Summary: Your printer jams at 2:00 PM during month-end close. Do you spend the rest of your day becoming an amateur Sage 100 tech, or do you call for expert Sage help? This story walks you through both paths. (One path includes a gourmet cookie.)
Imagine this: you’re in the midst of the month-end close. You’re not running behind – you’re right on track, perhaps even a little bit ahead. And you are rocking it. Bank recs? A cinch. Vendor invoices? Easy-peasy. You’ve cleared your schedule for the afternoon, your focus is strong, and even better, it’s only 2:00 PM. What a great day.
And then, a small hiccup: your printer runs out of paper.
No big deal. You refill the tray, close the drawer, and… nothing. You should have more to the report you’re printing, but the printer doesn’t seem to think so. You sigh, you restart the print job, and… nothing.
Of course, you do all the usual things. You reopen the tray, pull out the paper, fan it, check for partial feeds, firmly slam the drawer shut, wait, restart the printer, clear the print queue, restart the print job again, and… nothing.
You test it with a Word doc, and the printer works fine. So, it’s a Sage 100 issue. Hmm.
Now what?
Your Options: DIY Troubleshooting or Call an Expert for Sage Help
Your first instinct is to turn to Google. You immediately find a Sage Knowledgebase article with a variety of fixes to go through, in order.
But they do seem a little obvious (and a little insulting). One of them is to check if your printer is on. What do they take you for – a three-year-old?
You harrumph and massage your temples. You get a cup of coffee from the break room, and when you return to your office, that half-printed report is still spread out on your desk. You take a sip of coffee as you consider your options.
Now, your story becomes a Choose Your Own Adventure tale (remember those?). You can attempt to solve the issue on your own, or you can reach out to your Sage 100 partner.
[If you attempt to solve the issue on your own, start here.]
[If you choose to call an expert, skip to the next section.]
- You attempt to solve the issue on your own:
“Well, no delaying the inevitable,” you say to yourself, and you start making your way through the knowledgebase article list, checking every option. You even dutifully make sure your printer is on (it is, of course).
By 4:58 PM, you’ve made no meaningful headway. You’ve checked your printer for obstructions (again), reset the printer spool (whatever that is), and reinstalled printer drivers. You still have a half-printed report on your desk along with a half-empty mug of coffee, and tomorrow is packed with meetings. You’ll just have to continue chipping away at this task between those meetings.
(sigh)
- You call an expert for Sage help:
You feel a bit silly calling your Sage 100 partner about a printer problem, but you realize there’s a possibility you may spend the entire rest of your day trying to fix the issue on your own. But if you ask your Sage partner, it might be fixed in a jiffy. “It’s worth a call, at least,” you say.
You call your Sage partner (and if you’re working with VBCC, you know exactly who you’ll reach because it’s the same Sage 100 consultant you’ve been working with for years). Let’s say your dedicated support person is Kellie. You spend a few minutes chatting, and then explain your printer problem to her.
“Oh, I know exactly what that is,” she says. She remotes into your Sage 100, clicks a few buttons, enters a string of characters, and clicks and unclicks a checkbox in the Library Master settings. Then she asks you if now is a good time to run a test print. You say yes, and a few seconds later the printer hums to life. Before letting her go, you reprint your report and confirm it all came through – it did. Kellie wishes you a great day, you hang up the phone with a smile, and you continue rocking your day as you finish your coffee.
By 4:58 PM, you’re nearly finished with the close, a few days early, and you pack up your bag to head out the door. Perhaps on the way home you’ll pick up a gourmet cookie from that new bakery near your house. With all the work you put in on the close today, you’ve earned it.
Which Option Will You Choose?
Though everyone knows to call their partner when something big happens, people often try to diagnose and fix small Sage 100 issues on their own. Sometimes it works, but it usually takes far longer to diagnose an issue and troubleshoot it than it would to just call and ask an expert for Sage help.
Consider this story to be a reminder that you don’t have to go it alone – ever – with your Sage 100 system. Whether you’re having a productive day or a hectic day, and whether your Sage support question is large or small, a good Sage partner is always happy to help you get back to work quickly.
But, of course, it matters which Sage expert you turn to. To choose a good partner, make sure they:
- Respond quickly when you need help
- Have at least two decades of Sage support experience, specifically with Sage 100
- Understand your business, workflows, and team, for personalized fixes
- Offer extended support hours (before your workday and after)
Have questions about VBCC’s Sage 100 help and support services? I invite you to experience how easily you can reach one of our knowledgeable, friendly Sage experts.
