Numerous studies, going back to the 1980’s show that the cost of acquisition is the smallest part of the overall TCO. In fact, it is generally accepted that the cost of maintenance, upgrades, optimization, management, and training represent approximately 3-5 times the cost of the initial acquisition – over a five-year ownership period.

Because of this, it is critically important that the small business person look beyond the acquisition and implementation costs to the long-term view as to how much  the solution will actually cost your business.

Just as one would assess the TCO of an ‘on-premise’ technology solution, the same evaluation must be undertaken for a cloud/SaaS solution. The evaluation criteria and calculation should look something like this:

1. Cost per user, per month
2. Consulting / Implementation Fees
3. Training Costs
4. Ongoing User Support Costs
5. Upgrade Costs
6. Maintenance Costs
7. Extra Application Integration Costs (3rd Party Applications and Information)
8. Application/Environment Backup/Restoration/Recovery Costs
9. Ease and Cost of Adding New Functionality or Modules
10. Ease and Cost of Adding New Users to the Solution/System
11. Uptime Commitments and Cost of Business Downtime

SMB Suite views TCO as a preferred method to compare technology investments when two solutions provide roughly equivalent benefits over the solution lifecycle, but have different types of costs associated with acquisition, maintenance, and operation. For these reasons, a TCO comparison offers a more tangible assessment of the total costs involved in deploying cloud-based SaaS and on-premise business solutions.

For more information on SMB Suite’s Cloud subscription TCO with Microsoft Dynamics GP, CRM, and eCommerce, visit our website pricing page: www.smbsuite.com/pricing 

by SMB Suite

Why Does Cloud ERP Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Matter To Your SMB? 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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But the truth is, they aren’t live.

Some part of the installation is damaged and they can’t even access their prototype, and when they do get into the prototype, even the decision-maker says he’s confused with the numerous inquiry windows and can’t find data that he needs quickly.

What happened? After starting the evaluation with six products, the final decision quickly came down to Dynamics GP with SalesPad  against one other contender. The decision was tipped under heavy pressure from the contender’s sales executive who flew in to close the deal, and the client decided:

• Upgrading their ten-year-old product would be easier on them with a shorter learning curve.
• Remote training and support was adequate.
• The consultant who would come on site for a week knew the product well so a fixed bid implementation was adequate and attractive.
• The turmoil the contender was undergoing due to the recent acquisition of the software product was immaterial. The product had continued to live on after numerous mergers and acquisitions, so there was no reason not to have confidence in the implementation.

6 Lessons Learned

1. Beware of sales executives who fly in just to close a sale. Sounds a little like the sales manager behind the closed doors at the car dealer, doesn’t it? Tactics are sales-centered; they do not represent concern for your company’s well-being.
2. Seek a software developer who is stable. If the management, support, and future development aren’t in place, the product is doomed for the long term.
3. Just because support was okay with your old product, it doesn’t mean that the new owner of the software will run their operations the same way…especially after three product ownership changes in ten years.
4. The new version doesn’t work or look anything like the ten-year-old version of the product.
5. Alternative training methods and implementation support are always needed to meet various learning styles.
6. An implementation plan must provide a process for the consultant to get familiar with your company and personnel. Plus, they should already know your industry and their product.

Dynamics GP and SalesPad would have been live by now for this company. I know that because I’ve done it hundreds of times. The reaction to SalesPad’s flexibility is always, “Wow! This is a great tool!” And that reaction would have extended with every user during and after the Go Live.

We would have been there for this company; whatever it takes. That’s how we do implementations. You may say, “Yeah. Great. More hours and money for you.” However, 10-20 hours more time can make or break an implementation of $150,000. The point is, if you need it, it’s available. We are sincerely interested in your success.

By Gloria Braunschweig, The IFRS Implementation Expert for Dynamics GP, with Computeration, a Pacific Northwest Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

Computeration specializes in ways to enhance your company’s solutions with Microsoft Dynamics GP in Idaho, Oregon, and Southwest Washington, with clients around the world, Computeration makes your implementation successful by offering experienced project management, data integration, training, and consulting services.

What A Prospect Learned When They Didn’t Choose Microsoft Dynamics GP & SalesPad 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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3. Microsoft Dynamics GP is TEC Certified for Discrete Manufacturing

There are many resources to help in the selection process and I have listed a few below along with some of the TEC report verbiage.  Keep in mind that there are also different software packages for both the discrete manufacturer as well as the process manufacturer.  If you make widgets then you are a discrete manufacturer if you make chemicals, food, cosmetics, or have batches rather than work orders then you are a process manufacturer with operational requirements that do not typically fit within a discrete manufacturing package.  If you do try to use a discrete manufacturing package, your company may have some inventory issues related to unit of measure conversions, regulatory reporting challenges such as MSDS, and more… 

Here are a couple of excerpts from the Enterprise Software Certification report:

“Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is pleased to announce that Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of discrete enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions in TEC’s ERP Evaluation Center. This Evaluation Center enables you to compare and evaluate functionality based on TEC’s comprehensive model of ERP software for discrete manufacturers. Data used in the Evaluation Center is obtained from the vendor’s responses to TEC’s request for information (RFI). Certification ensures that product capabilities have been demonstrated to TEC analysts based on the responses Microsoft provided in its completed TEC RFI; and that TEC analysts have analytically and comparatively reviewed Microsoft Dynamics GP RFI data against known benchmarks.”

“As for functionality specific to ERP for discrete manufacturing, Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 can be a very good option for companies looking for strong manufacturing-specific functionality (e.g., MRP, manufacturing orders, etc.) but also for very good HR and financials support.”

Other software selection resources for the manufacturer:

Why Manufacturers Should Invest in ERP Software and Technology

Section 179 Deduction Helps Manufacturers

Researching Dynamics GP Software Costs

Process, Discrete and Mixed Mode Manufacturing; 3 Business Issues – 3 Dynamic Solutions!

I am sure that I could help you to determine if you need a discrete or a process manufacturing software package for your company.  Custom Information Services (CIS) has worked with both discrete and process manufactures for about 20 years.  I have worked here for 14 years and I have made manufacturing my area of focus as a project manager and salesperson.   CIS represents Microsoft Dynamics GP, Vicinity Manufacturing, and BatchMaster Manufacturing.  

Custom Information Services is a Microsoft Dynamics reseller in North Texas.   If you would like more information on our product and service offerings for manufacturers, please contact me through email at nphillippi@customis.com or by phone at 817-640-0016 x 109.

by Custom Information Services, North Texas Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

Microsoft Dynamics GP is TEC Certified for Discrete Manufacturing is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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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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Brittenford Systems has helped hundreds of companies as they selected new accounting software.  We believe there are five costly(but avoidable) mistakes that business teams make when looking to upgrade from QuickBooks or other accounting software.

Mistake #1: Premature Consultation

Unprepared buyers often call a sales representative before doing their homework – and lose control of the buying process.  “I’ll call a sales representative and get some information!”  That’s often the first step buyers take in searching for a system and partner.  It’s also the worst thing you can do.

Mistake #2: Passing the Buck to a “Selection Consultant”

It can be tempting to “pass the buck” for the selection decision to an outside consultant or the recommendation of the IT department.  However, relying solely on a consultant’s recommendation or failing to get input and commitment from a broad internal base can yield an unbalanced, unsupported decision.

Mistake #3:  Journey to Nowhere

An undefined timeline and unstructured decision making process can cause companies to squander time and resources – and end up where they started.  Without a clearly defined process to guide the evaluation and selection, organization tend to be more confused than ever.

Mistake #4: Too Many Tiers

There are four tiers of accounting systems software and the functionality and cost of the systems vary greatly.  Refusing to make a decision early on regarding the tier of products you want to consider can be an early warning sign of a poorly thought-out process.

Mistake #5:  Setting the VAR Too Low

There are roughly 5,000 value added resellers, or “VARs”, of accounting systems in the United States and about 95% have fewer than six employees, and about half are struggling financially.  By failing to properly qualify their choice of valued added reseller, or “VAR,” buyers can undermine an otherwise well-reasoned software selection process.

Better Way: Know Your Business Partner!

Even if you make all the other mistakes, you can still be successful if you chose the right VAR as a business partner.  The right VAR will help you beyond business software and towards a business solution.  Remember, the important thing is not how your accounting software cuts checks, but rather how it helps your organization relate to your customers and partners.  A VAR who understands your business can help you make that vision a reality.

Brittenford Systems, a West Virginia Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Five Costly Mistakes When Selecting Accounting Software 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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Being a restaurant franchise of their size, they desperately needed help with their accounts payable and generating timely financial reports. Before moving to Microsoft Dynamics GP, they were manually issuing transactions from each of their separate restaurants. This required too much manual effort by the accounting department and produced questionable financial reports. Management could only react after the fact vs. taking proactive steps with up-to-date information out of Microsoft Dynamics GP.

As a Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner with dual Gold competencies in ERP and CRM based out of Michigan, The TM Group is dedicated to utilizing Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions, enabling clients to more efficiently operate their businesses and thus reduce their operating costs. This project required sophisticated integration in regard to financial reporting and their unique general ledger needs. Here’s how we made it work…

First of all, we created a separate database for each of their restaurants so each would show up as different entities in Microsoft Dynamics GP. Our client has point-of-sale (POS) systems, including MenuLink and Aloha,  at each of their restaurants. So once transactions are entered into their POS at each restaurant, they are then uploaded and imported by means of the GP Integration Manager into Microsoft Dynamics GP where corporate takes over. Corporate office accounting clerks are responsible for their own group of restaurants. Instead of each clerk entering every transaction manually as they did prior to implementing GP, they can now just review transactions before processing the payments. Also, we implemented EFT for Payables which greatly improved their payment process to their vendors, including automated email remittances. These improvements have enabled our client to grow the number of restaurants they manage while also reducing the headcount in the accounting department.

To empower them to increase staff productivity, we created four Dynamics GP – POS integrations to  help our client gain deep insight and control over their financials:

1. Accounts Payable transactions are the instances mentioned above and are uploaded to Microsoft Dynamics GP daily.
2. Payroll journal entry transactions are also inputted through each POS system and then uploaded to Microsoft Dynamics GP on a weekly basis.
3. Inventory change transactions are tracked via a GL journal entry for each restaurant so that the inventory values are accurately reflected in financial statements.
4. Sales sheet information tracks and reports all sales at each restaurant and daily imports into Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Although this client chose to make the integration a batch process, which is triggered due to the varying time frames when information is needed, they also have the option to grab the data any time it is needed and then seamlessly input that data into Microsoft Dynamics GP.

This level of detail and insight allows for proper reporting as well. By using the Microsoft Dynamics integrated financial reporter, accountants can process the financial information for each of the restaurants by merging the data and exporting it to an easy-to-read Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Before they implemented Microsoft Dynamics GP, management had no way of looking at financial results of all their restaurants in a single report.  Now they have, in one easy-to-read financial statement, all the restaurants displayed with each location’s financial results in a side-by-side fashion including totals containing the consolidated results. The franchise owners can now see critical business and financial information so they can make business decisions that help the longevity of their large franchise.

Our consulting and development team at the TM Group carefully plans and tests our Microsoft Dynamics GP integrations to line-of-business applications like POS systems such as MenuLink and Aloha.  Our goal is to optimize the flows of data so that our clients have confidence that their solution does exactly what it needs to do, exactly when they need it.  If you are interested in learning more about our Microsoft Dynamics GP consulting, custom development, and custom integration services, please feel free to contact me at kenj@tmgroupinc.com or call 888.482.2864.  You can also visit our services homepage here, to learn more.

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

Four Microsoft Dynamics GP and Point-of-Sale Integrations Tops the Menu for Restaurant Franchise Success is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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With Microsoft Dynamics GP and Excel you’re not confined to out of the box reports that don’t allow you to look at the future as well as the past. You can analyze and visualize data using data cubes displayed as key performance indicators (KPIs) with drill-down capabilities that let you get to the detail behind the numbers. Performance management is all about keeping standards high and customers happy – which is not easily monitored with out of the box accounting reports.

Why is measuring performance important?

In the cycle of never-ending quality improvement, performance measurement should:

• Track progress against high level organizational goals,
• Identify opportunities for improvement,
• Compare performance against both internal standards and customer response.

Performance measurements will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your organization so you know where to focus on improvement.  When quality assurance is critical to your organization’s success (and whose isn’t) track those measurements that are the bellweathers of customer loyalty.  Whether it’s customer returns, unfilled orders or other KPIs – focus on the ones that are specific to your business success.

Does your current accounting system keep you in the dark?

If you aren’t monitoring the real KPIs that build customer loyalty and employee accountability, your managers may not be making the best decisions.  KPI measurements to support better decisions should be designed to:

1. Ensure customer requirements have been met.
2. Set sensible, measurable objectives with specific accountability.
3. Provide standards for establishing comparisons.
4. Provide visibility and a “scoreboard” for people to monitor their own performance level.
5. Highlight quality problems and determine areas for priority attention.
6. Provide feedback for driving the improvement effort.

Customer loyalty is no longer something you can take for granted. With the overload of data presented to managers, you need to give them KPIs that will help them notice trends and changes in buying behavior.  Dynamics GP will deliver.

Find out how KTL Solutions can help you put performance management tools in place to keep your business thriving.  Contact Gary at 301-360-0001 or gfrancart@ktlsolutions.com today.

by KTL Solutions, a Washington D.C. Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner 

Are You Missing the Opportunity to Improve Customer Loyalty Through Performance Management? is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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