xTuple's Collective Brainpower Blog

Wanted to announce the publication of our new guide for people who run or work in services businesses. This new book is called "xTuple for Service Businesses" and it's available to be read online for free . Or if you prefer you can also download a printable PDF copy from our app store.

To coincide with this new release, we've also updated our guide for using xTuple in inventory-focused...

There is a cost to owning and maintaining software that goes well beyond the purchase price of the software itself. Of course, there is the cost for purchasing the software. Typically this is a one-time event and depending on the type and brand of the software, the cost can be in the thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Several factors today are changing all of that including...

Hello — and welcome to your Next Business .

This blog will be a forum for companies that are doing exciting, cutting-edge things to grow and thrive in a quickly changing world. We'll be sharing success stories about what works - and ways that the smart use of technology can help companies of all sizes not just survive in a lousy economy — but prosper .

It's brought to you by my...

I am pleased to announce the first release of the Asset Maintenance package is now available on the xChange bringing Planned and Unplanned maintenance functionality to the xTuple ERP solution. This package is based on a Design Specification posted in January.

The Maintenance package is designed to allow organizations to plan maintenance of assets into the future and to schedule the...

The Fixed Asset packages have been updated to version 1.0.2. The update resolves some minor bugs, prepares the packages for the forthcoming Maintenance package and introduces a new Desktop.

The Desktop is designed to give easy access to the Fixed Asset functionality especially when all the packages are being used. In addition the User Guide has been upgraded.

You will need to...

Everybody loves a reward, right? The right reward can make your employees work harder, and drive your company to success. The standard way to reward sales people is to pay them a percentage of the sale, otherwise known as a commission. xTuple software has always allowed you to assign a commission percentage to each sales rep, and to record the commission to be paid to that rep for each invoice...

People often discover xTuple by searching phrases like "QuickBooks Alternative." It's interesting how few choices there are for companies who've outgrown entry level accounting packages like QuickBooks or Peachtree but don't have (or want to spend) $100,000+ on mid-market solutions like Microsoft Dynamics, Sage or Epicor.

CPAs and accountants are also seeking better, more affordable...

If you are a typical stakeholder of a small or medium size business, you probably prefer to invest in assets that contribute directly to the growth and revenue of your business (for example, tools for making your product, machines to expand capacity, people to design and sell your product, etc.). You know that information technology and business software is important, but you avoid spending...

Once a year, we schedule our two most popular training classes, Implementing and Managing xTuple and Power User Training , in back-to-back weeks in an effort to make our training more accessible for the many people traveling great distances to join us. Once a year, users and partners alike come from all parts of the world to pack in as much xTuple information as possible, all in one trip!...

The latest version 3.7.0 of xTuple ERP, including the new Project and Enterprise Editions, is now available for download at SourceForge. This is an incremental release, with a handful of significant new features, including improved support for multiple currencies in multi-company financial consolidation, handling of MRP exceptions, deeper usage of the parameter widget and characteristics, and...

Ok, I'll admit it — I'm as guilty as the next person when it comes to not reading directions. Generally, instructions are little more than packing materials which get thrown out with plastic wrap and styrofoam.

Once and a while it actually occurs to me that those directions may provide nuggets of valuable insight as to how to use a product and save me hours of time trying to solve the...

Back by popular demand, our most requested remote training event on OpenRPT. If you're interested in learning how to make cosmetic changes to reports, add fields to existing reports, create custom reports and much more, you don't want to miss this class! The class will run in two three-hour sessions back-to-back later this month.

OpenRPT, the free report writer software that comes with...

Recently the Fixed Asset and Fixed Asset Depreciation packages have been updated. The latest releases contain minor bug-fixes and several improvements based on continuous improvement and feedback from users.

In particular the Depreciation package has a number of new features requested by customers.

Support for U.S. Section 179 single depreciation. This law allows for small...

Thanks to recent changes made to the Translation Portal , translators can now get a head start on their Tuple ERP translations. Gone are the days of waiting for the final release of xTuple ERP to begin translation work. Now translators can begin working as soon as the Beta for a new version is available. This change should make it much easier for translators to ensure their .QM files are kept...

In addition to our awesome classroom training sessions including the upcoming 202 Advanced Topics class , xTuple will be offering a Web-based Training event every month of this year. This is a terrific opportunity for you to take a deep dive into all sorts of functional areas of the application. Each session will be lead by an expert on that particular topic from the xTuple community, partner...

We're happy to announce two new additions (editions?) to the xTuple product line, and some simplifications to the pricing that will be effective April 1. (No, it's not an April Fools joke... )

Based on strong customer demand, we've added Project Accounting functionality to xTuple, and will be rolling that out in a new Project Edition of xTuple. This consists of the Project Acccounting...

Make plans to join us from March 21-24, for our most frequently requested class — Power User Training , focusing on SQL, data import/export, the xTuple Application Development Environment, xTuple Connect, and much more!

You can get 34 CPE credits for this class. And there are special discounts available for sending multiple students. Order online , or contact xTuple training today!

A group of xTuple users came to see the TRON: LEGACY 3-D movie recently, and they were unable to leave their seats.

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The much anticipated mail integration functionality in xTuple Connect is now available for Beta testing.

Overview

Email integration provides a mechanism for users to import email into xTuple and have it be automatically associated with appropriate contacts and documents in the database. This solution allows users to continue using their preferred mail client and server...

This week the annual Apple Technology love-in known as Macworld is going on in San Francisco. In these days of diminishing Trade Shows, this show not only survives, it thrives. This is a show for all enthusiasts, fans and users of Apple technology. Walking through the the set up today, I observed row after row of booths that will be selling products to users of iPhones and iPads, and iPods,...