The Rapid Tools suite consists of the Rapid Migration tool and the Rapid Configuration Tool. 

The Rapid Migration Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP v2.0 quickly converts key Intuit QuickBooks company data or Sage Peachtree accounting company data to Microsoft Dynamics GP within an easy-to-use interface. Customers using QuickBooks (Pro (2003 – 2008), Premier (2003 – 2008), Enterprise (3.0 – 8.0)) and Peachtree (2009 – 2010) versions of Pro, Complete, and Premium benefit from the tool’s ability to efficiently migrate the following data:
• Master Records: Accounts (including opening balances), Customers, Vendors, Items, Employees
• Open Transactions*: Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, Payables, Receivables, Inventory (including inventory levels)
• Configuration Settings: Company Address, Customer Type, Payment Terms, Shipping Methods, Sales Tax, Vendor Type, Fiscal Years

The Rapid Configuration Tool is used for creating settings and data such as the chart of accounts, fiscal years, payment terms, shipping methods, taxes, core financial and distribution module setup, and more can be quickly set up using this tool.  Select from 13 pre-configured industry types, or create a custom configuration, using a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 template.  With a familiar and easy to understand interface, this tool will save lots of time during the configuration phase of the implementation.

Minimizing the amount of time and effort needed to configure your new Dynamics GP 2010 system, and migrating your master records and open transactions from your source system, means your new system is up and running in less time and effort.  This approach will leave additional time and resources available, which can be dedicated to those tasks and activities that can produce better results.  Work with your consulting partner to maximize your return on business intelligence and analytics, implement best practices and processes, deliver advanced training for your staff, and much more.

By TMC, your Southern California Dynamics GP partner.

Looking For A Rapid Migration to Dynamics GP 2010 From QuickBooks Or Peachtree? is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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During the creation of a new customer, vendor or item card, assigning that new record to a Class will automatically default the class values to the new record.  This can make setup easier and ensures that important fields have the default value for that field.  For instance, if your company initially offers a specified, or an unlimited, credit limit to your customers, this credit limit value can default from the class.  In the Vendor class, a Tax Type of “Miscellaneous” can default for classes used for consultants or outside services, thus flagging them as 1099 vendors and ensuring that payments to those vendors are captured from the first transaction.  Payment Terms and Maximum Write Off amounts (commonly used features available on both the Vendor and Customer Class setups), can be automatically added to new Customer or Vendor records..

Inventory Item Classes are also capable of creating defaults for new items.  The Item Type (Inventory, Service, Fee, Misc., etc.), Valuation Method (FIFO Perpetual, LIFO Periodic or Standard), and Quantity and Currency Decimals can default from the Item Class to be sure that the proper options are selected during the creation of a new item.  These values cannot be changed after the item is saved so it is important to select the appropriate option from the start.  Unit of Measure, Price Groups, Price Levels, tax options and User-defined Categories are among the other options available to default from the Item Class.

General Ledger Distribution Account defaults can be set up by class.  This feature is frequently used on the Item Class where Inventory, Sales, Cost of Goods Sold, etc. accounts vary for different classes of items or on the Customer Class when groups of customers are assigned to different Sales, Cost of Goods Sold, etc. accounts.  If groups of vendors or customers use different Accounts Receivable (AR) or Accounts Payable (AP) control accounts, they can default from the class to reduce data entry errors.  If a company only uses one control account, the company-wide default can be set up in the Posting Accounts setup and then the accounts that vary by groups can default to the cards from the class.

Only options generally common to the assigned master records should be selected on the Class Setups and all other fields can be left blank.  For most companies, Maintain History check boxes should normally be selected on all class setups.

During the setup of a new Customer, Vendor, or Item card, the default values from the selected class will populate the appropriate fields.  The default values can be overridden manually for the options that are specific to that customer, vendor, or item.  During transaction entry, GP only pulls defaulting values from the card – never from the class.

If all of the master records that have been assigned to a class always use the same options, changes to all assigned records can be made from the class and rolled down (“pushed”) to the cards assigned to that class.  This feature can only be used if options are never overridden on individual cards because all defaulting values from the class – including blanks – will be pushed to the assigned cards.

Many GP standard reports, inquiries and utilities allow users to select customers, vendors, or items by class.  AR and AP aging reports can be run by class or a range of classes.  If a company uses multiple AR or AP GL control accounts, it is possible to use the class assignments to create aging reports to help reconcile the subsidiary ledgers to those accounts.  Vendor classes can be used during check selection which is particularly valuable if, for instance, you want to pay your employees or some other group of vendors in a separate check run.  Also, several utilities allow the user to select records by class or range of classes – notably, items can be assigned to sites by class range and stock counts can be created by class range.  If you want to be able to select ranges of classes, it is important to create a Class ID naming scheme that will allow you to select a range of similar classes while excluding others.

By using classes wisely, your company can ensure that important fields are populated, reduce data entry errors during master record creation, and improve your reporting options.

Posted By:  TMC, your Los Angeles CA Dynamics GP Partner.

With Dynamics GP, Classes Matter! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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 “Luck is the residue of design” – Branch Rickey

 Successful ERP implementation projects don’t just happen and they are not merely the result of good luck.  They are the product of good design, proper planning and project management, and the hard work of a dedicated team of professionals. 

All too often, the initial decision for which ERP system will be selected is far too focused on price, and the end results of the implementation project get lost in the negotiation.  The initial enthusiasm from saving some small percentage of the total cost is soon swamped by the realization that the technology partner you have selected is unable to deliver on their commitment.

There are many ways to approach the implementation of your new accounting system, and not surprisingly, some approaches work far better than others.  Choices can include: slavishly mimicking the “demo company”, “following what worked at the last implementation we did”, “I read about this approach in a book” and other similar methods.  Not surprisingly, these approaches produce exactly the results would expect.

Here are the five critical steps in a successful implementation of your new accounting system:

 Analyze, Plan and Understand – Start at the beginning.  The first step in the implementation process should begin with a thorough review of your business requirements and processes, to identify what is working well and which aspects of your business that may need improvement and refinement.  These business requirements will then be mapped into your project plan, which will drive the remainder of the implementation.

1. Design, Develop and Build – Using the project plan produced in Step 1, your implementation team will next proceed to build your pilot system.  This is used to validate those business processes and system functionality detailed in the project plan.
2. Train, Test and Accept – Building on the lessons learned in the pilot system and using test data migrated from your previous system, Step 3 includes teaching your staff the best practices and procedures to deliver the required functionality.  Results from this testing and training period need to be reviewed and a sign-off should be secured, stating that the progress made to date is acceptable and in line with the overall goals of the implementation.
3. Implement and Go-Live – Working from the knowledge obtained in Steps 2 and 3, your new accounting system should now be complete.  Your legacy data is migrated a final time to the new system and all of the experience and resources of the project team are on-site and ready to make the final transition to the new system.
4. Ongoing Support – With the successful launch of your new system, your technology partner should now continue to provide on-going support.  This can be delivered through a help-desk, along with the application of any new updates.  Many consulting companies cal also provide free webinars and user group sessions.

 As these 5 implementation steps are carried out, beginning with a broad based and all-encompassing perspective of both your internal and external operating environments, the focus of the implementation project is then continuously narrowed to produce exactly the system that is required to meet and exceed the business objectives that have been defined. 

 These five steps represent distinct phases of the implementation project, and they move in succession.  Equally important, however, are those ongoing activities and functions that a successful implementation must include.  These are:

1. Project Management – All aspects of the implementation must be tracked by the Project Manager, whose responsibilities include task assignments, resource availability, project documentation, budget and timeline oversight, and communication among all of the project team members.
2. Systems Support – Before your project can get under way, a thorough review of the existing infrastructure must be completed.  This review of the current systems infrastructure will ensure that the optimum delivery of data and analysis is met.  Systems support also provides specific recommendations for the required hardware and software infrastructure.
3. Consulting Services – Be sure to focus on all of the aspects of your business, including Business Process Review, recommendations for Best Practices, detailed delivery of training and procedures, testing of the pilot and production systems, development of custom reports.  A complete examination of your business environment my identify additional opportunities for improvements.
4. Development Services – Creation, testing and support for custom enhancements and applications, coordination of integrations to existing legacy systems and planned intefaces to other Line of Business systems, custom reporting, dashboards and internal web-sites.

 The successful implementation of your new ERP system will not be the result of luck or chance.  Managed properly, it should be the culmination of the design of the implementation approach, and the dedication and effort of the project team members.  Be sure to select an implementation partner that follows an implementation approach that is based on best practices and their proven results, utilizing a methodology that is rooted in deep experience and knowledge of how to be successful.

 By TMC, your Los Angeles Microsoft Dynamics GP partner

5 Steps to a Successful Implementation of Your New Accounting System is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Building a Restaurant Business Intelligence Solution built on Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) can provide all of the reporting and management capabilities needed to keep your restaurant(s) operating smoothly.  With detailed integrations pulling in current data from both the POS and back office accounting system, your financial management team can efficiently access all of the information they need, all from a single, full-featured ERP system.

Restaurant Business Intelligence Solution

The goal of a restaurant business intelligence solution is to enable managers at unit, district, regional, and corporate levels to evaluate on-going performance and optimize their operations. By using the business intelligence tools of Microsoft Dynamics GP, financial managers can look at all of the data that is critical for their decision-making processes.  Additionally, business decision makers can quickly perform the analysis and provide the results they are seeking, with reports delivered via Microsoft Excel, SQL Reporting Services and Sharepoint.  Provide this important information in a comfortable environment, all with minimal training, using familiar Microsoft tools and interfaces.

The main benefits of a Restaurant Business Intelligence Solution:

Improved Communication and Collaboration

Restaurants using a business intelligence solution built on the Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP system will benefit from improved communication and collaboration, including:

• More effective communication between corporate offices and individual stores.
• Quicker access to real-time data.
• Immediate access to relevant information through a personalized dashboard. 

Track Performance More Efficiently

By using a restaurant business intelligence solution, restaurant managers can easily track key performance indicators across many different dimensions. Additional benefits include the ability to:

• Identify key trends in specific markets more easily.
• Address issues related to performance.
• Track performance at corporate and unit levels.

Better Business Decision Making

Access to real-time data is a prerequisite to making smart business decisions. With a restaurant business intelligence solution, managers and employees can benefit from:

• Accessing meaningful reports to more easily track trends.
• Identifying and addressing issues at corporate and store levels.
• Analyzing data in response to market trends.
• Manage and Control restaurant expenses.

With volumes of granular data, restaurateurs need to be able to analyze their business’  performance quickly, to respond to an ever-changing marketplace.  Unfortunately, many enterprises rely on proprietary database solutions that require batch reports to be manually created, resulting in the analysis of stale data.  Restaurant Business Intelligence Solutions based on the Microsoft Dynamics GP system provide restaurant management the tools they need for real-time restaurant performance analysis. The end result is lower costs and quicker identification of key business trends, which helps keep them ahead of their competition.

By TMC, Los Angeles Dynamics GP partner, specializing in restaurant accounting.

4 Reasons Why Restaurants Cook with Microsoft Dynamics GP is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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In most companies, the task of capturing data in the form of business transactions, is relegated to a fairly small percentage of the total workforce.  In many companies, as few as 15% of the total workforce might have direct access to the company’s accounting system.  (Actually, the 15% figure represents those employees that have a User ID and password.  Typically, about half of these employees actually USE their system).  This leaves 85% of your workforce (and perhaps as many as 93%) with no direct access to the accounting system, the data it holds, and the information they need.

Accounting systems are, by their very nature, very good at capturing data such as payables transactions, accounts receivable and cash receipts.  Every day, your systems are capturing more and more data.  But capturing raw data is only a small part of the total needs and requirements for an ERP system.  It is the ability to transform that data into information, and to then make that information readily available to your decision makers, that is the true measure.

How then, do those 93% of your employees get the information they need to make decisions and run the business?  Choices include: paper reports, produced and distributed by the accounting staff?  E-mails and inter-office requests?  Casual conversations in the hallways?  How many decisions are being made without the benefit of access to the data already in your system?

With Microsoft Dynamics GP, we are committed to “extending the reach” of the accounting system.  By converting all of the data in the system into actionable information, made readily available to the entire workforce, and easily accessible thru their preferred software productivity suite. 

Businesses need solutions that reflect the way people really work—the tasks they perform, the information they use, the tools and formats that make sense for their individual jobs and that help them work more productively. The guiding principles behind Microsoft Dynamics GP are designed to meet those needs. They are the foundation for a solution that offers a personalized user experience, deep interoperability with the applications people use every day, and deployment options that fit customers’ specific organizational needs.

Microsoft Dynamics GP and the Microsoft® Office system work together to help people optimize productivity, access and analyze information, and collaborate and connect secure­ly across the entire organization—regardless of whether they’re working in Microsoft Dynamics GP or other applications. Microsoft Dynamics GP combines robust business management capabilities with products and technologies that include:

Microsoft Office system productivity, analysis, and communications applications, including Office Excel, Office Word, Office Outlook, and Office PowerPoint.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, offering powerful collaboration, workflow, and document management that reaches across internal teams, departments, and beyond to customers, suppliers, and partners.

Additional Microsoft Office system products and technologies, including Office Visio, Office InfoPath, Microsoft MapPoint, and more.

With Microsoft Dynamics GP, people can review, edit, and manipulate data using Office Excel, one of the world’s most familiar spreadsheet applications. By taking advantage of Office Excel for data analysis, people working within Microsoft Dynamics GP can quickly provide information to decision makers and stakeholders who aren’t logged into the system, extending business intelligence across the entire organization.

Communicate with your Customers, Vendors and Employees using Office Word as your letter writing tool.  Connected to your Dynamics GP database, quickly and easily create letters and deliver them via e-mail with Office Outlook.

Your employees can now access the information they need to make decisions and move your business forward with the tools and software available on 95% of the desktops in American businesses.

Minimize the learning curve, and eliminate the fear of the unknown, for new employees.  Significantly reduce the strain on your accounting and finance team, as they will no longer be the primary report-generation and report-delivery group for your company.

We have provided an outstanding White Paper on the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 to Extend the Reach within your organization.

 By TMC – Southern California Dynamics GP Partner

How Using the Right Accounting Software Can Improve Your Decision Making by 93%! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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• Conduct a Business Process Review – Document the processes you are currently conducting in the course of business.  Focus on the How, Who, What and Why on individual tasks and processes within your business.
• Perform a Gap Analysis -Working with your internal project team and the results of your Business Process Review, conduct a detailed gap analysis, in which you identify any differences between your current software’s functionality and your business needs.  For example, your accounting team needs a 13^th accounting period to record adjustments, and your current system only accommodate 12 periods.  Gaps can be “bridged” by making changes to your requirements, modifying your internal processes or by developing customizations to your software.  The results of your Gap Analysis can also be used to measure any proposed replacements systems.
• Consider your time horizon – Carefully consider both the short and long-term needs of your company.  If you are considering any customizations (based on your Gap Analysis), don’t forget to include the additional costs of maintaining the customizations required as new versions of the software package are released.  These costs can be significant; in many cases the cost to upgrade the customization can be equal to the initial development cost.
• Cost – Benefit Analysis.  Analyze your proposed solution and be certain that your benefits will exceed your costs.  If the anticipated benefits do not exceed the expected costs, review your decisions and selections to identify areas where costs can be reduced.  At all costs, avoid those situations where you are spending dollars to measure pennies.
• Embrace change – Expand your perspective to include addressing changes to your current processes at the same time you are exploring a new software package.  Strive to identify and adopt “best practices” for your internal processes, rather than simply continuing to use new software to continue your old practices.  Your Gap Analysis can identify areas that require a process improvement rather than a change to the software.

At the conclusion of your internal development of your functional requirements and a Gap Analysis, you now have the basis for analyzing potential replacements to your existing system.  (If you are concerned that your own staff lacks either the appropriate available time of skill set to conduct these activities on your own, consider engaging with an outside consultant to assist you).  Carefully measure any candidate for their ability to bridge your gaps, support the adoption of best practices for those internal processes that need improvement, and look for a minimal amount of customization.  The knowledge you have gained about what you currently have and what you will require, both in the present and in the future, will greatly increase the chance for a successful implementation of a new system.

The functional requirements you have developed can also be used to identify your Critical Success Factors.  These are defined as the set of requirements that absolutely must be met for your project to be judged as successful.  A failure to adequately address any one of these could potentially jeopardize the project or the company itself.  All of your potential candidates for the new system must be measured against your functional requirements and your Critical Success Factors.  Separate the remaining functional requirements into two additional categories; Need to Have and Nice to Have.

It is crucial when selecting your Critical Success Factors that the expectations for the systems being considered remain realistic.  It is too easy to become distracted by a search for the system that can do everything you want, and to dismiss a system that successfully does everything you need.

Frequently, however, the search for a new ERP system can get bogged down, for a variety of reasons, and you end up being unable to reach a decision.  At this point, the momentum for your project is reduced, and eventually, can dissipate entirely.  All too often, this loss of momentum and the inability to reach a decision is the result of the pursuit of the “perfect” solution rather than the “optimal” solution.

Put another way, don’t let the search for the “Best Solution Possible”, which may well be one of the systems you are currently evaluating, be turned into a search for the “Best Possible Solution”, which either may not exist or may be cost-prohibitive.

With Microsoft Dynamics GP, we strive to deliver the Best Solution Possible, at a low total cost, utilizing the products that you are familiar with, and leveraging the other systems you already have in place.

By TMC – Southern California Dynamics GP Partner

Dynamics GP – The Best Solution Possible? is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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During the evaluation process of the potential replacements, many factors come into play:  System cost, the product’s functionality, a reputation for stability and effectiveness, and the ability to migrate the historical data from the old system.  All of these considerations are valid, and should be a part of the purchase decision.

One more vital consideration, however, should be your company’s employees, both current and future.  Will the new system be something that is familiar to your employees?  Will the employees readily adopt the new system?  It can be both very frustrating, and very expensive, to go through the implementation process only to see the new system languish due to a lack of “buy-in” from your staff.

Microsoft Dynamics GP is modeled on, and tightly integrated into, those products most familiar to your workers:  Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook.  By adopting the look and feel of Outlook, and using Word and Excel as the primary communications and reporting tools, Dynamics GP can dramatically increase the successful adoption of a new system, resulting in satisfied and productive employees.

By TMC – Southern California Dynamics GP Partner

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Intuit’s Quickbooks has many things to offer to many businesses, but if you are counting financial periods, the count will end at 12.  Quickbooks can only accommodate 12 periods in a year, so for any business that wants to keep track of more than that, Quickbooks has just hit the wall.

There are many reasons to consider using more than 12 periods in a fiscal year.  Adopting a fiscal calendar of 13 periods, with each period consisting of exactly 4 weeks, allows for more accurate comparisons between periods.  Consider a retail establishment or a restaurant, where the majority of their business is conducted on the weekends.  To compare a month that has 4 weekends to a month that has 5 weekends can produce very misleading results.

Many companies do need more than 12 periods in a year.  Any company that wants to include a fiscal calendar that has a 13^th period for adjusting purposes, or a manufacturing concern that wants to use a weekly period (often is a 4-4-5 calendar), will have to look outside Quickbooks for a solution.

Microsoft Dynamics GP offers far more flexibility than Quickbooks, offering the capacity to accommodate as many as 368 fiscal periods in a fiscal year.  That works out to daily fiscal periods, plus leap-years, plus two adjusting periods!  No matter what fiscal period definition your company requires, Dynamics GP can provide the solution you need.

 By TMC – Southern California Dynamics GP Partner

13 Reasons to say “Good-bye” to Quickbooks and “Hello” to Dynamics GP is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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