DynamicAccounting.net

Using Excel Charts and BI

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:00:03 PST

Over at Inside Microsoft Business Intelligence, Patrick Husting reminds us to take the time to rethink how we visually represent data. Don't be satisfied with the default charts in Excel but don't get so creative that you obscure the message.

Microsoft BI Conference

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:00:16 PST

I see that the Microsoft BI conference is set for the week of June 7, 2010 in New Orleans and is co-located with TechEd.

Stop Unexpected Transaction Growth in SQL

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:30:00 PST

Mohammad Daoud points us to a great Microsoft Support article on Stopping Unexpected Transaction Log Growth in SQL Server. I still see an awful lot of this in IT departments that should know better.

Get the YTD Account Balance in GP via SQL

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:00:07 PST

In the newsgroup Victoria Yudin provided SQL code to get the YTD account balance for an account in the GL. This is useful when building reporting using Excel or other outside reporting tools.

Dynamics GP Blogster's 2009 Top 10

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:30:00 PST

Mariano has posted his top 10 articles from 2009. Make sure you check out this great list.

Weekly Review: Dynamics GP Map Functionality

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:00:07 PST

A feature that we often forget about is map functionality in Dynamics GP and later versions of Great Plains. (8.0 for sure, 7.5? I can't remember)

On a variety of forms you'll see a small yellow and green push pin icon next to an address ID. Clicking this takes you to Windows Live local maps powered by Virtual Earth. In most cases you get a map, and ariel view and often the ability to see the location just above street level.

It's one thing to give your delivery guys a map. It's a whole new twist when you can give them ariel photos with landmarks around their destination!

Dynamics GP Integration Manager Pain

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:00:00 PST

The power of Integration Manager is it's flexibility. With that flexibility comes the power to turn Integration Manager into Integration Mangler. Steve Endow recounts a case where what appeared to be a simple upgrade of integration manager turned into a monster. As a result, he includes an Integration Review Template to help others avoid this mess.

Custom VBA Lookups in Dynamics GP

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:30:00 PST

Steve Endow looks at creating a custom lookup window in Dynamics GP using VBA. Get the scoop and the code at Dynamics GP Land.

New Year End Webinar 1/5/10

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:00:00 PST

I'm doing a year end webinar on Tuesday, January 5, 2010 as part of I.B.I.S.' DynamicsCare Expert series. We'll be looking at the year end close for Dynamics GP and focusing on a couple of key questions, specifically, what order to close the modules in and what gotchas to look out for. Anyone is welcome to attend this one hour webinar.

Top 5 DynamicAccounting.net Posts of 2009

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:00:05 PST

As the year winds down, I thought I would take a look at the top 5 most viewed articles on DynamicAccounting.net in 2009.

GP 11 Sneak Peek...the Beginning of Report Writer's End.
Apparently a lot of folks will not be sad to see Report Writer go. Unfortunately, it will still be there in version 11.
Weekly Dynamic: Module Homepages in Dynamics GP 10
As folks upgraded to v10, the original v10 posts from way back in 2008 gained more viewers
Weekly Dynamic:Excel Reports in Dynamics GP 10
It's no surprise that Excel reports showed up in the top 10. They are easy to deploy and incredibly powerful.
Crystal Reports vs. SQL Server Reporting Services
Crystal vs. SSRS is one of those "it depends" questions in the short run but in the long run, SSRS is the winner.
Dynamics GP 10 Service Pack 2 is Out!
This post from 2008 was a surprise. I can only assume it was viewed by people who upgraded in 2009 and went looking for Service Pack 2

Honorable Mention at a very close number 6:

Weekly Dynamic: Budget Wizard Bug in GP10

This was so close to number 5 that I wanted to highlight it. Hundreds of people got an answer to a budget wizard bug last year from DynamicAccounitng.net.

Job Candidate for Tampa Area

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:00:00 PST

I've got a job candidate who used to work for me looking to relocate from Orlando to the Tampa area. The candidate is senior accountant/senior analyst level with Dynamics GP experience, bachelors, masters and part way through the CPA exam. I will happily vouch for their work ethic and experience. If you're looking for a candidate that you can plug in and put to work right away, email me at mpolino@gmail.com.

Fix for Smartlist Builder Permission Issues

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:00:01 PST

Up now at Dynamics GP Land, Christina Phillips covers issues with Smartlist Builder exports and security. In short, set permissions BEFORE importing a Smarlist Builder XML file. Get the details over at Dynamics GP Land.

Dynamics GP Land Looks at Table Import

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:00:00 PST

Christina Phillips takes a fresh look at the underutilized Table Import feature for Dynamics GP. Take a look at her post up now at Dynamics GP Land.

More New Items at DynamicAccounting.net

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:00:00 PST

The new blog site is up and looking good. Twitter and Facebook sites are running full steam. The podcast has restarted. So what else is new at DynamicAccounting.net?

What's new:

Daily Tips. Frank Hamelly's daily tips have been added to the front page of the site
Newsletter! Sign up to get more Dynamics GP goodness delivered to your inbox monthly
Tag Cloud. The old listing of tags has been replaced by a much cooler cloud where larger items have more posts
Cleaner look. The right side has been cleaned up significantly to make navigation easier

What's coming:

Improved tags. Tags are being reworked to provide faster links to information
Book. My book on Dynamics GP is due out in 2010. More details to come.
More Analytics and Excel information related to Dynamics GP
More Accounting and Admin information related to Dynamics GP
Full coverage of the release of Dynamics GP 11 and everything that goes with it
Secret stuff I can't talk about yet

What's staying:

Weekly Dynamics. The weekly tips continue to help you improve you solution
Weekly Reviews. Highlights of past Weekly Dynamics have become a favorite and there are plenty more to go around

If you use Dynamics GP, you need to be following DynamicAccounting.net.

Weekly Dynamic: SOP Quick Print

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:00:01 PST

Have you ever needed to pop out a quick invoice from Sales Order Processing to the printer? Use the Quick Print functionality in Dynamics GP. From the Sales Transaction Entry window select Options->Quick Print or pick CTRL+Q.

There's a setup for Quick Print also under the options menu to control how Quick Print works. So what are you waiting for? Get printing!

Merry Christmas!

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:18:43 PST

To all of you who follow this site, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dynamics GP Analytical Accounting Primary Key Script

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:00:06 PST

Mohammad Daoud points us to a SQL Script for updating the Analytical Accounting Index Master Table in the event of corruption issues.

Dynamics GP and Password Expiration Warning

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:00:03 PST

Michael Johnson debuts a process using VST to warn Dynamics GP users that their password is going to expire. The code is free and it's a great addition to the community. Thanks Michael!

Weekly Review: Custom Links

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:00:05 PST

Custom Links were first available in v8 for GP and continue on in v9. A custom link let you associate a link with an item in GP. For example, you can associate a bank website with a checking account. Then, when you click on the hyperlink to the account, you get a choice to go to the external link or the account in GP.

Custom links are setup in Tools-Setup-Company-Custom Link.

Click New to add a link
Select the item to add a link to. For demo purposes, pick checkbooks
Give the link a description like "Website"
Pick an associated item, in this case a bank account
Enter the link. You don't have to enter Http://. You can just enter the address like www. dynamicaccounting.net.

Now if you go into Bank Transaction Entry, start a transaction, pick the bank account from above and select the blue hyperlinked checkbook, you'll get a dropdown dialogue showing your custom link.

This works well for things like bank websites, currency sites, vendor sites, etc. It's more universal than a shortcut and easier to make available to everyone.

Originally Posted by Mark 7/06/2006 10:37:00 AM

DynamicAccounting.net Now has a Facebook Name!

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:00:01 PST

We needed a few more Facebook fans to put the site over the limit and allow us to name the Facebook fan page. Kudos to Wendy Pickup Enke of epartners who put us over the top. You can now be a Facebook fan of DynamicAccounting.net at http://www.facebook.com/DynAcctNet.

The Facebook fan page is getting some exclusive content pieces like the new poll on whether you are going to Convergence. So join the movement, become a fan now.

The New DynamicAccounting.net is Up!

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:00:02 PST

Just in time for Christmas, DynamicAccounting.net has a fresh new look. This is Phase 1 of the rebuild of DynamicAccounting.net. Phase 2 is well underway and it involves a rework of existing posts to make finding the information you need even easier. That should be finished in the first Quarter of 2010. The blog no longer feels stodgy next to the shiny new Twitter and Facebook pages.

One of the additions is a sign up sheet for my new monthly newsletter. I'm launching a newsletter to reach even more of the Dynamics GP community with ways to improve their solution. So please sign up! This list is only for the newsletter, no selling, renting, etc. of names.

There is a lot of exciting things coming next including full coverage of the release of Dynamics GP 11 and more ways to improve versions 9 and 10. Make sure you're following DynAcctNet to get the most out of Dynamics GP.

Four Myths About Dynamics GP Integration Manager

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:13:50 PST

In his latest article at MSDynamicsWorld, Mariano Gomez takes on Four Myths About Microsoft Dynamics GP Integration Manager. I agree with Mariano and generally like Integration Manager. It's got it's quirks for sure but generally, it works pretty well.

2010 EU Tax Changes and Updates

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:00:01 PST

The Touchstone Group has information on extra Microsoft code designed to generate the required sales listing to accompany the VAT100 report. They've got more information over at In Touch with Dynamics (GP)

New Podcast Episode is Up!

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:00:07 PST

A new episode of the DynamicAccounting.net podcast is available. I'm relaunching it with the DynamicAccounting.net branding instead of GP Rocks. The reasons why are in the episode. I also take a look at some of the cool things coming for DynamicAccounting.net in 2010.

Recording an Unused Check in Dynamics GP

mpolino@gmail.com (Mark) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:00:00 PST

Frank Hamelly has a new post up on a process for recording an unused check. For example, a voided check often has to be provided for things like setting up ACH transactions or FSA accounts. I remember having to provide five (5) blank, voided checks for FSA and self insurance setup. Frank's method (actually it's Leslie Vail's and he gives her credit) provides an option to ensure that those check numbers are properly accounted for in Dynamics GP.