If you haven't already, get hold of the software and open the Universl.SAI sample (use the Quantum Edition sample)

Yes,

Yes,

Joanna Christine said:

From Purchase order – Purchased items go into system at COST and “automatically” adjust our selling to the provided % that we want.  If we want a 0.6 divider or 0.7 divider, can we set that up when setting up a part number in the system?

No.  Pricing is not automated in Sage 50 Canadian.

Yes,

Yes,

Joanna Christine said:

Will system allow Labour to be invoiced or is this considered a non stocked item?

The Inventory & Service Item list has two types of Service Items: 

 - Regular Service Items are used for setting price lists, and for tracking purchase and sales quantity of non-inventory items (i.e. tube of grease, can of spray-paint)

 - Activity items can be used on Time Slips, so that is what you would use for tracking and billing Labour.

Yes,

Yes, you can have a Bill of Materials defined for any Inventory Item.

Joanna Christine said:

We take this information when job is complete to cost the job for the customer.

Is this something that the system will allow?

Allow, yes.  Support, not really.  Sage 50 Canadian is not an ERP system.  If you were to draw a flowchart or diagram out the information flow, all the cost accounting machinery connecting time slips to inventory would be missing.

There is an add-on called MiSYS for manufacturing. www.misysinc.com

Joanna Christine said:

Will this system allow us to set up two different hourly rates?

If you mean hourly billing rates, you can set up as many different service item codes for invoicing as needed, the Time Slip code quantity and pricing will come through on the invoice, so the time sheet code has to be correct.

If you mean two different direct labour overhead application rates, no.  See the note above regarding ERP and MiSYS systems. 

Your reply:  No.  Pricing is not automated in Sage 50 Canadian.

I have gone into Universal and saw that when you add an inventory item, you have the option under the pricing tab to use "cost +30", is this not going automatically adjust the price at this setting?

Joanna Christine said:

you have the option under the pricing tab to use "cost +30", is this not going automatically adjust the price at this setting?

No, "Cost + 30%" is just the description typed in for the name of that price list.

There's no automated functionality based on price.  Worse, there isn't even the capability of adding a warning that we had on a 1970's green screen mini that the selling price was below cost or below a particular margin.

Also, because the costing in the Universl.SAI company is set to 'FIFO', there isn't a Margin / Markup column available in the Inventory Summary report, or a report with Cost and Selling Price compared on the same page. 

Setting prices is either done manually from the Inventory & Services Item screen's Price tab, or there is functionality to:

 - do a bulk Export or Import of any Price Lists, or

 - Use the 'Update Price Lists' screen - it will run a formula to apply multiple costs.  Under Setup | Settings | Inventory & Services, select Price List, choose a price list, click on Update Price Lists, select the items you need to update, Set up the calculation formula (i.e. Set Cost + 30 % by increasing Cost prices Percent 30.00%, Click Calculate, click Save Prices, click OK.   See screenshot below.

As an example of how this price field is not automatically calculated, look at the item H1030 Handles: Passage. 

Go to the Quantity tab:   (Depending on the Edition, you may see multiple locations, this is from the Quantum Edition)

All Locations  (Total) 1,740 @ Average $10.07 total $17,521.43.  Cost plus 30 should be $13.09, right?

BC             1,660 @ 9.51  total $15,795.03

Ontario      50 @ $21.58 Total $1,079.00

Quebec    30 @ $21.58  Total $647.40 

Now look at the Pricing tab:

Regular $30

Preferred $28.50

Cost + 30  $3.50  ...is actually Cost minus 65% from average, what a deal!!!

Employee  $3.32 

Running the FIFO report...  H1030 cost converted (probably from (weighted) Average Costing) at $4.3149, cost was higher than the selling price, and later cost at $21.58 is MUCH higher than selling price. 

Clearly, the $3.50 was not automatically updated, and Universal Construction would soon go out of business buying Passage Handles for $21.58 and selling for $3.50

Screenshot of Update Price Lists, notice the software used 'last purchase' as 'Cost' in the calculation to come up with $28.10 ($21.58 * 1.30)

If you run the sample company's Sales by Item report, you will see a few cases where the margin % of completed sales is negative - items sold below cost.   This is NOT the best way to find selling price errors!

I hope that helps you to help your client with a recommendation.  Sage 50 is certainly capable of recording, but not automating, manufacturing.