There are so many ways to define “expert.” There is of course "how people perceive you" as in your reputation, but there is also “how expert are you?” You may not have a blog or lots of Dynamics GP cronies to solicit opinions from and yet have 12 years of daily consulting work you've done in the Dynamics GP toolset.The goal of this blog post is more to entertain than to educate, but we do take the “expert” thing seriously when it comes to Dynamics GP. What people think is not always what is real.1. You press the Control Key and the L key together when wanting a field to give you possible values from programs that are NOT Dynamics GP.2. You respond in endless detail, about the pros and cons of creating a new report in GP Report … [Read more...] about 5 Ways to Tell If You are a Dynamics GP Expert
Convergence 2011
We are on our way to Microsoft’s Convergence 2011 in Atlanta now. It’s an exciting time for Dynamics SL partners. We have not seen a significant feature upgrade to Dynamics SL for at least a few years. This version seems to be adding a lot of needed functionality.Dynamics GP has a wonderful capability called “Smartlists.” The tool is baked into the system manager and allows for easy fetching of data-without having to know table and field names within the database. The Dynamics SL version of “Smartlists” will be called “Quick Query”. It will be nice to see this.Many of our larger clients attend Convergence and so it is always pleasant to be able to say “thanks” to the organizations that we work so closely with.Another feature set … [Read more...] about Convergence 2011
Convergence 2011 in Atlanta
Convergence is a wonderful event-especially for those users that have either Dynamics GP or Dynamics CRM. This year users of Dynamics SL will get their money’s worth as there is a nice new release of Dynamics SL that is adding, for the first time in a while, substantive improvements to the software that will make for a much better product.Some of the tips I would give you for attending Convergence 2011 would be to plan out who you want to meet with and get the meetings set up ahead of time. If you wait until you are down there, you probably will not be able to schedule a meeting with the people you want to see as they may not be there when you are or have an already full calendar for those days.Look carefully at the sessions and make … [Read more...] about Convergence 2011 in Atlanta
Microsoft Dynamics Light Users
Most employees in organizations cannot access critical business data they need within business management solutions.The Microsoft Dynamics Light User is a partial access license for users without full-client access to Dynamics GP, and Dynamics SL. At $195, it’s a cost effective way to give your employees the financial, human resources, and operational information they need with software they already use – Excel, Outlook, and Word.Dynamics GP 2010 and Dynamics SL 2011 include Dynamics Light Users in both the Business Essentials and Advanced Management editions. Dynamics Light Users contain a great deal of functionality at a low cost, including business portal solutions, reporting, and database accessibility. Capabilities of Named … [Read more...] about Microsoft Dynamics Light Users
Accounting Software Completeness
Over the years, I’ve seen often the battle in accounting software being won by the vendors that offer the most “completeness.”It was the completeness of Dynamics GP that has helped it to gain such a dominant position here in the United States. Not only does Dynamics GP have a complete offering of financial modules, and distribution modules, the product also possesses the most impressive list of ISV’s (Independent Software Vendors) ever assembled for the mid-market accounting and ERP space.To be specific with GP, modules such as Collections Management, National Accounts (parent/child invoicing and payment application), Grant Management, and Analytical Accounting, don’t exist on most competitors’ price lists in the mid-market.Dynamics … [Read more...] about Accounting Software Completeness
Sales Commissions Ideas and Payment Methods
When you support accounting software, you get a good feeling for how many different ways people pay their sales commissions. Some are straight forward, and some are so complex that they have to be done in a Excel.Like most things that are motivating, simple is better with sales commissions.Generally there are (to me) four rules that make sense to follow. Your best bet with salespeople is the same as it is with every other type of hire.First, you need to find someone that is going to do the right thing for clients-regardless of how you pay them. Part of doing the right thing is truly understanding the clients issues and your potential solutions.Second, paying only “when paid” makes sense. It is more difficult to compute but … [Read more...] about Sales Commissions Ideas and Payment Methods
Multi-Company or Multi-Facility Automated Transactions
There are a number of solid programs to automate Multi-Company transactions in good accounting software and ERP programs. One of the best is Dynamics SL. Who really likes making lots of journal entries at the end of a month to keep balance sheets in balance by organization?What I like about this one is that it works great on the Accounts Receivable side as well-not just General Ledger and Accounts Payable. It also is a module that not only is available without having to go third party or ISV (Independent Software Vendor), but is available in the less expensive Business Essentials option of Dynamics SL.Dynamics GP has nice features for Multi-Company if you are mostly interested in having those transactions automated on the general … [Read more...] about Multi-Company or Multi-Facility Automated Transactions
Integrating CRM and ERP
Which data typically gets re-keyed from CRM to ERP and vice-versa?For most organizations it is adding a new customer or vendor as well as changing an address for a customer or vendor. Most people would like this integration to work both ways regardless of where the new customer or change in address occurs. Most organizations want only a few people to be able to add vendors.New projects to bill time against and sales orders are not far behind in demand from users of both a CRM and an ERP product.We have worked on large and small ERP/CRM integration projects with a capable CRM Consulting firm with a local office here in Minneapolis. Their name is PowerObjects. They wanted to see project actuals, project budgets, and estimated to … [Read more...] about Integrating CRM and ERP
Qualities of the Right ERP Consultant
Our business has the same problems that many consulting organizations have that support more than one ERP product.While prospects like choice and being recommended the appropriate product, consulting organizations go through frequent periods where consultants on product A are too busy while consultants on product B are not busy enough…then 6 months later…the opposite is often the case.Clients want consultants who know their products intimately. If the consultant has 8-10 years of experience with the product they are helping with—that’s ideal for client and consultant.I will say that Boyer & Associates was a more profitable organization when we had three consultants on staff that considered themselves ERP consultants rather than a … [Read more...] about Qualities of the Right ERP Consultant
Why is Microsoft’s Dynamics GP so unsettling to competition?
When you watch Netsuite videos poking fun at Dynamics GP-you realize how threatening GP is to its competition. They are making fun of Fargo and it is a little funny-but there’s a bigger purpose to the teasing.Microsoft’s competition is trying to make their point about cloud computing, and maybe have some fun too at Fargo’s expense (like the movie). The impression I was left with is that competitors want to appear to be harmlessly teasing; they are however poorly hiding their fear of the Microsoft competition. Below are the reasons I believe GP still unsettles competitors:1. Dynamics GP has 42,000 active organizations using GP and paying maintenance on the product. This is an enormous number considering that hundreds of thousands of … [Read more...] about Why is Microsoft’s Dynamics GP so unsettling to competition?
