Authorized Business Partner and Certified Consultant FAQ s

Transcription

1 Authorized Business Partner and Certified Consultant FAQ s Q: When will the changes be effective? A: The program was announced June 15, 2011, with an effective compliance date of November 1, Between June 15 and the compliance date, partners and consultants must adopt the new certification requirements in preparation of the effective date. Q: Why is Sage standardizing the Certification and Authorization Programs? A: The current Certification and Authorization Program is inconsistent across Sage product lines, creating inefficiencies. Our focus must be to deliver extraordinary experiences to our mutual customers. We are supplementing our current product quality initiatives (product deficit reduction and Net Promoter improvements) and concentrating on increasing the skills of our partners. Standardizing the program will: Create program consistency for partners and consultants across mid-market Sage solutions Simplify the fees and operational processes Provide a predictable, economic model with a focus on Sage certified consultant proficiency Build and maintain the competencies of our certified consultants whereby enabling exceptional services to our mutual customers Q: Does the new standardization apply to all Sage products? A: All Mid Market product lines will adopt this program on November 1, 2011, (excluding Sage Construction and Real Estate). Q: What does it mean to be authorized? A: Authorization is the entitlement to be affiliated with Sage in a specified capacity on a yearly renewal basis. Authorizations are held at a business partner company level, not at an individual level. Partners maintain authorization by meeting minimum sales objectives and by staffing consultants who have achieved and maintain product line certification requirements. Q: What does it mean to be certified? A: Consultant certification is the designation of an individual s capability to effectively support Sage solutions. This is at an individual level, not a business partner s company level. Consultants become Sage Certified Consultants by earning required product line competency role certifications. Q: What is a competency role? A: A competency role is a learning track for a particular area of expertise for a product. Competency roles may include multiple courses and an assessment. Most Sage product lines will have multiple required competencies to ensure that the business partner has the appropriate expertise on staff to support their Sage products. For example, competencies of a product may include: application consultant, technical consultant, and implementation consultant. Q: What does support entitlement mean? A: Certified consultants may call Sage Support for assistance when helping customers on a Sage support plan. In this instance, the customer will either open a case or call with their certified consultant to authorize the use of their customer support plan case. Certified consultants may also call Support using cases received with their initial competency role fee, their annual renewal fee, if any, and paid cases. Calls placed to report product issues, if confirmed, will not require

2 available cases, but the call must be placed by a certified consultant who has achieved the proper competency training. Q: How many Sage certified consultants (CC s) do business partners (BP s) need on staff to meet certification requirements? A: Technically speaking, Sage business partners can meet certification requirements with a minimum of one or multiple CC s. For some products, it may be difficult for one individual to meet all the competency role requirements due to the nature of the skills needed for each competency. For example, Sage ERP MAS 90 would typically require at least two CC s to complete all of the courses in the five required competency roles due to the technical and accounting knowledge required for the various competency roles. All required competency role product line certifications must be maintained annually for partners to remain authorized. Q: Is there an advantage in having multiple certified consultants on staff? A: Increasing the number of CC s increases the base knowledge and skill set of the business partner organization. This may also increase the partner s total support entitlement and complimentary support case privileges. Q: How are complimentary Certified Consultant support cases managed? A: Complimentary cases provided with the annual CC fee, if any, are pooled under the partner account by product line. Therefore, all CC s for a product can technically draw from that product lines case pool when placing calls. It is the responsibility of the partner to control their CC s individual use. Complimentary cases expire at the end of each year and do not accumulate into the next year s pool. Q: How are paid Certified Consultant support cases managed? A: Paid cases may also be pooled under the partner account by product line. When CC s pay for support cases (5 for $750), other CC s in the same product line can technically draw from that product case pool when placing calls. It is the responsibility of the partner to control their CC s individual use. Paid cases do not expire. Q: What if the Sage certified consultant who holds a required product line competency role is no longer with my company? A: If a CC holding a required competency leaves the partner company, the CC and/or competency role must be replaced within 120 days. Q: Who is entitled to contact Sage Support? A: Certified consultants who maintain annual certifications are entitled to contact Sage Support. Certified consultants calling support for assistance must have achieved the competency role discipline for the customer issue they are calling about. For example, a consultant who has completed the product application certification is entitled to call support for questions related to the general application. Only implementation consultants may call to ask questions about product implementation. Q: How do existing Sage business partners add additional product lines? A: Sage business partners can add a product line by completing the product line application and if accepted, paying the new product line fee of $3,000. To add a product, contact us at [email protected] or visit Partners/Become-an-Authorized-Partner. Q: When adding a product line, is the product line fee the same for all Sage product lines? A: Yes. All new partners, or existing partners who add additional product lines, pay $3,000 per product line family.

3 Q: What is a product line family or companion product? A: A product line may include additional family companion applications or versions. For example, Sage ERP Accpac Online is a family companion product to Sage ERP Accpac. Although family companion products don t require a separate product fee, they typically require a unique certification. See page 58 of the Sage Partner Advantage Program Guide for a listing of Companion products. Q: How much are business partner product line renewal fees? A: The Sage Business Partner annual renewal product line fee is $1,000 for Group A product lines and $500 for Group B product lines. If the partner maintains additional Sage accounts (for other office locations), the annual product line fees apply for each Sage account. Refer to page 53 of the Sage Partner Advantage Programs Guide for Group A product lines listing. Group B product lines include: Sage BusinessWorks, Sage BusinessVision, Sage Pro ERP, and Sage PFW ERP. Q: What is a Sage account? A: A Sage account is a unique account number for each office location that entitles the partner to receive a Not for Resale (NFR) copy of the authorized software, product margin, and other benefits. Each location that maintains a Sage account must comply with the product line certification requirements by having certified consultants achieve and maintain the competency role training for authorized product lines and pay the annual product line fees. Q: How do I become a Sage certified consultant? A: To become a Sage certified consultant, you must register for the appropriate Competency Role on Sage University and pay the initial $1,000 fee for each Competency Role you need to obtain. After completing the courses in the learning track roles, consultants must pass the assessment (if provided) with a score of 80% or higher. Q: How do partners and consultants maintain authorization and certification? A: Certified consultants maintain annual competency role re-certifications by attending required courses and/or passing associated assessments with a score of 80% or higher. As consultants maintain certifications, the partner maintains authorization. Each location that maintains a Sage account must have consultants who satisfy the product line certification requirements. Q: How do existing certified consultants expand their certifications? A: If an existing CC wants to add another certification and earn the associated support entitlements and Sage University benefits, they must pay the $1,000 competency role fee, attend the courses and successfully pass the assessment. Q: Can certified consultants challenge another competency role within their product line? A: Certified consultants who hold a competency certification may challenge another competency in the same product line by paying a one-time assessment fee of $200 and passing the assessment with a score of 80% or higher. If the assessment is not successfully passed, the consultant must pay the $1,000 competency role fee, attend all training, and successfully pass the assessment to achieve certification. Q: Do certified consultants pay the $1,000 competency role fee once? A: Yes. This is a one-time fee for the initial competency role training. Annual renewal certification training and/or assessments, when required, are included as part of the $650 CC annual fee, regardless of the number of competency roles that the consultant has achieved. (In the event a renewal certification is offered in a classroom or virtual classroom format, a daily class fee of up to $200 will apply.) Q. How does the $1,000 competency role fee compare to previous course pricing? A. The competency role fee is generally less than the list price of either one course or a combination of multiple courses. For example, the Sage ERP Accpac application consultant

4 certification role includes five courses plus the assessment. In this case, the list price of all courses in this track was nearly $4,000. Q: What if a certified consultant fails a competency role assessment? A: Consultants must pass the competency role assessment with a score of at least 80%. One free retake is included. Additional attempts are $200 each, and if a third retake is required, approval must be obtained from Sage University to continue with the third attempt. Failure to complete a competency renewal will result in the removal of entitlement for that competency role. If this competency is required for a business partner to maintain authorization, the partner will need another CC from their organization to achieve that competency role. Q: How does a CC obtain more support cases? A: Additional cases are available in blocks of five for $750. Q: How much are the Certified Consultant program renewal fees? A: The Sage Certified Consultant annual renewal product line fee is $650 for Group A product lines and $350 for Group B product lines. Refer to page 53 of the Sage Partner Advantage Programs Guide for Group A product lines listing. Group B product lines include: Sage BusinessWorks, Sage BusinessVision, Sage Pro ERP, and Sage PFW ERP. Q: Is there a discount for partners with multiple certified consultants? A: Yes. The following CC renewal fee discounts apply: 1-5 certified consultants = no discount, 6-10 certified consultants = 15% off each CC renewal fee, 11+ certified consultants = 20% off each CC renewal fee. Q: What if a certified consultant leaves a business partner company? A: If the certified consultant who holds a required competency leaves the partner company, the consultant and/or competency role must be replaced within 120 days. If the certified consultant joins another partner company, a transfer fee of $650 will apply. Q: How does Sage track partner authorization compliance? A: Sage requires that certified consultants be assigned as contacts in the business partner s Sage Account. When the CC s pay their annual program fees (on Sage University), the Sage Account is updated to reflect the required product line competency certification. If all certifications are achieved, and if the annual partner fee is processed, the business partner s status indicates full compliance and the appropriate entitlements are granted. Q: What is an Independent Certified Consultant? A: Independent certified consultants are individuals who desire to provide services to Sage customers. This community of consultants receive support benefits but are not authorized resellers. Sage Business Partners may have independent CC s perform services for their customers. However, Independent CC s are not assigned to a partner account and therefore are not eligible to complete a business partner s product line Competency Role requirement. (Unless allowed by the product line.) Q: Are the requirements for business partner CC s the same as independent CC s? A: Not necessarily. If a Sage business partner only has one certified consultant, that consultant must meet all of the competency role requirements of the authorized product line for the Partner to remain authorized and continue selling Sage products. An independent certified consultant may only carry one of the required competency roles. Q: If a certified consultant is independent of a Sage business partner, can they obtain NFR software for in-house use? A: If an independent certified consultant wishes to obtain software for personal use, the CC must achieve the required competency role certification(s) and pay the product line fee(s).

5 Q: Does the certified consultant have the same program renewal date as the business partner? A: The business partner s program renewal is the date that Sage received payment for their partner authorization. All certified consultants for a product line share the same renewal date. Currently, this date is expected to be December 1. Q: Will a partner need to submit an application for their consultants at the time they submit their partner agreement? A: No, partners must indicate names of the individuals who will be achieving their competency requirements for the product line on their application. Once the partner submits their partner agreement, the consultant may then access Sage University and register for their certifications. Q: When this new program commences, will partners need to re-certify consultants? A: In most cases, existing certifications map to the new Competency Roles. For example, if a consultant held the Sage SalesLogix engineer certification, this consultant will be considered a Sage SalesLogix implementation consultant in the new program. It is not necessary for this individual to take an additional training or assessment in the new program to achieve that Competency Role. Q: How partners know if their existing certifications map to the new competency roles? A: The mappings will be posted to Sage University by the end of July. In addition, Sage University will communicate directly to the individuals holding existing certifications with their status information in the new program over the course of the next couple months. Furthermore, they will receive any additional steps they need to take by the November 1, 2011, effective date. Q: Who do I contact if I have additional questions that are not addressed by these FAQ s? A: Contact your sales representative or send your questions to [email protected].