xTupler #39 | June 2015
Dear Community —
One of the best things about the kind of business we are, is that we get to work with (and help grow!) companies in so many different industries. Our customer base is a cool cross-section of the real producers in the world economy, busy managing their day-to-day businesses.
And they tell us over and over that the time they took to tackle implementing their xTuple ERP software was time well spent. Why? Because xTuple can help you blow out your budget numbers during a great economy as well as succeed during tough times.
For those of you who haven't yet taken the plunge, we're rolling out a special offer: The 1-2-3 Plan. Especially for companies who may be contemplating (or currently evaluating) a sales proposal from our team or have been trying xTuple PostBooks® for a while, The 1-2-3 Plan is just for you. Take three full months to pay for your new xTuple order (split the total invoice into three equal parts). This plan EXTENDS CREDIT to anyone willing to make a serious commitment to software required to grow their business, at no additional cost!
Interested? Contact xTuple Sales to take advantage.
New Version: xTuple ERP 4.9.0 Release Candidate is now available for download, and we're very excited to bring you this milestone.
There's great progress to report on the exciting xTupleCommerce Web Portal one of the only truly real-time integrated ERP-and-eCommerce website offerings in the world. That means your customer-facing website pulls items, inventory, and customer-specific pricing information directly from the ERP system, and orders entered on the website appear immediately in the system as well. No more double-entry, manual errors, and unhappy customers. When the final version of 4.9.0 is released, we will also incorporate xTupleCommerce into our free trial public demo (hosted on our website) — watch for a special email announcement when that's ready so everyone can try!
I know what you're thinking. Ongoing improvements to the Desktop client, the Mobile Web client, and the xTupleCommerce Web Portal — how do they do it all?? Well, we love what we do, for starters! And of course, so much of the feedback on new features, little tweaks, (and, yes, even bugs) — comes straight from you, our community of customers, partners, and open source users. Every now and then, we do need to evaluate what all this costs — and what these improvements mean to your prices, especially to ensure product and services quality. New price adjustments go into effect on July 1, 2015, on some of our commercial software — and we're offering a great deal for you to SECURE your current prices! Read more here.
Thanks so much for your ongoing support of the world's #1 open source ERP. And for those of us in the northern hemisphere kicking off the warm weather days, happy summer!
Ned Lilly
President and CEO
xTuple ERP 4.9.0 Special Feature
Expanded inventory management tools in the Mobile Web client, including support for personal pick lists with wireless barcode scanning, and support for printing labels on belt-mounted mobile printers. Warehouse workers of the world unite — you have nothing to lose but your chairs!
Note: Release Candidate is a test version of the software, intended to be the last before the final release, and one that we judge reliable enough to use in production. We use them ourselves, as do many of our more adventurous customers. It's a great way to get your feedback into the final product, without waiting an entire cycle for the next release.
IN THIS ISSUE
EVENTS
HOT TOPICS
- How do I …?
- Compatibility Matrix
- 4.9.0 Release Candidate available for download
- SourceForge open source site improvements
- Your ERP expertise on LinkedIn
- Internships are resume gold
- PostBooks® coming to Fedora
- PostBooks® License Renewal
- Rule-Based Configurator 25% off (until June 30)
BLOG SERIES
- B2B eCommerce
- Challenge: Sales Reps
- Challenge: Multiple Ship Tos
- More to come...
Contact Josh Fischer, Manager-Web Services Group
Where's Wally? Manufacturing Heartland USA
April's overview of her company's experience selecting and using xTuple was so well received, PMA invited her to present again when the team travels to Houston, Texas, in October. Registration is now open. See photos of PMA Spring 2015 on Flickr.
Pictured (from left to right) are Wally, April and Tracy DeRose of Cordeck.
xTuple at LinuxCon North America
Contact Anne for an appointment
Customer Conversations: Blair Companies, cost controls
xTuple ERP's flexibility helped Blair focus on getting control over their true inventory and manufacturing costs, and determine product profitability. With so many options on setup and manipulation of data, everyone in the company gets exactly the information they need, from manufacturing to project coordinators to sales, and, of course, accounting. Every department can get the information they need with the same data, without entering items and costs, etc., several different times.
"We've become a much leaner manufacturing company using xTuple," says Deborah Barnett of Blair Companies.
Read the case study and see more photos of the xTuple sign by Blair Companies
Customer Conversations: Biofields, renewable energy
When Biofields was born in 2007, one of the first projects was an ERP implementation, and — as many companies do — a big-name product was selected, SAP. Biofields found the SAP implementation process to be painful, and although using their baseline product, complicated. Rather than renew the license, Biofields management decided to explore a new option that made more sense in terms of cost, usability, implementation and robustness.
Biofield's attraction to xTuple included the flexible, customizability available with open source software, the licensing options — including using ERP in the cloud — and, of course, the robustness of the system itself.
"We love the fact that we can be in direct touch with you guys, as the creators of the system, we can have our questions answered, we can get services directly from you, of course also from the partners, but having that support there is very important for us, that is something we did not have with SAP."
Partners: Save the Date for PartnerCon15
Opening with a Welcome Reception and Awards on the evening of Thursday, August 20, with sessions running through Saturday, August 22, at 12:30 p.m., the event closes with the xTuple®Open Golf Tournament. Most partners will want to add on Power User Training on Monday-Thursday of that week (class registration below).
Contact Partner Channel director Danielle Kerner for details.
New Pricing? or SECURE Current Prices?
xTuple's annual Partner Conference takes place at headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia (USA).
At xTuple, we use some fantastic ERP software to help us make these types of business decisions. It's been quite the time-lag — over three (3) years since any price changes — and a long, thoughtful analysis of those many years of data serves as our guide. The increase is only a small percentage of your total business operating expense and necessary for xTuple to maintain the level of product quality necessary for you to serve your customers. Here's what we've determined, to give you plenty of lead-time:
Effective July 1, prices rise on some commercial products with the exception of Enterprise Edition. Commercial PostBooks® or Distribution licenses increase 12.5%. Manufacturing Edition licenses increase 8.3%. The license component of the xTupleCommerce solution, a product growing by leaps and bounds, increases 15%.
If you have an existing multi-year pricing arrangement with xTuple, we will honor that, of course. "Multi-year pricing arrangement?" you might ask. "What's that? Can I get one of those?"
Yes. Regardless of the renewal date of your current license, maintenance, or support agreement with xTuple, if you extend the agreement for a period of three (3) years, we will lock-in your current pricing. Keep your current renewal date and your payment plan. Guaranteed. Same as today's low pricing. All THREE years. Now that's a guarantee. To learn more about this special offer, please contact [email protected], and let's talk.
xTupleR Staffer Features
Job Title: Project Manager, Web Services Group
Social: LinkedIn Twitter Instagram
Joined: January 2014
Mission: Help businesses achieve their goals by equipping them with proven strategies in Web marketing and eCommerce with the xTuple Web Services Group.
CV: Community Manager, Artsmith Media; Research Analyst, Sharif Health Research & Consulting; Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies; BS in Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology from Towson University; MA in Applied Sociology from University Maryland, Baltimore County.
Personal: Grew up in mountains of Maryland, then moved to 'big city' for college; reside in Virginia Beach with two calico cats (Precious and Love); killer of all houseplants.
Hobbies: Juggling (reading!) multiple books at same time; learning crafts to be the most stylish Zombie Apocalypse survivor; consuming too much coffee; binge-watching Netflix; Instagramming; volunteering with local organizations to help homeless, though my network isn't nearly as colossal as Sherlock's (Holmes, that is).
Why technology as a career? Entrepreneurs, small businesses and nonprofits who needed help building their brand/business/mission surrounded me as my career started. My interests in data analysis and community development, plus drastic transformations in marketing and communication thanks to technology, are changing the way businesses work. I can apply that technology to help nonprofits – and for-profit companies – reach a larger audience and increase their revenue. I've always wanted to help people.
Why xTuple? I enjoy helping our customers (from highly technical to everyday users), especially working with them to define their needs, then translating product specifications to the Development and Support teams.
More xTupleU Videos
Learn how to place and arrange windows on the desktop: video includes information on customizing individual desktops, refreshing, filtering, and getting different views of data, changing parameters, and changing the placement of windows.
Learn how to customize the display of toolbar buttons: video includes descriptions of the xTuple toolbar buttons, information about showing or hiding toolbars and controlling and rearranging toolbars.
Learn how to manage opportunities: explore managing your pipeline, leads, and marketing. Converting quotes to sales orders will also be covered.
xTuple In-Classroom Training
Washington, DC (USA) 5-day || August 10-14, 2015
Power User Training (PUT)
Norfolk, VA (xTuple HQ) 4-day || August 17-20, 2015
Enjoy 25% OFF Savings when you combine both SCO and PUT classes for best value. **
**DETAILS on Promotional Training Package
Class size is limited. You may send multiple people from the same company to take advantage of this combined class offer. This promotion may not be combined with any other discounts.
xTuple Distance Learning
Online 1-day live course || July 16, 2015
Practical, convenient — and affordable — learning at the convenience and comfort of your own computer in the location of your choice. Designed for participants who have little or no accounting knowledge and is equally applicable to those who are new to xTuple or current xTuple users who want to bolster their knowledge of both basic accounting principles and fundamental configuration and operation of core xTuple accounting functionality.
xTuple Webinars [complimentary]
View archive of past webinars or request a new webinar topic, new series in development.
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits are available for every training event offered by xTuple, unless otherwise noted, authorized by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).
Learn more about the xTuple Knowledge Series and view past events on xTuple's YouTube Channel.
About xTuple
Grow Your World® with the world's #1 open source ERP — the award-winning provider of commercial open source business management software for small- to mid-sized companies. Connect with the company, including the developer and partner community, at xTuple.com.