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Ignify has a phrase we live by in our consulting practice: "Effectiveness with Efficiency for our most valued asset, our clients."  Effectiveness means being experts in our field and doing things right. Efficiency means being frugal with our clients' consulting dollars on the hours it takes to implement. This is why Ignify developed RAPID: Ready-to-use And Proven Implementation Deliverables.

RAPID leverages the already proven Microsoft Sure Step Implementation Methodology by adding additional value. The basic premise behind RAPID is that every implementation has some Deliverables, both in configuration and documentation, that are similar. RAPID has taken these Deliverables and pre-built these to save as much as 30-40% in consulting fees on every implementation Ignify does.

For example, every Retail Industry implementation needs to have zip codes imported. Ignify has taken this process and automated it so they can deliver it ready to use in a matter of minutes. The point being, "Why should our clients pay for repetitive deliverables as if we are recreating the wheel with each implementation?" Believe it or not, that is the approach most other consulting practices take: billing every client the same amount for these Deliverables simply because they have not automated the processes. They literally are "recreating the wheel" with each implementation.

How do I know this? Because I have done Project Management or Management Consulting for most of the Microsoft Dynamics AX Partners when I was a freelance agent. I was also intimately involved in the development, training, and delivery of Microsoft Sure Step when version 2.0 came out. I trained the MCTs (Microsoft Certified Trainers) on how to teach the Sure Step class, and I co-authored the first day's training material. So I had the opportunity to see nearly all the Microsoft Dynamics AX Partners out there, up close and personal.

That is why Ignify caught my eye. They were different. During the recession they were growing and profitable! This intrigued me; I wanted to find out how they were doing it. The answer is simple-Ignify is doing what other Partners only talk about, which is seeing an implementation from the client's viewpoint and asking key questions: "How can we bring more value? How can we save our client's money on implementations?"

Thus, RAPID was developed, demonstrating genius in its cost savings for Ignify's clients. I was so impressed, I joined Ignify after years of owning my own businesses (17 years of building Microsoft practices and selling them or doing freelance consulting). Ignify had what I was looking for: great core values and a focus on delivering to their clients. Now, with RAPID, I am sold. Ignify is going places, and I am going with them. It's good to be part of something special. Something you believe in.

In future blog posts I'll be sharing more about RAPID. Stay tuned!

Scott Mertes is a Senior Project Manager in the Microsoft Dynamics ERP practice at Ignify. Ignify is a Global Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle Partner headquartered in California specializing in Dynamics AX for Retail, Distribution, Manufacturing, Sea Port and Chemicals verticals. For help on Microsoft Dynamics ERP email us at dynamics@ignify.com

What is meant by Landed Cost?? In general any cost incurred in addition to value paid to vendor to procure the item is a landed cost. Examples are shipping and handling, customs and excise.

The What of Landed Cost

Landed cost is not that big an issue while dealing with vendors who charge a consolidated value to leave the goods at your door. Life would be too easy if it were that simple, wouldn’t it? We ask vendors to charge our account with carrier while shipping because we have better negotiated rates with the freight carrier. Vendor does not have control over import duties such as customs, excise. So we need to find handling agencies that take care of paper work and get the goods out of the yard. Or we pay to government and handle it ourselves.

The Why of Landed Cost

Guess what, all these are additional costs paid on top of the bill paid to vendor for the item. We need to add all these up to get the true cost of inventory. So you get to know the real margin. Some businesses simply expense out the cost because they don’t have the facility in their system and it is too much overhead for them to track it manually. Well, Dynamics GP customers can use the  Landed Cost module to track landed cost at ease.

Dynamics GP provides true ability to handle third party landed costs

So if your Vendor charged your UPS account for the freight, log an approximate value of freight in landed cost are of the purchase receipt. When you receive the freight bill from UPS

• Match the UPS invoice to the landed cost recorded on shipment from Vendor. The variance between the approximate value and this actual value can be applied to inventory or recorded to a Purchase Price Variance account.
• So GP provides ability to record the third party vendor landed cost invoice, match it landed cost, updated variance to inventory or to a variance account.

Oh, what did you say, the UPS invoice has several lines each pointing to shipments for multiple items or multiple shipments for the same item. Don’t worry, Dynamics GP provides ability to record a third party vendor invoice and match each line to different shipments.

Other real time applications of landed cost are adding the freight cost when moving items between warehouses.

Have you ever had to move goods from one warehouse to another? What happened to the cost incurred in moving stuff from one warehouse to other? Use the landed cost feature the ‘In Transit Transfer’ window. This is a very useful feature, especially when you want to obtain the true cost for an item in the warehouse.

Nice to haves:

It would be nice to get a feature similar to landed cost in SOP module. So we can record an approximate freight charge. When we get a real invoice from a carrier, we can either charge the excess or return the balance by way of a credit memo or debit memo.

This post is written by Raja S L N. Raja is a Manager in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Practice at Ignify. Ignify is a Global Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics ERP for RetailDistribution, Manufacturing and Chemicals verticals. For help on Microsoft Dynamics ERP email us at dynamics@ignify.com

General Ledger

WHAT DOES CLOSING GENERAL LEDGER DO ?

During the year-end closing routine, all the records that will be moved are put in a temporary table before they are moved to the Account Transaction History table.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Step 1: Complete the posting procedures and the closing procedures for other modules

Follow these steps if the General Ledger module is integrated with other modules.

• If the General Ledger module is not integrated with other modules, skip this step.
• Post final transactions in all the modules except the General Ledger module
• Complete the month-end procedure and the quarter-end procedure for all the modules except the General Ledger module
• Complete the year-end closing procedures for each module in the following order:
  • Inventory;
  • Receivables Management; and
  • Payables Management:

Step 2: Post the final adjusting entries in the General Ledger module

• Adjusting entries include all entries that correct errors that were made when transactions were recorded.
• Adjusting entries also include journal entries that are used to assign revenues or expenses to the period in which the revenues were earned or in which the expenses were incurred.
• Use the Transaction Entry or Quick Journal Entry window to make adjusting entries in the General Ledger Module.
• Make adjusting entries to allocate revenue, expenses or depreciation to the year that you are closing.

Step 3: Print an account list to verify the posting type of each account

• The posting type determines whether an account is closed to the retained earnings account or whether an account brings a balance forward to the next fiscal year.
• Set the posting type to Balance Sheet to bring forward the account balances.
• Set the account balance to Profit and Loss to close to retained earnings A/c.
• Use the Account Maintenance window to change the account posting type.
• To Print the accounts list: Navigate To: Financial>>Reports>>Accounts>>All Accounts Report

Step 4: Close the last period of the fiscal year (Optional)

• Use the Fiscal Periods Setup window to close any fiscal periods that are still open for the year.
• This prevents transactions from being posted to the wrong period or year. Navigate To: Tools>>Setup>>Company>> Fiscal Periods

Step 5: Perform file maintenance on the Financial series group modules (Optional)

• Run the check links procedure on the financial series group of modules. Navigate To: Microsoft Dynamics GP menu>>Maintenance>>Check Links

Step 6: Verify the settings in the General Ledger Setup window

• Click on the Accounts and Transactions check box in the Maintain History area of the General Ledger Setup window to keep the historical records
  • The account history lets you print financial statements and calculated budgets from historical information.
  • The transaction history lets you print detailed historical trial balances. The transaction history also lets you view the transaction details.
• Both the account history and the transaction history are updated during the year-end closing routine if these check boxes are selected.

Step 7: Make a backup

• Make a backup of all company data, and then put the backup in safe permanent storage.
• The backup gives you a permanent record of the company’s financial position at the end of the year.
• The backup can then be restored later if it is required. Navigate To: Microsoft Dynamics GP>>Maintenance>>Backup

Step 8: Print a final Detailed Trial Balance report

• Use the Trial Balance Report window to print a year-end Detailed Trial Balance report.
• Navigate To: Reports>>Financial>>Trial Balance

Step 9: Print year-end financial statements

• Print any year-end financial statements that are required. The most common financial statements include the following:
  • Balance Sheet;
  • Profit and Loss Statement;
  • Statement of Cash Flows; and
  • Statement of Retained Earnings:

Step 10: Set up a new fiscal year

• Setup the new fiscal year by using the Fiscal Period Setup window before the year-end closing routine is performed. Navigate To: Tools>>Setup>>Company>>Fiscal Periods

Step 11: Close the fiscal year

• To close the fiscal year, Navigate To: Financial>>Routines>>Year-End Closing
• Specify an account in the Retained Earnings Account box

Step 12: Close all fiscal periods for all series (Note: This step is optional)

• Use the Fiscal Periods Setup window to mark all periods for all series as closed, after the closing procedures for all modules are complete.
• We recommend that you do this to prevent transactions from being posted from any module to any period that you closed.
• After a period is marked as closed, transactions cannot be posted to the period unless you reopen the period. Later, if you must post a transaction to a closed period, return to the Fiscal Periods Setup window to reopen the period. Navigate To: Tools>>Setup>>Company>> Fiscal Periods

Step 13: Adjust budget figures for the New Year and print financial statements

• Adjust budget figures by using one of the following windows:
  • Excel-Based Budgeting
  • Budget Maintenance
  • Single-Account Budget Maintenance

Step 14: Adjust budget figures for the New Year, and print financial statements

Step 15: Make a backup

• Make a backup of all company data, and then put the backup in safe permanent storage.
• The backup gives you a permanent record of the company’s financial position at the start of the New Year.
• This backup can be restored later if it is required.

Payables Management

WHAT DOES CLOSING PAYABLES MANAGEMENT DO ?

• The Payables Management procedures transfer current-year balances to last year’s balance and clear out the current-year balances.
• There are two closing procedures for Payables Management—fiscal year and calendar year. Both the calendar and fiscal year must be closed even if only fiscal periods is being used

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Step 1: Post all transactions for the year

• Post all transactions for the year before the year is closed.
• If you want to enter future period transactions before you close the year, create a new batch for the future period transactions.
• Save the future period transactions in the new batch, but do not post the new batch until after the year has been closed.

Step 2: Print the Aged Trial Balance with Options report

• Print a paper copy of the Aged Trial Balance with Options report to keep with year-end permanent financial records.
• Navigate To: Dynamics GP>>Purchasing>Reports>Trial Balance. In the Reports list, click Aged Trial Balance with Options

Step 3: Print the Vendor Period Analysis report

• Print a paper copy of the Vendor Period Analysis report to keep with year-end permanent financial records. To do this, follow these steps:
• Navigate To: Dynamics GP>Purchasing>Reports>Analysis. In the Reports list, click Period

Step 4: Make a backup that is named Pre-1099 Edits

• Create a backup and then put the backup permanent storage.
  • The backup lets you recover data quickly if a power fluctuation or other problem occurs during the year-end closing procedure.
• Follow the below steps to create a back up in Microsoft Dynamics GP:
• Microsoft Dynamics GP>>Maintenance>>Backup
• Change the path of the backup file if it is required
• Click OK.

Note: It is recommended that you name this backup “Pre-1099 Edits” to differentiate it from other backups

Step 5: Verify the 1099 information and edit it if it is required

• Print the 1099 Edit List. On the File menu, click Print.

Step 6: Print the 1099 statements

• Print the 1099 Statements. Navigate To: Purchasing>>Routines>>Print 1099

Step 7: Make a backup that is named “Pre Year-End”

• Create a backup, and then put the backup in safe, permanent storage.
• Follow the below steps to create a back up in Microsoft Dynamics GP:
  • Microsoft Dynamics GP>>Maintenance>>Backup (Select Company name in the Company Name list)
  • Change the path of the backup file if it is required
  • Click OK.

Note: It is recommended that you name this backup “Pre-Year End” to differentiate it from other backups

Step 8: Close the year

• Navigate To: Purchasing>>Routines>>Year-End Close
  • If you are closing both your fiscal and calendar year at the same time, click All.
  • If you are just closing your calendar year, click Calendar.
  • If you are just closing your fiscal year, click Fiscal.
• Click to select the Print Report check box, and then click Close Year.

Step 9: Close the fiscal periods

• Navigate To: Microsoft Dynamics GP menu>>Tools>>Setup>> Company>>Fiscal Periods
• Click to select the Purchasing check box for the Period that you must close.

Step 10: Close the tax year

Note: This procedure should only be completed after you have completed the year-end closing procedures for all sales and purchasing modules.

• To close the tax year, follow these steps:
  • Navigate To: Microsoft Dynamics GP menu>>Tools>>Routines>> Company>>Tax Year-End Close
  • Click to select the Close Year check box and the Print Report check box.
  • Click Process. Click ‘YES’ when you are prompted to continue with the year-end close.

Step 11: Make a backup that is named “Post Year-End”

• Create a backup and then put the backup in safe, permanent storage.
• Follow the below steps to create a back up in Microsoft Dynamics GP:
  • Microsoft Dynamics GP>>Maintenance>>Backup. (Select Company name in the Company Name list)
  • Change the path of the backup file if it is required
  • Click OK.

Receivables Management

WHAT DOES CLOSING RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT DO ?

• The Receivables Management procedures transfer current-year balances to last year’s balance and clear out the current-year balances.
• There are two closing procedures for Receivables Management—fiscal year and calendar year. Both the calendar and fiscal year must be closed even if only fiscal periods are being used.

STEPS TO FOLLOW FOR CLOSING THE CALENDAR YEAR<

• Use the Receivables Year-End Closing window to close the calendar year to update information that is displayed in the Customer Finance Charge Summary window. Make a backup of all company data. Navigate to: Dynamics GP>>Tools>>Routines>>Sales>>Year-End Close
• Mark All, if the calendar year coincides with your fiscal year.
• If the periods do not coincide, close the fiscal year separately
• Mark Print Report to print the Year-End Closing Report when the closing process is complete.
• Save this report to be part of the audit trail.
• Choose Process to begin the closing process.
• Close the fiscal periods for the Sales series using the Fiscal Periods Setup window. Navigate To: Dynamics GP>Tools>Setup>Company>Fiscal Periods Setup

STEPS FOR CLOSING THE FISCAL YEAR

• Use the Receivables Year-End Closing window to close the fiscal year to update information that is displayed in the Customer Finance Charge Summary window. Make a backup of all company data. Navigate to: Dynamics GP>>Tools>>Routines>>Sales>>Year-End Close
• Mark Fiscal to close the fiscal year.
• If your calendar and fiscal years coincide, you can close them at the same time by marking All
• Mark Print Report to print the Year-End Closing Report when the closing process is complete.
• Save this report as this report is part of audit trail.
• Choose Process to begin the closing process.
• Close the fiscal periods for the Sales series using the Fiscal Periods Setup window. Navigate To: Dynamics GP>Tools>Setup>Company>Fiscal Periods Setup

STEPS FOR CLOSING THE TAX YEAR

• Use the Tax Year-End Closing window to prepare your tax records for a new year.
• When you close the tax year, the accumulated year-to-date tax totals in the Tax Detail Maintenance window are cleared and transferred to last year’s tax totals.
• Separate year-to-date tax totals can then be recorded for the New Year.
• Any tax amounts entered after closing the tax year are added to the new year-to-date total.
• Closing a tax year affects all the tax details entered for the year. Navigate To: Dynamics GP>>Tools>>Routines>>Company>>Tax Year- End Close to open the Tax Year-End Closing window.
• Mark Close Year as tax year cannot be closed unless the ‘close year’ option is marked.
• Mark Print Report to print the Tax Year-End Closing Report when the closing process is complete.
• This report shows year-to-date and last year’s tax amounts as they appeared in the Tax Detail Maintenance window before the tax year was closed.
• Save this report as part of audit trail.
• Choose process to begin the closing process

Inventory Series

WHAT DOES CLOSING INVENTORY SERIES DO ?

• Closing a year transfers all summarized current-year quantity, cost and sales amounts to transaction history for the items for which you have been keeping summarized Sales History.
• This procedure also updates the amount in each item’s Beginning Quantity field to the Quantity on Hand field at each site.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Step 1: Post all transactions for the year

Be sure that all Invoicing, Sales Order Processing and Inventory transactions for the current year have been entered and posted before year is closed. This is important to ensure that historical information is accurate for the year being closed and year-to-date amounts are accurately stated for the New Year.

If you want to enter future-period transactions before closing the year, create a new batch with new transactions, but do not post it until after the year has been closed.

Step 2: Reconcile Inventory Quantities

Use the Reconcile Inventory Quantities window to ensure that Inventory Control data has not become damaged over the course of the year.

Navigate to: Inventory>Utilities>Reconcile

Be sure that all Invoicing, Sales Order Processing and Inventory transactions for the current year have been entered and posted before year is closed. This is important to ensure that historical information is accurate for the year being closed and year-to-date amounts are accurately stated for the New Year.

If any differences are found during the reconcile process, the quantities will be adjusted. If adjustments are made, they will be reflected on the Reconcile Report, together with any serial numbers and lot numbers that were added for the adjusted items. If you want to edit these serial numbers and lot numbers, you can use the Item Transaction Entry window to make adjustment transactions.

Navigate to: Inventory>>Transactions>> Transaction Entry

Step 3: Complete a Physical Inventory count and post any adjustments

• Stock Calendar: Use this to set up and maintain information about when stock counts can be performed, and which days will be recounted when the system calculates suggested dates for the next stock count for a specific item-site combination.Navigate to: Tools>>Setup>>Inventory>>Stock Calendar
• Stock Count Cycle Assignment: Use this to assign one stock count frequency to many items.Navigate to: Cards>>Inventory>>Count Cycle Assignment.
• Stock Count Schedule: Creates a list of the specific items at a specific site that will be counted during a specific count. When you start a stock count schedule, the quantity on hand for each line in the stock count schedule is captured. Later, the actual count number quantities will be compared to the captured values to create default variance transactions. Stock Count Forms can be printed during this process. Navigate to: Transactions>>Inventory>>Stock Count Schedule
• Stock Count Entry: Use this to enter information about the results of your stock counts. When you process a stock count, variance transactions are created. If the Auto-post Stock Count Variances check box is marked, the transactions will also be posted.Navigate to: Transactions>> Inventory>>Stock Count Entry
• Physical Inventory Checklist: Print a Physical Inventory Checklist using the Inventory Activity Reports window and perform a physical count of your Inventory Items to verify that quantity on hand amounts are accurate for all Items.Navigate to: Inventory>>Reports>>Activity>>Inventory Activity Reports
• Ensure no difference exists. If difference still exists, enter the necessary adjustments in the Item Transaction Entry window, and then post the transactions.

Step 4: Print additional reports:

• Print any additional reports you will need for planning or your permanent records.
• Generally the below reports will be good to be printed via Inventory>>Reports:
  • Stock Status Report;
  • Purchase Receipts Report;
  • Turnover Report;
  • Transaction History Report;
  • Serial Number List; and
  • Lot Number List:

Step 5 – Backup

• Make a backup of all company data.

Step 6: Close the year:

• Use the Fiscal Periods Setup window to close any fiscal periods that are still open for the year.Navigate to: Microsoft Dynamics GP>>Tools>>Setup>>Company>>Fiscal Periods Setup
• Stops the user from posting to wrong period or year.
• Ensure all transactions for the period and year for all modules before closing fiscal periods have been posted.
• Re-open the Fiscal Periods Setup window, in case you later need to post transactions to a fiscal period you have already closed.

This post is written by Shrikant Indavar. Shrikant is a Senior Business Analyst in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Practice at Ignify. Ignify is a Global Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics ERP for RetailDistribution, Manufacturing and Chemicals verticals. For help on Microsoft Dynamics ERP email us at dynamics@ignify.com

Written by Tod Heath, Senior Dynamics GP Business Analyst for Ignify

If you’re like me, there are times when you have more work than you can handle.  This is based on the fact that we are limited in what we can accomplish by our two hands and some of our tasks can be quite repetitive.  Well, what if you had the ability to recruit a ‘Little Helper’ to assist you with some of your chores and tasks?

Dynamics GP has a Little Helper ready to assist you.  All you need to do is recognize that’s he’s waiting around, hoping that you call upon him so he can feel productive.  Providing him with some simple instructions can make him happy and you more productive.  By the way, he is known as the GP Macro. 

Macros in GP are simply recordings of a series of keystrokes, mouse-clicks and mouse-movements made while performing a procedure. It’s like taking a video of a series of tasks that you want to accomplish and then being able to replay it at any time to accomplish various tasks.  Your Little Helper can be a big time saver while performing certain tasks such as Bank Transfer entries or other repetitive tasks.  Simply record the series of events up until the time you need to key in any data.  When ready, just replay the macro and you’ve saved yourself a series of keystrokes.

However, your Little Helper can really be productive by helping you import data.  Running Macros can be effective when working with these situations:

1)      Integration Manager does not support what you’re trying to import.

2)      You are using a customized or third party version of a window that might interfere with Integration Manager.

3)      You don’t want to use eConnect, Table Import, SQL or some other technical method.

4)      GP Master Records.

5)      Transactional data that would access only a single form (window).

6)      Any process where identical repetitive steps are required. As an example, members of my team have deleted selective inventory Items in GP using macros as it was not possible to be done via SQL as there were multiple related tables.

7)      Some developers even use them for testing purposes.

 

Summary Steps to create a Macro to import data are as follows:

1)      Record a dummy macro in Dynamics GP to be the template macro.

2)      Open the macro template in an MS Word document.

3)      Use the Mail Merge feature using the Step By Step Mail Merge Wizard to locate your data set and create your letter to define the records in the template.

4)      Run the macro in Dynamics GP to import the data.

 

Dynamics GP Macros really can aid you in many different ways.  It’s just up to you to give your Little Helper some instructions. 

 

This post is written by Tod Heath. Tod is a Dynamics GP Senior Analyst in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Practice at Ignify. Ignify is a Global Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics ERP for RetailDistribution, Manufacturing and Chemicals verticals. For help on Microsoft Dynamics ERP email us at dynamics@ignify.com

At the beginning of a new year resolutions are the hot topic. However, most of these are of a personal nature, but how about some resolutions for your business – starting with your current ERP system. Even if it seems that every person in the company, from management to the end user, is thrilled with the business system(s) being used there is always room for improvement.

With that in mind – here are 5 ERP New Year’s Resolutions to begin working on now:

1. Evaluate the fit of your current system to the business. Business operations change, management changes, processes change, etc. The ERP system implemented years ago may not be meeting the business requirements anymore. Create an RFP and apply it to your current system just as you would if you were evaluating a whole new system. If you don’t have in-house expertise to put together a proper RFP, which fully addresses the business requirements, there are software programs and consultants that can assist in this exercise for a reasonable cost.

2. Conduct a full audit of business processes and system application. Apply your RFP to the ERP system and truthfully evaluate the capabilities of your system against the business requirements. Does it have what it takes to address those requirements and is it scalable enough to fulfill the projected requirements in the coming years.

3. Conduct user training. This is an often overlooked factor in successful implementation/use of any computer software. And even if training was fully addressed in the initial implementation, again, business processes change, new employees are hired or users move to new positions, upgrades to the software offer new features, etc. User training should be an ongoing never ending practice in order to maintain optimum system application, and reduce help desk inquiries.

4. Upgrade to the newest version. If your RFP and full system evaluation reveal that the current system is still the right one for your business then the focus should be on making sure you are using the most recent version available from the software provider.   In some cases this can be painful (customizations must be ported, testing must be done, etc.) but the payoff is worth it. Upgrades typically include new/improved features that will benefit the business, not to mention the increased support that is available from your software vendor.

5. Implement a new system. Sometimes your evaluation will indicate that your current system is no longer meeting the needs of the business and then it is time to move on, the RFP created in step 1 will simplify the search for a new system. Be sure that you include in this search evaluation/selection of a full service consulting organization to manage your implementation project and provide expert resources that will assist in the installation, training, and customizations.

Taking a long hard look at the ERP system being used in your organization is worth the effort and should be done regularly.Once the facts of need and fit have been gathered generating an ROI for approval of training, and/or upgrades, and/or a new system will be easy and management approval a sure thing. Happy New Year.

This post is written by Carla Whitcomb. Carla is a Dynamics AX Team Lead in the Microsoft Dynamics AX Practice at Ignify . Ignify is a Global Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle Partner specializing in Dynamics AX for Retail, Distribution, Manufacturing and Chemicals verticals. For help on Microsoft Dynamics ERP email us at dynamics@ignify.com