RSM McGladrey is a SAS 70 – Level II compliant hosting provider for Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft Office SharePoint. With this level of compliance, you can be confident your applications and data are safe. 

Our hosting services include a superior backup system, security and file management system.  These controls are mandatory in order to meet the certification requirements to maintain Microsoft’s Gold Certified Partnership.   Hosting your applications allows you to focus your resources on building your business and not on significant IT investments.

Here are some things you should consider when choosing your application deployment platform:

• Small Upfront Investment – Lower the cost of ownership by reducing fixed costs and overall expenditures for hardware, applications and administration. Save thousands in upfront costs and have the ability to utilize applications which may not be otherwise affordable to install and run.
• Predictable Monthly Costs – Hosting Services allows a business to better control the total cost of technology ownership.
• Faster Time to Market – Hosting Services already has the equipment, applications and expertise in house so applications can be rolled out within weeks instead of months
• Focus on Core Competencies – Focus your staff on the core business, not on administering a complex IT network internally. Our certified professionals manage the critical data – helping to ensure business systems run securely and smoothly.
• Available Resources – No need to compete for hard-to-find and expensive-to-retain IT personnel. McGladrey’s Hosting Services has certified professionals available.
• Growth Potential – You grow – we grow! Hosting Services can easily increase user capacity by adding additional infrastructure on demand. Ability to rapidly implement upgrades or customizations in response to business growth or change.
• Reduced Security Risk – Hosting Services meets or exceeds industry standards by taking every precaution, including disaster recovery planning and annual third-party security inspections. RSM McGladrey’s Hosting Services is SAS 70 Type II compliant by a third-party auditor.

RSM McGladrey can host your purchased Microsoft Dynamics solution or rent you a solution in a secure environment.

By Michelle Olson, RSM McGladrey, Inc. - Microsoft Dynamics Hosting Partner, NY Metro Microsoft Dynamics Partner

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Among the various reporting options from Microsoft Dynamics GP, there are two favorites among the end- user community.  They are SmartLists and Excel Reports.

SmartLists is a standard querying tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP which allows end-users to instantly create sophisticated queries to find detailed information about customers, vendors, inventory items, and employee records, as well as general ledger accounts.

Excel Reports provides more than 220 built-in, refreshable reports which let business users work in the familiar Microsoft Office user interface.  Even  though Excel Reports comes standard with Microsoft GP 10 and higher many end-users are not aware of its existence or just do not use it. Also, a user does not need to be logged into Dynamics GP, or even have access to Dynamics GP, to be able to view real-time data for his company.

Let’s say you are working in Microsoft Dynamics GP and decide to create a Smart List.  You click on one of your favorites and in a matter of seconds you get the first 1000 records.  You think to yourself this is pretty cool.  You then decide to increase the record count, because you have a large amount of data in your system and 1000 records does not give you the detail you need.  So you increase the record count to 5000 records and run the query again.  The query starts chugging away returning some of your data pretty quickly.  But then all of a sudden the results start slowing down and eventually you get the data you want (but it takes a few minutes to get the data).  You think to yourself, this is still pretty cool, even though it took longer to get the results.  Having the results in the Smart List view, you decide to export the data to Excel.  You click on the Excel button and then proceed to watch your screen as the records start exporting.  You watch and wait and then watch and wait some more as the records count down from 5000 to zero.  Eventually the records all appear in Excel.  You now think to yourself, Smart Lists may be cool but I’m not sure how useful it will be since it takes so long to get the records into Excel. Further you think, if it took this long for 5000 records, how long would it take for 10000 or maybe 50000 records.  Then you start wondering – if the data can get queried on and eventually exported to Excel, why can’t the Dynamics GP data be extracted directly into Excel.

The answer is – It Can.

By default, Excel Reports are created based on existing SmartList favorites.  These reports will reflect up to date data from Dynamics GP when generated.  Essentially, the data you would query on and then export to Excel using a Smart List can be automatically exported directly to Excel.  The big kicker is that these Excel Reports will return the extracted data in a matter of Seconds.  That’s right – seconds, not minutes or hours.

I recently had a client who needed a list of the checks that had been generated during their fiscal year. The list had to be in Excel so they created a Smart List which had over 70000 records in it.  It took about 10 minutes to generate the Smart List results.  But then it took another hour to export the results to Excel.  They suffered through the ordeal figuring it was a once a year request and they could deal with the lengthy time. Until, they found out that they had generated the Smart List before the last check run of the period they needed.  So now they had to redo the entire process again.  Not wanting to have to waste another hour or more on this request, my client reached out to me to find out if there was any other way to get the needed results.  I mentioned to the client about using the Excel Report Integration.  I created an Excel Report for my client and they were able to get the needed results in a few seconds.  They also had a new report which could be used in the future for similar requests.

The number of Excel Reports available depends on the modules you have registered.  But essentially for any Smart List you have available, you will also have an Excel Report available. Aside from the default Excel Reports (equivalent to the default Smart List favorites), you also will have Excel Reports where you can view all the columns that can be in the report (equivalent to viewing the Columns in a Smart List favorite).  You can then keep only the columns needed and save the report in Excel.

Deploying Excel Reports is very easy.  There are some security settings to be taken into consideration when implementing Excel Reports.  Once set up, you will be able to immediately utilize the standard reports as another method of extracting data out of Dynamics GP. 

So in the case of reporting with Microsoft Dynamics GP, the answer is yes, you can. From the built-in, standard reports to the advanced reports created by a Microsoft Dynamics partner like RSM McGladrey, there are many reporting options available to meet your unique needs. 

By:  Jeffrey Bloch, RSM McGladrey, Inc., Microsoft Dynamics Partner – NY Metro

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Data Migration is often the bottleneck which busts the budget and shatters the schedule early in any implementation project.  Problems encountered during data migration often force your staff to maintain both the new systems and the legacy system for a period of time.  This parallel processing is inefficient and unnecessary if data migration tasks are effectively automated and easily replicated.   Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Why?

To answer this question we must first define data migration and understand the tasks involved.

Data migration is the process of transferring current and historical data from one or more legacy systems to a new, more efficient and more effective system. The tasks involved typically include data extraction, data cleansing, data mapping, data loading and data validation, hereafter referred to as EXTRACT>CLEAN>MAP>LOAD>VALIDATE.

A typical payroll implementation project will require that the EXTRACT>CLEAN>MAP>LOAD>VALIDATE process be executed multiple times, often 3 to 4 times.  At minimum, there will be two legacy data migration cycles: one during the Build & Validate phase and one during the Deploy phase. The latter occurs after the latest payroll processing cycle in the old system and before the first payroll cycle in the new system. This final data migration cycle is designed to provide a final synchronization of the new payroll system to the legacy system and often must happen within a one or two week window.

Now, back to the question of why this data migration process can be a major project bottleneck and source of budget overruns and schedule extensions.  The answer can be summed in two words – dirty data.  More specifically, the data cleansing tasks often are not automated, or even documented, and therefore not easily repeatable.  Each successive  EXTRACT>CLEAN>MAP>LOAD>VALIDATE cycle wastes time and money re-cleaning data, usually manually, which were cleaned, usually manually, in the previous cycle.  This rework usually means that the final data load cannot be accomplished in the window available between the last payroll cycle in the old system and the first payroll cycle in the new system resulting in the duplication of efforts to maintain, or synchronize, the two systems.

How can you avoid the dirty data trap?

1. Don’t rely on your implementation partner to clean your legacy data if you don’t have to. You and your expert staff are aware of dirty data in your legacy system before you even decided to implement a new payroll system.  Establish an in-house team of IT and Payroll experts to clean and correct the data in the legacy system before the implementation project begins.
2. If you do not have the capability or bandwidth to clean the legacy data in-house, tell your implementation partner upfront, during the Initiate or Discovery phase of the project. Be prepared to accept additional cost and time during the early phases of the project for your implementation partner to work with your IT and Payroll staff to develop a programmatic system to clean and map your data. This is the classic example of “pay me now, or pay me later.”  If you don’t spend the time and money up-front, you will spend it on the back-end in the form of rework, budget overruns, and schedule slippages. The back-end costs are even higher because they include project team frustration and loss of project momentum.  If you go live with dirty data you risk alienating employees and possibly even incur additional financial liability.
3. Be prepared to allocate sufficient staff resources to ensure a comprehensive validation of the migrated data. Remember, the accuracy of your data is always your responsibility.  Take the data migration task seriously and don’t assume it is a minor effort.

In conclusion, your implementation partner should be able to guide you through these important project tasks and help you avoid the dirty data trap. At McGladrey, we offer a proven implementation methodology for business systems and a track record of successful payroll project implementations.  Our consultants are Microsoft Certified Business Management Solution Specialists for Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll and have experience developing and deploying automated data migration techniques.

By:  David Funk, McGladrey – Microsoft Dynamics Certified Payroll Implementation Partner - New York Metro Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Look for future blogs from David Funk on the following Payroll Implementation topics:

• Prepare your staff
• Standardize pay policies
• Develop a realistic schedule
• Synchronize integrated systems

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The contract is signed; you have evaluated the alternatives and selected Microsoft Dynamics GP software package and an implementation partner. You are about to take your vision of a new efficient, powerful payroll system and make it reality. But are you ready?  Here are 5 things to consider for organizations implementing payroll in-house.

1. Prepare your staff.  Payroll implementations require multiple input-build-output validation cycles.  Several periods of parallel payroll processing are typically necessary before you are confident the new payroll system is ready to be deployed. Often, your payroll staff will need to maintain employee master data in both the new and the legacy system for a period of time. Your staff needs to be ready and able to handle the extra workload.  This may mean you need to borrow help from other departments or hire temporary staff to support the implementation.
2. Develop a realistic schedule.  Work with your consulting partner to develop a flexible schedule which ensures adequate data validation, employs use case testing, and provides extensive staff training. January 1 is always the best selection for a payroll go-live date, but the beginning of a quarter is ok too. Set a date and manage to that date, but have a backup date in mind.  Payroll mistakes are costly in terms of employee confidence and moral and possible in financial liability terms too.  Do not go-live before you are sure you have it right.  If you have multiple facilities consider a phased implementation schedule.
3. Scrub legacy data.  Data Migration is often the bottleneck which busts the budget and schedule early in a payroll implementation project.  Work closely with your implementation partner to prepare your legacy data for import to the new system.  Consider that the IT department is often tasked to extract this data into a format which can be imported, however it’s important to note, it will take the payroll experts on your staff to interpret the extracted data and ensure its validity.  The data migration task requires your IT staff, expert payroll staff, and your implementation partner work closely together.  But remember, the accuracy of your data is always your responsibility.
4. Standardize pay policies.  Review all your pay policies and procedures to look for inconsistent application, and/or outdated or inefficient workflow patterns. Examples of things to look for include: shift differentials included in overtime calculations in one department or location but not in another, leave accruals deviating from company policies, pay codes inconsistent across departments, divisions or locations, and manual entry where integration can be more effective. Plan to prepare employees for any changes to come with the new payroll system.
5. Synchronize integrated systems.  There usually are one or more systems which may need to be integrated with your new Payroll application. Time clocks and scheduling software are common examples. Where possible synchronize employee ID, department, and position codes across these systems. It is also important to designate the payroll application as the system of record for employee data and develop policies and procedures to enforce that relationship.

In conclusion, your implementation partner should be able to guide you through these important pre-project tasks. At McGladrey, we offer a proven implementation methodology for business systems and a track record of successful payroll project implementations.  Our consultants are Microsoft Certified Business Management Solution Specialist for Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll.

By:  David Funk, McGladrey –  Microsoft Dynamics Certified Payroll Implementation Partner - New York Metro Microsoft Dynamics Partner

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Convergence is Microsoft’s premiere event for the community of  Dynamics  users.  This event provides Dynamics users with a unique opportunity to network with existing users, Dynamics partners, Microsoft, and other industry experts.

At Convergence this year, Microsoft announced the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010.  The vision for this release is around people, process, and ecosystem. 

• Dynamics GP 2010’s role tailored design empowers people to be more productive in the workplace.  The new functionality of Dynamics GP 2010 gives everyone in your organization the ability to access, analyze, and share information in ways which make sense for their particular job. Whether they’re drilling down on KPIs from their role-based dashboards, accessing real-time reports through a Web browser, or performing sophisticated analyses using new options for Microsoft Office Excel, your people can contribute more to decision-making.
• With built-in workflows and deep Microsoft Office interoperability, Dynamics GP 2010 simplifies business processes. This solution drives productivity and results with a solution that’s easier to use because you can leverage tools with which you are most familiar – Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office Excel. New features streamline processes to include business operations and daily tasks, setup and IT administration, and personalization options which makes it easy for people to meet individual business needs.
• This latest release of Dynamics GP 2010 offers faster, more cost-effective portal deployment, integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and enhanced Web services which fuel rich, flexible integrations. Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 integrates your ecosystem – employees, customers, and suppliers— through seamless connections across people, applications, information, and processes.

Are you ready to see these features in action? Learn how Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 extends the reach of information through greater insight, ease of use, and extended business connections.  Please join RSM McGladrey at one of our Dynamics GP 2010 Launch events in Philadelphia and New York metro areas in early June.

Event details:

June 2, 2010
Microsoft’s New York Office
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY
10 AM – 12 PM
Register for Dynamics GP 2010 event in New York, NY

June 3, 2010
Microsoft’s Malvern Office
45 Liberty Blvd.
Malvern, PA
10 AM – 12 PM
Register for Dynamics GP 2010 event in Malvern, PA

RSM McGladrey is among the top Gold Certified Dynamics Partners in the country. Learn how our Microsoft Dynamics GP solutions are benefiting organizations in a variety of industries and from one client which is saving $350K annually after downsizing from its Tier One solution.

By:  Jeff Katz, RSM McGladrey, Microsoft Dynamics Gold Certified Partner in New York City

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RSM McGladrey’s annual Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution Survey indicated that one of the top 3 critical areas of technology needs for manufacturers and distributors is better reporting and analytics. Even companies which report their needs are being met by their current IT systems should be looking for ways to expand the use of their data. The company that has the right data in real time can make the right decisions and be a leader in the marketplace.

Microsoft Dynamics GP provides significant reporting improvement for distribution companies by providing ease of access to information through common tools such as Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint.  Smart Lists and refreshable Excel reports can easily be used by management and other users to provide quick real-time snapshots of sales orders, inventory quantities, and shipment status. More detailed multi-dimensional analysis can be accomplished through integrated Excel pivot tables using Analysis Cubes for Excel.  Tasks which used to take days of analysis or weeks of development can now be quickly accomplished with no need for technical support.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, to be released later this spring, will add greater ease and simplicity to these capabilities by incorporating role-based key performance indicators directly on the user’s home page.  These metrics include the ability to drill-down into detail, a powerful feature for truly useful analysis.

RSM McGladrey provides business software solutions in Wholesale Distribution which include warehouse management, sales order automation, bar coding, and radio frequency.

By: Michele Juliana, RSM McGladrey Accounting Software Solutions for Wholesale Distribution – New York Metro Microsoft Dynamics partner

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RSM McGladrey’s annual Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution Survey indicated one of the top 3 critical areas of technology needs for manufacturers and distributors is operational and process improvement.  

Microsoft Dynamics GP provides significant operational improvement for distribution companies by fully integrating data throughout the organization, and providing ease of access to information through common tools such as Excel, Outlook, and Sharepoint. 

Distributors and manufacturers of any size can now take advantage of integrated credit card processing, bar coding, and shipping to automate their order taking and fulfillment.  Integrated demand planning and forecasting tools can also be used to plan purchasing and manufacturing.  As companies continue to rely more on outsourced and/or global aspects of their manufacturing and distribution processes, instant and accurate information has become critical in maintaining profitability and managing inventory levels.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, to be released later this spring, will add greater ease and simplicity to these capabilities by using incorporating email notifications into invoices, packing slips, and vendor payments. Microsoft Word will be used for formatting invoices and other forms to provide customers with the greatest degree of flexibility and control over their systems and customer communications.

This success story explains how RSM McGladrey helped one wine distribution company grew their business by automating their purchasing system and maintaining low administrative staff levels.

By: Michele Juliana, RSM McGladrey Accounting Software Solutions for Wholesale Distribution - New York Metro Microsoft Dynamics partner

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RSM McGladrey’s annual Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution Survey reports that companies are using technology in three critical areas. Those 3 areas consist of:

1. Operational and process improvement needs
2. Reporting and data analysis needs
3. Effective systems to communicate with customers and vendors

In its fourth release, this survey asked more than 920 industry executives to provide their perspectives on the current state of their companies and industry and the strategies they are employing to sustain — and in some instances, grow — profitability in the coming year. It’s no surprise that technology is a critical component for Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution companies, but the survey reveals that comprehensive coverage is an issue for most companies.

Often multiple systems, architectures and platforms are in place throughout an organization creating islands of customer, product, performance and profitability data. Companies which grew by acquisition may have multiple Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and each system reflects the processes and data used by the acquired business. Combining data from multiple systems to attain a consolidated view is difficult and time consuming. Companies with comprehensive acquisition integration strategies spend time up front to replace or integrate these systems. 

I will be addressing how Microsoft Dynamics GP handles each of these three areas for manufacturers and distributors in a series of blog posts to follow.

Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution National (MWD) Survey – 2009 Technology Report is a supplement report on IT expansion strategies, planned spending on maintenance and expansion and why MWD IT systems remain vulnerable, even with recovery plans in place.

By: Michele Juliana, RSM McGladrey Accounting Software Solutions for Wholesale Distribution A New Jersey Microsoft Dynamics GP partner

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Back in September with the release of service pack 4 for Microsoft Dynamics GP version 10.0, the existing Extender functionality was enhanced allowing users to add data fields, notes, macros, lookups and much more, without writing a single line of code.  You can also develop strong business processes and enrich your reporting power with this powerful functionality.  The best part about Extender: “You do not need a Developer.”

I know this is old news but as I learn more about the product and its capabilities, I am convinced that it is an easy inexpensive way to Extend Microsoft Dynamics GP’s core functionality without always having to purchase 3rd party products or do custom development work.

To learn more about Extender for Microsoft Dynamics GP, contact RSM McGladrey or use the following links to download more information:

1. Whitepaper:  Building an Extender-Based Solutions for Microsoft Dynamics GP Extender
2. Extender for Microsoft Dynamics GP Fact Sheet

By: Jeff Katz, RSM McGladrey, Microsoft Dynamics Gold Certified Partner NY Metro

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RSM McGladrey recently completed a case study with a regional staffing company converting from Lawson to Microsoft Dynamics™ GP. Conversions from a Tier One solution to Microsoft Dynamics™ GP are becoming more popular.  Tier One systems like Lawson, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP are being replaced with Dynamics GP by large companies who realize Microsoft Dynamics GP can adequately support their needs and offer them the capacity for growth without the costly price tag in annual maintenance fees. 

However, the recouped fees were only one part of the solution’s attractiveness. Scalability for this growing company was a main concern when considering any replacements for their Lawson system.  The new system would need to handle a capacity double or triple  their current size and easily manag their projected two year growth of $70 million. Dynamics GP easily fit the bill.

Another perk to the Dynamics GP solution was its flexibility. End-users found the same features and functions exist as in Tier One solutions. The staffing company provides their clients with customized invoicing; it is easy for them to give their clients what they need and how they need it.

If you are running a Tier One solution, contact RSM McGladrey for a needs assessment.  We will evaluate your current system and demonstrate the benefits of converting from a Tier One to Microsoft Dynamics™ GP. 

By: Kathy Davidson, RSM McGladrey, Gold Certified Dynamics Partner for New York Metro

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