Summit Magazine Spring 2011

8/6/2019 Summit Magazine Spring 2011

1/13

2011.1

In this issue:

MicrosotDynamics CRM

2011

Accounting orNot-or-Proft

Workorce

Automation

Online PaymentServices

the

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2011is certainly o to

a ast start! As we

mentioned last quarter we added

to the Summit Group Sotware

team at the end o 2010 through

an acquisition o Miller & McK-

enna Consulting. We had our

rst user group meeting in Du-

luth, MN in mid-December at

Spirit Mountain with nearly 50

people in attendance. It was the

perect location or hosting our

event and a great way to meet many o our newest clients!

For our Microsot Dynamics GP clients, I know the

last ew months have been busy and challenging with

the numerous service packs and tax updates that have

come out. I encourage you check out our blog by visiting

http://blog.summitgroupsoftware.com/. With the constantrelease o inormation in December and January on these

topics it was one o the requent communication mecha-

nisms we used. We have been working hard to increase the

amount o inormation we put on our blog. You can also

email [email protected] to get your ques-

tions answered.

Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Online released in Jan-

uary and the on-premise version should be out by the time

you are reading this article. Check out Josh Behls articles

all year long on the exciting new eatures o this product. I

you havent taken the time to check it out I encourage you

to read about our oer on page 4.

In an eort to continue to increase the training oppor-

tunities available to Summit Group Sotware customers,

we are thrilled to announce the release o our rst Remote

Classroom training opportunities coming up this quarter.

Remote Classroom training is a ull training experience

with hands on exercises, training manuals, and a ull in-

structor led ormat available completely online. I encour-

age you to check out the Training Schedule and get regis-

tered or these classes today.

Finally, I want to i nvite everyone to Convergence 2011

in Atlanta, GA April 10-13, 2011. Its not too late to regis-

ter and it remains one o the best learning experiences out

there or Microsot Dynamics customers. Well be hosting

our 7th annual Customer Appreciation Event at Agathas

Dinner Theatre on April 11th.

We are looking orward to an exciting 2011 Thanks

or your ongoing business!

Eric

From the Presidents Desk

888.929.1387 :: SummitGroupSoftware


3/13

Josh Behl, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Consultant, MCT

Broaden theAutomation Horizon

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Dialogs

> Automation Horizon, continued on p

By Eric Gjerdevig

Free 30-day

trial oer and

our-hours o

ree training

I you are a regular reader oThe Summit, Microsot Dynamics CRM is not a new topic.

It is one o the astest growing applications throughout the entire Microsot product

amily and with the just released Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 version it is set to

achieve even greater adoption throughout the world. Many organizations have not

taken the time to check it out and our mission in 2011 is to change that.

The value proposition o Microsot Dynamics CR M Online 2011 continues to grow

quickly. With the expanded unctionality and current promotional launch pricing o

$34 per user per month, it is a great value. I you are a nonprot, the price drops to $9.99

per user per month! Each edition oThe Summitthis year will highlight some o the

great new eatures o Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 along with add-on products that

urther enhance the product to meet specic needs.

For those wondering what all the hype is about, not sure what va lue a CRM systemcould provide, or using a dierent solution today that is outdated, costing too much

money to maintain, or not exible enough to meet the organizations needs - its time

to take a look! Microsot Dynamic s CRM 2011 is a great out-o-the-box CRM system

with an extremely exible development platorm to meet unique business needs. With

integration tools such as Scribe, Microsot Dynamics CRM can be connected to other

existing systems to urther enhance the value.

Throughout 2011, Summit Group Sotware is oering any prospective Microsot

Dynamics CRM customer a FREE, our-hour introductory traini ng session. We will

get you signed up or a FREE 30 day trial, provide you and your sta with our hours

o education on the basics, and get your questions answered! Th is one-on-one training

will put you in a great position to evaluate what this exciting product can do or you.

Contact us today to set up a t ime!

Its Time.The time is right to checkout Microsoft DynamicsCRM 2011

Until now, automating business processes and data entry

Microsot Dynamics CRM has been a task relegated to

ows, client side scriptin g, or even unsupported develop

Organizations that wanted to have users interact directly wit

automation in a wizard-like experience ound this was either a

pensive endeavor, too scary to envision, or plain old wishul t

ing. For those organizations hoping or this unctionality, it is

to get introduced to one o the more interesting new eatures o

crosot Dynamics CRM 2011Dialogs.

Workows, Dialogs, and Processes

Beore delving too deeply into Dialogs, a point o ree

should be established. I n previous versions o Microsot Dyn

CRM, organizations have been able to utilize Workows to ac

plish many o the supported automations. Wh ile workows a

very much part o the customization picture, they are now buc

under a larger concept called Processes. Processes are autom

888.929.1387 :: SummitGroupSoftwarethe Summit 2011.1 :: a publication of Summit Group Software


4/13

WWhen people rst hear the phrase und accounting; schools, churc hes, govern-

mental agencies, municipalities and the other thousands o not-or-prot orga-

nizations out there come to mind. Thoughts may t hen move to the complexity

o the record keeping that takes place in these organizations, especially when it comes

to the nancial data. When acing a mandate to comply with government accounting

and reporting standards, where do administrators turn or real-world solutions to com-

plex operational challenges? The answer is simple, Microsot Dynamics GP. Microso t

Dynamics GP will allow you to spend less time on unding and accounting processes,

and more on delivering services. This article will briey describe how Microsot Dy-

namics GP helps agencies and organizations adhere better to regulations and controls,

proactively manage grants and budgets, and streamline accounting processes.

Fund Management

Fund Management can be one o the hardest parts o not-or-prot accounting.

Without an accounting system that can automatically make balanced journal entries

between the unds, one can nd themselves spending more time balancing the indi-

vidual unds than actually spending time analyzing the unds.

For this exact reason Microsot Dynamics GP oers Interund Accounting unc-

tionality. Interund Accounting along with the InterCompany modules helps ensure

that the daily transers between the unds helps them stay in balance by automatically

creating the necessary entries between the unds.

Accounting orNot-or-Proft

Budgeting And Grant Management

Budgeting or not-or-prots can be very complex and most

have to prepare multiple versions. There are budgets or each

und, budgets that do not sync with the scal year, budgets or

each department, etc. There are also guidelines that must be

ollowed and tracking o actual budget is extremely important.

Microsot Dynamics GP can provide support in all o these

areas using dierent modules. There is the main budgeting tool

which allows organizations to have as many budgets as needed

or any given year. These budgets can then be used to provide

budget vs. actual nancials. Within these budgets organizations

can set them to have a dierent period length tha n just matching

the scal year. In addition, organizations can historica lly keep

track o changes to amounts within the budget.

A Grant Management module is also provided with Micro-

sot Dynamics GP. With Grant Management, users can stream-

line transaction processing and help ensure compliance with

the rules, regulations, and reporting requirements that go along

with receiving grants. With the ability to stay in compliance,

companies can help increase changes o uture grants.

Encumbrance Management/PO Commitments

Requisitions are an important part o any company. Em-

ployees submit requests to supervisors to spend unds accord-

ingly. Issues arise when supervisors do not know exactly how

much o the budget has been spent or how much has already

been committed or related expenses.

Microsot Dynamics GP provides both Encumbranc

Commitment Management. Encumbrance Management

with maintaining a budget by providing checks and bala

Encumbrance Management overall enhances the budgetin

perience, helping organizations better manage when unex

ed expenditures arise as well.

With the ability to stay in

compliance, companies can help

increase changes o uture grants.

PO Commitments is another way o helping with bu

ing. As users create purchase orders, some o those pur

orders have un-received amounts on them. PO Commit

provides the capability to validate these un-received am

against budgets and also nancial statements so organiza

can include these amounts as expenditures, even though

are not spent.

Microsot Dynamics GP has been developed to be ext

ly competitive and compatible in the not-or-prot industry

these modules. To learn more about how Microsot Dyn

GP could help your organization, contact your account ma

today.

By Joel Rodencal,IT Consultant, Project Manager



5/13

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Integration OptionsScribe Insight and Integration Manager

There are many important considerations to make when

deciding how to integrate an organizations data. With

many dierent options available, one must consider the

value and cost o a solution in order to nd the correct and right-

sized toolset or the job. While custom development and vendor

solutions are options, they can be costly and difcult to main-

tain. There are several great toolsets available which simpliy

integration design and make integrations more maintainable,

exible, and scalable. This article is going to compare and con-

trast two o those options Scribe Insight and Integration Man-

ager rom Microsot.Scribe Insight is an integration product developed by

Scribe Sotware. One o the major advantages o Scribe Insight

is the nearly limitless data connections it supports. The appli-

cation provides data adapters or Microsot SQL, text les, Mi-

crosot Dynamics CRM, Microsot Dynamics GP, web services,

Exchange, and many other applications. In act, any ODBC com-

pliant application can be integrated with Scribe.

By Tyler Sand, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Consultant,Developer, MCT; and Shawn Stewart, Microsoft DynamicsConsultant, Project Manager

orcing upper case or example, along with translating data as

it goes. In contrast, Scribe Insight is denitely more developer

oriented, though it does still provide a point-and-click interace

and use Excel-like unctions rather than requiring complex code

or most data translations. In addition, Scribe must be managed

rom the server rather than rom the client o an end user.

One o the major advantages o

Scribe Insight is the nearly limitless

data connections it supports.

With Integration Manager, more complex data extraction,

transormation, and validation can be perormed by utilizing

VBScript within the tool. For example, scripting can be added

prior to Integration Manager reading the source le or imme-

diately ater to perorm data validation or data transormation

process. Another example or VBScript is to mark the source

records as integrated ater the document is integrated or ater

the entire integration is complete. VBScript can also be used

to prompt the end user or data input, such as transaction date,

batch ID, or vendor ID, and then validate that input against Mi-

crosot Dynamics GP.

Real Time Capabilities

One advantage o Scribe Insight compared to Integration

Manager is its near real-time integration capabilities. Using a

variety o publishing mechan isms, the application is able to push

changes rom one system to another when chan ges are detected.

Integration Manager is a Microsot product that allows

data to be integrated rom various external sources such as

text les, Microsot Excel les, ODBC compliant sources or in-

stance Microsot Access, and Microsot SQL tables into Micro-

sot Dynamics GP. It has built in capabilities to allow data to be

extracted, transormed, validated, and then transerred into Mi-

crosot Dynamics GP while maintaining proper business logic

o the system. Whereas Scribe Insight integrates data into many

dierent systems, Integration Manager is typically only used to

integrate data into Microsot Dynamics GP.

Interace

There are several key advantages to utilizing Integration

Manager. The tool has a very easy to use interace that does

not require a specialized knowledge o database programming.

The simple to use mappings rom source le to destination can

be handled by most typical end users o the Microsot Dynam-

ics GP system and can accomplish most data transers. Simple

changes in the mappings allow or case conversions, such as

For example, a change made to a customer or item reco

Microsot Dynamics GP can trigger the same update to be

to the corresponding customer or product record in Mic

Dynamics CRM or a website. I ntegration Manager does

jobs to be scheduled to run at a set requency; however, it

not provide the same real-time capabilities as Scribe Insigh

Event Logging

Both Scribe Insight and Integration Manager provid

tailed logging which allows users to see results o the int

tion and specically which records and documents succeed

ailed. Integration Manager can store this inormation di

in the application or write it to a text le in a specied loc

Scribe stores the inormation in its internal database whic

then be viewed in the Scribe Console or queried in SQL.

Integration Managerthe tool has

a very easy to use interace that does

not require a specialized knowledgeo d atabase programming.

While there are many similarities between the two

ucts, there are even more dierences. As experts in both

ucts, we can help you to select the correct integration pr

to meet the needs o your specic project. Contact your ac

manager today i you want to learn more about these two

integration options.



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The highly anticipated (or some o us) re-release o Business P

5.1 has nally arrived! What does this mean to Microsot Dy

ics GP customers? A number o new eatures and new co

ibility are introduced with Business Portal 5.1 or Microsot Dyn

GP 2010.

Inrastructure Compatibility

The main eature with Business Portal 5.1 is compatibility wi

bit servers and Microsot SharePoint 2010. Previous versions o Bu

Portal lacked the compatibility with 64-bit environments. When

Point 2010 was released, it was released in 64-bit only installs, w

means in order to make it compatible with the new release o S

Point, Microsot has added 64-bit compatibility to Business Portal.

External Lists

Another added eature to Business Portal 5.1 is the addition

ternal Lists. SharePoint 2010 comes with the ability to have ex

lists comprised o data rom external data sources such as the Mic

Dynamics GP application. The Business Portal team took advant

this new eature in SharePoint to create a number o out-o-the-bo

or Microsot Dynamics GP that come with Business Portal 5.1.

lists allow users to view inormation straight out o Microsot Dyn

GP with a amiliar SharePoint interace.

KPIs

The old Key Perormance Indicators (KPIs) in Business Port

By Joe Tews,Microsoft Dynamics GP Consultant, MCT

Business Portal 5.1:

At Last!

> Business Portal 5.1, continued on p

> Automation Horizon, continued from page 5

within Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 which enable customers

to automate their business processes or data entry. Workows

(as they previously were) are initiated through manually choos-

ing to run the process, creating, deleting, updating, assigning,

or changing the status o a record. Once the workow has been

initiated, the user typically only needs to push it along other

than updating the record, completing a task, or something such

as that. Dialogs, conversely, automate the same kind o unc-

tionality but require the user to interact directly with the auto-

mation through the use o a wizard-like interace.

interact directly with the automation

through the use o a wizard-like interace

an interace which is easy to learn and

ensures that the right questions are asked

Here are a ew possible scenarios:

An organization would like to quickly identiy potentialreerrals or leads. The reerrals should be Accounts

in Microsot Dynamics CRM who have agreed to be

reerrals, like in the same state or province o the lead, and

have purchased the product that the lead is con sidering to

purchase rom them. Once the user has walked through

the wizard, an appointment is set up between the lead, the

reerring account, and the sa lesperson who owns the lead.

An organization hires hourly employees to qualiy

leads based upon a pre-dened list o questions. This

position is a high turnover position so they need an

interace which is easy to learn and ensures that the

right questions are asked. Based upon these questions

and their respective answers, the leads are assigned to

particular sales people or disqualied automatically.

When customers call in with issue, a support team

needs a standard way to evaluate the issue, determine

the severity o the issue, and decide who is best able

to answer the question or resolve the problem. Once

the user has gathered a pre-dened set o inormat ion,

the case is assigned to the correct person.

An organization has a series o questions to ask

attendees o an event the company has sponsored.

This survey consists o a variety o questions

that may be dierent based upon the customers

inormation. Likewise, the customer needs to be

able to come back to those answers at a later date

and utilize them to help drive marketing eorts.

These are a ew scenarios where Dialogs can help a great

deal. Is your organization evaluating an upgrade to Microsot

Dynamics CRM 2011 or considering a new pu rchase o Microsot

Dynamics CRM 2011? Make sure to ask about this unctionality

to support your customer relationship management strategies!

Contact your account manager or more inormation or to discuss

Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011. Additionally, be sure to check

out our blog at http://blog.summitgroupsoftware.com or more ar-

ticles and video demonstration o how to create a Dialog.



7/13

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Featured ISV

Over the past 12-18 months, the construction industry has undergone a transor-

mation. Changing market dynamics are orcing contractors to resize stas, real-

locate resources, and modiy overall market strategies. Combine the act there

are ewer jobs to bid with a higher pool o competition or jobs that are available, this

leaves unavorable circumstances. Forced to bid and build at tighter margins despite a

reduction in resources and personnel, it can be argued that contractors have become as

reliant as ever on the role tec hnology plays on the day-to-day operations o t he company.

According to the 2010 IT Playbook, published by Constructech magazine, more

than 50% o contractors plan to spend greater than $30,000 on new technology in the

year ahead. O those investing, approximately 20% plan to invest in new technologyinitiatives, 29% plan to invest dollars into maintaining current initiatives, and 41% plan

to allocate their IT spend to a blend o both new technology and maintaining current

investments.

Research rom Constructech also reveals 21% will be aced with updating outdated

or inefcient sotware/hardware within the next 3-to-6 months, with another 23% ac-

ing this reality in the next 7-to-12 months. This indicates that or many contractors,

this renewed look at current technology initiatives has revealed a harsh reality that the

sotware systems they have had in place are not as efcient as the s ystems can be.

Regardless o market conditions, organi zations must always be looking or ways to

improve and grow. The bar to deliver on-time, on-budget projects cost-eectively

as well as manage equipment and execute work orders continues to go up. As a resu lt,

MarketPerspectiveThe necessary steps toConstruction Software Selection

More than 50% o contractors

plan to spend greater than

$30,000 on new technology

in the year ahead

by Holly Holt - Wennsoft

it is critica l to equip your company with the best tech nology.

The role o technology is to make signicant contributions

to the bottom line. Todays market creates an environment

where companies are struggling and as a result many are araid

to make any investment that could be deemed too risky. How-

ever, sitting back and becoming complacent is not an option.

Companies need to seize the moment and position themselves

to emerge ahead o the competition in t he long run.

21% will be aced with updating outdated

or inefcie nt sotware/hardware

within the next 3-to-6 months

The rst step or organizations is to determine i a change

is needed. Are they getting the most rom employees, subs,

equipment and assets, materials and other denable costs? Do

you they have the reporting needed while the action is happen-

ing or do they hear about project protability ater the project

is completed? Is someone keying inormation into more than

one system or transerring it rom paper to computer? Has

the business changed since the last purchase o an operational

management solution? Did the solution change with the orga-

nization?

There are several key indicators that may trigger compa-

nies to take the rst step in sotware selection which is simply a

needs analysis. Its probable that those indicators are amilia r to

others in the construction industry.

Evaluating the Options and Making the Commitme

I the companys needs analysis results in a decisi

evaluate the possibilities, narrow the options, and poten

make a commit to make a change, it is important to eva

the options with consistency and rigor. Begin to dene

critical questions to ask each vendor. Assemble inorm

on selection best practices or construction companies sp

cally. Secure the internal support needed to ensure this p

is completed successully. Compose a selection team o p

who can help drive the best solution across the whole com

and be careul not to delegate to someone who many not

a vested interest in the business va lue o the solution.

Avoiding the Common Pitalls

Finally, when a company gets to t he point o impleme

a solution - it eels like the home stretch, but it can be th

ger or success or ailure o the entire project. Making su

company balances the way business has been done histor

with ways the solution might be able to optimize efcien

key. Question what is most important or the organizatio

Just like many construction projects change orde

scope creep can impact deadli nes positively or negatively,

clarity or conusion, and ultimately make the end result loo

erent than what was originally designed. How much la

should be allowed during each phase?

Acceptance to change varies rom person to person. W

> Market Perspective, continued on p



8/13

Every company needs proessional looking, external acing documents. Depend-

ing upon the organization, some o these documents may require a modication.

Modications can range rom adding a company logo to re-arranging the layout

to adding additional elds. In prior versions o Microsot Dynamics GP, Report Writer

was the only option or users printing and modiying documents and reports. Micro-

sot Dynamics GP 2010 now interaces with Microsot Ofce Word or select docu-

ments and reports. When uti lizing the Microsot Ofce Word eature, modiying these

documents has become easier and given users more options and exibility. Even i

the organization does not need a modication, the standard Microsot Ofce Words

Reports can still be used. A lthough there are many benets to utilizing the Microsot

Ofce Word Report eature, listed below are the top ve reasons to start using it today.

1. Ease o Use

Microsot Ofce Word reports are very easy to use and utilize the same printing

processes users are amiliar with in Microsot Dynam ics GP. By deault, this unc-

tionality is enabled when Microsot Dynamics GP 2010 is installed. I modications

are needed or these documents, they are done in Microsot Ofce Word, which users

are more amiliar with, rather than through Report Writer. A lso, when printing these

documents, they are printed in M icrosot Ofce Word.

2. Modifcations

Depending upon the modication needed, workstations that modiy Word Re-

ports may need the Microsot Dynamics GP Add-in or Word installed on that machine

only. Then, all modications are done through Microsot Ofce Word. I only one

Top 5 Reasonsto use MicrosoftWord Reports

By Janelle Montplaisir, MicrosoftDynamics GP Consultant, MCT

user will be doing modications, the Microsot Dynamics GP Add-in only needs to

be installed on that users workstation. Plus, when doing modications, users do

not need to be concerned about corrupting a reports dict ionary as modied Word

Reports can be uploaded at any time.

Modications can be made to either a Standard Template or an existing modi-

ed document previously modied in Report Writer. I users want to use Word

Reports with an existing modied Report Writer documents, the existing docu-

ment can be imported. Users can also create a blank template or a document and

build it rom scratc h as needed.

3. Multiple Templates/Documents

Microsot Word Reports allows users to create multiple templates or each

Word Report. In previous versions o Microsot Dynamics GP, not all documents

were able to have multiple ormats.

4. Assign Deaults

Users can assign a specic Word Report as the deault to each company. When

utilizing Word Reports or that company, users will not have to select a certain

report it will automatically print. Word Reports can be assigned to individual

customers and vendors. When a specic Word Report is assigned to a customer or

vendor, that report/document will always be printed or that cust omer or vendor.

There is no need or the user to remember which ormat to print or customers and

vendors as the correct report automatically prints when assigned.

5. E-mail Word Documents

Users can easily e-mail select Microsot Word documents to customers and

vendors using the new e-mail eature in Microsot Dynamics GP 2010.

These are just the Top 5 reasons to use Word Reports. There are a lot o ben-

ets to these reports or Microsot Dynamics GP. To learn more about Word Re-

ports or get started today, contact your account ma nager.

are also gone. In their place, Mic

Dynamics GP 2010 has added a nu

o out-o-the-box SQL Server Rep

Services KPIs and metrics. These

are much easier to read than the old

ness Portal KPIs as well as more

with the ability to do drill-down r

ing right rom Business Portal. An

great eature o this is these same

can replace the Microsot Dynami

metrics within Microsot Dynami

2010 giving users consistent KPIs

environments.

A number o great new eatures

rolled out with Business Portal 5.1.

is the time to consider Business Por

your organization. For more inorm

on the eatures available or to d

next steps in moving to Business Pcontact your account manager.

> Business Portal 5.1, continued from pag

> Market Perspective, continued from pag

the construct o a sotware implem

tion there is a ne balance between

ing a change, and trying to do too m

too ast. Working with a strong co

ing partner helps ensure not only te

cal success, but also company adopt

The best way to blow up a pro

lack o alignment and resource. Sec

company commitment rom the le

ship team and rom those working

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place is critical.WennSot has a series o white p

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ware Selection. To receive these

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The tips and tactics outlined in these

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9/13

Ask the Expe

Report and FormDictionary Recreation

Question: Why is it important to update or recreate allreport and orm dictionaries ater completing an update to Mi-

crosot Dynamics GP?

Answer: Dictionary les are important components o Mi-crosot Dynamics GP that can cause several issues and errors i

not updated. There are two main uses or dictionar ies: modied

reports and orms.

Dictionary les have a very simple purpose to store all

reports or orms modied in Microsot Dynamics GP. Example:

Modiying a trial balance to show specic inormation this

modication would be stored in the reports dictionary. Modi-

ed reports and orms are stored in two separate les, gener-

ally named Reports.dic and Forms.dic, respectively. The reports

dictionary is created when a user rst launches Report Writer

or imports reports rom a package le. The orms dictionary

is created when a window is modied or imported. I there are

no modied reports or orms, the corresponding dictionary le

will not exist. These les can be stored on a local workstation soonly that PC can access the dictionary, or; a dictionary le can

be stored in a shared older on a network or multiple worksta-

tions to access simultaneously. Find the location o your diction-

aries by looking at the Dynamics.set le or in the Edit Launch

le window (Microsot Dy namics GP > Tools > Setup > System

> Edit Launch File). A lso note in this window that each product

within Microsot Dynamics GP has its own reports and orms

dictionaries. It is common or Microsot Dynamics GP to use

multiple reports and orms dictionaries.

Dictionary les are important because not only do they

store modied reports and orms vital or daily processes but

they can also cause several error messages or even lock users

By Danny Rose, Microsoft Dynamics GP Consultant

out o Microsot Dynamics GP i they become corrupt o

maintained. I you have ever experienced Microsot Dy

ics GP crashing or seen dictionary errors appear while a r

tried generating, a corrupt or outdated dictionary ater a

grade was likely to be at ault. Because o this, dict ionar

ways need to be updated directly ater an update to Mic

Dynamics GP is complete.

Batch Wont PostQuestion: Why wont my batch in Microsot Dyn

GP post?

Answer: There can be numerous reasons why a baMicrosot Dynamics GP will reuse to post: A transaction

a closed scal period, invalid distributions, missing transa

data, etc. Some users may be quick to review each transact

the batch individually to try and discover the issue, but this

ally isnt very efcient especially when you do not know

the problem is that you are looking or. Microso t Dynami

has a very simple eature across all modules that will likely

time and headaches when the next batch posting error po

it is called the Edit Batch List.On all Batch Entry screens (nancial, receivables, pu

ing, etc.) is a little printer icon in the upper right corner o

window. By selecting the batch and pressing this icon, use

ceive an edit list o all transactions in the batch along wit

errors that may prevent the batch rom posting. The bes

about it is the error messages on this report are usually

descriptive and helpul.

While you may not nd the inormation on this rep

be useul enough to review or every batch you post, it sh

certainly be the rst thing to review the next time you rec

posting error.

ASAP!

Reasons to attendConvergence 2011!

TotheWorldsGreatestBoss:IwouldliketoattendMicrosoftConvergence2011inAtlanta,April10-13, 2011.ConvergenceisthepremierMicrosoftDynamicseventforcustomers!Herearefivegreatreasonsyoush

ouldsendme.WhileatConvergence,I will:1LearnhowwecangetthemostoutofourMicrosoftDynamicssolution. IlllearnhowtousethefeaturesandfunctionalityoftheMicrosoftDynamicssolutionwecurrentlylicensetoimproveoperationalefficienciesandincreaseemployeeproductivity.2NetworkandcollaboratewithmypeersandtheproductexpertsfromMicrosoftandSummitGroupSoftware. IllbeabletoconsultwiththeteamfromSummitGroupSoftwareandtheMicrosoftpersonnelwhoaredirectlyresponsiblefordevelopingandsupportingourproduct.

3Experiencethelatestsolutioninnovations, newproducts,andtechnologies.Illgetup-to-dateonthelatestMicrosoftproductsandbusinesstechnologiessuchasOffice2010,SharePoint2010,andSQLServerandlearnhowtheseproductscanenhanceourMicrosoftDynamicssolution.4GetinsightsintoMicrosoftscorporatedirectionandunderstandfutureplansforourMicrosoftDynamicssolution. WellbeabletoalignourbusinesstotakebestadvantageoftheinsightsIgainregardingMicrosoftsdirectionandsolutioninvestments.Plus,Convergence2011Atlanta iscost-effectiveandeasytoattend.Atlantaoffersmanyafford

ablehoteloptions, andtheeventstartsonaSundaysoitwilltakelesstimefrommyworkweek.Soundslikeagreatopportunity,doesntit?TolearnmoreaboutConvergence2011Atlanta, visittheConvergenceWebsiteatmicrosoft.com/dynamics/convergence/atlanta11/.

Thanksandbestregards,WorldsHardestWorkingEmployee

Quickemailyourbossthefollowing



10/13

WorkPlace eProcurement

WorkPlace eProcurement is a ro-

bust web-based e-Procurement solution

that allows organizations to automate

the complete procure-to-pay cycle rom

product selection, requisitioning, ap-

proval and ordering to delivery, receipt

and nancial settlement. The suite in-

cludes applications or requisition, cXML

PunchOut, check request, budget com-

pliance, RFQ, PO generation, receiving,

invoice matching, and vendor contract

enorcement with approval workow

throughout the entire process.

Eliminate error-prone

paper-based processes

Reduce requisition-to-order

costs and cycle time

Control maverick spending

Manage by exception -

ensure that your purchasesadhere to your policies

Ensure Sarbanes-Oxley

compliance with a complete

audit trail o transactions

Enable procurement proessionals

to ocus on strategic tasks

WorkPlace Project

WorkPlace Project is a ull-eatured

project costing solution that delivers

web-based, workow-driven inormation

or project and resource management to

increase your employee productivity

and streamline your customer billing.

WorkPlace Project enables operational

and nancial management through proj-

ect initiation, resource utilization, time

and expense processing and earned value

management.

WorkPlace Time

WorkPlace Time is a powerul web-

based time sheet solution that makes it

easy or billable proessionals to report

their time in an efcient and timely

manner. The aster that time is billed to

clients oten has a direct impact on the

collection time and can have a dramatic

eect on the protability o the entire

rm.

WorkPlace Expense

WorkPlace Expense is a robust web-

based expense management solution that

allows organizations to increase em-

ployee productivity and speed employee

reimbursement. Designed to remove

paperwork and streamline business pro-

cesses or time and expense and project-

based expense reporting, WorkPla

pense supports the electronic subm

o expense reports, automatic ro

and electronic approvals o indiv

line-item expenses, all through an

tive web browser-based interace.

WorkPlace as a Front-End toMicrosot Dynamics GP

WorkPlace seamlessly integra

Microsot Dynamics GP, enabling

ployees to easily and quickly ex

workow transactions such as re

tioning, receiving, invoice mat

project, and time and expense entry

Tighter Security & Control

For many organizations Mic

Dynamics GP is the backbone o

company. To prevent misuse or

cious tampering or just to limit t

cremental accumulation o inadverrors many organizations tightly

direct access. By perorming all

ow transactions within WorkPlace

ployees dont need direct access to M

sot Dynamics GP. WorkPlace pro

real-time integration with Microso

namics GP via 100%-compliant tr

tions, thus ensuring ERP data integ

> Workforce Automation, continued on p

What is Employee Workorce Automation?

Companies in every industry are acing ever-increasing

pressures to reduce costs, improve employee productiv-

ity, and increase prots. To eectively address such chal-

lenges, organizations must develop improved strategies both or

managing and controlling corporate expenditures and resources

and or minimizing administrative and non-value-added ac-

tivities that consume a signicant portion o every employees

workday.

Employee Workorce Automation (EWA) consists o a relat-

ed group o applications that automate and improve enterprise-

wide business processes, including requisition, procurement,

travel & expense management, and time sheets and other proj-

ect-management tasks. A common thread o these painstaki ng,

yet critical administrative tasks is that they are heavily paper-

based, time-consuming activities that oten require the involve-

ment o multiple unctions across the enterprise. EWA solutions

minimi ze the eort required to complete and control these tasks

by creating a sel-service environment that pushes the initiation

o multiple administrative activities to the desktops o rontline

employees using a user-riendly, web-based interace. EWA so-

lutions automatically route a nd execute employee requests in ac-

cordance with the business rules and workow that have been

pre-dened by the organization.

Organizations using EWA realize signicant cost, pro-

ductivity and process benets. In addition, by managing all

operational activities and expenditures on a single, integrated

platorm, EWA solutions are positioned to deliver the real-time

inormation and unctionality required or managers to proac-

tively analyze and adjust operational resources in todays dy-

namic business environment.

The WorkPlace Suite rom Paramount Technologies

The Paramount WorkPlace Suite includes ully integrated,

web-enabled Requisition, eProcurement, Project, Time and Ex-

pense Management solutions that all oer:

100% Microsot .NET-connectivity or easydeployment across the entire enterprise

A simple and intuitive web browser dashboard interace

Congurable business rule-driven application unctionality

Multi-language support with available

specic language sets

Multicurrency support

Role-based security/approval

Online context-sensitive help

Seamless integration with existing Microsot Dynamics GP

By Foy Mainor, Director of Sales, Paramount Technologies

Employee WorkforceAutomation withParamount

Featured ISV



11/13

Spotlight

I your organization is one that wants to begin accepting credit cards or streamline the

receivables process through the integration o credit card processing, keep reading

this article!

In November 2010, Microsot released Payment Services or Microsot Dynamics

GP. Provided as a part o Microsot Dynamics GP 10.0 (Service Pack 5 or higher) and

Microsot Dynamics GP 2011 (Service Pack 1 or higher), organizations can now initiate,

authorize, and settle credit and debit card transactions rom within Microsot Dynam-

ics GP with no additional sotware purchase. Whether accepting payment on-premise,

over the phone, or on-line, these services will securely transer necessary inormation

to the payment processor in real-time. Currently, these services support a number o

the common payment providers, including: First Data, Digital River, PayPal and more.

All companies current on a Business Ready Enhancement Plan have access to this unc-

tionality.

MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover are all supported by Payment

Services and oer customers o your organization numerous options or payment. In

organizations with multiple merchant accounts, Payment Services allows the associa-

tion o dierent types o credit cards with dierent payment processors. Multiple pay-

ment currencies are not a problem with acceptance o over 20 dierent international

currencies. Depending on the payment process, organizations may also be able to do

away with the credit card terminal and the associated phone lines saving additional

money.

While Online Payment Services or Microsot Dynamics GP is very valuable or

many businesses, i your organizations needs go beyond those o the provided unc-

tionality do not ret! Many o our customers have already ound the value o integrat-

ed credit card processing through applications oered by Nodus Technologies. I you

would like more inormation about how you can increase efciency through the inte-

gration o credit ca rd processing, contact your account manager today.

Online Payment ServicesProcessing Credit Card Payments Made Easier

By Paul Johnson, CPA, MBA

> Workforce Automation, continued from page 19

More Workow capabilities

Microsot Dynamics GP oers a broad set o capab

but any particular capability is rarely best in class.

Place is ocused entirely on delivering best in class Emp

Workorce Automation capabilities automating procure

requisitioning, project, time and expense transactions to

internal workow processes more efcient, improve emp

productivity, reduce time and errors and save money. B

orming workow within WorkPlace, organizations an

ployees use and benet rom a much richer eature set. B

orming workow transactions within WorkPlace, empl

work with an intuitive, easy-to-navigate interace design

workow, thus improving their task quality, job satisactio

productivity.

Web-based Access

Busy, mobile employees need to be able to generat

prove and review workow transactions consistent with

they do business. By perorming workow transactions w

WorkPlace, employees are productive wherever they h

browser interace. Additionally, web-based WorkPlace req

no sotware to be resident on users PCs (other than the brer), minimizing disk usage.

To learn more about the WorkPlace Suite rom Param

Technologies, contact your account manager today.

initiate, authorize,

and settle credit and

debit card transactions

rom within Microsot

Dynamics GP

Jody Miller

Jody Miller joined Summit

Group Sotware in October 2010

through the merger with Miller

& McKenna Consulting in Du-

luth, MN. Jody has over 25 years

o experience in writing, train-

ing, consulting, managing, and

selling Microsot Dynamics GP

and other accounting sotware.

Jodys role as an account manag-

er allows her to stay in requent contact with the customers

she has worked with or years; and, has allowed her to get

engaged right away with numerous other Summit Group

customers and make an immediate impact.

She enjoys spending time with her husband a nd daugh-

ters shing and relaxing at their cabin in the summer, and

vacationing anywhere warm in the winter. Jody stays in-

volved with her daughters Samantha (17) and Barbara (13)

who are very active in school and sports.

888.929.1387 :: SummitGroupSoftwarethe Summit 2011.1 :: a publication of Summit Group Software 20


12/13

Events Calendar2011.1To register or any o these events, go to SummitGroupSoftware.comand click on Training.

Date Workshop Type L oc at ion Cou rse

3.15.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Launch User Group

3.15.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP - Receivables Management

3.15.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP - Sales Order Processing

3.15.11 to 3.16.11 Classroom Chicago, IL FR x Essentials I

3.16.11 to 3.18.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND SharePoint Technologies and Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

3.17.11 to 3.18.11 Classroom Chicago, IL FR x Essentials II

3.22.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics CRM or Service

3.22.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP - Bank Reconciliation

3 .22.11 to 3.23.11 Class room Duluth, MN Manag ement Rep orte r or Microsot Dy namics GP 2010

3 .22.11 to 3.23.11 Class room Chicago, IL Manag ement Rep orte r or Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

3.25.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Marketing in Microsot Dynamics CRM 4.0

3.28.11 to 3.29.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Management Reporter or Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

3.29.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP - Fixed Assets

4 .4 .11 to 4 .8 .11 Class room We st Farg o, ND Microsot Dy namics GP 2010 F inancial s

4.5.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Launch

4.5.11 to 4.6.11 Classroom Lincoln, NE FR x Essentials I

4.7.11 to 4.8.11 Classroom Lincoln, NE FR x Essentials II

4.11.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics CRM or Sales

4.12.11 to 4.13.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Business Intelligence in Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

4.14.11 to 4.15.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Microsot Dynamics and Microsot SQL Reporting Services

4.18.11 to 4.20.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Microsot Dynamics GP 2010 Distribution


4.21.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Payroll or Microsot Dynamics GP

4.21.11 to 4.22.11 Classroom Chicago, IL FR x Essentials II

4.25.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics CRM or Service

4.26.11 Remote Classroom Whats New in Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011

4.26.11 to 4.27.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Management Reporter or Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

4 .2 6.11 to 4. 27.11 C la ss ro om K an sa s C it y, MO F Rx Es se nt ia ls I

4 .26.11 to 4 .29.11 Class room Chicago, IL Microsot Dynamics GP 2010 - F inancial s

4 .2 8.11 to 4. 29.11 C la ss ro om K an sa s C it y, MO F Rx Es se nt ia ls II

5.2.11 to 5.4.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Conguring and Administering Microsot SharePoint Server 2010

5.3.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP General Ledger 5.3.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Inventory

5.6.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Table Relationships

5.9.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics CRM or Marketing

5. 9.11 t o 5.10 .11 C la ss ro om We st F ar go, N D F Rx E ss ent ia ls I

5.10.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Payables Management

5.10.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Purchase Order

Processing

5.10 .11 to 5.11.11 Class room Chicago, IL Manag ement Rep orte r or Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

5.13.11 Remote Classroom Introduction to Microsot SQL Server

5.17.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Receivables Management

Date Workshop Type L oc at ion Co ur se

5.16 .11 to 5.17.11 R emo te Cl as sr oom M ic ro so t D yn am ic s and Mi cr os o t SQL Rep or ti ng Ser vi ces

5.17.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Sales Order Processin

5.17.11 to 5.18 .11 Class room O maha, NE Manag ement Rep orte r or Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

5.19.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Goal Management

5.20.11 Remote Classroom Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Sales Management

5.20.11 Online Introduction to Microsot SQL Server Views or Microsot

Dynamics

5. 23.11 to 5. 24 .11 R emo te Cl as sr oom M an ag em en t R epo rt er o r M ic ro so t Dy na mi cs GP 2010

5.23 .11 to 5.24 .11 Class room Chicago, IL Microsot Dy namics and Microsot SQ L Rep orting Se rv ices

5.24.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Bank Reconciliation


5.24.11 to 5.25.11 Classroom Kansas City, MO Management Reporter or Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

5.25.11 to 5.27.11 Class room Chicago, IL Share Point Te chnologies and Microsot Dy namics GP 2010

5.26.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Introduction to Workow

5.26.11 to 5. 27.11 C las sroom Ch icago, IL F Rx Essent ia ls II

5.27.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Introduction to Dialogs

5.31.11 Online Introduction to Microsot Dynamics GP Fixed Assets

5. 31.11 to 6. 2.11 C la ss ro om C hi ca go , I L M ic ro so t Dy na mi cs GP 2010 - D is tr ibut ion

6 .2 .11 to 6.3.11 Class room We st Fargo, ND Bus iness Inte ll ig ence in Microsot Dynamics GP 2010

6 .6 .11 to 6.10 .11 Class room We st Farg o, ND Microsot Dynamics GP 2010 - Financia ls

6 .7.11 to 6.9.11 Class room Duluth, MN Introdu ct ion to Microsot SQL Se rver and Microsot SQL Re por

Services

6.10.11 Online Introduction to Smartlist Builder or Microsot Dynamics GP

6.13.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Online Lead Capture

6.20.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Introduction to Duplicate

Detection and Bulk Deletion

6.20.11 to 6.22.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Microsot Dynamics GP 2010 - Distribution


6.23.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Payroll or Microsot Dynamics GP

6. 23.11 to 6.24.11 C las sroom Ch icago, IL F Rx Essent ia ls II

6.24.11 Online Introduction to Views or Microsot SQL Server Reporting Serv

6.27.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Introduction to Microsot SQL Ser ver

6 .27.11 to 6 .29.11 Remote Class room Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 Customization and Cong ura

6.28.11 to 6.29.11 Classroom West Fargo, ND Microsot Dynamics and Microsot SQL Reporting Services

6.30.11 Online Microsot Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsot SharePoint

Integration and Deployment

To register or any o these events, go to www.summitgroupsoftware.com and click on Training.

Courses subject to change, check t he website or the most up to date schedule.

888.929.1387 :: SummitGroupSoftwarethe Summit 2011.1 :: a publication of Summit Group Software 22


13/13

Bringing together cloud versions o our most trustedcommunications and collaboration products with the latest

version o our desktop suite or businesses o all sizes.

Microsot Oce 365 or small businesses oers an easy-to-use set o web-enabled toolsor small businesses, independent consultants and proessionals looking or business-

class productivity services. Working with the tools people know and use today, Oce

365 provides anywhere access to email, important documents, contacts, and calendarson nearly any device. Its ree or the rst 30 days and then just $6 per user per month.

Key Microsot Oce 365 Benefts:

Anywhere-access to email, documents, contacts,and calendars on nearly any device

Work seamlessly with Microsot Oce and the otherprograms your users already count on everyday

Business-class eatures including IT-level phone support,

guaranteed 99.9% uptime, geo-redundancy, and disaster reco

Pay-as-you-go pricing options which give you predictability

and fexibility or all or part o your organization

Latest version o Business Productivity Online Suite

(BPOS), which has millions o business users today

Microsot Oce 365 delivers the power o

cloud productivity to businesses o all sizes,

helping to save time, money and ree up valued

resources. Oce 365 combines the amiliar

Oce desktop suite with cloud-based versions

o Microsots next-generation communications

and collaboration services: Exchange Online,

SharePoint Online and Lync Online.