PCI Compliance Deadline July 1, 2010!
Don’t risk losing your ability to process credit card payments, or the possibility of an audit or a fine. Learn about these security requirements and how you can minimize the risk to your business.
Join us for our free one-hour webinar - PCI Compliance: What does it mean for you?
Thursday, May 27, 2010
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM PDT
Register here.
Payment Card Security
By
Don West, CPA, CISA, CISSP, PMP, CITP
Blytheco, LLC
Albert Gonzalez and two others were charged in August with hacking into the computer systems of Heartland Payment Systems, 7-Eleven and Hannaford Brothers and stealing data on over 130 million credit and debit cards. Gonzalez was already in jail on charges that he had hacked TJX (T.J. Maxx, Marshals and more). That case involves 47.5 million cards. In each case the intrusions went on for months before being detected.
If an organization stores, processes or transmits payment card Primary Account Numbers (PAN) it must comply with the industry requirements for data security. Compliance doesn’t guarantee security but it helps. Not complying can result in fines, adverse publicity and loss of the ability to accept payment cards.
Compliance is difficult and expensive even for larger merchants. It can be prohibitive for smaller ones. You can greatly reduce the cost and effort by reducing your exposure, by not storing cardholder data electronically.
Not complying by the deadline can result in fines, adverse publicity and loss of the ability to accept payment cards. Deadlines vary – check with your bank. Visa, for example, requires that merchants use only validated Payment Applications by July 1, 2010!
What's New in Sage MAS 500?
Sage recently announced the move to Product Updates for the Sage MAS products, making it possible to add value for you by including product enhancements, in addition to addressing product defects.
The February 2010 Product Update for Sage MAS 500 versions 7.2 and 7.3 is posted on SageSoftwareOnline.com. Enhancements included in the Product Update for version 7.3 are:
Security Enhancements: New security events were added:
- Enhancement: Create a new Delete Customer security event for AR Maintain Customers. Default behavior: Grant permission to all users that belong in 'sysadmin' group and deny permission to all users that do not belong to the 'sysadmin' group. PER # 106694 / ENH # 43566
- Enhancement: Add a security event to prevent user from changing a saved sales order to a quote. PER # 106517 / ENH # 43413
Sales Order: Added a new warning message in Enter Sales Orders and Quotes for duplicate customer PO's.
- Enhancement: New warning message has been added in sales order entry for duplicate customer PO's. ENH # 44622
Warehouse Automation: LabelXpert - Added a new Sort button to allow a user to re-sort the grid.
- Enhancement: New button similar to the Sort button in LabelXpert Designer has been added to LabelXpert Pressman. This will allow user to re-sort the grid in a desired order.
Additional details on these items are available in the Release Notes posted along with the Product Update on SageSoftwareOnline.
Contact Blytheco to learn more about Product Updates. Send us an email, or give us a call at 800.455.1368, extension 2500.
ERP Events: Document Management - Where are you now? Where are you going?
One of the key attributes for success is that any document strategy be comprehensive, yet manageable.
One way to manage this is to begin with a Baseline Assessment. A sailor must know two things before he can chart a course: his current location and the location of where he wants to go. Picking a destination may be easy – the Bahamas perhaps – but determining the precise distance and direction the ship must travel to get to the tropical paradise requires a skipper know his exact location at the time of his departure.
During his journey a navigator also must constantly measure his progress. Unexpected weather conditions, changes in ocean currents and breakdowns in equipment all conspire to throw him off course. To reach his destination safely and successfully requires an accurate assessment of the ship’s progress compared to where it started from and where it needs to go.
When mapping a document strategy, you must also understand two things in order to make the right directional decisions: Where are you now? Where do you want to go? Ports of call may be easy to settle on – increase revenue, cut costs, satisfy customers – but to reach those destinations will require a reliable starting point from which to calculate the course of your plans.
One way to determine your starting point is by performing a Baseline Assessment. This assessment provides a sense of direction and helps to make the process of designing a document strategy more manageable and measurable. Most importantly, a Baseline Assessment makes certain that your plans are closely linked to the fundamental needs and objectives of your particular organization. The more closely your strategy is tied to these basics, the more likely it will be given sponsorship, support and funding, and the more likely your efforts will result in meaningful improvement.
Learn more at our free informational webinar, "Beyond Paperless."
Tuesday, May 18, 11:00am Pacific
Product News: Two New Additions to the Blytheco Product Suite
Blytheco has added two business management systems to its suite of Sage ERP solutions.
Sage ERP X3 combines all the advantages of ERP performance while maintaining simplicity, flexibility, and
scalability in a fully integrated, cost effective end-to-end solution. Designed for midsized companies, it provides first-class functionality encompassing all your business processes, built-in support for international operations, and cutting edge technology, forming a solid foundation for safeguarding and further developing your company.
X3 has extensive functionality that allows it to excel in distribution and manufacturing, allowing end users the ability to tailor the solution to their workflow. Easy-to-use reporting and business intelligence tools give businesses real-time control and visibility over activities and improve decision making in each of the key areas supported by the system. See more on our website.
Designed for small and mid-sized companies, Sage Accpac runs on your choice of database—providing the foundation for an integrated suite of end-to-end business management applications, including customer relationship management (CRM), human resources management, business intelligence (BI), warehouse management (WMS), point-of-sale, ecommerce, and hundreds of vertical solutions.
Sage Accpac delivers high performance with advanced functionality, and provides a transparent, bi-directional data flow between all parts of the system—customer-facing, partner-facing, and employee-facing—empowering employees, delivering a consistently superior customer experience, and lowering overall cost of ownership.
Regardless of the solution, clients know they can rely on the experts at Blytheco to help them optimize their systems and achieve their business goals. Contact us for more information about our product offerings or with any questions.
Send us an email, or give us a call at 800.455.1368, extension 2500.
Make the most of your system
"My name is Barb and I work at Midwest Special Services. Back in January, we contacted Blytheco to assist us with a W2 issue we had with HSA’s. We were put in contact with [Blytheco's Software Consultant] John. He not only knew immediately what our problem was, but was able to walk us through it in a very timely fashion. He was very polite and patient, plus explained why our problem had happened.
Well, another problem has come up with this, so when I contacted the main Blytheco phone number, I requested John to assist us again, if it was possible. The operator connected us with John’s voicemail, and he promptly returned my call and was able to help with the new problem. With a few trial runs and John’s knowledge, he was able to fix our problem, and eliminated what could be hours of keying . Little does he know, I need to re contact him, because we need to fix another company code that has the same problem.
It has been a wonderful experience working with him, and I hope to continue to work with him in the future. It has been hard for our company to find good support people. I think we have found that with John and Blytheco."
Regardless of the system you use or how you use it, Blytheco consultants have the experience and expertise to provide creative solutions to your business challenges. How can Blytheco help you save time and money?
Inside Blytheco...Employee Profile
Christa Krompolcas is a Blytheco Customer Account Executive based in the Tampa office.
Your favorite thing about working for Blytheco:
Working with our customers. I like being able to provide them with solutions that will make their life easier. Whether it is offering them a way to automate a manual process that takes 3 hours down to 3 minutes, or a solution that will save money for their organization. Our customers are the reason I am here.
What do you do in your spare time?
In my spare time I like spending time with family and friends. I also spend a large amount of my time volunteering and assisting in fundraising events for Easter Seals of Tampa Bay. They do amazing work with children who have disabilities and/or special needs.
What’s the last book you read or movie you saw?
The last movie I saw was "2012."
Something you can’t say no to:
Starbucks and Chocolate. I can’t live without either one.
Promotions 
Distribution Clients: Save 20% with the purchase of two or more distribution solutions
Complete your distribution solution and save 20% when your purchase two or more eligible solutions.
*Eligible solutions include the following: Inventory Management, Inventory Replenishment, Warehouse Mgmt, Purchase Order, Sales Order, Credit Card Processing, Sage Sales Tax, StarShip, Light MFG, Product Configurator and Advanced Kitting.
This offer is valid through June 30, 2010.
WEBSITE LINKS: |
