Sage - you've got to love them (not!)

This is a true story (only the names and a few of the facts have been changed to protect the innocent!)

A client rings me the other day .."I have a bit of a problem. I need to get my accounts done very urgently... problems with the bank etc. Can you turn them round quickly for me?"

"No worries" I say (always helpful) "send me the records and we can get started on it."

"It should be a lot easier this year" he says, " I am using Sage and I can send you the back up file by email and you can get going"

My heart sinks -  I know what is going to happen next but being the resolute kind of guy I am, I duly forward the backup to my trusty assistant, Marilyn and task her to get on with it. Delegation is the key!

A few hours later I wander into the general office to see how she is getting on, but of Marilyn there is no sign. A few minutes later the phone on my desk rings.

After some dust induced coughing and spluttering the voice on the other end says "Boss, its Marilyn - I understand you were looking for me", ( she didn't really say Boss, but it sounds good when they do it on the TV) "I'm in the old store room in the basement."

"I suppose there is a good reason for that" I say - always sympathetic to my staff.

"Well, you know the Sage backup you sent me - it's an earlier version than the one I have on my laptop....  and after much hunting around the only PC we have running this version is in the store room, so I am down here trying to down load the info..."

Now there is a moral to this story and for those who are familiar with my favourite topic I don't need to explain further. To the Sage enthusiasts in dusty storerooms everywhere, good luck to you!

Comments

Sort of familiar

accountancyextra | | Permalink

I feel some real similarities with a situation we encountered at the end of last year.  A new client sent in their Sage file which was version 6 or 7 (can't remember exactly).  We had to find machines with old copies on and upgrade it twice to get it into our version.

I pointed this out to the client and he quite rightly said "why should I spend a further £500 plus to upgarde - it works fine for me".  He's got a point!!

However, I have finally managed to persuade him to move onto an internet based application and he loves it. No more version control worries for this client!!

Stuart

www.accountancyextra.co.uk

 

 

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