Don’t underestimate the work that needs to be done when purchasing a new ERP system such as Dynamics GP.  With a whole new system being put in place there are many things that can cause problems, some of which are not necessarily intuitive. Critical delays and added costs could turn what would be a successful implementation into a disaster. To thwart this from being your experience, consider enlisting the help of a Value-Added Reseller. While your IT staff is top notch, unless they’ve done implementations for GP before, they must work as a team with the VAR to ensure success.

Here’s a countdown of the top 5 reasons to use a VAR:

1. Prevention—If the VAR has encountered snags in the installation process, they can work to prevent them from happening or mitigate the issues.
2. Mapping—The VAR will help you map out the settings of the application. Many of which need to be decided before using the system such as:

• How the Chart of Accounts will be set up
• How you want the transactions from the sub ledgers to post to the general ledger
• How security within the application should be set up for good internal control

1. Resources— The VAR have resources that can manipulate data from the current system and will ensure that the information is loaded in correctly.
2. Experience—Dynamics GP is designed with a lot of flexibility to accommodate add-on modules. The VAR have experience in dealing with 3rd party add-on applications. They can also recommend 3^rd party apps if the business has a different way of handling transactions.
3. Training—While Dynamics GP is a great ERP system, it is not something that you can just pick up and intuitively know how it works. The VAR will have the capacity to provide user and administrator training.

Don’t use price alone to determine who you are going to go with for your VAR.  Ask questions about their user experience. Make your own list of needs your company has. Prioritize your most important problems that must to be solved and go from there. When building your house, you use a building contractor; when starting a business you need a model in place. In this same way, a VAR will be the best guiding hand to starting up a Dynamics GP implementation, giving you the right tools to dive in.

About the Author:

Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx, a Certified Microsoft Partner. Journyx maximizes the value of Microsoft Dynamics by adding enterprise time tracking. Journyx Accountlink for Microsoft Dynamics allows companies to quickly implement a complete time tracking solution using existing business data in Dynamics. Connect with Curt on Google+.

by Journyx

October 25, 2013 by Curt Finch, Journyx

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Posted in About Microsoft Dynamics GP, Choosing a VAR/Partner | Comments Off on The Importance of Being Implemented: Using a VAR for Dynamics GP

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