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Frequently Asked Questions

General

  • What is Business Cloud Essentials?

    Business Cloud Essentials takes control of the people, materials, finances, resources and planning you need to run efficiently, ensuring every aspect of your business is managed in our comprehensive ERP solution. The system gives you a full Cloud accounting and financial planning suite, with resource planning, scheduling, stock control and more. It includes all of the functionality found in traditional ERP systems at a fraction of the cost, and unlike most software providers we do not use add-ons or ‘apps’ meaning that your data is fully integrated in one central system with one point of control.

  • Which version is right for my business?

    For any job, you need to use the right tools, and for this reason we offer a range of industry and sector specific solutions.

    Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) is suitable for small & medium sized manufacturers, as well as engineering firms and jobbing shops. Our software is used by a wide range of manufacturing companies - from food & drinks manufacturers to furniture manufacturing. Our software is flexible enough to apply to a wide range of uses and is suitable for large batch process operations, as well as one-off and bespoke manufacturing.

    Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) offers the capabilities to look after your entire business from payroll and departmental financial performance, to stock management and CRM. Ideal for project based businesses i.e. events management, media companies, property development and more. Isolate project costs and drill down into detail to discover the full impact of every decision on year end performance.

    All versions are suitable for small to medium sized businesses and we offer a fully customisable Enterprise Solution for businesses with more specific requirements.

  • How safe is my data?

    When you use our Cloud services, data is stored at our secure UK based data centres. We ensure that no customer data is ever transferred or stored outside of our facilities. Our data centres are aligned to Tier 3 standards, the UKs highest level of security, which offers significantly improved reliability over ‘on-premise’ servers. Your data is backed up twice daily to a separate backup server of ours, also based in the UK, for added peace of mind.

  • Do I still need an accountant?

    One of the major advantages of using Business Cloud Essentials is that you have a better idea of your performance and get the opportunity to make decisions before problems arise. Your relationship with your accountant will become more important as you will get to focus more time on making strategic decisions, and less time processing data or “fire-fighting”.

    You can provide your accountant with access to the system so that he/she is always up to date with performance; and meetings become more productive. Best of all, accountant access is included free of charge and you can even choose the level of access required – full access, read only access or customised access levels.

  • Do you offer implementation, training and consultancy services?

    Every business is unique. To ensure that you maximise the value from your investment in Business Cloud Essentials, we offer a full end-to-end project management, consultancy, and training package. Advanced has experience with thousands of organisations from across the UK and our teams draw on expertise across multiple sectors, including, private, public and third sector.


Implementing Business Cloud Essentials

  • How long does it take to get started?

    Smaller businesses with fewer complexities may find the system is an instant fit. Larger and more complex businesses can benefit from our process mapping, project management and training.

  • How should I plan my requirements?

    We recommend that you take some time to think about your business and how exactly you would like the system to work for you. The software is extremely versatile and can be used to suit any type of organisation, so it will help if you have a good idea of how your business works and what is required.

    If for example all your sales are ‘cash sales’ (where a customer pays you immediately on presentation of the invoice/ receipt), there is no need to set up individual customer accounts. However if you have sales to customers on credit terms or want to keep track of sales by customer, setting up individual customer accounts will be important to you.

    Or, if you have a small range of non-stock controlled purchases, for example ‘Stationary’, then you may be content to set up a single ‘Stationary’ purchase code. If however your purchases are more specific, then you may want to set up a series of individual consumable stock/order items, to allow you to check supplier invoices against the pricing you have on record.

  • Can I implement departments or functions one at a time?

    Our software is extremely flexible and packed full of features that you won’t typically find elsewhere. However, you don’t need to use the entire system straight away and you can take the time to get used to the features as you go along. On the most basic level, you can use the system solely for CRM or for inputting invoices. As time moves on and you become more comfortable, you can start to use additional features.

  • How do I access the system?

    After registering for Business Cloud Essentials you will have received a username, password and link to access your installation. These are your personalised access details so please keep them safe and secure and do not share them with anyone. If you experience any issues logging in, or if you can’t find your login details please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

  • What are the system requirements?

    We recommend Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, however you can also access Business Cloud Essentials from any PC with internet access using any of the following browsers:

    • Internet Explorer (9 and above)
    • Safari
    • Opera
    • iOS and Android default browsers

    Our software will work with almost any browser on a huge range of devices you should make sure that you have a reliable internet connection in order to get the most out of the system.

  • How do I enter company information?

    You will need to enter basic details about the business including address and contact details which will appear on your invoices and other documentation. This can be done by clicking on 'Settings', 'Company Settings', under the gear icon in the top menu bar.

    If your business is registered for VAT you will also need to set up the VAT Registration details by clicking on 'Accounts', followed by 'VAT Registrations' from the main menu bar. You should also check that the default VAT Rates included with the application meet your particular business needs by clicking on 'Accounts', and then 'VAT Rates' from the main menu bar.

    If you have employees and need to run a payroll, then you will need to set up tax and other deductions by clicking on 'Employees', 'Deductions', from the main menu bar, and then the individual employee records by clicking on 'Employees', 'Employee Accounts', again from the main menu bar.

  • How do I navigate around the system?

    The system is designed to be as intuitive as possible and our development has been led by our client's needs. Business functions i.e. sales, purchasing, operations, accounts etc. each have their own section under the main menu. There is also a helpful overview of each business function, showing the most up to date information.

    Many older applications require ‘codes’ – codes for customers, supplier and stock items in particular. Business Cloud Essentials has a sophisticated ‘search and select’ capability, which together with 'Advanced Search' on both customer and supplier listing screen, make such codes less critical. However, codes can still be useful, for example, in grouping types of stock by giving them a common part to their code, or differentiating customers or suppliers with similar names, so it is worth spending some time considering if you require your codes to be meaningful, and if so, what format they should take.

  • Can I import data?

    You can import your customers, suppliers, employee hours and more; meaning that you can import from an existing software solution or from spreadsheets to reduce the amount of data entry required to get started. We also offer an implementation service for businesses with more complex needs, please contact us for more information.

  • How do I input customers and suppliers?

    Customer and Supplier records can be set up by clicking on ‘Customers’, 'Customer Accounts', and ‘Suppliers’, 'Supplier Accounts' respectively from the main menu bar, but if you already hold these records electronically elsewhere, you may be able to import the records direct into this application – the initial set-up wizard will enable you to follow this procedure. We recommend that having imported such records, that you then select and edit these records, or at least a sample of them, to ensure the record looks as you would expect.

  • What are Stock & Order Items?

    In this application, Stock and Order Items are the goods and services your business makes, sells, or buys. We would suggest that you consider carefully what items you sell, buy, or make, and in the case of the latter, what items are used to make these goods, and have a clear and consistent policy on how items are identified and categorised.

  • How do I import Stock & Order Items?

    The set-up wizard allows stock records held electronically elsewhere to be imported into Business Cloud Essentials.

    Business Cloud Essentials does not differentiate between raw materials/components, levels of assembly, or finished stock items, but rather the relationship between a stock item and any components (including other assembled or manufactures stock items), this is specified in the 'Manufacturing' tab on the stock record. Therefore, the application does not limit the number of levels on a ‘bill of material’, and quite complex assemblies can be set up.


Pricing

  • Are there any up-front costs?

    You don’t need to pay anything up-front for Business Cloud Essentials. We do however offer an implementation and set-up service for businesses who require a bit more help with set-up, or for businesses who have more complex requirements. If this sounds like something your business might need, then please contact us

  • What does my monthly fee include?

    We strongly believe that every business should have access to a powerful range of features that can help to improve performance and profitability. Unlike other providers, we don’t limit the number of transactions or number of payroll employees. Nor do we charge extra depending on your company structure.

  • Do you charge for any additional services?

    We offer additional consultation and implementation support for businesses with more complex needs, please contact us or visit our on-site implementation page for more information


Billing/Subscription

  • How does the free trial work?

    We offer a 30-day free trial where users will be able to explore the system to its full potential and how the software can be beneficial specifically to your business.

    During your time on the free trial, one of our dedicated account managers will check in every now and again to see how you are getting on. Once you have reached the end of your 30-day trial period, you will be contacted once more so we can gain feedback on how you found the system, and if you would like to progress further and implement the system long-term.

  • How do I cancel my subscription?

    There is absolutely no obligation with our software, and we completely understand that organisations and small businesses can have rapidly changing circumstances. We offer a ‘no hassle’ cancellation policy which will allow you to cancel your subscription with immediate effect. All subscriptions are billed on a ‘whole month’ basis, meaning that you will not be billed for anything after the end of the current calendar month.

  • How do I change or move from one version to another?

    Unlike other software providers, our systems are seamlessly interchangeable. You can move from one edition/version to another with no need to reinvest in new software or move onto a separate platform. Advanced Business Cloud Essentials can be tailored over time to offer a mixture of features without the need to buy upgrades or reinstall software.

  • How do I add additional users?

    As we offer various levels of user access from ‘operators’ to 'full administrators', we prefer to discuss the requirements specific to you. Our aim is to ensure that your additional user costs are realistic to encourage company-wide use of our software, which increases the effectiveness of our solutions. Costs vary according to the level of user access required, and the version in use, and we also offer bulk discounts for larger numbers of users.

Feature Walkthroughs

 

Supplier Management

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Business Planning & Finance

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Resource Management

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Sales Opportunity to Order

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Reporting and Analysis

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Employee Management

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Knowledge centre

Advanced icon Benefit Finance

Sales

Quotes, sales orders, invoices, dispatching goods, customer accounts & more.

Advanced icon Benefit Regulatory

Purchases

Supplier accounts, goods received, assets & more.

Advanced icon Benefit Planning

Stock & order items

Creating / importing stock records, stock reports, Bills of Materials & more.

Advanced icon Benefit Legacy

Operations

Works orders, scheduling, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), quality control & more.

Advanced icon Benefit Customers

Employees

Employee accounts, payroll, deductions, expenses & more.

Advanced icon Benefit Profit

Accounts

VAT filing, financial reporting, projects & departments, opening balances & more.

Advanced icon Benefit Finance

Bank

Bank reconciliation, recurring items, finance agreements & more.

Advanced icon Benefit Technology

Settings

Adding & removing users, company details, access levels & more.

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