Communication - Sage 200, Sage CRM and Microsoft Internet Explorer

Sage 200, Sage CRM and Microsoft Internet Explorer

Notice 21-CV | 06 October 2021

Dear Partner / Developer,

Technology continues to change at pace, that includes how Sage software works alongside associated software including operating systems and web browsers.

To this end, we wanted to ensure that you are fully aware of the Microsoft announcement, dated 25 August 2021, which states that from 15 June 2022, Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) will no longer be supported.

What does this mean for my business & customers?

The Microsoft announcement signifies that Microsoft will provide no further updates, including those of a security nature. Whilst Sage 200 and CRM solutions will continue to work with IE11, other organisations, such as banks, may reject their use, due to the potential security risk IE11.

IE11 is embedded within Sage 200 and Sage CRM, please refer to the sections below for further information.

How are the products impacted?

Sage 200 (All Variants)

• For Sage 200 Standard and Sage for Education, there will be no impact as all necessary changes will be included as part of our 2022 R1 releases.
• For Sage 200 Professional, the impact will be determined by what customers use, if any. Please see below for details:

• Using bank feeds

• No action is required for customers using Sage 200 Professional 2020 R2 release or later.
• Action is required for customers who use bank feeds on prior Sage 200 Professional releases. For customers affected, options include;
• Upgrading to Sage 200 Professional 2021 R1
• Deploying a patch that Sage will make available for the following versions; 2018.00, 2018.01 and 2018.02, 2019 and 2020 R1.

Please note; we cannot provide a definitive date regarding when individual banks may choose to stop accepting interactions from IE11. The information below has been updated since the communication was issued.

• Using Invoice Payments: Stripe, Payment & GoCardless

• No action is required for customers using the latest Sage 200 Professional 2022 R1 release.
• Action is required for customers who use Invoice Payments on prior Sage 200 Professional releases. For customers affected, options include;
• Upgrading to Sage 200 Professional 2022 R1
• Deploying a patch that Sage will make available for the following versions: 2018.00, 2018.01 and 2018.02, 2019, 2020 R1, 2020 R2 and 2021 R1.

Please note; we cannot provide a definitive date regarding when the organisations listed (Stripe, Payment & GoCardless), may choose to stop accepting interactions from IE11.

• Using the core product

Sage 200 uses IE11 for a variety of features including, but not limited to the installation, self-service and workspaces.

• No immediate action is required where IE11 continues to operate in the environment in which the Sage 200 solution (both variants) is operating.
• Action is required for customers who pro-actively plan to remove IE11 from their environment. The options available to customers who chose to remove IE11 include:
• Upgrading to Sage 200 Professional 2022 R1 when released early next year - we will change to Microsoft Edge as the browser for functions that previously used Internet Explorer.
• Waiting for results of testing we are conducting to see if Microsoft Edge in IE compatibility mode will allow ongoing support.

Sage CRM

Sage CRM uses IE11 for a variety of elements. Over the course of several releases, we’ve updated the product to remove the reliance on IE11, and we are delighted to confirm, Outlook integration and document editing are the last components to be addressed, and this will be included in the upcoming Sage CRM 2022 R1 release, scheduled for early 2022.

Therefore, no immediate action is required for customers who continue to operate IE11 in the same environment that Sage CRM operates. Where customers plan to pro-actively remove IE11, then upgrading to Sage CRM 2022 R1 release, will be required.

Please note: Effective from the Sage CRM 2022 R1 release, there will be no testing or support for Internet Explorer. In addition, for versions still supported under our Product Lifecycle, should issues be identified with Internet Explorer, these will not be considered for defect resolution.  

Important Note:

To ensure the best experience possible for customers, and to minimise the required upgrades, we’d ask that you also review our updated announcement around the Sage Licence Service which you can access here.

Got a question?

If your enquiry is of a technical or support nature, please contact the relevant support team in the first instance. Alternatively, please speak to your Partner Account Manager.

Kind regards,

Jo Kirkup, Product Manager Sage 200

Anita Holley Product Marketing Manager, Sage 200