There’s been a lot of hype about this long-awaited release. Sage 100 Contractor has been updated to a SQL backend, and we are very excited about this change. However, this is a major change.
In May/June 2016, Sage has a significant number of clients targeted to run a beta copy of the version 20 release (see previous newsletters about volunteering). During the beta testing, we’re confident they’ll uncover and address various issues; it’s all part of the process. We’re looking forward to their testing results.
In the meantime, all third party software that integrates with Sage 100 Contractor will need changes in order to work with the version 20 SQL backend release. If you have one of the Syscon custom programs, you should have already received a letter from us listing the custom software programs we believe you have, and asking you to confirm which ones are in use at this time. This is very important – the day you upgrade to version 20, none of the third party software versions you are using right now will work. This is true for Syscon custom programs, but it is all true for other integrations such as Sage Paperless formerly Paperless Environments, Trivantus (did you know we wrote this integration?), to name a few. These software upgrades will not be backwards compatible; either you’re running version 19 and your existing custom programs, or you’re on version 20 running the new versions – timing will be everything!
Any questions? Call the office and Chris will be happy to talk with you, answer questions, and update your list of custom programs. Sage understands this is a big change and will be working with all of us to be sure there are no unnecessary interruptions to your ability to get the back-office work done. Stay tuned! – CMW 4/11/16