Cim continues to offer a committed new features road map
Cim50 MRP has proved itself to be the reliable and current replacement for Sage 50 Manufacturing SMEs were hoping for. Businesses can now access the latest version of Sage 50c and upgrade their Cim50 alongside it.
Moreover, Cim Services continues to release new versions each year and necessary bug fixes and patches as required.
Is it time to upgrade Cim50 & Sage50c?
Early adopters of Cim50, who have not yet upgraded will still be using older versions of Sage 50c (27.1, 27.2 for example)
Whilst these older versions of Sage are still fit for purpose there is a strong business case to upgrade both Sage 50 and Cim50 sooner rather than later.
Not only are there new features to benefit from in the latest version of Cim50, but the version itself returns a better user experience overall. New features and bug fixes over the last 3 years (since V2021.2) have removed some of the irritations that users may have experienced.
Features round up V2021.2 and V2022
- New programme icons on the desktop ease navigation
- A marked improvement to the loading and processing times within Cim50 Manufacturing.
- Payment Due Dates can now be added to Invoices in Cim50 Manufacturing,
- Carbon emissions reporting
- Dedicated Components analysis fields, simplifying input and the ability to report on the components in your BOMs (Bill of Materials). These new fields also improve the efficiency of input/retrieval of important data relating to components in Work Orders.
- When interrogating MRP Recommendations, you can now see running ‘Smart Totals’ for the Demand or Recommended Purchase Quantity and Cost.
- Quotation Revision Control makes it easier to see past versions of a quote in case you need to refer to it or even revert to a previous version completely.
- The ability to update a BOM (Bill of Materials) directly from the Work Order means inefficiencies can be eliminated easily with a simplified process change in Cim50 Manufacturing.
- Cim50 now integrates with the Sage 50 Project Costing module, thus it is possible to link works orders and issue stock to projects.
- Individual working calendars enhance scheduling visibility for each individual resource in the system.
Highlights for Cim50 v2023
- Archive Bill of Materials – You can now archive bills of material, enabling you to keep your data tidy. This functionality will enable you to keep a record of the bill of material whilst enabling you to mark the associated stock record as inactive.
- Quotation Recosting – Cim have responded to the most popular request to improve the Quotation module. It is now possible to re-cost a quotation based on the current latest cost prices of the items contained within the quote. Accessible from the Quotations list view, you can now ‘Recost’ a quotation.
- Subcontracting Improvements –Cim have made a number of improvements to our subcontracting functionality. Performance is significantly improved, with the list loading significantly quicker than in previous releases of Cim50.
- You are also able to view and search for specific purchase orders or orders for a specific supplier from the subcontracting list. This will allow you to then dispatch or receive goods by purchase order or supplier as needed.
BUG Fixes
Bug fixes are often as valuable to a business as new features and Cim have fixed several of them which not only improve the user experience, but in several instances have removed anomalous/inconsistent performance issues that could potentially lead to errors over stock take, BOM, Works Orders and SFDC (stock issuing)
What are the Qi Services options for upgrading?
Total Peace of mind approach
Instruct Qi to deliver consultancy resulting in both Sage50 and Cim50 being upgraded on the server and all client PC’s. This approach will give you total peace of mind and whilst it’s unlikely, if there are any issues during the upgrade process – Qi will remain your single point of contact.
Please contact Qi to advise of how many client PC’s your Sage and Cim applications are installed on, and we can provide you with the cost.
Alternatively……
For those businesses who have an internal resource who serves as the ‘go to’ for your business regarding IT matters and who is prepared to and comfortable with updating the machines Sage and Cim are installed on, Qi will upgrade both applications on the server and demonstrate the PC upgrade process to your nominated staff member on two client PC’s.
Is this right for you?
The above approach minimises cost but costs you time internally. Please also be advised that if errors are subsequently caused by the staff member when upgrading the balance of the client PC’s which need rectification by Qi – consultancy for this will be chargeable.
This approach will cost £360 plus VAT
Your current Cim50 version number will be on the log in screen.
Please ensure you have checked hardware requirements.
Advance warning of subscription cost changes
Cim50 Price Increase from October 1st, 2023
We were advised at the end of June 2023 that the Cim50 software subscriptions will increase by 5% for renewals and implementations on or after 1st October 2023. Your renewal date will be in your annual invoice from Qi.
Thought for the Day
Contact Qi to discuss which upgrade approach works for your business and what timeframe suits you best. Downtime is an hour for the server upgrade and about 30 minutes per PC which we recommend you upgrade in order of priority based on the workload of the team member. Cim50 remains the official partner of Sage UK for Sage50c MRP.