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Over the past year, many clients have expressed their frustration with frequently increasing supplier costs.  For users with extensive WorkflowMax cost lists, this frustration is compounded – requiring many hours of valuable time spent updating costs manually. The following will cover how to update your list of costs. If your cost list is on the lengthier side, exporting, updating, and re-importing your costs will save you, precious admin, time.  This is a straightforward process, but you do need to follow the steps carefully.  Microsoft Excel skills are also required. The easiest way to approach this is to ask your supplier/s to send you their latest price list in .xls or .csv format. In WorkflowMax, select Business > Settings > Export, then select file type Generic – Costs.  Ignore the rest of the fields and select Export.  Now scroll to the bottom of the screen and check the Export Result.  The number of rows exported should match the number of costs in your Cost (to check this go to Business > Settings > Costs).  If the figure looks right, select Click to download export file. Export Result (Business > Settings > Export) Once you have both files downloaded and open, save and format both documents so you can see the data clearly.  Now you need to sort both data sets. WorkflowMax will display your costs by description (A-Z) by default.  If you have more than a few suppliers, it might be easier to sort WorkflowMax by supplier, then create a separate sheet for each supplier.  However, you choose to sort, you want to make sure that both Excel workbooks are ordered the same way. The WorkflowMax export file, once updated, will be your import file. The quickest way to update is to copy and paste data from the supplier file into the WorkflowMax file. If you are also updating your sell price, you can update these figures manually, from another spreadsheet or use Excels formula functions to calculate a margin/mark-up from the updated cost prices. Once your pricing is updated and you are happy with it, check your import file is saved in .csv format. Now you’re ready to import!  Go to Business > Settings > Import.  Select Options as per below (unless your import file format is Tab-delimited), then select Import Now scroll to the bottom of the screen and check the Import Result.  The number of rows imported should match to your spreadsheet and errors will be displayed. In the example below, we made some changes (other than cost and price), highlighted in red. In column A we changed the m on the end of the code from lower case to a capital.  This resulted in a double-up on that item, so we now have two in WorkflowMax, one with the new cost/price, one with the old. Column B added the word GLOSS to the existing item. Column E didn’t import as the supplier wasn’t in the system. If you add a supplier to your import spreadsheet, ensure you add it in WorkflowMax before importing the file. In summary, using export / import to update your cost center will save you a considerable amount of admin time, but does require a great deal of care and some excel skill! Our pro tips for a successful import… Check your export list and add any new (or missing) suppliers into WorkflowMax before you import. Check the column headers before you hit the import button – these must be the same as the exported list. Use two screens or split your screen so you can see both worksheets at the same time – this will make it easier to compare data. If your list is long, consider splitting by supplier and importing each supplier list separately. Randomly check 8-12 rows in your import document, prior to import, to make sure they correspond to the supplier file. Always do a test import of 10 or less records, that way if something goes wrong, it’ll be less painful to fix. When calculating a margin or mark-up on cost and/or price, copy and paste the import data to a new sheet (use paste values – WorkflowMax doesn’t like formulas!) Take care updating columns other than cost and price, as our example above shows, even small changes can cause havoc. Need to boost your Excel skills?  Click the link below to view our Excel training options: Virtual courses: Virtual Courses – Ripped Orange In-person/customised training:  Microsoft Excel Training Courses for Business Users – Ripped Orange Need to update your costs but too busy?  We can help with that!  Contact us on 0800 000 256 to discuss. For step-by-step instructions on exporting and importing Costs in WorkflowMax, see the following links: Exporting Costs (workflowmax.com) Importing Costs (workflowmax.com)

In March 2022 Microsoft is introducing two changes to the way Microsoft 365 subscriptions are purchased that will impact all Microsoft 365 users.  You can read the full details of the change here. The changes are: 1 – Price Increase of around 15% for selected products Most New Zealand businesses use the Business plans as they are priced for organizations with less than 300 staff, the changes are listed below in USD Business Basic  (Web only) + $1 USD per user per month Business  Standard (Web + Desktop Office) – No Change Business Premium (Web + Desktop Office + Security ) + $2 USD per user per month For more details on each business plan view our article on Which Microsoft 365 Business Plan 2 – Less Flexibility to make changes The more significant change is Microsoft will remove the flexibility to reduce, pause or cancel a subscription unless you purchase a more expensive month-to-month plan.  Customers will pay about 20% more for this flexibility. What do you do? Pricing changes are never welcomed, however, all businesses do need to review and adjust their pricing from time to time.   Microsoft has not changed their prices in many years, however, it’s unfortunate that both a price change and flexibility change are happening at the same time. Option One  – Pause the change for a year. Ripped Orange can help you defer the price change and flexibility change for another year. Who knows what 2022 will bring but this may bring some flexibility.  If you want to press pause on the change you need to do before March 1 2022. Option Two – Take advantage of some of the promotions on offer There are a few promotions to soften the change including a  5% discount on your current price if you commit to a one-year term. If you already purchase your cloud software via Ripped Orange we will be in contact to work out the best options for you. If you purchase your software direct from Microsoft we would welcome the opportunity to discuss the best option to suit your business needs. Contact us today to discuss

Team Orange was thrilled to be recognised as Learning Partner of the year by Microsoft at the recent Partner Awards. Our Cloud Trainer service was recognised to be an innovative and effective way to deliver training for Office 365. It is great recognition of the work our team are doing to help clients learn and adopt cloud-based software across New Zealand. Team Orange receiving their award Our Cloud Trainer® service was recognised at the Microsoft Partner Awards as an innovative and effective way to deliver training for Microsoft 365.

There is a wide range of Microsoft plans available, but selecting the right one for your business can be confusing. Firstly there are two plan types, Business and Enterprise.  Business plans are limited to 300 users so they should suit most New Zealand businesses. Within the business plans, there are three bundles: Business Basic   – $8 per month This is similar to Google Apps, you get access to all the Microsoft 365 Office features but only on the browser and mobile phone apps. It’s an ideal choice for people that share a computer and don’t need the fully featured versions of Office. Business Standard – $18 per month The most popular plan, includes everything in the Business Basic plan plus the Office programs  (Outlook / Word / Excel etc)  to install on your computer.  This is ideal for office workers who are heavy users of Outlook, Word and Excel. Business Premium – $30 per month This is the new combo on the block and includes everything in Business Standard plus a few additional features focused on security and computer management Key additions are: Intune – Stand Alone $12 per month as an add on Used to manage and secure PCs and Phones, ie send updates and ensure they are up to date with updates/patches Azure Active Directory Premium P1 –  $12 per month as an add on Stronger control on identity and who can do what.  Key benefits are, the ability to control who can create Teams, and conditional access for 365, ie if you are in the office you don’t get an MFA prompt, but if you are anywhere else it does. Azure Information Protection Premium P1 –  $12 per month as an add on Stronger SPAM filtering and scanning of attachments for viruses. Ability to run Office on a Virtual Machine Microsoft allows Office to be installed on a virtual machine,  You would normally need to purchase a more expensive license to do this. Microsoft Defender (TBC) This is a virus protection tool, available in the preview and will be included with Business Premium. Is Business Premium worth the upgrade? Just like a fast food combo, the total is always cheaper than the individual items.  But.. Do you need the large fires and the ice cream? If you are already purchasing virus protection or other services elsewhere then the upgrade should be worth it if you want to move to the Microsoft versions. Azure Active Directory and Information Protection provide productivity benefits for users so they get fewer SPAM and interruptions with 2FA prompts. While Intune when set up correctly will make setting up new PCs and managing existing ones quicker saving you time and money. Note: Pricing is in NZD on 1 Jan 2022 and is subject to change.

Last month Microsoft announced Office for iPad. This had been rumoured for some time, however there was a lot of speculation that Microsoft were holding off to avoid cannibalising sales of their Surface tablet. Perhaps with the change in CEO at Microsoft it was time for a fresh approach, however realistically the product will have been in development for some time. At Ripped Orange we have been using Microsoft Apps on our iPad and iPhone for some time, including Lync, OneNote, OneDrive for Business and Outlook OWA.  They are all good apps and help keep you mobile. Word, PowerPoint and Excel are good additions to this family of apps, allowing you to present, review and share documents on the go. The link to Office 365 Before reviewing each application it’s important to understand the links to Office 365 Accounts.  Basically if you don’t have Office 365, then the apps won’t be much use for you. Office 365 is Microsoft’s Cloud Service that connects the traditional Office products to the cloud.  You need this service to make Office for iPad work. If you don’t have an Office 365 account then you can only view documents with Office for iPad which is not much use and you can do that anyway with some of the built in applications on your iPad. There is a potential workaround that may work for people that don’t use Office 365.  Microsoft have realisedOffice 365 Personal Edition, for $119 per year you get Office on your home PC and access to Office for iPad. It’s designed for individual not commercial use, but if you bring your own iPad to work then this may be ok. Disclaimer – Understanding Microsoft Licencing can be more complex than advanced physics, talk to a licencing expert if you need clarification. Getting Started with Office for iPad Once you download the Apps from the store they ask you for your Office 365 login, it’s smart enough to not ask you each time you start each app which is nice. There are plenty of alternatives for editing Word documents on iPad, including Apple Pages. However the frustration people have is not being able to review, mark up changes and keep any formatting in a document.  Word for iPad makes this easy, so you can quickly review, mark-up and forward on a document. If you are using OneDrive to store your documents in the cloud then this is even easier. Would you construct a 20 page proposal on your iPad?  Potentially you could, but it would be a frustrating experience without a larger monitor, keyboard and mouse. However it’s ideal if you want to quickly edit a document or read and review one. Excel for iPad Again there are plenty of alternatives for Spreadsheets, however Excel for iPad allows you to work within a familiar environment. Excel for iPad is surprisingly feature rich, you can edit and update spreadsheets, add functions and formulas and review. The only think you can’t do is complex analysis e.g. construct a Pivot Table. But again this is normally done at the desk. Team Orange use our iPad and Keynote for presenting, when combined with Apple TV, or Air Server it’s a great option as you are free of cords and can present wirelessly.  It also means you can’t hide behind a laptop screen. PowerPoint for iPad offers the promise that you won’t need to convert your slides to Keynote, however there are a few weaknesses.  Firstly you can’t insert and play sound or video, which is the best way to bring presentations to life. It also lacks a presenter view and is harder to connect to AirPlay than Keynote. Overall it’s ok, for basic presentations but not a rich as Keynote. Printing…not yet.. Printing from most mobile devices is challenging, even if your printer is wireless you need to have the right drivers installed and connected.  Apple have made this easier with Air Print, but this only works on compatible printers. While this may be fine for small home office printers not all corporate printers have Air Print. Office for iPad also has the limitation that it does not yet support printing anyway.  This is coming according to Microsoft.  To prepare for this now is a good time to ask your printer supplier if the printers you have support Air Print. ** Update ** Printing is now available via Air Print for a list of printers click here Overall Microsoft have produced a really good set of Office tools for the iPad, they are surprisingly feature rich and this will improve over time. To really benefit from these you need to be using Office 365, and storing your documents in either SharePoint or OneDrive.  Once you are doing this then you can be truly mobile get the maximum benefit from these apps.

What is MFA and why do I need it? By setting up MFA, you add an extra layer of security to your Microsoft 365 account sign-in. For example, you first specify your username and password and, when prompted, you also type a dynamically generated verification code provided by an authenticator app or sent to your phone. If somebody else tries to sign in as you, they’ll enter your username and password, then when they get prompted for that second factor they’re stuck! Unless they have YOUR smartphone, they have no way of getting that 6-digit number to enter. And the 6-digit number in Microsoft Authenticator changes every 30 seconds, so even if they knew the number you used to sign in last week, they’re still locked out now. Set up MFA Click on the link below or type it into a web browser https://aka.ms/mfasetup Enter your username and password to sign in. You will then be asked to provide more information, click Next. Follow the onscreen instructions to setup the Microsoft Authenticator App on your smartphone. You will then be asked to add your mobile phone number. Follow the onscreen instructions to set this up. A success screen will display when you have completed the whole set up, click Done. The default method for MFA will be the authenticator app but you can receive the code via text/call if required. Change MFA Options If you need to update any of the methods used for MFA, login to MS 365 and navigate to Security info in Account settings or click the link below. https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info From here you can change the default sign-in method or update details associated with each method. #mfa #Microsoft365 #MultifactorAuthentication #Office365

Want to share your work calendar with the family, or have setup a separate calendar that you want to share? Because your calendar is in the cloud it’s easy, login to www.office.com and select share in Outlook.  Add the persons email and they will get an invite.  Tip – Read the permissions you are giving first. At the other end they can either click on a link or add the link as a web calendar.  In Outlook have them select add Calendar from Internet. Then insert the link to the calendar they have received as the Internet Calendar Subscription

This video series from Microsoft Office shows what’s possible and how quickly a digital workspace can come together.  It includes great insights from Microsoft MVP’s on how to approach SharePoint.

There are some significant changes coming for users of Office 365.   Currently you can connect older versions of Outlook (2010, 2013 and 2016) to Office 365 to receive mail and access files. The versions you connect is changing, meaning you will need to change Office versions more frequently or  move to Office 365 ProPlus which is the subscription version of office. Starting October 13, 2020, Office 365 ProPlus or Office perpetual in mainstream support will be required to connect to Office 365 services. Mainstream support. Microsoft will offer mainstream support for a minimum of 5 years from the date of a product’s general availability This  Microsoft announcement gives more details: This means if you are using Office 365, or planning to you need to consider the version of Office you have: Office 2010 – Stops working with 365 October 2020 Office 2013 – Stops working with 365 October 2020 Office 2016 – Stops working with 365 2021 Confused about Office versions, our friend Doug explains below

We see many users struggle with the differences between OneDrive – Personal and their work OneDrive. You can read more about the detail on our recent blow We see many users struggle with the differences between OneDrive – Personal and their work OneDrive. To solve this Microsoft are now blocking new accounts being setup for email domains that are in Office 365. Users will see the message below. You can read more about the experiencing and details at Cleaning up the #AzureAD and Microsoft account overlap This will save a lot lot of issues for users and businesses to save confusion and help avoid users saving company data in the wrong place. The Microsoft Post also makes the following reccomendations If you’re an IT pro, do not bulk create personal Microsoft accounts for your employees. . If you’re an IT pro, don’t ask your employees to create personal Microsoft accounts with their work email address. It creates confusion about who owns the associated content and resources. If you’re an end user who has created a personal Microsoft account using your work email at of convenience, please consider renaming your account.

Microsoft released a new update to Windows 10 last month, learn about the new features in Windows 10, and tips for users upgrading from Windows 7. The following is a recording of our recent webinar and some reference links below: Discover what’s new in Windows 10 including: – Edge Web Browser – Adjusting and navigating the start menu – Managing notifications and the action center Links: How to change your Microsoft Account Email Address Ripped Orange  – Quick Guide to Windows 10 Windows 10 Webinar – 25 minutes Windows 10 Webinar By David Jackson|2021-01-29T12:15:52+13:00September 16th, 2016|Categories: Windows 10| Microsoft released a new update to Windows 10 last month, learn about the new features in Windows 10, and tips for users upgrading from Windows 7. The following is a recording of our recent webinar [...] Read More 0 Setting up a new pc – which account to use? By David Jackson|2021-01-29T12:15:52+13:00September 6th, 2016|Categories: Office 365, Windows 10|Tags: microsoftaccount| When you set up Windows 10 on a device you will be asked to set up an account; you will have several choices: Set up a local log on account (use this if you prefer [...] Read More 0 Windows 10 – What’s New via Sway By David Jackson|2021-01-29T12:15:53+13:00November 17th, 2015|Categories: Windows 10|Tags: Sway| With the latest upgrade to Windows 10 released a few days ago,  here is a great Sway that highlights what's new and some very useful resources for IP Pros. [...] Read More 0

How can I keep my data safe if it’s stored in the cloud? We will explore a few options available to keep your data safe from accidental mistakes, or deliberate attempts. Passwords The days of leaving the front door unlocked are gone, as are having an insecure Pa$$word.  This is your first and most important line of defence. Office 365 Provides the following options: Force users to change passwords on a regular basis. Enable Multi Factor Authentication Like some banks multi factor authentication makes you enter a code from a txt message when you enter your password.  Providing two forms of identification. Yes it’s a pain.. but it’s secure and can be turned on for select people only. It’s also worth reviewing your list of users. If staff have left or are on extended leave, mark them as not able to login.  Check also if your support partner has access to your account and what their password policies are. Data Loss Prevention Accidental or deliberate loss of data hits the headlines often. There are a variety of ways you can avoid this including. Not allowing people to send email with attachments Scan all outgoing email to look for certain number sequences, e.g. credit card numbers or account numbers This can also apply to files in OneDrive or SharePoint.  Options include Warn, or block users sharing or sending files with certain content Block all users from sharing files with people externally Block certain files based on their classification from being shared. Setting this up can be tricky but there are some basic templates that can used and easy SharePoint or OneDrive settings to control what’s shared. There is a lot happening in this space, the following video on Azure Information Protection provides an insight into whats possible. Device Management So what happens when you have a PC stolen, or want to protect data in a BYOD environment.  Again there are options Remote wiping devices if you are using Microsoft Intune Controlling use of apps on devices, eg removing Pokémon Go from company owned phones! Protecting data on devices, ie not allowing email attachments to be saved to a personal  Dropbox With good user training and application of some simple device and security settings Office 365 can be made as secure at your business needs. Read more at these links: Microsoft Trust Center   An overwhelming resource on information covering almost anything you need to know and more Videos and more product related information on  Office 365 Device Management with Microsoft InTune Setting up multi factor authentication #Security