Dynamics University Fall 2012

Fall 2012 Providing Learning Opportunities for Microsoft Dynamics速 Users

Preparing for a GP Upgrade

Efficiency: Take it to the Bank

Free Tools for GP

In the Loop with Activity Feeds The New GP Pricing Strategy

SQL Server 2012

MEET THE PARTNERS

PARTNER

LOCATION

WEBSITE

Business Ready Solutions, LLC

Durham, NC

www.businessreadysolutions.net

Cargas Systems

Lancaster, PA

www.cargas.com

Express Information Systems

San Antonio, TX

www.expressinfo.com

Integrated Business Group

Altamonte Springs, FL

www.ibgnet.com

Knaster Technology Group

Englewood, CO

www.theknastergroup.com

Quadis Technologies

Lincoln, NE

www.quadistech.com

Summit Group Software

West Fargo, ND

www.summitgroupsoftware.com

Technology Management Concepts

Marina del Rey, CA

www.abouttmc.com

The Resource Group

Renton, WA

www.resgroup.com

The TM Group

Farmington Hills, MI

www.tmgroupinc.com

PRODUCTS

Fall 2012

Welcome W

elcome to the third issue of Dynamics University Magazine. We are very proud of this issue and the tremendous feedback we have received from our client community about our efforts to provide timely and informative articles. Check the website and the rich content including the blog and training information our teams really enjoy providing this information. Creating topics and delivering content has become a very popular activity in our companies! The content is not only timely but also timeless because it will long outlast the article itself and be a reference long after the next issue is delivered.

This past quarter, many of us watched the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London. The athletes were truly awe-inspiring, regardless of the country they hail from or medals won. They are the Best of the Best.

It takes teamwork and collaboration to realize goals whether in athletics or software implementation. The teams comprising Dynamics University are also the most highly acclaimed – Best of the Best – in our industry. Our “Olympians” strive to bring their BEST talent and creativity to our clients, develop and craft the BEST solutions with the BEST ERP and CRM software available, partner with the BEST ISV product vendors, and implement the BEST solutions to make these endeavors worthwhile for our client community.

Planning, configuring, architecting, and optimizing the themes of many of the articles this quarter - are the critical keys to success for a well-designed solution.

Whether doing an initial implementation, adding to an existing solution, or integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM or other products with Microsoft Dynamics GP – taking adequate time to plan is critical. With increasingly feature-rich functionality comes the necessity to think carefully about how the software will help your organization thrive and increase productivity.

While we don’t necessarily hand out medals at the finish line, we often celebrate small wins with our clients along the way with a big celebration at the end. We encourage you to do the same with your teams and partners, because each small victory means that a lot of hard work and effort went into the endeavor and it should be rewarded. Together, your team, your partner, and your software represent the BEST of the BEST and this quarter’s magazine is a reflection of our goal to bring information you can immediately use. Please continue your feedback on even more ways we can help you.

contents Features

6

Something to Talk About

10

Reuben Krippner discusses Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s social components and the roadmap ahead.

Contain Labor Costs & Streamline Processes PaperSavePro helps organizations manage paper, processes, and overhead through their specialized document management solutions created to work with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

14

Upper Management

18

Improve document management through Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010 integration.

TARGIT goes beyond FRx

20

Build reports with TARGIT software designed to seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Taking Efficiency all the Way to the Bank Report, analyze, consolidate, and manage - banking processes made easier with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Judy Thomas, The TM Group

DynamicsUniversity.com

3

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Fall 2012

contents

IN EVERY ISSUE

9

CRM Tips and Tricks Information designed to increase efficiency for Microsoft Dynamics CRM users. This issue highlights tips on navigating with charts and record-viewing options.

13

Debits and Credits

16

Tips on saving time on recurring batches, default sales document type, and adding custom links in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Book Review

22

Microsoft SQL Server 2012

27

Free Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP Utilize tools for free with the Professional Service Tool Library for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

28 31

New features of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 are examined – requirements, editions and licensing, updates, user defined server roles, sequence values, and data tools.

It’s GP, Just Better Pricing and packaging is changing soon for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

One Big, Happy Family Using National Accounts in Microsoft Dynamics GP to create relationships between specific customers.

Review of Dynamics CRM Deep Dive: Security

32

Preparing for a Microsoft Dynamics GP Upgrade

1405 Prairie Parkway, Suite A

Items to consider when preparing for a Microsoft Dynamics GP upgrade.

34

Stay in the Loop An exciting new solution in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 – Activity Feeds – allowing users to follow, comment and post with other users.

West Fargo, ND 58078 DynamicsUniversity.com

For Advertising Information send an email to learn@dynamicsuniversity.com

Executive Editor: Josh Behl Editor in Chief: Geniece Kizima Online Editor: Kristen Juven Copy Editor: Betsy Stadick Layout: narrative.

Printing and Distribution: Midstates Printing, Inc.

38

Looking Good Compare and contrast tools used to search Microsoft SharePoint data.

40

Opportunity Knocks

42

Utilize training opportunities and stay ahead of the game.

Report Writer

44

Learn how to add a field using Microsoft Dynamics GP Report Writer.

Plan Ahead Check general ledger account posting types now to prevent problems later.

DynamicsUniversity.com

5

Something to about

TALK

A one-on-one with the Director of Technical Product Management

R

euben Krippner is the Director of Technical Product Management for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Reuben’s primary focus is on helping drive Microsoft’s field and partner technical readiness globally. This involves driving knowledge around the architecture of the solution as well as knowledge and tools regarding how to demonstrate and sell Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Reuben also works with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM engineering team to help shape the roadmap of Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution to meet customer demands and market needs.

I recently sat down with Reuben to talk about the exciting roadmap ahead for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Interview by Eric Gjerdevig, Summit Group Software

Eric Gjerdevig: What is Microsoft doing to bring more social components into Microsoft Dynamics CRM? Reuben Krippner: There are really two different ways to answer this question. First, we look at features and investments directly in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Secondly, we look at the broader Microsoft investments in social technologies. As we move the Microsoft Dynamics CRM roadmap forward, users will see many of the investments Microsoft is making on a broader scale will end up embedded within or integrated to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. An example of this is Microsoft’s acquisition of Yammer. This is a huge acquisition for Microsoft in terms of enterprise social capabilities. Over time, Yammer’s enterprise micro blogging and enterprise social capabilities will be embedded within SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Office 365 and Skype as well as continue to be offered as a stand-alone service for enter-

6

Dynamics University Fall 2012

prise social collaboration and communication. There are also exciting investments in social communities and collaboration communities in the upcoming releases of Microsoft SharePoint.

Specific investments we have today with Microsoft Dynamics CRM include Activity Feeds which we added in the November 2011 service update.

This is a Twitter or Facebook like experience within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It allows a user to ‘follow’ a colleague, account, contact or anything else just like they would follow someone on Twitter. They can post questions and comments and view these on a global level or look at it in the specific context of an account or CRM record. The activity feed is also configurable where the system can automatically post important status messages. An example is an automatic post to an activity feed when a salesperson closes an opportunity. It is a great way for the system to keep people up-to-date in an easy to consume fashion.

Longer term, these investments provide an even deeper social experience to customers. Ideas such as ‘social customer care’ where an organization can identify online conversations or Tweets that can be turned into a customer service case. This idea expands upon internal uses of social tools to integrate external conversations via social networks. Additionally, Microsoft has FUSE (future social experiences) labs. This group’s charter is to focus on utilizing social tools and investments for business benefit across Microsoft. An example of innovation out of this group is the Outlook social connector. This team will help drive even more innovation to Microsoft Dynamics CRM over time.

Social is a huge bet for Microsoft across the board. Our challenge for Microsoft Dynamics CRM is bringing it all together in a single application experience. There is a lot of complexity to navigate and we need to get the experience right for our users.

Greenshades Payroll Tax Service Greenshades Payroll Tax Service is the easiest way to file and pay your payroll taxes. Instead of tracking deadlines yourself, we will create the optimal payment and filing schedule based on your company's payroll. Our online portal keeps you in control every step of the way: tracking upcoming deadlines, viewing historical information, and allowing you to schedule payments or filings in advance.

The Core Module of our Payroll Tax Service includes payments for Federal Income Tax Withholding (FIT), Social Security, Medicare, and Federal Unemployment (FUTA). We will also submit returns for Federal W-2s, 941s, 940s, and New Hire reports.

State Packages support the calculation of tax deadlines, generating electronic files, and automatic submission of both payments and filings for State Income Tax Withholding (SIT) and State Unemployment Insurance (SUTA or SUI).

The Local W2 module creates local withholding reports and payment vouchers for thousands of localities throughout the country. Through a direct integration the module will use the local tax codes in the accounting system to determine wage and tax information as well as track deadlines for these filings and payments.

Contact Greenshades Sales: 888.255.3815 X 2 or sales@greenshades.com

Eric Gjerdevig: Microsoft delayed the Interview, continued on page 8 DynamicsUniversity.com

7

Interview, continued from page 7

Dynamics CRM Release 8 update. Why? Reuben Krippner: The planned R8 release earlier this year included cross browser and additional mobile capabilities.

Microsoft holds itself to a very high quality standard. When we sat down and looked at it, we were not where we wanted to be. For example, with cross browser support we had worked on it from an end user experience – the user could update accounts, contacts, and other record types. That was all going to work across a broad set of browsers. The challenge was that Microsoft was not exposing or converting any of the customization or configuration experiences across browsers. We felt we needed to complete the job and get it right. It was a tough decision to make but definitely the right one for our customers and partners.

Eric Gjerdevig: What can customers expect in regard to cross browser and mobility?

Extend of Microsoft

Dynamics

™

Expand your possibilities

With CRG Solutions

Eric Gjerdevig: What are the Microsoft Dynamics CRM release plans and timelines?

Reuben Krippner: The next release (codenamed Polaris) will have the planned capabilities from the R8 update plus many of the capabilities we had planned for the R9 update. There will be an updated roadmap published later this year—but in the next year, users will see more around social, mobility, and a new process-centric user experience which will be more about supporting business processes rather than just lists and forms of information. The momentum is strong for Microsoft with upcoming releases of Windows 8, Windows Server, Office, SharePoint to name just a few. It will be a very exciting year for Microsoft and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. ■

amics AX, G n y P, tD NA f so Data Automation

SL V,

the Reach

Mi cr o

Reuben Krippner: Cross browser is not about just taking the existing application and making it work on different browsers. Microsoft is reimagining the application because just taking what we have today meant that we did not have the experience that was optimized for touch and gesture based devices such as an Ipad. It became clear that if Microsoft was going to do cross browser we needed to deliver an experience that is optimized for the particular device a user is working on. With mobility, Microsoft is absolutely committed to

delivering mobile experiences across multiple devices.

Although this will not initially include support for Safari on the Ipad, Microsoft’s focus will be on delivering experiences through companion applications that are optimized by device based on HTML5. The vision is to deliver specific applications for a device to provide an experience that fits the device instead of just a browser based app that runs on multiple applications. This will eventually include Windows 8 devices and other devices such as the Ipad. It is about delivering the right experience and context for the right device.

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

www.crgroup.com

sales@crgroup.com

Tips and Tricks 1

Navigating with Charts in CRM

by Tyler Domerese, Quadis Technologies

Microsoft ushered in an effective, user-friendly charting tool with the release if Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Users can generally build a chart that efficiently adapts to their standards in just minutes. There are, however, several features that are currently unavailable through an out-of-the-box deployment. These include the ability to modify a chart’s color scheme, edit the legend, change dimensions, or create multiseries charts. These types of customizations can only be implemented by manipulating the chart XML.

Step 1 – Create the chart Charting with a related entity is a very useful and common need. For example, take a chart which shows the average Probability for Opportunities by their Potential Customer’s (Related Account) State. First, a user must create the chart inside of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM chart designer. Then, the user must decide which chart type and field to use from the initial entity along with the way to calculate it. The chart cannot be saved unless another category is selected; choose any

2

random field to continue on the next step.

Step 2 – Export and modify the chart XML Save and then Export the chart XML. Open the XML with a text editor like Visual Studio. Find where the data is specified and create the link-entity tags and insert the appropriate code. Be sure to properly define the related entity name, field, and relationship id fields. Also, be sure to add/modify the measure collection with the alias used in the attribute tag for the initial entity.

Step 3 – Import the modified chart Save the XML and Import the chart back into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Choose to keep both charts or to replace the existing chart. Compare the data in the view to the results displayed in the chart.

For a more detailed and in depth look into charting, check out our blog or contact your Microsoft Partner today. ■

Record-Viewing Options Microsoft Dynamics CRM system administrators can now offer users a choice of viewing options for records. Read-Optimized forms are now available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Rollup 7.

Read-Optimized Forms Users can view records on forms built to open rapidly and to prevent accidental data entry. Read-optimized record forms do not display the Microsoft Office ribbon bar, related records, content generated by custom scripts, or web resources. If users are having performance type issues or are using a hotel internet and just want to view records, they can select this option.

Editable Forms Users can take advantage of rich editing functionality on forms displaying a Microsoft Office ribbon bar. In addition to ribbon commands, editable record forms display related records, content generated by custom

by Kevan Brewer, Quadis Technologies

scripts, and web resources. NOTE: A record form that contains content generated by a custom script will always open in editable format, regardless of the system default or personal options.

People who want to view the data as quickly as possible—if not creating or updating records—might prefer to use read-optimized forms. Instead of the usual ribbon buttons, users will see only buttons to edit a record and close a record.

To set the default mode for Read-Optimized forms, go to Settings, click Administration, and choose System Settings. Access the Customization tab to set the default mode.

To change the default mode for viewing records, simply change personal options by clicking the File tab and then Options in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This will cause the forms to initially open as read-optimized. ■ DynamicsUniversity.com

9

Contain Labor Costs & Streamline Processes

by Holly Condon, PaperSavePro

F

or many companies, doing more with less is the reality if they want to survive in this challenging economic time. One way to reduce labor costs and internal overhead is to reduce the cost per invoice processed, and accomplishing these savings is possible with PaperSavePro for Microsoft Dynamics GP through Document Management, Electronic Approvals, and Invoice Automation.

Manage Paper As the speed of doing business has increased, handling paper documents has become burdensome – often creating bottlenecks. Since the average person spends 20-30% of their day filing, searching, and retrieving information, productivity is affected. Document Management can play a critical role in creating efficiency around storage and retrieval of documents.

Even greater efficiency is obtained when Document Management is integrated with an ERP such as Microsoft Dynamics GP. This specialized type of solution is referred to as Transactional Content Management (TCM). Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company, defines TCM as “content [that usually] originates out-

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

side an organization from external parties – customers or vendors – and relies on business process management (BPM) to drive transactional, back-office business processes which is the basis for the transaction itself.”

PaperSavePro delivers TCM to the Microsoft Dynamics GP marketplace with the tightest of integrations without expensive customizations. It is embedded into Microsoft Dynamics GP offering users the ability to capture and retrieve documents with a “click” directly from within the Microsoft Dynamics GP user interface.

Since it is a natural extension of Microsoft Dynamics GP, users become very comfortable with the technology which helps an organization with rapid acceptance and a quick return on investment.

True TCM solutions also automate processes like matching and filing.

Because the capture of the document is integrated with the creation of the transaction, undesirable tasks like filing are eliminated! The association between the transaction and the source document is automatic. When information is needed, simply open the source record (PO, Invoice, Sales Order, Project, Employee, etc.) and – within a click – view the document.

PaperSavePro also helps automate two- or three-way matching processes between Purchase Order Transactions and Sales Order Transactions based on the relationships between the transactions in Microsoft Dynamics GP – saving valuable time.

Another powerful feature of the PaperSavePro solution is the seamless integration with SmartList and SmartList Builder. If a group of documents needs to be pulled during Audit preparation, create a SmartList based on the required criteria. Within a click from the SmartList window, PaperSavePro will retrieve all of the supporting documents for review.

This feature is designed to eliminate the time spent retrieving documents during audit preparation.

The goal of TCM is to drive efficiency – allowing employees to boost proLabor Costs, continued on page 12 DynamicsUniversity.com

11

Labor Costs, continued from page 11

ductivity and help staff reclaim time spent filing, searching, and retrieving information.

Manage Processes Electronic Approval is another great avenue to help reduce the cost to process an invoice. Industry research claims the cost to be from $16 to $45 an invoice. It is often this step in the Accounts Payable process which takes the longest – triggering late fees, inquiry calls from vendors, and delays in closing monthly financials.

Electronic workflow allows companies to standardize and enforce procurement processes while being able to monitor the movement of documents through the process. That is next to impossible to do in a traditional paper based process.

Removing paper from the process allows documents to be tracked from receipt through transaction generation, allows alerts to be automated to the approvers, and allows documents to be escalated if actions are not taken.

Approvers can even access documents from their mobile devices.

Manage Overhead Still looking for greater savings? Invoice Automation drastically reduces costs by reducing keystrokes and data entry errors – saving an extreme amount of time. PaperSavePro’s Auto-Entry with OCR reads the scanned invoice much like

a person does and ‘lifts’ key information (used to automate the transaction creation )off of the invoice.

Example of Savings: If the invoice amount is $1750.57 which would be seven keystrokes, the information is lifted off of the document either a) automatically or b) within a click.

With just the amount being automatically populated, that is a reduction of six to seven keystrokes per page. Take into account the other transaction information: Date Field – six key strokes, Invoice Number – six key strokes and Vendor Name (assuming auto-fill is used) six key strokes. Already, we are at 24 keystrokes per invoice. If 100 invoices are processed per day, Invoice Automation can eliminate a total of 2,400 key stokes per day. It also drastically reduces errors that cause over payment or underpayment.

Many AP staffs are already operating at capacity and looking to hire additional personnel or looking to reduce overhead. Invoice Automation is a solution that will better manage payroll costs and reduce the cost to process an invoice.

Whether seeking better paper management, standardization and monitoring processes, or reduction in overhead – PaperSavePro has a starting solution and grows with your company’s evolving needs. Learn more and attend a live event today! ■

Quote and Order Automation Solutions for Microsoft Dynamics® CRM & ERP

Experlogix Product Configurator 12

Dynamics University Fall 2012

Visit us at www.experlogix.com

Debits and Credits Saving Time on Recurring Batches

by John Hoyt, Technology Management Concepts

By using recurring batches in Microsoft Dynamics GP, users can save considerable time with repetitive tasks. When a new batch is created, Microsoft Dynamics GP sets it to a one-time use batch by default. Once the batch has been posted, the batch itself is deleted. For some recurring transactions, create a recurring batch to allow that batch to be posted as many times as necessary with the transaction date for each item in the batch being rolled forward appropriately.

Consider a company that needs to send out multiple rent checks every month. With no variation in the transactions except for the date, these are a perfect candidate for a recurring batch. When creating the batch, change the Batch Frequency from SingleUse to the proper frequency (Monthly in this case). Now, every transaction saved to the batch will be saved and re-used in the following month. When changing the Frequency from Single Use, users can also specify how many times they want that batch to be posted, or leave it as Zero and the batch will be available every month indefinitely. ■

Default Sales Document Type

by Linda Brock, The Knaster Group

For all of the Sales Transaction Entry users out there - the document type for the most commonly used type can be set to default in! Simply open the User Preferences window – found either on the Home Page in the upper left part of the Navigation Pane or under the Microsoft Dynamics GP dropdown menu, choose User Preferences. From the dropdown box for Default Sales Doc Type, choose the type. This saves a keystroke on every sales transaction entered! ■

Adding Custom Links

by Wendy Ponseti, Express Information Systems

Users can add Custom Links in Microsoft Dynamics GP for email, website or documents links. One example is to add a vendor contract to the Vendor ID field. The document needs to be added to the desired Vendor Address ID in the Internet Information window. If adding a document, browse to the document using the User Defined 1 or User Defined 2 fields. Then, go to Microsoft Dynamics-ToolsSetup-Company-Custom Link. Create a new link by selecting the Address Type and Address Field. Now when clicking on a link field for Vendor ID on a Transaction or Inquiry window, a link to the document is shown. ■ DynamicsUniversity.com

13

Upper Management Using CRM 2011 and SharePoint 2010 integration to improve document management capabilities

by Kelly Rose, The TM Group

A

n organization’s efficiency and effectiveness depends on business systems that drive its processes from start to finish. Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides the ability to manage these processes, whether it falls into the area of customer acquisition, customer management or customer retention.

While Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides the best possible method of managing the customer experience, there are still many customer documents created that need to be stored and must be easily searchable. Companies need to decide where these documents should be stored and is the best way to make them viewable to individuals in the organization.

As a business thrives, all of its documents grow exponentially

As a business thrives, all of the company’s documents that are created grow exponentially as well. The ability to store sales proposals, scope of work data, client information, marketing and business correspondence, and other documents of any kind typically requires a centralized document storage location. Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s native functionality delivers file attachment capabilities on any Microsoft Dynamics CRM record, such as Accounts, Contacts, or Opportunities by using the Notes section. Users are able to upload file attachments associated to any record, but editing the same file requires multiple steps. The file must be downloaded to a local drive or shared drive, modified, and then re-uploaded into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Users are not able to easily manage versions inside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. To search for a document inside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the entire notes entity must be queried and the document

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

name can be searched on.

To streamline user document management, Microsoft SharePoint can be used instead of Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s native functionality.

Microsoft SharePoint is a business collaboration platform that provides total document management, simplifying how organizations store, find and share information as well as other capabilities.

There are many sensational features that Microsoft SharePoint provides.

Version Control capability can be configured so every time a document is edited, a new version is created. The document can be easily reverted back to a previous version, if needed. It is so simple and easy to open a document, click on it, the document is fully editable, then just save and close when complete. There is also Content Search that allows the document name and also any document tags to be identified for use in a document tag search. Of course, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint are better used together! Through a Microsoft Dynamics CRM record, SharePoint documents can be uploaded and viewed in the same intuitive and familiar interface as Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Document folders inside of SharePoint are created every time a new record is created. Even non-CRM users are able to access the documents directly through SharePoint.

Consider the following example.

Company X has the need to store sales proposal PDF documents that correlate to the sales opportunity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Every time a sales representative for Company X creates a new sales opportunity inside of CRM, a new folder is created inside of SharePoint, but visible within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Opportunity form, for the user to upload the document to. Company X can take advantage of SharePoint document capabilities by using version control, which would create a new version of the document every time it is modified. Now sales representatives can view previous versions of the sales proposal documents.

This native integration can be configured with just a few steps. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM/SharePoint administrator installs the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for 2011 list component for SharePoint 2010 and runs the documentation management setup wizard inside Microsoft Dynamics CRM. That’s all there is to it – Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint are ready to use!

If a business has needs beyond what the native SharePoint integration offers, a custom workflow can be written to achieve their goals. Recall the example Company X who wanted to store sales proposal PDFs inside Microsoft Dynamics CRM via the the native SharePoint integration. Fast forward to the future and Company X has decided that they would like to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mail Merge to populate the sales proposal customer deliverable with opportunity and customer information directly from Microsoft Dynamics CRM records. In addition, after the Mail Merge document populates, they would like the document to be automatically saved into SharePoint into one folder labeled “Proposals” where ALL customer proposals are saved. By changing the structure from multiple opportunity sales proposal folders to one proposal folder, non- Microsoft Dynamics CRM users are able to easily navigate to the proposals folder to find what they need .

Microsoft SharePoint Foundation is available and included at no cost with a licensed copy of Windows Server. Other editions are available at a price that provides enhanced functionality. There is also an exciting cloud service edition available as part of the Microsoft Office 365 platform. Whether the choice is to natively integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint or use custom development to attain business objectives, the solution can be deployed using Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint On-Premise solutions, Online, or a Hybrid model. ■

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DynamicsUniversity.com

15

[Book Review]

by Dustin Domerese, Quadis Technologies

Dynamics CRM Deep Dive:

Security Mitch Milam CRM Accelerators (March 1, 2012)

S

ecurity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is one of the most important aspects of the deployment. It allows groups of users to be categorized within an organization and defines the level of access each has to the data and the actions available. Depending on an organization’s requirements, this granular, role-based approach to security can allow a company to structure very specific security models to meet the exact needs of users.

Given this flexibility, understanding and navigating the security model of Microsoft Dynamics CRM can sometimes be a very difficult task. The structure of users, business units, security roles, and privileges can sometimes seem overwhelming even to the most experienced Microsoft Dynamics CRM administrator. This book by Mitch Milam is a great resource for building and maintaining security for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The key to security in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is to setup a hierarchy for the organization that is simple to follow and requires the least amount of effort to maintain. Structuring the organization’s business units and assigning users to those business units is the first step to setting up security for an organization.

The first chapters of Mitch’s book outline the steps, best practices, and technical details surrounding the setup of business units and users.

The following chapters dive deep into the detail of Security Roles and Privileges in Microsoft Dynamics CRM – outlining key concepts on the setup of Security Roles and assignment of Security Privileges to roles in each business unit. Included in the Security Role and Privilege Definitions section of the book is a very helpful and detailed glossary of all Microsoft Dynamics CRM Privileges and their definition in the system. It is a great reference for troubleshooting security errors or locating a missing privilege from a user’s security role.

Throughout the chapters are several “Notes” sections that outline key concepts or tips to remember for that topic. These “Notes” cover topics such as changing business units, tips on how to copy security roles, the effects of Sharing a record, and the use of Teams on CRM security.

Field-level security is one of the most important new features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, adding another layer of functionality upon the already robust security framework. The use of Field Security Profiles can be a very powerful

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

feature for companies that have sensitive data on a Microsoft Dynamics CRM form and provide a definition as to which users can create, edit, or view data in these fields. There are, however, several limitations as well as some key concepts to understand when working with Field-level Security. Chapter 8 of this book does a great job of giving an overview and guiding readers through the setup process for configuring Field-level security.

Work Simpler & Easier™

Rockton Software is a creative company that develops products that make Microsoft Dynamics® GP more

This book by Mitch Milam is a great resource for building and maintaining

intuitive and userfriendly to improve customers’ lives by making their work simpler and easier.

security for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Each chapter of the book not only goes in-depth to discuss the details around that specific security topic, but also lists any actions and their specific function in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. From diving deep into SQL Server User Security – to uncovering details behind Active Directory Roles and their impact on Microsoft Dynamics CRM setup – this book truly covers the security structure of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Chapters are written in a way that provides a step-by-step approach for administrators navigating Microsoft Dynamics CRM to setup security in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization.

Through the course of the chapters, very helpful charts and hierarchies are shown to illustrate the way the security components relate to one another and to the entire structure of the system.

If you are a System Administrator, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Administrator, or Consultant responsible for design and configuration of Security, this book is highly recommended as a reference or detailed study of Security in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. ■

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17

TARGIT goes

beyond FRx

by Brenda Sheldon, TARGIT

M

icrosoft’s announcement to retire FRx triggered the need to find the right tool to support and enhance many company’s reporting requirements. It may have also triggered the question: Are we ready to painstakingly rebuild each report within Microsoft’s replacement – Management Reporter?

TARGIT Business Intelligence & Analytics enables organizations to continue to build financial reports - even after Microsoft retires FRx – and without the need to migrate to Management Reporter.

TARGIT has seamless integration to Microsoft Dynamics GP and out-of-the-box dynamic reports with drill-down capabilities. In fact, TARGIT has more Microsoft Dynamics clients than any other vendor in Gartner’s BI Magic Quadrant. The user-friendly Business Intelligence solution is designed to integrate fully with the Microsoft Dynamics GP platform and can be used to accelerate decision making, increase operational awareness, and improve performance across the organization – in just a matter of hours.

Robust Reporting TARGIT has 20 years of experience with robust reporting, which comes as a fully packaged, standardized Business Intelligence (BI) solution called TARGIT BI Suite. The TARGIT solution enables companies to monitor sales force, drill into the P & L statement and create reports quickly and easily.

As well as supporting the user’s need to work with multi-currency translation, TARGIT allows for real-time financial reporting while maintaining security settings. TARGIT also gives users the ability to easily build custom reports based on General Ledger data.

Users can easily export and email reports within or outside of Microsoft SharePoint, enhance collaboration within the organiza18

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tion, use dynamic dates, and even drilldown into data while being offline. TARGIT lets users set and pursue a business direction via a shared world-view which is visualized through clear graphs, diagrams, and dynamic tables – they are automatically accessible for anyone in the organization regardless of their IT skill level.

continue to build financial reports - even after Microsoft retires FRx – and without the need to migrate to Management Reporter Dashboards and Analyses TARGIT BI Suite also allows organizations to quickly observe, analyze, and take action via Intelligent Dashboards and Scorecards. These interactive gauges and built-in intelligence provide an overview of the company’s performance and help to identify the biggest problems and opportunities. Users can analyze data fast, and TARGIT allows users to easily create and navigate intuitively in the most advanced analyses.

About TARGIT TARGIT is one of the world’s largest pure-play developers of Business Intelligence and Analytics products and is the fastest growing in terms of revenue according to IDC. TARGIT is included in Gartner’s “Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms” and TARGIT BI Suite is ranked best at organization-wide deployment by BARC. For more information on TARGIT and TARGIT BI Suite, please visit Targit.com. ■

Beyond FRx with TARGIT With TARGIT Business Intelligence & Analytics, you can continue to build your organization’s financial reports even after Microsoft retires FRx - and without having to migrate to Management Reporter.

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Taking efficiency all the way to the bank

by Eric Gjerdevig, Summit Group Software

T

alk to any banker and they will confirm the increase of regulatory requirements, heightened customer expectations, and extreme competition. The retail bank of today offers exponentially more products and services and has significantly more business units than it did just 15 years ago. This changing environment impacts all areas of bank operations – mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, savings and checking accounts. Consumers and small businesses are using the internet and mobile devices to communicate and transact with their bank – impacting traditional branch expansion strategy.

A challenge seen with banking clients is that many suffer from possessing numerous legacy systems, applications, silos of data, duplicate customer information, and no single view of a customer. These challenges lead to further issues with reporting and analytics—which, in this environment, is made extremely challenging, if not impossible. The potential dozens or more different business units (using different systems and tools) often fail at referring leads effectively between themselves.

Failing to solve these problems results in poor customer experience, disconnected operations, ineffective client communications, missed referral opportunities, and lower overall customer satisfaction. Numerous retail banks and

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

financial institutions have implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM to address these types of problems.

Here are some examples of how Microsoft Dynamics CRM is currently used to help banks become more effective: Reporting and Analytics: Whether it is through the use of employee dashboards or custom built reports, Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides a powerful platform for analytics and reporting. As an example, one bank used to spend days each month manually calculating out their Loan Loss Reserve adequacy for their board and management meetings. Today, the loan data is pushed from their Fiserv solution into custom entities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM using Scribe.

Also created was the ability to track various factors relative to loans such as risk and economic ratings, guarantee information, and other values. The system allows for quick modeling to determine the impact on Loan Loss Reserves due to changes in various factors. Something that used to take days now takes seconds to run via Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides a powerful platform for analytics and reporting

Consolidating Complex Data: Another bank was looking to build an easily accessible 360-degree view of their customers. Their vision was to provide employees access to important customer data across the entire organization from a single system. Prior to implementing the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform, To the Bank, continued on page 26

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Microsoft SQL Server 2012:

What can it do for you and

is it worth it?

W

by Greg Parker, Business Ready Solutions

ith the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2012, many companies are looking at the new features and contemplating whether it is worth upgrading. Of all the releases of SQL Server, this one seems to have the data-driven geeks in high gear to take full advantage of its rich new feature set. Although, it does need mentioning that many of the new features of this release are only available in the developer or Enterprise editions. This article is going to cover some of the new features found in SQL Server 2012 and what those features can do for an organization.

Requirements One of the first things to note is that Microsoft was not going to squabble over requirements to trade on features or performance.

Starting with SQL Server 2012, Service Pack 1 is the minimum requirement for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems. It will also run on Windows Vista SP2. SQL Server 2012 is supported in virtual machine environments also running in Windows Server 2008 SP2 Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter editions, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Standard, Enterprise, and

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its supporting services, such as SSIS, SSRS, and SSAS will support the maximum number of cores allowable in the operating system. In licensing, a core-based approach is a noticeable change that will mean higher prices for those companies utilizing processors with more than four cores and running the new Enterprise edition of SQL Server 2012.

Could be a fair trade off though for having unlimited virtualization rights, so if running high density in the virtualization environment with many SQL servers running on VMs, licensing cores is only required with Enterprise edition.

Datacenter editions on the Hyper-V role. On this virtual Hyper-V environment, there is a maximum of four virtual processors that can be all allocated to each Windows Server 2008 SP2 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. This pertains to both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.Â

Product Editions/Licensing There were also some changes involving the product editions with this release of SQL Server 2012. Most notably, the creation of a SQL Server Express developer version called LocalDB. This LocalDB edition makes installing very easy and requires virtually no management, but offers the same T-SQL language, programming surface and client-side providers as the regular SQL Server Express. In effect, developers no longer have to install and manage a full instance of SQL Server Express on their development machines.

Moreover, if the simplicity and feature-set of LocalDB fit the needs of the application environment, developers can continue using it in production, as the LocalDB edition can prove adequate as an embedded database.

With the exit of Datacenter edition, Enterprise Edition of SQL Server 2012 is the top level, including all the functionality of the Standard edition as well as the Business Intelligence (BI) edition and unlimited virtualization rights. Yes! The BI edition is new as well and will include all the features of Standard with some extras. The BI edition will keep the Server/CAL model versus the CPU core license available with the Enterprise edition. The BI edition supports up to 20 cores versus Standard’s 16 cores maximum, while

Product Update Another big change with SQL Server 2012 is the Product Update feature in SQL Server 2012 Setup. It integrates the latest product updates with the main product installation so that the main product and its applicable updates are installed at the same time. Product Update includes the option of searching local folders, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), the Microsoft Update site, or network shares. This will save time on downloading/installing service packs and hotfixes separately when deploying SQL Server 2012.

User Defined Server Roles Microsoft made security administration a bit easier with the release of the User Defined Server based roles. Until now, there have been nine predefined and fixed roles that have come with previous versions of SQL Server, and user defined roles were only at the database level. This created SQL security management problems when there were many users that needed consistent access across databases in an instance. This means granting rights individually to users for each database. With user defined server roles, administrators can create a group, add the users to that group, then grant the rights needed for that group. This reduces the likelihood of incorrectly assigning users too many rights and increasing security of the SQL instances.

ColumnStore Index One of the biggest game changers to come out with SQL Server 2012 is the new relational indexing called ColSQL Server 2012, continued on page 26 DynamicsUniversity.com

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Cash is King

Managing cash flow with Microsoft Dynamics GP

The Small Business

Get Lync’d Revolution The Evolution of

Recoverable Systems Tech Support Keys to making adequate backups

Sneak Peek:

Fundraising Software

GP2013

A new direction

Follow the Trail—

Creating Reports with Improved Auditing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Report Wizard Management Reporter

Streamline

2012

Document Tracking

Time Matrix

Watching the Clock

Intelligent Technology:

Connecting Systems in Educational Institutions

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To the Bank, continued from page 21

SQL Server 2012, continued from page 23

this bank used over 20 disparate systems within the different areas of the bank. A key focus of the first phase of work was to design a system that would allow data to flow from the bank’s core banking software into Microsoft Dynamics CRM to allow for easy access, process automation, and business intelligence.

umnStore Indexing. This new feature is completely unique to SQL Server and should prove to be a true performance boost feature — setting SQL Server 2012 apart from all other relational database formats. The thing that makes this feature so awesome is the fact that in regular indexes, all indexed data for each row is kept together on a single page, and data in each column is spread across all the pages in an index. ColumnStore indexing takes the data from each column and keeps it together so each data page contains data from a single column. The benefit is truly seen with data warehousing, where it will significantly increase the speeds of querying read-only tables. Of course, administrators will need to access tables carefully to ensure compatibility with this new feature.

Business Process Management: Through Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a bank has been successful in automating several of its key processes and is targeting additional processes in future phases. The initial area of automation focus was the loan origination process. Prior to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it was a manual process. There were many areas where the process could break down or stall – often waiting on action from employees who had no visibility into the tasks that were required.

Through extensive workflow development within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform, this process was able to be task driven and automated with all responsible parties having complete visibility into the work-streams as they were happening.

Managing Referrals: As with many banks, referrals from one department to another play an important role in the recruitment of new customers into different areas of the bank.

Prior to developing the process within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform, this was a very difficult area of the business to track.

Referrals were done with pen and paper and were often lost or not followed up – and when a referral did result in a customer add within another area of the bank, the original referrer often did not know of the positive business result. Through the use of workflows, queues, and reporting, this has transitioned into a process that is managed within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform — it can now be tracked accurately and used to help quantify positive business results within the organization.

Banks and financial institutions recognize that identifying, attracting, and retaining profitable clients is vital to their success. Unfortunately, many lack a holistic view of their customers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM can deliver the flexible tool to meet this need across multiple business segments. Through better reporting, a greater understanding of clients, and better management of complex processes – Microsoft Dynamics CRM can deliver an outstanding ROI and help drive business. You can bank on it. ■

Microsoft was not going to squabble over requirements to trade on features or performance Sequence Values SQL Server 2012 also contains a feature that has long been familiar to Oracle users – a sequence value. Uniqueidentifiers or identity values, which are often used for primary keys to create uniqueness in a database, no longer need to be created. Typically uniqueidentifiers were sixteen byte values in contract to sequence value tinyint, smallint, int, bigint, numeric, or decimal. This can prove to increase the speed when using sequences in indexes. Sequence values can be the same byte size as identifier but what makes them faster is that the next value is retrieved from memory versus Identity retrieved from disk.

SQL Server Data Tools Yet another new feature is actually a toolset called SQL Server Data Tools, which replaces Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS), and offers a Visual Studio hosted IDE. This toolset brings together an integrated environment for database developers — bringing together components of Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services. Those familiar with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) will like the addition of the SQL Server Object Explorer in Visual Studio which allows much of the adding/ editing/deleting of objects traditionally using SSMS without the need to run both applications at the same time for development and administration tasks. SSDT also provides other familiar development tools such as IntelliSense, version control, code navigation, and a visual Table Designer.

SQL Server 2012 was developed with a rich feature set, too many to mention here, which will definitely set this release apart from previous and keep it competitive in the realm of performance, scalability and reliability. Other new features not mentioned here include BI tools like PowerView and Data Alerts for SSRS, tighter integration with cloud-based SQL Azure, AlwaysOn for better disaster recovery options, and better auditing capabilities. As always, the needs of each environment varies, so assess the organization’s situation before considering an upgrade to SQL Server 2012. With all the features packed into this release, there will be something out there for almost organization’s benefit. ■ Source of Article: Microsoft MSDN site

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Free Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP! E

by Kim Anselmo, The Resource Group

ver wanted to change old account numbers or Vendor IDs in Microsoft Dynamics GP? How about updating Employee IDs when they change their name? The Professional Service Tool Library (PSTL) contains quick and easy tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP users to consolidate and change data within the system and they are now free to all customers.

The tools can be as easy to use as clicking a button—users can change data throughout the system without manually keying in data at every location. Just be aware that these are powerful changes to the entire Microsoft Dynamics GP system structure. Before using the tools, it is recommended to speak with a Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner to assist in determining which tools are appropriate and needed and how to set them up correctly.

The top tools for the greatest value: Account Modifier/Combiner: Change an old account number or combine like accounts into one without manually keying in the data. This tool includes both the account modifier and combiner.

Customer Combiner: Combine a customer number into another customer number without losing any work, open or history records. The old customer number is removed from the system after the completion of the tool, and the summary records are recalculated to include Free Tools, continued on page 30 DynamicsUniversity.com

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It’s GP, just better.

by Bob Callanan, Business Ready Solutions, LLC

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P

ricing and Licensing for Microsoft Dynamics GP is once again getting easier. At the Worldwide Partner Conference in July, Microsoft announced the new perpetual licensing scheme which will take effect in October 2012 with the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.

Out with the Old

To understand what this means, first take a look at the two licensing options that are available today.

Perpetual licensing is the most typical –purchase a license to use the product and the license allows use of the product for as long as an organization wishes (perpetually). An annual enhancement fee grants access to updates to the program as they are released. Or, a company may license Microsoft Dynamics GP under a subscription license where a monthly fee is paid for the right to use the system. The monthly fee includes updates but once an organization stops paying the license expires and access to the system is lost. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but that is a topic for another day.

The perpetual licensing program has had major changes. Prior to 2007, a license to use Microsoft Dynamics GP was linked to the specific modules that the user wished to license. For example, a company could choose to license only General Ledger and Accounts Payable for five users. The price for that license included a separate charge for General Ledger, Accounts Payable and for the five users. As the number of modules that were available increased, pricing became more and more complicated until in 2007 Microsoft transitioned to its “Business Ready” licensing model that bundled many of the modules together and sold them within a user price. Using the above example, a company

would simply purchase five Business Essentials users, which would include five users plus a suite of modules that included General Ledger, Accounts Payable and a number of other modules. The 2007 license change was a significant improvement, but there were still areas of confusion.

As the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP2013 approaches, a release that includes a new web client, the decision to revisit licensing was needed.

In with the New

The Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 licensing model offers two user license types: Full User and Limited User. The Full User license is similar to the existing concurrent user and provides the user with access to Microsoft Dynamics GP through all the available methods of access. The Limited User license replaces the Light User and the Employee Self Service User and allows read access to Microsoft Dynamics GP through the windows client and the web client as well as write-access via time and expense functionality. In addition, the Limited User is now a concurrent user rather than a named user.

The majority of the system functionality is now bundled into either the Starter Pack or the Extended Pack.

The majority of the system functionality is now bundled into either the Starter Pack or the Extended Pack. The Starter Packs includes the core financial and distribution modules while the Extender Pack includes Project Accounting, Manufacturing and other advanced features.

Certain functionality that was developed by ISVs may reside outside the Starter and Extended Pack and would be available for purchase separate. The Configuration and Development suite is also purchased in this manner.

One final area of the Microsoft Dynamics GP2013 licensing change introduces the term “Multiplexing”. Microsoft GP—Just Better, continued on page 30

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Free Tools, continued from page 27

GP—Just Better, continued from page 29

both customers’ summary information.

defines Multiplexing as “the use of hardware or software (including manual procedures) to reduce the number of devices or individuals that access or use the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution by pooling connections.” Multiplexing does not reduce the number of user licenses required to access the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution. Any user that accesses the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution—even when accessing indirectly—must be properly licensed. This is a topic that created some confusion with the introduction of the Light User a few years back and we are hoping to see more examples and a clearer definition here soon.

Customer Modifier: Change customer numbers in the system by changing from an existing customer number to a new customer number. Instead of having to key in the new number and re-keying all open invoices, simply update all work, open and history records with the click of a button.

Employee Modifier: Change an employee ID without losing any work, open or history records. A new employee ID is introduced to the system while the existing one is removed.

Item Number Modifier: Change an item number without losing any work, open or history records.

Vendor Combiner: Combine a vendor ID into an existing vendor ID. All the work, open and history records combine into the new vendor. No data is lost, and the summary balances are recalculated. The original vendor ID is removed from the system after it is combined into the other vendor ID. Vendor Modifier: Change an existing vendor ID to a new vendor ID with the click of a button. Instead of having to key in a new vendor ID and re-key open invoices, update all work, open and history records seamlessly.

Get started with the PSTL by contacting your Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner, or go online at https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource. ■

Bringing e-commerce solutions to Microsoft Dynamics GP

Unlike the 2007 licensing change, the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 license model is required in order to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013. The primary reason is that the security model of Microsoft Dynamics GP2013 was re-designed to manage Full and Limited users. It is expected that there will be no fees charged to existing users for this transition and existing customers will not lose existing functionality and in some cases will gain functionality.

Overall, the new licensing model will make Dynamics GP a more attractive solution for small businesses as the price will be significantly less and probably an even trade for mid-sized companies. During the next 90 days, look for more details from your Microsoft Dynamic Partner on this announcement. ■

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One big, happy family.

The relationship of National Accounts in Receivables Management

N

ational Accounts is a feature available within Microsoft Dynamics GP that allows the creation of a relationship between specified customers, typically ones that make up a single corporation or company. The parent customer can either have one or multiple child customers and is usually the customer that distributes payments on behalf of the child accounts. Other than distributing payments, National Accounts also allows the application of settings for the parent customer to the child customers for credit status, holds, and finance charges.

by Danny Rose, Quadis Technologies

Reports and inquiries through Receivables Management can provide consolidated information about the activity of a National Account customer window – statements and aging reports are often used with this option. NaNat’l Accounts, continued on page 37 DynamicsUniversity.com

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How to:

Preparing for a Microsoft Dynamics GP upgrade

by Perry Kountouriotis, The TM Group

B

efore conquering a Microsoft Dynamics GP upgrade, there are a few very important items to consider. The first thing to determine is whether or not the organization is truly ready for an upgrade. This naturally requires a great deal of research and due diligence. Organizations should then explore the decision and implementation options with a reputable Microsoft Dynamics Partner. As a Microsoft Dynamics Partner, we work in collaboration with all of our clients to complete a Pre-Upgrade Worksheet as part of this planning and analysis process.

Here are the top ten considerations in preparing a Pre-Upgrade Worksheet:

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1

Capture the number of companies and the name(s) of the database(s). On an upgrade worksheet, list the companies, their database sizes and the folder where the database files are stored.

2

Ensure Server and Hardware requirements are met. Make sure that the new Microsoft Dynamics system requirements are met including the Microsoft Windows Server Version,

Microsoft SQL Server version, the version of Windows each desktop is running, and that the computers meet the RAM requirements.

3

Determine what version of Microsoft Dynamics GP is currently run to help define the upgrade path. On an upgrade worksheet, list the Server name, and note what modules of Microsoft Dynamics GP are installed and need to be upgraded to the latest version.

4

Remember to list all of the modified and customized reports on an upgrade worksheet for inclusion in the upgrade as well.

5

Identify 3rd party applications. NOTE: Microsoft Dynamics GP cannot be upgraded until all 3rd party (ISV) programs are available and tested before Microsoft Dynamics GP is installed.

6

Consider Financial Reporting Changes. The version of FRx (Financial Reporting) or Management Reporter in use should be noted on the worksheet. And if running FRx, now is the time to decide if the organization is ready for the latest replacement of FRx – Management Reporter.

7

Consider Business Portal Applications. Please note what components are utilized and the version.

8

If there are any customizations, custom programs, custom integrations from external systems and

custom SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) reports, these need to be noted and tested as part of an upgrade.

9

10

Consider Security. If upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 or earlier, the security module in Microsoft Dynamics GP has changed in later versions.

Security will convert from older versions to the new Microsoft Dynamics GP security, but it is highly recommended to review this immediately after the upgrade. For those clients that are SOX compliant, a review prior to the upgrade is highly recommended.

Conduct a Test Upgrade. If any of the following conditions exist, a test upgrade is strongly recommended.

• Custom program code from any source • Custom reports/applications integrated to Microsoft Dynamics GP • Business Portal applications • Extensive security setup and SOX requirements Once the pre-upgrade worksheet list has been completed, double-checked by the Partner’s team, and upgraded to the latest version, Microsoft Dynamics GP is ready to move forward. Use the following is a list of tasks GP Upgrade, continued on page 37

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Stay in the Loop with CRM’s Activity Feed Solution

O

ne of the key challenges within organizations is keeping people “in the loop.” Making sure people stay informed can be done in many ways with Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Run reports, open up Microsoft Dynamics CRM records and look at information, create views, examine dashboards, and the list goes on.

The reality is some of these simply take too much time for some users.

by Josh Behl, Summit Group Software

Solution In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 with Update Rollup 5 installed, Microsoft made available the Activity Feed Solution. Essentially it is an internal Twitterlike tool within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 that allows users to see tidbits of information occurring in various parts of an organization. Users can choose to follow particular records (for example: Opportunities, Cases, Accounts, and Contacts), comment on those records, and engage in dialog about those records or topics with other internal Microsoft Dynamics CRM users.

Configuration The first thing to note about configuration of the system (other than importing and publishing the solution) is that once the solution is imported, the entity to

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use this functionality with needs to be configured. It is important to mention that not all entities can be used with the activity feed. Those entities which can be used with the activity feed functionality include:

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• List • Opportunity • Phone Call • Queue • Quote • Recurring Appointment • Recurring Appointment Master • Sales Order • Service Appointment • Task • User For details on configuring entities, reference Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Resource Center’s Set up and Configure Activity Feeds article.

Using Activity Feeds The most interesting aspect of using activity feeds is the ability to easily follow/un-follow, comment, and post on Microsoft Dynamics CRM records and users.

Following: If a record type is enabled for activity feeds, its records can be followed by users. When following

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Activity Feed, continued on page 36 DynamicsUniversity.com

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Activity Feed, continued from page 35

that record, any post made on that record’s wall will appear on the user’s personal wall as well. Most record types have Follow and Un-follow buttons on the navigation ribbon. These two buttons will only be enabled if a record type is enabled for feeds. For more details on how to follow records and users, reference the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Resource Center’s Follow Colleagues and Records with Activity Feeds article.

SIGN IN

Posting: Posts are the elements that encompass an activity feed. Another way of looking at it would be that a Post in the activity feed functionality is conceptually the same as watching Tweets or Facebook posts. Every item appearing on an activity feed is a single Post record. Posts can leverage workflows, be queried in Advanced Find queries, utilize charts, and be interacted with just as any other entity within the system.

www.facebook.com

“LIKE” IT

The Wall: The Wall is found in two primary places: The Workplace under What’s New and the record level on the Record Wall. From both places, users can keep track of, follow, and comment upon the posts. The Wall is probably the more interesting piece of the entity.

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and you could

WIN!

Configuration Options Establishing an entity to utilize the activity feed functionality is fairly straightforward. Where there may be a bit of confusion is with Activity Feed Rules. On the surface, it seems users can create new rules that dictate how the configured entities would function. Unfortunately, the rules that exist are out of the box rules. If a user adds a new entity to the mix they cannot create rules through the interface. But don’t lose hope—users simply create workflow rules that can automate the generation of these activity feed posts.

Practical Example Consider the following banking scenario: A bank uses Microsoft Dynamics CRM to manage their sales process on the retail, retirement, commercial, and wealth sides of their business. They want to enable all bank employees to keep up to date on important actions occurring on customer records. But internal policies and other compliance constraints do not allow all bank Microsoft Dynamics CRM users to have access to details conveyed in the actual Microsoft Dynamics CRM records. Activity feeds were used in a combination with workflows to enable users to see high level basic information about high profile sales opportunities or other important developments to be communicated in an automated and consistent fashion.

There is potential with Activity Feed Rules that can add another element to the overall Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution. Activity Feed Rules allow Microsoft Dynamics CRM users to determine what information to keep tabs on; can be a mechanism to inform people of hot developments in a consistent fashion, and depending upon how creative a user is - there could be other tangible uses as well.■

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Nat’l Accounts, continued from page 31

GP Upgrade, continued from page 33

tional Accounts even has its own window to provide consolidated information or details for just a specific customer that is a parent or a child account. (Access Inquiry, choose Sales, and selection National Accounts Inquiry). When selecting a Parent Customer in the Apply Sales Documents window, all open invoices for each child account can be viewed all at once or individually.

to complete along with your Partner before the upgrade:

Setup this powerful feature in just a matter of minutes — go through Cards, choose Sales, select National Accounts and assign the customers. Select the Parent Customer ID and enter one or multiple Child Customer IDs below to assign. If there are a number of child accounts to setup, use the Select Children button to select a range of customers. This window also allows the selection of specific options for the group of accounts – the option used most often is Allow Receipts Entry for Children of the National Account, which enables the entry of cash receipts for the child as well as the parent account.

There are a couple restrictions for a customer to become a member of a National Account: the customer must be an open-item customer, and the customer can only be part of one National Account, as either a parent or child. Please note that cash receipts can only be applied from a parent to a child, and not vice versa or applied from one child to another. ■

1

Post all single use batches.

2

Make a backup of all GP company databases, DYNAMICS database, and the master database.

3

Print to file:

• GL Trial Balance • AP Trial Balance • AR Trial Balance • Stock Status report • Employee Pay History Print out the Dynamics.set file from each workstation. (Be sure to label user/workstation being printed – note if all workstations the same).

Print out basic P/L and Balance Sheet from financial reporting for verification.

If using Integration Manager, print out the Integration Properties for each integration.

Most Microsoft Dynamics GP Upgrades are relatively easy with proper planning. By keeping systems on a current version, it makes support easier as well as allowing users to utilize the latest features and functions to streamline business processes. ■

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Looking Good:

by Josh Behl, Summit Group Software

C

ompanies have invested in Microsoft SharePoint and other Microsoft business applications over the past years.

They may even have some of these systems integrated in a few meaningful ways. But, how easy is it to find data within these systems?

Individually, users can find what is needed but can users go to one application, search for some key words and get a consolidated results view of all that data? If not, it is important to realize it CAN be done and easier than one might think. Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 saw a number of key enhancements that make searching for data across systems within the context of one application more viable.

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

This article compares and contrasts a few of the possibilities to assist users in deciding which path to take.

Tools There are combinations of tools available for finding a searching solution using Microsoft SharePoint: • Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 • Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express • Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 • Microsoft Search Server 2010 • Microsoft FAST™ Search Server 2010 for Microsoft SharePoint Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 and Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express: These are free of charge to use on licensed Microsoft Windows® servers. These entry level products offer the ability to crawl and index content and provide a user interface for executing queries against the catalog of crawled content.

the big consideration comes down to the number of records to be crawled and searched Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft Search Server 2010: These products offer improved scalability and options for indexing content from many different sources, while fulfilling the configurability, manageability, and reporting requirements of an organization. Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 provides a great platform for creating general productivity search applications.

Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for Microsoft SharePoint: This product delivers the power of FAST with the simplicity and total cost of ownership benefits of Microsoft products.

Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for Microsoft SharePoint delivers the best general productivity search on the market AND makes it easy and

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economical to build high-value search applications. Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for Microsoft SharePoint further enhances the crawling, content processing, user interface, and scale of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

Each searching tool provides companies the ability to crawl a myriad of possible content sources such as: • Microsoft SharePoint sites • Microsoft Windows file shares • Microsoft Exchange public folders • Lotus Notes • Web sites • IFilters for additional repositories • Structured content in databases

Choosing Any of the combinations above would do the trick. In addition to licensing differences and costs, the choice comes down to the number of records to crawl and how those results can be refined.

It takes diligent, collective thought on the part of an organization to select the right tool. Every organization could benefit from Microsoft FAST Search capabilities such as thumbnail previews of Microsoft Office documents, enhanced refiners, and dynamic metadata extraction of crawled content. But, that does not translate into a direct need to buy it. Simply purchasing and configuring MiSearching, continued on page 43 DynamicsUniversity.com

39

Keeping up with training means

staying ahead of everyone else

by Richard L. Whaley, Accolade Publications

T

raining is an on-going issue for users of software. Constant changes in the programs, the procedures, and governmental regulations require users to keep up with the changes that affect their Microsoft Dynamics solution.

Add to that the flow of new employees – and training can become a full-time avocation. A constant struggle to keep teams properly trained in the face of shrinking budgets requires firms to search all of the training opportunities for those that best fit their needs and budgets.

A number of training opportunities exist in the Microsoft Dynamics world.

These include one-on-one training from a firm’s partner, classroom training sessions, web training, conferences, and enhanced documentation.

One-on-One Partner Training This is by far the best training option, but also the most expensive. Hiring a consultant to spend a few days on site allows the consultant to present customized training specific to the firm’s business model. Most Microsoft Dynamics solutions have more features than any firm needs to use. One-onone training allows a consultant to teach only those features needed by the

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

firm or even by the specific team being trained.

the organization. Many of the training platforms require attendees to provide a copy of the software on their laptops. This frequently leads to variations as different firms are licensed for different components of the software.

However, attendance at a web training class does reduce the cost of travel and the training obtained through attendance at a webinar is worth the investment.

Classroom Training Classroom training offers dedicated trainers and training rooms and is available from a number of Microsoft Dynamics partners. Individuals from a firm can attend a class with users from other firms and learn a broader view of the software.

Dynamics University Frequently, during implementation, consultants teach firms what they Conferences has an advantage in the web need to know to run their business Many organizations offer confertraining world. The remote “as usual” but overlook other softences – ranging from customer ware features that may provide appreciation days, to Microsoft classroom environment is hosted beneficial functionality. Learning Dynamics Community Summits, and accessed through VisiLearn— the product – or at least having to Microsoft’s Convergence. Cusone person from a firm learn the tomer appreciation days are held by there’s no need to have the product – through a classroom expartners all across the country. Most software downloaded to the perience can open doors to additioninclude lunch, seminars on new prodal functionality. ucts, and training on new features. The student’s computer.

Dynamics Community Summits and MiWeb Training crosoft’s Convergence are several day long Several organizations including Dynamics Unievents held annually. These conferences have a versity, GPUG.com, and CRMUG.com - along with particutrade show with many vendors showing new available enlar partners and ISVs – provide a series of web based trainhancements, seminars, and meetings. The Microsoft Dying classes. Some of these are available to all users while namics Community Summits are run by a user organization other classes require an enrollment fee or membership in while Convergence is run by Microsoft and is more focused Opportunity Knocks, continued on page 45

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41

Using Report Writer to Add a Field

by Mike Scalamogna, Cargas Systems

A

couple of weeks ago, a customer was looking to add a description field to the Payables Management Historical Aged Trial Balance. For simple financial reports like this, all that customer had to do was use Report Writer to add a field. It’s really pretty simple. Here’s how: When running a report, click the Modify button to open Report Writer. The Toolbox window and the Layout window are the two windows that will be utilized.

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

1

Use the dropdown box on the toolbox to view the tables used to create the report.

2

From the PM Transaction OPEN table, drag and drop the Transaction Description field into the section of the report labeled Body. Maneuver some fields or possibly delete

one that is not important to get it to fit.

3

Resize a field by highlighting the field and clicking CTRL and using a combination of arrow keys.

4

Change the font size and font-related characteristics by highlighting, and clicking Tools on the toolbar and choosing Drawing Options.

5

Click the A button in the toolbox window to insert a text field into the H1 – Vendor section. Once the text field is in place, edit the font size and the size of the box the same way as a normal field in the report. Make sure the text field is just above the transaction description field.

Do not worry about making everything look perfect here. Just get the description and label in the report and delete any unnecessary fields. The layout can always be fine-tuned after running the report the first time.

REMINDER! Be sure to go back into Microsoft Dynamics GP and give security access to the alternate report so that it can be used.

Despite the popularity of FRx and Management Reporter, the native report writer tool in Microsoft Dynamics GP is still widely used to generate simple financials, format checks, and process other reports that do not require a sophisticated piece of software. If you have any questions about the data structure behind Microsoft Dynamics GP, or if you have any trouble adding a field to one of your reports, your Microsoft Dynamics partner can assist you. ■

Searching, continued from page 39

crosoft FAST Search Server is not the solution in and of itself, and requires some thoughtful consideration on the part of the organization.

For most organizations, the big consideration comes down to the number of records to be crawled and searched. Microsoft FAST Search can crawl in excess of 500 million records, Microsoft SharePoint Search approximately 300 million records, and Microsoft SharePoint Foundation around 10 million records. There may be initial benefits in starting small and building from there as the scope of an organization’s content expands and organizational needs become more refined.

Microsoft Dynamics Data For all Microsoft Dynamics products other than Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, users can leverage Microsoft Business Connectivity Services to crawl the Microsoft SQL Server tables or views and search the data from Microsoft SharePoint. In the case of Microsoft Dynamics GP, users can perform record manipulation directly against the database from Microsoft SharePoint. For Microsoft Dynamics CRM, users need to do a bit more programming to accommodate Microsoft Dynamics CRM record manipulation from Microsoft SharePoint. However, in both examples, query and search for data in either database can be done by using any of the searching tools available for Microsoft SharePoint 2010. Even for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, it is possible to search the data from Microsoft SharePoint. It is important to note that crawling Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online data does require some additional programming or perhaps a 3rd party tool.

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As these technologies evolve and as a organization is looking at consolidating their technology spend, take a moment to consider the use of the Microsoft SharePoint searching tools to better leverage those IT investments. For more information on leveraging Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft SharePoint’s searching technologies, and Microsoft Dynamics, contact your local Microsoft partner. ■ DynamicsUniversity.com

43

Plan Ahead Year-End Tip for Account Posting Types

by Darren Hunt, Integrated Business Group

A

void potential disaster at year-end closing by taking a moment to check General Ledger account Posting Types prior to starting the close process. Failure to do so could result in having to start the close process over by restoring from a recent backup.

The Posting Type selected in the Account Maintenance window determines whether the account balance is brought forward or whether it is closed to the retained earnings account. Accounts marked with the Balance Sheet posting type carry their balances forward. Accounts marked with the Profit and Loss posting type close their balances to the retained earnings account.

Create two SmartList favorites using the default Accounts SmartList found in the Financial series. For use in the following example, the main segment of the chart of accounts for Balance Sheet accounts falls between 1000 and 3999 and for Profit and Loss accounts between 4000 and 9999.

For the first SmartList favorite, select the Search button and configure the first search definition as Main Account Segment is greater than 3999 and the second search definition as Posting Type is equal to Balance Sheet. Results returned from this search indicate accounts whose Posting Type should be changed from Balance Sheet to Profit and Loss.

For the second SmartList favorite, configure the first search definition as Main Account Segment is less than 4000 and the second search definition as Posting Type is equal to Profit and Loss. Results returned from this search indicate accounts whose Posting Type should be changed from Profit and Loss to Balance Sheet.

Remember to save both SmartList favorites for use again during next year’s close. â–

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Dynamics University Fall 2012

Opportunity Knocks, continued from page 41

on the future of the Microsoft Dynamics products.

Documentation Documentation that a user can pull off the shelf and read is extremely helpful in maintaining the skill levels needed to run software. Some functions, most notably the Year End Closing process, are run less frequently than daily shipping of products or invoicing of customers. The ability to grab a book and refresh the long-ago provided training can help users significantly. Training books provide a broader look at the software and often discuss features that are not being used but could be very helpful. Microsoft provides a set of downloadable manuals that cover the basic entry of data into screens and the printing of reports.

Other, more user-tasked based books are available from several sources including Accolade Publications, Inc. (www.AccoladePublications.com).

Make use of your Microsoft Partner’s classroom training and make sure that documentation is available to help answer deeper questions.

Designate specific people as trainers for specific topics and always use these people to train new users.

When new users join the organization, avoid the trap of having the last new person in the department train the current new person. Each new trainer in a firm will change the story a bit. After a few cycles of this the training new users receive sounds nothing like what was presented in the original training.

Make use of your Microsoft Partner’s classroom training and make sure that documentation is available to help answer deeper questions.

Training is important to the successful utilization of complex ERP and CRM solutions like those in the Microsoft Dynamics family. Not every new employee can attend national conferences like Convergence, but every new employee using the solution should have access to someone in the firm who knows the software and available documentation. After a few months, key new people can be sent to appropriate classes to refine their knowledge while the firm’s IT manager and Accounting Team managers can attend the annual conference and bring back the newest information from Microsoft.

The more you know, the more your solution will work for you! ■

DynamicsUniversity.com

45

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online ®

®

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM ONLINE VS. SALESFORCE.COM If you’re considering Salesforce.com, you should seriously evaluate both its functionality and its pricing options. Compare Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Online to Salesforce.com and you’ll see that Microsoft provides a world-class CRM solution that works with your other Microsoft products, at a reasonable cost.

Contact your partner for more information.

Salesforce.com

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

HIGH PRICE AND HIDDEN CHARGES Salesforce.com CRM editions are priced at a premium relative to the other vendors in the CRM industry. In fact, customers should beware of upcharges and hidden charges as terms are negotiated, and they should also know that lower priced editions often do not have needed functionality.

STARTING AT $125/USER/MONTH1

ONE-PRICE-FOR-ALL FUNCTIONALITY Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is offered at one-price-for-all functionality. Partner solutions are an additional cost, but often cost customers significantly less than Salesforce.com and can provide far more value.

STARTING AT $44/USER/MONTH

NO SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA) Salesforce.com does not offer a service level agreement.

99.9% SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA) Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online offers a financially backed, 99.9% uptime SLA. Microsoft has consistently delivered an extremely high rate of uptime since the service was launched in April 2008, and we’re accountable to customers if the service does not meet SLA standards.

LIMITED CONTENT ACCESS Salesforce.com offers a content library within its CRM solution, but only users that have Salesforce.com licenses can access its files. Additionally, Salesforce.com charges approximately two times the extra storage fees compared to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, making an external file repository, like Microsoft® SharePoint®, a necessity for many customers. And to make things more challenging, Salesforce.com does not have SharePoint integration out of the box.

SHAREPOINT SITES INTEROPERABILITY Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online provides license holders with 5GB of storage (as opposed to the 1GB that Salesforce.com offers), allowing businesses to store much more content directly within the product.

Additionally, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online works well with SharePoint, giving businesses a fast and simple way to utilize their existing investments in SharePoint.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online ®

®

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM ONLINE VS. SALESFORCE.COM

DOESN'T CLOSE THE LOOP For all organizations, the customer lifecycle is inextricably linked to other functions across a business, most notably the processes of taking orders and invoicing customers. Salesforce.com customers who need order and invoice tracking are forced to build both objects and processes themselves, and that all takes time and money.

ORDERS & INVOICE TRACKING Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online automates the Quote to Invoice business process and helps reduce clerical errors by sharing product, discount, shipping, taxes, and contract terms with other systems (e.g. ERP). With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, we’ve made it possible to improve visibility of important information across the business, in turn helping drive sales productivity and improving customer service excellence.

INCOMPLETE OFFLINE SOLUTION Salesforce.com allows users to access some CRM data through an offline client with some Salesforce.com editions—for a premium price. In fact, the lowest list price available with offline access to CRM data is $90/user/month2 – more than double the regular list price ($44/user/month) of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

STRONG OFFLINE PRODUCTIVITY Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online can access offline data through Microsoft Outlook®. And Outlook users can keep an entire copy of their CRM information locally on their computer, allowing them to be productive when they’re working without internet connectivity.

COUNTER INTUITIVE PROCESSES Salesforce.com offers a Microsoft Outlook add-on that behaves as a simple synching engine on some, but not all, CRM information. As a result, Salesforce.com forces redundant activities (e.g. copy, paste) and counterintuitive processes on users, increasing probability of errors and negating productivity gains that could otherwise be accomplished.

OFFICE FLUENT USER INTERFACE Microsoft Outlook users intuitively know how to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online because of its interoperability with, and functionality within, Microsoft Outlook. As a result, users are able to adopt it more readily and companies quickly capture value from their Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online deployments.

Note: The functionality items discussed above are delivered and supported features with the offering, not vendor or third-party provided unsupported add-ons.

1 2

Salesforce.com Enterprise Edition (priced at $125/user/month) offers comparable CRM functionality to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online ($44/user/month). http://www.salesforce.com/crm/editions-pricing.jsp Salesforce.com Professional Edition ($65/user/month) + Salesforce.com’s offline client ($25/user/month)

Remote Training Schedule Course

Date

Microsoft FRx 6.7 Report Design Essentials I

09/11/12

Microsoft FRx 6.7 Report Design Essentials II

09/13/12

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Administration

09/24/12

Microsoft Dynamics® GP Manufacturing

09/24/12

Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics® GP 2010

10/09/12

Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Customization and Configuration

10/15/12

General Ledger in Microsoft Dynamics® GP 2010

10/16/12

Workflow and Dialog Processes in Microsoft Dynamics® CRM

10/18/12

Integrating Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2011 with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2010

10/23/12

Payables Management in Microsoft Dynamics® GP 2010

10/23/12

Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2011

10/24/12

Report Design in Management Reporter 2.0 for Microsoft Dynamics ERP

10/29/12

Receivables Management in Microsoft Dynamics® GP 2010

10/30/12

Extending Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2011

10/30/12

Fixed Assets in Microsoft Dynamics® GP 2010

11/06/12

Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Customization and Configuration

11/12/12

Bank Reconciliation in Microsoft Dynamics® GP 2010

11/13/12

Workflow and Dialog Processes in Microsoft Dynamics® CRM

11/15/12

Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2011

11/16/12

Microsoft Dynamics® GP Inventory/Order Processing

11/26/12

Microsoft FRx 6.7 Report Design Essentials I

11/27/12

Microsoft FRx 6.7 Report Design Essentials II

11/29/12

Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Application Series

12/03/12

Microsoft Dynamics® GP Payroll

12/04/12

Microsoft Dynamics® GP Human Resources with Payroll

12/10/12

Microsoft Dynamics® GP Manufacturing

12/10/12

Report Design in Management Reporter 2.0 for Microsoft Dynamics ERP

12/13/12

To register for these remote classes or search classroom courses in your area, go to DynamicsUniversity.com and click on TRAINING. Courses are subject to change. Check the website for the most up to date schedule.