UPGRADE PROCESS REVISED: 03/20/2015 Our overall objective at Steward Consulting, Inc. (SCI), is to have your live upgrade to a new version of Sage 100 ERP (formerly known as Sage MAS 90 or Sage MAS 200) proceed as smoothly and quickly as possible. This requires extensive planning and testing up front to ensure the actual live upgrade meets this objective. To facilitate meeting this goal, we have fine-tuned our process for clients who are upgrading as follows: 1. The Planning Letter. We will Issue an upgrade planning letter that is meant to inform you of the preliminary steps we will take before your upgrade. This will include an upgrade analysis of your Sage 100 ERP system. This step is crucial to determine the current installations on your system (enhancements, third party software, etc.) and identify issues or concerns prior to the start of your actual upgrade. The fees to do this analysis will be included in the total upgrade fees. However, if you choose not to move forward within 30 days of the issuance of the initial planning/analysis, SCI reserves the right to invoice these fees. Once you have signed the Planning Letter and returned it to us, we will assign your upgrade to our Upgrade Consultant and move forward with your planning. 2. The Planning Meeting/Upgrade Analysis. Our consultant will schedule a time to review and obtain vital system information and features used in your system both Sage and related third party software are reviewed. This review is typically performed remotely and via phone; however, in some instances, an on-site visit may be necessary. We will document all our findings and input into our proprietary upgrade planning software to estimate the cost of your upgrade. 3. The Data Integrity Check (if upgrading from v3.71 or earlier to any 4.x release). We will conduct a data integrity check to ensure your data will upgrade smoothly. Note: In v4.40 and later, migration tools were incorporated into the software that performs these tasks automatically and this step is not required. 4. The Engagement Letter. We will issue you an engagement letter document, which fully outlines the scope of the upgrade with the appropriate fixed fee based on the findings in step 2 and 3. a. Once you have signed off and returned the required deposit, we will schedule the test upgrade. b. Note: all test upgrades at v4.3 and higher must be installed on a separate server from your existing Sage 100 ERP system. We will inform you when this is required. 5. The Test Upgrade. We will install the test upgrade, including updating any custom Crystal reports, forms, and/or Customizer (i.e. UDFs). a. We provide you, the client, adequate time to perform testing, typically 10 45 days (maximum). b. NOTE: Adequate and proper testing of the new test version is critical to ensuring your live upgrade goes smoothly and that you and your users are satisfied with the upgrade. 6. The Test Sign-off. Once testing is completed, and you are satisfied with the test system s performance, you must sign off on the test upgrade form, pay any remaining balance due and, we will then schedule the live upgrade. 7. The Go Live Upgrade. We will update to a live system. This is followed by addressing any outstanding or unforeseen issues. Typically, these are minimal, provided testing has been performed by you and your users. 8. The Engagement Closure Letter. This document is issued to you after any outstanding issues or concerns are addressed, and indicates the close of the upgrade process. The Upgrade Process can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months to complete. The timeframe is dependent upon the complexity of your system, the amount of time you require to perform the appropriate testing, along with the availability of our resources.
Revision Date: 03/2015 Page: 2 Detailed Information The following provides detailed information about each of these steps. The Planning Letter Upgrading to the current version ensure your system s compatibility with the latest hardware and third party vendor s products. Additionally, it means that you will be able to take advantage of new features and functionality that are built into the Sage product with every release. With all the advantages, however, you should be aware that upgrading does require a significant commitment from you (and your Sage 100 ERP users) to take the time to adequately test key features and functions to ensure they are working properly. The planning and analysis that is required up-front by SCI to accurately calculate the project fees is dictated by the size and complexity of your system. These services are always included in the total cost of the project; however, if you choose not to move forward within thirty (30) days of the initial planning review, we will invoice for the time our staff has expended on the planning. We require that you sign off on the initial planning letter indicating that you understand this policy, and agree to the terms. The Planning Meeting and Upgrade Analysis This portion of the process allows SCI an opportunity to gather all necessary information about how you use your system, what third party products are being used and, determine if you have any enhancements and/or customizations within your Sage 100 ERP system. We utilize a highly specific questionnaire and checklist to collect this information. The planning meeting is typically conducted via phone and remote access to your system. Onsite meetings may be scheduled if deemed necessary. The information we gather from your Sage 100 ERP system, along with the questionnaire answers, are used to determine the fees required to upgrade your system to the appropriate version. The Data Integrity Check The Data Integrity Check is only required if you are upgrading from v3.71 or earlier. If you have already upgraded to v4.00 through v4.30, this step is unnecessary. At v4.40, a data integrity check is also required on any Inventory data. The objective of this step is to ensure that the General Ledger and/or Inventory (if upgrading to v4.40) data will upgrade correctly and the balances will be the same in the 4.xx version as in the 3.71 (or previous) version. To complete this step, we will download your Sage 100 ERP data to our systems and perform an actual upgrade on the data. We will compare the general ledger balances prior to and following the upgrade to determine any discrepancies. If discrepancies exist, we will research them and determine the best options to resolve these issues and incorporate those into our upgrade process. If upgrading to v4.40 or higher, we will also analyze any data integrity issues with Inventory data. With both the General Ledger and Inventory data discrepancies, you will be given an option to resolve the issues yourself, OR have SCI resolve the issues. These services, if required, will be incorporated into your upgrade fees. In addition, we look for any missing GL accounts that will cause problems in upgrading the data. We also check for GL accounts that have special characters in the account number, which will not properly upgrade to the v4.xx versions. Another part of this step is to ensure your hardware meets the minimum requirements of the new version. We will provide you with the latest Supported Platform Matrix for Sage 100 ERP and allow you to verify that your
Revision Date: 03/2015 Page: 3 hardware meets the requirements. Regarding the fees for the initial planning and analysis of your data, we will invoice for the work required to perform these services whether you immediately continue with the upgrade process or not. The work we do provides you with information that you can use to prepare for the upgrade, even if you decide not to do it until some future date. Typically, the fees for the work required to complete these first two steps range from $500 - $1000. However, planning and analysis of very complex and/or highly customized systems can result in costs as high as $3000+ for this portion of the process. Despite the costs, our experience confirms that each step is critical to ensure a successful upgrade. The Engagement Letter Once the initial steps are completed, we will have collected all the information we need to provide you with a fixed fee estimate for your upgrade. At this time we will issue you a formal engagement letter for the upgrade project. This letter will detail the scope of the upgrade project with the tasks and steps we have agreed to complete for your upgrade, including the company codes to upgrade, custom fields, forms or reports that must be updated, as well as any specific requirements determined from the data integrity check, and any training or other services you have requested as a part of the upgrade. In the engagement letter, we will provide you with two options for handling the fees for the upgrade: 1. A prepayment of 100% of the fees with a 5% discount (must be paid by check or ACH draft). If paid by credit card, the 5% discount IS NOT given. 2. Prepayment of 50% of the fees; And, 50% of the fees due with your completed testing sign off letter and before the live installation can be scheduled. A note regarding fees: Average fees for an upgrade can range from $2,000 to $5,000 (and sometimes higher) depending on your system, its complexity and the third party applications you use. We have had rare situations with very complex upgrades costing up to $15,000. Our overriding philosophy here is that we do not want you to have any fee surprises. We will work closely with you to minimize the fees as much as possible, while still ensuring we deliver a quality, trouble-free upgrade. A note regarding scheduling: Scheduling is done to ensure the flexibility of our staff and resources, yet still working to meet your deadlines as closely as possible. We evaluate the scheduling based on our existing work load and the timing of resources available to you in the event of major issues or unexpected troubleshooting. If you request the test or live upgrade be performed outside of SCI s normal business hours (M F; 8am 5pm), there is a minimum charge of $500 in additional fees due for each instance of the upgrade (i.e. test upgrade and live upgrade). For example, if you desire that both the test upgrade and the live upgrade be done outside of normal business hours, the additional fees are a minimum of $1,000. If you wish to only have the live upgrade done outside of normal business hours, the additional fee is a minimum of $500. Fees may be adjusted due to other requirements specific to your system, the number of resources required, etc.
Revision Date: 03/2015 Page: 4 The Test Upgrade The test upgrade is performed in a parallel installation mode with only one or two individuals having access to the test system. The test upgrade will NOT be placed on all workstations, and we typically recommend that, where possible, the test reside on a workstation completely removed from your LIVE environment. This helps to avoid accidental posting in the test system. For the test system to be operational the following items must be completed by our staff: Installation of the new version. Installation of all service packs and patches available at that time. Upgrade of the data companies identified in the engagement letter. Upgrade of necessary forms, reports and screen customizations. Implementation of the new security model (If upgrading from v4.xx to another v4.xx, 2013/2014/2015, the typical security implementation requires only the functions for the modules adopting the new business framework in the version release.) Integration with 3 rd party products as much as possible in a test environment. In some events, 3 rd party products also have to be fully upgraded to work successfully with the new version. Appropriate training to use the new version effectively for those personnel who will be testing. A detailed list of testing suggestions to guide you through your testing will be provided. Providing Time for Testing When the test upgrade is completed, on average 2 weeks are allotted to complete your testing and provide us with a list of any issues you are experiencing. This time frame will obviously vary based on many circumstances including the size of the system, the complexity of the customizations, your available time for testing, and the diligence of individuals you have selected for completing the testing. We do not suggest, however, that you take any longer than 45 days to complete your testing. Delaying this long will only increase frustration with users and, most likely, interfere with scheduling for your go live date. It is during this time period that we work closely with you to resolve any issues that arise and find the solutions for these issues. If the issues are of a nature that they will have to be addressed once the live upgrade is completed, notations are made on a checklist for final upgrade of the specific procedures to perform to ensure we address them at that time. The Test Sign-Off Due to the complex nature of these upgrades and the volume of changes in the system, we require you to sign off on a document stating 1) that you have successfully performed the testing and, 2) that there are no outstanding issues and, 3) that you are ready to proceed with the live upgrade. This step is important to you, as the end user, and SCI as your reseller, because it provides a final confirmation that you have completed all the testing and you believe you are ready to move forward with the live upgrade. Again, we want you to be satisfied with the integrity of the test system before taking it live. The only proven way to ensure a smooth transition is through testing. The Go Live Upgrade The go live upgrade will be scheduled at a time that will minimize your down time as much as possible, since all users must be out of the system during this time frame. If you have multiple offices, the timing must also be coordinated with those offices. All remote offices must have a copy of the workstation setup programs so those users can complete this upgrade and be operational on the system. NOTE: See the section above regarding
Revision Date: 03/2015 Page: 5 scheduling and additional fees that apply if you wish your upgrade to be scheduled after normal business hours. If you and your team have properly tested and, SCI has completed our tasks of upgrading all forms, reports and customizations, along with resolving any related issues, the live upgrade should not be a lengthy process. The average upgrade go live takes 2-6 hours. Typically, the go live upgrade is as simple as moving your live data from the current live system data directory into the test upgrade data directory, upgrading the data, and installing the workstation setup for each user. Other issues, however, may be involved in this step, depending on the version from which you are upgrading and if there are third party applications that we must also address. A Note on Follow Up of Outstanding Issues To provide a high level of quality service, it is our practice to follow up once or twice after the live upgrade and ensure everything is running smoothly. If you have any issues that arise after the live upgrade, please notify us at once so we can address the issue and minimize any problems related to the issue. The Engagement Closure Letter To signify that we consider the upgrade engagement completed and closed, we will issue an Engagement Closure Letter following the live upgrade. This letter requires your signature or indicates that a lack of response by a certain date is considered as your acceptance of the closure of the engagement. Once the signed letter is received, or the specified delay without returning the document has passed, we consider your upgrade engagement closed. Any additional issues that arise at this time are considered standard support and will be billed accordingly. Implementation of New Features The reason many customers upgrade is to implement new features that have been added to the software. We take a two-pronged approach to the implementation of these new features: 1) If the new feature is inherent in the new version, and requires no activation, configuration or setup, we will work with you to train your staff and show you how the new feature works. The time and fees to do so is included in your upgrade fixed fee. 2) If the new feature requires activation, configuration, setup and/or data entry to enable it, this process is performed separately from the upgrade and is not included in the fee to complete your upgrade. At the beginning of the upgrade process, we will provide you with a New Features report. Please review this document and identify the features that you would like to have activated. Once the upgrade is complete, we can begin a special project with your organization to complete this setup and activation.
Revision Date: 03/2015 Page: 6 Conclusion It is our desire that this document will help familiarize you with the fees and the process associated with an upgrade to the latest version of Sage 100 ERP. We have designed this process with you in mind to help ensure minimal down time when upgrading as well as create a positive experience with our firm and with the product. Exceptions to this process are rare but do occur when special projects or situations dictate. We work to be flexible and ensure we are meeting your expectations and business needs. If you have additional questions about upgrading, please direct your questions to one of the following individuals: Darin Steward, President 918.299.7514 dsteward@stewardconsulting.com Dana Conner, Client Care Coordinator 918.299.7514 dconner@stewardconsulting.com Tim Kreps, Upgrade Specialist 918.299.7514 tkreps@stewardconsulting.com