GP 2013

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.

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

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.

Dynamics GP 2013 Features – TMC

The day is here that everyone in the ERP world has been waiting for…..Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 is now available! TMC is thrilled to announce that Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 is now ready for purchase and/or upgrade.

This landmark release offers SMB organizations unprecedented choice in how the product is deployed, accessed and used, so your customers can get the information they need, when they need it, and on the device of their choice. Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 is all about the power of choice – enabling flexible options around deployment, access, and use that facilitate new opportunities and promote empowerment, rather than imposing limitations.

GP 2013 is a fantastic release that offers huge value to all customers. For example, simpler, faster, lower-risk deployments with RapidStart Services; an innovative new Web client and improved “hostability”; rich interoperability with other Microsoft technologies such as Office 365; and more than 125 new feature enhancements.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will not only transform how your company and team work, but will increase productivity, with compelling new application functionality giving you the ability to access the Business Analyzer from your home page, prepay purchase orders, drop-ship serialized items, track and report get rich context on each transaction with document attach, and more!

Key enhancement areas for GP 2013 include the following:

• Choice in how the product is deployed, as well as how people access and use it. Customers can access Microsoft Dynamics GP through a rich and innovative new Web client so they can get to the information they need when they need it and on the device of their choice. Improved “hostability” features include a new hosting management console for cloud deployments to streamline deploying and managing Microsoft Dynamics GP in the cloud.

• Faster, lower-risk deployment with new RapidStart tools that can significantly reduce the time and effort required to configure Microsoft Dynamics GP for each customer’s specific needs.

• Improved productivity through enhanced ease of use throughout the product, as well as deeper interoperability with Microsoft Outlook, Office 365 and other Microsoft technologies.

•  Transform the way your people work by putting timely information and easy-to-use tools in their hands when they need them, no matter their location.

•  Connect the people inside and outside your organization and give them insight and context to drive better decisions and boost productivity.

•  Streamline systems, so that your IT team can think about ways to support growth instead of maintaining software.

•  Improve your margins and enhance the bottom line, generating cash to fund growth.

GP 2013′s customers access and use the solution is now a matter of their preference and their convenience. Customers can access Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 through a rich and innovative new Web client. This enables all of your employees easy access to Microsoft Dynamics GP with the new web client, so they can connect and contribute wherever they are, from their PC or mobile device.That sort of flexibility boosts not only productivity at the workplace, but also allows for innovation and inspiration wherever they are.

Customer choice also applies to deployment. A customer can choose to deploy on premises, hosted by a partner in the cloud, or a combination of the two that makes the most sense for their business and budget. For example, a customer could choose to retain their core financials at their business location, but use Email, Exchange and Excel in the cloud. It’s their choice. In addition, improved “hostability” features, including multitenant databases and a new hosting management console, will help ensure streamlined cloud deployments.

Whichever type of deployment method is chosen, this release offers a faster implementation with new RapidStart Services that use a simple, standardized process to help get customer solutions up and running not in weeks or months like other solutions, but in days.  In addition to significantly reducing the time and effort required to configure a solution for each customer’s specific needs, RapidStart Services can also reduce the down-time and business risk associated with implementation of a new solution, and help limit costly consulting hours.

TMC’s customers will benefit from a simple, intuitive experience and more than 125 new features and capability enhancements to the solution’s comprehensive business management functionality. These enhancements optimize daily operational and financial processes, improve collaboration, BI and reporting, and deepen interoperability with other Microsoft products and technologies, such as Microsoft Office and Office 365.

Initial feedback from our early adopter customers already has been extremely positive. Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 offers unprecedented choice in how and where the product is accessed and used, enables fast, flexible deployments, and delivers comprehensive capabilities that work like and with the solutions you already use in your business every day. It offers a rare combination of simplicity, choice and power that will drive long-term value for SMB customers.

You can scramble to keep up with these changes or you can take control and by delivering a comprehensive vision and solution for your business. Consistent product releases, which are cost effective to deploy and easy to implement at your pace, help you transform your business.

The release is available for English speaking countries. French Canadian and LATAM Spanish versions are planned to be available in H1 of CY 2013.

Read the full press release here!

To inquire about purchasing GP 2013 or upgrading your current Dynamics GP version to GP 2013, call TMC at 310-559-3982 or email Pat Quimby pquimby@tmc-la.com to receive a free quote for your company

Think forward.

The way people and organizations work is changing. Don’t just react to the many changes facing your business, take control and shape your future. With convenient web-access to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 you and your team will have greater access
to the tools and forward-looking insight you need to work better, faster, and smarter.

Increase productivity.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will not only transform how you and your team work, but will increase productivity, with compelling new application functionality giving you the ability to access the Business Analyzer from your home page, prepay purchase orders, drop-ship serialized items, track and report get rich context on each transaction with document attach, and more!

Stay ahead.

Success is about more than growing your business in the near term. It’s over the long term. Getting the most
out of your business investments directly contributes to this goal. Your Microsoft Dynamics Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP) helps you:

• Stay current on the latest and best solution.
• Get more out of your IT investments.
• Chart a technology roadmap that keeps your business on the forefront of innovation.
• While Microsoft Dynamics delivers the vision, tools, and support you need to get ahead of changing business conditions and the competition—at the end of the day, you’re in charge. Set the pace premises, in the cloud, or take a hybrid approach. It’s your choice.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 New Features

• Printer Selection – You can change your printer at the time of each report, and it will not change the default printer for the next time you print.
• Reports Security – You no longer need to expand each forms and reports lists separately and make the selection for which report or form you desire security on. For example, if you install the Project Accounting module and you want all Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports to be selected on Project Accounting, you can Change All. You can also choose to Revert to Default.
• Licensing – If you currently own Microsoft Dynamics® GP (“Dynamics GP”), you already know your users are concurrent. This means you can have as many users set up in Dynamics GP as you desire, but you can only have five users in at a time, if that is your license limit. So that is not changing if you own Dynamics GP. However, for Subscription-based customers, Dynamics GP licenses are on a named user basis and not concurrent. If you are licensed for three users, you will only be able to set up three named users in Dynamics GP for subscription-based customers.
• User Setup – In the User Setup window in Dynamics GP, there is now a status field where you can inactivate users. In the example of Seasonal workers, this may come in handy. There is also an option to make a particular user “Limited” in which they only have “Read-only” access and cannot enter transactions. There is also a new Summary button on the User Setup window that shows current users in the system, registered users and whether they might have the “Limited” access as previously mentioned.
• Advanced Lookups – For Advanced Lookups, you can now save a default view for future use. So if you like to sort your vendors by City in your Vendor Lookup Window, you can save those Additional Sorts so that each time you come into that Lookup, it’s saved that way.
• Home Page – Additional customization options are now available to design your Home Page in Dynamics GP. You can drag/drop, maximize, and other fun stuff. I’ll let you play with that when you see it! The changes you make remain until you change them again.
• Batch Approval – In prior versions, after posting, you could not see who made the approvals or when. Now, you can do SQL queries for two new added fields – APPRVLUSERID and APPRVLDT – Approval user id and approval date, to see who approved the batch and when, after the transaction is posted. However, if you use Period Consolidation in the Financial Series, then the approval info will be left blank because transactions from several batches could be consolidated into one.
• 64-bit Outlook – You can now use the 64-bit version of Microsoft Outlook to e-mail Word templates from Dynamics GP. They have fixed the error messages for this!
• Document Attachments to transactions – You can now attach files to Items, Customers, Vendors, Sales Order Processing, and Purchase Order Processing. There is a particular setup process for this feature.
• Password Protect Word Documents – In prior versions you had to actually password protect in Word. Now you can do it in Dynamics GP itself. There is brief setup to do this under Admin > System Preferences

Read the full GP 2013 Preview here: TMC GP 2013 Preview

Go to our Dynamics GP White Paper page for the full GP 2013 White Paper, as well as for the rest of our Microsoft Dynamics GP White Papers

Many Dynamics customers and partners were fretting with no news of the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 release as December 1st rolled around. Well, take a deep breath, because it was announced today that GP 2013 will be available to all starting on December 19th, 2012!

So a few more weeks to wait but GP 2013 is coming……trust us!

Also, because of this development, Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 is extendending their 20% off new users sale through December 18th! Visit the GP 2010 sale page here.

Quick Benefits of GP 2013

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 includes – the introduction of the GP web client, 125+ functionality enhancements for our existing customers, and extending the rich integration Microsoft Dynamics GP has with the Microsoft stack.  Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 is more efficient for hosting and provides our community of partners a transformation engine to move their 500+ industry solutions to the Microsoft Dynamics GP web client.

With the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 arriving sometime on December 19th, creates an opportunity to offer an ERP solution the way clients are expecting:

1. Deployed in the environment of their choice (either on premises or in the cloud)

2. With an easy to understand pricing model (New Perpetual Licensing)

3. Allowing for a rapid time to benefit implementation (using the New Rapid Start tools)

Learn all the details about Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 on our Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 page, which includes pricing, system requirements, new features and more. This page will get updated as we get more information from Microsoft as the GP 2013 release date nears December 19th!

We are getting closer to the official launch of the new Dynamics GP 2013, and it’s amazing new Web Client.  In fact, the Web Client is getting so much attention; the new features for the desktop client may be overlooked.  There are over 100 new features and functionality in GP 2013, and we wanted to highlight four that we think everyone will appreciate and make great use of.

1. Prepayments on Purchase Orders 

This has to be one of the most requested new features in Dynamics GP 2013.  Purchasing goods and services today, especially for a company that is importing goods from overseas, often requires a prepayment, whether a partial payment, or payment in full.  With GP 2013, that function can now be enabled from within the Purchase Order Processing set-up pages. Create your new Purchase Order as normal, and then indicate the amount of the prepayment that is to be included with the Purchase Order.  Prepayments can be made either by issuing a Computer Check, or by a Manual Payment.  Manual Payments can either be of a “Cash” type (EFT or ACH transfers, for example), or by company Credit Card.  The prepayment associated with the Purchase Order stays with the PO throughout it’s lifecycle, and once the final vendor invoice associated with the Purchase Order has been processed, only the balance remaining on the invoice is left as an open payable.

2. General Ledger to Sub-ledger Reconciliation expands

GP 2010 saw the introduction of the General Ledger to Sub-ledger reconciliation tool, allowing transaction posted in both the Accounts Payable and the Accounts Receivable sub-ledgers to be reconciled with the transactions posted to the corresponding General Ledger account(s).  Using this tool results in a detailed Excel spreadsheet that groups relevant transactions into 3 sections in the spreadsheet:  Fully matched transactions, partially-matched transactions, and unmatched transactions.  Based on the spreadsheets, the month-end or year-end close process is streamlined by quickly identifying those transactions that need further review and analysis, for example identifying transactions posted in a sub-ledger but not yet posted to the General Ledger, and GL Journal Entries that have impacted the account balance without a corresponding transaction in the Sub-ledger.

With GP 2013, this outstanding tool has now been expanded to include both Inventory sub-ledger and the Bank Reconciliation module.  Add these four routines to your month-end close process and quickly see how much time and effort you can save.

3. Unique Contact Names per Ship-to Address ID

Within the GP 2013 Customer Card, you can now have a unique Contact Name per Ship-To Address ID.  For those GP users that utilize the Drop Ship functionality, each Ship-To Address ID allows for the appropriate Contact Name at the Drop Ship Location.  No more confusion about who is to receive the merchandise, and no more references to a Customer Contact Name that may not be known to the shipments recipient.  This may sound like a small change, but it is crucial to anyone utilizing the Drop Ship feature within the Distribution / Advanced Distribution modules.

4. Select Printer AFTER the Report Destination window

That’s right, you can now select which printer you want to use AFTER you have started the process of printing a report or document in GP 2013.  The process is both very intuitive and very welcome.  Print a report to the screen as a preview, and the click on the Print button.  When the Report Destination dialog box pops up, select “printer” as the preferred output.  When you click on “print” in GP 2013, you now get a standard Microsoft window allowing you to select any of the printers associated with that computer as the option for where to send the report.

These four examples are just the tip of the iceberg for all of the many new features and functionality available within Dynamics GP 2013.  Each feature highlighted here has the potential to greatly increase the satisfaction and efficiency for every Dynamics GP user.  Increasing your user’s satisfaction with the system should also increase their use of the Dynamics GP system, and that will resonate throughout your company.

For more information on Dynamics GP 2013, visit our GP 2013 page with all our articles/blogs.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Beta Now Available for Download for Microsoft Dynamics Partners

TMC is onsite at Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Airlift 2012 in Fargo, ND for all the new announcements for Microsoft Dynamics GP and NAV 2013. At Airlift, it was announced that the beta version for Dynamics GP 2013 is now available for partners like TMC on Microsoft’s Partnersource site here: Beta Release Download for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.

Here is the statement from the Microsoft Dynamics team:

“We are very proud of the technology advancements in this release including making Dynamics GP more efficient for cloud deployments and providing our community of partners a transformation engine to move their 500+ industry solutions to the web,” wrote Errol Schoenfish, Microsoft director of product management, in a blog post announcing the beta’s availability.”

TMC is officially excited to announce the Beta release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 to their fellow partners and customers.  This Beta release is for ISV’s and Partners (ONLY) for preliminary testing.

The beta includes “the introduction of the GP web client, 125+ functionality enhancements for 43,000+  existing customers, and extending the rich integration Dynamics GP has with the Microsoft stack. Dynamics GP 2013 is the second of Microsoft’s ERP products to be offered with a cloud component via Windows Azure. The first, Dynamics NAV 2013, went into beta in May and is also expected to be released by year’s end just like Dynamics GP 2013. Microsoft plans to eventually make all four of its Dynamics ERP products available both as on-premises and cloud-hosted offerings.

Both Dynamics GP 2013 and Dynamics NAV 2013 will have simplified pricing for SMB ERP products at release. Microsoft is also planning a pilot program for a pay-as-you-go model for both cloud-hosted and on-premises deployments. Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 builds on a strong foundation to deliver new levels of customer and partner value through faster, more efficient implementations, compelling application functionality, and unparalleled levels of customer choice on how to deploy and access their solution.

This Beta release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 does NOT include:

1. No upgrade is available from this release to the RTM release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013. The only upgrade support is for the selected live Technical Adoption Program Customers.

2. Business Portal for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013

3. eConnect SDK is included on the image, but is not updated for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013

4. Web Services SDK is found on the image, but is not updated for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013

5. Workflow SDK is found on the image, but is not updated for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013

Stay tuned for more updates on Dynamics GP and NAV 2013 at www.abouttmc.com

Until September 30, 2012 No Better Time to Buy Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics GP

There is no better time to buy Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics GP. Make sure you take advantage of the deals below prior to October 1, 2012 when GP 2013 and NAV 2013 prices go live!

As part of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 launches, Microsoft announced a new pricing model called Perpetual. Please make sure you visit the SMB Perpetual Licensing and Pricing page to learn all about this new model. The License Migration Transition Upgrade (LMTU) applies to all customers who acquire their active Microsoft Dynamics GP or Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution before October 1, 2012, and are current on their enhancement plan, irrespective of when customers choose to execute the upgrade*.

Favorable Upgrade Rules

• Take advantage of favorable transition rules for new customers buying until September 30, 2012.
• Buy a new Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 solution with at least a BE or AM Foundation Pack prior to October 1, 2012 and receive the Starter Pack which includes 3 Full Users upon upgrade (within the same Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Microsoft Dynamics GP product line) with the free LMTU to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.

Example 1:

• Customer buys the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Business Essential (BE) Foundation Pack (one user) with a Suggested Retail Price (SRP) of $2,250
• Customer receives: Starter Pack including three Full Users upon completing the free LMTU to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 ($5,000 SRP)
• Up to 55% in savings by purchasing before September 30, 2012

Example 2:

• Customer buys the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Advanced Management (AM) Foundation Pack ($3,980 SRP)
• Customer receives: Starter Pack including three Full Users + Extended Pack upon completing the free LMTU to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 ($15,000 SRP)
• Up to 73% in savings by purchasing before September 30, 2012

Buy BRL Now (For Current Dynamics Users)

On July 11, 2012, Microsoft announced changes to our user tiers for Business Ready Licensing (BRL). Additional details can be found below about Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 user tier changes or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 user tier changes. Since this change to user price waterfall tiers will increase prices for some customers, we would like to encourage you to take advantage of lower pricing between now and September 30, 2012.

*Please note Customers who purchase BE or AM Users on Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 will be able to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 on or after the General Availability (“GA”) date(October 1st) for these products. Such upgrade will allow Customers to benefit from the LMTU benefits after the GA date.*

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Tier Changes (Effects for Transition to NAV 2013)

Impacted Products: Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 (and prior versions)
Impacted Price List: Business Ready Licensing (BRL) (all editions)
Impacted Customers: New and Existing
Impacted Geographies: Worldwide

Effective October 1, 2012, all Additional BRL Advanced Management user price waterfall tiers above the ‘51-75 users’ tier will be eliminated and the ‘51-75 users’ tier will be relabeled ‘51+ users’. Also, all additional Business Essentials user price waterfall tiers will be eliminated and the ‘1-10 users’ tier will be relabeled ‘1+ users’.

These changes will likely increase prices for customers that purchase at the eliminated user tiers.

The Protected List Price (PLP) of users purchased prior to October 1, 2012 is not impacted by these changes as long as the customer stays current on their Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP). BREP fees for users purchased on or after October 1, 2012 will be calculated from these
new prices.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Tier Changes (Effects for Transition to GP 2013)

Impacted Products: Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 (and prior versions)
Impacted Price List: Business Ready Licensing (BRL) (all editions)
Impacted Customers: New and Existing
Impacted Geographies: Worldwide

Effective October 1, 2012, all Additional BRL Advanced Management user price waterfall tiers above the ‘51-75 users’ tier will be eliminated and the ‘51-75 users’ tier will be relabeled ‘51+ users’. Also, all additional Business Essentials user price waterfall tiers will be eliminated and the ‘1-10 users’ tier will be relabeled ‘1+ users’.

These changes will likely increase prices for customers that purchase at the eliminated user tiers.

The Protected List Price (PLP) of users purchased prior to October 1, 2012 is not impacted by these changes as long as the customer stays current on their Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP). BREP fees for users purchased on or after October 1, 2012 will be calculated from these new prices.

*Please note Customers who purchase BE or AM Users on Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 will be able to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 or Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 on or after the General Availability (“GA”) date(October 1st) for these products. Such upgrade will allow Customers to benefit from the LMTU benefits after the GA date.*

Microsoft announced the next release of Dynamics GP 2013 earlier this year, and the excitement has been building steadily.  Most of the early buzz was focused on the development and deployment of the new “Web Client”, a browser-based means of accessing Dynamics GP.  Users will no longer be required to be on the network using the traditional client application (or accessing the traditional client application thru a vpn, Citrix or Terminal Services client), but will now be able to access Dynamics GP 2013 via their web-browser and the new Web Client.

Microsoft has also focused on greatly simplifying the licensing for Dynamics GP as well, reducing the number of options and a la carte items from the current schema.  Going forward, there will be only 5 items on the new Dynamics GP 2013 price list:

The “Starter Pack”.  This is the base of the system and it is required.  The Starter Pack contains all of the core pieces of the Dynamics GP system (General Ledger and Financials, Reports and Budgeting, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, Sales Order and Inventory, And Purchase Order Processing).  The Starter Pack will also include unlimited Human Resources and Payroll.  The Starter Pack will also include 3 Full Users to get you started.

The “Extended Pack”.  For those companies that have some specific needs above and beyond the Starter Pack, the Extended Pack is a single license that contains the advanced functionality of Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Project Accounting and Field Service, along with the Microsoft Forecaster system for advanced planning and budgeting.

The “Full User” license.  The Starter Pack includes 3 Full User licenses, and additional licenses can be purchased.  Full Users have essentially unlimited access to create and update new records and transactions, and full tights for inquiry and reporting into historic transactions.

The “Limited User” license.  Similar to the Full User license, Limited Users will have full inquiry and reporting capabilities, but they are limited to the Time and Expense capabilities for entering new transactions.  For many employees, these two capabilities (entering timesheet information for the Payroll system, and entering expense reports for the Project Accounting system from the Extended Pack), along with inquiry, will likely be all of the capabilities needed.  Additionally, there will be no GP license needed at all for the direct extraction and reporting for the Dynamics GP data held in the Microsoft SQL Server databases (other than the required SQL Server Client Access License).

The “Configuration Pack”.  Microsoft is combining the capabilities of the current Customization Suite and the Integration Suite into a single license for the Configuration Pack.  This tool Pack will include the tools necessary to both modify the GP system and to connect the GP 2013 system to external data sources and systems.

With these changes to the licensing of Dynamics GP 2013, Microsoft has been able to simplify the licensing model, allowing Customers to focus their time and attention on getting the most out of the GP system and not spending too much time on trying to understand the complexities of licensing ERP software.