Estes Group Blog

White Whales - ERP Implementations from a Senior Epicor Consultant

John Koski — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 20:32:00 GMT

Hast thou seen the White Whale? ERP, Obsessions, and how to sink a ship

Sailors of the 19th century left the dry docks of Nantucket to fathom the sea’s freedoms and overcome the land’s restraints. The water meant adventure and fortune for many, while for others it provided a desired physical distance from the responsibilities or hardships of hard ground. With a peg leg of whalebone scrimshaw and a black heart of vengeance, Melville’s Captain Ahab, in the sea epic Moby Dick, trades the dry land for fitful and whale-driven waters in order to kill the crafty leviathan that took his limb the prior year. Throughout his ill-fated journey, Ahab obsessively asks himself, the sea and all its vessels, his own men and others passing through similar lives and fates, “Hast thou seen the white whale?”

White Whales easily find their ways into the ERP seas, and over the crests and troughs of many project lifecycles, I have seen countless wayfaring team members come aboard a project with their own strange obsessions stowed away. Some are driven by the need to avoid the shoals that sunk earlier implementations, others by some old gripe of inter-departmental bad blood, others feel the need to leverage the implementation in order to reengineer their company's ship. In Captain Ahab’s story, it is the obsession over the great white whale that dooms a tormented man, his ship and his entire crew, but in ERP seas, even an aquarium guppy of a diversion can sink a project if it so tempts a team toward a rocky shore of ceaseless breakers.

Not surprisingly, successful projects meet their destination by avoiding such obsessive trappings. In the projects that I have been involved with, the best companies do a number of common things to ensure project success:

The best companies know when a deckhand must walk the plank. It is often easier to bring onboard a fresh deckhand than it is to fight constantly with an existing sailor who refuses to change course.
The best companies know when their projects must rest in port. Though the will of one individual may be to take a certain issue further than necessary, successful projects know how far to take a given task and when to call it complete. Taking a project task beyond its necessary point of completion drains resources and provides unnecessary distractions.
The best companies know when to redraw their maps. In every ERP project, something will arise that challenges successful project completion. These tempests often fuel the obsessions that sink the projects themselves—instead of bailing water, panicking team members inadvertently poke holes in the ship’s hull. When encountering such obstacles, it is critical to quickly develop a plan for proceeding, in order to get past the storm without being drawn into its swirling pull.
The best companies know when to abandon ship. Sometimes the most successful projects are the ones that are cancelled quickly, before significant investments are made. Continuing an implementation that is not in the company’s best interest is just another form of obsession, and successful companies know when to call in the coast guard to be towed back into port.

ERP projects often feel like vessels unfit for troubled waters. Certainly, every project must contend with the rogue waves and fierce fins of uncertain oceans, but with bigger fish to fry, those at the helm of successful implementations avoid the white whales of distraction, and thereby safely sail through the precarious waters towards the final destination of ERP success.

Author - Brad Feakes - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Epicor Licensing 101

John Koski — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 21:51:00 GMT

Understanding product licensing can be very confusing for any application. Here is a brief explanation of the licensing terms that Epicor ERP uses:

First, let’s discuss top level licenses – There are generally 2 types:

Concurrent User Based License - These licenses allow a fixed number of users to access the application at a single time. This means if you have 20 user ID’s and 10 concurrent licenses, then only 10 of your 20 users can be logged into the application at one time.

Names User Based License - A named user is where the license is tied to a specific user. The license cannot be shared with other users but can be changed to another named user in the event that the user no longer needs the license, ie: the employee leaves your company.

Epicor has multiple licensing types depending on the application or technology used. Here are some of the most frequently used:

Data Collection Users - These licenses (otherwise known as MES licenses) allow shop floor or handheld devices to connect to the Epicor application with a limited user interface. They are concurrent user licenses.

Office Users - Office Users have access to the modules that you have purchased through Epicor. These are concurrent licenses so you may have far more user ID’s than purchased licenses.
Epicor Mobile Access Users – While Office User licenses can be used to access the Epicor ERP web client from a workstation, Epicor requires an EMA license to login from a mobile device such as an iPad. These are concurrent licenses.
Time and Expense Management Users - These licenses are separate from Office User licenses that allow employees to record time sheet entries and approvals, and manage expenses. These are concurrent licenses.

Author - Jennifer Mesiano - Sr. Consultant - EstesGroup

This information comes from Epicor Software, E9 User Types.docx (2010)

EPICOR USER GROUP (EUG) - Why Join?

John Koski — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:52:00 GMT

Epicor User Group

Being a board member for the Epicor Users Group (EUG) one of the most common questions I get is how can the EUG help someone that uses Epicor. Simple, think about how many times you’ve had a burning question regarding the software, need a solution to (what you think is) a unique or complex issue, or want input from other companies in your same vertical industry. We all understand how networking with other likeminded individuals with similar interests can help your cause. This is the exact reason why user groups exist in the first place; facilitation of the users-helping-users strategy. Rather than bore you with charts, graphs, or statistical information explaining the numerous ways the EUG can help you use the software more effectively, I’ll tell you a short story of something that recently happened to me.

While attending a recent Epicor event, a user I know (user A) was having incredible difficulty coming up with a solution to an issue they were having with the software. While discussing options in the midst of a high traffic area, another user (User B), dropped by to say hello to me. As it turns out, User B is highly skilled in the nature of the solution needed to solve User A’s problem. User A meet User B. User A has now picked up a new skill that has helped in further development of their solution, all thanks to networking.

Stories like this are happening every day through both regional user group meetings and forum postings. Participating in these types of groups are a no-brainer in my opinion and can substantially play an effective role in the lifecycle of your software. For more information on the Epicor Users Group go to www.epicorusers.org

Author - Jennifer Mesiano - Sr. Consultant - Epicor

Fuel Customer Experience with Ecommerce - the Epicor Way

John Koski — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 18:43:00 GMT

Below is a link (you can click on or cut and paste into your browser subject line) to a video with an Epicor Sr. Product Marketing Manager - Scott Pugmire, on the benefits of Ecommerce from the 2014 Epicor Insights Conference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7iBJFNCd0Q&list=PL6rfkagMJ2p2JLxPdXUymPhCj-_9eeVq9

We encourage manufacturers, distributors and professional service organizations to view this video so that they may better understand the many benefits of adding Ecommerce capabilities to their website as well as to learn the importance of how Ecommerce/ERP integration can make for a better customer/prospect experience when they do visit your site.

Please feel free to call or email EstesGroup if we can provide your company with additional information to know if Ecommerce is right for you.

Nancy Brehmer - Director of Enterprise Sales - EstesGroup

Product Tax Categories - Epicor Consulting

John Koski — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 16:54:00 GMT

Product Tax Categories to classify Exempt and Non-Exempt Products and Services

Product Tax Category Maintenance

Use Product Tax Category Maintenance to classify different products and services based on taxes. In case a group of products uses a specific rate (not the default rate selected for the tax type), this rate can be assigned to the product tax category.

Note: If a Product Tax Category is defined as the default, then tax calculations performed on invoice lines without a Product Category will use the default category to identify the relevant taxes and rates.

Enter a tax category and specify the tax types and rates associated with that category. You can optionally attach this tax category to a part, product group, or miscellaneous charge/credit record.

Menu Path: Financial Management > Accounts Receivable > Setup > Tax Product Category

You can also set up Categories to indicate that a product is exempt from tax. This is completed in Tax Type Maintenance. For example if a Category is set for Service, using this Category ID will indicates that any part, product group, miscellaneous charge, late charge, or invoice linked to the Services tax category is exempt from this tax type.

Examples of Exempt Categories:

Category ID	Description
FRTNOTAX	No Tax on Freight
PACKMTLS	Packaging Materials
RAW	Raw Materials
SERV	Services

Setting up Sales and Use Tax in Epicor can be challenging, and applying tax product categories can be somewhat confusing on how to set up exempt categories and then applying to the appropriate Part, Product Group, or miscellaneous charge credit.

An EstesGroup financial consultant will be able to assist in understanding alternatives, as well as how to use Epicor’s Sales and Use Tax functionality.

Author - Linda Ballard - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Job Shop Scheduling using "Tensioners" - Epicor Consulting

John Koski — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 21:02:00 GMT

Tensioner Functionality in Job Shop Scheduling

An Epicor implementation includes many diverse challenges. One challenge is to create a scheduling model that is most consistent to the reality of the production area. If the schedule is built only to include the cost time elements, the span between start and due dates will be artificially short. The expected amount of time between start date and due date has to include more than just the summation of all “Touch-Time” on all operations.

The common approach is to use Move and Queue fixed hours to create a model where the Job Due Date and Job Start Date are both realistic. Instead of using a fixed time span attached to Resource Groups and Resources, which is what Queue and Move hours represent, many companies need a more dynamic solution, one which puts control at the Planner’s desk. The solution I have in mind is to build into the Job the equivalent of a tensioner or multiple tensioners.

In the mechanical world, a tensioner is used between two objects that should be kept together but that make relative, more or less unpredicted, motions towards each other. The tensioner makes sure that independent of the motion, the connection remains intact, without elements becoming overstressed.

By manually inserting tensioners, planners can establish mid-schedule milestone dates for Jobs. Those mid-schedule milestones could be the planned date for all operations in Department X to be complete. For example. WIP Backlog analysis can be geared to reporting on remaining days in Department X. Tensioners can be adjusted to provide more relief in one stage of the job – and WIP Backlog reporting could key off of those adjustments. We are prototyping this kind of a solution right now, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Author - Gregg Weisskirk - Sr. Consultant - EstesGroup

EstesGroup Celebrates its 10 Year Anniversary - Epicor Consultancy

John Koski — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 20:25:00 GMT

Hi Friends-

I wanted to acknowledge our 10 year anniversary today! We incorporated on June 2, 2004 and we have come a long way since then. Lots of growth, challenges, fun, and interesting projects.

Our first project was an SAP study for Genentech, assessing their Total Cost of Ownership of their SAP desktops. After several years working for them, we transitioned away from “White Papers” and more towards ERP projects. We became SAP and Epicor partners and did more Microsoft based work.

We created a staffing division because clients were asking for people instead of full project support and Brandon Haave joined us in 2005.

Now we are primarily an Epicor solutions consultancy, and we are also growing a B2B eCommerce delivery practice, an area that I am very excited about.

Most importantly, EstesGroup is about our people. As a former consultant, I know the satisfaction and problems that consultants face on a daily basis, and I have tried to create a firm where consultants feel at home, supported and challenged. Our clients consistently rank our employees at the top levels during their surveys, and our repeat business is a large part of our revenue stream. Simply put, when a client chooses to engage with us, they stay with us. We emphasize quality of life, ongoing training, and a rich benefit package – these are a few of the reasons for our exceptionally low turnover and high employee satisfaction.

We have countless success stories, and a new website due out in July. Please feel free to ask about any of our consulting or our project mangement capabilities as well as share your experiences with us. We welcome the feedback and are excited as we enter our second decade of work for our clients.

Author - Bruce Grant - CEO - EstesGroup

"The Day In The Life of a Manufacturer" from Epicor Insights Conf.

John Koski — Tue, 27 May 2014 16:44:00 GMT

Below is a link that you can click on or you can copy/paste into you broswer Subject line to review "The Day in The of Manufacturer" from the Epicor Insights Conference.

A number of EstesGroup's consultants were in attendance for this annual Epicor event and found it to be well attended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZv7MCvp8lk&list=PL6rfkagMJ2p2JLxPdXUymPhCj-_9eeVq9

Please let us know how EstesGroup can help you with your Epicor Consulting Services!

Get Yourself Pumped Up for Epicor ERP version 10!

John Koski — Tue, 13 May 2014 20:23:00 GMT

Its game time so let’s get serious about your ERP platform. This year’s theme at the Epicor Insights conference was purely that of taking your company’s ERP platform to the next level. Here are several simple reasons for considering the implementation of E10.

Epicor has spent years conceptualizing, developing, and testing this product. Having an insider’s view to the recent Beta program I am thoroughly impressed by the methodology and commitment to “getting it right” before general availability.
Performance is key in this release and the undiluted Microsoft stack is what makes this product shine!
Future releases of the service packs and patches will be based on Agile/Scrum techniques making for a more organized approach. The process for updating the software service packs/patch levels has been simplified.
The near future features and functionality releases address some core functionality that was missed in prior versions.
While the UI can be set to maintain the likeness of 9.05, the end user can also adjust it to mimic the evolving Microsoft Windows metro design.
The core product is highly scalable and needs much less horsepower. This means more users on 1 server install.

Author - Jennifer Mesiano - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

1099 Setup and Processing in Epicor ERP

John Koski — Fri, 09 May 2014 20:43:00 GMT

There are 17 different types of 1099 Forms but most small businesses use the MISC form. The Epicor ERP system does not allow you to define which 1099 form you want to print, rather it just prints 1099 MISC.

Small businesses must report purchases of services from unincorporated vendors.

If a business spends $600 or more for services from an unincorporated business (s-corps, LLCs, sole proprietors, etc.) during a tax year, the total is reported on a 1099-MISC. A large proportion of small businesses use the services of unincorporated businesses or are themselves unincorporated. Businesses file a 1099-MISC when purchasing services (not goods) from unincorporated vendors (not corporations).

The Epicor ERP system will allow you to print 1099’s if the 1099 option on the Supplier Maintenance screen is selected prior to you processing the 1099’s. The processing of 1099’s creates the 1099 information. You must purchase pre-printed 1099 forms prior to running this process and they need to be printed on a laser printer. The Print 1099 feature primarily prints to "Box 7" on the 1099 Form, but it also prints the state tax ID value. The 1099 Process function will print one 1099 for each supplier. If you need to print another copy, run this program again. To generate a 1099 form for a one-time supplier, you must first create a supplier record for this company. When running the report you can choose various report parameters.

Project "Check List(s)" Importance - Epicor Consulting

John Koski — Tue, 06 May 2014 16:45:00 GMT

As an Epicor consultant, I rely on lists and lists of project activities. We have lists of processes, lists of important reports, lists of customization requirements. Those are just a few examples. We cannot possibly manage the complexities of an ERP Project, nor effectively communicate tasks and milestones without these lists. Within each listed item, there is a wide range of activities required to resolve each item. And those activities are most effectively managed by checklists.

I highly recommend a book called The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. Here’s what Malcolm Gladwell wrote of Gawande’s book:

“Gawande begins by making a distinction between errors of ignorance (mistakes we make because we don’t know enough), and errors of ineptitude (mistakes we made because we don’t make proper use of what we know). Failure in the modern world, he writes, is really about the second of these errors, and he walks us through a series of examples from medicine showing how the routine tasks of surgeons have now become so incredibly complicated that mistakes of one kind or another are virtually inevitable: it’s just too easy for an otherwise competent doctor to miss a step, or forget to ask a key question or, in the stress and pressure of the moment, to fail to plan properly for every eventuality. Gawande then visits with pilots and the people who build skyscrapers and comes back with a solution. Experts need checklists–literally–written guides that walk them through the key steps in any complex procedure. In the last section of the book, Gawande shows how his research team has taken this idea, developed a safe surgery checklist, and applied it around the world, with staggering success.”

And here’s Gawande’s own words on why checklists are so important:

“Under conditions of increasing complexity, in medicine and elsewhere, experts require a different set of values than we’ve had. We require greater humility about our abilities, greater self-discipline and the prizing of teamwork over individual prowess. And those are precisely the values contained in the willingness to design and use checklists for what we do.”

Everyone involved in ERP projects should read this book.

Author - Gregg Weisskirk - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Applied Labor & Burden - The Epicor Way

John Koski — Mon, 05 May 2014 19:53:00 GMT

How is Applied Labor and Applied Burden handled in Epicor

The Applied Labor and Applied Burden accounts reside on the income statement with a credit balance. The offsetting accounts to the Applied Labor and Applied Burden accounts on the income statement are those accounts used in the calculation of the labor rates and burden rates. For example: perhaps the labor rate is determined by a calculation based on direct wages, vacation, sick, and employee benefits for direct employees. There may be a variance between the Applied Labor account's credit balance and the actual expense of those accounts used in the labor rate calculation. For example, what is actually PAID to the employee (direct wages). Some customers choose to enter an adjustment through a manual journal entry to an over/under account and a cost of sales or inventory variance account.

Applied Labor

The Applied Labor account tracks direct labor transactions related to a job. This account is the offset to the WIP Labor account on the Inventory Journal /Periodic Posting Entry that the system creates for these transactions.

Applied Overhead

The Applied Overhead account tracks direct burden transactions related to a job. The account is the offset to the WIP Burden account on the Inventory Journal / Periodic Posting Entry that the system creates for these transactions.

Applied Labor and Applied Burden in Epicor

The Applied Labor and Applied Burden accounts are the credit side of the WIP Labor and WIP Burden accounts created through labor entry. Review LABOR transactions on the WIP Inventory Reconciliation Report to see the transactions.

Example: WIP records the estimate from the WIP Labor account bucket and the WIP Burden Account bucket. When the Production workers actually records time spent on an operation * the Production labor rate, this results in a number higher or lower than what was projected for WIP. The amount of WIP Labor and Burden will move to COS Labor and Burden when the product is shipped to the Customer. The applied labor and burden is the difference, between this and the actual recorded labor on the job.

For questions as well as to have a better understanding of this somewhat difficult concept, please feel free to contact one of our excellent EstesGroup Senior Consultants.

Author - Linda Ballard - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Epicor Scheduling - Schedule to a Department- Not to a Costing Method

John Koski — Fri, 02 May 2014 20:27:00 GMT

Epicor Scheduling - Schedule to a Department Throughput Goal, not to a Costing Method

From time to time I come across a client that needs a strictly constructed, costed MOM. These organizations feel that it is important to measure actual times against a “standard” time for the various activities to construct a part AND they want this information delivered in terms of “efficiency”. I know, this sounds pretty typical, doesn’t it. But those companies that run to a Lean Manufacturing concept, too much white noise (especially if not actually acted upon) is just a distraction.

Nonetheless, it is possible to allow MOMs to be constructed in the detailed activity by activity listing of operations AND actually schedule those same jobs to a broad brush scheduling technique that monitors job accomplishment to a throughput goal. Put in other words – you can have the Job MOM and Traveler show the details of minutes per piece while actually scheduling to a goal such as “Get this through your Department in 3 Days”.

The key begins with creating an Alternate Method for the Part/Rev – and have that Alternate Method state goals such as Department 1 – 3 days, Department 2 – 4 days, Department 3 – 12 hours, etc. Then, as a key to how that alternate method would be the Job Scheduling Method, select that Alternate Method on the Part > Plant > Planning tab. MRP needs to be enabled, of course.

What you’ll find is the Epicor MPR Scheduling system will plan to the Department Goals and not bother to consider the costing setup that focuses on minutes per piece per operation. So you can schedule to the agreed turn-around time (or department throughput time).

The final key – how to have the job traveler show the costing MOM and not the Scheduling MOM – well for that you need to grasp the concept of an Evergreen Job…. And that can be the subject of another blog.

Author - Gregg Weisskirk - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Epicor ERP - Thinking Outside The Box

John Koski — Thu, 01 May 2014 15:51:00 GMT

ERP – Thinking Caps are Required!

Organizations both large and small need a generous mix of thinking and creativity when going through an ERP implementation. An ERP system, such as Epicor, is not a “one size fits all” type of software. It requires planning, process mapping, and in the end a bit of ingenuity to tackle some of your more complex local processes. While ERP systems provide you with most of the functionality that you need, sometimes you need the system to do something that is not part of standard functionality.

With a little critical thinking and knowledge of the various areas within the Epicor system, solutions to your toughest problems can be accomplished through:

Using a toolset such as Customization, BPM, or BAQ
Using built-in functionality for something that it might not have been originally intended for
Using non-Epicor tools in conjunction with your Epicor system

Author - Jennifer Mesiano - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Software Selection - from an EstesGroup Epicor Consultant

John Koski — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 18:39:00 GMT

Be Fruitful and Verify: Software Selection and Rotten Coconuts

Many years ago, my wife and I, still newlyweds, returned from a quick trip to the grocery store to share our first coconut together. As we shared our love of this delightful and strange tropical drupe, we were excited to crack it open, and savor its fresh milk with a pint of strawberries and a dash of sugar. But as we broke through the wiry husk, the coconut dashed our hopes more quickly than we had its shell. All was dry inside and pulling away in yellowed shards from its innermost crust. Pale green mold, feathery and abundant, filled all crevices. I was crestfallen. “This can’t be happening,” I cried, “It was organic!”

Many companies implementing ERP similarly crack open their new systems to be shocked by what they find inside. Every ERP project that I have worked on has encountered some degree of “buyer’s remorse,” and this feeling is in many ways a normal part of the implementation process. ERP systems are generalist applications, created to address the needs of many industries and, for that reason, any given system is rarely a perfect fit for any one business. Occasionally, the fit is not merely imperfect, but rather awful—the business cracked open their chosen application expecting functionality, but find only fungi. Having purchased a product for whom their taste has soured, companies have one of two options—either try and choke it down or else throw it out and resume shopping. Neither option is all that palatable, for purchasing an ERP package has implications for a company’s financial success for years to follow.

Software selection is no simple process. Vendors offer a panoply of options and systems, each packaged for different industries and markets. Popular terminology often makes the situation worse. Terms like KanBan, SOA, or BPM can mean radically different things within the empirical literature, and even more so when applied to ERP functionality. Too often the software’s definition of such buzz words differs from the expectations of potential customers. All of this can lead to confusion, indecision and, ultimately, rotten coconuts. Because of these difficulties, industry pundits increasingly focus on the heuristics of successful selection. Beyond the methodologies that have been defined for this purpose, I would make one basic recommendation to a would-be buyer of ERP produce—try and crack through the shell of your chosen product before buying.

Psychologists have coined the term “optimism bias” to describe tendency to make decisions based on best case scenarios. This applies easily enough to software selection, as companies naturally wish to find a system that works, and this desire may encourage companies to overlook issues in selection that they will later discern during implementation. Avoiding such optimism and successfully cracking the coconut involves a number of simple activities:

Understand your fundamental needs. If you are unable to clearly understand what you want, it will be difficult to leverage the knowledge of a salesperson to help you understand how well their products fit your needs. Worse yet, you might want a pineapple and come home with a pineapple hat.
When encountering buzzwords, work to understand as clearly as possible how such terms are implemented within the system in question. Often this requires examples or demonstrations—ask for them.
The user-interface bells-and-whistles of a system serve often to hide significant and fundamental issues within an application’s business logic, issues that are not apparent at first glance. When receiving demos, focus on core functionality, not fancy aesthetics.
Above all, ask questions, and lots of them. Often the selection process intimidates potential buyers from taking a more assertive approach to understanding the potential system. Interrogation is a natural way to overcome this predicament.

There is an old adage that if life gives you a lemon, make lemonade. But know that just as a good Piña Colada will never come from a rotten coconut, a good implementation will never come from the wrong software. Therefore, choose wisely and be fruitful.

Author - Brad Feakes - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Cash Vs Accrual Basis Accounting - EstesGroup Epicor Consultant

John Koski — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 15:46:00 GMT

The "Cash" method and the "Accrual" method are the two principal methods of keeping track of a business's income and expenses. In most cases, you can choose which method to use. These methods differ only in the timing of when transactions, including sales and purchases, are credited or debited to your genral ledger accounts. Here's the basics of how each accounting method works:

Cash Method. The "Cash" method is a very simple form of accounting. Under the "Cash" method, income is not counted until cash is actually received, and expenses are not counted until they're actually paid. The "Cash" basis payment process begins with a bill. Because the "Cash" basis does not use accounts payable, bills are not entered into the accounting system until they are paid. Purchase orders may not be entered into a "Cash" basis system, depending on how you want your accounting system to work for you. The primary focus is on the amount of cash in the bank, and the secondary focus is on making sure all bills are paid. Little effort is made to match revenues to the time period in which they are earned, or to match expenses to the time period in which they are incurred.

Accrual Method. Under the "Accrual" method, transactions are counted when the order is made, the item is delivered, or the services occur, regardless of when the money for (receivables) is actually received or paid. Income is counted when the sale occurs, and expenses are counted when you receive the goods or services. You don't have to wait until you see the money, or actually pay money out of your checking account, to record a transaction. "Accrual" basis accounting matches revenues to the time period in which they are earned and matches expenses to the time period in which they are incurred. While it is more complex than "Cash" basis accounting, it provides much more information about your business. The "Accrual" basis allows you to track amounts due from customers on sales and amounts due to suppliers on purchases. The "Accrual" basis allows you to match revenues to the expenses incurred in earning them, giving you more meaningful financial reports. The "Profit and Loss" report will include revenues that have been earned but not received and expenses that have been recorded but not paid. The "Balance Sheet" will show amounts due from customers (accounts receivable) as an asset, and amounts due to vendors (accounts payable) as a liability.

If you'd like to understand how the different accounting methods impact your Epicor ERP system, please feel free to contact EstesGroup!

Author - Cathy Bennett - Senior Accountant - EstesGroup

Epicor Consulting - Auto Print XML & Retain a PDF

John Koski — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 21:17:00 GMT

Auto Print XML and retain a PDF

A question that comes up from time to time is whether or not it is possible to auto-print an AR invoice, or similar document to a PDF-file in Epicor 9. Often companies what to have both an XML-file and a PDF file with the AR Invoice information.

One solution is to create a BAM to auto-print a Crystal Report, and use a product like CutePDF which creates a virtual printer. When you print to it the document will be output as PDF.

Author - Gregg Weisskirk - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Styles of Thinking from an EstesGroup Epicor Consultant

John Koski — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 20:44:00 GMT

Styles of Thinking – which method is best?

When dealing with customers a software consultant needs to understand people go about gathering information in different ways. For example, one person wants to gather all the information on his or her own, based on their senses. This is called the "Perceptive Approach". On the other hand, a person who wants to drill down on information and process it in a systematic way is someone who is using a "Receptive" style of thinking. The "Receptive" individual goes about gathering information that is already somewhat processed. They tend to be more analytical compared to the perceptive person who makes decisions by filtering information through their senses.

These different cognitive styles are referred to the "Analytical" and "Heuristic" style models. To illustrate the "Analytical" search method as it relates to software design is more formal and rational, whereas the "Heuristic’s" approach is more spontaneous. Furthermore, the analytical person will tend to want explicit and detailed information. They will continue to break down information until they achieve the lowest common denominator. Contrarily, the "Heuristic" person will base a great deal of their analysis on intuition, seeking to find things that are out of the ordinary. Also, the "Heuristic" individual will look at the whole scope and learns more by trial and error as opposed to the drill down methods preferred by the analytical type. When comparing data sets the analytical person will look for commonalties while the heuristic person will make a lot of analogies and use visuals more than the analytical person.

There are drawbacks to both these cognitive models. For example, a person using an analytical approach to learning might stop after finding the first meaningful solution to a computer software problem. If the software does want they want on the first try, they will continue to take the steps over and over even if it is making sub optimal use of the system. On the other hand the heuristic who is most likely a perceptive person, may be too willing to shoot from the hip and waste unnecessary time back tracking his or her steps in the information evaluation process. I find that some like to start with the bottom line and work their way backwards to prove a hunch. This is what I call the “Scientific Approach”, begin with a hypotheses and then prove it! ¹

A consultant should exercise caution and not base training and guidance, on one cognitive style. For instance, while a "Heuristic" person is not as likely to use the decomposition approach to the same degree as the analytical, users from both models will still break the design down to see the different parts. They just go about it differently. Therefore, it is important for a software consultant to realize that although the user will have tendencies toward one type of cognitive style he or she will want to thoughtfully consider both as it relates to the user. It is also important when consulting, especially related to ERP consulting for system such as Epicor to remember the customer (end user) may have a preferred cognitive style that is polar opposite to your line of thinking. Being flexible and able to rise to the occasion is what makes a good consultant, better!

Author - Linda Ballard - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

1 - Hy-poth- e-sis [hahy-poth-uh-sis, hi-] noun, plural hy·poth·e·ses 1. a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts.

Simplify Scheduling - from an EstesGroup Epicor Consultant

John Koski — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 21:13:00 GMT

Simplify Scheduling

An expensive townhouse down the block has state of the art climate controls. These include the typical programmable furnace / air conditioning thermostats. There are three in this unit – one for each floor along with three sets of furnaces / air conditioners. The windows automatically tint when sunlight is too strong. There are rooftop skylights which remain open, if you want. But will automatically close upon sensing rain. The nice thing about the programmable controls is that there is only one variable – whether the automation and the equipment remain in good working order.

Epicor has programmable settings for scheduling. Way too many to mention in one quick blog. But there are extra variables with programmed automation for ERP Scheduling – not only do the machines (hardware) and the automation (your software settings and customizations) have to be in good working order, you also have to continually dodge the unexpected influences. Those include customers that change orders, inventory which disappears, tools and machines that break down, people who don’t show up …. a wide variety of unforeseeable schedule busters.

Recently I had the chance to discuss advanced scheduling tools and techniques with a manufacturing manager. He was very taken with all the automation capabilities in Epicor. He was shown wonderful tools in the Epicor ERP sales cycle. After going through a large number of options, prototyping a variety of setups and processes, we came to the conclusion that he may be chasing fool’s gold. In fact, we concluded that a very simple approach of manually managing a few key schedule pinch points, he could increase his scheduling accuracy and get those schedules into control. The unexpected influences did not change – but his reliance on a perfectly tuned scheduling model did.

In the end, we agreed that maintaining schedules requires attention and flexibility. And a simple approach pays as great of a dividend as would a complicated model. The key goal we should all shoot for – measure Scheduling and Manufacturing on Compliance to Schedule – and make that schedule as uncomplicated as possible.

Documentation: The Carrot for Successful Epicor Project Closure

John Koski — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:55:00 GMT

Socrates was known throughout ancient Athens as a man who elicited insight from others, not through the written word, but through probing interchanges disguised as polite conversation. When Socrates was put to death by the Athenian government (by the way, the hemlock was a carrot, not a conifer), he left behind no written documents. His only last will and testament was a verbal aside to his old friend Crito to repay another man for a chicken owned to him.

Many Epicor ERP implementation projects similarly leave very little by way of documentation as they reach their final place of rest. Decisions were made, configuration parameters set and reset, business processes formulated, and customizations to the software made, all with the intent of circling back and capturing the information in permanent form. But amid the scramble of cutover, priorities shifted, shortcuts were taken, and eventually the task of documentation was pushed in the all-too-familiar place where good ideas go to die—the “Phase 2 List”.

Some question the value of documentation and avoid its use. There certainly are examples of documentation used in excess and, for this reason, a team’s effort must directly support the needs of the implementation. Documentation can add value by contributing to improved systems and processes, improving communication between team members, and assisting further system optimization efforts. In working with Epicor customers, I have found a number of places where companies tend to find such value in documentation:

Critical or contentious business decisions: Nothing undermines system optimization efforts more than having to relive system configuration arguments, because nobody remembers the criteria that drove the original configuration decisions. Documenting the logic behind key decisions helps provide a starting point for discussion, without having to begin from a tabula rasa.

Training Documents/End User Procedures: Training documents are often treated like a raft that an individual or group uses to cross a river and then leaves behind on the river bank. For this reason, companies tend to skimp on such material. But failing to provide training documents is like having the members of the user community individually swim the stream—some will be lost in crossing and many will land at different places along the new shore. Documentation allows the user community to cross as a single team, which makes for a more stable cutover and a more uniform and consistent business process thereafter.

Application Customization Requirements: In the past, I’ve found documentation to be a good way to scare off unnecessary development requests: If you’re willing to document your custom requirements in an organized manner, then there is probably some business value to the request. If not, then you’re probably dealing with a nice-to-have feature and not a critical business requirement. Furthermore, the act of writing a requirements document is self-correcting—logically working through your needs often elicits issues, scenarios and related requirements that wouldn’t have surfaced otherwise, which in turn leads to better final solutions.

The above list, of course, is not exhaustive, and company culture often influences the extent of effort that will be placed on documentation, as do the specific circumstances of the project itself. But when done with prudence and coherence, documentation can assist in successfully putting a project to rest.

Author - Brad Feakes - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Words to Live By - from an EstesGroup Epicor Consultant

John Koski — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 18:00:00 GMT

Some Words to Live By:

Someone once said “If you aren’t making mistakes, then you aren’t trying anything”. This phrase has stuck with me for a large portion of my career. I live and breathe it every day. To me, trial and error is key to breakthrough innovation. Here are some other concepts that I’ve gathered that can make the difference in both your professional and personal life:

Make promises and keep your word. Your word is your integrity. This means setting due dates and fulfilling them. If you break your promise of a due date (i.e.: you're not going to make it) you can still keep your word by notifying those involved ahead of time and setting a new due date.
Be authentic in everything you do. This means “keeping it real”.
Look for ways to “lean out the process” even in your personal life. Planning is important! Think about what you're doing before you start doing it.
Doing "1" thing really well is usually better than doing multiple things badly.
Growth is necessary for sustainability. Being stagnant in your learning process isn’t good for anyone. You are cheating yourself as well as your employer.

All the above definitely applies when you're implementing an ERP system, such as Epicor.

Don’t “try”, Just “do”. Saying you will try to do something really isn’t a commitment to getting it done. Saying you will do something clearly puts your word on the line which is synonymous with integrity.

Author - Jennifer Mesiano - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Teamwork - What's Necessary For Epicor Implementation Sucess

John Koski — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:47:00 GMT

Effective Epicor Implementation Project Mangement Teamwork starts with understanding and assembling the proper internal staff so your organization achieves the expected results.

What if you had a team in which everyone had the same top strengths? You probably wouldn’t get much done. There would be an overabundance of certain strengths and a lack of other strengths that are needed to successfully complete an ERP Implementation project.

Take for instance an Epicor ERP implementation in which the 5 core members of the team all possess a combination of these strengths: Leadership, Strategist, Commander, Self-Assurance, and Competiveness. How much do you think is going to get done? These are 5 people that have similar thought processes and approaches. They are people that control the situation and are good decision makers. With all of this leadership and control, who is going to be doing all of the detailed work that needs to be done with an ERP implementation? Who is going to be the calming force when harmony is needed? Who is going to woo others for alignment?

Alternately, what if the core team’s strengths included Organization, Communication, Focus, and Positivity? You would probably have a team that is very thorough and related to each other, however, they probably wouldn’t have any direction, control or the authority you would need to move the project forward.

EstesGroup is available to help you uncover your staff’s strengths and give your organization the power to put together the proper team members with complementary strengths to help ensure the success of your Epicor ERP implementation.

Author - Jennifer Mesiano - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Posting Rules For Epicor ERP

John Koski — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 18:38:00 GMT

Posting Rules for Epicor ERP

There are 42 pre-defined transaction types that are linked to menu items in the Epicor ERP system. The system does not allow you to add additional transaction types. These transaction types are then linked to posting rules that can be further defined by each company as to where they want their various transactions posted.

There are two types of Posting Rules:

Standard – Has functionality to use accounts from the Control Codes and Hierarchies and will also allow segment overrides. The Standard Rules have more functionality than the Extended Rules. Standard posting rules can be used for any amount of segments for your chart of accounts.

Extended – Just allows you to use accounts from the control codes to determine which account to post to. You can’t do any segment overrides. Extended posting rules are normally used if you only have one segment in your Chart of Accounts.

The posting rules need to be imported into the Epicor ERP system before you can define your GL Controls.

These posting rules update the GLJournal Detail Table with the account number, the amounts, a level of detail which you can have summarized or detailed, descriptions and also user-defined fields.

Posting Rules are not a way to update sub-ledger data and they don’t necessarily upgrade from version to version. You also do not necessarily need to modify Posting Rules in order to use dynamic segments in your Chart of Account. Posting Rules do not limit the number of GL Segments and you do not have to use three GL segments in order to use standard Posting Rules. If you use more than 3 segments in your Chart of Accounts it does not necessarily mean you will need Posting Rule changes.

Author - Cathy Bennett - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Epicor "Jobs" Description from EstesGroup Consulting

John Koski — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 18:48:00 GMT

Epicor Jobs

Let’s think about the purpose of Jobs within an Epicor manufacturing environment.

Jobs inform the manufacturing business of what, when and how many resources are required. Material Requirements, Capacity Requirements and Capital Requirements are some of those resources.

Jobs, in the form of a Traveler, inform the production workforce of how to produce product.

Jobs provide an estimate of production cost as well as Jobs are the vehicle for recording actual costs. Job variances inform the business of its ability to accurately predict costs and therefore its ability to price product with confidence. Job variances can drive a business to make corrections in process, thereby producing more predictable outcomes.

Managing Jobs can be time-consuming and tedious. Jobs get firmed and schedules set and the minute an unexpected event happens, the schedules need revision and the Job dates move. Those unexpected events may not be predictable, but are guaranteed to happen.

So what do Planners do to counter the looming erosion of their latest schedule? Many options are employed –

Delay Firming Jobs so that MRP nervousness is dampened,
Under-load the schedule (and have fill-in Jobs waiting),
Lock Job Dates and employ buffers to reduce unnecessary MRP suggestions
Turn scheduling over to Epicor and run Finite Scheduling across a planning horizon

One option is to not bother to have firm Jobs at all. Run the schedules totally on Unfirm Job Suggestions. Report time and report material usage to a Job that MRP does not “see”. We call those Evergreen Jobs, and they provide the basis for estimated and actual costs to produce a part across a time horizon of one’s choosing (not just the time horizon of one firmed job).

Author - Gregg Weisskirk - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup

Epicor BAQ's - The Building Blocks to Running Your Business

John Koski — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 17:14:00 GMT

BAQ's (Business Activity Queries) are really the base building block to using a plethora of the other tools in Epicor.

-So you need to fire off some logic that sends an email to your production manager when parameters change on a job, and you want to include detailed information into the notification? A BPM (Business Process Manager) in conjunction with a BAQ can help.

-Do you ever get tired of having to move from screen to screen to change bulk information on sales orders and then corresponding jobs and job operations? An updatable Dashboard that uses multiple updatable BAQ's will solve your problem.

-For those security people that are not fond of using ODBC for Crystal Reports, have your report writers learn BAQ Reporting. You write the BAQ, pass it to the BAQ report writer, and then open the form in Crystal to make it look nice. You can even incorporate customization code to include additional parameters for static information!

-Are you trying to migrate data between Epicor v8 and above databases using DMT? Create the DMT template and then use a BAQ to extract the legacy data for import.

-The CFO calls and needs a quick adhoc export of sales order data; what do you do? Simply create a quick BAQ and send the data to Excel with one click.

Learning how to write queries in Epicor can be invaluable and the best thing is you don't need additional licensing. It's included in your Epicor install!

Need help writing BAQ's, call EstesGroup, we can help you!

Author - Jennifer Messiano - Senior Consultant - EstesGroup