Get Ready for Year-End 2012

STO 12-W Can | December 13, 2012

Information in this Year-End Notice

Audience

This notice applies to all customers, business partners, and consultants using Sage Timberline Office (becoming Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate).

Note: If you are not the person who is involved with year-end processing, please forward this notice to the correct person in your company.

2012 Year-End Software Updates

Each year, government agencies establish new reporting requirements that may affect your company's year-end processes. We will provide the Year-End Software Update for download later in December. The update includes full integration with Aatrix services to produce government forms. We will also provide the 2013 Payroll Tax Update as a separate download in late December.

The Year-End Software Update is required if EITHER of the following apply to you:

• You use Payroll to generate T4 or ROE forms – Apply the Year-End Software Update before generating T4 or ROE forms to ensure your forms are in compliance.
  
• You use Accounts Payable to generate Form T5018 – Apply the Year-End Software Update before generating Form T5018 to ensure your forms are in compliance.

Supported Versions

For the 2012 year-end release, we will support versions 9.7 and higher.

If you are using either version 9.7 or 9.8, you may directly install the year-end software update. If you are on an earlier version, you must upgrade to version 9.7 or 9.8 before installing the year-end software update.

Version 12.1 will be available soon. In addition to feature enhancements, version 12.1 incorporates the year-end software update.

2012 Year-End Guides

The Year-End Procedures Guide  and Canadian Supplement provide step-by-step instructions for critical year-end tasks. In addition, these guides provide answers to commonly asked year-end questions, which can save you time during this busy time of year. The 2012 Government Forms Guide  provides information about using Aatrix to produce government forms, including T4 and T5018 forms. You may also access these guides from the Product Documents page.

Year-End Knowledgebase Article

Knowledgebase article KB2012 is the all-inclusive Year-End Information page. It includes software notices, the workflow flowchart, year-end procedures, and more. To access it, log on to the Sage Customer Portal. We recommend that you subscribe to this article. Subscribers are automatically notified whenever the article is updated. For more information, see How to subscribe to an article.

Timetable and Things To Do

Time with Your Sage-Certified Consultant

Sage-certified consultants often schedule their time weeks in advance. If you rely on your consultant to help you with year-end processing, it is a good idea to contact your business partner now to book a time with your certified consultant. Year-end is coming—don't be caught unprepared at this important time!

Tax Forms

Sage Timberline Office (becoming Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate) is now completely integrated with Aatrix services to produce your government tax forms using data from Payroll and Accounts Payable. Aatrix lets you edit your forms on-screen, save forms in progress, and come back to work on them at any time. From Aatrix, you have the choice of printing the forms or eFiling (electronically filing) the forms. When you eFile, you do not need to print, handle, or mail the forms.

Special offer -- Automatically receive a 20% discount off the regular eFiling fees if you choose to eFile to the federal government (or a 27% discount if you choose the eFile Federal and Employee/Recipient package) when you eFile between December 20, 2012 and January 20, 2013.

If you haven't already, we recommend that you become familiar with the many benefits Aatrix provides before the year-end tax season.

Enrolling with Aatrix

Ready to get started? You can complete Aatrix enrollment now so you are ready to print or eFile your year-end government forms. Otherwise, you can enroll before you generate the forms. You will not be able to eFile any forms unless you enroll with Aatrix.

To access Aatrix:

In Payroll, select Tasks > Federal Reporting > Federal eFile and Reporting.

In Accounts Payable, select Tasks > Government eFile and Reporting > Form 1099.

Year-End Training

Complimentary Year-End Procedures Anytime Learning Subscription

Available on December 17, 2012, this package of eight online, recorded lessons provides a convenient way to learn about the year-end release, and view step-by-step demonstrations of the year-end tasks that customers find the most challenging. This training is offered at no charge to our Canadian customers only, and it is available 24/7.

Topics include:

• When to install the year-end update and the payroll tax update
• Preparation and filing of T4s and T5018s using our interface with Aatrix Tax Forms and eFiling Service
• Making prior year adjustments to General Ledger
• Recalculating payroll subject-to amounts

To view this complimentary training, register for this subscription on Sage University. For more details about this year-end training, download the view or download the PDF.

Do you prefer a blended approach, with both in-person and recorded training? Check with your local Sage business partner or certified consultant to learn about local classroom or on-site training options.

Go to Sage University for additional training opportunities.

Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance at Year End

Upgrading Your Service Plan

In order to keep your business running smoothly and receive the year-end updates as soon as they are released, it is critical to keep your service plan up-to-date. If you would like to renew a service plan or upgrade your service plan (such as to add telephone support), please call 800-858-7098.