As an insurance agency, they had unique reporting requirements and had to report on a statutory basis instead of an accrual basis. With QuickBooks, they had to jump through a lot of manual hoops to make the reporting fit their needs and even then they felt it couldn’t be 100% trusted. They knew manual processes increased the risk greatly for entry errors.

They also didn’t have the ability do detailed budgets in QuickBooks because the tracking capabilities didn’t go deep enough. This meant budget allocations were extremely difficult to manage because they couldn’t see what department needed funds and/or resources at any given time, making room for a lot of financial miscommunication throughout their organization. In QuickBooks, they never really had an audit trail because changes weren’t tracked appropriately. When someone made an adjustment, there was no tracking of who did it, when they changed it, or even why they made that change. In addition to compliance risk, this escalated confusion across the company.

One of the biggest pains they experienced was in accounts payable. They have many vendors they work with across multiple states that require unique tax code requirements and more. QuickBooks didn’t allow them to consolidate vendors, so each time they had to send a check, they had to create a new account. This greatly limited their ability to track payments because they had so many that went out on a regular basis.

These growing pains were essentially time bombs ready to go off if an audit team showed up. Luckily, our experienced consulting team and Microsoft Dynamics® GP was able to help them out of this bind with a number of enhanced financial and reporting functionalities:

• Unique Reporting: With Management Reporter in Microsoft Dynamics GP, they now have access to the reporting they need. They can have separate general ledgers that helps create statutory reports versus the normal accrual reporting. They can also see segmented financial statements so if they need reports for multiple departments, they can produce a consolidated statement and drill down into individual departments. It’s set up similar to a reporting tree and really helps our client gain insight into their business finances to make better decisions as well as proactively resolve issues before they even start.
• Advanced Budgeting: Because of this detailed reporting, they can monitor their current expenses against their revenue to determine whether they’re going over budget in a particular department or have an excess of money that can be leveraged elsewhere. These reporting trees have allowed our client to do proper allocations across departments so departments are now funded appropriately.  Microsoft Dynamics GP also gives them the flexibility to do multiple budget versions so they’re never really restricted by their accounting solution.
• Tracking: Our client now has complete audit control of their General Ledger. In Microsoft Dynamics GP, they can make an adjusting journal entry and have complete tracking of who made the change, when it was altered, and the reason behind it. These tighter audit controls included in Microsoft Dynamics GP make their accounting system more secure so they can be confident in their records.
• Multiple Vendor Locations: Our client can now manage their accounts payable much more efficiently and their vendors get paid on time. Accounts Payable in Microsoft Dynamics GP allows them to consolidate their vendors. If one vendor has multiple addresses, they can create it under the same master account, making reporting much more accurate and easier to manage. At any given time, they can see where the payment is based on a payment ID. This efficiency as greatly improved their cash flow as they can now strategically plan and schedule payments to meet the needs of their vendors as well as their cash flow needs.

Being in more control has increased their trust factor greatly in their new accounting solution, and Microsoft Dynamics GP continues to see them through their unique financial management needs.

By The TM Group, Michigan Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM Partner for Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint

Insurance Agency Switches from QuickBooks to Microsoft Dynamics GP for Stronger Financial Reporting Compliance is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Do you find yourself in a similar situation? You notice a considerable delay in opening screens, reports take longer to print, and there is an overall decline in performance?    Many of our customers who have made the move from QuickBooks to Microsoft Dynamics GP cited those same pain points.  QuickBooks met their needs as a small company, but as their business grew their volume of transactions and functionality requirements grew and their program couldn’t accommodate their needs. 

There are many reasons to consider Microsoft Dynamics GP but here are a few compelling facts in regards to QuickBooks vs. Microsoft Dynamics GP:

• GP has twice the features of QuickBooks Enterprise.  The Accounting Library reported in April 2011 that Microsoft Dynamics GP met 85% of a typical user’s requirements vs. 43% for QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. 
• GP can scale to handle millions of transactions and can be used by more than a thousand users concurrently 
• GP has more than 700 standard reports including 200 out of the box Excel reports and over 70 standard SRS reports. 

And price is really not a factor since Microsoft has an offer in the market that will give you the first 5 users for $3000 which is up to 85% off the license price.   

Contact DFC Consultants at 800-277-5561 or email sales@dfcconsultants.com  to set up a free business analysis meeting to determine your functionality requirements and receive a custom demo of Microsoft Dynamics GP. 

DFC Consultants is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics GP and CRM. Since 1989, DFC has been providing accounting software solutions, training and support in our offices in Fargo, Bismarck, and Dickinson, North Dakota.  Our passion is to assist clients in meeting their goals with professional services and powerful business solutions. 

By Vanessa Veflin, DFC Consultants, North Dakota Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner.

Take a Break From Frustration – Choose Microsoft Dynamics GP is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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As a simple starter package, QuickBooks Online (QBOL) is generally considered the easiest accounting software to implement for someone without an accounting background.

Hosted Dynamics GP, a true online ERP accounting software package, can really take companies to the next level.

If you’re considering which web based accounting software to use, please use this handy comparison chart to discover some of the differences and similarities of the two systems. Our 30 day free trial is always available – so find out for yourself if hosted Dynamics GP is the right online financial system for you.

by Rose ASP

QuickBooks Online vs. Hosted Dynamics GP is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Although an exaggeration, the carton brings home the point that many businesses rely on Excel to manage business critical information.  The problem with relying on Excel to handle your reporting and analyzing needs is that the data quickly grows out of date and eventually every user has their own version of a spreadsheet for their own reporting purposes.  Do any of the spreadsheets contain accurate information?  Rarely.  Which one is correct?  Everyone believes theirs is. 

 Perhaps you can relate.  Are you currently running an entry level accounting solution like QuickBooks or a similar package and having to use spreadsheets to run your business and rekey information into your system as an afterthought? These products work well for what they are meant to be – an entry level solution. However, once your business grows they inhibit business rather than enabling it. 

 The primary role of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)  solution like Microsoft Dynamics is to collect and retain data in an organized way allowing users to securely access accurate information anytime, anywhere. If you think you might be keeping and having to manipulate more information outside of your business management system then it may be time to consider changing systems.    

 Whether you’re evaluating making a change to a different solution to meet your changing needs or evaluating a solution for the first time I’d encourage you to read the whitepaper called, Evaluating Financial Management Software …Is it Time for a Change?  The whitepaper provides valuable information on the key areas of a financial management solution so that you are more knowledgeable going into the evaluation process.  

 By Encore Business Solutions, a Microsoft Dynamics ERP Partner with over 20 years experience.

It’s Time To See Beyond The Spreadsheet With An ERP Solution Like Microsoft Dynamics is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Data migration doesn’t have to be a nightmare, though.  With careful selection of your ERP implementation partner, strategic data migration can ensure the smooth transfer of information from your legacy software to your new system.  Following are ways to optimize the data migration process.

1. Assign roles and resources - Data migration is a sizable undertaking, even for small companies.  Make sure you have dedicated the time and staff to see it through from start to finish.
2. Identify data for migration - Not all of your organization’s data is critical.  Focus only on master record data, such as customers, products, and key account information.  Transactional data will only get in the way.
3. Structure your new system - With your business’s requirements in mind, configure your new system accordingly.  Your ERP implementation partner will guide you through this process.
4. Export and import data – Take it out and put it in.  Keep in mind that some data may require reformatting prior to importing.  Data quality is a determining factor, here, so check for any inconsistencies or errors.
5. Test, test, test - Hidden glitches and quirks must be discovered before your ERP software is up and running.  Test, test again, and then run a few more tests.  You’ll be thankful you did.

Data migration, when given the focus, resources, and testing it deserves, can pave the way to an efficient, productive, and profitable business management software solution.  Contact Brittenford Systems if you’d like to learn more about Microsoft Dynamics solutions and how we can help you migrate your data smoothly and painlessly.

Contact Brian Dietz bdietz@brittenford.com to discuss data migration.  Don’t let it hold you back.

by Brittenford, West Virginia Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

Data Migration and ERP Implementations: Do Not Be Afraid is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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The result? They compromise the efficiency of many processes by letting the software dictate their procedures through limited setup options and configuration. *big sigh from me*

When I ask about the 5 year plan and how they see the company growing, I can see the disappointment when it’s realized QuickBooks won’t meet their future growth and simply will not cut it much longer. *big sigh from client*

Today I’m telling you, perhaps asking you, not to feel pressured to use other accounting software just because ”it’s cheap”. You can afford a long term solution that will scale with your business and give you room to grow.

Here. It Is.

Pay $3,000 and get 5 Microsoft Dynamics GP Licenses. Microsoft is offering the same pricing as QuickBooks . Yes, I found it on QB’s website. To be 100% clear, the only difference is, they include the first year of support/upgrades in that price. DFC provides support and we have support plans.

Why throw away time and money implementing a solution that is forcing you to compromise from the very beginning? Start planning now for the future of your business and acquire a solution that fits around you. We can guide you through the process from sales to implementation to training and support.

DFC is a Microsoft partner, with over 22 years of experience implementing, selling, and supporting Microsoft Dynamics GP. Please call DFC Consultants, at 800-277-5561 or find us at www.dfcconsultants.com.

One more thing. DFC Consultants specializes in the training for Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft CRM. We are the only Microsoft Certified Training Center in North Dakota and one of the largest in the Midwest teaching over 20 classes in the past 12 months. We have five Microsoft Certified Trainers that provide classroom training in a structured, hands-on, question-and-answer environment. View our training schedule to plan for your future today.

By Sarah Mueller, Business Development, DFC Consultants, North Dakota Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

Microsoft Dynamics GP Competes with QuickBooks Pricing is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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This offer is hard to pass up! Reach out to your local Dynamics ERP partner to take advantage of this exceptional pricing.

Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Essentials includes accounting, tons of reporting and data mining tools and even distribution modules. Advanced Management all the Business Essentials modules below PLUS the additional financial and manufacturing modules. Contact your local reseller to determine which suite is best for your business.

Here is a complete list of Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Essentials Modules:

GENERAL LEDGER: Manage the heart of your business with intelligent accounting and analysis capabilities that sharply reduce time and effort for key tasks and deliver flexible, fast ways to track and analyze financial information.

ANALYTICAL ACCOUNTING: Classify, report, and analyze financial transactions based upon your specific business needs with wizard driven inquiries that integrate with Microsoft® Office Excel® and Microsoft Dynamics® GP SmartLists. Analyze transactions across your entire organization with smooth integration across modules in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

BANK RECONCILIATION: Manage all bank-related transactions through a single, automated process and ensure fast access and tight control for mission-critical financial information.

PAYABLES MANAGEMENT: Improve your control over expenses with up-to-the-minute payables information, comprehensive vendor management, and payment scheduling and tracking while automating routine and complex tasks.

RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT: Maintain tight control over accounts receivable, manage sales made on accounts, and drive down overhead costs with integrated capabilities for tracking invoices, processing receipts, and analyzing customer activity.

FIXED ASSET MANAGEMENT: Improve financial control and put company assets to the best possible use with tools for tracking, analyzing, and manipulating fixed assets.

INTERCOMPANY: Efficiently set up, enter, and maintain relationships between companies so that revenues or expenses incurred in one company can be tracked as “due to” or “due from” amounts in other companies.

MULTICURRENCY MANAGEMENT: Take control of multinational operations and manage currency transactions smoothly and efficiently with flexible, powerful multicurrency capabilities.

ENCUMBRANCE MANAGEMENT: Not-for-profit, public sector or other organizations managing encumbrances can easily locate and track budget information, query current or historical encumbrances, and streamline period-end and year-end reporting processes.

SAFE PAY: Easily add Positive Pay functionality, including daily exporting of checks for comparison by the bank when checks are presented for payment.

REPORT WRITER: Modify existing or create new Microsoft Dynamics GP reports with an easy to use drag and drop design interface.

MICROSOFT MANAGEMENT REPORTER DESKTOP USER: Master your financial reporting process with comprehensive, highly customizable financial and management reports that are easy to create, distribute, and use

INVOICING: Improve invoicing efficiency with capabilities that include single-window entry for all vital information, batch processing, and easy return transaction processing.

SALES ORDER PROCESSING WITH ADVANCED INVOICING: Streamline and automate the entire sales ordering process to serve top customers more effectively, maintain tight control over fulfillment and invoicing, and minimize shipping and labor costs.

INVENTORY CONTROL: By controlling inventory effectively and setting prices on a customer-by-customer basis, you can reduce operating costs and achieve the fast, efficient fulfillment that keeps them coming back.

PURCHASE ORDER PROCESSING/RECEIVINGS: Manage vital commitments and build lasting vendor relationships with deep functionality that includes automated purchasing and approval processes, flexible extended pricing, and blanket purchase orders.

LANDED COST: Ensure start-to-finish accuracy with the ability to track and update the total cost associated with an inventory item—including freight, insurance, and duties—and then automatically assign or modify these costs on a purchase order as items are received.

CUSTOMIZATION SITE LICENSE: Deploy Modifier with Visual Basic for Applications solutions developed by a third party if you are not licensed for the Modifier module.

INTEGRATION MANAGER-CONVERSIONS: Migrate data from most common database formats or desktop applications into Microsoft Dynamics GP— a time-sensitive conversion tool to assist in a smooth transition from previous financial systems.

SECURITY MANAGEMENT: Manage roles-based user security quickly and effectively with powerful, easy-to-use tools that simplify configuration and management processes, yet provide high levels of protection for your system.

The Microsoft Dynamics GP ADVANCED MANAGEMENT EDITION is the preferred solution for growing, midmarket or high-functional-needs customers who are looking for an adaptive solution with a broad set of functionality, including all functionality included in the Business Essentials edition.

Financial Management

CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT: Customizable views and forecasting tools enable you to control, predict, and monitor inflows and outflows.

COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT: Minimize collections workload, improve your cash flow, and reduce bad debt expense with customizable information views and automated bad debt management tools.

CUSTOMER/VENDOR CONSOLIDATIONS: Quickly transfer information between Receivables Management and Payables Management to create a customer record that uses information already available in a vendor record, and vice versa.

GRANT MANAGEMENT: Not-for-profit and public sector organizations can automate grant management processes to track funds more easily, demonstrate accountability, and help attract future funding.

LOCKBOX PROCESSING: Automatically import and apply customer payment information from a lockbox transaction file provided by your bank. Lockbox Processing provides reliable receivables information, improved funds availability, and greater fraud protection.

NATIONAL ACCOUNTS: National Accounts provides the ability to define a national account relationship between multiple customers. It enables a customer to be defined as the “parent” account to which “child” customers may be added. This allows a payment received from the parent company to be applied across any of the child customers’ payments. Credit documents can also be applied from the child customer to any other member of the national account.

PROCESS SERVER: Move processor-intensive tasks off the computers your employees use every day and onto dedicated process servers, avoiding costly slowdowns.

REFUND CHECKS: Print refund checks for customers with credit balances, automatically debiting the customer and updating the ledger.

REVENUE/EXPENSE DEFERRALS: Simplify deferring revenues or distributing expenses with the ability to make entries for future periods within General Ledger, Receivables Management, Payables Management, Sales Order Processing, Purchase Order Processing, and Invoicing.

Business Intelligence and Reporting

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: Executives and decision makers need at-a-glance access to key business metrics so they can quickly assess the health of the business and take command when conditions change. With key performance indicators (KPIs), companies can define and help deliver quick access to personalized views of key business information via a web-based portal.

MICROSOFT FORECASTER*: Forecast accurate budgets and gain control of the entire budgeting and planning process. Coordinate plans dynamically and collaborate easily with your management team. One named user license included; additional licenses available at extra cost. *One user included with each Advanced Management user. Additional users can be purchased a la carte by Advanced Management customers.

Supply Chain Management

AVAILABLE TO PROMISE: Help ensure the right inventory is available at the right time to meet customer needs, make firm delivery promises, and boost profitability.

BILL OF MATERIALS: Increase productivity with fast, flexible tracking of components and subassemblies used in light manufacturing and similar production and assembly operations.

PO GENERATOR: Automate purchasing by generating a suggested purchase order, with order point or minimum/maximum settings that determine quantities needed based on purchasing, sales, and inventory data.

RETURNS MANAGEMENT: Generate RMAs from historical customer invoices, service calls, or manually; generate RTVs or depot work orders; and automatically transfer items from the returns warehouse to the main warehouse.

Manufacturing

MANUFACTURING BILL OF MATERIALS: Build better, more flexible bills of materials to maximize your production efficiency including engineering, manufacturing, configured, archived, and even super bills that manage all options on the configurable products you produce.

MANUFACTURING ORDER PROCESSING: Efficiently track and manage the entire cycle of order processing, including detailed production costs, work orders, routings, outsourcing, and work center definitions.

MASTER PRODUCTION SCHEDULING: Gather information from sales forecasts to form a single, comprehensive production schedule and automatically create manufacturing orders.

MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING: Ensure proactive planning, smart procurement decisions, and precise adjustments to production with flexible planning and analysis capabilities in addition to viewing material requirements and vendor information.

Project Management

PROJECT ACCOUNTING: Maintain tight control over project direction, costs, execution, and budget; support resources effectively; and ensure accurate billing and accounting through tight integration with financials, inventory, and accounts receivable.

PROJECT TIME AND EXPENSE: Capture, review, and approve project time sheets and expense reports through the web, enabling prompt, accurate customer invoicing and efficient reimbursement for out-of-pocket employee expenses.

Field Service Management

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION: Maintain unlimited contract price books, monitor profitability against service calls, and recognize revenues through five different methods.

Description of a La Carte Modules Available for Advanced Management for Additional Cost:

Business Intelligence and Reporting

MICROSOFT FORECASTER*: Forecast accurate budgets and gain control of the entire budgeting and planning process. Coordinate plans dynamically and collaborate easily with your management team. One named user license included; additional licenses available at extra cost. *One user included with each Advanced Management user. Additional users can be purchased a la carte by Advanced Management customers.

Supply Chain Management

DISTRIBUTION SUITE: Includes Advanced Distribution and Advanced Picking.

EXTENDED PRICING: Create flexible pricing options and rules for customers, including standard and personalized percentage-off, value-off, and net pricing options. Implement date-sensitive functionality for sales and promotions.

Manufacturing

MANUFACTURING SUITE: Includes Capacity Requirements Planning, Engineering Change Management, Job Costing, Quality Assurance, Sales Configurator, Sales Forecasting.

Field Service Management

DEPOT MANAGEMENT: Track parts, labor, and expense details. Create a Parts Usage report. Manage spare parts and trunk-and-lot-tracked stock inventory.

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE: Forecast purchasing and scheduling requirements based on time in service or product usage. Coordinate open service requests with upcoming preventive maintenance calls. Track details of Preventive Maintenance activities.

SERVICE CALL MANAGEMENT: Track and update new and historical service calls against a contract, service warranty, and current inventory. Time executions, coordinate customer schedules, assign appropriately skilled technicians, and escalate calls automatically.

Human Resource Management

BENEFIT SELF SERVICE SUITE – UNITED STATES: Reduce paperwork and manual entry with moving benefit processes online, including yearly benefits, change of status, and more.

Description of a La Carte Modules Available for Both Editions at an Additional Cost:

SMARTLIST BUILDER: Create customized SmartLists that enable you to quickly link Microsoft Dynamics GP, easily add new fields to SmartList windows, and analyze data according to the criteria you define.

CRYSTAL REPORTS PROFESSIONAL: Transform Microsoft Dynamics GP data into presentation-quality information with tools for building compelling, graphical views of business data. (Initial purchase includes 1 named user.)

MANAGEMENT REPORTER DRILLDOWN VIEWER: Review detailed reports while working online or offline, including the ability to drill down to transaction-level detail without accessing the general ledger or company network.

MANAGEMENT REPORTER REPORT DESIGNER USERS: Create, generate, and maintain boardroom-quality financial reports from your desktop, without the need to call on help from IT staff or a database professional.

MANAGEMENT REPORTER REPORT LAUNCHER: Select pre-existing reports, specify output options, and generate the reports you need, all on an on-demand basis, with the ability to drill down to transaction detail level while maintaining the original report design.

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM CONNECTOR FOR MICROSOFT DYNAMICS GP: Increase consistency and accuracy in billing and forecasting, streamline operational costs and processes by eliminating redundancies, and promote increased organizational efficiencies that deliver strategic business impact by synchronizing and integrating data within Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics GP.

PAYROLL: Automate payroll processing, equip staff to handle complex and changing payroll requirements, and offer better service to your employees while reducing necessary overhead costs.

ADVANCED PAYROLL: Extend Payroll capabilities with Pay Policy Manager, Labor Accrual Manager, Advanced Labor Reporting, and Payroll Hours to General Ledger functionality.

FEDERAL MAGNETIC MEDIA: Help maintain full compliance with government reporting requirements by generating Federal Magnetic Media files.

PAYROLL CONNECT: Automate data transfer from ADP/PC Payroll for Windows® into General Ledger, using a turnkey solution that eliminates the need to re-enter data.

PAYROLL DIRECT DEPOSIT: Add payroll funds to employees’ bank, savings and loan, or credit union accounts through an automated clearing house (ACH) file, with no limit on the number of accounts or financial institutions for any employee’s payroll.

HUMAN RESOURCES: Make fast, strategic decisions for attracting and retaining top talent, process payroll more efficiently, and offer employees better services and programs with customizable hiring processes, scheduling, pay rates, and performance evaluation tools.

ADVANCED HUMAN RESOURCES: Extend Payroll and Human Resources capabilities with Benefit Lifecycle Manager, Certification, License and Training Manager, and Employee Health and Wellness functionality.

BUSINESS PORTAL NAMED EMPLOYEE USER/CUSTOMER USERS: Streamline full user access by providing secure browser-based access to Microsoft Dynamics GP data to employees and customers.

INTEGRATION MANAGER-DISTRIBUTION (POP, SOP, INV): Integrate data from other systems on a onetime or continuous basis into Microsoft Dynamics GP Purchase Order Processing, Sales Order Processing, and Inventory modules—strong security and data integrity checks, as well as scheduling and customized data processing, provide a dependable, efficient, and easy to use data integration experience.

INTEGRATION MANAGER-FINANCIALS (GL, RM, PM, FA, BR, PAYROLL, PROJECT): Integrate data from other systems on a onetime or continuous basis into Microsoft Dynamics GP Financial, Payroll, and Project modules—strong security and data integrity checks, as well as scheduling and customized data processing, provide a dependable, efficient, and easy to use integration experience.

EXTENDER: Personalize your data collection by linking additional windows that are easily created by non-developers, expand notes and macros, and launch ad hoc queries that are based on the new business information you are able to collect.

By Nancy Phillippi with Custom Information Services (CIS), Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner based out of North Texas. Your feedback and comments are welcome. Contact Nancy at nphillippi@customis.com or by phone at 817-640-0016 x 109.

Give Me 5! Five Microsoft Dynamics GP User Licenses for 3K! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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 Is the information you need to make important decisions about your business at your fingertips?  Or like most people do you have to search for information, download it to a spreadsheet and manipulate it to get the answers you are looking for?

Think about it.  If you have to perform mundane, time consuming tasks like this to access information, how many other people in your organization have to do that as well?  Chances are people throughout the organization are performing many tasks manually, are re-keying data for analysis purposes, and are generally inefficient because the systems in place today can no longer manage the volume and complexity of your business. 

 If anytime is the right time to start thinking about how you can improve your bottom line, how you can automate processes, how you can be more productive with the resources you already have, it is now.  Transitioning to Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains), a market leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solution for midsize businesses, can take your organization beyond basic accounting. Dynamics GP gives you robust functionality, sophisticated reporting and decision making tools, and a technology foundation designed to handle the workload, user counts, and security requirements of growing businesses.

 Microsoft Dynamics GP offers:

• Visibility to operational and financial information through an executive dashboard
• Key performance indicators to identify and analyze trends
• Communication and collaboration using tools your resources are already familiar with

 Even though it may not be necessary for you to be on the cutting edge of technology, you’ll need a game plan and guidance from a reputable Dynamics reseller to ensure a smooth and efficient transition from your current accounting/financial application.

 As you evaluate your solution options, be sure to think about the tools you need to provide to every employee in your company so that they can do their jobs more effectively. To help you asses what each player on your team needs from your software read this guide called, Everyone Wins, Choosing the Right Business Solution is a Team Sport. This insightful and quick to read guide will help you see how well your current software meets your business demands and, if needed, upgrade to a solution that’s a better fit for everyone.

By Encore Business Solutions, a Microsoft Dynamics Gold Partner and largest reseller in Western Canada.

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It is a lot of work, a lot of time consuming, sometimes monotonous, work. Well, luckily, there are several time saving features that can greatly reduce the amount of time spent on these items. When picking accounting software it is a good idea to understand what the software can do to help you quickly and accurately speed up these tasks.

In no particular order, here are 5 time saving features that will greatly improve your workday performance:

-Repeating GL batches:  We all have them, you know, those journal entries that come up every month (or week).  We have entered them so many times we could probably do so without looking at them now.  With Repeating GL Batches, Microsoft Dynamics GP, allows us to create a batch, enter a list of transactions, then save the batch as a repeating batch.  We can also decide how often it repeats.  The system will then retain the transactions and make them available for posting dependent on the time frame setup with the batch.

-Quick Journals:  This is similar to Repeating GL Batches, except for one major difference.  Quick Journals shine, in that they retain the ACCOUNTS from the transaction, but not the amounts.  One of the most frequent uses of Quick Journals is for that payroll Journal Entry you post each month.  Often the amounts on a payroll entry change slightly each period.  With Quick Journals we can create a Journal Entry “framework” that we can access each month and just fill in the amounts for each line.  No more typing out all of the different payroll accounts included in a payroll Journal Entry.  Just pull up the saved Quick Journal, type the amounts on the proper GL account line and post.

-Allocations:  This is a pretty big one and happens to include two different types of allocations:  fixed and variable.  Fixed allocations allow us to automatically spread an amount entered to a list of predefined accounts (think overhead expenses).  Variable allocation accounts allow us to spread an amount to a list of predefined accounts based on values in other accounts (GL or Unit accounts, like head count, phone installations square footage, etc.)

-Correcting JEs:  When entering Journal Entries, you never make mistakes, right?  Right. Well, Correcting JEs are for the rest of us then.  Microsoft Dynamics GP includes a feature to let us pull up those incorrect JEs.  Once we identify the problem, we can press a button and the system will automatically create a correcting entry to back out the incorrect entry.  It then prompts us for the correct entry.  So it basically cuts in half (you no longer have to reverse the bad entry yourself) the amount of time required to correct a JE.

-Clearing Entries:  When you’re no longer using an account and want to transfer its balance to another account, you need to make a clearing transaction. With a clearing entry, the account balance will be transferred, the transaction activity will remain with the original account, and the account remains active.

Each of these features will help reduce the amount of time spent in the GL and we will be happy to assist with any training should you believe you are not fully utilizing the time saving features.  Next blog I will discuss a few other GL features that, while not as life changing as these items, are very nice features to have included in an accounting system.

-By Grady Burris – Sr. Consultant – Intelligent Technologies, Inc.

Five Time Saving Features All Accounting Systems Should Have is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Usually the most important will be the core functionality. In this case, you will probably soon realize that ERP solutions will have similar features and functionality to support what you would expect to find in an ERP system. If you have been evaluating Dynamics GP as one of the options, you are probably aware of the large ISV add-on solution offerings available. This may be one of the key reasons you are placing a higher consideration to an all-in-one system. From your perspective, you will have a single organization to work with and you know it will all work together. You won’t be intimidated by multiple choices. You may however, get a more generic system with limited flexibility.

Did you know:

• The Dynamics GP network of add-on solutions has a long established history, known for being seamlessly integrated to the core Dynamics GP system?
• Many of the solutions available have an interface designed and developed with the same look and feel as GP. Had you not known, you would think it is part of the core system.
• Many other available solutions use Microsoft’s integration tools to follow the same business rules as GP and offer the same Microsoft support. Solutions using those integration tools are typically upgrade ready along with GP.
• Solutions offered are required to meet certain Microsoft specifications.
• Dynamics GP partners have established trusting relationships with the ISV network and use that network as an extension to their own resources.

Here is an analogy to consider:

If building a house, you would contract a General Contractor to oversee the project and make sure it is implemented to your satisfaction. (Think of this as the GP Partner). But the General Contractor is going to then contract specific experts: An electrician, a plumber, etc. (the ISV community).  The General Contractor is your single point of contact and they will coordinate and make sure everything works as expected.  That General Contractor understands all the basic requirements. As the General Contractor, his job is to put together and manage the team that will complete the job to meet or exceed the customer expectations.

Just like the General Contractor, the Dynamics Partners work regularly and closely with the ISV community. They know many of the solutions well and can offer you guidance or the choices available. They will be the coordinator and the project manager for a seamless interaction.

Your industry and your organization is unique.

By selecting an all-in-one out-of-the-box solution, you may be forced to make the system fit or you may end up with parts of the system you still need to customize. Will this end up scaling as you grow?  If there are changes in how your organization or industry operates, will the system readily adapt?  Will you end up locked in to doing things the same way, even if there may be a better option?  With the large number of add-on solutions, many of them designed for a specific industry or to support a specific technology, your partner can put together a solution that is tailor-made to your industry or organization. In addition, you have now expanded the number of expert resources available to you. This network of experts can offer you  suggestions and best practices that a single resource may not have. Your General Contractor isn’t going to necessarily know all of the most recent changes to electrical codes or know about the best energy-saving technology for doors and windows. His experts will.

Flexibility and Scalability

With the offerings of add-on solutions,  you now have the flexibility to manage your budget and your project as needed. You have specific features you need now and you may also have a wish list of others. Your partners can help you put together a planning budget or a phased roll out. You can implement and get the understanding of the core solution and then be in a better position to identify what other features you need or want and have the ability to evaluate the options available. For example, you know you want to add bar coding for better inventory management. Do you need a  full Warehouse Management Solution? Will the core inventory management features available within Dynamics GP meet your needs and adding a bar code data capture solution will add the efficiency you desire?  Do you have any specialized tracking requirements? You may not be in position to answer this right away until you have an opportunity to implement and learn what you can use within Dynamics GP. You may want to select from a variety of options available for the solution that will best meet your needs and fits your budget.  In the end, will that single solution offering provide you the flexibility you need? It is easier to add packaged add-on applications than it will be to then have the solution customized. Packaged add-ons will be easily upgradeable along with your core GP system and you won’t end up potentially having a custom “one-off” system.

The Partners work closely with the ISV community. The ISV community is an extension of resources for your Partner;  both want the end result to be satisfied customers. The solutions are tightly integrated to GP. They are designed specifically to enhance functionality and meet a specific need that a generic system can’t always offer.

Make it your own!

Don’t be afraid to be engaged with multiple resources regardless of if they work under the same organization name or not. Dynamics GP is a solid core ERP system. You can make it your own with the large network of specialized solutions specifically developed for your industry or for a specific technology.  In addition, your solution is now scalable. You always have the opportunity to add other solutions and technologies at your own pace. If your needs change, you have the options to change your system. In the end, you still end up with a single integrated solution designed for you.

Panatrack is part of the ISV community. We work closely with Partners to offer bar code data capture solutions integrating directly to Dynamics GP for inventory and fixed asset tracking. Our expertise extends to the features and functionality for inventory and asset management with the Dynamics GP system. Also specialized in the technology, we work together with Dynamics Partners to help identify best practices within these areas. See more on our solutions at www.panatrack.com or contact your GP Partner.

by Panatrack, ISV provider for Microsoft Dynamics GP add ons

Dynamics GP: Advantages of a “Tailor-Made” ERP Solution is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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