Vice President

Acumatica launches Beacon: one home for all Acumatica product knowledge. No more exhausting searches for answers across multiple sources. Now, users can go to a single location. That's the promise of its new Acumatica Beacon. Table of contents. Finding the right answer shouldn't feel like a scavenger hunt. Yet as enterprise software continues to evolve, product knowledge often becomes fragmented across documentation sites, training portals, support articles, and release notes. The challenge isn't a lack of information. It's making trusted knowledge easy to discover when people need it. That changes now. Acumatica is launching Beacon, a new knowledge website that consolidates Acumatica product documentation, release notes, known issues, job aids, training videos, and knowledge articles into one continuously updated, AI-connected destination. More than a new portal, Beacon reflects Acumatica's vision for a connected knowledge ecosystem designed to help the Acumatica Community move from questions to answers more efficiently. Beacon replaces the and Open University content, with the full transition completing by August 2026. It's the first step in building a connected knowledge ecosystem designed to serve and support customers, partners, developers, and employees from their very first connection with Acumatica through advanced product expertise. Beacon is Acumatica's unified knowledge portal, purpose-built to become the single trusted source for product information across the Acumatica ecosystem. Powered by Fluid Topics, a leading AI-powered enterprise knowledge platform trusted by companies like Siemens, Teradata, and Johnson Controls, Beacon is designed to deliver knowledge efficiently and at scale, for both people and AI. The core idea is straightforward: rather than scattering knowledge across separate destinations, Beacon serves as the Acumatica knowledge portal by pulling everything together. Documentation. Release notes. Known issues. Job aids. Training PDFs. Training videos. Knowledge Base articles. All of it, in one place, continuously updated. Beacon is available to everyone without being required to sign in. For a personalized experience and access to additional content, users can sign in using the same single sign-on (SSO) credentials they already use for the. From launch day, links to Beacon will be accessible from both the Acumatica Portal and the Community site. Every minute spent searching for information is time not spent serving customers, implementing solutions, or delivering value. Beacon helps reduce that friction by creating a single, trusted destination for product knowledge. Rather than asking users to remember where information lives, Beacon brings together the resources they need so they can focus on solving problems instead of navigating systems. The four pillars of Beacon. Beacon is built around four defining enterprise knowledge management principles: Unified information. Documentation, release notes, known issues, job aids, videos, and knowledge articles come together in one continuously updated destination. No more switching between portals to piece together an answer. Personalized experience. Connected through SSO, Beacon delivers an experience tailored to each audience. Deeper role-based personalization is planned over time, so the experience will grow more relevant as it learns who you are and what you need. Trusted knowledge. Beacon becomes the authoritative knowledge foundation for Acumatica. Every AI-powered experience across the ecosystem is grounded in Beacon content and links users back to verified, authoritative sources. Connected data. Training, documentation, support resources, release information, and AI become part of one connected knowledge ecosystem rather than separate destinations competing for attention. How Beacon supports AI experiences in Acumatica. Beacon serves as the trusted knowledge foundation for AI-powered experiences across the Acumatica platform. AI answers are grounded in authoritative Beacon content and link back to Beacon for context and verification, ensuring that users receive accurate, reliable information rather than guesses. This matters. When knowledge is fragmented across multiple systems, AI tools struggle to access and leverage that information effectively. According to Fluid Topics, 76% of company executives agree that information is their organization's most important asset, yet enterprise knowledge remains scattered across multiple systems and repositories. By centralizing trusted content in Beacon, Acumatica gives its AI experiences a reliable, high-quality foundation to build on. As AI becomes a larger part of the user experience, trusted knowledge becomes even more important. Beacon provides the authoritative foundation that helps ensure Acumatica AI experiences remain accurate, transparent, and grounded in verified product information. The result: users get faster, more accurate answers, whether they're searching manually or working with AI-assisted tools. Building the Acumatica knowledge ecosystem. Beacon does not operate alone. It's one part of a broader, connected Acumatica knowledge ecosystem that includes: * Acumatica University develops capabilities through structured learning, certifications, learning paths, cohort programs, and badges. Formerly known as Partner University and powered by the Litmos learning management system, Acumatica University remains the home for structured, credential-bearing education. * Beacon delivers trusted knowledge in the flow of work. It is where you go to find an answer, troubleshoot an issue, review a release note, or explore what is new. * AI connects users to the right information at the right time, grounded in the trusted content that Beacon provides. Together, these three components reflect Acumatica's broader vision for customer enablement. Structured learning builds capability. Beacon delivers trusted knowledge in the flow of work. AI connects users with that knowledge at the moment they need it. Rather than existing as separate experiences, they form a connected ecosystem that supports customers throughout their journey, from onboarding to advanced product expertise. Benefits for customers and partners. For customers, Beacon means spending less time searching and more time doing. A single destination for trusted product knowledge, available without a login and personalized when you sign in, reduces friction at every stage of the Acumatica journey. For partners, it means consistent, up-to-date information in one place, supporting implementation work, client conversations, and ongoing learning without the need to cross-reference multiple sources. The broader benefit reflects a truth that Fluid Topics' research captures well: 79% of customers expect consistent interactions across user channels, naming disconnected experiences as their number one frustration. Beacon directly addresses that frustration by replacing the inconsistency of multiple portals with one trusted, unified experience. Looking ahead: the future of Beacon. The Beacon launch is only a first step, not the final destination. Over time, Beacon will evolve with richer personalization, deeper AI integration, and skills-based experiences that adapt as users build expertise. The vision is a knowledge ecosystem where learning, documentation, support, and AI are not separate products but a single, connected experience. Each layer informs the others. Acumatica University builds capability. Beacon delivers trusted knowledge. AI connects users to the right information at the right time. Beacon launches this July. Beacon represents more than a new destination for product information. It is an important step toward a more connected knowledge experience, one that brings together learning, documentation, support, and AI to help every customer and partner find trusted answers faster. Beacon launches in July 2026, with the full transition completing by August. Visit the Acumatica Community to stay updated on the rollout and explore what's next. Frequently asked questions. What is Acumatica Beacon? Acumatica Beacon is a unified knowledge portal launching in July 2026. Beacon consolidates product documentation, release notes, known issues, job aids, videos, and knowledge articles into one continuously updated destination, accessible to all users without a login. How is Beacon different from Acumatica University? Beacon delivers trusted product knowledge in the flow of work. Acumatica University develops capabilities through structured learning, certifications, and cohort programs. Together they form Acumatica's connected knowledge ecosystem, supporting users from onboarding through advanced product expertise. No. Beacon is available to everyone without signing in. For a personalized experience and access to additional content, users can sign in with the same SSO credentials used for the Acumatica Portal. Will my existing Help Portal bookmarks still work? Yes. Existing Help Portal URLs will automatically redirect to Beacon. No action is required. What happens to Open University content? Knowledge content from Open University, including training PDFs, training videos, and Knowledge Base articles, transitions into Beacon. Structured learning, learning paths, certifications, and badges remain in Acumatica University. When does the full Beacon transition complete? Beacon launches in July 2026. The full transition from the Help Portal and Open University is set to be completed by August 2026. How does Beacon support AI in Acumatica? Beacon serves as the trusted knowledge foundation for AI-powered experiences across the Acumatica ecosystem. AI answers are grounded in authoritative Beacon content and link users back to verified sources for context and verification.

How Cherry Republic is taking a bigger piece of the Pie with Acumatica. Cherry Republic went from a one-man show to a thriving manufacturing and retail business, and as an Acumatica customer, it's ready to reach new heights. Table of contents. Cherry Republic was born out of Bob Sutherland's love for Montmorency tart cherries as well as for Glen Arbor, Michigan. It all started in 1989 when he sold t-shirts with the motto "Life, Liberty, Beaches & Pie(TM)" out of the trunk of his car. He eventually branched out, adding an oversized, cherry-inspired cookie to his product line up and selling them to local grocers and convenience stores. The cookie's popularity grew, and Bob was able to open his own retail space. Fast forward to today and Cherry Republic's seven retail stores, one restaurant, one winery, and expanding online presence offer more than 700 cherry-based food, beverage, and gift items to customers across the globe. According to Bob, Cherry Republic is "the biggest retailer of exclusively cherry products in the world," and the cherry manufacturer and retailer isn't slowing down. "We're still growing." They definitely are, but growth doesn't always come easy. It often brings significant operational challenges - especially when you're a business operating on split systems that not only produce disconnected data but also require manual inventory tracking. That's what Cherry Republic was dealing with before Acumatica's flexible, integrated, and extensible manufacturing software entered the picture. Picking Acumatica to unify operations. For years, Cherry Republic got by using multiple systems. QuickBooks, Excel, and disconnected POS software made running and managing a growing business all the more challenging. "Sticky notes, Excel spreadsheets, documents, and a little bit of magic helped us to manage our inventory prior to an ERP system," explains Roni Hazelton, Senior Vice President of Fulfillment. These disconnected systems led to limited visibility in their global operations. Being able to access and utilize critical data was beyond challenging. And during the busy holiday season, Data Manager Brett Clark says Cherry Republic had to manually manage their inventory by turning products "off and on the website whenever they became available or out of stock." It was time to make a change, so the Cherry Republic team replaced their cobbled-together tech stack with Acumatica's all-in-one, cloud-based ERP solution. Four years after going live, they tapped Gold-certified Acumatica partner NexTec to help them fully utilize Acumatica. NexTec's Kurt Bendykowski, Director of Consulting, says Acumatica is a great fit for companies like Cherry Republic that manage a variety of business operations, including manufacturing, e-commerce, and retail. He also says Acumatica "scales very well as those businesses grow," which is something Cherry Republic experienced firsthand. * Streamlined processes, which helped them support 15% year-over-year growth. * Achieved a 20% boost in repeat purchases with integrated sales, inventory, and fulfillment data. * Increased digital sales by 18% with deeper customer insights. * Gained real-time visibility into all transactions, inventory, and operations. * Improved manufacturing and production processes and visibility. * Eliminated hours of manual data entry through automation. * Connected its point-of-sale or POS systems, attaining data faster for real-time decision making. * Acquired updated, accurate inventory data, reducing errors and lowering carrying costs. And Cherry Republic integrated its POS system with Shopify in just a few clicks of a button in both systems. Carrie Gofron, Global ISV Partnerships, Shopify, says, "Acumatica builds bi-directional data flow between the e-commerce platform and the point of sale so the data they're able to get in both systems, they can make decisions faster." In addition to these faster decisions, the Acumatica-Shopify integration has given them deep customer insights. All seven retail stores use Shopify POS and Shopify handles both e-commerce and in-store POS with a real-time sync to Acumatica. The team can now see what customers have bought as well as where they bought the product, which Dawn Gildersleeve, Cherry Republic's Retail Flagship General Manager, says is something they couldn't do with their previous systems. She also says, "Acumatica is a very friendly, easy-to-use platform for companies that are producing and/or have large inventories." Acumatica ERP: The Cherry on top of Cherry Republic's success. For the Cherry Republic team, Acumatica's customizable, feature-rich ERP solution, which manages all the company's information and every business process, made them a more cohesive team. Says Julie Meredith, Vice President of Administration "It helps us speak the same language." Ultimately, Acumatica took Cherry Republic's success to the next level, helping them streamline processes, expertly manage their inventory, gain insight into customer behavior, and acquire greater data capture. "The trust that we have in the data right now is incredible," Roni says. "Having visibility and automated processes has helped us a lot. It means proactive decisions, particularly in purchasing to make sure we're purchasing things or manufacturing the products that customers love." As for Bob, he says before Acumatica, he only heard when things were not working. Now, the silence is deafening - in a good way. "I no longer hear about the challenges of managing all the data of our company anymore." He adds: "When we finally started working with Acumatica, things started to really improve. We finally had traction. Through this, our company is making better decisions. I am more comfortable with my staff making decisions because I know they have the data right there at their fingertips." The Cherry Republic growth story is just getting started, and their Acumatica customer success story should inspire other growing manufacturers to review Acumatica's manufacturing ERP and see if it's an ideal manufacturing management system for empowering their own success. Contact its team today to schedule a demonstration!