WebSan Solutions Blog » Dynamics GP

How can cloud help your business?

mgonzales — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:33:49 +0000

What if I told you there was a way you could eliminate up to half of your spending on costly resources while increasing your company’s productivity? The answer is simple – consider implementing cloud technologies in your day to day operations.

In today’s competitive world, companies are always looking for ways to stand out from their competition. Businesses in fields such as accounting, healthcare, marketing, consulting or law spend their precious resources, time and energy managing operations which range from collecting time and expenses and approvals to invoicing customers and collections.

Considering the benefits in terms of cost, manpower, control and accessibility, it’s no surprise that many corporate companies are now looking into implementing a cloud solution for the business software they use to manage administrative or financial tasks. The following explains how cloud technologies can benefit not only regular businesses, but service businesses as well.

It saves you money and time – As previously mentioned, service companies spend their valuable time and money collecting expenses and time from their field personnel while they should be focusing on delivering value to customers. By including cloud technologies like web-based time and expense reporting in your company, you can reduce paperwork, and costs by allowing employees to access data at various locations.
It increases productivity – Cloud integration breaks traditional boundaries in business. With cloud, businesses are now able to communicate, share files, and interact with clients or employees around the world with more ease. Projects can continue to move along even when employees are away for travel or not in the office.
It can help gain a greater competitive advantage - Cloud based integration can help gain new customers and boost market share because of its ease of use and how it enables you to focus more time on your customers.
It can enable better customer satisfaction – In a service based business, you want to spend the majority of your time and energy on your customers. Utilizing cloud can help simplify IT operations and improve your customer experience.
You gain better control of your business – Cloud technologies make navigating through your company’s data and information effortless. It also makes delegating tasks less complicated due to increased accessibility to your company’s files and documents. For a growing service business, it can help a company quickly adapt to market demands.

Competition in the services business market continues to increase. By taking advantage of cloud technologies, like Cloud Dynamics GP by WebSan, you can stay ahead of the curve and focus on what’s important – the customer. So, why not try it out?

By: Mabelle Gonzales, Marketing Coordinator at WebSan Solutions Inc, a Canadian Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner.

Dynamics GP Keyboard Shortcuts

rjiwani — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:35:09 +0000

I don’t have anything against a mouse – a computer mouse that is – but sometimes I find I can be more efficient using the keyboard. Over the years, you have probably gotten so familiar with some keyboard shortcuts that you find yourself even using the shortcut keys when you speak instead of the actual function it is used for – “Just Control+V that in the email.”

Sound like you? If it does, you may find some of these Microsoft Dynamics GP Keyboard Shortcuts to be quite handy:

ALT+F: Activates the File menu in a GP window
ALT+E: Activates the Edit menu in a GP window
ALT+M: Activates the Microsoft Dynamics GP menu on the main toolbar
ALT+R: Activates the Reports menu on the main toolbar
ALT+A: Activates the Transactions menu on the main toolbar
ALT+I: Activates the Inquiry menu on the main toolbar
ALT+C: Activates the Cards menu on the main toolbar
ALT+H: Activates the Help menu
CTRL+L: Opens a Lookup Window

By: Rahim Jiwani, Application Specialist, WebSan Solutions Inc.

A “Partner-Hosted” solution of Microsoft Dynamics GP vs. a “Microsoft Hosted/Azure” environment

marketing — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:27:03 +0000

Before I start telling you the advantages of a partner that hosts Microsoft Dynamics GP than just using a Microsoft Hosted/Azure environment, let me first explain the difference between them, so you can better understand what they mean.

A “Partner -Hosted” solution is either an independent software vendor (ISV), system integrator (IS) or a Value- Added Reseller (VAR) that offers hosted cloud solutions through a licensing partnership with Microsoft . A “Microsoft Hosted/Azure” environment is an internet cloud service hosted directly in Microsoft data centres.

The advantage of a “Partner-Hosted” solution is that you are actually working with people who not only have expertise in hosting software, but also possess a deep understanding of the Dynamics GP system. Some people find that it’s very important to build a trusting relationship before they do business; finding a Microsoft Dynamics partner who not only provides hosting solutions, but is Certified as well can reduce cost and provide for a better solution in the long run. When using Microsoft hosted/Azure environment there’s a fixed cost and little to no room for negotiation, if price is very important to a client then going with a partner would be a better solution. Companies that are in Canada might not like the idea of having their data hosted on an Azure environment because it’s US based. It’s important to many Canadian companies to keep their data in Canada.

In future blogs I will be taking more about a partner hosted solutions and how beneficial it can be to you.

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Microsoft Partner

Information about Microsoft Dynamics GP Email Integration

marketing — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:47:48 +0000

Sending an email should be easy to compose and to send, it also should be easy to reply and forward things to different people. Hotmail has one of the simplest ways of navigating and organization emails but the problem with that is no company uses Hotmail as their main choice in email. So say the email system that you’re using is giving you a hard time by not sending emails properly or sending all your emails to the junk folder, these problems can be annoying and make you seem unprofessional. I’m going to tell you about some really good advantages of email integration in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 allows users to effortlessly email single documents, or many documents or if you want you it can email many emails from a list in the system. You have the option of choosing a document that you want to send to a specific customer or vendor and should retrieve it in an email.
With email integration you can send documents as HTML, PDF, DOCX, or DOCX.
You can customize messages for either each document and/or customer/vendor combinations.
You can also combine many documents and send it all at once in a single email.

So if you think that your company needs a new email system and perhaps a new online accounting software system, why not kill two birds with one stone?

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner

SSRS Reports in Dynamics GP

rjiwani — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:27:00 +0000

For some of the more technical Microsoft Dynamics GP users, you may want a little more control and customization when reporting on your GP data. SmartLists provide a fairly quick and dynamic option to custom reporting, but they may not be visually satisfying. On the other hand, integrating BI360 with GP will allow you create very clean and organized reports in an Excel-like environment, but won’t give you that rudimentary control that your technical mind may crave. If you’re looking for some sort of middle ground between these two options, take a look at SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) for Dynamics GP.

The key to creating effective SSRS reports is having a good knowledge of SQL – or at the very least, a fairly strong knowledge of databases. This is what scares away some users, but for those that have this type of background, SSRS Reports could be your salvation in the pursuit of both visually appealing and fully customizable reports.

While SSRS Reports can be easily viewed within Dynamics GP, they are created in Microsoft Report Builder – a separate software program that is offered for free by Microsoft. Using Report Builder allows you to take a custom SQL query that you have created (either from scratch or by using Report Builder’s intuitive Query Designer) and turn it into an appealing report. With the ability to easily create tables, charts, and even visual scales/gauges, you can turn a simple list of data into a work of art!

If you have SSRS Reports deployed in your GP environment, you can view them by going into any series and selecting the “Reporting Services Reports” item in the Navigation Pane.

SSRS Reports in Dynamics GP

By: Rahim Jiwani, Application Specialist, WebSan Solutions Inc.

The Pros and Cons of Online Accounting Software

marketing — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:46:24 +0000

Buying accounting software is a big decision you have to make when the time is right for your company. It’s a harder decision, especially when you’re a small business owner and you don’t have much skill in accounting. Some people might wonder if online accounting software is for them. What I’m going to do is point out the pros and cons of inquiring online accounting software. Hopefully some of these pros and cons will give you an idea if it’s for you or not, make sure you do your research and find the right accounting software for you.

The Pros of using online accounting software:

Some software’s are very straightforward to use even though you don’t have much financial knowledge. Their job is to help especially small business owners with the necessary tools to operate their business.
It’s easy to make updates because it can be done automatically.
You can check up on your financials everywhere and anywhere you are, because of the fact that all of your finances are online.
The software company has online support just in case you need a question to ask, or if you have a concern that needs to be looked into, so you never overwhelmed with software that you don’t understand how to use it.
Accounting software’s have mechanisms to back up your data so if there’s a problem with your account at least nothing has happen to your data.

The Cons of using online accounting software:

There’s still the risk of hackers getting in the software systems, it is only a slim chance because these software have a lot of security protection. But there’s always a possibility.
Make sure you have an up-to-date internet connection because if your computer is really slow running, well so will be your accounting software.
Mobility is a good thing about online accounting software but be careful if you ever have to log in a public computer or even a friends computer make sure you log off properly because you don’t want just anyone looking at that information.

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Why is social media and ERP software in the same sentence?

marketing — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:11:21 +0000

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn what do all these names have in common? If you said that they were all social media that is used to connect people together, you are correct! But how does Social Media tie in with ERP Software? Maybe companies are now using social media to push out there ERP software solutions. ERP Software is a B2B (Business to Business) purchase, so creating commercials and ads are totally out of the picture. So you might wonder how companies are going to advertise the software that they offer.

Using web marketing and SEO (Search engine optimization) is the best way to do that, but if you want to reach 150 people today? Search Engines can’t guarantee you that 150 people will be reached. That’s where social media comes in. Say you post a tweet of what software you are offering and you have 150 followers? You can’t guarantee that people will respond by purchasing the product but you can guarantee that your tweet was posted in 150 different people’s news feed. In the hopes that you should have at least one person re-tweet your tweet so the word gets out there. Social media is only used for brand recognition and getting your name out there. There’s a slim to none chance that someone wants to buy your ERP software because of something that you posted on Facebook, so don’t let social media be a huge part of your advertising and marketing campaign when selling ERP software.

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner

What will online accounting software be like 20 years from now?

marketing — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:26:17 +0000

It’s almost 2012 and the world has ended yet, which is good. The world still has a future to look to, so that’s when I wonder what will be the future of online accounting software be like? For example in the next 20 years will accounting software be replaced? Will there be a new way we do accounting? Will the term “accounting” and “software” no longer exist? I will still be working for the next 20 years + and I’m very excited and anxious to find out, math was not my best subject.

Here are some of my predictions that I think could possibly happen in the future regarding online accounting software:

The online accounting software will be easy enough to use and operate that many more professions would know how to use it. It wouldn’t only be for accounting professionals anymore, small business owners can be equipped with basically knowledge of accounting and it would be easier for them to maneuver the system with little knowledge.

The bookkeeping profession would not likely exist. I say that because technology should be way more advanced therefore, why would you hire a full time person to do a job which would now be easier for you to do by yourself? This would be a good way to cut cost and save money without having the feeling that you’re doing someone else’s job as well as your own.

Online banks will become the best place to go to handle your finances and you will have more access and features of what you can do with your money. For example you would have the ability to transfer money anywhere in the world with a click of a button. Every business would be register for some kind of system so when you log into your online banking you can pay your bill to anybody you want. I’m not exactly sure of all its features but it would be really advanced.

Well, those are some of my predictions for the next 20 years, I could be right or wrong you’re just going have to wait 20 years to find out the future of online accounting software.

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Certified Canadian Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Two cloud based services offered by Microsoft Dynamics GP

marketing — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:35:57 +0000

A while back Microsoft offered two new cloud based services that can be very beneficial to your company if you are already in the cloud or if you’re planning on moving to the cloud.

Microsoft has announced the first two accounting offerings for Dynamics GP 10.0 and GP 2010. Payment services and commerce services are the new two new services that are cloud based. Payment services has credit and debit card that is processed from Dynamics GP. Payment services works with: VISA, MasterCard, Discover Card, American Express and PayPal. The good part about it that there will be the same existing data entry screen and you don’t have to install or integrate new software and your customer benefits from this service because they have more options to make payments.

A commerce service has item catalog functions also with integration to Dynamics GP, using the same tool used to connect Dynamics CRM to Dynamics GP. This service is to support a business to consumer website it also allows you to extend your sales reach. The great benefit about commerce service is that you can expand your sales across different channels and enabling online shopping therefore using another resource to increase your sales.

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner

What is Microsoft FRx?

marketing — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:59:17 +0000

I’ve recently seen “FRx” come up when I’m doing searches on Google. I do a lot of searches with things that have to do with Microsoft Dynamics GP. I’ve become very curious about what FRx is and why does it keep appearing when I’m searching for different things. I’ve found a good definition of what FRx is and how it’s used in Microsoft Dynamics on the Find Accounting Software website. In this blog I’m going to do a simple summary of what FRx is.

Microsoft FRx is a reporting application that gives a company complete control of the reporting process which ultimately saves you money on Information Technology support. This application is best utilize by mid-size companies, it has interfaces for more than 50 industry leading financial accounting software systems. It also offers Microsoft Integration Designer 2.0 which allows Microsoft FRx 6.7 to be used with a general ledger package. This application is great for various skills and positions in the accounting field because FRx creates valuable and precise financial reports.

By: Natalie Williams, Marketing Coordinator, WebSan Solutions Inc., a Canadian Certified Dynamics Partner