But on demand interaction with friends and colleagues certainly must have some practical value, right?  Especially considering an ERP solution where often thousands of contacts are available.

Imagine having the ability from within the ERP solution  to instantaneously interact with customers and vendors in a fashion that improves efficiency and effectiveness. Question a salesperson when entering a sales invoice.  Checking  with a vendor to see if an item is in stock. Figuring out why a past due invoice has not been paid.  And of course, placing orders.

Turns out Dynamics GP2010 offers this very ability. It’s called  Unified Communications. Here is how it works:  For customers using Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 and Office Communicator 2007, you can see the contact’s communicator status within Dynamics GP and start a video call, initiate a phone call, or send an email. You can then view customer and vendor information and create a sales quote, invoice, or purchase order – directly from an instant message conversation! 

Unified Communications works within the Dynamics GP 2010 Payables Management, Purchase Order Processing, Receivables Management, Sales Order Processing, Collections Management, Invoicing, Field Service, Project Accounting, and Payroll modules – Wow! 

Check out the above link for a more information about Unified Communications, courtesy of Dynpartnercommunity  

Gotta run,  time to play another word… 

By: The Knaster Technology Group,  Microsoft Silver Partner -  Enterprise Resource Planning

Dynamics GP…with Friends is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Through June 22, 2012 new customers of any of their Dynamics ERP products can purchase 5 users for only $3,000.

That is a potential cost savings of approximately $17,000 (off the list price of the Advanced Management Edition). The promotion is also applicable to the Business Essentials version.

The $3,000 special price does not include the Microsoft service plan required for the first year.

Never before has Microsoft offered this type of discount for such an extended period.  Incredibly, new customers have 8 months to take advantage of this special pricing. This allows companies evaluating Dynamics GP to remove price as a possible barrier and focus more on richness of functionality.

The robustness of both the Dynamics business essentials and advanced management versions is a welcome treat for any mid market company exploring new ERP solutions. 

By:  The Knaster Technology Group, Colorado based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

No Trick – Microsoft “Give me 5″ Promotion is Quite the Treat! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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It is an incredibly rare and possibly even unique accomplishment for one story to have captivated and kept the attention of millions (billions?) since the release of the first film in 2001. Each subsequent film has built on the core success of the prior, while improving and adding new characters and story lines. 

Microsoft purchased Great Plains that same year, 2001, and ever since the Dynamics GP product has similarly captivated the ERP marketplace. Now in its 11^th release with GP2010, this highly acclaimed business software solution has continued to deliver superior functionality and performance. 

Similar to the Potter movies, Dynamics GP has improved upon its initial version with every subsequent release. This ERP solution remains timely, relevant, and popular – especially the GP2010 version with its incredible array of business intelligence and analytic features that include a business analyzer tool, dashboard metrics, and ad hoc reporting. And the future looks even more promising with the GP 2012 and beyond releases in the planning.

Today, even after ten years, Dynamics GP is considered the leading ERP software in the mid market. That in and of itself is an amazing piece of wizardry 

By the Knaster Technology Group, Colorado Microsoft Dynamics GP Gold Certified Partner

Harry Potter Ends But Dynamics GP Is Still Going Strong! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Who is to blame for this ERP implementation failure?  That is for you to decide! 

In each blog, a different committee member provided input regarding their role in this fiasco. We have heard from them all:  assistant controller Julian, staff accountant Dimitri, project manager Consuela and finally the controller Troy – who in preparation for the ERP implementation, compiled a detailed list of key business processes and reporting requirements.

(You) The jury’s unanimous verdict:: Troy is Innocent! Proper upfront planning and discovery will result in the successful deployment of an ERP system like Microsoft Dynamics GP and minimize the chances of failure.

Consuela – Guilty of implementation failure for not using an effective implementation methodology, such as Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step, to manage the ERP deployment.

Dimitri – Guilty of implementation failure for trying to teach himself the new system and not obtaining adequate and structured training.

Julian – Guilty of implementation failure for not identifying business process requirements upfront and assuming the ERP solution was “one size fits all”.

Thanks to the jury for your verdicts.  Case closed!

By: The Knaster Technology Group, Colorado based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

The Case of the Failed ERP Implementation – Solved! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Who is to blame for this ERP implementation failure?  That is for you to decide!

Each blog, a different committee member provides input regarding their role in this fiasco.  Up next: Dimitri – staff accountant.

“ I am a quick study!  When we were reviewing the different implementation proposals I insisted that training be limited to a few basic sessions.  I really wanted to impress my supervisors with my ability to self learn a new system.  After all, how difficult can it be? The QuickBooks system was a breeze!  The ERP system we picked ranked high for ease of use, so I thought we should just be able to just flip a switch and have everything work.  Who knew?”

Is Dimitri guilty or innocent of contributing to the MSEC ERP implementation failure?

You be the Jury! (Provide your verdict and rationale using the comment section)

Last time we heard from Julian, the assistant controller.

(You) The jury’s unanimous verdict:: Guilty! Reasons why:

• Implementations fail from lack of fit.  When evaluating ERP systems, the focus should be on “finding the fit” rather than “fitting the find”.  What this means is that a fit/gap analysis should be performed to determine if the software solution under consideration is adaptable to the existing and unique business processes of the organization – not the other way around.  There is always room for improvement, but a business should not have to change how they do business just to accommodate the requirements of the ERP solution.  Rather, the system under consideration should be able to accommodate and adapt to the changing needs of the business. 
• All requirements, no matter how basic they may seem, should be flushed out during the software analysis stage. Perhaps the software has the features Julian wanted, but the implementation team did not turn them on, as they were never told they were important.
• Often users think they are more willing to change their processes than they really are. Assuming software is flexible in the area you need it to be –  and then   being lazy about stating your requirements –  are two very common pitfalls.

The flexibility of a solution like Dynamics GP allows your company to integrate existing business processes with the capabilities of the software while still allowing room for future growth and change.

By: The Knaster Technology Group, Colorado based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

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The premise of these fictional short stories (by author Marvin Miller) is for the reader to decide the guilt or innocence of the party in question based on the facts presented for each crime committed.

Relative to accounting software,  I can think of no bigger crime than ERP implementation failure. Who is to blame when it occurs, often over and over again?

Over the course of the next several blogs that is for you to decide!

The facts of this case are as follows: Mountain States Entertainment Corporation (MSEC) is a privately held company headquartered in Castle Pines, Colorado.  They own several regional local movie theatres, golf courses and restaurants. Their annual revenues are around $30 million and they employ 150 people. Growth has been robust – increasing about 20 to 25% per year over the past three years.

In 2008, as a startup company, they selected QuickBooks Enterprise (a crime in and of itself!) as their ERP solution – based on the ill advice of a now defunct financial advisory firm. MSEC quickly outgrew the capabilities of this entry level solution and realized it was not going to efficiently or effectively manage their future information technology needs, business processes or reporting requirements.

As a result, their newly appointed president tasked an in-house  committee to assess and select a new accounting software solution and provider.  Over the course of many months several meetings were held.

Finally, in June of 2010 a new ERP system was selected and went live later that summer but, to the dismay of all, by winter that same year the ERP implementation was declared a major disaster.

What went wrong?  Who is to blame for the ERP implementation failure?  That is for you to decide!

Each committee member was interviewed by the president to explain their role in this debacle.  Their key remarks will be presented over the next several blogs for your analysis and verdict..

Up first: the assistant controller – Julian

“ I personally don’t get why everyone is so upset.  When I was asked to provide my list of key items for software selection, I made it very clear to the committee that we could easily adapt our business processes to work with whatever ERP system was selected. So it wasn’t important to mention them all; given the flexibility of the ERP systems of today I was sure any one of them could easily do what I needed done.  And if not, so what – we would just change how we do things to accommodate any nuances of the new system.”

Is Julian guilty or innocent of contributing to the MSEC ERP implementation failure?

You be the Jury! (Provide your verdict and rationale using the comment section)

Next blog will reveal the results

By: The Knaster Technology Group, Colorado based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

An ERP Implementation Failure Story – You be the Jury! (Part 1) is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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• The bill increases to $500,000 the amount businesses can write off for capital purchases
• The bill provides an extension of 50% bonus depreciation which accelerates the rate at which businesses can deduct capital expenditures. 

The impact of this to business owners contemplating an ERP software purchase like Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 is huge. You can (most likely) this year write off the entire amount of the acquisition cost  to realize immediate tax savings. 

The timing is right to consider switching to Dynamics GP 2010. The Knaster Technology Group can help you assess if this award-winning solution is an appropriate fit for your business needs.

By: The Knaster Technology Group, Colorado based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner representing Dynamics GP for twenty one years

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In my world of ERP software solutions, I would love to see businesses seeking new accounting software presented a “ballot” with the various solutions available.  I would lobby for Dynamics GP 2010 as the right choice to take their business into the future –  for three very important reasons:

Dynamics GP 2010 provides role tailored insight. Each person within a business enterprise typically performs a few distinct roles and interacting with   information specific to that role enables that person to perform his job more effectively. Dynamics GP 2010 allows users to dictate exactly what information is relevant to them while eliminating distracting data that isn’t.

Dynamics GP 2010 streamlines access to information. Executives need to be able to quickly react to ever changing business conditions.  The home page within Dynamics GP 2010 displays real time metrics that measure financial health and stability.  These analytics facilitate taking timely corrective action to steer the business back to profitability.

Dynamics GP 2010 enables advanced business intelligence capabilities. Executive dashboards, key performance indicators, Excel based reports and SQL reporting services – all of these tools provide customizable views of data that allow for high level summary analytics with drill back to the underlying detail.

Choosing Dynamics GP 2010 ensures an effective ERP solution that most likely will outlast even your favorite political candidate. 

By: The Knaster Technology Group, Colorado based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner representing Dynamics GP for twenty one years

3 reasons to vote “YES” on Dynamics GP 2010 is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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