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Bonus Depreciation and Bonus Licenses!

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

In the past, we’ve discussed how there are two levels of pricing for Dynamics GP, Business Essentials and Advanced Management. These licensing models offer anywhere from $35,000 - $100,000 + worth of software functionality. Right now  through December 22nd,  Microsoft is offering the following special promotion:

If you purchase 5 licenses by year end, you pay only $3,000. This is for either version of software, the Business Essentials OR the Advanced Management. This is a potential savings of anywhere from $8,000 - $17,000! Even if the timing is not right, but you know GP is the solution of choice down the road, you could still purchase a very elaborate system for pennies on the dollar and simply hold onto this system until you are ready to implement.

The other interesting note as it relates to year-end, is a piece about Bonus Depreciation (this if you remember was a part of a Tax Relief Act). Basically, this purchase could be completely depreciated if purchased by December 31st:

In general taxpayers who placed-in-service “qualifying property” after September 8, 2010 and before December 31, 2011 can get 100% bonus depreciation for these assets. Not wanting to waste a good set of regulations, the old bonus depreciation regulations will apply until the IRS issues a new set. As it was before, bonus depreciation is mandatory unless the taxpayer elects out of it. The election out can be by class of asset or for all qualifying assets in a company. The basic rules are as follows:
1. The original use of the property must begin with the current taxpayer. 2. Used property cannot qualify, although current improvements to that property may qualify.
3. The property must be purchased and placed in service from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2012. The “written binding contract” (WBC) rules do apply to the placed-in-service dates. In other words, if the property is purchased or constructed pursuant to a WBC dated before January 1, 2008, it is not eligible for bonus depreciation. However, if the WBC is before September 8, 2010 and the property is placed-in-service after September 8, 2010, it is eligible for 50% bonus depreciation with one exception, discussed below.
4. The property must have a General Depreciation System (GDS) life of 20 years or less.

Don’t forget the other promotional specials going on now through December 22nd! 

Contact us for more information.

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Dynamics GP 2010 Seminar

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

Looking for people and process improvements? Learn how to maximize your Dynamics GP investment: FREE Dynamics GP 2010 Seminar

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Dynamics GP 2010 Seminar

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 comes even more seamless integration to Office, reporting options, key performance indicators, shortcuts and reminders, and a new Management Reporting tool.

Gilchrist Scott is hosting a FREE seminar to offer insight to these productivity enhancements. Don’t miss out - seating is limited!

What: Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Seminar
When: Tuesday, October 18th, 9-11 a.m.
Where: Gilchrist Scott, 30 Milk Street, Portland, ME (Map)
Cost: FREE
RSVP:
aberglund@gilchristscott.com or 207.761.2133 ext. 203

Gilchrist Scott is committed to helping you maximize your investment in GP. Please let us know if you have any questions in regard to the seminar. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

 

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Saving Keystrokes in GP

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Would you like to save keystrokes?  Mouse less?  Here are a couple of shortcuts you can use in Dynamics GP.  Some of them you may remember from one of my earlier blog posts.

 

Sales Order Processing Quick Print

When printing an invoice in Sales Order Processing, the typical key strokes are:

 

1)    Click printer icon

2)    Select which documents to include

3)    Click Print

4)    Select printer or screen

5)    Select number of copies

6)    Click ‘OK’

 

With Quick Print the key strokes are:

1)    Click ‘CNTRL’ and ‘Q’ buttons on your keyboard simultaneously and watch the clicks happen automatically!

 

How to setup Quick Print:

·         Open the Sales Transaction Entry window – Transactions>Sales>Sales Transaction Entry

·         Click on ‘Options’ from menu

·         Select ‘Quick Print Setup’

·         Mark options as applicable

·         Click ‘Save’

 

Quick Links

Quick Links are found on your home page in GP.  A quick link allows a user to access a window/web site/external program with one click rather than using the drop down menus.

 

How to setup a GP Window Quick Link:

·         Go to Home Page

·         Click on ‘Change Details’ in the Quick Links area

·         Click on ‘Add’ button

·         Select ‘Microsoft Dynamics GP Window’

·         Navigate through Menu group and Categories/commands to select the Quick Link destination

·         Click ‘Ok’

·         Click ‘OK’

·         Refresh Home page to see new Quick Link in your Quick Links list

 

Shortcuts

Shortcuts are similar to Quick Links, but they reside in the Navigation Pane in GP.  The functionality is the same as a Quick Link.  Once click on the shortcut and you arrive at your desired location!

 

How to setup a Shortcut

·         Click on ‘File’ in the window you would like to create a short cut for

·         Select ‘Add to Shortcuts’

·         Short cut will now show in your Navigation Pane

 

To remove a short cut simply right click on the shortcut and select ‘delete’ from the list.

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What can a Dynamics GP Light User do?

Monday, August 1st, 2011

There’s been so much buzz about Dynamics GP Light Licenses lately, and why shouldn’t there be?  When you have the ability to access data, turn it into business intelligence and deliver insight to your team, we would be putting our head in the sand by not asking about it.

 

Understanding and complying with Microsoft’s licensing rules requires some education, but it’s not complicated when limited to Dynamics GP.   

 

What can a Dynamics GP Light User do?

·         Perform real-time analyses with refreshable Excel reports

·         Access the library of key metrics via SQL Server Reporting Services – Charts, Metrics, KPI’s

·         Gain insight using Analysis Cubes

·         View financial statements with Management Reporter

 

How does the Light User access this information?

·         Using a web browser, Light Users access information through SharePoint, including:

o   Role Center Dashboards

o   External Lists

o   Business Portal Applications such as Time & Expense and Requisition Management

o   Workflow Approvals

o   Enterprise Search

 

Why buy a full Microsoft Dynamics GP User License when you can get a Light License and real time data for under $200? (What CAN’T a GP Light User do?)

·         A GP Light User can NOT log into the GP Application or perform any tasks within the program.

 

How do you know when you need a Light License in order to be in compliance?

·         GP Light Users are perfect for a non-GP User who is accessing a report, query, or application that uses the Dynamics databases, for example:

o   Executive Centers and Dashboards

o   Excel Reports (Smartlist Builder and Microsoft Excel Reports)

o   SSRS, Crystal, and other reporting tools

o   Visual Studio, Access, or other development applications that produce or update GP data

o   Workflow in Dynamics GP

o   Business Portal’s Order Management and Requisition Management

o   Payroll and HR Self Service suite

 

Still not sure?  Contact us today to get the answers you need to take advantage of the price and opportunity to deliver intelligence rather than meaningless data.

 

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Recurring Payables Batches

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Have you discovered this time-saving trick -  Recurring Payables Batches?  If you enter any transactions that recur on a predictable schedule, with the same amount, payees, and terms (think: Rent, Parking, Insurance), then this will be your new favorite time-saver. 

a.       Go to TransactionsàPurchasingàBatches.  Enter a Batch ID that suits the recurring transactions, something like MONTHLY.

b.      Select Payables Trx Entry as the Origin

c.       The Frequency field determines how often this batch will be posted.  For a  recurring batch, select one of these options:

                                                               i.      Biweekly (once every two weeks)

                                                             ii.      Semimonthly (twice a month)

                                                            iii.      Monthly

                                                           iv.      Bimonthly (once every two months)

                                                             v.      Quarterly (once every three months)

                                                           vi.      Miscellaneous (Use the Days to Increment field to specify frequency)

d.      Enter the posting date that corresponds with the next time you will need to record these transactions. 

e.      Select the correct Checkbook ID.

f.        Enter Alt-R or click on the Transactions button.

g.       Any transactions you enter and save in this batch will be saved in the WORK table until posted, when they will be moved to OPEN until paid.  There will now be transactions dated for the next recurrence in the WORK table.  You can go back into the Payables Batch Entry window, open up your MONTHLY batch, and the transactions will be there with the appropriately incremented posting date. 

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Time-saving Tricks in Dynamics GP

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Grouping tasks into similar groups is a basic organizational tool.  For us bookkeepers, that means on any given day we will enter a pile of bills, record cash receipts, and generate sales invoices – each task requiring multiple entries with repetitive keystrokes and mouse-clicks.  I find any little trick to make these transactions go more quickly is a welcome addition to my toolbox.  Here are some of my favorite tips that increase efficiency:                    

1)       In any date field in Dynamics GP, users have the option of clicking on the calendar and navigating to the desired date or using the keyboard to manually enter the date.  If the desired date falls within the same month and year as your user date, you can just enter the DD portion of the MM/DD/YYYY format and the year and month will be completed by the system.  For example, if your user date is 06/20/2011, and you are entering a transaction dated 06/10/2011, all you need to type in the date field is 10, tab out of the field, and voila!  The date will read 06/10/2011. 

 

2)      Similar to tip #1, if the desired transaction date is within the same year as the current user date, all you need to type is the MMDD portion (skip the slashes!) and the YYYY will be completed by the system.  For example, if the user date is 06/20/2011 and your desired transaction date is 02/25/2011, all you need to type is 0225 and the date will read 02/25/2011. 

 

3)      Ever notice long it takes to load up the Checkbook Register Inquiry window?  Try this:  Enter the date range first, THEN select the Checkbook ID. 

 

4)      Keyboard shortcuts!  The less I have to move back-and-forth between keyboard and mouse, the faster every transaction gets entered. 

a.       Alt-R is the magic keystroke to open the Payables Transaction Entry window from the Payables Batch Entry window

b.      Alt-S opens the Cash Receipts Entry from the Receivables Batch Entry window, then use Alt-Y to open the Apply Sales documents window.

One of the best resources for new tips and tricks is from other users.  I highly recommend a GPUG (GP User Group) membership. GPUG’s community uses a variety of tools to share information, tips and tricks and best practices.  If you want to get the most out of Dynamics GP, GPUG is a great place to learn how.

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New Users and Dynamics GP

Friday, June 17th, 2011

While brainstorming about an interesting topic for my next Gilchrist Scott blog post, I got a call about setting up new users.  Seemed very straight- forward at the time. 

Step 1: Log into Dynamics GP, go to Tools ->Setup->System->User and enter an ID and Password.  You can enter a class if your company is using that.

Step 2: Once that part is done, you’d then go to Tools ->Setup->System->User Access and grant them access to each of the companies you want them to be able to get into. 

Step 3: Grant Security so that based on the work that they do, they will only be able to access those areas that have to do with the duties that they perform.

Well, we did this process together, and then tested the users.  Perfect!  We were able to log in as each user and all was working very well.

The part that was not so straight-forward? When they tried to log in as these new users on another machine.  They weren’t able to get these users logged in.  They kept getting the error Your login failed.  Attempt to login again or contact your system administrator.”  Typically this means that you just entered the password incorrectly.  But while performing the definition of Insanity – “Performing the same steps over and over again, and expecting different results,” we found that we weren’t typing in the wrong password, because when we went back to the original machine that we setup the users on, the same password worked.

Now we needed to figure out what was different about these two machines that would play a role in these strange happenings.  There were several things that could have been contributing to the problem, so we decided to start with the most obvious first.  Any ideas?  Well, I took a look at the ODBC connection.  This is what is used to get Dynamics GP to be able to talk to the database where all your data is stored. 

When I looked at the connection, what I found was that the initial workstation was setup with an IP address (numbers that identify the server) and the other was setup using the server name as it appears on the network.  This was causing the issue for the Id’s and passwords.  The ODBC connections all need to be setup identically or there may be issues such as this.  It happens because the when the password is saved it gets encrypted based on the way the connection is setup, and if you try to access that new user on a workstation where the connection is not setup exactly the same as the workstation that created it, the decryption will not work to extract the password and allow the user in.

As usual with troubleshooting issues that come up, always be sure to look at the obvious first.  Just because something seems simple doesn’t always mean it is. 

Here’s to happy connections!

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How can Business Ready Licensing (BRL) for Dynamics GP save you money?

Monday, June 13th, 2011

At Gilchrist Scott, LTD, we know how important the relationship between clients and their Microsoft Dynamics Business Partner is.  You have made the wise decision to invest in Microsoft Dynamics GP. Now is the time to ensure that you are taking full advantage of all the Microsoft Dynamics features and capabilities to enable confident decision making, drive business productivity, and reduce operational costs.

 

BRL (Business Ready Licensing), was introduced in 2006 to help Dynamics customers get more value from their existing and new solution.  The bundle offers a wide range of functionality to support your business process.  Prior to 2006, customers purchased their solution using Module-based Licensing, adding new modules as needed.  This placed the value in the functionality, whereas BRL places the value in the number of users so customers don’t have to worry about which modules to buy initially.  You own the entire bundle, and may activate unused functionality as needed.  

 

With the special  promotional offers out there, many of our clients are able to move to BRL at a fraction of the cost that it was even a few short months ago. This will enable existing clients to access dozens and dozens of new modules, and freeze their annual enhancement at their current list price.

 

If your company is interested in a License Model Transition, now is the time to do it.  Microsoft’s year-end promotions offer this transition at a deeply discounted rate, but only until June 24th.  Please contact us now to discuss!

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