possibly causing data corruption to occur?
• Is your EDI solution integrated or based on clicking a button to initiate a stored procedure?
• Does it have XML support?
• Does it support AS2 and/Or charge you for it when communicating to an EDI partner that requests it?
• Is the ASN really integrated?
• Have they or will they have to modify my ERP source code in order to have EDI working?
• Did I pay for a Web forms solution when I could have gone integrated?
• Can I grow with this solution?
• What is the migration path to an In-House solution?
• Can I also integrate my Webstore or even integrate with eBay?
• Can I choose a Translator or do I need one at all? Is it part of the solution?
• How much are my VAN fees and how can I control or cut those costs way down while improving productivity?
• Does this solution save me the cost of paying someone to do the EDI imports or will it add “work” to their already busy day?

Thanks alot,

Wayne Thompson
Sage Software eCommerce Account Manager
eBridge Software

Sage Software EDI - No VAN fees

2008-05-29T09:15:00.007-04:00

Hi All,

For Sage Software ERP users looking for an EDI solution that is easy to use, runs virtually unattended and has the best feature set in the industry look no further then an eBridge Software EDI solution.

The best part is NO VAN FEES , No Kilo-Character charges, No Transaction charges

If your currently running a solution and paying monthly transaction charges that often range in the $500-1400 Per month per Trading Partner then you should look at switching to something else.

Ask me about :

Sage Software EDI Solution Sage MAS 90 / Sage MAS 200
Sage Software EDI Solution Sage MAS 500
Sage Software EDI Solution Sage Business Vision
Sage Software EDI Solution Sage Business Works
Sage Software EDI Solution Sage Pro
Sage Software EDI Solution Sage PFW / Batchmaster

Thanks alot,

Wayne Thompson
Sage Software eCommerce Account Manager
eBridge Software

Sage MAS 90 / MAS 200 / MAS 500 Web Store Shopping Cart Integration

2008-05-22T11:06:00.001-04:00

Hi All,

Going to start posting more information about our Web Store integrations since the other main area eBridge Software focuses on is the huge market for Web Store or Web Site shopping cart integration. If you’re currently taking sales orders off the website and manually keying them in we do have the solution for you to automate this process in real-time and have integration to the back end Sage Software solution such as MAS 90, MAS 200 or MAS 500. We can absolutely offer integration to other Sage Software products such as PFW or Sage Business Vision. For now I’d like to focus on the Sage MAS line.

Were in the process of revamping our product literature concerning using eBridge as the solution to properly integrate your Web Store solution with your accounting package.

At the moment some incredible features are customer on the fly functionality and if requested for security we can modify your solution to fit your business needs for holding sales orders for your approval. This is to protect against orders that come in with invalid credit card information.

If you’re looking to integrate your web site please give me a call, in addition to Website integration we do support eBay, Paypal, Yahoo Store, Amazon and many others as current product offerings.

Thanks

Wayne Thompson
Sage Software eCommerce Account Manager
eBridge Software

For Sage Software Web Store please visit (http://sagewebstorefrontintegration.blogspot.com//)

eBridge Software offers eBay Store Integration - Huge Benefit to Sage Software customers

2008-05-06T10:57:00.004-04:00

Hi All,

For all of my readers, eBridge Software will be at the eBay Live show in Chicago this June 19-21, 2008. Last month eBridge Software released the eBay connection to our ePortal solution. We already have MAS 200 customers integrating sales orders being generated by their eBay store.

List of Exhibitors for eBay Live show:

http://pages.ebay.com/ebaylive/ExhibitorsList

Just a reminder that the eBridge Software platform is the most cost effective integration solution available not only integrate eBay Store sales orders, company's will benefit having a single solution that will integrate mulitple systems such as EDI and Web Cart integration and ultimately save money instead of buying and maintaining multiple solutions.

If your a Sage Software user of such solutions as Sage Pro, ACCPAC, Sage Business Vision, Sage PFW, MAS 90, MAS 200, MAS 500, I am available to assist you in positioning the best solution for you and save your company alot of money in every detail with owning an eCommerce integrated solution.

Give me a call.

Thanks alot,

Wayne Thompson
Account Manager - Sage Software Products
eBridge Software

EDI for Small Business

2008-03-31T11:06:00.002-04:00

Small Businesses today are faced with the challenge of not only remaining competitive in the market place with each other, they are also faced with the decision to either move to an EDI set-up of some sort to keep doing business with a particular vendor/trading partner or make the tough choice to be passed over completly for Purchase Orders when it much easier to "click" a button then to fax or call in an order.

It is very common to see companies forced to do EDI or loose that business, I'd like to help in anyway possible and with the available options i've got offer small-med companies I can provide a company with either an Integrated EDI Solution or Non-Integrated solution with no software and little set-up. The Non-Integrated solution is to get you live with a Vendor quickly to get Purchase Orders (850) or send back critical documents such as an Invoice (810) or ASN (856) and maintain that relationship with them. Should the orders really pick up? Integration available for just about all of the Sage Software ERP solutions and I can help you out with the various options eBridge Software has to offer.

If you have any questions please feel free to call or email wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

Thank You,

Wayne Thompson

Wish someone "Have a nice day" today

2008-03-19T10:55:00.004-04:00

It’s hard to describe myself, I have always thought I’ve had some great experiences over the years but the best approach is always have a positive attitude and always look for something new to learn. If I were to focus on my Career for my "About Me" portion of this Blog I would say I’ve had a lot of great experiences in the last 15 years working at a couple of really great companies where I learned a great deal about what it really means to multitask and have excellent Time Management. The last company I worked for was Synnex Canada, I decided that the drive was a little long and the family life was changing enough for me to also make a move and join eBridge Software and help grow the company in anyway I possibly can.

After working with both customers directly and indirectly, one thing I’ve always strived for is to ensure the customer's needs are taken care of. If a customer ever has an issue it is more of an impact for someone in sales to take that one extra step and go that extra mile for them as you never know what opportunity it might turn into. I recall selling a $5 printer cable to someone years ago and I believe all I really did was tell them to “have a great day” and it turns out that same person was about to buy a great number of computers for his companies office, believe me that “have a great day” turned out to be a fantastic day as it earned a great customer that turned out to be an excellent business relationship. Ever since then I always ensure I wish someone well or "Have a nice day"

eBridge Software’s ePortal Solution offers Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) as an alternative to VAN's or Web Forms EDI

2008-03-18T16:14:00.002-04:00

ePortal is the solution companies have been waiting for, an option to have real integration starting at a price point similar to un-integrated products such as Web Forms or other EDI solutions such as VAN based EDI products that offer little or no integration.

eBridge Software is able to provide customers the means to get EDI ready quickly with the ePortal solution. Customer have the choice to use the ePortal solution to effectively replace their VAN and have one low cost set-up where eBridge maintains the relationship between you and the trading partner and effectively eliminating the need to have staff members monitoring an inbound EDI document software to do import and export. The Bridge can be set-up in an unattended mode and verify sales order information on any document arriving from a trading partner via EDI.

With the ePortal service the customer will have Unlimited Transactions as well as the ability to have document management through a web link that will allow customers to modify or place EDI orders and receive documents. This is a huge benefit should your ERP system have some sort of down time, you will be able to receive your orders and keep business moving.

eBridge Software has an ePortal or On-Premise solution available for any of the following Sage Software ERP solutions:

Sage BusinessWorks
Sage BusinessVision
Sage PFW / Batchmaster
Sage MAS 90
Sage MAS 200
Sage MAS 500
and more...

Depending on current or future company needs I can assist you with the best solution that makes sense for both a cost perspective and an implementation perspective. Are you more interested in mapping yourself or would you want something more hands off? Either way you can have one or the other or a combination of both and not only integrate your EDI transactions with Sage but also integrate your Web Store information using the same eBridge Software Bridge installed.

For more information, please contact me at 1-800-755-6921

Thanks,

Wayne Thompson eCommerce Account Manager eBridge Software

eBridge Software - Sage Insights 2008 Booth #129

2008-03-17T16:17:00.004-04:00

Hi All,

eBridge Software will be at Sage Insights May 12-15, 2008

Please drop by Booth number #129 at Insights for product information.

Wal-Mart EDI Solution

2008-03-03T16:21:00.003-05:00

Wal-Mart EDI Solution

Are you just beginning to sell to Wal-Mart or have you been paying for EDI services via a VAN or Web Forms product? Looking for an EDI solution can be a tricky task with all the terminology associated with the various EDI solutions. VAN’s or value-added networks are going to eventually disappear and companies such as Wal-Mart have already pioneered this change in the form of communicating through an AS2 which is a direct connection that is secure with your Trading partner(s). With an eBridge Software solution in place we make it easy to quickly connect to Wal-Mart and depending on the solution you decide to use with us, you can exchange EDI documents such as a purchase order (850), an invoice (810), an ASN (856) and so much more plus reap the rewards of an integrated solution.

Sure, some software solutions will offer low cost or even “free” software and support but really how good is it? Is it integrated and is it a 2–step process involving a web or outlook style email interface with drag and import functionality? Do you really have time to be an EDI Co-coordinator when you don’t need to be? The easy way out of a problem with VAN based solutions is really prolonging the fact you’re paying for transactions that shouldn’t paying and in most cases these EDI solutions can only support 1 format (ANSI X12) and do not have built in future compatibility or adaptability to change formats or communication.

Or solutions eliminate the need for a VAN with companies like Wal-mart and place more control in our customers hands should you choose to do so. If you’re a Sage Software customer and need to communicate with any Trading partner, check the implementation guide to perhaps ask me to help you come up with the best solution that matches your business.
Thank you,

Sage PFW EDI Solution for Platnium and Batchmaster

2008-03-03T11:17:00.002-05:00

Hi All,

For anyone looking for an EDI solution for Sage PFW. I would enjoy being able to help you with the best solution that fits your business process for both your current need and also your future EDI needs.

eBridge can address not only your EDI requirement, the software is capable of integrating your sales orders off the webstores and prviding inventory information as well. eBridge Software is the only EDI solution that is able to truly automate the integration of EDI documents in either a Manual or Unattended mode. With our unattended mode you do not have to do a 2-step process like other solutions, thus automating your EDI needs.

In addition to Sage PFW, we also support all versions of Batchmaster with an actual module that works with the package and provide unattended integration at all levels for any document type. The software supports all level of communication ranging from AS2, XML,.X12, email, CSV, FTP etc...

As a special promotion please mention this blog post during intiall discovery and requirements and I will be sure to provide you with a bonus for using one of our EDI solutions.

If you have any questions please feel free to call eBridge Software and fill in our contact information on the www.ebridgesoft.com website.

thanks alot,

Wayne Thompson

Account Manager - Sage Software eCommerce.

ePortal - The EDI Transaction solution for Sage Software customers

2008-01-22T16:52:00.000-05:00

For Sage Software customers facing the new challenge of getting into the EDI world there are a few areas that come up, how can I solve my EDI requirement economically today and still have something that is scalable for the future.

With a number of solutions and ‘ways’ to do EDI and get something to “get by” some of these are usually not integrated or might be out of your reach in terms of an unexpected cost or budget. With eBridge you have choices, you can either get everything in-house with a scalable solution and write your own documents if you’re someone with this type of interest or we can do all of that an match your business process and your vendors processes as well.

In a more simplified version and for those that really want something that is a “hands-off” EDI solution with integration our ePortal is a perfect fit. You’ll have an integrated solution without dealing with VAN costs, changes being made on the vendor side or printing off documents and manually typing the EDI document into your ERP.

These are just some of the features of the ePortal for Sage Software EDI

Automatic and bi-directional data integration with financial software
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for document tracking and access
Communication and document exchange with VANs/trading partners
Data transformation from original to required formats
Large volume document storage
Document acknowledgement and reconciliation
Compliancy checking against published standards

If you’re a Sage Software customer looking for an EDI solution please contact me at wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

Thank you,

Wayne Thompson

e-Commerce Integration Partner for Sage Software - Account Manager at eBridge Software

Sage EDI Buyer's Guide Part 2 - A GUI Mapper for EDI and other systems

2008-01-04T09:54:00.000-05:00

eBridge Mapper Software - The Mapper reformats electronic business documents between the trading partner format and the Sage Software ERP format (MAS,BV,BW,PFW etc). It features a highly-intuitive graphical interface for the creation and editing of the maps needed for the reformatting of data. The eBridge Mapper automatically determines the correct map to use based on the format, version and partner code in the input data, and executes the transformation based on the map instructions.
For long term growth or cost control, the eBridge Mapper is a GUI interface, through our optional training course the software can be used to create and map the companies own EDI requirements placing control in the users hands.

Robust, Scalable – The eBridge Integration Solution is capable of handling escalating integration requirements to grow with an organization’s needs. New customers can be added quickly and easily. eBridge provides Sage Software users with seamless, automated integration; the bridge allows businesses to eliminate the need for manual data entry and to quickly achieve (in the case of EDI) compliance with their business partners for maximum efficiency, with minimum costs incurred. eBridge for Sage Software is a ready to use solution that provides bi-directional integration of accounting information between your Sage Software ERP and the back-end system implemented by your trading partners, instantly synchronizing sales order and purchase information, payment data, and other business critical information between both systems. This is an Any-to-Any Mapper solution so this will cover all compliance possibilities a customer may be faced either in the EDI world or eCommerce such as Webstore Integration.

For the next segment of EDI Buyer's Guide I'll talk about the eBridge ePortal and what this means to customers looking for either a simple integration solution, something with a little more control or a combination of the two.

Thank you,

Wayne Thompson

e-Commerce Integration Partner for Sage Software - Account Manager at eBridge Software

eBridge Software Mapper Course - EDI Mapper Course

2007-12-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

Hi All,

I am looking for consultants and or Endusers interested in learning mapping for either EDI requirements or converting one system to another via our Any-to-Any mapper tool.

Sage End-users and/or consultants would find some benefit for this. I
am planning on setting up some classroom held sessions for the new year
and thought it would be great to open it up to anyone interested in mapping and would like to be able to not only sell our solutions but also provide services to set up trading partners etc.

We have a mapper course for you to take and write you own EDI
documents, XML Documents, CSV or what ever you need to communicate. We work with an VAN or communication method such as AS2, Http, etc.

These courses will be held early January and at the begining of each month. From this course you will be able to become an offical eBridge Software imple

If your interested in perhaps adding this to your resume for experience
or would like to pursue the option of having another tool to use for
documents, please let me know. This gives anyone from consultants, to resellers to end users the ability to write their own mapping requirments.

This is an open invitation for anyone to experience.
thanks alot

Wayne Thompson

e-Commerce Integration Partner for Sage Software - Account Manager at eBridge Software

wthompson@ebridgesoft.com

Sage Software Webstore Integration Solution

2007-11-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

Sage Software Webstore Integration Solution

With online shopping firmly entrenched as a standard method for consumers to purchase goods and services, a company’s Webstore is an essential component in achieving success and strong growth in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce environments.

With a Webstore Integration Solution, customer and sales order information is automatically entered into the back-end accounting application from the Webstore front. In turn, product inventory and order status is automatically entered into the Webstore to provide the customer with essential and up-to-date information.

Webstore integration eliminates manual data entry and accompanying errors, improving information flow, increasing efficiency, and achieving savings in time and money.

Types of Integration

An eBridge Webstore Integration Solution offers manual, schedule-based, or real-time integration of data. With manual integration, the movement of data is initiated and dependent upon the user. With scheduled-based integration, data is automatically moved at regular times according to a user-set schedule. With real-time integration, information is immediately inputted into either the Webstore or Traverse via the eBridge Web service without human intervention.

Manual or schedule-based integration requires less initial investment than a real-time solution, and requires up-front parallel storage at the Webstore site to facilitate on-line processing. Real-time integration stores the information at the customer-site only, alleviating the need for “doubled” databases and allocation of ongoing staff resources.

Benefits

• Manual, schedule-based, or real-time integration
• Populate new sales order and return reference to customer
• Product availability check
• Customer check
• Eliminate duplicate data entry
• Free up resources & save time
• Resolve issues quickly

Integration Touchpoints

• Price book from accounting application to Webstore
• Sales Order from Webstore to accounting application
• Order confirmation into Webstore
• Invoice History

By providing an essential component to a business’s B2C and B2B e-commerce systems, the eBridge Webstore Integration Solution ensures your company streamlines its information flow to help achieve higher productivity.

The Solution is not limited to just a "WebStore" eBridge works to integrate information coming in from your eBay Account, Paypal, Yahoo etc. If you have a current website developer and would like to take sales orders in off the website and integrate it with Sage Software solutions such as MAS 90 or MAS 500 we can help you out with the solution.

Can I use this solution with anything else?

In addition to a WebStore integration, the same basic eBridge Software core can be used in an EDI solution so your getting the best of both worlds without shopping around spending even more money on a solution. Customers running our EDI solution in the begining will have the benefit of being able to connect the Web Store information easily or move into EDI with trading partners easily. Imagin taking an order off your website and have it run through your ERP and generate a sales order to your supplier without the data entry??

If you have any Questions about integrating your WebStore please feel free to contact me.

Wayne Thompson

e-Commerce Integration Partner for Sage Software - Account Manager at eBridge Software

How AS2 Software can save money for you...

2007-11-16T10:02:00.000-05:00

AS2 Software is becoming an industry standard in the world of EDI. The VAN based EDI solutions will eventually become extinct much like our old friends the Dinosaur. Recently I’ve had customers running a non-integrated Web Forms solution, they basically get Purchase Orders (850) from several Trading Partners everyday through a Website program, from that they take that same document that they have spent already a few moments accessing and print it off. After that the re-key that same document into the accounting Package. Once that process is done they send shipping notices (856) and invoices (810) all the while they have to pay for each one of these transactions to the Web Forms solution or VAN based EDI provider.

What does this all mean? Just imagine 50 Purchases orders per week being printed off and re-keyed into accounting software. The average VAN based EDI company love to make money on your daily business process; just image 50 Purchase Orders (850) per week can easily be 150 Transactions per week as the break down would be:

50 Purchases Orders
50 Invoices
50 Advanced Shipping Notices

An actual VAN based solution I know would charge you $2.80 per transaction or Per Purchase Order or in the above scenario $420.00 per week for just 3 documents and if the trading partner requires another 3 transaction sets then you double the number even more. Have 3 Trading Partners doing this with you every month and you’re really paying a heavy road toll charge for something not integrated and your printing documents off everyday when the sales team should be selling more of your products.

Why not Automate that whole process, I can sell the right fit that makes sense for your company and depending on how you’re trading partner communicates "Today" the communication costs can be controlled very easily. An AS2 Connection is a secure connection between your business and your trading partner and you eliminate the need to have a VAN based EDI that charges you an average of $420 per week.

Taken from Wikipedia:

Advantages

*Elimination or reduction of Value-added network (VAN) costs
*Designed to push data securely and reliably over the Internet
*Fast and reliable connectivity
*Encryption ensures that only the sender and receiver can view the data
*Digital signatures ensure authentication; only messages from authorized senders are accepted
*The use of a hash algorithm ensures data integrity by detecting whether the document was altered during transmission
*Drummond Certification supports a level of confidence for the interoperability of the disparate software tools available for connectivity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS2

I recently sold a solution to a customer transmitting EDI through a VAN based EDI competitor that was not truly integrated to the Sage Accounting package. The customer was paying a high monthly fee where they should have been communicating via AS2 and not paying anything. They now have an integrated solution and no on-going fees to be concerned about and are selling more then ever.

Customers will probably have several trading partners, not all of them will communicate Via AS2 at first but are probably considering it due to the savings. Companies like Wal-Mart, Office Place and such are pushing this practice and have saved millions by doing so.

If you have any questions please contact me, I handle all of the Sage Product integrations at eBridge and would be more then happy to assist you.

Wayne Thompson

e-Commerce Integration Partner for Sage Software - Account Manager at eBridge Software

Sage Business Vision EDI solution - eBridge Software

2007-11-09T16:44:00.000-05:00

For customers using Sage Business Works or Sage Business Vision, yes there is an integrated EDI solution available for you! And it can cost as little as $50 per month to have communication to your trading partners such as Walmart, Kroger, JC Penny, Bass Pro, etc etc we have 1000's of documents and 1000's of implementations for EDI over the last 14 years.

You don't need to be buying all sorts of software or getting charged VAN fees over and over again, with our Bridge installed and some set-up you will be up and running with an easy to use EDI solution that gives you the option to grow should you migrate over to the next Sage Software ERP such as MAS 90 or MAS 200.

If you have any questions about our EDI solutions please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,

Wayne Thompson

e-Commerce Integration Partner for Sage Software - Account Manager at eBridge Software