Spring 2014
DYNAMICS UNIVERSITY Providing Learning Opportunities for Microsoft Dynamics® Users
MEET MICROSOFT’S
NEW
CEO 5Underutilized Features of Microsoft Dynamics GP Financials
Microsoft CRM Apps Remaining Relevant in Todays Workplace
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DYNAMICS UNIVERSITY Dynamics University represents the culmination of great ideas and content from the best reselling Microsoft Dynamics partners with a focus on helping Microsoft Dynamics customers achieve more for less. The idea for Dynamics University was born out of a desire to drive greater educational offerings within the Microsoft Dynamics community.
Partner
Location
Website
Advanced Solutions & Consulting Business Ready Solutions
Solana Beach, CA
www.solutionsco.com
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
Summit Group Software
West Fargo, ND
www.summitgroupsoftware.com
The TM Group
Farmington Hills, MI
www.tmgroupinc.com
Turnkey Technologies, Inc.
Chesterfield, MO
WebSan Solutions Inc.
Toronto, Ontario CAN
Products
www.turnkeytec.com www.websan.com
GP CRM RMS SL NAV AX 2
Dynamics University Spring 2014
Spring 2014
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Microsoft CRM Apps
remaining relevant in todays workplace
Making the most of GP Payroll
5
Welcome Brian Caslow
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Customer Feature GroupeSTAHL
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Exam Cram
certification questions
30
Debits & Credits for gp users
44
Tips & Tricks for crm users
CONTENTS
transform how you use it
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Business Rules: Jscript Lite replacing Javascript with Business Rule
Synchronous vs Asynchronous changes to workflows in CRM
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10
14
Professional Tools Library
available for individual download
Who is Satya Nadella? meet Microsoft’s new CEO
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5 Underutilized Features of GP Financials highlighting features you may not know
credits Dynamics University is a free magazine published four times a year.
Analytical Accounting
why you should take a second look
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Request a subscription by going to dynamicsuniversity.com Josh Behl Executive Editor Kristen Juven Design & Layout l Website Content Kate Mund, Lucy Communications Copy Editor
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2014 Technology Trends
projected trends to improve business
Better Together
CRM and ERP integrated
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8 Ways Businesses Work Faster with CRM improvements in productivity and efficiency
Email Router is it the end?
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Midstates Printing, Inc. Printing & Distribution Shutterstock.com Photographs & Images Contact Us 1405 Prairie Parkway, Suite A West Fargo, ND 58078 701.551.6660 Email Us learn@dynamicsuniversity.com
welcome Spring2014 Welcome to the first 2014 issue of Dynamics University Magazine! So far, winter has been rearing its ugly head all over the nation (yes, even down here in sunny Florida!), causing many of us to ponder the discussions of global warming! Football season has come to a close with two new champions: Congratulations to the Florida State Seminoles for an undefeated season and their 2013 National Championship Title and to the Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl XLVIII Champions. For most of us, the end of one year and the beginning of the next are busy times. In addition to year-end business, projects are initiated in our newly approved operating budgets. Add to that hardware upgrades, software upgrades, system improvements, and equipment replacements, and the weeks fly by. And as we all know, this past year has seen its share of new releases in Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and Microsoft Dynamics AX. With so many changes, revisions, updates, and upgrades, it’s hard to know where to find the most up-to-date information and user tips for the ERP solutions you use on a daily basis. That’s why having a team of nationally diverse Microsoft Dynamics Partners dedicated to sharing this information is so valuable! We’re here to provide tools and information on sales, marketing automation, CRM, reporting and business intelligence, social media, the cloud, going mobile, the latest and greatest from Microsoft Convergence 2014, and so much more for the daily users and managers of Microsoft Dynamics solutions. As always, you’ll find articles and tips on all subjects related to Microsoft Dynamics in this edition of the magazine, plus you can view archived issues at http://dynamicsuniversity.com/magazine. Thank you again for a wonderful 2013 and for your continued support of the Dynamics University magazine. Be sure to reach out to your local Microsoft partner with any questions or solutions needs to help grow your business in 2014!
Brian Brian Caslow, President Integrated Business Group, Inc.
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By Dave Packard, Cargas Systems, Inc.
CRM
companies move to a bring-your-own-device “ As more type of environment, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will need to be available on multiple platforms to remain relevant in today’s workplace.
“
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2013 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM
Apps p PROS & CONS
W
ith the dawn of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 came the release of Microsoft’s own apps for the solution: one for smartphones and one for tablets.
While apps are nothing new for Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Resco and CWR are thirdparty ISVs who have had robust apps for years), these are the first releases from Microsoft. Providing these apps out of the box with Microsoft CRM 2013 continues Microsoft’s commitment to make the solution available on any device. After all, as more companies move to a bring-your-own-device type of environment, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will need to be available on multiple platforms to remain relevant in today’s workplace. As such, I’m glad to see Microsoft releasing its own apps. Since these apps are new for Microsoft, I wanted to do a breakdown on some of the pros and cons I have seen so far. I don’t want to compare them to the more mature apps from Resco and CWR, but since “mobile” continues to be a buzzword, I thought it best to show what you now get out of the box with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 online or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 on-premise (with Internetfacing deployment). continued DynamicsUniversity.com
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Currently available only on Windows 8 tablets and the iPad (version 3 or greater), the tablet app is by far the nicer of the two apps, but this is true of most tablet apps as the larger screen grants more space for work. Android tablet support is expected to arrive sometime this year.
tablet app
pros +
8
. . . . . . . . .
Uses the same admin form as the web client so updates made to the web will push to the tablet app when it re-syncs (my favorite feature as an admin) Easy to use UI Can add custom entities Multi-entity search can be done across 10 total entities Multi-entity search can be customized to which entities to search Can pin most used items to your desktop Business Rules will work Most JavaScript will work (check SDK for specs) Included with your Microsoft Dynamics CRM license (no additional fee)
cons . . . . . .
Is only for Sales (other default entities can’t be added) Limited to 75 total fields on the form No offline accessibility (only what it caches) Only one dashboard with no ability to create others iframes and web resources do not work Only Task, Appointments, and Phone Call activities are available
There is a lot to like with the tablet app, but it is mainly focused on sales, so it will not work for marketing or customer service at this time. However, you can use most of it for xRM solutions depending on how involved those are; the only drawback will be the inability to create a custom dashboard for your xRM solution. The multi-entity search is a great feature and is only available on the tablets, so that alone can make the tablet app a useful tool.
closing comments:
Dynamics University Spring 2014
pros + . . . . . . . .
Can include all entities from your Microsoft Dynamics CRM system (including custom entities) Can include all data and fields from all entities Easy to use user interface (UI) Easy to customize Can easily restrict access (read only versus read/write) Included with your Microsoft Dynamics CRM license (no additional fee) The same app UI is available via the mobile access to the URL from the smartphone Takes advantage of certain functionality such as touch for phone and talk to text
cons . . . . .
phone app
This is available for Windows, iOS, and Android smartphones in their respective app stores. Be sure to download the app from Microsoft Corporation as there are many other apps available.
Has a separate form that must be set up Does not support JavaScript or Business Rules Does not integrate with the smartphone GPS to get directions by touching the address Does not integrate with the smartphone call history to promote a call to a CRM activity No offline capability
For a free app, this does provide full access to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM data. It is limited in that it doesn’t take full advantage of the native functionality of smartphones; I am hoping for a tighter integration to smartphone functionality in future releases.
These are the first Microsoft Dynamics CRM apps Microsoft has ever released, so I fully expect them to be a main focus for updates and improvements over the course of this year (and next). These apps have a lot to offer, and I am excited to see what new features will be coming. DynamicsUniversity.com
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By Marleen De Winter, Integrity Data
MAKING THE MOST
OUT OF MICROSOFT DYNAMICS GP
PAYROLL P
aying your employees is a little more complicated than just tracking their hours and cutting a check.
There are a lot of different components involved that require close attention to detail. For example, if your employees sign up for direct
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deposit, you need to ensure they receive notification of payment. Or if employees participate in a retirement investment plan, you need to closely track and report on those amounts. Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll helps streamline these processes to make sure your employees get paid the right amount and at
the right time. The functionality of Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll right out of the box–now FREE in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013!–works perfectly for many organizations. But in some cases, payroll gets even more complicated, and you start struggling with gaps in Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll.
SCENARIOS Somebody entered her time incorrectly: She entered 40 hours worked, but she actually worked 35. Or somebody planned vacation time but didn’t let you know that he actually worked that day, so he comes to you and says, “My paycheck isn’t right. I didn’t take any vacation last week! You need to back those hours out!” What is your process for making these corrections? To make a data entry correction in Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll takes about 10 to 15 steps. If you only have a few employees, that is not a big deal, but if you have many employees, this can be an incredibly time-consuming process.
a.
Most companies offer a regular 401(k) investment plan. Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll covers this type of plan right out of the box. But what if you offer more than just one? For example, some companies offer a regular 401(k) plan and a Roth 401(k) plan, as well as a catch-up plan for employees over 50 years old.
b.
Direct deposit in Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll is a great benefit for employees. Instead of waiting for the physical check, your employees can be at ease knowing their bank account will be replenished on payday. But wouldn’t it be great if you could also streamline communications with direct deposit employees even more by automatically emailing paystubs as an encrypted PDF instead of snail mailing all of them out?
c.
Sooner or later, one or many of your employees will need to change dependents or deductions on their W4. In order for you to calculate how much a check would be with these changes, Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll has you run a mock payroll every time, and then you have to remember to change everything back before you run actual payroll. This process is time-consuming and not immune to risk.
d.
Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll out of the box accrues and tracks both vacation and sick time (two buckets). This is enough for most organizations, but some companies want to track vacation time, sick time, personal time, FMLA, maternity leave, etc.
e.
Microsoft Dynamics GP has some fixed workflows, but many business processes, such as employee on-boarding or routing employee leave requests for approval, are not automated. And what about being notified in real-time when an employee hits a 401(k) contribution limit?
f.
continued
PAYROLL FUNCTIONALITY Payroll right out of the box– now FREE in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013!
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Payroll, continued from page 11
Again, the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll right out of the box works perfectly for most organizations. But as you can see, in some cases, payroll gets even more complicated, and you start struggling with gaps in Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll. If you are facing these challenges, think about adding Integrity Data GP Payroll add-ons that easily fix these gaps and increase the flexibility that’s sometimes needed in your organization. They seamlessly work with Microsoft Dynamics GP to help you save time, meet the needs of your employees, and run a successful business. The products are extremely easy to install and implement; in fact, it takes as little as 15 minutes to install some products. This fast turnaround time is a huge perk for clients and gets them up and running fast. To learn more about Integrity Data and the add-ons the company provides for Microsoft Dynamics GP, please visit www.integritydata.com or call 888-786-6162.
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BUSINESS RULES
“JSCRIPT LITE” By Dave Packard, Cargas Systems, Inc.
f all the new features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, the one that is quickly becoming my favorite is the Business Rules functionality. When I first started trying a few Business Rules, I could see how they could be useful, yet they seemed rather limited. But the more I work with them, the more uses I am finding for them—so many, in fact, that in a recent 2011 to 2013 upgrade, I was able to move more than 40 percent of the JavaScript on the Account form to Business Rules.
O
These rules can replace many of the most common JavaScript code. For example, if you want to lock the Account Number field if it has a value, you can now do that with a simple Business Rule. Looking to show a field if the Case Priority is High? There is a Business Rule for that. Need a basic formula to add two fields together? That’s right: You can create a Business Rule for that.
SO WHY SHOULD YOU REPLACE JAVASCRIPT WITH A BUSINESS RULE? There are two main reasons:
1. UPDATES AND UPGRADES.
Business Rules are now a standard feature for Microsoft Dynamics CRM online, and as such, they are fully supported by Microsoft, which includes all upgrades (remember, these are twice a year now) and new releases. As we saw with the 2011 Polaris update and the 2013 upgrade, JavaScript that had worked in older versions may not be cross-browser compatible or even work in a new version. But a Business Rule will transition with little or no difficulty since it is part of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK. Jscript, continued on page 22 DynamicsUniversity.com
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Summit By Josh Behl,
re
Group Softwa
S U O N O R H C N Y S U O N O R CH ASYN
HANGES TO TERESTING C
IN
“ The impact it has on the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an important one: It is one that might save you money. “ 14
WORKFLO
P
honetically speaking, when we drop the “a” in “asynchronous”, we get “synchronous.” It is merely the omission of a vowel; a syllable that we can omit to allow ourselves to pronounce it a bit easier. However, the impact it has on the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an important one: It is one that might save you money. Let’s explore a new feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 that allows workflow creators to design synchronous workflows and how that one feature can eliminate a number of scenarios that, in previous versions, would require you to write custom code. First, let’s define “asynchronous” and “synchronous”. Simply put, “asynchronous” is a process or action that is taking place out of real time; “synchronous” is a process or action that is taking place real time. For example, imagine you
Dynamics University Spring 2014
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MICS CRM 20
SOFT DYNA WS IN MICRO
wished to have a conversation with me. If you facilitated this conversation via an email, that would be an “asynchronous” conversation because as I was writing my response to your email, you would be waiting to get that response. Subsequently, when you responded to my response, I would be waiting. Conversely, if you were sitting here while I was writing this article, and you were talking to me directly, that would be a “synchronous” conversation because I could absorb and receive your message (and all the communicative nuances involved) as you were saying it. In other words, in real time. This same concept applies to your workflows in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. When designing a workflow, you can decide if you want it to be run synchronously or asynchronously. So, why would you care one way or the other? A common request from
US our customers is to have the “saving” of a particular record type automatically create, update, assign, or perform some other automated action on the record or related records (for example, if I update the address for a company from North Dakota to California, hitting “save” in that update would reassign the record to a particular salesperson). If I used an asynchronous workflow, it work certainly work; however, it would not appear to have worked right away. Once the user made the change, it might take 10 seconds (perhaps) or longer to have those results appear to the end user. In previous versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, this could be remedied only by writing what is called a “Plug-In”. A plug-in is a chunk of code that is injected into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform and configured to trigger upon specific actions to specific record types. Now, it is fair to say that this would not be
a difficult plug-in for a developer to write. On the other hand, it still requires a developer, and any changes require you to contact the developer, pay her to make the change, have her recompile that code, and then re-deploy it. If we use the same example as outlined above but use a synchronous workflow that is now available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, this could be done in the same way you normally design a workflow. The only difference is that when you started your design, you would choose to make it a synchronous workflow. Additionally, if you need to make a change to the logic, all that would be required is for you to deactivate the workflow, make the change in the application, and simply reactivate it. No code. No developer. No recompiling. No bill to pay. Without the synchronous workflows, scenarios such as
this were all too common. I have had numerous customers over the years who frankly needed simple automations and wanted to observe the results instantaneously without having to wait for the workflow to run. Until this version, I had no choice but to have them pay to write a plug-in. Now, there are more options. It is important to mention, however, that while synchronous workflows can save you time and money, if you have too many synchronous workflows running simultaneously on the same record type, it will put a load on the server. So, it is important to consider that in your overall design. If you have questions about how Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, workflows (synchronous or asynchronous), or any other new features can better help you with your customer relationships, contact your partner for more information.
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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
TOOLS LIBRARY I
n the Winter 2013 issue, we covered the tools that are included in the Professional Tools Library. Here in part two, we’ll cover additional tools that are available for individual download.
Tools are pre-written processes that support specific tasks. How would you like to be able to determine when a payroll rate, benefit, or deduction was changed and who made the change? Wouldn’t it be great to invoice the customer for a drop ship purchase order before you receive and match the payables invoice? These are a couple of the additional tools available. The tools are very powerful and must be acquired through your partner so that your partner may caution you about their use. There is no UNDO when you use a tool. Security to the tools should be limited to power users and key personnel. Some of the tools must be run by the system administrator; some may not work with third-party applications. The best practice is to have all users out of the system when using the tools and BACKUP your database before using a tool. The tools are compatible with most of the standard Microsoft Dynamics GP modules except Manufacturing. By Wendy Johnson, Cargas Systems
AVAILABLE FOR
DOWNLOAD
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Dynamics University Spring 2014
AutoDim
GET YOUR
Allows you to launch Microsoft Dynamics GP and run one or more integrations or integration groups and have Microsoft Dynamics GP exit upon completion of the integrations. This tool also supports integrating into several different companies.
AutoPost
DYNAMICS
SERVERS OUT OF THE OFFICE
AND INTO THE
CLOUD TODAY.
Allows you to call a COM DLL to post Sales Order Processing, GL Transaction Entry, IV Transaction Entry, and RM Cash Receipt Batches.
DetailPayrollActivity Tracking Allows you to track all employee changes made in Microsoft Dynamics GP.
Not sure if the cloud is a good fit? Start the conversation at Convergence
BOOTH 1047 • Cut Costs • Be Compliant • Stay Secure
POPOverReceipt Tolerance Allows a receipt tolerance percentage for quantities. A setup window allows the user to enter a tolerance percentage; that percentage is then used when a Purchase Order is received. The highest quantity that can be received is the original quantity ordered plus the percentage amount. NOTE: This tool is included in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.
POReturns When invoicing a receipt in POP, this tool will check the previous quantity invoiced and the quantity returned for the line item. The maximum quantity allowed to be invoiced is based on the following formula: Quantity Shipped minus (Previous Quantity Invoiced plus Quantity Returned). This tool will not allow invoicing of more than this amount.
myappsanywhere.com/go-cloud
Sales tax changes. Don’t risk it. Automate it.
RMAutoApply Allows the user to Mass Apply posted RM Credit Documents to posted RM Debit Documents. The user can select a range of Customer, Debit Document Dates, Credit Document Dates, and a Credit Document Type restriction, if desired.
continued
1-855-562-6874 www.avalara.com/dynamics
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ShipmentNotification
SOPDefultPerSiteLIne
Allows drop ship sales orders to be transferred to invoice prior to invoicing the purchase order.
SOPSortLineItems
This tool defaults the site from the Cards | Inventory | Quantities | Sites for each line item entered in the SOP transaction.
SOPTaxSchedRolldown
Allows the user to define custom sorting options to display line items in Sales Order Processing.
This tool allows the Tax Schedule ID in the Sales Customer Detail Entry window to be used for the Sales document header and line items.
Changer Scripts
SOPtoPOPLine Reordering Utility - This tool will reorder the line items of Purchase Orders generated by the SOP to POP transfer process to be in the same order as they originally were on the Sales Order document(s).
This tool allows you to change the Contract Number, Contract ID, Project Number, Project ID, and Cost Category ID for Project Accounting. Tool not released for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.
For more information on these tools, contact your partner today.
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Dynamics University Spring 2014
Microsoft dynamics CRM
customer feature
Earns it’s
letter
jacket By Ken Jacobsen, The TM Group
omprised of 20 different units on four continents, GroupeSTAHL, an imprinted sportswear organization, offered some unique challenges during its Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation.
C
A family company started very humbly in 1932, GroupeSTAHL now has operations throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America, and offers an extensive product line that includes everything from heat-seal machines to digital imprinting systems... continued
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The company’s numerous divisions are involved in many imprinted sportswear-related products and services, including custom transfers; CAD-materials; inkjet, laser, and CLC transfer papers; commercial garment decoration; Internet order fulfillment; licensed goods order fulfillment; and even software. Although each division of GroupeSTAHL has its own product lines, salespeople could sell many of the other divisions’ products into their accounts. Most of the company’s divisions were already live on Microsoft Dynamics GP for the ERP system, but there was no centralized data center. They had many Microsoft Dynamics GP servers located onsite at their divisions, and each server had several separate company databases. Because their divisions are so geographically spread out over multiple time zones, they preferred a cloud CRM solution. GroupeSTAHL previously implemented Salesforce. com as its CRM solution, but with a customized environment and Microsoft Dynamics GP as its ERP solution, the company soon realized Salesforce.com was not the proper CRM solution for its business needs. Ultimately Microsoft Dynamics CRM was chosen as the platform for GroupeSTAHL’s sales, marketing, and customer service needs. Faced with the need for further development and full implementation, GroupeSTAHL decided to switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and utilize Scribe Online as its integration engine. This not only gave the company a reduced monthly subscription cost, but it also GroupeSTAHL to better integrate
with Microsoft Dynamics GP, an option that was also easier to customize and deploy. The use of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Outlook Client made training and daily use much easier. The most unique requirement GroupeSTAHL faced was handling the integration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM to its multiple divisions; its multiple Microsoft Dynamics GP servers are geographically dispersed. Managing and avoiding duplicate account records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM were especially challenging because of this setup. Because clients might have very similar names and users don’t always enter names the same way, identifying and dealing with potential duplicate customer accounts is always a challenge during a CRM implementation, but it was especially true at GroupeSTAHL. Consequently, The TM Group recommended using the mailing address as an account key to identify a unique account. For this to work, all the address records have to be standardized and validated. Since we at The TM Group were familiar with the address validation function utilized in the sales tax solution from Avalara, and because GroupeSTAHL was also looking for a new sales tax solution, we utilized Avalara’s advanced geocoding technology and a U.S. Postal Service–approved address database for this project. Now, when a lead record is entered, it is checked using the address as the key to eliminate duplicates. If a lead has an address that doesn’t exist in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it is then created as a new account in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. If the address
GroupeSTAHL’s Mission
A
key strength of GroupeSTAHL is the focus dedicated by all group members to excellence in heat-print and digital personalization technologies and best-practices in manufacturing, distributing and customer service. With more than 900 associates worldwide, GroupeSTAHL combines the experience, discipline and product knowledge of dedicated people with new ideas and turns them into business opportunities. GroupeSTAHL companies around the globe have access to a worldwide distribution vehicle, as well as an inside track to markets in other nations. No other company or group of companies in the imprinted sportswear industry is supported by this high level of industry experience, market knowledge, international intelligence and technological information.
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Dynamics University Spring 2014
already exists, then the system won’t create a new account. Instead, it creates a new address record for the account or a new division relationship for the existing account. Division relationships are a custom entity. Within GroupeSTAHL’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution, one account record can have a relationship with multiple divisions. For example, a customer could have a customer relationship with a division in Michigan while also having a relationship as a prospect with GroupeSTAHL’s Pennsylvania division. With the custom division entity, Microsoft Dynamics CRM has one account record that can then be associated with multiple divisions. This also works with contacts where marketing permissions need to be managed on a divisional level. “Another reason to have these divisional relationships is that we are bringing in specific divisional financial data, such as hold status, credit limits, and available credit,” says The TM Group’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM consultant Jenel Kukla. “That way, the customer service team doesn’t have to go to Microsoft Dynamics GP to look up AR information. And the sales team can go to one account and see what’s going on with activities and opportunities across all divisions.” “Out of the box, Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows you to have parent-child accounts,” explains Kevin Alexander, The TM Group’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM manager. “This had been considered to manage GroupeSTAHL’s division relationships, but we didn’t want the users to have to go to multiple accounts to look at activities and opportunities when it is really just one account with multiple divisional relationships. Their salespeople need to be able to see across divisions because they sell cross-divisionally.” The Microsoft Dynamics GP integration is also bringing over equipment sales data nightly into a custom entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Initially, five years of historical sales were loaded. This helps the sales team know what a customer is using and helps identify logical add-on sales. At the moment, the integration doesn’t bring over all detailed sales data, but the integration does
load monthly total sales data by division. Because GroupeSTAHL is currently utilizing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, they are limited to a 5GB database, which can be expanded to 20 GB. The detailed invoice data would surely drive them over these limits. The GroupeSTAHL team is contemplating what to do next. They are considering plans to have a solution for detailed invoices, bringing Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-site, or using Microsoft SharePoint to publish consolidated drill down reports and dashboards .They also plan to utilize cases for customer service tracking, implement an integrated e-marketing solution, and integrate CRM to their e-commerce sites, using Microsoft SharePoint to manage their large graphic files.
“GroupeSTAHL has envisioned a collaborated environment across units, and without an excellent team here and at The TM Group, we would not be able to have a successful launch of our first step in the right direction. Thank you so much for your continued efforts, Kevin, Jenel, Marcel, Kelly, Dan, Judy, and anyone that I left out in my list. I truly appreciate your loyalty towards our company.” – Sue Taneja, general manager of IT for GroupeSTAHL
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Jscript, continued from page 13
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2. MOBILE.
Business Rules work with the tablet app for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. True, JavaScript written for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 will work as well, but Business Rules are native functionality and will be supported online, via Outlook, and also via mobile. Custom code may need to be modified as Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and its mobile component, continues to evolve. As with all things, the Business Rules do have limitations. There are no “or” statements in the conditions, so if you want a rule to set a field to True if the Case Priority is High, you will need a second rule to set that field to False if the Case Priority is not High. And there are only so many actions the rules can do, which are: • SHOW ERROR MESSAGE • SET FIELD VALUE • SET BUSINESS REQUIRED • SET VISIBILITY • LOCK OR UNLOCK FIELD
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Dynamics University Spring 2014
I expect more actions to be added to this list in future updates, but until then, these can cover a wide range of customizations—far more than I originally thought. So before you write that custom JavaScript, take a look and see if a Business Rule will cover your needs.
dynamics exam cram By Bob Callahan, Business Ready Solutions
Introducing “Exam Cram”! Each edition of Exam Cram will contain a couple questions on Microsoft Dynamics GP as well as a couple questions on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The questions are similar to what you’ll find on certification exams. Visit page 47 for the answers. Good luck!
Exam Questions 1. What does placing a vendor on hold prevent in Microsoft Dynamics GP? a. b. c. d.
Making edits in Vendor Maintenance Entering new invoices against the vendor Entering new payments against the vendor Applying existing credit memos to open invoices for the vendor
2. In Receivables Transaction Entry within Microsoft Dynamics GP, account distributions are based off of what (and what order)? a. b. c. d. 3.
Customer Account Maintenance, then Posting Account Setup Customer Account Maintenance, then Customer Class Customer Class, then Customer Account Maintenance Customer Class, then Posting Account Setup
When a folder is automatically created within SharePoint 2013 for an integrated Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 environment, which of the following records are created within Microsoft Dynamics CRM? a. b. c. d.
Document Library Document Folder Document Set Document Location
4. Contoso has been using opportunities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for some time. They now want to be able to add multiple products to their opportunities, create quotes from the opportunities, and sales orders from those quotes. They will be using both U.S. and Canadian currencies on their transactions. For their Canadian clients, they have three different price lists (Eastern Canada, Western Canada, Central Canada) as well as three different price lists for their U.S. clients (Eastern U.S., Western U.S., Central U.S.). Finally, they have 10 products that they need to be able to sell to both their Canadian and U.S. customer base. When configuring Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s Product Catalog, how many price list items do they need to create? a. b. c. d.
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Profile
.
who is
SATYA NADELLA I
n February 2014, Satya Nadella became the third CEO of Microsoft. Satya is expected to bring a relentless drive for innovation and a spirit of collaboration. Before being named CEO, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company.
In an email dated February 4, 2014 to all Microsoft employees Satya stated: Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today. It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally continued
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1975 A 19-year-old Gates drops out of Harvard University and goes on to found Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen.
Gates re Harvar Steve Ball the co busine
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ecruits former rd classmate lmer to become ompany’s first ess manager.
980
“ OUR INDUSTRY DOES NOT RESPECT TRADITION
- IT ONLY RESPECTS INNOVATION
2000 Ballmer succeeds Gates as CEO. The two met as students at Harvard, when Gates lived down the hall from Ballmer.
Microsoft Acquires Great Plains Software Inc.
2001
“
2014 Microsoft’s board unanimously picks Nadella, 46, an Indian-born executive who led the creation of Microsoft’s Internet-based or “cloud” computing services. He is only the company’s third CEO in 39 years.
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“ I MARVEL EVERY DAY AT HOW PEOPLE CAN EXCEL - AND THAT’S WHAT REALLY GETS ME GOING.
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Satya, continued from page 25
admired companies in the world. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I’m also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board. While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.
Born: 1967 in Hyderabad, India
Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings. Most recently, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. In this role he led the transformation to the cloud infrastructure and services business, which outperformed the market and took share from competition. Previously, Nadella led R&D for the Online Services Division and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems. Originally from Hyderabad, India, Nadella lives in Bellevue, Wash. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He is married and has three children.
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Manipal Universit Master’s Degree, University of Wisconsin MBA, University of Chicago
Previous Positions within Microsoft:
President of the Server & Tools Division Senior Vice-President of Research and Development for the Online Services Division Vice-President of the Business Division Corporate Vice-President of Business Solutions and Search and Advertising Platform Group Executive Vice-President of Cloud and Enterprise Group Joined Microsoft in 1992 from Sun Microsystems
Personal Life: Married with three children Lives in Bellevue, Washington Enjoys Cricket and poetry in his spare time DynamicsUniversity.com
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By Janelle Montplaisir, Summit Group Software
5
UNDERUTILIZED FEATURES OF MICROSOFT DYNAMICS GP
FINANCIALS
Have you ever wondered what other features are available within Microsoft Dynamics GP that you maybe did not know existed? Throughout the year, we will highlight existing features in different areas of Microsoft Dynamics GP that often go underutilized. We all know there are thousands of different features within the product, but these are just a few features that we find customers are many times unaware of or may have forgotten about.
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We’ll start with five features of the Financial Series.
ACCOUNT ROLLUP INQUIRY Account Rollup Inquiry allows users to create a custom inquiry to view information from different General Ledger accounts “rolled up” together into one summarized balance. These inquiries can include up to four different columns containing actual, budget, previous year, other currencies, and calculated data defined by the account segment range entered.
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SCHEDULED PAYMENTS Scheduled Payments allows users to take a posted invoice and create a payment schedule. When a schedule is created, the user selects the interest rate, payment frequency, length, and other information for that agreed upon payment cycle of the posted invoice. Scheduled Payments are available for both customers and vendors.
ELECTRONIC BANKING SUITE The Electronic Banking Suite has multiple features that can be implemented individually based on user needs: EFT for Payables Management: Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for Payables Management allows companies to create a secure payment file for electronic vendor payments and upload it to a bank. No vendor checks are printed, eliminating the cost for checks, envelopes, and postage. EFT for Receivables Management: Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for Receivables Management generates a secure file with customer payment information, and users upload it to their bank to withdraw payments directly from their customer’s bank accounts. This ensures payments are received on time and reduces the cost of paper check and credit card processing. Electronic Bank Reconciliation: Electronic Bank Reconciliation allows files downloaded from a company’s bank to be imported directly into Microsoft Dynamics GP Bank Reconciliation, which automatically matches transactions and marks them off for reconciliation. Very limited manual reconciliation is needed as the system does the work, ultimately saving hours of time. Safe Pay: Safe Pay (commonly known as Positive Pay) generates a file based on a company’s Microsoft Dynamics GP checkbook activity which it submits to its bank. The bank then confirms authenticity of those company checks before releasing any payments. Safe Pay decreases the potential for any fraudulent activity and helps increase a company’s cash security.
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REFUND CHECKS Refund Checks allows users to issue a refund payment to a customer. The system allows a company to take a customer’s open credit in Receivables Management and transfer that balance to Payables Management for payment, ultimately resulting in a refund to the customer.
RECONCILE TO GENERAL LEDGER The Reconcile to General Ledge feature allows users to generate a report to Microsoft Excel to help match transactions in General Ledger to transactions in Payables Management, Receivables Management, Bank Reconciliation, and Inventory Control. The reconcile feature will not automatically make any changes to data for unmatched or out-of-balance transactions, but instead, helps the user identify those transactions causing out-of-balance discrepancies. The user is then responsible to make adjusting entries as needed.
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gp Debits & Credits
01
Edit 1099 Transaction Information Window By Linda Brock, The Knaster Technology Group
Now that the year-end crush is over, use your extra breathing room to make next yearend smoother and easier. Use the new to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Edit 1099 Transaction Information window to modify 1099 amounts or change 1099 tax types for a group of transactions—one vendor at a time. When you process the changes, the transactions are updated in both the Open and History tables. The benefit of using this window rather than merely manually updating the 1099 Details window is that the Edit 1099 Transaction Information window makes the change permanent in the transaction tables. When you open the Edit 1099 Transaction Information window from the Purchasing – Transactions menu, you can select from a list of 1099 vendors. If the vendor you need does not show up on the lookup list, first open the Vendor Maintenance window under the Purchasing – Cards menu and change the vendor to a 1099 Type. After you select the appropriate vendor, you can choose to view the 1099 Debit Transactions, All Debit Transactions, or All Credit Transactions for that vendor. You can restrict for a document or a date range, making it easier to concentrate on the year in question. From there, you can edit the Tax Type, Box Number, and/or 1099 Amount for each individual transaction. When you finish your edits, simply click the Process button at the top of the window, and your changes update the tables mentioned above. When you close the window, an audit report is printed. Now you need never worry about wiping out your manual changes when reconciling the purchasing series again, and you will be more than ready for year-end 2014!
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How Can I Copy and Paste in Microsoft Dynamics GP? By Jim Carroll, Advanced Solutions & Consulting
Microsoft Dynamics GP provides effective control for business managers and administrators to oversee operations. This out-of-the-box software is packed with amazing features, but sometimes we need to look at ISV enhancements for certain functionality. One that comes to mind is the ability to copy and paste a purchase order, journal entry, or receivings transaction directly from Microsoft Excel into Microsoft Dynamics GP. TitaniumGP brings the ease of “copy/paste” into Microsoft Dynamics GP transactions. This auxiliary Microsoft Dynamics GP application—which brings the default Windows functionality of Copy/Paste to Microsoft Dynamics GP—aims to save time and help minimize errors through multiple functions. The add-on gives the user the ability to import multiple data into the purchase orders, journal entries, receivings, PM transactions, SOP entries, and inventory documents. The tool even allows for the import of some fields that are not in the first detail window, such as Serial or Lot Numbers, Expiration Date, and Distribution Account.
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Get a Date with Microsoft Dynamics GP By Mark Polino, Integrated Business Group, Inc.
Dates are an important part of any accounting system, and Microsoft Dynamics GP is no exception. You’ll enter dates almost as often as debits when working with transactions. Fortunately, Microsoft Dynamics GP makes it really easy to input dates. Dates are entered without the dashes for simplicity and can be entered: • • • • • • • • •
With a four-digit year – 02012014 – resulting in 02/21/2014 With a two-digit year – 020114 With a just a month and day – 0201 With just a day, for example, 5 – if date showing is 02/01/2014, the new date will be 02/05/2014 Using the calendar to select a specific day Using the calendar to select Today Using the month name or arrow keys on the calendar to change months Using the + sign to add days to the date shown in the window; 02/01/2014 would become 02/02/2014 Using the - sign to subtract days to the date shown in the window; 02/01/2014 would become 01/31/2014
Even better, all of these data entry options work in the Web Client as well. Dates are import for both financial and operational reporting. With Microsoft Dynamics GP, getting the date right doesn’t have to be hard. [Bonus: In the desktop client, keep clicking the month name at the top of the calendar to see months, then years, and finally decades in the calendar selection box. I don’t know why you would need to select a date decades back, but if you need to, you can.]
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ANALYTICAL ACCOUNTING WORTH A
SECOND LOOK
By Ken Jacobson, The TM Group
A
nalytical accounting is one of those often-overlooked features of Microsoft Dynamics GP that is included as part of the standard system. Beside the fact that it’s included, why would someone want to use analytical accounting?
SOMETIMES THE BEST WAY TO EXPLAIN IS WITH AN EXAMPLE: “WE HAD A CLIENT THAT HAD 50 VANS FOR WHICH THEY WANTED TO TRACK THE MAINTENANCE,” EXPLAINS PERRY KOUNTOURIOTIS, DIRECTOR OF CONSULTING SERVICES AT THE TM GROUP. “SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO SET UP AT LEAST 50 SEPARATE GENERAL LEDGER ACCOUNTS FOR EACH VAN TO TRACK THE EXPENSES. WITH ANALYTICAL ACCOUNTING, THEY WOULD SET UP ONE CHART OF ACCOUNT CODES FOR VEHICLE REPAIRS, AND USE AN ANALYTICAL ACCOUNT CODE TO TRACK FOR WHICH VAN THE REPAIR WAS PERFORMED.”
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PSP_DU_3.5x9.75_2013.pdf
1
7/24/13
6:14 AM
In fact, we have clients that are using analytical accounting to track many different types of expenses, including marketing, entertainment, property, and other things. When users enter a transaction against an account code to which they’ve applied an analytical code, the system will prompt them to choose the code. The analytical accounting module also works with the grant management module of Microsoft Dynamics GP with which you can track grant awards, expenditures, and sponsors. It can also help ensure compliance with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Financial Accounting Standards Board, and Government Accounting Standards Board rules. Integrated with the financial management modules, transactions are automatically validated against your budget, enabling tight control over your spending against allocated funds. Analytical accounting can function as a sort of basic job-costing module. However, it does have its limits in this regard. It doesn’t allow you to have budgets or phases, to add time against a job, or to apply inventory from existing stock to the job. For basic job-costing requirements for Microsoft Dynamics GP, we usually recommend Encore or Olympic. If a client needs a robust, multi-phase jobcost system with the capability of managing inventory and subcontractors, then we recommend WennSoft. If the client is simply doing time-and-expense types of projects, then they could also utilize Microsoft Dynamics Project Accounting.
C
M
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CM
MY
CY
CMY
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hen a new year begins, businesses will often reflect on the past year, taking a moment to identify wins, losses, and areas for improvement in their organization. However, this time of year also signals a significant opportunity, as it is a prime time for business leaders to look at the projected trends of 2014 to ensure their organization is prepared for what is next.
W
Recently, Gartner released its top 10 strategic technology trends for 2014 (www.gartner.com/ newsroom/id/2603623), which highlight what decision makers should anticipate in the coming months and factor into their strategic planning process. While all 10 of Gartner’s trend predictions offer corporate leaders food for thought, there are a few areas that should be thoroughly examined by enterprises that have or are considering implementing Microsoft Dynamics along with an integrated accounts payable/ accounts receivable workflow automation solution (www. metaviewer.com/paperless-erp):
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HYBRID CLOUD & IT SERVICE BROKER Gartner suggests that bringing together personal clouds and external private cloud services is essential to business success. Enterprises should design private cloud services with a hybrid future in mind and make sure future integration/interoperability is possible. As Microsoft continues its Microsoft Dynamics ERP shift to the cloud, it will be interesting to see how businesses deploy their services. For example, in April, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 will be hosted on the Windows Azure platform, and Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics NAV are already cloudready. At Metafile, we also understand that a flexible business is one poised for success and offer a cloud-based version of our paperless document manager MetaViewer. Internal and external clouds will provide even more options for businesses to host their data and services to find a solution that works for them.
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS USERS SHOULD KNOW
THAT MICROSOFT DYNAMICS
By Nick Sprau, Metafile Information Systems
THE INTERNET OF EVERYTHING The Internet of everything – The Internet in 2014 is no longer just PCs and mobile devices. As a society, we’re expecting Internet access in other areas such as cars and televisions, which opens up opportunities for technology vendors. However, many businesses are not currently operationally or organizationally ready and need to determine how their products, services, and assets can be shared no matter the medium. According to Gartner, there are four basic usage models: manage, monetize, operate, and extend. These models can be applied to the Internet of things, which includes people, information, things, and places.
MOBILE DEVICE DIVERSITY & MANAGEMENT While this prediction has been extensively discussed around the idea of bring your own device (BYOD), Gartner said it expects the mobile workforce to double or triple in size because of it. Employees want their mobile device to act like their computer, and Microsoft Dynamics users will come to expect the same functionality on their mobile device as their desktop. IT departments will continue to be a key player in setting BYOD policies while balancing flexibility for employees.
THE ERA OF PERSONAL CLOUD Gartner said the push for more personal cloud technologies will lead to a shift toward services and away from devices. Previously, devices were king, but now, the type of device one has will be less important, as the personal cloud takes over some of the role that the device has traditionally had with multiple devices accessing the personal cloud. Many versions of the Microsoft Dynamics suite are already accessible via multiple devices, so now the focus has become offering a streamlined experience and same user functionality no matter the device and location.
continued
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Trends, continued from page 35
Pitch the paper clips.
Looking at predictions such as these can be daunting for many enterprise organizations; however, it is essential to look at these trends with a long‐term mindset. Many of these trends will be a continual evolution for organizations over the next several years. It’s time to think strategically about the state of technology and evaluate how it can shape the future of your business. Nick Sprau is vice president of marketing for Metafile Information Systems, Inc., an independent provider of paperless document management applications serving middle-market and large businesses. For more information visit www.metaviewer. com/for-Microsoft-Dynamics.
Go beyond the electronic file cabinet and experience the amazing efficiencies of Paperless ERP from MetaViewer. From AP to AR and HR to the CFO— everyone can share the efficiencies of 100% paperless transactions. MetaViewer gives you paperless invoice and order capture with OCR, automated workflow, real-time visibility and full Microsoft Dynamics ® ERP integration. In Paperless ERP, nothing compares to MetaViewer. So pitch the paper clips and visit www.metaviewer.com.
AX • GP • SL • NAV
March 4-7, 2014 | Atlanta, GA
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Gold Sponsor
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BETTER
TOGETHER By Eric Gjerdevig, Summit Group Software
ustomer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are business applications that have provided businesses with better information and improved processes. The problem has historically been that the benefits are limited to the respective departments such as sales and marketing or accounting and finance because these solutions have typically been stand-alone. These stand-alone silos of information often lead to significant inefficiencies across the entire organization. These silos are only multiplied by other stand-alone systems for such functionality as document management or marketing automation.
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Better Together, continued on page 46
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By Brad Vorbeck and Michael Ramatowski Turnkey Technologies, Inc.
ways
businesses
work
Faster
with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
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icrosoft Dynamics CRM 2013 is widely known for its ability to improve front-office productivity and efficiency for organizations, ultimately adding to the list of ways that it increases profitability. Aside from the obvious process automation and streamlining, there are a number of ways that Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 helps organizations save time and work faster. Some of these features—we summarize eight below—can be easily overlooked, even though they add considerable time-saving value and help businesses work faster.
Improved User Experience Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 includes a number of new features, one of which is a new interface layout that makes it easier for users to glide through their work. The new layout allows users to access various parts of the application without having to interrupt what they are currently working on, helping them to stay focused and productive. New, optimized navigation means that users can get to where they need to be with fewer total clicks, saving them time and improving overall productivity.
Quick Create Tab Feature
02
The improved interface for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 introduced an exciting new feature, the Quick Create button! This button remains static at the top of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM window, which means users can quickly create a number of different records such as contacts, activities, and campaign responses on the go from any point in the application.
03
Task Scheduling & Activity History
A core function of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 is its ability to schedule tasks and keep a structured history of activities between users and customers. Both of these functions not only improve consistent service management, but also save considerable time by eliminating the need to sift through notes and to-do lists to keep up with clients. Tasks scheduled in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 will create a notification that pops up on users’ desktops to remind them that the tasks need to be completed, removing the need to frequently check calendars and action item lists. The activity
history provides a structured, interactive list that allows users to drill down and see specific details needed to get in-context and up to date with a customer. Users can effortlessly complete tasks on time and view client history when needed, all from right where they’re already working.
Better Marketing Campaign Management
04
Campaign management in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 saves companies time by helping them focus their efforts on running campaigns that yield the best results. Huge time and cost savings can be realized with more real-time insights and enriched campaign management from better analytics. Companies can avoid wasting precious time running low-impact campaigns and allocate that time to generating real revenue.
05
Ease of Integration
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 is built on modern, open technology that makes it easy to extend and integrate with other applications so users can widen their system’s functionality. Integrating various applications into one solution improves process efficiencies and creates synergy between applications as they work together to share data and support users’ diverse demands. Easy integration between solutions not only increases efficiency in operations, but also gets users up and running quickly during the integration process itself.
Work Faster, continued on page 41
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The world’s best brands trust CoreMotives. More than 1,600 implementations in 45 countries www.coremotives.com | info@coremotives.com Atlanta: 1855-387-3245 | London: -44 20 7288 6461
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Work Faster, continued from page 39
Streamlining & Automating Business Processes
06
Streamlining and automating processes is another core function of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 that can significantly cut down on time spent creating proposals and other necessary tasks. Business processes can be customized in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 with wide flexibility to match users’ business operations. It even includes a Guided Processes feature that visually guides users through predefined and configurable processes so they can easily see their progress and avoid making errors.
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Holistic, 360-Degree View of Customers
One of the most well-known features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 is its ability to deliver all the information users need to know about their customers in a single, customizable view. This is a tool to help employees better interact in a dynamic conversation with their customers so they can quickly pull knowledge instead of jumping back and forth between various applications and windows to dig up customer information. With this feature, users can shorten sales processes and close more deals in less time. Even better, sales conversations have less fumbles, and customers feel a personal relationship with the organization.
Scribe is a global provider of Dynamics integration solutions to help customers increase revenue, provide superior service, and create business value faster. Thousands of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, GP, NAV and AX customers use Scribe to
Ease of Customization Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 was literally designed for ease of customization, as the developers at Microsoft fully understand business principles and that each business has specific needs. As always, a good fit is important for the success of any business solution. While Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 comes well-equipped right out of the box, it can easily be customized to reflect a business’s unique needs. Users can add customizations as needed and be up and running quickly each time, shortening system downtime and saving money.
get the right data to the right person at the right time. For more information, visit www.scribesoft.com/du
Improvements in productivity and efficiency can yield dramatic results in profitability and growth rates for organizations. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 provides multifaceted ways to achieve these improvements—and more. CRM software can be utilized in diverse ways to cut down on time and is something every organization should consider. It’s easy, it’s affordable, and it’s practical! DynamicsUniversity.com
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IS IT THE END OF THE
EMAIL ROUTER? By Josh Behl, Summit Group Software
or quite some time, many customers who have been using Microsoft Dynamics CRM have had to install, configure, and manage a utility called the “Email Router”. Essentially the Email Router can handle the processing of incoming and outgoing emails for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Unfortunately, for many customers (and perhaps some partners), the process for configuring the Email Router led them down a path of befuddlement and frustration. It is not that it is beyond comprehension, but rather that it has a number of moving parts. Additionally, the process did not allow for the synchronization of typical Exchange elements such as contacts, appointments, and tasks residing within Exchange. Fast forward to the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and server-side synchronization. Server-side synchronization is a component in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that is used to integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with your email servers (Exchange, POP3, or SMTP). It leverages the asynchronous server role infrastructure on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 server.
F
THIS NEW FEATURE ALLOWS FOR:
. EMAIL SYNCHRONIZATION FOR USERS AND QUEUES WITH EXTERNAL EMAIL SYSTEMS.
. SYNCHRONIZATION OF EMAIL, APPOINTMENTS, CONTACTS, AND TASKS FROM EXCHANGE.
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For administrators, the following features are also available:
. EFFICIENT RESOURCE UTILIZATION. Server-side
synchronization provides integrated mailbox management. You can disable inactive mailboxes that have permanent errors. It prevents resource hogging by applying an upper limit on the allocated capacity and time-out requests.
TECHNOLOGY
BUILT BY NONPROFITS
FOR NONPROFITS
. CONNECTION THROTTLING. Server-side
synchronization provides a way to control the number of parallel connections opened against a mail server to prevent overloading the mail server.
. DATA MIGRATION. Server-side synchronization
supports migrating configuration data from Email Router to server-side synchronization by using the migration wizard.
. SERVICE ISOLATION. Server-side synchronization has separate queue-management and configuration settings for asynchronous operations, outgoing activities, and mailboxes.
. ERROR REPORTING FOR USERS AND
ADMINISTRATORS. Server-side synchronization supports logging and reporting of errors specific to an email or one or more mailboxes.
. NEW COUNTERS. New counters have been added to
activity and mailbox queue for asynchronous service and
In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, the only option you had was to utilize Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Outlook to perform the Outlook synchronization. Now, emails can be synchronized using either Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook or server-side synchronization. If server-side synchronization is selected, the synchronization does not require running Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook. You will, however, still require the Outlook client to promote an item from Outlook to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. In other words, if you have an email that you want to manually promote, you would need the add-in for Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook. While this feature has its benefits—and the ability to manage all of it directly within Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes administration a lot easier—it is only available for on-premises deployments of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Exchange. In other words, serverside synchronization is not available for either Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online or Exchange Online (Office 365) scenarios at this time. It is also important to note that this does not necessarily mean the end of the Email Router. You can still use it if you like as it certainly accommodates scenarios that might be a little more complex than the server-side sync feature will not accommodate.
FEATURES Maximized Data Visualization & Reporting through easy to use views, dashboards, & reports End to end donor relationship management View of donors, clients, & volunteers that interact with the organization Process automation for donor engagement, gift management, case management, client tracking, fund tracking, etc. Division of tasks and resources among client or donor facing teams Tracking of every interaction with your constituents 99.9% system uptime, financially backed by Microsoft
DONOR MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
www.peaknfp.com 855.355.PEAK info@peaknfp.com
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crm Tips & Tricks 01
Editing Multiple Contact Records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM By Katie Anderson, Express Information Systems
When a customer sends notification that they have acquired a new phone number or moved to another location, it can be a tedious task to update each employee’s details individually, especially when there are several contacts saved in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for the company. With this quick tip on how to edit multiple records at once, you can easily save time and hassle when updating customer information! Step 1: Open the Account you want to edit by double-clicking on the Account Name. Step 2: With the Account window open, select Contacts in the left column. Step 3: When all Contacts are displayed, click inside the white box next to the column description “Full Name”. This will place a check mark in the box as well as highlight each Contact so you can edit his/her information simultaneously. (Note: If there are some Contacts in the Account you want to leave the same, simply click the checked box next to their name to remove them from the group edit. Step 4: Click the Edit button; the Edit Multiple Records window will open with all fields being blank. Enter the new information you want to change, such as the address or phone number, and leave any of the fields that you do not want revised blank (they will not be changed). Click Save to publish the new information. In just a few simple steps, all of your contact records now include up-to-date information!
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Workflows in Microsoft Dynamics CRM By Andrew King, WebSan Solutions Inc.
Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM without utilizing workflows is like owning a Ferrari without owning any tires. I am on the phone with clients all the time who are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM and complaining about “manual steps” and “too many clicks” to do things, but they never stop and think outside the box as to how workflows can be used? Let’s stay in the realm of Sales Force Automation for a second (Accounts, Opportunities, Contacts, Activities, etc.)… I had a client who would complain that he needed to provide a weekly update on the status of his Opportunities, along with some feedback and the tasks that he had closed. Notwithstanding the fact that the boss was micro-managing the sales rep and wanted to see ALL closed tasks, I simply showed the client how to set up a workflow to auto-notify the boss when a task was completed with details from the task. Granted, the boss could have seen a view or a dashboard as well, but this particular individual wanted detail, not summary info…and didn’t want to click through a report to get it.
What about the client who has issues when a supplier ships something incomplete or damaged upon receipt? Can we use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for something like that? Of course we can! That’s why “cases” (basically trouble tickets) exist! All we needed to do was customize the “case” object a bit in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and then invoke a workflow once a case was created in the warehouse; it would automatically notify the buyer and accounts payable that there was a problem via email. It would also create a task for the buyer to call the supplier and work through the problem. Once the buyer completed that task, the notes of what was discussed and agreed upon would then be automatically sent to accounts payable so that they could create a debit or credit note. Finally, I see clients all the time who are intimidated by the idea of creating workflows and “if statements”, etc. Well, don’t be! Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes it really easy to create, edit, and manage workflows. You can get very sophisticated, or you can start small, such as the simple examples above. You can have triggers set off workflows, or they can be time-dependent. Once you’ve got the basic concepts of how to create a workflow, the possibilities are endless. So get out there and get that Ferrari revved up! Sit with your sales team and think about how workflows could eliminate manual steps and help the organization communicate better!
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Better Together, continued from page 37
Today, companies are seeing the enhanced vision and benefits of connecting these solutions across the organization. Together, these applications can help drive productivity and end-to-end organizational efficiency by enabling critical data and information to be available to anyone, anywhere, at any time, and on any device. These trends are not just the result of organizational goals for efficiency, but also are related to end user expectations. With the increased adoption and availability of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, users expect to access information on demand. Allowing professionals to access client information, sales history, inventory, prior orders, invoices, and related details on any device is now the standard expectation.
and collaborate “ Capture in real time on all operational and sales information from a single system
“
Bringing together the right strategy and the right technologies is step one in achieving the critical success factors that drive business growth, productivity, and, in turn, profitability. The idea of extending these solutions through integrations with each other and additional functionality such as portals, marketing automation, document management, and mobile applications takes the concept of ERP and CRM to the next level. The benefits of connecting CRM and ERP can help an organization support end-to-end business processes. With ERP and CRM together, an organization can now connect CRM data such as sales pipelines, accounts, and customer service data to ERP data such as sales and invoice history. This provides managers and key personnel with a single source of the truth.
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Dynamics University Spring 2014
The bottom line: one of the greatest benefits derived from this marriage of applications is the ability to capture and collaborate in real time on all operational and sales information from a single system. Microsoft Dynamics is a suite of enterprise business applications from Microsoft that includes Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics GP. Together, the two can integrate seamlessly as a single enterprise business solution and can be custom-fit specifically for the unique needs of an organization. It’s important to realize that we haven’t reached the finish line by simply integrating CRM and ERP together. Extending the reach and functionality of these key platforms through social media, portals, marketing automation, and document management provides an even greater level of benefit. Let 2014 be the year where you bring together the silos within your organization, break down the barriers, and help take your organization to the next level. Check out some of the advertisers in this edition for ideas on how to achieve these goals. Scribe, PaperSave, CoreMotives, and CRM Vertex are all great solutions that help to break down the barriers between applications.
exam cram answers: Question 1
Answer: c
If you place the vendor on hold, you can’t issue or apply payments for the vendor using the Payables Transaction Entry window, the Payables Manual Payment Entry window, or the Print Payables Checks window. You still can enter, post, and apply transactions other than payments for the vendor. If you unmark Hold, the hold is removed, and you can issue payments to the vendor.
Question 2
Answer: a
Account Distributions are first based on the Customer Account Maintenance record. If the distribution accounts are not defined on the Customer record, they are then taken from the Posting Account Setup.
Question 3
Answer: d
While it appears as though the documents, folders, and the library itself are in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, they are actually in SharePoint. When accessing a document library via Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it is essentially like a window into SharePoint rather than records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. That being said, when a record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is created and configured to use SharePoint, a Document Library is created in SharePoint, and a Document Location record is created in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The Document Location record is essentially a record that links the SharePoint Document Library to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM record.
Question 4
Answer: d
When creating price lists and products, if you want to be able to use those products on opportunities, quotes, orders, or even invoices, each of those products needs to be associated with each price list they need to be a part of. When this link is created, Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates a “Price List Item” record. If you are using multiple currencies in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you’ll need to create additional price lists because a price list can only be tied to one currency at a time. So, in this scenario, we have two currencies, three price lists for each currency, and 10 products. Two currencies X three price lists per currency x 10 products = 60 price list items.
FACEBOOK EXTRA CREDIT!
Be the first person to post the correct answer on the Dynamics University Facebook Page and WIN! The Finance Manager for ABC Company currently uses Microsoft Excel to track all general ledger account budget amounts, but needs to get these amounts into Microsoft Dynamics GP. What is the best way for the Finance Manager to get budget amounts into Microsoft Dynamics GP? a. Enter and post an amount using Budget Transaction Entry b. Use the Budget Wizard for Excel to import the budget amounts from Microsoft Excel c. Create a new Budget ID and use one of the existing calculation methods to enter the amounts d. Manually enter the budget amount for each general ledger account using Single-Account Budget Maintenance DynamicsUniversity.com
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crmvertex
a dynamic portal solution
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COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS Extend your Microsoft Dynamics速 CRM solution and drive your customer web engagement strategy with CRM Vertex. Optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices, CRM Vertex utilizes dozens of features designed to provide immediate value and a rich portal experience. The self-service functionality includes features such as event registration, finance, support, document management, and social discussion groups. Each feature set delivers powerful functionality and flexible administration options.
info@crmvertex.com
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