2011 Review of Sage Software — FAS 100

Sage Software - FAS 100
800-368-2405
www.sagefas.com

Best Fit:
Mid-sized or larger organizations, or professional firms managing the assets of such entities, who have increasingly complex asset depreciation needs and departmental management requirements.

Strengths

• Excellent customization & assistive features
• Global edit capabilities
• Support for all asset types & disposal needs
• Strong reporting options & output formats
• Optional barcode scanning for physical audits/inventory

Potential Limitations

• Live support is free during initial use, but then requires a support subscription.

From the December 2011 Review of Asset Management Programs

Sage Software recently released a completely redesigned version of its popular fixed asset management solution, FAS, which includes a new interface and navigation elements focused on tasks and workflow. The system, which is available in versions tailored for commercial U.S. businesses, Canadian enterprises, nonprofit organizations and government entities and schools, provides asset accounting, depreciation and reporting capabilities that help entities effectively manage assets throughout their lifecycles. Sage also offers an Asset Inventory system, barcode reader solution, and various resources such as asset labels and checks and forms.

Basic System Functions - 5 Stars
The redesigned FAS 2012 is available in the same three levels as the previous version: FAS 50 for managing the assets of smaller entities, FAS 100 for mid-sized enterprises and FAS 500 for those with more extensive asset management requirements. This review is of the FAS 100 system, which can be used as a stand-alone or networked for use by multiple concurrent staff. It offers client and task-level security settings and individual user customization of workflow, reporting and navigational elements of the system, with new drag-and-drop functionality.

FAS 100’s new interface is impressive and very user friendly, with wizards that help with the initial setup of companies and assets, templates and copy functions. Wizards also provide easy access to common functions. The default startup screen includes panels that offer support resources such as productivity tips, program usage guides and how-tos, a Fixed Assets 101 primer, and links to professional resources such as the IRS, FASB, state tax laws and GovTrack. General pull-down menus are available at the top of the screen.

The client selection screen is sorted only by company name, but when a client is selected, the user is presented with a great new layout that opens into the asset list. This provides a spreadsheet view of summary data for every asset, along with location, department, class, cost, replacement values, serial numbers and extensive other information, including GL expense, asset and accumulated depreciation accounts. The data columns in this list can be completely customized by the user, and the system also has options for searching and filtering assets. The new version of the program allows for global asset edits.

The Assets Snapshot is a graphical dashboard view of asset activity, depreciation and other information that can be viewed via the various books, by date placed in service, by investment of remaining life or other options. To the left of the asset list, FAS 100 offers a vertical menu to common tasks, such as adding or importing assets, calculating depreciation, disposals, transfers, creating groups and various customization options. Within individual asset detail screens, users can view all books side by side, with tabs giving access to transaction histories, notes and images.

FAS 100 can support up to 20,000 assets for any number of companies, with multiple users able to concurrently work within the program. Security settings enable function-specific access rights to data entry, viewing and reporting. For larger enterprises, FAS 500 can support any number of assets. For smaller businesses, the FAS 50 program is designed to manage up to 1,000 assets for a single entity.