Dynamics GP

Wading Through All the “Paper” on Microsoft Dynamics GP and Document Management Systems in Order to Decide on How to Go “Paperless”

Judging from all of the email invites I have been receiving lately, Document Management Systems are the hottest topic in the Dynamics GP community so far in 2013. Go Green, Add Workflow, Seamless Automation are the headlines screaming at us from our inboxes daily.  It is very rare that a day goes by without receiving an invitation to attend a webinar, covering all of the many wonderful attributes of document scanning and storing.   Without question, this is a vital piece of technology for today’s office, and while the stated goal of becoming truly “paperless” may be never fully realized, there are huge efficiencies to be gained by minimizing both the quantity of paper that must be processed, and the number of times a single piece of paper needs to be touched.

I typically divide the various Document Management System’s I review into two groups:

General Purpose DMS that includes some ability to integrate into Dynamics GP, and those Document Management Systems that are written specifically to integrate with Dynamics GP only.

• General Purpose systems – these are designed to provide document management, workflow and approvals and document retrieval for the entire organization.  Literally any document received by the company can be scanned, stored, routed and retrieved.  This extends the DMS beyond the boundaries of the Finance / Accounting team, and allows for the DMS to manage all of the document needs of the legal team, as an example.  The drawback here may be limited functionality within the Dynamics GP system, requiring that document search and retrieval be handled in the DMS rather than within Dynamics GP for example.  While the General Purpose solutions do offer company-wide availability, they also require that all document management, approvals and retrieval be done within the DMS system.

• Dynamics GP specific systems – designed from the beginning to work within Dynamics GP, these tools offer incredible efficiencies within the ERP system, allowing a GP user to drill back to the source document, without ever leaving GP.  These systems can also make significant use of the master data stored within Dynamics GP when it comes time to route documents for approval or to capture meta-data about a transaction, as the DMS has direct access to GP’s master records.

Each group offers different advantages, and your selection needs to be based on which approach makes best sense for your purposes.

Evaluating a potential DMS can be tricky.  To make the process a little easier, I recommend incorporating the following key aspects as part of your search:

Platform

Document Management Systems are built using a variety of underlying platforms, but for incorporating a DMS into a Dynamics GP environment, look for a DMS built on Microsoft SQL Server.  With MS SQL Server as the backbone, the documents that are being scanned and attached to a Dynamics GP record or transaction are physically stored directly in the database itself.  Other platforms will only provide a “link” to the stored object or document, which can cause problems if you ever need to migrate your ERP and DMS systems to new hardware.  Once those “links” get broken, you would be facing a monumental challenge getting all of the “links” working again.  When MS SQL Server is being used as the storage for the ERP and Document Management System, there will be no concerns about losing the links.

Routings and Workflow

One of the major benefits of adding a Document Management System is the ability to handle a physical piece of paper once and only once.  After the initial scan of the paper document, all subsequent activities should be done using the scanned image only, along with any related notes or attachments.  Moving this scanned image through a defined workflow process allows for the capture of any additional information that is required, including approvals, notes or comments and GL Account coding.  To facilitate this, the workflow engine in the DMS needs to be flexible and as automated as possible.  Look for DMS that includes a logic-based workflow engine, so that it can recognize your organizational chart, be aware of dollar-limits for approvals, etc.

Comments and Annotations

Workflow routings that do not carry all of the relevant information are only fulfilling part of their mission.  To be fully effective, the various notes, comments and attachments that have been added to the original document at any time during it process must be visible to every user.  Most DMS include some type of capability to add more information to a document, be certain that information is fully visible to everyone.

Audits and Archives

One of the rarely spoke of requirements of a DMS is the ability to meet the requirements of your auditors, both internal and external.  Replacing paper documents with the images held in the DMS works, as long as there is full access for auditors and other archival purposes.  For example, at the successful conclusion of a workflow for a vendor’s invoice, the DMS must now maintain all the various steps, attachments, notes and comments, user approvals and electronic signatures.  This information will be vital for any audit, and the failure of the DMS to quickly and easily provide it can be sticky issue.

I try to attend every single webinar that I get invited to, and the wealth of various solutions available is considerable.  In fact, there may be almost too many choices available, with a wide range of capabilities and price points.  Picking the optimal Document Management System will not be easy, but with a careful focus on a few key attributes, you will be able to narrow down the field and be confident that your selection will be appropriate for your needs.

TMC Free GP 2013 Mobility Class – April 24^th 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Microsoft Downtown LA Office

TMC is pleased to announce a new innovative, “hands on” training class where you will be able to test Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 for free! In this class you will be able to see in person how Dynamics GP 2013’s software can help transform your business by becoming mobile in The Cloud. You will be able to test the software in a live, hands on environment, using a desktop, a laptop, or tablet to see how it relates to your business which is always on the move.

TMC will be joined by Craig Crescas, Partner Technology Advisor, from Microsoft to show you every in & out of the software and how you can utilize it for your business. Having Craig come for the class is a huge pleasure and you will for sure leave here with every question you can imagine answered. He will team up with TMC’s Solution Specialist John Hoyt to help walk you through the demo of GP 2013.

This demo of GP 2013 will reassure you that it can keep up with your business’s hectic lifestyle. Is your CEO heading on a 12 hour flight to Europe? No worries, he can access all your business’s crucial data on his real-time dashboards to make sure nothing goes unseen while on his long business trip. Need your sales people out in the field to update their CRM? They will also be able to access the GP 2013 software in real-time to update their progress for their Sales Managers to see.

Why Select Microsoft Dynamics?

As many companies search for new ERP software, they are flooded with presentations from prospective companies trying to sell them their software. This can be a grueling process where you can be overcome with mass amounts of info and getting the standard “sales pitch” forced upon you. TMC  on the other hand is providing you a Free Class where you can come in and test it to your companies settings to make sure first hand, the software is right for you! No pressure, no obligation. We just want to show you how confident we are in the new Dynamics GP 2013’s capabilities, and that it can help your company!

Not only will you get this amazing opportunity to have a hands on learning experience of GP 2013, we are also offering you a great deal to get your business up and running on Dynamics GP 2013 for cheap. Microsoft’s Easy Start Offer will give you Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Starter Pack which includes 3 full users for $3,000 ($5,000 value). We will have more information in regards to pricing specials and implementation packages at the class. This class is only limited to 25 attendees (2 per company) so sign up quickly before it’s too late! Sign up today by clicking the link provided or call Pat Quimby at 310-559-3982 ext. 784.

Technology Management Concepts, announced today the launch of their free 30-day trials of hosted Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions including Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, and Dynamics SL. TMC is excited for their prospective customers to have access to the on-demand 30-day trial of the industry-specific Microsoft Dynamics ERP products exclusively in The Cloud. Potential customers can now demo Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, Dynamics NAV 2013, and Dynamics SL 2011 with a 30-day free ERP cloud trial.

Technology Management Concepts, the leading ERP partner in Southern California, is happy to add the option of the online trial software for their customers, as they understand part of the ERP software research process is to test the software before they purchase it. When a customer visits the TMC website, they will be asked to complete a simple form where they will be able to choose which software they prefer, customize the trial to their company’s needs, as well as receive a quote for what their hosted software would cost them monthly. The trial will then be provisioned by TMC and their free trial company will be up and running online in less than 24 hours. Technology Management Concepts will then guide their customers over the next 30 days with a daily lesson to help them navigate the software trial. TMC also provides customer and technical support if needed.

“A growing trend in the ERP marketplace is the request for trying the software before you buy it. Simply being shown the software in a sales pitch meeting isn’t sufficient anymore. Customers want to let their technical staff try out the software first to make sure they’re comfortable with it, before they invest in the software. TMC provides this option by offering their free 30 day trial of Microsoft Dynamics ERP Software” says TMC Marketing Manager, Brett Hensley.

The 30-day trial allows for an immediate hands-on experience of Dynamics GP 2013, Dynamics NAV 2013, and Dynamics SL 2011. The trials can be set up and tailored towards companies in a variety of industries such as wholesale distribution, non-profit, manufacturing, hospitality/restaurants, entertainment, etc. To get set up for the free trial, visit this page or call 310-559-3982 for more information.

Click here for the full press release

“ERP Software” is a term you’ve likely heard before. Unfortunately, companies specializing in ERP tend to forget that most people are unaware of what these specifically are, and forget to explain things in an understandable manner.

If you’re curious about ERP software, but haven’t managed to sort out exactly what it is, don’t worry—we’re here to help!

Defining ERP
ERP is short for “Enterprise Resource Planning.” Put simply, ERP is a management tool for your business that helps you handle the various elements of your organization through integrated software solutions. Ideally, your ERP software will help you track and manage your development, sales, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and every other facet of your business with one simple solution. Dynamics Nav, Dynamics CRM, and Dynamics GP are all popular ERP products that cover different elements of a given business.

How Does it Help?

The modern business needs software to survive. Multitasking has become key: there are customers to track, inventories to record, and orders to monitor. Unless you run a very, very small operation, chances are you’re already relying on some sort of software solution to manage parts of your business. The problems occur when your business grows—as you add new bits of software, incongruence become inevitable. Your inventory management tool becomes incongruent with manufacturing.

The purpose of ERP is to combine all these functions into one simple suite of applications that work together to boost business efficiency. Dynamics GP, for instance, provides all the tools you need for supply chain management, project management, and even human resources control. Dynamics Nav is similar to GP, but with a slightly pared-down features list. Each facet of the suite can share information with the other pieces, and uses information from other areas to its own benefit.

The important thing to remember is that ERP software is designed to make your life easier and your business more efficient. It’s a multi-tiered solution that covers all of the bases required by your business. There’s even Cloud ERP now, which syncs your data outside of your system and makes it accessible from anywhere in your business’s supply chain.

The right ERP solution can revolutionize the way your business functions. If you have any questions about which software suite is right for you, or how ERP can make your organization better, please visit www.abouttmc.com or contact us at 310.559.3982.

When It’s Time for A New ERP System

ERP Implementation and internal discussions about selecting a new ERP System seem to come up too often. The complaints about your current ERP System probably started a while ago.  “The system is so slow; I can’t get anything done on time”.  Just a few complaints initially, and they were pretty easy to dismiss.  Over time, as the company has grown however, the complaints became more frequent, and more vigorous.  “I would have had this report finished sooner, but the system is really difficult to work with”.  Message received, the system needed an upgrade.  The first thing most companies do is invest in more powerful hardware to run the system, and that seems to do the trick.  For about six months.  Then the complaints, and the excuses, are back.

Next there is usually a quick trip to the local software retailer, the old system gets upgraded to the “Enterprise” version, and the complaints drop off again.  For a while, anyway.  As the company grows, so do the problems and the complaints come back, and now they are coming from a larger number of the employees.  The delays and the frustrations are causing significant pain.  March 1^st has arrived, and the previous year has still not been closed.

Next, you start to hear from the banker, the investors and the CPA, this system is completely inadequate for your company today.    The time had come to change to something that can accommodate the growth of the company.  This kind of solution is not going to come out of shrink wrapped box.  The stakeholders in the company have been heard, the evidence has been reviewed and the conclusion is inescapable: it is now time to upgrade to a truly GAAP-compliant, ERP system.  This is good news; recognizing the existence of a problem is the first, key step in solving it.

Step 2, more and more frequently, is to assign someone in the company to the task of researching suitable replacements for the old system.  For most companies, this will begin with an internet search (which might have led you to this blog post).  While this step is very important, it is very likely that at least one key step (and maybe more) has been short-changed or skipped entirely.

ERP Implementation: The Missing Steps

1. Build the Scorecard

Before the search for a replacement ERP system is started, it is critical to clearly define what the new system needs to provide.  Before I can plan out my summer vacation using Google Maps, I need to know where I am going.

Start by listing the various attributes of your current system, and assign a grade to each one.  The grading can be simple (pass or fail) or more detailed (from 1 to 3 for passing grades, and from -1 to -3 for failing grades).  Incorporate all of the various complaints and excuses resulting from the old system, this is important feedback from the users.  The result is a scorecard that can be used in evaluating potential replacements for the old system.  At a minimum, the new ERP system must score at least as well as the old system, in every critical area.  Scoring the old system, and the potential replacements, will allow you to identify those ERP candidates that are worth investigating further.

2. Establish the budget

Before beginning the search for the new ERP system, it is important to have a budget established, or at least a budget range in mind.  It makes no sense at all to investigate an Oracle or SAP-type of system if your budget will only be $100,000 for everything, software, hardware and services.  It is a lot of fun to window shop at the Porsche dealer, but my purchase will probably be down the street at the Toyota Dealer.

3. Deployment –To be in the Cloud or Not to be in the  Cloud

You have heard the phrase “In the Cloud”, but do you really understand what is meant by it?  DO you know the difference between Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS).  Do you want to continue to host your own system on-premise, or does moving to hosted/cloud-based system make better long-term sense?  Here again, the internet can provide a wealth of information, and should be able to help you determine which approach(es) to deploying the new ERP system need to be considered, or which can be dismissed from the beginning.

With these three key preliminary steps completed, it is time to begin the research phase, identifying potential candidates for your new ERP system.  The search will also be quicker, because you have already identified how the various candidates will be graded, which potential solutions fit within the budget, and you know how you want to be able to deploy the new system.

Ask the experts at TMC which ERP System is right for you. We are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner that offers Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM. We are also a Certified NetSuite Solutions Provider. We have performed over 300 ERP Implementations and will give you our honest, no obligation opinion on what we feel is right for you at the time. It doesn’t do TMC any good to take on a client that isn’t a good fit for us, much less a good fit for you. So, give us a call at 310-559-3982 or fill out a Free Business Value Assessment here and let TMC take the stress and frustruation out of ERP Implementation.

Take Your Business to the Cloud—On Your Terms

Insist on a business management solution that offers deployment flexibility and choice

Choosing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution can be challenging, and deciding how to take advantage of the cloud adds another layer of complexity. Your decisions will have important consequences for your organization’s long-term growth and profitability, so it’s essential to choose wisely. To help you navigate the decision making process, we’ve created a 11-point ERP Evaluation checklist to identify some of the top factors to weigh when evaluating options for your business. In case you missed last week’s introductory post, here’s checklist item 1 : Take Your Business Systems Beyone ERP.

ERP Evaluation: Goes beyond traditional ERP

This week we’re looking at checklist item 2, the importance of choosing a business solution that lets you take advantage of the cloud in the way that best fits your specific situation.

Deployment Flexibility and Choice           

Running some or all of your IT operation in the cloud—a form of “outsourcing”—gets plenty of attention these days because of its significant potential advantages:

• Low start-up costs and short time to benefit.
• Low initial hardware requirements, particularly interesting when capital is tight.
• Simple software management and system administration, which can help trim the IT budget.
• The ability to quickly scale IT capacity to fit sales swings or rapid growth, so that fixed expenses move to the variable column.

But running your ERP and other systems on-premises offers its own potential advantages, including greater flexibility for customization if needed; the ability to keep physical control of your data; and easier integration with other business software you’re already running.

Any new business solution you consider should help you take advantage of cloud computing, but in a way that supports the needs of your business. In your individual case, it may be appropriate to run some mission-critical applications on-premises, possibly for security or compliance reasons, while other applications are well-suited for the cloud. Even if you want to take your entire IT operation to the cloud, you may want to phase this in over time. So focus on a business solution that can accommodate your unique deployment requirements: on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid approach.

Let the Cloud Help Transform Your Business

With a business solution from Microsoft you have the flexibility to choose between on-premises deployment, a variety of cloud deployment offerings delivered through the Microsoft Dynamics partner channel, or a blend of both. Our commitment to supporting ERP on your terms enables you to choose the deployment strategy that’s right for your business today, and then move between those options as the future unfolds. Microsoft believes that the combined strength of our proven product capabilities and flexible deployment models deliver the capabilities you need to take your business forward.

Customer Success Story

SMBs around the world count on Microsoft Dynamics to help them achieve profitable growth through greater operational control, improved employee productivity, and deeper insight. Check out these highlights below from a performing arts organization running business solutions from Microsoft in the cloud, and giving their approach rave reviews.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

“By using cloud-based Microsoft technologies … we generate substantial savings and efficiencies; practice transparent, sound financial management; and bring outstanding performing-arts events to growing numbers of patrons.” Connie Silverman, Controller

Next week we’ll look at the importance of selecting a vendor with strong customer relationships, low “churn rate,” and a reputation for post-sale service.

Take our Free Business Value Assessment by clicking here. It is a no obligation assesment and TMC’s experts will gladly analyze your companies business processes for free, letting you know what the best “next steps” are for you when looking for a new ERP system.

Effective March 1, 2013 through March 29, 2013

?Current Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL and Microsoft Dynamics NAV customers can receive up to a 20% discount off the Microsoft standard list price for additional user licenses purchases.

A minimum purchase of two user licenses is required, up to a maximum of 20 additional user licenses.

?Available to qualifying customers in the U.S.

Contact TMC at 310-559-3982 or email Pat Quimby at pquimby@tmc-la.com for more information about the 20% user discount.

Take Your Business Systems Beyond ERP

A business solution from Microsoft delivers the control, forward-looking insight, and bottom line impact you need to grow your business

If you’re like a lot of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) today, your current systems are nudging you further and further out of your comfort zone. They get the basic job done, as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens. But what will happen when you want to open a new store or warehouse, expand to new markets, or add an additional line of business? Do you find it harder to connect with suppliers and customers, comply with new tax laws or environmental regulations, or keep customers loyal with the new competition you face in a global economy? These scenarios aren’t business as usual, but they’re part of the new normal. And if it’s getting harder for your existing systems to keep your business moving forward, now’s the time to take action. That’s why it’s important to thoroughly put together a checklist for your ERP evaluation before you purchase a new system. TMC will walk you through those steps in the next few weeks with this new 11 part blog series: “ERP Evaluation Checklist for SMB’s”.

As you consider and weigh the alternatives, you’ll find products and vendors that sound a lot alike, and you may find it hard to differentiate between them. So we’ve created a 11-point checklist to help you test their claims and reduce the risk of making a decision you might regret down the road. That’s why it’s important to thoroughly put together your own checklist for your ERP evaluation before you purchase a new system. TMC will walk you through those steps in the next few weeks with this new 11 part blog series: “ERP Evaluation Checklist for SMB’s”. So when we finish you’ll have a comprehensive list of key factors you should consider before deciding on a new option for your business. This week we start the process by urging you to look at whether a solution delivers more than entry-level accounting software or stand-alone business management systems.

ERP Evaluation: Going Beyond Traditional ERP

You’re sure to find several vendors that offer improved financial reporting, inventory management, budgeting capabilities, and so forth. But do they offer a unified solution that goes beyond business process automation and basic ERP (enterprise resource planning) functionality to deliver a complete and unified vision for your business? A comprehensive and modern solution delivers capabilities that are out of scope for many product offerings, such as:

• Integrated business intelligence, collaboration, and communication tools that span your core business processes.
• A user experience that blends personal and work computing and inspires your people and your customers.
• Anytime, anywhere access to make your people more productive.
• Flexible cloud or on-premises deployment options that won’t hold your data hostage.
• Affordable pricing models to reduce or eliminate up-front capital expenditures.

Why Choose a Business Solution from Microsoft?

Microsoft delivers a comprehensive vision for SMBs that goes beyond traditional ERP and stand-alone accounting software. For example, business intelligence, collaboration, and communication capabilities are embedded across your business processes, so your people can quickly and easily find and analyze information, collaborate with each other to generate the best ideas and decisions, and communicate regardless of their locations or the devices they’re using. A consistent user experience supports rapid adoption, ease of use, and end-user productivity. Consumer-driven technologies such as chat, presence, and action panes have been incorporated into Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions, Like Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics NAV, setting the standard for great user experiences. Flexible deployment models—on-premises or in the cloud—let you make the decision on what’s best for your business, and rapid implementation tools help you get up and running quickly. And finally, Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions offer online or traditional desktop access, enabling anytime, anywhere productivity.

So here’s your first ERP Evaluation checklist take-away: Make sure you can mark the box indicating that the solution you choose can take you beyond business as usual.

Customer Success Story

SMBs around the world, in a wide variety of industries, rely on Microsoft Dynamics to help them achieve profitable growth through greater operational control, improved employee productivity, and deeper business insight. Here’s a snapshot of how one high tech manufacturing customer implemented Microsoft Dynamics ERP in just six weeks.

Amalfi Semiconductor

“We can grow our sales and operations based on real insights into the actual needs of customers. If we had to do it all over again, we’d make the same choice.” Joe Whitty, Controller

Next week, in our ERP Evaluation checklist for SMB’s we’ll take a deeper look at the second item on the checklist, deployment flexibility—the ability of your new solution to take advantage of the cloud and to support the deployment model that makes the most sense for your business.

Take our Free Business Value Assessment by clicking here. It is a no obligation assesment and TMC’s experts will gladly analyze your companies business processes for free, letting you know what the best “next steps” are for you when looking for a new ERP system.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Easy Start Offer – Terms

Effective February 1, 2013, and until close of business day on June 15, 2013, all new customers meeting the eligibility criteria can take advantage of this special offer.

Under the terms of this offer, new customers can obtain a 40% discount on the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Starter Pack. For example, the Starter Pack can be licensed for USD 3,000 in the United States and EUR 2,250 in the EU/EFTA*.

Eligibility

• Offer is valid only for purchases of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 using the Perpetual Licensing model.
• Offer only applies to new Microsoft Dynamics ERP customers. A new ERP customer is defined as a customer that has not previously licensed any version of Microsoft Dynamics GP or Microsoft Dynamics NAV
• This offer will be entered in Order Central as a 40% discount off the Starter Pack license list price. Please refer to the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 price list and the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 price list to determine the discounted price in each country.
• First year required maintenance is not included in this offer and must be purchased separately. Enhancement/support plan fees will be calculated from the system list price of all users and components, based on the regular Microsoft Dynamics price list.

Exclusions

• Offer is valid worldwide except for the following countries: American Samoa, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Guam, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea – South, Laos, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Niue, Norfolk Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and Wallis and Futuna.

Offer does not apply to:

• Any other Microsoft software.
• Purchases using the Services Provider License Agreement or any volume licensing program
• Purchases using the Business Ready Licensing model, the Module Based Licensing model or the Subscription model.

- Offer cannot be combined with other offers (with the exclusion of the FY13 Grow ERP SMB Adds – Partner Incentive), promotions or discounts. All components besides the Starter Pack must be licensed at list prices.

- Purchases made prior to the effective date of the offer are not eligible.

- This offer is available to partners on an ISV Embed Addendum.
- This offer cannot be converted into cash.
- Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient.
- This offer is non-transferable.
- Offer available only through authorized Microsoft Dynamics resellers. End user prices, terms and conditions are independently set by resellers.
- Offer only available once per customer.

*If you have any questions about the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and NAV 2013 Easy Start Offer please contact Pat Quimby at pquimby@tmc-la.com or call 310-559-3982.

4 Tips To Get The Most from Dynamics GP Smartlist Builder

Microsoft Dynamics GP features a wealth of outstanding reporting and Analysis Tools, including Excel-refreshable reports, SQL Server Reporting Services and SQL Server Analysis Reporting Services but the go-to tool for most GP users is the Smartlists.  Combining the ease of use of an Excel-based report, with the deep drill-down capabilities of an SSRS report, Smartlist provides almost any information a user could ask for.  Almost.

There are some types of reports that Smartlist cannot provide, and while these missing reports are very few, when they are missing, they can cause a great deal of grief, to say nothing of the extra work involved in getting to the answer thru another method.  To address these rare situations, the Smartlist Builder Suite is available as an option.  Comprised of four great tools (Smartlist Builder, Excel Report Builder, Navigation List Builder, and the Drillback Builder), the suite is designed to allow end-users the ability to create those reports they cannot live without.

All four tools are based on “wizards” or GUI-interfaces, so not real programming and development experience is required.  This is a welcome change from some other reporting and analysis tools, which require some very specialized knowledge and skillsets.  We have found that most end-users need only a few hours of training with the Smartlist Builder before they are off and running, creating and publishing Smartlists on their own.  To really speed up the process, we have also identified 4 key tips to getting the most from the Microsoft Dynamics GP Smartlist Builder.

1. Where is my data?

Understanding where Dynamics GP stores its’ data is probably the most challenging aspect of creating new Smartlists.  While Microsoft does not publish a true “data map”, there are two tools available in Dynamics GP that can really help locating the various database tables that hold the data you are looking for:  Table Descriptions and the Report Writer.

Table Descriptions provides details on all of the database tables (both Microsoft Dynamics GP core and add-on tables, and the various ISV modules in your installation).  TO access the Table Descriptions, click on the “Microsoft Dynamics GP” button, then “Tools”, “Resources Descriptions” and finally “Tables”.

From this window, select the following items to locate the table that holds your data:

1. Table.  Use the Ellipsis button to bring up a complete list of all the database tables.  These are organized by Product and Series, and you can choose how you want the results sorted.

2. Use the “Find Button” to search for a particular data field, and Dynamics GP will show you every table that includes that value in its’ name

After locating the table that holds your data, the Table Descriptions” window will show you the details of the table, including every field within the table, the type and length of the individual fields and the Key Segment value(s) for that table.

2. Use the Report Writer

The Dynamics GP report Writer can provide a great shortcut to identifying the table(s) needed for creating your new Smartlist.  Many times, we are asked to help create a new Dynamics GP Smartlist that is similar to an existing GP report, but our clients want the ability to use Smartlists Filters, drillbacks and export to Excel feature.  To create this Smartlist version of a report, start by printing the Dynamics GP report to the screen.  Next, click on the “Modify” button to open the report definition in the Report Writer.

From the Report Writer, click on the “Windows” in the top toolbar, and select “Report Definition”.

From the “Report Definition” window, you can see all of the tables used by the Report Writer to create the report, and this information can then be used in the Smartlist Builder to add in the tables needed to create the Smartlist.

3. Table Relationships

Most Smartlists created in the Dynamics GP Smartlist Builder will require multiple database tables to linked together to create your new Smartlist.  (After all, if the data was in just a single table, the standard Smartlists would probably already include that view).  In tip #2, we showed hot identify which tables need to be linked to get the result desired, and Tip #1 showed the Key segments needed to link the tables together, but Smartlist Builder also needs to understand the type of relationship between records in the tables.

This is done by identifying whether the “Link Method” is going to be an “Equals” or a “Left Outer” relationship.  (No need to panic, this sounds far more complicated that it really is).  These two options are based on standard SQL-server Query statements, and essentially indicate either a “One-to-One” relationship (“Equals”) or a “One-to-Many” relationship (“Left Outer”).  Left Outer links allow a single record in the Primary Table (say the Customer Master table) to be linked to multiple records in the Secondary Table (i.e. the Receivables Open Transactions table).

4. Restrict the Results of your Smartlist

The “Search” function in Dynamics GP Smartlist is designed to restrict the results shown in the Smartlist Viewer, and allows up to four different search criteria to be entered by the user.  Smartlist Builder allows for some of those restrictions to be “baked in” to the Smartlist, so that all four of the “Search” criteria fields are still available to the end-user.  Consider building a Smartlist that will use data from the Receivables Transaction Open table, which holds records for all 6 transaction types (Invoices, Payments, Debit Memos, Credit Memos, Warranty, Services / Repairs, and Returns) but the Smartlist you are building only applies to Payments.  By building this restriction into the Smartlist with Smartlist Builder, end users of the Smartlist will not have to use one of their four “Search” values for this restriction.

Smartlist Builder is a great tool for providing access to the wealth of data and information stored within Dynamics GP, and by incorporating these 4 tips, your own experiences within the Smartlist Builder tool will be more productive and efficient.