Dynamics University_Summer 2012

Summer 2012 Providing Learning Opportunities for Microsoft Dynamics® Users

Get Lync’d The Evolution of

Tech Support Sneak Peek:

GP2013 Follow the Trail— Improved Auditing Management Reporter

2012

Time Matrix

Watching the Clock

Intelligent Technology:

Connecting Systems in Educational Institutions

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

Welcome Welcome to the second issue of Dynamics University! Since the launch of Dynamics University magazine and website just a few months ago, feedback has been phenomenal and we thank everyone for the helpful comments and contributions. We hope to incorporate these suggestions in future issues to ensure value is maintained within the content provided.

Summer 2012

contents FEATURES

6

The Evolution of Tech Support John Messelt, Group Manager for North American Technical Support on the Microsoft Customer Service and Support team, discusses how delivering customer service has changed during his time with Microsoft.

Business continues to change at an exponential pace. Making forward looking decisions that positively impact bottom lines is more important than ever. Giving users immediate and specific insight into business intelligence is often the key difference between success and failure. This is where the enduring value and increased innovation inherent in the next release of Microsoft Dynamics GP – referred to as GP2013 – comes into play.

12

Making Payroll: The Common Sense Benefits of GP Consider staffing, cost, complexity, integration, and flexibility, then – choose the Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll solution.

At the opening day of Colorado Rockies baseball, I was struck by the wealth of intelligence provided by the scoreboard. In one place, critical information on dozens of instantaneously updated metrics was visible for fans to digest and analyze at a level appropriate to their interest.

In a similar fashion, Microsoft Dynamics GP2013 expands and broadens existing dashboard metrics to a type of “Scoreboard Intelligence.” The powerful combination of Business Analyzer, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and Microsoft Excel reports offers both on premise and mobile users a more complete picture of business intelligence – beyond just dashboards. These tools deliver role specific insight – enabling collaboration among users and quick decision making regarding the health of the business.

Future Dynamics University magazine issues will continue to highlight expanded features in Microsoft Dynamics GP2013 and other Microsoft Dynamics products. Dynamics University strives to be the go-to source for the latest and best product innovations, training, and user tips and tricks to enable and enhance the effective use of business technology investments.

Thanks for your ongoing support and please let us know how we can continue to provide value and benefit in all things Microsoft Dynamics. And, congratulations to our Q1 Kindle Fire winner – Tom Weaver from Excelsior College in New York! Thank you!

18

Watching the Clock: The Efficiencies of Time Matrix Tracking Reviews Time Clock’s features and seamless integration with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

21

To Certify or Not to Certify?

Obtain a certification in one of the Microsoft Dynamics GP modules.

22

Get Lync’d

24

Expand communication possibilities and useful integrations in Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Microsoft Lync.

Hook, Line & Sinker: Bringing SQL Server 2012 On Board Be prepared for a SQL upgrade by knowing which new features are compatible with Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010.

Barry Knaster, Knaster Technology Group DynamicsUniversity.com

3

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Summer 2012

contents

IN EVERY ISSUE

9

26

CRM Tips and Tricks Tips on visual tools, synchronizing contacts, improving implementation and more.

14

Follow the Trail…Improved Auditing…of CRM 2011 Auditing is much simpler and functional through the use of the audit tools included in the core Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform.

Book Review

15

Review of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Cookbook

Debits and Credits Information designed to increase efficiency for Microsoft Dynamics GP users.

28 31

rEvolution2013: A sneak peek Over 100 new features in the release of Microsoft Dynamics 2013 spread across virtually every part of the system.

Picture This Add another impressive tool for ‘data visualization’ with conditional formatting.

32

Intelligent Technology: Connecting Systems in Educational Institutions

1405 Prairie Parkway, Suite A

Integration and the ability to easily access correct information efficiently with Microsoft Dynamics GP and add-on software solutions.

West Fargo, ND 58078 DynamicsUniversity.com

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

34

Management Reporter 2012 — Now Improving Offices Everywhere Design, distribute, view, collaborate, and make efficient business decisions based on real-time financial data with Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions.

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.

DynamicsUniversity.com

5

The Evolution of Technical Support: A conversation with John Messelt Interview by Eric Gjerdevig, Summit Group Software

J

ohn Messelt joined Great Plains Software in 1999 as a support engineer working with Microsoft Dynamics GP. His focus over the last 13 years has remained on providing services to Microsoft customers throughout North America. John moved to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM support team when it was first formed to support Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 1.0. For the last four years, John has been the Group Manager for North American Technical Support on the Microsoft Customer Service and Support team. John and his family reside in Fargo, ND. With the buzz around cloud computing, we sat down with John to get his thoughts on how delivering customer support has changed over those 12 years.

Eric: What is the biggest change you have seen in your career related to how customers access support services?

John Messelt: The web has driven most of the changes we’ve seen in the last dozen years. It has dramatically changed how we help customers. Today we utilize a large number of tools to gather information and assist in solving problems. We have diagnostic tools that gather a huge amount of information quickly and allow us to identify problems in a fraction of the time it used to.

The web has also changed the role we play in providing support. It used to be that clients had their own internal IT departments who handled a lot of the support needs. While that is still true for many today, clients have also pushed their solutions into the Cloud and Microsoft now plays a larger part. In many cases, these customers have downsized their IT department and we play a larger role in addition to their partners. It puts a greater responsibility on us and a big part of

6

Dynamics University Summer 2012

customer satisfaction is based on the end-to-end online service versus just the product.

Eric: Do customers have different expectations today?

John Messelt: Absolutely! First, we used to primarily speak with IT resources. Today, the person contacting support can be anyone. Customers want issues resolved quickly and with as little effort as possible. That’s a fair expectation and we work tirelessly to meet that bar. As Microsoft solutions continue to integrate more tightly, that means the information our teams must gather to pinpoint root cause is critical. We are building tools to help customers collect this information easily over the web. This is very exciting stuff for our business. While the perception may be that complexity is growing, we also recognize that the value customers can receive by using multiple Microsoft technologies is very, very compelling. Imagine the value of having your SharePoint, Office 365, Dynamics CRM Online and Microsoft Lync deployments all talking together!

Eric: So what is Microsoft doing to deliver on these new expectations?

John Messelt: It starts with our hiring.

Messelt, continued on page 8 DynamicsUniversity.com

7

Messelt, continued from page 7

The candidates we are looking for today are different than when I started.

We need to hire the best and brightest in online services. The fact is that issues will occur, and it’s our job to ensure that we have the right people and processes in place to quickly react and solve the problem before a client is aware that it ever happened. That is our goal. We invest heavily in training and hiring people with deep platform and developer skills as well as networking skills and superior customer service qualities to solve issues efficiently and give advice to our customers. Our partners play a big role in this as well. Most partners have a closer relationship with the end customer than we do, and partners really understand the nuances of a customer’s environment. Together it’s a great team.

Another area where Microsoft continues to focus our attention is how our teams operate internally. With Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Azure, and other cloud based solutions, our support teams work together every day and with our services

engineering teams to provide the service quality our customers expect.

Eric: You’ve been involved with support for a long time. What’s your best tip to offer a customer to get a question answered quickly?

“Today, the person contacting support can be anyone.”

John Messelt: I am a huge fan of crowdsourcing. Using our Dynamics Communities, users are talking to other users and solving each other’s issues and sharing best practices. It’s a beautiful thing and by design. Historically, Microsoft Support has always been at the end of the “pipe” so to speak. What I mean by that is that customers could search online, look through documentation, ask their partner, and if all else failed contact Microsoft. The Dynamics Community provides customers an invaluable resource to search for information and

post questions. It’s monitored by our teams, as well as partners and endusers. It’s a great way for you to get questions answered quickly and for free.

Eric: How does Microsoft support augment a customer’s partner?

John Messelt: Simply put, partners are essential to the equation. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, we see customers leave the service more often if they don’t have a partner. One of the big reasons is that partners do a wonderful job to ensure users are actually using the product, trained well, and see the value of the service from day one. Without those key accomplishments, seeing a great return on investment is difficult for a customer. So my first recommendation is to definitely consider getting a partner involved if you haven’t already.

Second, make sure you have a “CRM Champion” in your organization. Having a “go to” person is something we see with almost every happy and successful CRM customer. ■

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

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2

Using Filters to Synchronize Outlook Contacts

1 Gaining Buy-in and User Adoption

By Memie Whiteside, Cargas Systems 1

Listen to each department leader’s description of success prior to implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Make sure these criteria are top of mind during design and training. Reinforce Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s ability to address key concerns achieve success.

Tip: Success criteria will be very different for each department. Make sure to break out the training schedule appropriately so what is important for each group can be focused on.

2

Create success dependencies in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for each department. If a user is asked to manage accounts and contacts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but the spreadsheet that handles other key customer data is still maintained separately, the team will not use Microsoft Dynamics CRM consistently.

Tip: Sit with power users prior to implementation. Give them tools to record business processes to include the applications (including Excel) that are touched during daily business processing.

3

Encourage continuous training for each department. A project training task should never really end. A good project leader will introduce training on a variety of topics on a regular schedule.

Tip: Keep it fun – consider breakfast or lunch meetings or even a late afternoon meeting followed by happy hour! ■

By Brady Curtis, The Resource Group

As a mobile salesperson, having contacts available in Microsoft Outlook is critical.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows users to create a filter to define which contact records to synchronize in Microsoft Outlook.

To create a filter, go to the File menu in Outlook and click CRM in the navigation pane.

Next, click on Synchronize and select Outlook Filters. Here, the system default filters such as My Contacts are available. A recommended Best Practice is to change the status of My Contacts to Inactive. This filter synchronizes all contacts where the user is the primary owner in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. A more specific set of contacts may be desired, such as top customers and partners. Now, create a new filter by clicking the New button. This opens an Advanced Find window where a salesperson can define a more precise query on contacts to be synchronized. An optional additional recommendation is to create a Marketing List called “Outlook Synchronized Contacts” where key contacts are individually assigned to the list. The Advanced Find filter needs to include only contacts assigned to that specific marketing list. ■

Tips & Tricks, continued on page 10 DynamicsUniversity.com

9

Tips & Tricks, continued from page 9

4

Utilizing the Sales Pipeline Funnel

By Robert Stephan, Integrated Business Group Inc.

Sales is the lifeblood of an organization, so every sales manager and business owner wants an easy way to view at a glance how sales are stacking up in the pipeline. That requires a fast, easy, and consistent way for salespeople to track the opportunities being worked on.

3 1

Improving CRM or xRM Implementation

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 has incorporated a powerful visual tool to give an instantaneous and real-time view into sales activity by incorporating a Sales Pipeline funnel onto the default dashboard. While the dashboard and corresponding reports are ready out-of-the-box, the organization has to perform one crucial step to utilize them: Define the specific meaning of the Pipeline Phase for that organization’s particular sales process.

The Pipeline Phase on the Opportunity record needs to be set to match the business requirements. Notice that the Pipeline Phase field only appears in the record footer and is read-only. In order for the sales person to utilize it, the sections of the funnel must first be named consistently in order to reBy Kevin Alexander, The TM Group flect the sales process. It is necessary for the organization to configure the Pipeline Phase Start with Clear Goals and Objectives: As an field to be protected from direct edit and to example, there may be a goal of deep visibility into use other criteria to determine the phase. closed-loop marketing campaigns and how many sales Since the criteria can vary by sales proopportunities are generated. Be sure to spell out the cess, a Best Practice is to use a workspecifics, as in how does the marketing team want to track flow process to utilize the data on the campaign activities and what are the concrete campaign Opportunity record (and even utiresponse goals? The project manager of the Microsoft lize data on a related record such Dynamics CRM implementation should gather goals across as the Account) to determine and impacted departments to define what is sought to be achieved in set the Pipeline Phase. a clear, comprehensive plan. Then the Microsoft Dynamics partner should be able to keep those objectives in mind when helping setup and customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM or xRM to reflect the specific business needs.

A Practical Example Here is an example of a basic, multi-stage sales process with the following opportunity-level

2

Define the Process: One of the first questions asked should be “Is there a pre-defined sales process already in place or a customer service program outlined step-by-step?” If the answer is yes, then look at the automation features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. But if there isn’t a process, there is no automating what isn’t there. Many organizations want the automation, but need to take the first, necessary step of defining the key business processes.

Thoughtful research and white boarding up front can help create truly relevant workflow and automation.

3

Define a Clear-Cut Training Plan: Training goes a long way for users (both novice and expert) and can dramatically increase user adoption to earn a faster return on investment. While defining a training plan, keep the goals and objectives in mind. Be sure to ask the Microsoft Dynamics partner about their training delivery options – the best CRM partners should offer several cost-effective options, including in-person classroom training in their offices, at a customer location, as well as online training. ■

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

stages: 1-Prospect➞ 2-Qualify➞ 3-Proof of Concept➞ 4-Close.

3

In the Add Step section, add a Check Condition. For the Check Condition, select the Opportunity entity and Sales Stage field with a value of 1-Prospect. Then for the related action, select Add Step and choose Update Record and add the desired corresponding text of 1-Prospect into the Pipeline Phase field. This creates a one-to-one mapping of Sales Stage to Pipeline Phase.

4

For each additional Sales Stage, click Add Step and choose Conditional Branch and perform the corresponding mapping as in Step #3.

5

Select Save, Activate, and Close. The workflow is ready to use.

An option set (pull-down) was created and each stage was prefixed with a numeric identifier for sorting purposes.

Then a Sales Stage field was created (using the option set) and placed the field onto the Opportunity record so that the salesperson could select the appropriate value.

Now the key is to have the system set the Pipeline Phase to correspond to the Sales Stage. To do this, a workflow process is needed. Follow these steps:

2

Create a new workflow process by going to Settings, choose Processes and click New. Give the process a name such as Set Pipeline Phase. Select the Opportunity entity and set the Category to Workflow.

When the Workflow Designer Window appears, change the Scope to Organization so that it will work for all the people in the sales department. In the Start when: section, leave Record is created checked, but also check Record fields change and select the field Sales Stage from the list. That will cause this workflow to run whenever the salesperson creates a new Opportunity or changes the Sales Stage on an existing one.

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The Sales Pipeline funnel is a powerful and easy way to monitor and gauge at a glance the sales activity within the organization. With a few tweaks to the custom workflow that was created, the specific sales process utilized by the organization can be reflected. ■

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Once the workflow is activated, every time a new Opportunity is created or updated, the Pipeline Phase will be set automatically and consistently based on the sales processes stage. Since the Pipeline Phase field is utilized as designed out-of-the-box, the dashboards and related reports will work without modification.

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11

By Mary Ellen DeWitt, Cargas Systems, Inc.

Making Payroll

The Common Sense Benefits of GP

W

hether it is utilized in-house or outsourced, all organizations do payroll. If companies are accustomed to using an outside provider, they can choose to keep doing it that way. If an organization has staff to do the payroll and want to use Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll and Direct Deposit are the solutions often proposed. Why choose the Microsoft Dynamics GP option? Consider integration, control and history.

Integration Because Payroll is an integrated module in Microsoft Dynamics GP, the windows and reports use the familiar Microsoft Dynamics interface including SmartList queries. Reporting is robust on employees and wages, taxes, deductions and benefits. Posting setup allows flexibility in providing very detailed General Ledger data. Cash payments are included in Bank Reconciliation. The Human Resources suite of modules provides a wealth of employee data and can be used by staff not normally users of the accounting system.

Job Cost and Project Accounting modules benefit from payroll and labor data. Certified Payroll reports can be run. Quarter end and Year end reports and W-2 forms (US Payroll) are produced from the system. Direct Deposit can be used to send electronic payments directly to employees. Remittances can be printed in lieu of checks.

There are time clock and other time-keeping systems that integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll, eliminating some of the data entry for hourly workers. The time keeping systems can provide data on hours, departments worked in and type of work done.

Integration tools provided by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Dynamics GP can be used to import employee setup and payroll transactions from custom portals if a more robust interface is needed.

Control Payroll department staff can complete the payroll on their schedule, preparing employee checks and/or submitting Direct Deposit files to the bank ahead of time, or just in time. Emergency or bonus checks can be issued as desired. Payroll payments can in12

Dynamics University Summer 2012

clude reimbursements, deductions for employee loan repayments, garnishments, and special compensation such as commission, bonus or travel pay. Salary increases, benefits and deductions can be setup to activate at a certain future date.

History and Ad-Hoc Reporting When a request comes in for an employee credit application, history is there to complete that request.

When management asks for prior year TARGIT or period data, it is available in inquiTHIS ries, SmartLists and multiple forms of Microsoft Dynamics GP reports.

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Questions regarding a pay stub are answered by printing a report that reprints the stub information. Multiple stubs for the employee can be reprinted at once.

New Features and Reporting • If it has been a while since last evaluating Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll for an organization, the features in later versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP may be of interest. There might be something to make life easier!

• A primary concern is always reporting. With SmartList Builder, and now Excel Builder and Navigation List Builder, organizations are able to pull together tables and present fields more easily than ever before. For example, Pennsylvania recently enacted a law requiring detailed local payroll tax reporting with extra fields. With a SmartList Builder report, that tax report is easily produced.

• Deploying Microsoft Dynamics GP Excel reports and SQL Reporting Services reports add another option for viewing data

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Payroll, continued on page 17 DynamicsUniversity.com

13

[Book Review]

By Bob Callanan, Business Ready Solutions, LLC

Food for Thought Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Cookbook Marc AuCoin Packt Publishing Ltd. 2012

I

n earlier releases of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the use of dashboards required some technical know-how. This meant only those willing to invest some time internally or those willing to pay external consultants and developers could take advantage of the data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM using dashboards. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 come a number of standard dashboards as well as the ability to configure/customize them for personal use. This allows individual users to see data graphically and IT departments to develop more specific dashboards for others. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Cookbook by Marc AuCoin is a great resource for those looking to take advantage of this new dashboard functionality.

The book starts out with some simple exercises on viewing the standard dashboards that come out of the box with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and explains how to set defaults. It moves into more navigation tips - explaining how to refresh data, create filters, and change sort options on the standard dashboards. With the basics covered, the book begins discussions on creating dashboards using existing charts and graphs.

The “recipes” or exercises in the book are well illustrated with application screen shots making it easier to follow along and practice. Each recipe contains sections for “Getting Ready,” “How To Do It,” “How It Works,” and “There’s More” - each one is simple to work through in a few minutes.

Once concepts are grasped around creating dashboards, it moves on to sharing and assigning dashboards to users, editing, and deleting existing dashboards.

The last three chapters are more technical - covering iframes and web resources, using the form xml element to create dashboards outside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, creating charts using the Chart Designer tool, taking advantage of the Dashboard Reports control, and moving beyond the Chart Designer tool making edits using an xml editor.

A nice perk is the book is available electronically and can be purchased through www.PacktPub.com to access additional support files and related downloads.

The book makes a suggestion to subscribe to a 30 day trial copy of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for working through the book – rather than making edits to a company’s live system. The book is helpful as a resource book with the multiple recipes to assist independent work, or as a course book to work from start to finish. ■ 14

Dynamics University Summer 2012

Debits and Credits

SmartList – Did You Know?

By Wendy Ponseti, Express Information Systems

• Did you know you can change the SmartList field name?

Click on the Column button and change the display name. The original column name cannot be changed, but the display name can be changed.

• Did you know you can change the Smartlist default of 1,000 records?

Choose Tools, click Setup and choose System. Then click SmartList Options, choose the Category of Default Go To, then change the maximum records. For example: Vendors, View, 10,000. The default fields and sort order can also be changed.

• Did you know you can create a Top 10 Customer Balance list in SmartList?

Create a customer SmartList and add the customer balance field. Restrict the number of records by changing the maximum records field under Search to 10 or the desired number. Then click Ordered By and add the field to sort on. Ascending or Descending can also be chosen. ■

Printing and Emailing a Group of Receivables Transactions In Two Simple Steps

By Linda Brock, Knaster Technology Group

Many users generate sales documents through the Sales Transaction Entry window and print or email batches or groups of documents through the Sales Batches window or the Print Sales Documents window. In the past, receivables documents were printed one-at-a-time. Now, Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 users who print or email receivables documents can also print or email a group of documents.

To print or email a group of receivables documents use the Receivables Transactions navigation list. Filter the list of documents appropriately – for example by document date or document number – and check the boxes next to the documents to print or email. Then, go to the Actions section of the Action Pane and either select Print Documents or Send in E-Mail. ■ Debits & Credits, continued on page 16 DynamicsUniversity.com

15

Debits & Credits, continued from page 15

Eliminating Errors in Service Inventory and Unit Costs

By Bob Callanan, Business Ready Solutions

Service inventory items are helpful when processing Sales Orders (SO) and Purchase Orders (PO), but problems can occur if the same service inventory item is used for both the PO and SO. While the General Ledger and standard Microsoft Dynamics GP reports are not affected, it might affect custom sales reports and Smartlist data. Sales history tables may capture inaccurate data regarding the unit cost of these service inventory items.

Here is an example: • Create a new Purchase Order and include a service inventory item named Handling Charge then enter and post a shipment/invoice. Set the Unit Cost of the service inventory item to $100. This is the handling charged by the supplier for the shipment.

• Create a Sales invoice and include the same service inventory item named Handling Charge. Set the Unit Price at $80.00. Then, post the invoice.

• Look back at the invoice in the Sales Transaction Inquiry zoom. Note that the Handling Charge shows a unit price of $80 and a unit cost of $100.

• The Sales Transaction History Report for the sales invoice shows the extended cost of the item is zero – as it should be.

• A Smartlist of Sales Line items shows that the item has a unit cost of $100. ■

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

Seeing Clearly: How Windows Settings Affect Sizing

By Margaret Saville, Quadis Technologies

The size and appearance of windows within Microsoft Dynamics GP can be modified by making changes to screen resolution and display preferences in the computer’s Windows settings.

Screen resolution: Right click on the Windows desktop and select Screen Resolution. Try raising or lowering the resolution size to test how the Microsoft Dynamics windows will look.

Display preferences: Right click on the Windows desktop, click Personalize, and select Display. The choices for text/font appearance are 100%, 125%, and 150%.

Registry font size: Changes to the registry should be done by IT staff or someone familiar with the Windows registry.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts\ Review these three fonts – MS Sans Serif, MS Serif, and Courier 10, 12, 15. If the value data contains an “F” prior to the .FON extension, the default Windows setting is 125%. An “E” indicates 100%. To make text in Microsoft Dynamics larger, change the value’s letter to an F (for example: MS Serif at 125%, SERIFF.FON). ■

Payroll, continued from page 13

and creating custom reports.

• Users of Analytical Accounting can define aliases for combinations of payroll posting type, code, department, position, and even the employee ID to analyze employee expense beyond the General Ledger.

Analytical Accounting can produce queries exported to Excel.

• W-2’s and Form 941 (US Payroll) have long been printed from Microsoft Dynamics GP at year end. As the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) continues to change the forms, those changes come in the form of a service pack - usually available in November - with changes by the IRS continuing sometimes into the next year. Pay, deduction, and benefit codes can now be designated into up to four W-2 boxes with labels so employees can identify what they are.

• A company on a fiscal year can track and print pay, deductions, and benefits on a fiscal year basis.

Maximums can be set by fiscal year for some fields in Human Resources.

Payroll department staff can complete the payroll on their schedule • Multiple garnishments against an employee’s pay can be sequenced and prioritized with a minimum pay defined. Multiple payroll clerks can queue their batches so they run right after the prior payroll batch is finished processing.

• Workflow within Microsoft Dynamics GP extends to employee onboarding and maintenance.

• Add-ons within the Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll and Human Resources family extend the functionality with PTO Manager and Advanced Payroll. Pay policy management automates complex hourly pay calculations for employees working multiple shifts in multiple departments and positions. Labor accrual management calculates estimated costs and posts to General Ledger by calendar date.

Accrual entries can automatically reverse at a set date.

• Labor hours can automatically post to a statistical Unit account.

Unit accounts can be used in financial reporting as well as payroll reporting.

Making the Choice …Staffing, cost, complexity, integration, flexibility – so many things to consider when deciding to invest in payroll processing in-house. Maybe it is time to reconsider Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll. ■

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DynamicsUniversity.com

17

By Dan Decker, Business Computers Software, Inc.

T

Watching the Clock The Efficiencies of Time Matrix Tracking

ime Matrix is a Time Clock which seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics GP. It records the time an employee clocks in to begin working and the time the employee clocks out to stop working. Upon clocking out, the Time Clock calculates the number of hours the employee worked. In addition to storing the start time, end time and hours worked the Time Clock stores the department the employee worked in, the position and pay code using the setup in Microsoft Dynamics GP payroll. Employees can be given the option to change their department, position and pay codes and can view their weekly time cards and a monthly calendar.

Employee Time Entry And Self Service Time Matrix uses several different input methods to enter employee time data. The keyboard, mouse, touch screen monitor, magnetic card reader, bar code scanner, proximity cards used with door security and biometrics be utilized by the employee. With an optional phone server, employees can clock in/out using a regular phone.

A web based Time Clock using Microsoft Internet Explorer is available to clock in/out employees. Any tablet or smart phone that has internet access can use the Web Time Clock.

Besides being able to track hours, the Time Clock provides employee self-service. Employees can view their vacation and sick balances from Payroll or Human Resources. Employees can view name, address and emergency contacts and they can also be given the option of changing them, as well as view their historical pay amounts. They can view and print pay stubs for every month in every year. Employees can make a request for Time Off. The request is

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

either approved or denied by the employee’s supervisor.

Oversight Supervisors have the ability to review, correct and approve times for their employees. The payroll department has the ability to calculate over time and mass enter holiday time. At the end of the pay period, hours are transferred (posted) to Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll transaction entry which saves the payroll clerk many hours of data entry. The payroll clerk then processes payroll as normal.

Reporting Time Matrix reports are written using Microsoft Dynamics GP Report Writer.

The Microsoft Dynamics GP Report Writer can be used to modify existing Time Matrix reports or to create additional Time Matrix Reports. The Microsoft Dynamics GP SmartList Builder can be used to create additional reports for Time Matrix. SmartList Builder takes the highly popular, easy-to-use Smart-

List tool in Microsoft Dynamics GP and dramatically increases its power and range. SmartList Builder allows users to combine data and create SmartLists from Microsoft Dynamics GP and Time Matrix.

The Time Matrix Time Clock has been tested and meets the criteria for the “Microsoft Dynamics GP Test for ISV Solutions”. Time Matrix has been certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD).

Seamless Integration Time Matrix was specifically written for Microsoft Dynamics GP and is the only Time Clock that is written within Microsoft Dynamics GP. Time Matrix is so closely integrated to Microsoft Dynamics GP that it uses the Microsoft Dynamics GP secu-

rity setup, report writer and even the same employee lookup. Time Matrix stores its data tables in the same Microsoft SQL company data base that Microsoft Dynamics GP uses, which enables Time Matrix to directly read and write to the Payroll/Human Resources employee, department, position, pay code and vacation/sick data tables. This makes setup quick because there is no need to enter employee data. Also, there is no need to use Integration Manager or old fashioned import/export or transfers of data. Time is posted to the payroll transaction entry window that eliminates costly data entry.

The Time Matrix Time Clock has been tested and meets the criteria for the “Microsoft Dynamics GP Test for ISV Solutions”. Time Matrix has been certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD).

Besides being able to run under Microsoft Dynamics GP, just like any other Microsoft Dynamics GP modules, Time Matrix can also run standTime Matrix, continued on page 20

DynamicsUniversity.com

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Time Matrix, continued from page 19

alone from Microsoft Dynamics GP. This stand-alone mode does not require Microsoft Dynamics GP to be running, thus additional full Microsoft Dynamics GP licenses do not need to be purchased.

The Time Matrix Time Clock also seamlessly integrates with these additional Microsoft Dynamics GP modules and Third Party products.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP Human Resources (HR) – Time Matrix also seamlessly integrates with HR Time and Attendance. The Time Clock can display the Time Code hours available. When hours are posted to payroll, HR Attendance Transaction Entry, HR Attendance Employee Summary and HR Employee Attendance Maintenance are updated.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP Project Accounting (PA) – When using PA the Time Clock prompts the employee to enter a Project and a Cost Category. Hours worked are posted to PA Project Time Sheets.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP Manufacturing – When using Manufacturing, the Time Clock prompts the employee to enter a MO, Sequence and a Labor Code. Hours are posted to Manufacturing Time Card Entry.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP Receivables – When using Receivables the Time Clock prompts the employee to enter a Customer.

AP

• Microsoft Dynamics GP Sales Order Processing (SOP) – When using SOP the Time Clock prompts the employee to enter an Order and a line item.

• WennSoft Job cost – When using WennSoft Job Cost the employee is prompted to enter a Job and a Cost Code. Hours are posted to Time Tracking Time Card Entry.

• WennSoft Service Management – When using WennSoft Service Management the employee is prompted to enter a Service Call and SMS. Hours are posted to Time Tracking Time Card Entry.

• Horizons Manufacturing - When using Horizon’s Manufacturing the employee is prompted to enter the Work Order and Step. Hours are posted to Shop Floor Processing Transactions.

No Limits!

Time Matrix licensing includes an UNLIMITED software license for UNLIMITED employees using UNLIMITED Time Clocks on UNLIMITED workstations for UNLIMITED companies at UNLIMITED locations for one server. It also includes UNLIMITED phone support with GoToMeeting for installation, setup & training.

Time Matrix is currently available for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 and GP2010 and will be available for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 when it is released at the end of this year. ■

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To Certify or Not to Certify?

By Jackie Smith, Integrated Business Group

A

few years ago, Microsoft opened up Microsoft Dynamics GP partner certification exams to customers. Customers can now take the same exams required of their partners/consultants.

Knowledge is power and good training provides that knowledge. With knowledge, customers can “own” their Microsoft Dynamics GP systems and that leads to better implementations and long term use of the accounting software. The best part…happy customers.

Obtaining a Microsoft Dynamics GP certification in one of the Microsoft Dynamics GP fields of expertise allows users to distinguish themselves and be recognized by employers and fellow workers.

Microsoft Dynamics GP users can find handson training through their Microsoft Dynamics Partner. Partners can then lead clients directly to certification exams in Microsoft Dynamics GP Financials, Inventory/Order Processing, HR and Payroll, Project Series and Manufacturing.

Whether attending a class in person or a remote training, students receive high quality training from Microsoft Certified Trainers who are experts in their field and work with the product daily. In person courses allow students to participate in lectures as well as hands on labs. Remote students access their own virtual classroom via the internet.

Consider certification today, you will not regret it! ■

DynamicsUniversity.com

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By Josh Behl, Summit Group Software

Get Lyncâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d Lync is built to fully integrate with Microsoft Office

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P

erhaps one of the most useful integrations in the Microsoft Dynamics world is between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Outlook. For a long time, Outlook has been the most prevalent communication tool used by most organizations. However, the communications horizon is much broader now with the availability of Microsoft Lync. And as with Outlook, the integration capabilities between Lync and Microsoft Dynamics are also remarkable!

What Is Lync?

Microsoft Lync is a unified communications platform.

With Lync, users can keep track of their contacts’ availability; send an instant message; start or join an audio, video, or web conference; or make a phone call—all through a consistent, familiar interface. Lync is built to fully integrate with Microsoft Office. In other words, in some ways, Lync is a sleek combination of Skype, Live Messenger, and LiveMeeting.

Lync To Microsoft Dynamics CRM There are a few very simple ways Lync integrates to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and a handful of third party tools available which facilitate different kinds of integrations.

Track Conversations Lync instant message conversations can be easily tracked to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact. To save a conversation to a customer in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, open Microsoft Outlook and from the Folder List access the Conversation History folder to open that conversation.

This conversation can be tracked just as a normal email, task, appointment or contact is tracked from Outlook into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Once the conversation is tracked, it will appear as an email within Microsoft Dynamics CRM tied to the record specified.

Contact Presence Another way Lync integrates with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is through tracking the presence or availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM contacts in Lync. For example, from directly within a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact record accessed through Outlook, there are options to make a phone call or Lync Call to chat with the contact.

From here it is also possible to initiatiate an instant message conversation, schedule a meeting, do a screen shar-

ing session, send an email, and even see the contact’s availability. The contact’s phone numbers appear with the Lync icon next to it. If clicked, Lync opens and creates a Lync call directly to that phone number.

It is important to note that this is does not track the phone call through Lync as a phone call in Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically. There are other integration possibilities available through a series of third party vendors that facilitate this. Check out the Dynamics University blog for links to several.

Lync instant message conversations can be easily tracked to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact.

However, even without third party integration scenarios, there are other simple Lync integration points that are very handy. For example, while logging a phone call in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for a contact, there is the ability to start a video call via Lync directly from within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM phone call record by hovering over the contact information.

The communication possibilities and further useful integrations with Microsoft Dynamics CRM are really expanded via Microsoft Lync. Contact your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner today to take advantage of this great communication tool. ■

DynamicsUniversity.com

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Hook, Line, and Sinker Bringing SQL Server 2012 On Board

By Kim Anselmo, The Resource Group

W

ith the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2012, many organizations are considering an upgrade to take advantage of the new features within Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010. But first, it is important to know which new features are compatible with the Microsoft Dynamics GP implementation in an organization in order to be prepared in advance and plan accordingly.

Supported and Compatible Features of SQL Server 2012 The following popular new features of SQL Server 2012 are currently compatible and supported for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010: Data Alerts: Reporting Services data alerts are a data driven alerting solution that helps keeps an organization informed of the most important information when it is needed. With this new feature, the information is delivered via email rather than a user seeking it out. The key areas of Reporting Services data alerts give the ability to define and save data alert definitions, run data alert definitions and deliver data alert messages to recipients.

Distributed Replay: The Microsoft SQL Server Distributed Replay feature helps assess the impact of future SQL Server upgrades, hard-

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

ware and operating system upgrades, as well as SQL Server tuning. This feature is similar to the SQL Server Profiler in that it can be used to replay a captured trace against an upgraded test environment, but with Distributed Replay workload can be replayed from multiple computers and better simulate a mission-critical workload and the SQL Server Profiler is limited to a single computer.

PowerView: PowerView provides a drag-anddrop, ad hoc reporting experience for business users. It expands on the self-service Business Intelligence capabilities within PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel and PowerPivot for SharePoint enabling customers to visualize and interact with modeled data. It is a browser-based Silverlight application launched within SharePoint Server 2010 helping users communicate within the organization through interactive presentations.

The PowerView feature does require SharePoint Enterprise. No Power View reports will be provided out of the box for Microsoft Dynamics GP; however, customers can create their own.

Features Currently Tested for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Compatibility While the following features of SQL Server 2012 increase efficiency in an organization, they are

not yet fully tested to be compatible with Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010. Please plan appropriately while preparing for a SQL Server upgrade.

AlwaysOn : This new high availability and disaster recovery feature enables businesses to achieve increased application availability as well as gain a better ROI on their hardware through a simplified deployment and management experience. The AlwaysOn feature does require the Enterprise Edition of SQL Server 2012.

Contained Databases: A contained database is one that is isolated from other databases and from the instance of SQL Server that hosts the database. Since Microsoft Dynamics GP is dependent on consistent login information

across the SQL Server instance, this feature is not guaranteed.

Tips for Planning A SQL Server 2012 Upgrade Before planning an upgrade of SQL Server 2012, review in-depth how the new features will benefit the organization. Evaluate if those features will make the team more efficient and how that efficiency could impact the bottom line. Also, research thoroughly if upgrading to SQL Server 2012 will be compatible with the current Microsoft Dynamics GP implementation. (See Table 1 below) Finally, be sure to involve a Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner to help evaluate, plan and test the upgrade process to ensure success. â&#x2013;

Compatibility Requirements for Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft SQL Server 2012: Product

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Support

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Supported

Hotfix KB 2654242 Version 11.00.1914 or later required for compatibility

Business Portal 5.1

Supported

Service Pack 3 or later required for compatibility - Available Soon!!!

Business Portal 5.0

Not Supported

NA

Analysis Cubes for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Not Supported until the release of Service Pack 3

Service Pack 3 scheduled for this summer

Integration Manager for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Supported

None

Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Supported

None

Workflow for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Supported

None

Business Analyzer

Supported

Hotfix KB 2654242 Version 11.00.1914 or later required for compatibility

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Deployment for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Supported

Hotfix KB 2654242 Version 11.00.1914 or later required for compatibility.

eConnect for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Supported

None

Personal Data Keeper for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010

Supported

None

Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 and all web applications for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0

Not Supported

NA

Service Pack/Hotfix Requirements

Sources of article: Microsoft PartnerSource and Microsoft Partner Site DynamicsUniversity.com

25

Following the Trail…

…Improved Auditing…

By Dustin Domerese, Quadis Technologies

…of CRM 2011 26

Dynamics University Summer 2012

S

ystem auditing is a much requested and previously difficult feature to implement in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 system auditing could be achieved, but in a limited fashion, through the use of an audit plug-in available from CodePlex or by the use of custom audit entities to hold the logs and a set of workflows to capture the events to be audited for a record. Since the release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, Auditing is much simpler and much more functional than ever before through the use of the audit tools included in the core Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform. It is now very simple to enable auditing, define how auditing should function for the organization, and view the audit activity in the application.

Manage Auditing The Audit features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 are managed in the Settings area of the CRM organization by choosing System and Auditing. Start or stop auditing from within the Global Audit Settings section. Once the Start Auditing check box is checked, administrators have the ability to select the groups of Entities to enable for audit. This is intended to be a starting point for the entities and fields that to audit. Administrators can choose to audit Common, Sales, Marketing, or Customer Service Entities. Hovering over the title of a section (I.e. Common Entities), a tooltip appears showing the record types that are included for auditing on this section. By default this enables Auditing for all of the listed entities in that section and all fields in those entities.

As a best practice, only enable the fields that the organization would like to audit Once the Start Auditing box is checked, administrators can manually enable auditing for the record types to audit rather than enabling audit for an entire section such as Common Entities. As a best practice, administrators should only enable auditing on the entities and the fields where changes should be tracked so that when viewing logs only see the ones relevant to the organization are seen.

Understand Limitations One current limitation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM auditing is that Metadata change cannot be audited. That means if an administrator makes a customization to Microsoft Dynamics CRM this is not currently captured in

the audit logs without making some customizations to capture this type of system level change. Another limitation is the ability to capture the reading of data. Without doing some development there is not currently a way to log the reading of a record.

However, the checkbox for Audit User Access can be used to Audit a user logging into Microsoft Dynamics CRM including for how long and from which client. This can be valuable if a simple usage report is needed.

Auditing Settings Modifications to the entities or fields that are enabled for auditing are made through the Settings and Customization area of Microsoft Dynamics CRM or by clicking on the Entity and Field Audit Settings link at the bottom of the Global Audit Settings page.

Auditing can only be enabled or disabled on an entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM by navigating to the entity definition in either the default or an unmanaged solution. The entities that are enabled for auditing are viewed by looking at the Audit Status column in the Entities view under the solution.

To make changes, simply select the entity to enable or disable auditing and check or uncheck the Auditing box under the Data Services section of the Entity settings.

When an entity is enabled for Auditing, by default, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will enable auditing for all fields within that entity. This includes the tracking of any data changes made to fields that may or may not be on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM form.

As a best practice, only enable the fields that the organization would like to audit.

Keep in mind that any entity and field that is enabled for auditing will impact performance to the system in some way. Limiting auditing to only the fields and entities that are needed will improve the performance and efficiency of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system. The setting for auditing of a field can be managed in the same way as the settings for auditing entities. Select the Fields section under the entity and see the status of the field by looking at the Audit Status column of the field. The audit status can be changed by clicking the Edit button in the Fields toolbar and then selecting Enabled or Disabled for the Auditing Property. Change the status of multiple fields Auditing, continued on page 29 DynamicsUniversity.com

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rEvolution2013 A sneak peek

By John Hoyt, Technology Management Concepts

M

icrosoft has announced the upcoming release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, the next version of Microsoft Dynamicsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; most popular ERP system. This release is currently scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2012. Convergence 2012 was a great event and had the first public previews of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013. At best, there had been just a few brief public glimpses previously, at Convergence Microsoft took the wraps off and really gave Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 a great kick-off.

Breaking with previous releases, however, Microsoft GP 2013 offers a truly revolutionary change in the user interface. Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 and 10.0 were pretty similar, but that is now dramatically changed! With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, Microsoft has moved far ahead of its previous releases with the look and feel of the interface.

New Features Microsoft has detailed over 100 new features in the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, and the enhancements are spread across virtually every part of the system. These are just a handful of the enhancements that will be in the new release:

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Auditing, continued from page 27 1

Prepayments on Purchase Orders: This has been a long asked-for feature. Now users can create a Purchase Order AND apply a deposit or prepayment to it, and keep that link between them through receiving, matching and paying the Vendors. This is absolutely vital for any company that imports products from overseas.

2

Ship to Address has a Different “Company” Name: Company A buys a product and needs it drop-shipped to a different location care of a different company. With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, specify the name of the Ship To Company if it is different from the Company getting the invoice. This is not an unusual occurrence for many distribution and import companies, and is a welcome update to Microsoft Dynamics GP.

3

4

Encumbrance Cost Difference Notice: Microsoft Dynamics GP has for many years included an encumbrance feature with Purchase Orders (PO), maintaining the link between open PO’s and the corresponding budget. At the time of issuing the Purchase Order, Microsoft Dynamics GP reserves or “encumbers” some of the existing budget allocation for the new expense. In prior versions, if there was a discrepancy between the “encumbered” amount from the Purchase Order and the “Final” cost from the Vendor’s invoice, the system provided no alert to that difference. Now, users receive a notification that there is a discrepancy between the final cost and the encumbered amount.

Fixed Assets integration with Analytical Accounting: Analytical Accounting offers an additional level of analysis beyond the General Ledger Chart of Accounts, but until Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, Fixed Assets was never integrated with Analytical Accounting. Now the advanced Analytical Accounting module is brought to Fixed Assets.

A New Paradigm: The Web Client These enhancements are very specific, and relate to the functionality of the various components and features within Microsoft Dynamics GP. However, Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will also introduce a truly revolutionary change for the Microsoft Dynamics GP community: the Web Client.

Access to data held at the server is no longer subject to a physical connection to the network All previous versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP were a true “client and server” software application. The server held the database, and the desktop client provided the means to access and updates the data held at the server. In order for the desktop client to be able to access the server, the desktop had to be joined to the physical network that housed the server and the database. Losing that connectivity to the network meant losing access to the data. For those individuals that required remote access to Microsoft Dynamics GP, tools such as a virtual private network (VPN) connection, a Citrix Server, Terminal Server or something similar had to be deployed as well. The remote user would access the system remotely, but would actually connect to the database and the server via a desktop client on the host computer.

With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, Microsoft has broken the chains that bound the desktop client to the network, and enabled Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 to be reached from virtually any machine (laptop, tablet, netbook, smartphone, etc.) that has access to the internet via a browser. Access to data held at the server is no longer subject to a physical connection to the network. This ability is delivered through the Web Client for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.

With the Web Client approach, Microsoft split the Accounting Logic layer GP 2013, continued on page 30

at one time by selecting the fields in the Fields view and clicking the Edit button in the toolbar. This displays a dialog that allows an administrator to Enable or Disable all selected fields at once.

Limiting auditing to only the fields and entities that are needed will improve performance and efficiency View Audit Information Once Auditing is enabled for the organization, view the Audit Log for the entire organization by navigating to the Audit Summary View section under Settings and Auditing. This displays all of the audit events that have occurred for any of the entities and fields that are enabled. From this view, see the Date and Time that the change occurred, what user account made the change, to which entity the change came from, and what type of operation was logged (such as Create, Update, or Delete.) Note there will be several instances where the user that made the change is “SYSTEM”. This is the case for Microsoft Dynamics CRM processes that run without a user’s involvement (such as Sales Goal Calculation or Rollup Query execution.)

Administrators also have access to the details about the change such as what field changed and what the old and new values of that field were by opening the audit record. This same detail is also available at a record level for entities that are enabled for audit. Access this by opening a record and clicking on the Audit History link on the left navigation of the record.

This shows the same detail as the Global Audit Log, but limits the view to only activity regarding that record.

Configuring Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Auditing is now easier than ever before. Well informed administrators and managers can make simple decisions on the configuration and put this important functionality in place by using the tools provided right within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. ■ DynamicsUniversity.com

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GP 2013, continued from page 29

Making Microsoft Dynamics GP Work Simpler & Easier ®

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SmartFill – The Google-style data entry search tool.

(the software code) from the Presentation layer (the display code), and is allowing Microsoft Dynamics GP to take to the cloud. In previous versions, both the Accounting Logic layer and the Presentation layer were combined into a single piece of software code.

Essentially, the rendering engine for the Presentation layer was part and parcel of the single codebase for Microsoft Dynamics GP. With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, this paradigm is upended, and the Accounting Logic is moved to the Server side, and the User Interface is now in the browser.

Web Client Features The new Web Client has many exciting features, all designed to produce not just the same user experience found in the traditional desktop client, but to go beyond the desktop to facilitate a more efficient and connected user experience:

• SmartFill increases data lookup speed by 83%.

• Is fully customizable and easy to use.

• Can be used in most fields in Microsoft Dynamics GP and other Dexterity-based 3rd party products.

• Comes with dozens of pre-defined objects, so once installed, you can hit the ground running.

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

Look and Feel: The browser-based Web Client is designed to have the same look and feel as the desktop client, there is no loss of functionality of ease of use by choosing to deploy the Web Client.

Drag and Drop: Previous versions of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Home Page had a limited ability to be “personalized” by the end user, using a brief wizard to help move and adjust various items on the home page. Now that capability is accomplished with a simple Drag and Drop. Rearrange the various home page elements with just a mouse click.

Multiple views of the Home Page: Users will no longer be limited to a single view of the Home Page. With Microsoft GP 2013, users can create different versions of views of their home page, and select among them.

For those employees that have multiple roles during the course of the day, different views of the home page will allow them to easily switch between the various roles, and have a Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Home page that is personalized to each role.

The new Home Page will also include an icon to indicate the current conGP 2013, continued on page 37

Picture This

Creating Conditional Formatting in CRM

By Bill Malone, PEAKnfp

O

ne of the primary usability wins for Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the seamless integration with Microsoft Office and more specifically, Microsoft Outlook—an application utilized all day long. By now, users are accustomed to commonalities like the Ribbon Bar for application navigation along with similar menus and views within applications. All in all, common features like the Ribbon Bar provide a consistent look and feel across all Microsoft software products, whether it is Outlook, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, or other Microsoft applications. In the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, the Outlook Client provides tools to apply ‘Conditional Formatting’ to data views within Outlook (recall ‘Conditional Formatting’ from Microsoft Excel).

Conditional Formatting in the Microsoft CRM Outlook Client is quickly becoming a favorite feature among Microsoft Dynamics CRM customers. In speaking with customers about Microsoft Dynamics CRM, they are consistently impressed by the ‘data visualization’ capability throughout the software. Conditional Formatting adds another impressive tool to the ‘data visualization’ kit.

What is conditional formatting?

Conditional formatting is a way to make data which meets defined conditions stand out in a list by using color, fonts, and styles. Specify conditions that a data point should meet (ex. an Opportunity greater than $1000, or perhaps an Opportunity with a 50% or greater likelihood to close) and conditional formatting is applied only to those items so they stand out in the list.

Generally speaking, creating a conditional formatting rule is quite simple. It is a matter of selecting a starting view, then getting into View settings and building a Conditional Formatting rule. The result however is extremely powerful in that data “pops” out and can records requiring attention can easily be spotted. Conditional Formatting is extremely easy to apply but at the same time extremely powerful.

If you would like to see a procedure sheet that describes the steps involved in conditional formatting, please connect to peaknfp.com. ■ DynamicsUniversity.com

31

By Perry Kountouriotis, The TM Group

Intelligent Technology: Connecting Systems in Education Institutions

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

E

ducational institutions have varied system needs and often require the integration of multiple systems that handle student information, course registrations, busing, requisitioning, food service, concession point of sale, governmental reporting, accounting management, and payroll and human resources. One such educational institution is a successful, fast-growing online university that was seriously challenged with managing several systems to get the information needed to continue their rapid expansion plans. The cumbersome upkeep of multiple, poorly integrated systems created problems for the university such as redundant data entry, manual accounting processes, and time consuming reporting since the information was not easily available and often spread between multiple systems. The Accounting department was also bogged down with ensuring the extensive volumes of information from their multiple systems

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.

matched and this was causing serious delays in providing management with needed reports.

When an educational institution such as this online university has a number of software applications, integration and the ability to easily get the right data at the right time for better decision making is critical. Microsoft Dynamics GP replaced some of their disparate systems with standard functionality and provided an easy, inclusive platform for connecting to other systems. Because of the extensive functionality available for Microsoft Dynamics GPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ecosystem, the university also added solutions they never had previously.

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

The Microsoft Dynamics GP project included integrations with their internally developed student information system, their online registration system was enhanced with real-time Connecting, continued on page 36 DynamicsUniversity.com

33

Management Reporter 2012

Now Improving Offices Everywhere

By Rhonda Hawley, Summit Group Software

M

anagement Reporter 2012 released late March 2012 and is available for those utilizing Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, AX 2009, AX 2012, NAV 2009 R2, and SL 2011. This new release of Management Reporter aims to enhance the real-time financial reporting experience across the organization. This Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tool allows users to design, distribute, view, collaborate and make better, faster business decisions based on real-time financial data coming from the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions.

New Features Report Design Flexibility Users can quickly identify accounts that have been omitted from report building blocks, format headers for rolling forecasts, and save and/or reuse dimension combinations and control how dimension descriptions are formatted and displayed.

Financial Report Collaboration Enhancements have been added to make Report Groups more discoverable by providing access from the navigation pane. The software allows users to schedule groups of reports to generate on timed intervals. There are now personalized and secure views of data for all output types.

Publish Options include: read-only (.XPS) report format, multiple Microsoft SharePoint or network locations, or a personalized Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) file.

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

E-mail Options include: reports via SharePoint alerts or a link to a report from within the Report Viewer.

Interactive Report Viewing Views are updated to allow users to quickly create charts based upon selected report rows and columns. Easily page within and locate key features in Report Viewer with an enhanced toolbar and Jump to key areas or values in the report for fast analysis.

Add comments to important rows in a report version and copy comments from one version of a report to another. Collaborate on a report by providing a link to the current report and selected row when launching an instant messenger client from within a report.

Management Reporter aims to enhance the real-time financial reporting experience across the organization

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Imagine being continually notified of business transactions across your organization.

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U-LINC has made workflow virtually anytime and anywhere a reality for Microsoft Dynamics®. It works seamlessly within and across your existing Microsoft Dynamics® system without changing the way the organization does business.

U-LINC is flexible and easy to use and greatly improves organizational performance.

Integrity Data is proud to announce U-LINC™ – the latest, most comprehensive and flexible workflow solution designed for use within Microsoft Dynamics®.

Deeper Microsoft Dynamics ERP Integration Utilize data from Microsoft Dynamics AX and NAV into Management Reporter data mart for increased performance and create financial reports based upon data in Microsoft Dynamics NAV General Ledger.

Drill from account and budget balances on a report to related information in Microsoft Dynamics ERP. Display or filter on properties of dimensions and transactions to design more precise financial reports. Automatically integrate company information from your Microsoft Dynamics ERP. Report on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 budget reservations (pre-encumbrances/encumbrances) based upon budget funds available calculation as defined in budget control configuration. Manage all users (both Microsoft Dynamics AX and Management Reporter) from within Microsoft Dynamics AX. Dynamically align reporting trees with Microsoft Dy-

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Reporter, continued on page 37 DynamicsUniversity.com

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Connecting, continued from page 33

payments, their third party payroll was replaced by Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll and HR, an online employee pay and information portal was added, their paper based purchase requisition process was automated, fixed assets were brought in-house, and the ad hoc import of student financial aid was simplified to reduce the student’s receivables balance and enable better student and government reporting.

integration and the ability to easily get the right data at the right time for better decision making is critical More specific details of the benefits this online university is realizing with Microsoft Dynamics GP include: • Real-Time and Accessible Student Information: The university’s internally developed solution for learning management was integrated with Microsoft Dynamics GP. Now all student course information seamlessly feeds into Microsoft Dynamics GP, giving the university real-time access to information. Students are much happier too as they can register, make online payments, and see all historical data such as course invoices, credit card payments, technology fees, and

applied payments. All this information is real-time and ‘anytime’ accessible, making their user experience seamless.

• Scalability at Whole New Level: This online university currently has 7,000-8,000 students and they’re always looking to grow that number. Microsoft Dynamics GP is so scalable, that it works for 7,000 students or 100,000 students. This type of scalability allows them to focus on their students and provide an optimal educational environment and gives them unlimited growth potential within their systems.

• Easy Reporting: Reporting within Microsoft Dynamics GP allows the online university to easily access information whenever and wherever they need it. It’s extremely easy to run a report because everything is connected giving them comprehensive insight.

Whether they need accounting data or student enrollment numbers, it’s all available at any time.

• Enhanced Budgeting and Forecasting: The online university uses a 3rd party ISV product for online purchase requisitions to help control their costs.

For example, when employees order IT supplies and services, they use this web-based requisition system with an approval workflow process. Once the expense is compared against the budget and is approved, it Connecting, continued on page 38

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Allow customers to pay online and have payments processed into Microsoft Dynamics GP. Contact Us: 734-928-6010 | sales@azox.com | www.azox.com 36

Dynamics University Summer 2012

Reporter, continued from page 35

namics AX organizational hierarchies. Choose whether to include or exclude budget submodels when using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 budgets.

V2 and 2012 Installation Differences Management Reporter 2012 no longer requires IIS. Management Reporter 2012 is more streamlined and informative with the installation, and utilizes network shares and Microsoft SharePoint technology.

Upgrading to 2012 Management Reporter 2012 provides an upgrade path from a previous version of Management Reporter or from FRx. It is important to discuss options with a Microsoft Dynamics Partner.

Demo Reports Available To see more examples of how to format Rows, Columns, Trees and Report Definitions, Microsoft has made a package of Demo Reports available on CustomerSource for Management Reporter 2012 to use with Microsoft Dynamics GP, AX and SL. To download, go to: https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/ downloads/servicepacks/mroverview.htm?printpage=false. ■

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nection status of the session. Never worry that there is a lost connection, Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will show the connection status.

Multiple windows in a single browser window: Only Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 has the ability to open multiple Microsoft Dynamics GP windows in a single browser window. In much the same manner that the desktop client can have multiple windows open in a single GP session, the Web Client of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will require just a single browser window, which means no more searching thru multiple browser sessions to find the transaction worked on previously. This capability is extended one step further; multiple windows of the same type can now be open in the Web Client. Open a Sales Transaction Entry window, and begin entering a new Sales Order. Before you have finished your work, say a user gets a phone call from another client to update their existing sales order. With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and the Web Client, both Sales Orders can be open at the same time. Customer Service representatives and account executives will love this feature. There are even “preview windows” accessed by hovering the mouse pointer to see which window needs attention.

r cake u o y e v a H it too! and eat

The Action Bar user interface model has been extended to the Master records in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013. This approach makes for a more consistent look and feel within the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 environment, simplifying training for new employees and for those employees being moved to a new position.

Software additions or enhancements written for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will be able to benefit from the deployment of the web client as well. By separating the Accounting Logic layer from the Presentation layer, software modules written by Microsoft Dynamics GP partners will easily be able to adapt their products to be deployed via the Web Client. Rest assured, previous investments in Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) products, and other third-party solutions, will easily transition to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, with only minimal effort from the developers.

There are so many exciting changes coming in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, both functional improvements as well as the truly revolutionary deployment of the Web Client. Microsoft chose to concentrate on creating a Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 that would be both simple and agile, and they have clearly hit their target. ■

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MAGAZINE BLOG TRAINING Find all this and more at www.dynamicsuniversity.com

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Connecting, continued from page 36

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Dynamics University Summer 2012

automatically creates a Purchase Order (PO) in Microsoft Dynamics GP. This connection keeps costs in check for all employees and departments. They can see where they stand from a budgetary perspective at any given time and allocate funds accordingly.

• Improved Import Performance: Another ISV product allows the university to import thousands of transactions (such as invoices or credits) in minutes into Microsoft Dynamics GP. Not having to manually enter these transactions is a huge valueadd for this online university.

They’re able to do much more with less when everything is integrated and talks seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics GP. Data is more accurate and available in real-time, allowing everyone to do their jobs to the best of their ability.

• Big Savings with Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll and HR: The university has realized tremendous savings by switching from outsourced payroll and HR to Microsoft Dynamics GP’s Human Resources and Payroll suite. They also implemented Greenshades Tax Service and Employee Portal. This allows employees to view their paystubs and W2’s, change personal information, and enter their timesheets and time off requests.

Greenshades also provides a tax service that allows this university to file and pay their federal and multiple state taxes online.

Additionally, the university implemented a cloud-based recruiting solution integrated to Microsoft Dynamics GP as well as Monster and CareerBuilder.

Connectivity between disparate systems is creating more and more benefits every day for this online university. Their solution is now helping them grow instead of holding them back. ■

For the most up-to-date list of our training schedule, visit www.DynamicsUniversity.com/training

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