Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software offers the benefits of streamlined and integrated business processes, lower cost of operation, improved reporting capabilities, data security and increased productivity. With multiple benefits brought about by an efficient ERP system, the process of selecting the right system that can help support your organization’s needs can at times be daunting.

To help increase the odds of choosing the right ERP software, below is an ERP selection tip sheet that outlines key steps for selecting the right ERP software.

1. Know and prioritize your software requirements

• Start by identifying what challenges you want to solve and what your current system is unable to do for you. It’s best to divide the list into features that are must-haves and nice-to-haves. The more specific you can be about your software requirements, the better. As an article from Software Advice notes: “by knowing what you need, you’ll be in a better position to control the selection process, rather than let software vendors dictate your needs.”

2. Carefully evaluate your options before deciding on an ERP system

• It’s important to consult management and key stakeholders and ask them for their input in the evaluation phase. It’s also worth considering how the systems you’ve shortlisted affect integration with your existing office systems, the ERP system’s reporting capabilities and metrics.

3. Build a short list of software vendors

WebSan Solutions Inc., a cloud Microsoft Dynamics Certified Partner and IT consulting and solutions provider, has been named a finalist in the Best Service Organization and Small Business Solution categories for this year’s Computer Dealer News (CDN) Channel Elite Awards.

CDN has been the voice of the IT solution provider community in Canada for more than thirty years and defines an information technology solution provider as an organization that resells computer hardware, software or peripheral products along with providing IT related professional services, support services, or consulting in a cloud or on-demand environment, on-premise fashion or as managed services.

CDN’s Channel Elite Awards recognizes IT solution providers for their innovation, leadership and commitment to creating business value and game changing solutions for customers. Finalists are chosen based on the following criteria:

• Innovation: Originality in the application of the IT solution to the business problem
• Improved Sales or Revenue: Evidence that the solution benefited the customer with improvement in sales, revenue or cost reduction measured in dollars or percent
• Improved Efficiency: Evidence that the solution benefited the customer with increased efficiency
• Customer Service: Evidence that the solution benefited the client with improved internal and/or external customer service
• X-Factor: In what way(s) did the solution provider and/or the solution go above and beyond industry norms.

Channel Elite Award winners and finalists will be recognized at CDN's Channel Elite Awards Gala and networking event on September 29, 2016 at the Paramount Conference and Event Venue in Woodbridge, Ontario.  All winners and finalists will be posted on www.computerdealernews.com.

“We are thrilled to be on this prestigious list of finalists for the 4^th consecutive year,” says Andrew King, Managing Director at WebSan Solutions Inc. “Being on this list reaffirms our longstanding commitment towards offering the highest quality of service and solutions to our clients.” 

Retrieving data and metadata for reports In Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be done using SQL views. In Dynamics CRM, users can run queries on SQL views that are automatically created. As the image below shows, names within the SQL views are easy to identify. A Microsoft tip sheet notes that SQL-based reports in Dynamics CRM use the filtered views provided for each entity to retrieve data for the reports. 

To obtain the query, users can download the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) online. 

Apart from being automatically created, Filtered Views offer the benefit of being updated for custom entities, having security embedded in the view, and being supported after patches, service releases and upgrades.

To learn more about how WebSan Solutions can support your Dynamics CRM projects and implementation, visit our Solutions page or contact us. 

Linz Tan, Web Marketing Assistant, WebSan Solutions Inc. a 2014 Ontario Business Achievement Award Winner for Service Excellence.

On July 28^th, 2016, at 2:00 PM, WebSan Solutions will present a webinar showcasing the highlights and capabilities of one of the newest additions to Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Field Service. The module, known for being highly configurable and scalable, makes for a robust solution that can be of value to different types of users, particularly those who want to create and manage standard and customized reports.

The free 30-minute webinar aims to provide an introduction to Field Service and discuss what the solution is, who it’s a good fit for, and its components. The webinar will also feature a demo of Field Service highlighting the module’s key features.

Register today to reserve your spot for the Microsoft Field Service webinar!

Click here to register for Microsoft Field Service webinar on July 28 at 2:00 PM EST

Linz Tan, Web Marketing Assistant, WebSan Solutions Inc. a 2014 Ontario Business Achievement Award Winner for Service Excellence.

Running a well-oiled support desk is not for the faint of heart. There are so many moving parts…Does the customer have a support agreement? Does the contacting party have authority to open a support ticket against the agreement? What is the issue? Is the issue covered under the support agreement? What is the expected turn-around time? How does this relate to its priority in the queue? Which support resource should be assigned the ticket? Is the support resource staying on top of the ticket? 

Did you know there is a whole area inside your Dynamics CRM environment that is fitted with tools to manage your support operations? It is neatly tucked away in Settings under Service Management and contains a slew of menu items to manage the many facets of the support process. 

Through the combined forces of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Entitlements you are armed with a pairing which allows for a flexible support model. SLAs offer variable levels of support, with varied turnaround times and price points, while Entitlements allow you to define the variable by which support is measured (time vs count), who can open support tickets against the agreement, the products/services covered under the agreement, and the channels by which a support ticket can be submitted.

Depending on how support tickets are received, Automatic Case Creation & Update Rules may prove to be a mighty ally. This feature automates the process of creating/updating records based upon predefined settings and conditions. One such condition is whether an Entitlement exists for the submitting customer. Take your automatically created cases, and make use of Routing Rule Sets, which read the properties of the Case and route the records to your various Support Queues to be picked up by your Support Resources to be worked on. It is worth noting that Routing Rule Sets can also be applied manually if your support tickets reside in a “bucket” for assignment.

For in depth details about Service Management, tune into this webinar.

One of the most notable features of the new release of Microsoft Dynamics GP is an improved version of the web client. The web client allows users to access some of the system’s capabilities on-the-go, and gives IT professionals the deployment option of providing users with a URL to log into the system. Below, we list the most significant improvements and how GP is now easier to use than ever before.

1. Integrated search functionality

Apart from finding the window or the report that you need, the integrated search functionality will bring up a list of all the open windows and reports that are relevant to your search term and criteria. With this feature, users no longer need to remember where a specific window is. By typing the window name into the search field, the web client will immediately hyperlink to it.

2. Support for a variety of web browsers and mobile devices

The web client, which was previously only accessible using Silverlight and Microsoft browsers, can now be run through iPad, android tablets, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari, since it uses the latest release of the universally accepted hypertext markup language – HTML 5.

Being part of the help desk support team affords me the opportunity to learn about little idiosyncrasies in Dynamics CRM. And I like to pass along these sweet nuggets to our loyal blog readers in case you find yourself in a similar pinch.

Have you ever wanted to add ‘Company’ to an existing Lead view, and the field is nowhere to be found?

In order to see the field, you need to perform a bit of trickery…

ü  Choose any other entity from the ‘Record Type’ dropdown,

ü  Then switch back to the Lead entity

Over the years, the Microsoft Dynamics community has grown and evolved into a worldwide system where end users and partners can network, collaborate, and share their knowledge of GP. There are a number of events that bring us together in person, and resources that bring us together online. Here are 5 great resources that you can turn to for help in the Dynamics GP community:

• The Dynamics GP Blogster – Mariano Gomez (MVP) provides you with his insightful knowledge of Dynamics GP

[https://dynamicsgpblogster.blogspot.ca/]

• Community Dynamics – a forum used to ask questions about Dynamics GP and have them answered by GP professionals from all around the world

[https://community.dynamics.com/gp/f/32]

• Dynamics GP User Group – a communication channel for GP professionals to network and share their Dynamics GP knowledge

[https://www.gpug.com/home/welcome]

• Dynamics User Group – a forum for end users to ask questions about how to use Dynamics GP

[https://dynamicsuser.net/gp/f/103]

The newest mobile app released by Microsoft for Dynamics CRM takes the user experience to a whole new level. The newest release is compatible with Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 and above. Below are some notable tips and tricks for navigating the mobile app.

Choose your app carefully.When you search in your mobile device’s app store, the familiar, Dynamics CRM for phone express, and the newbie Dynamics CRM for Phones, will be available to select from. The simplest identifier is their distinct logos.

You want to choose Dynamics CRM for Phones.

This app exemplifies the catch phrase, “Write once, deploy everywhere.” The experience you have grown so used to in your web client is essentially replicated in your mobile experience. As you navigate the mobile app, screens intuitively reformat, making it far more conducive to the smaller real estate, without losing a bit of functionality, including business process flows. As you swipe right and left, you are presented with all the data and all of the fields that are relevant to the entity you are working within.

(SMB Group, 2014) 

Grow efficiently

•           Microsoft’s ERP products (GP, NAV) and Dynamics CRM can efficiently take your company to the next level as your needs change or your business grows.
•          Running your business in the Cloud means reduced upfront software cost and no servers to manage.
•          Plus, you have the ability to add more users as your business grows.
•          Microsoft’s business solutions are quick to implement and easy to maintain.
•          Implementing projects takes weeks, not months, with a familiar user experience.

Do business anywhere

•          Travel on-the-go with all your sales information available at your fingertips, using your mobile device.
•          Accessing  your financial data using a web browser gives you the freedom to work from anywhere.

Connect with customers

•          Microsoft Dynamics CRM helps you gain customer insights, grow sales, and maintain customer relationships.
•          Using Dynamics CRM gives you a 360-degree view of your customer, from previous communications, current cases, products sold, and where they are in the sales cycle.
•          Use Dynamics CRM’s interactive dashboards to help track your customers and discover new sales opportunities.

WebSan Solutions has incorporated simplicity into every aspect of your experience—from initial purchase and deployment,to ongoing maintenance and upgrades. Microsoft Dynamics GP & CRM can boost your daily productivity and deliver long-term value without complex and costly implementation.

This article was originally published from https://winthropdc.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/sba-is-not-as-asynchronous-as-you-might-think/

Service Based Architecture (SBA) was released with Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015, it covers technologies to make Dynamics GP more accessible to external applications by allowing Dexterity global procedures to be exposed as Web Services. It also allows Dexterity code to directly access and use .Net objects via the .Net Interop.

SBA opens up an entire new world of development opportunities.

As you might have noticed, in the last few days I have posted articles relating to Web Services using Service Based Architecture and the Batch Posting Service Toolkit (BPST).

There is a reason…. I have been working with Neal Santin from WebSan Solutions to implement BPST on their systems. Neal has been a great help to work through some of the issues we found and his assistance is appreciated. He told me of a new issue that he has come across which is the subject of this article.

See a Complete List of GP FeaturesTop 5 Reasons to get Dynamics GPRead our Hosted Dynamics GP FAQ

The Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 release date is set for early spring. Here is some information that has already been released on the new features:

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 HTML5 Interface

This eliminates the need for the Silverlight interface for the GP 2016 Dynamics Web Client.  The HTML5 web client is expected to improve performance and navigation in the Cloud. 

The new interface is expected to cover the entire product in its initial rollout.

The main navigation in the CRM 2016 ribbon not only altered its look, it also made functional changes, vastly improving the end user experience. The Main Menu Button now replaces the CRM logo. Clicking this button enables the user to switch between each of the functional areas without waiting for the page to reload. 

To add, a functional area can be selected where sub-areas are neatly organized in rows by category to easily view and select from. The fluid transition and absence of endless scrolling make for ease of navigation.

A sleek button, aptly referred to as MRU (Most Recently Used) presents the user with up to 30 of their MRU Records and Views.

View our free webinarsSign up for WebSan UniversityTake our FREE ERP Assessment

Our Manufacturing Series for Microsoft Dynamics GP came to an end in February. We've had an amazing journey and we've been excited to receive comments from users all over the world, saying how helpful this series has been to their everyday work.

This series will teach you everything you need to know about Manufacturing in Dynamics GP. We are offering the whole series for only $180 in WebSan University. You also have the option to purchase the courses individually.The series includes course outlines, videos, and tests to help you navigate through the manufacturing module in GP.

Here are the manufacturing courses that we have available in WebSan University:

• Manufacturing Series Part 1: Manufacturing Basic Concepts
• Manufacturing Series Part 2: Manufacturing Items and Bill of Materials
• Manufacturing Series Part 3: Mfg Machines, Labor Codes, and Work Centers
• Manufacturing Series Part 4: Routings and Manufacturing Order Processing
• Manufacturing Series Part 5: Sales Orders and Manufacturing Integration
• Manufacturing Series Part 6: Outsourcing and Work in Process (WIP)
• Manufacturing Series Part 7: Master Production Scheduling
• Manufacturing Series Part 8: Manufacturing Setup
• Manufacturing Series Part 9: Standard Costing
• Manufacturing Series Part 10: Manufacturing Reports   

Click here to view our manufacturing series

Businesses today continue to rapidly change in their needs, particularly, for what an Enterprise Resource Software (ERP) can do to help support their operations and finances. Postmodern ERP, as defined by Gartner is a technology strategy that links and integrates administrative and operational business capabilities with the benefits of vendor-delivered integration to promote flexibility and agility.  

Software Advice, an advisory firm that helps buyers research and choose ERP software, conducted research and sought expert advice to look into the concept of Postmodern ERP and how it affects businesses, with findings compiled in this article.

A comprehensive postmodern ERP strategy aims to use the best applications possible in each business area while still ensuring that the different areas adequately integrate with each other when necessary.

The study is quick to note that “a postmodern ERP system will likely be comprised of applications from two or more vendors, and may include multiple deployment models.” This strategy can benefit businesses by ensuring your company is using the applications which are best suited for each job function. Moreover, should specific applications need to be changed, there would be no need to customize or upgrade the whole system.

Although the study suggests that the postmodern strategy would be best suited to growing midsize to large firms, organizations “should opt for a strategy that will provide them with long-term agility over short-term operational efficiency.”

WebSan Solutions Inc., a cloud Microsoft Dynamics Certified Partner and IT consulting and solutions provider, has reached a milestone of 100,000 views on its YouTube channel!

Since 2012, WebSan’s YouTube channel has proved to be a valuable resource in providing training and webinar videos for the Microsoft Dynamics GP and CRM community. The instructional videos not only offer greater insight into the products’ capabilities, but also highlight WebSan’s wide range of expertise in showcasing the systems’ customizable functionalities.

Standout videos include: WebSan’s Manufacturing and Project Accounting video series for Microsoft Dynamics GP, “10 Tricks in 30 minutes” showcasing the top 10 features of Dynamics GP, and “Management Reporter for Microsoft Dynamics ERP. “

“We are thrilled with this milestone for our YouTube channel. The high volume of views is a testament to our practice’s forward-thinking approach towards providing the highest standard of training, support, and informational videos to our clients and the Microsoft Dynamics community,” says Andrew King, Managing Director of WebSan Solutions Inc.

For more information on WebSan Solutions’ YouTube channel, visit www.youtube.com/websansolutionsinc.

WebSan Solutions Inc., a cloud Microsoft Dynamics Certified Partner and IT consulting and solutions provider, has reached a milestone of 100,000 views on its YouTube channel!

Since 2012, WebSan’s YouTube channel has proved to be a valuable resource in providing training and webinar videos for the Microsoft Dynamics GP and CRM community. The instructional videos not only offer greater insight into the products’ capabilities, but also highlight WebSan’s wide range of expertise in showcasing the systems’ customizable functionalities.

Standout videos include: WebSan’s Manufacturing and Project Accounting video series for Microsoft Dynamics GP, “10 Tricks in 30 minutes” showcasing the top 10 features of Dynamics GP, and “Management Reporter for Microsoft Dynamics ERP. “

“We are thrilled with this milestone for our YouTube channel. The high volume of views is a testament to our practice’s forward-thinking approach towards providing the highest standard of training, support, and informational videos to our clients and the Microsoft Dynamics community,” says Andrew King, Managing Director of WebSan Solutions Inc.

About WebSan Solutions Inc.

WebSan Solutions Inc. has expanded its product offering to better serve the small business market by offering Microsoft Dynamics NAV at prices starting at $39/month!

Small business owners have been looking for an affordable financial accounting system that can grow with their company, and WebSan Solutions has responded by introducing a small business offering which speeds up the implementation process and redefines the way Dynamics can be used.

WebSan Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of its fully-featured website http://www.SwiftDynamics.com. The new site will provide small business customers with information about Microsoft Dynamics NAV, our Rapid Start implementation services and access to extensive online training.

Product

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software suite tailored for small to medium-sized businesses.

You can now brand your CRM! Themes allow you to apply your distinct logo and color scheme to your Dynamics CRM environment. Three simple clicks and you are well on your way to a CRM environment with a look of your own.

1. From the Main Menu button, select Settings

2. Select Customizations

3. Select Themes

Upon navigating to Themes, you will find the out of the box CRM Default Theme. The default theme cannot be modified, but it can be cloned, should you want a head start on designing your theme. Otherwise, you can put your designing skills to the test and get theming. 

This blog is part 1 of 2 where we will walk through a step-by-step of how to complete the prep for Year-End closings for companies using Calendar Year-end. There are four modules that come into effect during the year end process.

1. Inventory (INV)
2. Receivables Management (RM)
3. Payables Management (PM)
4. Finance

Year-ends can get very tricky however, there are no financial impacts for three of the modules listed above- RM, PM and INV as they only provide statistical figures and reset the statistical counters. Therefore, in the case of any errors, you are able to complete a database refresh to go back. The module that has statistical updates and financial impact is the Financial module, this is the module you must be most careful with prior to completing.

Prior to beginning the process ensure these steps are taken:

• Complete a backup
• All users should be out of the system
• Batches should be closed and completed (Best Practice)
• Close Fiscal Periods (GP >>Tools >>Setup >>Company >>Fiscal Periods)
• Print Control Reports (AR and AP Trial Balance, Current Inventory Report, Reconcile (Chequebook, Inventory, AP and AR subledgers to GL) (GP >>Tools >>Routines >>Financials >>Reconcile)

Once all the steps above are completed you are ready to begin Year-end Closing. Since the Financial module has the highest impact it must be closed last. For best practices, close in the following order INV, RM, PM and Financials.

Look out for part 2 of the blog which will discuss where the closing process will take place.