June 2011
June 24, 2011 - Beckard Associates Limited released a new tool to help users take full advantage of the MasterWorks and eWorks ERP information systems for Wholesale Distribution.

A new help database is available to all clients. This new database allows users to access a web based help system from within MasterWorks for answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ). The system also offers department specific help where users can read through the list of frequently asked questions that relate to a specific department or job functions within the company.
FAQ & Documentation News Release

June 2010
Dear MasterWorks Customer;

On July 1 , 2010 HST will be the new rule in Ontario. HST is a tax calculation and collection system where the R.S.T. (Retail Sales Tax) and GST will be reported together and collected and submitted to the government under the GST submission registration - to be referred to as O.V.A.T. (Ontario Value Added Tax). If you have a GST license for charging and submitting GST tax to the government, your Ontario 8% R.S.T. will now be included in that calculation and submission.

In the past, you have been charging and submitting GST on orders shipped to Provence's outside Ontario, but may not have been charging the Retail Sales Tax rate for that Provence. With the new harmonized sales tax, you will now be collecting and submitting the Retail Sales Tax portion of those orders for all Provence's that are part of the Harmonized Sales Tax program. This includes sales taxes in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, as well as Ontario. You will need to charge, collect and submit the full harmonized tax amount for these Provence's effective July 1 ,2010. It is also important to understand changes coming to the taxation requirements for British Columbia and Nova Scotia if you do business in these areas - the Provincial tax rates for these Provence's are changing July 1, 2010 and you will be required to collect the provincial portion based on these new rates.

This wiki contains a simple table that details the federal and provincial taxes being charges across Canada and how the HST will effect your tax collection requirements across the country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_Canada

What you need to do
It is important to know what products will now be HST taxable. HST Information Sheets describe point-of-sale rebates for new papers, fast food under four dollars, feminine hygiene products, children's goods and books.
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxtips/hst/09.html

All other goods and services sold in Ontario should be taxed at 13%, which represent the 5 % GST and 8% Ontario R.S.T. portion.

MasterWorks Invoicing Software Updates
Masterworks Invoicing has been capable of Harmonized Sales Tax since the Atlantic provinces began HST in 1997. Masterworks calculates two separate tax values during order entry TAX-1(GST) and TAX-2 RST. At the point of invoicing the software determines if the province is within an HST zone and blends the taxes into a single HST amount. In the TAX-2 (RST) Masterfile(4830), #8-Harmonized Tax-1 controls whether the TAX-2(RST) amounts become harmonized into TAX-1 (GST)

Your forms will no longer show any value in the R.S.T. box when using the product's standard LASER FORMS and the tax will only be displayed in the TAX-1 GST/HST box. Customers with custom pre-printed forms should contact Beckard Associates for directions on making form changes or adopting the software standard LASER business form.

Software revisions will be added to your system automatically before July 1, 2010. A utility will be provided before July 1st, to make any adjustments to the current TAX-2 Exemption Licenses stored in the Customer Master file (4801) #23-Tax-2 and Ship-to Master file (1901) #10-Tax-2 Lic.

MasterWorks Payables Software Updates
The payable system is being revised to remove labels such as PST and GST to a standard TAX-1, TAX-2, and will present taxes in the same format as invoicing. Option 4963 TAX-2 Relationships, is the A/P version of TAX-2 (RST) Masterfile(4830) used by Masterworks Invoicing. It too, will have a control to indicate if the TAX-2 is harmonized with TAX-1.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the HST update and changes feel free to . I have attached an HST primer, prepared by Ontario's Certified General Accountants for your review.
Harmonized Sales Tax in Canada


January 2010
Augsburg Fortress Canada has been certified to process all of its Canada Post shipments using MasterWorks Shipping Integration tools for Wholesale Distributors. The certification allows staff to by-pass the Canada Post software and perform direct processing of all Canada Post Shipments in MasterWorks. This significantly improves the performance and productivity of the warehouse operations. Staff confirm orders in MasterWorks Wholesale Distribution System, which automatically generates the approved shipping label and builds a manifest for all the Canada Post shipments.

For years, staff had used both MasterWorks and the Canada Post software for processing shipments. However, this was prone to errors and was time consuming. As volumes in the warehouse increased, it became evident to management that change was needed. Beckard Associates, the ERP solution provider for Augsburg Fortress Canada, offered to integrate MasterWorks with the Canada Post processing requirements. MasterWorks currently integrates with several major logistics suppliers in Canada. Adding Canada Post would simplify the order process functions for Augsburg Fortress.

Within forty-five days of starting this process, Beckard Associates received approval by Canada Post and had implemented the system with Augsburg Fortress staff. Staff in the warehouse are now able to quickly manage the shipping functions, since orders are now simply confirmed in MasterWorks and do not require any additional processing. MasterWorks creates the Canada Post Shipping label, consolidated manifest and automatically sends the complete electronic version of the manifest to Canada Post for processing. Staff has immediate access to track all shipments the moment these orders are processed. All manifest tracking information is linked to orders by MasterWorks, so that customers and internal staff can follow-up on shipments once they leave the building.

According to Rick Small of Augsburg Fortress Publishers, "We love the new system. It's much faster processing orders. Staff does not need to work off two different applications. This has also reduced the training time for any new warehouse staff since they don't need to learn the Canada Post Software application."

Augsburg Fortress Canada is a Wholesale Distributor of books, leaflets and other teaching supplies to Canadian churches, schools and retailers across Canada.

To learn more about this software and the tools that can help your company improve productivity, please .

November 2008
With the largest reserved floor space, most innovative product displays and a well supported cast of Sales Representatives, Managers and Customer Service staff working the show, Hettich Canada made a overwhelming impression on its' customers. Beckard Associates was proud to be invited to be a part of this very successful exhibition.

Hettich Canada is a subsidiary of Hettich International, the world's largest cabinet and furniture hardware manufacturer. At the 2006 W.M.S. (Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo) held in October at the International Centre in Toronto, Beckard Associates participated in Hettich Canada's launch of eWorks.

eWorks is an on-line ordering and information portal for large scale distributors. The system provides real-time information on stock, customer pricing, detailed account and sales history and on-line ordering. Hettich Canada's customers' are very exited to have this detailed information to assist them with purchasing from Hettich Canada. "eWorks will help Hettich's customers by providing valuable real time information which is integral in our commitment of combining quality service with quality hardware. By continuing to focus on building strong partnerships, we will surpass our goals for 2006 and eWorks will be an important part of this accomplishment." says Mike Squizzato, President of Hettich Canada.

At the show, customers were offered an opportunity to log onto the live system and see current order status, purchase history and detailed account information. Customers are able to call up past purchase orders and reprint invoices. "This system will save us many hours in managing our orders with Hettich Canada", says one distributor. "Now we know what product is in stock and what items we need to plan for a latter receipt". The system provides an open view of all the customer's current and past order and invoice activity. For smaller businesses, where they are busy running there own operations, eWorks allows them the freedom to place orders outside of normal business hours. They can login before or after the normal workday to review the status of any open orders or to place new orders.

A graphically rich, point-and-click application, eWorks is the web-based interface that allows customers to do business with you - even when you are not open. The system has simple to use drill down and tab based menus to search for orders and invoices, search and order products, look up documents and shipment status.

To learn more about Hettich Canada, please visit their web site at http://www.hettich.ca.

To view the eWorks presentation from the show, please click here.

To learn more about eWorks and other business building tools from Beckard Associates, please .

July 2008
Now collecting from your customer has never been easier. The new Proof of Delivery (POD) system in MasterWorks makes collections a breeze.

Your staff can access detailed information on the customer shipments, delivery time and date and even the customer's signature using MasterWorks POD system. All this information is available for sending by email or fax directly to your customer.

Please take a look at the PDF presentation and information on how we can help increase your collections and reduce bad debts.

February 2008
Our warehouse management system can now be accessed via eWorks, the web-based interface that gives sales representatives, clients, and managers access to information in graphic formats customized to their needs.

October 2007
Last month we told you about the release of eWorks Graphs for MasterWorks customers. The new release includes a powerful built-in graphing engine that automatically transforms large tables of data into easy to understand graphical presentations.

Beckard Associates continues to enhance this system by adding additional graphs to eWorks tables. A major component that is soon to be released is the eWorks graphs for MasterWorks' Recommend to Purchase System (R.T.P.). This new component provides fast method of seeing the stocking levels and sales cycles for specific products.

Maintaining product stock levels at optimum levels is critical for successful distribution operations. Too much inventory and you're wasting space in the warehouse and committing valuable cash to items that may never sell. Too little inventory and you're losing sales and customers to your competition.

To be successful, you need to pull together several key factors relating to the products' sales history. Then you need to make a judgment on whether to purchase more now - or wait and replenish stock at some point in the future. Making the wrong decision could leave you under stocked with many unhappy customers or you may end up over stocked and put added strain on company cash-flow and warehouse space.

To be successful,

• you need knowledge of how well this product is selling;
• you need real time numbers on current inventory, supplier lead times and replenishment requirements;
• you need sales history details and a forecast for the next few sales periods;
• and, you need to tie all this data together into an easy to understand view.

The solution is eWorks Graphs for RTP Analysis.

RTP for eWorks shows the critical information for purchasing together in one easy to understand graph. It allows you to visualize the past sales cycle of products and displays the future forecast. The graph then over-lays your minimum, maximum and average stocking levels for the product.

On the x-axis, the graph displays weekly sales to provide the buyer a view of usage volumes over time. The large green blocks represent inventory receipts. Finally, the dotted green line represents the Quantity on Hand for that item that week displayed over time.

The buyer now has a simple view of product sales and forecast levels they can use to support their decision to purchase additional inventory. They can quickly see when a product will fall below the set minimum QOH and when the item will be out of stock based on sales forecasts. They can then plan the optimum order time and quantity to keep the inventory level required to fill orders.

The graph is a tool that helps the buyer visualize all the data available in the RTP system They can use the graph to get a quick and easy to understand view of the product ordering needs. The RTP tables of detailed product information is available for further analysis when required.

Help your purchasing staff make the right decision.
Sign up now for our November 16 presentation !

January 2006
Beckard Associates, a provider of business application software suites for the wholesale distribution market, is developing an Open Source Java based Point of Sale (POS) application for their retail clients. The new product will allow customers to eliminate third party application license fees and will run on inexpensive, non-proprietary personal computers or laptops.

Current POS environments typically run on proprietary hardware and use one or several layers of licenses to operate a single station. This includes Personal Computer (PC) operating system licenses and server licenses to support remote systems. By developing in an Open Source environment, this new system can run on almost any basic PC hardware.

This system will also allow POS stations to operate independent of any connections to servers, Internet or other network environments. All customer, catalogue and pricing information will reside on the local machine. As products are scanned, the system searches data files on the local machine to determine pricing information and product descriptions. The local database is provided through a central server that polls these remote locations with updates when changes or new data is available. This minimizes the data traffic over a network and allows better functionality of a POS satiation, since it doesn't rely on a central server for basic operations of processing a retail sale.

Store operations can now be considered for locations where high-speed networks may not always be available or affordable. The application can also be set-up in add hock locations like special community events, trade shows and fairs with sales data being collected on the local machine. Once the event is completed, these sales numbers and inventory transaction files are passed back to the server through the network. This will allow retailers the opportunity to easily set-up a sales station at special events or remote locations.

This POS system is just one of several business applications systems developed and supported by Beckard Associates. The new application should be available for delivery to customers in May 2006 and will be designed to complement the existing suite of applications available in their MasterWorks Distribution System and eWorks application suites.

For more information on this development or other application solutions for wholesale and retail environments, please .

December 2004
Fast answers to common questions about newly released products and enhancements: The new discussion database located in the support section of this website provides a wealth of information in an easy-to-search discussion format. Check out the latest product news. Learn from other system users and share your own comments.

Save thousands of dollars a year in the cost of pre-printed forms and postage. All business forms - including invoices, customer statements, purchase orders, pik-paks, RMAs and BOL documents - are now available as electronic documents. Send these documents automatically through MasterWorks by fax, email, email PDF attachments or as laser printed paper documents.

A graphically rich point-and-click application, eWorks is the web-based interface that allows you to access all of MasterWorks functionality. Drill down through customer orders and invoices; search and order products; look up documents and shipment status - all through front-end interfaces customized for the needs of your customers, sales representatives, inside staff, and management.