Is Your Business Ready for HST?

If you are a business owner in Canada, you are likely aware that HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is soon making its way to Ontario and British Columbia. On July 1, 2010, PST and GST will be combined to form one 13% tax in these provinces. This will have a direct impact on certain services that would normally only be subject to GST, raising prices for the end customers.

Regardless of whether your industry will be affected largely or not by this change, you must ensure you are prepared for it. BizAssist recently published the following checklist in their February newsletter to help businesses prepare for the looming taxation shakeup:

Pricing Impacts: Do you do business in an industry or retail category that is expected to be hit by the new HST?  For example, health memberships and other subscription-based businesses will now have to apply the harmonized tax to customer fees. Plan to start communicating with customers early so they can be prepared for fee increases well in advance.

Competitive Impacts: If you’re in the manufacturing business and count on export revenues for business, start thinking about how you can take advantage of some positive HST tax reductions. In a recovering economy, reducing your pricing model will have a positive impact on volume sales and you’ll be better equipped to compete on a global basis.

Training & Operations: Are your front lines ready to handle the operational impacts of the HST? Do you know how to go about collecting and submitting it? Is your staff trained on new tax collection procedures and are they equipped to handle your customers’ HST inquiries? Now is the time to put the operational structure in place to ensure your business isn’t disrupted come July 1st.

In addition to the concerns outlined in that checklist, it is also important to consider the impact it may have on your accounting software and/or data integration. For current eBridge customers, there may be service required to ensure a smooth transition to HST. If you require service or want to determine if it will be required, contact us through one of the following outlets:

Email: sales@ebridgesoft.com

Phone: 1.800.755.6921

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

What is eManifest?

eManifest is the third phase of the Advance Commercial Information (ACI) program established by the Canada Border Services Agency. Earlier phases established guidelines for air and marine carriers to submit pre-arrival shipment information to the CBSA electronically. eManifest expands the ACI program to require both railway and highway carriers to submit electronic documentation for shipments entering Canada.

The primary motive behind the program is to ensure the right information is provided to border officials at the right time. This expedited process will help to improve the flow of low-risk shipments across the border.

How will it affect me?

If you or the companies you do business with have a sizable volume of shipments that enter Canada, you should set aside some time to familiarize yourself with eManifest. As the program is phased in (details below), companies will be required to electronically send information such as crew, ETA, and shipment contents to border officials in advance.

While this may seem like an inconvenience to some, it is really a blessing in disguise. It may take your company and partners time to adapt, but eManifest will ultimately result in a more efficient and streamlined importation process. This translates into a direct positive impact on your supply chain and overall supplier relations.

When will I be required to comply with eManifest?

Complete details on the timeline for eManifest’s implementation can be found on the CBSA’s eManifest website. Some of the important upcoming high-level dates to take note of include:

• Spring 2010 – Highway Carriers begin transmission of cargo and conveyance data
• Fall 2010 – Rail Carriers begin transmission of cargo and conveyance data
• Summer 2011 – Freight Forwarders begin transmission of secondary information
• Spring 2012 – Importers begin transmission of importer admissibility data (IAD)
• Spring 2014 – eManifest fully implemented

What about eBridge?

eBridge is actively monitoring the implementation of eManifest. We are exploring potential ways in which we can enrich our services to offer integration that interacts with this new online platform. As more information is made available, we will be sure to keep you informed.

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

New and Updated Integration Connections

Good Afternoon,

As we do every week, we’ve compiled a list of the latest new and updated integration connections that have been deployed on the ePortal. If you’re not sure what these are or what the ePortal is, find out more here.  Here are the new and updated connections for the week of March 1st, 2010:

• Lei Warehouse 4010
• McLane 5010 UCS
• Walmart Store Planning 5010

• Costco Canada 4010
• CVS 4010
• General Maps
• GiantEagle 4010 UCS
• HE Butt 4010 UCS
• K Mart Stores 4010
• Kroger 5010 UCS
• Kroger Manufacturing 4010
• Mack Truck 4010
• Magento
• Metro Richeleau 4010 VICS
• Mid Mountain Foods 4010 UCS
• MSC Industrial Supply 4010
• Overstock 4010
• Pubnet US 3060
• Target Com 4010
• Target Corporation 4010
• United Stationers 4010
• Walmart Store Planning 5010
• Winn Dixie 4010UCS

Another week down, another pile of connections added to the already massive list of integration touch offered on the ePortal.

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

I See You, Clients of eBridge

Something is different around the offices of eBridge, and it’s got people talking. Over the last week or so, we’ve put on display the logos of a number of our clients. These clients have been organized into various groups depending on where they are within our business process. If a deal was just recently signed, they are grouped to one side. The other end of the spectrum holds customers that are fully implemented and currently running an eBridge solution.

Why is eBridge doing this, you ask? Great question – we had a number of goals in mind when we deployed this project. First off, it helps everyone in the company become more familiar with our family of clients. Being relatively new here, this has been a great help for me. Every time I walk by the wall I notice a new logo or name that I wasn’t previously aware of.

It also helps to provide a visual representation of the company’s overall work flow. This is useful for spotting bottlenecks or backlogs at a specific point so that we can take action to correct issues. If we notice for example that too many clients are waiting for implementation, action can be taken to move them along the process (and consequently, the wall!).

That brings me to the last aim of this initiative. Being able to physically move a logo from one partition to the next gives an added feeling of success to our team. Before this wall, new customer processing occurred on paper and behind the scenes with select groups of people at specific points in the process. Now, everyone is privy to this information and is a part of the living, breathing machine that is eBridge Software.

Having a great CRM application or integration is just part of quality customer relationship management.  Does your company do anything beyond typical CRM practices? Do you creatively visualize and display your family of clients? Share your stories and ideas!

…and for anyone that didn’t catch it or hasn’t seen the film, the title was inspired by Avatar.

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

New and Updated Integration Connections

Good Afternoon,

Even through the rain, sleet, and snow here in Burlington, our development team still churned out this MASSIVE list of new and updated connections for the week of February 22, 2010:

• Ford Customer Service 2001
• Mitchell 4010
• Peco 4010
• W Lee Flowers 4010 UCS

• ASPDotNet Storefront Connector
• Bed Bath And Beyond 4010 VICS
• Best Buy DotCom Commerce Hub 4010
• Bloomingdales 4030 VICS
• Costco US 4010
• Costco Commerce Hub 4010
• CVS 4010
• Dopaco Inc 4010
• Dillards 4030 VICS
• Fastenal 4010
• Fingerhut 4010
• Frys Electonics 4010
• General Maps
• HE Butt 4010 UCS
• Home Hardware 4010
• Ingram Micro 4010
• Kroger Manufacturing 4010
• Maps
• Magento Connector
• McLane 5010
• Mid Mountain Foods 4010 UCS
• Mitchell 4010
• MSCIndustrialSupply 4010
• National Grocers 4010 VICS
• OKI Bering 4010
• Overstock 4010
• Pubnet US 3060
• Pubnet Canada 4010
• Sears US 4010
• SP Richards 4010
• Staples 4010
• School Specialty Inc 4010
• School Specialty Inc Test 4010
• Target Corporation 4010
• Tesco ROI D96A
• Tesco UK D96A
• Spencer Gifts 5010
• Sears US 4010
• United Stationers 4010
• Uniselect 4010

That was quite the round-up for this week!  If you’d like to view our complete list of supported EDI trading partners, click here!

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

Google Checkout – Your eCommerce BFF

Amidst all of the recent Buzz (sorry, I couldn’t help it) surrounding Google’s new social media offering, I’ve noticed a lot of people talking about another Google product – Google Checkout. Put simply, Google Checkout is a single, secure online shopping account that handles your transactions across multiple online storefronts.

What does it do for customers?

As long as you’re buying from an online store that supports Google Checkout, you’re golden. The product allows you to make purchases through one central account, instead of juggling a bunch of separate accounts for each vendor. There is support for an unlimited number of shipping addresses and built-in fraud protection. Not to mention Google’s tight integration amongst the vast majority of its products that we’ve come to know and love (and curse when it hiccups).

What does it mean for store owners?

You can up your conversions drastically by supporting Google Checkout. Many online shoppers are deterred by lengthy sign-up processes, which can lead to abandoned carts. If they get to skip right to the confirmation page and use their stored payment information, the checkout time is reduced to almost nothing. As Google Checkout becomes more ubiquitous among customers, the supporting stores will gain further competitive advantage against the laggards.

But wait – there’s more!

As I was reading through some articles on ecommercejunkie.com, I noticed a couple other interesting tidbits. First off, Google has created a new position: VP of Commerce. They’ve filled that spot with former eBay executive Stephanie Tilenius. Now let’s stop and look at the timeline. Google Checkout and complimentary offering Google Product Search were around and thriving well before this new hire. To me, this suggests that Google is likely aiming to offer even more in the eCommerce space than just payment handling and product info aggregation. To all shopping cart vendors out there – consider this your heads up.

Another sign of things to come is evident in some interesting user trends surrounding preferred payment methods. According to this Ecommerce Junkie post, research company Javelin Strategy & Research offers up these forecasts for 2014:

Credit cards: 39.4% (decreasing)
Debit Cards: 25.6% (decreasing)
Prepaid/gift Cards: 10.7% (increasing)
PayPal/Google Checkout, etc: 19.2% (increasing)

I’m willing to bet that their forecast is too modest. Moving forward, there is going to be less reason to carry a card. I’ve been told that companies like Canadian Tire Financial Services are running pilot projects that involve integrating credit card data into Blackberry devices. If this is the type of shift towards integration we’re seeing elsewhere, why would users keep their credit cards and information autonomous?

What do you think?

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

New and Updated Integration Connections

Hey Everyone,

Sorry we didn’t get to make our usual updated connections post last Friday. With the condensed work week thanks to Family Day, things got a little behind. HOWEVER the development team came through as always, with the following new and updated integration connections for the week of February 15th, 2010:

• Tesco ROI D96A
• Tesco UK D96A

• Aramark 4010
• ASPDotNet Storefront Connector
• Bed Bath And Beyond 4010 VICS
• Belks 4010 VICS
• GiantEagle 4010 UCS
• Home Depot DotCom Commerce Hub 4010
• Home Depot Canada 4060
• KandN Warehouse 4010
• Kroger 5010 UCS
• Norvanco Warehouse 4010
• Pubnet US 3060
• Piggly Wiggly Alabama 4010 UCS
• Staples 4010
• Target Corporation 4010
• Walgreens 4010
• Walgreens 4010

That about does it for this week.  If you’d like to view our complete list of supported EDI trading partners, click here!

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

New and Updated Integration Connections

Good Afternoon,

Despite filling up at both the Chinese New Years lunch and the Valentine’s Potluck lunch this week, the development team still churned out their usual volume of connections! Here is the list of new and updated connections for the week of February 8th, 2010:

• Uniselect 4010
• Von Maur 4010 VICS

• AAFES 4030
• Basics Office Products LTD 4010
• Belks 4010VICS
• Best Buy Dot Com Commerce Hub 4010
• Boscovs 4010 VICS
• CSN Stores 4010
• DH Howden 4010
• DHL 4010
• FleetFarm 4010
• General Maps
• GiantEagle 4010 UCS
• Home Depot Canada 4060
• HY Vee 4010 UCS
• Magento
• Maps
• McLane 5010
• MeijersCom 4010
• National Grocers 4010 VICS
• OfficeDepotVirtualWarehouse 4010
• Party City 4010
• SP Richards 4010
• Steinmart 4010
• Target Corporation 4010
• Uniselect 4010

That’s it for this week.  If you’d like to view our complete list of supported EDI trading partners, click here!

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

An Introduction to Advance Shipping Notices

The EDI 856 Advance Shipping Notice (ASN) document is most time sensitive document sent via EDI. These documents usually need to be received in a specified period of time before the truck arrives to deliver the goods. Many partners issue fines or chargebacks if these timelines are not met or if the ASN is incorrect. For this reason, understanding the ASN document is important.

What is an ASN?
An ASN is basically an electronic version of a printed packing slip that tells a trading partner how a vendor has packed their items for shipment, the destination of the shipment and delivery schedule of the shipment. Closely related to the ASN is the UCC-128 bar code label. The label is placed on your carton and is scanned by your Trading Partner’s warehouse. The label lets the warehouse know contents of the shipment without having to open up the cartons and allows the warehouse to electronically match up the label to the ASN in your Trading Partner’s EDI System. This is why the ASN needs to be transmitted to your trading partner before the shipment is scheduled to arrive and needs to be packed correctly.

Packing your ASN
There are 2 methods of packing an ASN: Standard Pack and Pick and Pack. A Standard Pack ASN is used when the same item is packaged together in one carton. A Pick & Pack ASN allows for different items within the same carton.

Structure of an ASN
An ASN contains many different levels of information referred to has Hierarchical
Levels (HL). Here a brief outline of the different levels that an ASN can contain

Shipment Level: Represents the Shipment and contains high-level information such as the shipment ID, ultimate receiver, carrier information and tracking number. An ASN can only contain one Shipment HL.

Order Level: Contains order information that ties your shipment to the Trading Partner’s Purchase Order. There may be one or more order level per ASN.

Tare Level: Represents a unique pallet. Typically it contains a bar code number of the pallet label and pallet information such as weight and size. This level is used in some, but not all ASNs, depending on your Trading Partner’s requirements and the manner in which you ship your goods.

Pack Level: Identifies each carton in the shipment (or on the pallet, if the Tare Level is used). Usually it contains the bar code number of the label. Typically, ASNs contain a pack level.

Item Level: Represents an item that is shipped. Contains item information such as quantity and item IDs

Standard pack shipments have a simple structure:
Shipment – Order – Item – Carton

Pick and pack shipments tend to be more complex and can be structured in many different ways depending on how you conduct business and your Trading Partner’s requirements. Here are some examples:
Shipment – Order – Tare – Item
Shipment – Order – Pack – Item
Shipment – Order – Tare- Pack –Item

Well, that’s an overview of the ASN.  eBridge offers a variety of solutions including the eBridge ASN Module and ASN webforms to meet your business needs. So if you need help with your ASN solution, give us a call, we are here to help!

Click here to watch a video that shows how to create an ASN in the ePortal, as well as many other helpful support videos.

Cheers
Nazma

nazma

Sage Announces First Public Road Maps for MAS 90, 200, and 500

Sage Product Management has just released the first ever public road maps for the Sage MAS 90, 200, and 500 ERPs. The roadmaps are living documents that are intended to communicate the future plans and progress in the development of each package.

Each document is broken out into approximately 18 brief slides that offer a wealth of information regarding the Sage products. Sage has made clearly stated commitments to improve and add features with defined timelines for implementation. This degree of transparency at the development level really conveys how dedicated the Sage Product Management team is to improving their products and ultimately their customer’s experience.

I encourage any Sage MAS 90, 200, or 500 users to have a look at the following PDF files to find out more:

Public Roadmap for Sage MAS 90 and 200

Public Roadmap for Sage MAS 500

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If you would like to find out more about how eBridge integrates with these Sage products, check out our Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200, or Sage MAS 500 pages.

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

It was recently brought to Support Services attention that some clients were having trouble printing multiple documents at once from ePortal. Thankfully there is a pretty simple fix for this problem.

If you want to print multiple documents you must allow pop-up’s from www.ebridgesoft.com under “Tools/Internet Options/Privacy/ Pop Up blocker Settings”. You can also do this when you click print for the first time. Internet Explorer displays a security bar asking if you want to allow pop-up’s. If you say yes, it will automatically add www.ebridgesoft.com to the list below. Then the next time you print it will bring up multiple print windows to allow you to print all selected documents.

If you have adjusted your browser settings and still can not print multiples, be sure that you have adjusted the settings on any other Pop-Up Blockers, like Google Toolbar, on your computer.

If all else fails give us a call here in Support!
Thanks,
Andrea

Andrea

New and Updated Integration Connections

Good Afternoon,

Business as usual here at eBridge as we head into Superbowl Weekend with plenty of new and updated connections deployed. Here is the list of new and updated connections for the week of February1st, 2010:

• Home Depot Dot Com Commerce Hub 4010
• Norvanco Warehouse 4010
• Piggly Wiggly Alabama 4010 UCS

• BJs Wholesale Club 4010
• Dopaco Inc 4010
• eBay Maps
• Fingerhut 4010
• Food Lion 5010
• GHX 4010
• GSI Commerce 4010
• Magento
• McLane 5010
• National Grocers 4010 VICS
• Pubnet US 3060
• Safeway 4010 VICS
• School Outfitters 4010
• Sobeys 4010 VICS
• Staples 4010
• Target Corporation 4010
• US Deptartment Of Defence 3050

That’s all folks.  As always, stay tuned for our next weekly update!

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin

We just sent out the following press release to ensure everyone that our software is in fact compatible with Windows 7. Read below for more information:

eBridge Software Announces Software Compatibility with Windows 7

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BURLINGTON, Ontario [Feb 5, 2010] – eBridge Software Inc. has announced that all of its Windows applications are compatible with Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7, which was released on October 22, 2009. eBridge’s applications are however dependant on a variety of third party accounting packages, which may or may not be certified for Windows 7 at this time. eBridge advises any customers concerned with compatibility issues to contact the publisher of their accounting package to verify their support for Windows 7.

Windows 7 is the latest version of Microsoft Windows, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, net-books, tablet PCs and media center PCs.

Unlike its predecessors (XP and Vista), which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 is intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being fully compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible.

About eBridge

Founded in 1993, eBridge Software leads the small to medium sized (SME) market in accounting software integration. Our powerful combination of Integration-as-a-Service (IaaS) ePortal – including over 700 predefined connectors for EDI, ecommerce, CRM, and warehouse management—and our eBRIDGE adapters with over 37 accounting packages, makes eBRIDGE Software the only ‘last mile’ integration-as-a-service company to offer such a wide range of integration solutions. Our complete and flexible integration solution streamlines your business processes, saving you time and money. For more information visit www.ebridgesoft.com an EDI | CRM | SCM and Webstore front business software integration company.

For more information contact:

Marketing Coordinator
eBridge Software
Tel: 1.800.755.6921
E-mail: dmalda@ebridgesoft.com

If you would like to download a PDF copy of the release, click here.

Kevin Martin
Assistant Marketing Professional

Kevin Martin