Plan for Growth with your Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP System

Just like a home, your ERP solution is in need of continual investment.  If neglected, your system will grow organizationally irrelevant and will be of little use in day-to-day operations and decision-making.  It is imperative that your system changes and grows as the organization it supports changes and grows.  You may be able to do these maintenance items with your current system but if not, keep in mind that Microsoft Dynamics GP can get you through these obstacles easily: 

 1.  Chart of Accounts - invariably, your business will evolve.  This can occur through new products and services, divestitures and acquisitions or simply organic growth.  Regardless of the way your business changes, it is important that your chart of accounts follows suit.  Changing your chart of accounts does not need to be an annual initiative, however it is something that a business leader needs to anticipate and review intently every few years.  The Dynamics GP system allows you to expand your segments or number of characters as your needs change.  You can also use add-on tools to combine and modify accounts going forward.

 2.  Management Turnover - as leaders within your organization change, so too must your ERP solution.  Different people require different information to perform their jobs, and therefore your solution must be flexible to accommodate.  Additionally, the team supporting your ERP solution must be flexible when new requests surface.  Using current tools will enable this flexibility.  There are different types of business intelligence that may be required and Business Portal and SharePoint as well as Microsoft SQL reporting services can broaden your BI offerings.

 3.  User Turnover - members of your core ERP will assume new responsibilities, leave for new opportunities or simply need new challenges.  To support this form of change, it is important to invest in your ERP solution via continual user training.  Failure to do so can result in a product that lacks extensibility and usefulness.  Investment in training will reveal new tools and ways for your team to present financial and operational data.  Dynamics GP customers can access hundreds of free online training courses 24 x 7 and also download the training manuals for additional review.  Your partner can also provide customized training and support or classroom training.

 We recommend that you establish an internal expectation rooted in continual review and improvement of your ERP application.  Doing so ensures application relevance and establishes your solution as a power decision-making tool.

 By Tim Thompson, Director of Account Services, at your Chicago Area Microsoft Gold Certified Dynamics GP Partner, Crestwood Associates