According to the Hartford Business Journal, “Approximately one-third (31) of January departures were resignations.  Another 25 CEOs stepped down, but remain with the company as a member of the board or in some other capacity. The government and non-profit sector led all industries in CEO turnover with 12 changes in January.  The financial sector and health care sector each saw nine CEOs leave their posts.”

Anytime a change like this occurs in an organization, it is an excellent time to re-evaluate your current ERP software and consider starting afresh.

The position of CFO can be an institution within itself.  That means you not only deal with the personality of the executives, but also their organizational structure, business management methods, and software preferences.  Many times, if a CFO sticks around long enough, the company will develop a multitude of workarounds to compensate for its ERP software’s limitations.

When the CEO and/or CFO exits, it ushers in a new opportunity to clean house with new policies, new management styles, new business objectives, and possibly new software to finally fix the company’s ERP problems, rather than working around them. 

Transitioning is never easy on a company, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Make your related major changes at the same time rather than going through each rough patch one at a time.  Technology grows and changes rapidly, so you will need a new ERP soon anyway, just to keep pace with your competition. 

As a new CFO, you can make it a priority to bring in a new ERP system, one that is more reliable, flexible, and integrated with your other software.  Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) offers all of that and more.  Now is the right time to contact CAL Business Solutions and start preparing for the future. Call us at 860-485-0910.

by CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

New CFO? It Might Be Time for New ERP Software is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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For example, next week on Wednesday October 13^th, CAL Business Solutions is hosting CAL Connect2010 – New England’s largest Dynamics GP user event. Our annual customer event has grown from a backyard BBQ with a handful of clients to a full scale event with over 100 clients attending.  This year we are offering 16 Dynamics GP training sessions plus an ISV Partner Expo, showcasing 20 of our favorite add on ISV products for Microsoft Dynamics GP. Other Dynamics GP partners offer similar existing customer events all across the country.

But don’t let the term “existing customer event” or “user group” fool you – these events are open to you as a prospective user too. In fact, we encourage all the “future clients” we know to attend CAL Connect2010 for 4 very important reasons:

1) You have the opportunity to see Dynamics GP in action, presented by the trainers and consultants who would be working on your project.

2) You can talk to other local IT/Finance executives and business owners about their experience with the product.

3) You get the chance to meet the entire CAL team.  (For a consulting company, having your entire team in one place is rare). This helps you to evaluate who you will be working with both for project management and behind the scenes support. When choosing a business partner I feel it is very important to make sure their “style” and company philosophy matches yours in order to have a productive working relationship.

4) You will meet members of the local Microsoft team – these are the people who have access to other Microsoft resources to assist you, and control all the pricing promotions. Good people to know.

Last year we had five local Connecticut companies attend our customer event who were still in the accounting software selection process.  They were evaluating both Microsoft Dynamics and CAL Business Solutions.  All five of those companies are now CAL Business Solutions clients (using Microsoft Dynamics GP of course).  This event helped them answer the question, “Why should I choose CAL Business Solutions as my Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner?”

This year we are offering a special session just for our “future users” called “5 Ways the Right Accounting Software Can Help You Save Time in a Busy Company”. It will give an overview and highlights of Microsoft Dynamics GP.  If you are a Connecticut company evaluating an ERP/accounting software upgrade now, or even in the distant future, I invite you to attend as my guest, at no charge.

If you can’t make it to our event in Cromwell, Connecticut another option is to attend a much larger event – Microsoft Convergence 2011. This event had more than 8,000 people this year.  In 2011 it will be held in Atlanta, Georgia the week of April 10^th. You might not necessarily get the chance to evaluate local Dynamics GP partners, but you will find thousands of current users to talk to.

So my advice to everyone who is looking for the best way to evaluate accounting/ERP software – find yourself a user group!

By CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) Partner

What is the Best Way to Research Dynamics GP Accounting Software? Ask 100 Users! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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 Many of these companies had been considering the purchase of Dynamics GP for quite some time, some as long as 3 years. And the promotion was just the incentive they needed to move forward.

 This 3 Users for $1 was honestly an unheard of deal – something I have never seen in 10 years works with Microsoft. So I don’t expect it to come around again.  However, if you are looking into the cost of accounting software, make sure that you ask about promotions you quality for. We always publish all the current Dynamics GP promotions on our website, but that is not the case with every partner.  You may have to dig a little. One insider tip is that you will always get the best chance of getting a discount from the vendor at the end of their fiscal year. (For Microsoft, this is June.  For Sage, I believe it is March.) Finding a discount may also require you to get creative, for example, ask if there are better discounts for existing customers. Such as a Buy 1 User Get 1 Free deal.  Once you buy the software, the vendor considers your company an existing customer. It could be that anything you buy the next day may be eligible for existing customer pricing. It is worth asking the question!

We look forward to helping the 29 new customers added to the CAL Business Solutions family this year to get the most benefits out of their new accounting software systems.  We are already planning our annual Connecticut Dynamics GP User Event for October 13^th which is a full day of training and networking focused on Dynamics GP. If you are in the area, plan to join us!

Honestly, after the success of FY10, I am curious to see what type of promotion Microsoft can announce in FY11 to top it!  Stay tuned to the blog for all the latest announcements. And if you are thinking of buying Microsoft Dynamics GP and want to make sure you know about all the promotions you qualify for, contact CAL Business Solutions. We love to help our clients save money.

By CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

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This week I am vacationing at a resort on the “Turiksh Riviera”.  It is an amazing place with food, fun and lots and lots of sun. I went to the hotel shop to purchase sunscreen.  The imported name brand I knew was very expensive. So I decided to buy the cheaper Turkish brand. SPF 25, water resistant etc… Sunscreen is all the same, right? Wrong! I have the red hot burn to show how wrong I was.  What I bought was some kind of white cream that looked like sunscreen, but certainly did not provide the protection of real sunscreen. I learned the hard way. Since the results were important to me I should have paid more money to get the product that I knew would fulfill my needs, from a reputable brand name that I know and trust.

Since I now have plenty of time to sit inside the hotel, out of the sun, I figured I would share my little life lesson/travel tip with you and relate it to ERP software. (Because after all, doesn’t everything in life somehow relate to ERP Software?)

Many companies I have worked with compare Microsoft Dynamics GP accounting software vs. a less well know industry specific vertical software packages.  I am certainly not going to tell you that all other accounting software except Microsoft is as worthless as Turkish sunscreen. But there are a few things i think you should keep in mind:

1) Even if the features seem the same, don’t automatically buy the cheapest product.

Accounting software all looks the same, right? General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable – money in and money out.  So some buyers assume that if they compare the cost of accounting software packages that all appear to do the same functions, they might as well choose the cheaper option.  But I think the Deloitte and Touch report mentioned in this post (Choosing an ERP System – So Many Things to Think About!) is extremely telling.  It compares the top 10 buying criteria of companies the first time they purchased ERP Software vs. the second time. The first time price was the #1 deciding factor.  The second time “Level of support from the solution provider” was #1 and price was knocked down to #5.  Experienced ERP software buyers realize that choosing the cheaper price is not always the best decision, or even the least expensive in the long run by the time you spend money to fill the gaps or repair the damage.

2) When the results really matter, don’t buy a brand you have never heard of.

When you purchase Microsoft Dynamics GP you are buying a tested, proven product from a brand name you use and trust.  You know that Microsoft has a reputation to uphold and that it will be around for the long term.  Now, I am not saying the independent brands are always inferior. I save a lot of money at the market by buying generic. But I buy generic when the results do not really matter all the much.   Accounting software is the backbone of your business, and getting the wrong product is much more than just a momentary inconvenience. So do you really want to take the chance?

3) If you are evaluating a new product, do your homework and buy from experts who care about your results.

If you are evaluating several ERP software choices you need to have someone you can trust (not just the salesman) be able to confirm that each will give you the concrete results you want. Read industry reports, ask colleges in similar industries, find case studies, read references.  And then buy the software from someone who cares if your implementation is a success. If you buy Microsoft Dynamics GP from us at CAL Business Solutions, we care if you are happy. It means the success of our business because we want you to stay a happy client for a very long time.  Look for an ERP Software partner that values its clients, check customer references and longevity. Even though I complained, I doubt very much that the Turkish shop owner cares in the slightest that I now resemble a shiny red tomato and will spend my vacation indoors.  He knows I will be gone at the end of the week. (Although I guess he has never heard of tripadvisor.com and the power of an unhappy customer with an internet connection.)

4) Buy From a Specialist

This is related to #3, but when you choose your “experts” I personally feel that you should look for a company that truly “lives and breathes” accounting/ERP software.  There are many small IT companies, even Microsoft partners, who specialize in IT support or hardware but also sell some accounting software on the side.  It is a very small percentage of their business. And they probably don’t even use the accounting software they sell to run their own business.  When I bought my sunscreen, the shop owner likely had never used it himself, and if this product is bad and nobody buys it, oh well, he can sell something else. A company that has built their business on selling and supporting a specific brand of accounting software will be truly invested in your success. CAL Business Solutions has sold Dynamics GP for since 1997 to over 200 companies – so we know it works.

5) Don’t assume that just because the product claims to have the same features,that it is telling the truth.

For example, Microsoft can not advertise features that a product does not include.  If you want to buy a “generic” software package from an independent vendor you do not have this same level of guarantee.  They may claim that the product includes a feature such as “inventory management” but are you really sure that they mean the same thing you mean? And will it provide the level of management you are expecting? Is the accounting software GAAP compliant, has it passed any kind of certifications? If you are not happy with what you purchased, will the company stand behind the product? Will they even still be around to help you?

6) Don’t buy a product made by someone who has different priorities or standards than you do.

I initially thought I had been deliberately cheated into buying worthless “snake-oil” (which I still think may be true.) But some sympathetic and wiser tourists told me that because Turkish people are naturally dark skinned, sunscreen does not have the same value or importance to them as it does to us pasty white Americans. So SPF 25 for them provides much less protection that we are used to and sometimes can even include ingredients like bleach to make the skin lighter. To them, it works just fine. To me, not so much. Same product, different expectations.  Very often, industry specific software packages are very good in one particular area of specialty (such as distribution, healthcare or staffing) but the actual financial features are weak. This is simply not what they are most concerned about.  In their minds, the industry features are the driving force and the financial features are “good enough”. But if the quality of the back office financial features really matter to you, you will not be happy with this product.  At CAL Business Solutions we feel that Microsoft Dynamics GP is the best financial software choice because it is a strong, stable, full featured backbone accounting system. But if you want more, Dynamics GP also has an open architecture so it can easily be integrated with a front office/add on system that is specific to your industry.  Everyone does what they do best and you get the results that you want.

So in conclusion, if you are looking for a great vacation resort I recommend Flora Garden Beach Club in Turkey (as long as you don’t buy the sunscreen) and if you are looking for a great ERP/accounting software recommendation contact CAL Business Solutions. 860-485-0910 or sales@calszone.com

By CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut/Massachusetts Microsoft Dynamics GP Experts.

Don’t Buy the Cheaper No-Name ERP Software (or Sunscreen) or You Could Get Burned is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Small & Casual: This restaurant was small and casual – nothing pretentious.  CAL is a small partner (19 people) in the small state of Connecticut. Our team is casual and unpretentious. You will never see anyone dressed up in a suit and tie, but we have just as much GP expertise as any other partner out there.  

BYOB: I love restaurants that are BYOB because I feel like they want to help me save money (instead of charging me $10 for a glass that I know costs $6.99 a bottle).  At CAL Business Solutions we honestly do try to find ways for our clients to save money. This could be by replacing GP licenses with less expensive ISV users. Or recommending the Business Essentials version vs. the Advanced Management version. Or simply by not padding our bill with unnecessary time.  Again and again, clients have told us that they choose to work with us because we are fair and we don’t try to oversell or overcharge.

Live Music: Restaurants don’t need to offer live music. But sometimes they do because they know it will make their customers happy.  CAL Business Solutions doesn’t need to offer monthly GP Tips & Tricks newsletters, thank you referral gifts or annual GP user events – but we do it because we feel that it adds value to our customers and makes them happy.

Owner Involvement: Throughout the evening the owner  of the restaurant came over to our table to ask if we were enjoying the meal.   The owner of CAL Business Solutions, George Mackiewicz, is personally involved with every client. We don’t have a sales team, George sells the product and then stands behind it himself to make sure it is delivered as he promised. And he checks regularly to make sure our clients are happy.

Amazing Employees: The staff at this restaurant was friendly and they seemed to have a good time working with each other.  At CAL Business Solutions, our team members are genuinely nice people who look out for our customers.  You can’t figure that out by reading an RFP – you need to get a taste for yourself by meeting the people personally.  We invite prospects to come to our office or attend our user Dynamics GP events so they can see our team in action.

So when it comes to choosing a Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP/accounting software partner, remember that it is not always the biggest partner with the flashiest marketing campaigns and the most awards that are the best choice. Dig a little deeper and look for the “hidden gem”.  Not only will you have a great experience, you will feel compelled to tell other people about it too.

So if you are ever near Worcester, Massachusetts make sure you stop for dinner at Lucky’s Café. And if you are looking for the best Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner, contact CAL Business Solutions.

By Anya Ciecierski, CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut & Massachusetts Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

When Choosing an ERP Software Partner Sometimes The “Hidden Gem” Is Better Than the “Top 10” is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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The first Convergence event was held in Orlando in 1997. There were 150 people, 24 sessions and 15 exhibitors. Convergence 2010 featured nearly 400 sessions, 240 exhibitors and 8, 500 attendees. Many of the partners here have attended every Convergence since 1997 – what a difference!  It was officially announced today that Microsoft Convergence 2011 will be back here in Atlanta the week of April 10, 2011 – which is sure to set new records.

Every year we encourage our Microsoft Dynamics GP clients to attend this annual event.  I am looking forward to inviting our new Dynamics GP clients who have been able to take advantage of the fantastic 3 Dynamics GP Users for $1 promotion – all the money they saved on software licenses can be set aside for Convergence 2011.

Based on the fact that our clients here mentioned the ISV Expo (showcasing the Add On ISV Products you can connect to Dynamics GP) as the #1 benefit of attending, I am going to encourage more of my clients to attend next year on a day pass or guest pass – which is considerably less expensive than a full conference pass. The guest pass allows you to attend the ISV Expo, Keynote and Convergence welcome event (which is a great party!).  This may be a way for even more of our clients and team members to join us for Convergence 2011.

Here is some feedback from the clients and our team who attended this year:

“The ISV Expo hall is the best part of Convergence. You can have an interactive dialog with the product developers and decide what tools will fit your needs, there is no better way to get this information.” Jen – Connecticut based healthcare company.

“We realized how much more we can do with Dynamics GP now that we have seen what is out there.” Andrew, Connecticut based leasing company

“If you are looking for a particular solution to work with Dynamics GP, like document management for example, you can go to the expo and see several options, from $1k to $100k. You can see them all at once, instead of spending days researching online.” George, Connecticut based professional services company.

“I got value from the training sessions as a first time attendee, particularly the Dynamics Tips & Tricks sessions. I have a lot to bring back home with me, besides the xBox I won today!” Michael, Connecticut based leasing company.

We hope to see you back in Atlanta in April for Convergence 2011.

by CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut and Massachusetts Micorsoft Dynamics GP Partner

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In the past, ORLive used a DOS based accounting software called Data 2000, however this system did not give them any project accounting features.  This successful company would manage as many as 75 projects simultaneously – each with long timelines, and complicated contracts that effected their ability to invoice for their services.  Yet all the project cost information was being tracked in spreadsheets.  They had a large number of people entering time that was not accurately linked to specific projects and they had difficulty tracking the individual costs associated with each project. All of this made it difficult to determine if individual projects were profitable.  They wanted to upgrade their system to include project costing functionality as well as integration to other Microsoft tools used within the organization such as Microsoft Sharepoint.  They needed accounting software for a professional services organization – and the answer was Microsoft Dynamics GP + Olympic Project Cost.

 “Revenue Recognition Used to Take 3 Days, Now It Takes 1 Hour”

A key part of the project was the revenue recognition report.  The billing for each project was on a set payment schedule that was outlined in the contract – but each was unique.  Previously, they used to use a massive unwieldy 40 page spreadsheet that was built by their CPA firm.  The team at CAL Business Solutions did an in depth analysis to fully understand their process, and recreated the revenue recognition report within their Microsoft Dynamics GP system. Now the system automates the collection of time, status of projects and percentage of completion and figures out how much to bill the client.   “We access this report right from our main menu using a shortcut, it is seamless for us.” Says Richard Meyer, Director of Finance.  “It used to take the finance team 3 days to go through all the contracts and events and contract revenue and manually enter the data into the spreadsheet.  Because of the time involved, this was done only done a year. Now, using Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains), the process takes no more than one hour and is done once a month.

“Tracking Project Costs Makes Us More Profitable”

ORLive employees now use the time tracker function in Olympic as the primary time clock. What used to be a manual process is now automated and people on the road can enter their time remotely.  Using Olympic Project Cost with Microsoft Dynamics GP makes it easy for ORLive to drill down into the details of each project. They can determine not just the time associated with a project, but all the costs and tasks related to it the effect the final bottom line.  Reports generated by Olympic Project Cost are used by the management team to make strategic decisions.   “Using Dynamics GP with Olympic we know the profitability of each project, whereas before we only  knew the profitability of the entire company.  Having a complete view of project costs has improved our ability to price new projects for profit and manage individual projects more closely. ” says Richard Meyer.

“Easily Move Information into Excel”

ORLive appreciates that they have the ability to easily move information back and forth from Microsoft Dynamics GP and Olympic to Microsoft Excel.  “I am a big advocate of the Smartlist feature in GP.  Using Smartlists I can drop information from Dynamics GP into Excel where I have built calculations, metrics and comparisons. I can produce professional looking financial statements in different versions  for different people.  And if they have questions on a specific GL item, using Smartlist I can send them the item detail they need.”  Says Richard Meyer.  “The reporting and budgeting features within Microsoft Dynamics GP are very strong. The system is easy to use and I can quickly identify any issues and correct them.”

“A Business Partner We Can Rely On”

Richard Meyer comments, “Working with CAL has been a very positive experience.  The staff is responsive. When we have unique problems or request modifications they have generally been researched and fixed within 48 hours.”

Because of their strong development experience, the team at CAL Business Solutions was able create the custom reports ORLive required and successfully connect Olympic Project Cost.  In the future, with the help of CAL and Connecticut Computer Services,  ORLive plans to connect their Microsoft Dynamics GP system to their Microsoft SharePoint system for a complete project management solution.

If you are a professional services organization looking for an affordable, easy to use system that will help you manage projects, but not be overwhelming, contact CAL Business Solutions.

By CAL Business Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner serving Connecticut and Massachusetts

Connecticut Professional Services Company Uses Microsoft Dynamics GP Plus Olympic Project Cost to Increase the Profitability of Each Project is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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But if you purchase a Microsoft Dynamics GP system, which runs on the industry standard Microsoft SQL database, you can feel confident that it can integrate with almost anything else out there.   At CAL Business Solutions we feel this is one of our specialties – getting GP to integrate with other systems, no matter how unusual they may be. We have the flexibility to do this because we work with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

And don’t forget, if you buy the less expensive Business Essentials version of GP you can always “trade up” to the more advanced version (called Microsoft Dynamics GP Advanced Management) OR  to any of the other Dynamics ERP Products (AX, SL, NAV) and get a FULL investment credit.   How often does that happen in life?  (Go ahead, use it for years and then trade it in and we’ll give you back what you paid for it!) 

So plan for the unexpected, buy an ERP system that is easy to integrate and easy to customize.  You can definitely have a sense of security when investing in a Microsoft product.

By CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) Partner

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By CAL Business Solutions, Dynamics GP Partner serving Connecticut, CT

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Jason uses lots of figures and equations (sure to make a CFO’s heart go pitter pat) but bottom line is that his research shows that “NetSuite says for Q1 they added 240 customers at an ASP of $25,500 and that 65 of those customers paid over $100,000. The only way the math works is if the remaining 175 new customers on average paid NetSuite -$2,171 each.”

Interesting research Jason!

by CAL Business Solutions – Connecticut Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

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