Microsoft Dynamics Social Engagement getting more attention - http://www.winbeta.org/news/microsoft-has-new-tool-help-boost-businesses%E2%80%99-social-media-efforts

Green 4 Solutions and CRM Gamified team up to drive employment engagement - http://www.blooloop.com/news/green-4-partners-crmgamified-up-user-engagemen/33417#.VT5McDMtGM8

BluePrint and Childrens Specialized Hospital receives Microsoft health award - http://business.itbusinessnet.com/article/BluePrint-and-Childrens-Specialized-Hospital-Honored-as-Recipient-of-the-2015-Microsoft-Health-Innovation-Awards-3845750

The promise of CRM - http://it-online.co.za/2015/04/15/the-promise-of-crm/

Tribridge Health360 Gives Healthcare Providers Tools That Enable A Truly Personal Care Experience - http://www.pharmiweb.com/pressreleases/pressrel.asp?ROW_ID=112679#.VT5NpzMtGM8

Insurance company Vertafore partners with Microsoft - http://www.cio-today.com/article/index.php?story_id=0200016P7W2W

More on this - http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0200016P7W2W# 

Fujitsu Offers FUJITSU Industry Solution for Microsoft Dynamics® AX, for Fast, Low-Cost ERP Setup Overseas - http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=197331

ERP re-imagned in cloud era - http://it-online.co.za/2015/04/24/erp-re-imagined-in-cloud-era/

Microsoft Dynamics NAV product team aiming for broad appeal, growth in SMB space - http://msdynamicsworld.com/story/microsoft-dynamics-nav-product-team-aiming-broad-appeal-growth-smb-space

Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

Over the past year, Microsoft executive keynotes and presentations to partners have increasingly included an emphasis on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, encouraging partners to seriously evaluate adding CRM Online to their Microsoft practices. Cloud and hybrid cloud services are expected to reach more than $127 billion by 2018 (2014 IDC study commissioned by Microsoft), with opportunities that are not limited to Microsoft Azure and Office 365, but extend to CRM Online.

The transformation Microsoft has made to being a mobile first, cloud first company offers new opportunities for partners to identify and pursue new cloud-oriented revenue streams for their business. The two graphics below show that cloud-focused partners are growing more rapidly and more profitably than their counterparts with traditional IT businesses, and that the growth of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is significantly outpacing Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premises, presenting partners with a clear cloud opportunity.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online helps sales, marketing, and customer care teams at an organization work as one to deliver personal experiences across every customer interaction of their business. The suite of services offered includes CRM, Marketing, Customer Service, and Social Engagement functionality.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online can go beyond sales force automation as a development platform that helps you deliver differentiated and compelling online customer experiences. This is referred to as xRM. At the heart of these systems of engagement are meaningful line of business (LOB) applications that become key business processes, and help customers compete and win. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online offers Microsoft customers a consistent platform to build additional LOB applications, and also allows them to extend traditional Sales Force Automation (SFA) solutions for specific industries and verticals.

[download the above IDC infographic, Benefits at the Intersection of CRM and Cloud]

By combining CRM Online with Microsoft Office 365, which offers the freedom to work from anywhere on any device, you realize the power of cloud productivity that helps businesses save time and money, and simplifies cross-application integration. The CRM Online Sales Productivity offer, combining Office 365, CRM Online, and Power BI, is available today (information and partner-ready resources here).

Partners with an Office 365 practice today are well positioned to expand their practice to include CRM Online, and address the needs of customers that are looking for a comprehensive productivity solution that includes Office 365, CRM Online, Power BI, and Skype for Business. While some partners will build practices that deliver the cloud end-to-end—from Cloud Platform to Cloud Productivity and Enterprise Social to Business Intelligence and Productivity—many partners will likely specialize in one or a couple of these areas and collaborate with other partners that bring the remaining areas of expertise to a comprehensive solution. These partners will be able to create systems of engagement that delight customers.

In the Office 365 Partner Community blog series and call for May, we’ll help you learn more about CRM Online and why you should consider adding it to your Microsoft practice.

Register for the May 7 community call.

Our next blog post in this series will include examples about how to integrate CRM Online with your current cloud solutions, and explain how it works together technically.

CRM Online partner resources

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online on the partner portal
• Partnership journey with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
• Cloud SureStep for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
• Microsoft Dynamics Cloud Partner Profitability Guide
• Internal use rights guide for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and CRM Online
• Recommended training for Sales, Marketing, and Technical roles
• Modern Biz | Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online marketing campaign

CRM Online product information

• Test Drive Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Product release information for Spring 2015
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM pricing and licensing

One of the most important aspects of any manufacturing operation is energy consumption. Efficient processes produced through mobile warehouse management and timekeeping software not only cut down on the cost of labor and transportation, they also reduce the amount of electricity being used. Along with saving money on the energy bill, they can mitigate energy wasted, which can bring down greenhouse gases and help prevent damage to the environment. Reducing waste on the shop floor can also help as well. There are two ways of addressing energy’s impact on a manufacturer. One is through establishing sustainable businesses practices in the factory, something enterprise resource planning can assist in. The other is seeking out alternative methods of power consumption.

Saving the R in ERP ERP is bound to one critical aspect of manufacturing operations: the use of resources. As operations continue to scale forever upward in certain respects, the need to address waste in operations becomes more important. Sustainability can help address this problem by implementing measures of product and operational efficiency, lifecycle management, resource efficiency and recyclability of materials at end of life.

Green Biz noted that many businesses are taking on these concepts through altering certain aspects of operations. For example, Boeing is working with NASA to create a blended-wing aircraft that can go further and is more effective in terms of fuel economy than current heavy-lift airliners. What is key here is the use of lighter materials in critical components. By lowering the weight of the parts, an aircraft can perform better and use less fuel at the same time.

Another factor being considered is improving the recyclability of products reaching the end of their useful lives. One example is through take-back and recycling programs developed by electronics manufacturers, either to safely dispose of and reuse material or rebuild products through refurbishment. Another is improving the recycling rates of key products such as paper and aircraft components.

Staying energetic Going back to energy consumption, sustainability often requires the minimization of energy use throughout all operations. That can be affected by energy sources. Many manufacturers rely on power utilities to supply and deliver electricity to them. The method of electricity transmission loses energy the longer the distance it travels. As a result, energy from fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas are wasted.

In order to combat this, manufacturers could invest in onsite power generation in areas where there are significant energy resources. Forbes notes the appearance of combined heat and power units that operate hydraulic fracturing or fracking wells. These extract natural gas from shale formations underground and convert it into both heat and electricity, all next to the factory that will use the resources.

The use of this process has increased the power efficiency of manufacturers from 51 to 75 percent, according to Forbes. In turn, factories that use CHP units mitigate more than 1.8 quadrillion BTUs of fuel consumption every year. In simple terms, that’s the equivalent of 40 standard coal plants.

Cutting down on extraneous processes through ERP systems can increase energy efficiency even more. Timekeeping software can enforce these efficiencies by monitoring the amount of work done, as more time spent on an order consumes more energy.

Learn more about the benefits of automated time collection by downloading the free white paper entitled “Justifying the Switch to Automated Time Collection” from DMS today.

MS Dynamics NAV Integration Services DMS provides full-spectrum Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementation services including: data migration, financial consulting, NAV business system integration, operational consulting, and full implementation support. DMS as well can customize the solutions to meet the unique requirements clients in any industry, although our expertise lies in building solutions for the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

Learn More  |  Download the DMS Product Brochure

The post Sustainability a major factor in manufacturing appeared first on Dynamic Manufacturing Solutions.

Effective July 1st 2014, Partners who hold either a Dynamics CRM Online, Dynamics CRM Certified Software Advisor (CSA) agreement or Cloud Customer Relationship Management Competency may qualify to receive a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 12-month demonstration-development (demo/dev) account. Microsoft is offering a unique opportunity to create stand-alone development subscriptions available to eligible partners at no cost. If the prerequisites are met then a Development demo can be requested, instructions are below.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Demo/Dev

To submit a request please complete theMicrosoft Dynamics CRM Online Demo/Dev Offer Sign Up.

Microsoft Dynamics Social Engagement Demo/Dev

To submit a request please complete theMicrosoft Dynamics Social Engagement Demo/Dev Offer Sign Up.

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Demo/Dev

To submit a request please complete the Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Demo/Dev Offer Sign Up.

Additional information on any of these offers can be found hereDynamics Online Services 12 Month Partner Demonstration-Development Account Sign Up.

Would you like to find out more about how to get the best out of the Dynamics Learning Portal (DLP)? Microsoft have agreed to run a virtual demo of the DLP functionality and benefits for the 365 Freelance members.

What is the DLP?

The DLP is an amazing Microsoft training resource which, until now, was only available to Microsoft employees or Dynamics Partners. 365 Freelance are the first company to partner with Microsoft to offer this service to individual, independent Dynamics consultants.

What are the benefits of the DLP?

• Learning Plans –categorised by role, track and capability and recommended suitable courses
• Exam Preparation Guide – access multiple courses and instructor led training to help you pass all the Dynamics certification exams.
• Online Courses– access thousands of on-demand training courses and training materials
• Access to Lab Environment– work with a virtual machine that is associated to a specific course, with access to predefined Hand-on-Labs
• Worldwide Workshop offers and Events Schedule – find multiple online workshops and local product specific events
• Course Transcripts – print a copy of the transcripts of the DLP courses

When will the demo take place?

The virtual demo of DLP will be held on May 5^th 2015 at 2:00 pm GMT.

How do I get access to the DLP?

To get access to the DLP, register to www.365freelance.com as a consultant – you will then be able to request access from your homepage.

How do I register for the demo?

To register for the demo, email us at info@365freelance.com and we’ll add you to the schedule.

We hope to see many of you join us for this great event.

About us: 365 Freelance is the first online platform that gives Dynamics partners and end-users instant access to hundreds of contractors. With a network spanning 87 countries, it allows companies to search for freelancers based on their skills, rates and available dates, enabling them to find the best person for their projects without incurring the hefty fees typical of recruitment agencies. Register here – www.365freelance.com.

The post Virtual demo of DLP – join this Microsoft ran session on the 5th of May 2pm GMT appeared first on The 365 Freelance Blog.

Are you looking for ways to lower the cost of a Microsoft Dynamics GP system? Consider Limited User licenses that are 80% less expensive than full Dynamics GP user Licenses. The Limited User license in Microsoft Dynamics GP is designed to give you a lower-cost alternative for extending ERP functionality to users who only need …

Anya digs into What are Microsoft Dynamics GP Limited Users? Costs, Roles & Tasks 

The post What are Microsoft Dynamics GP Limited Users? Costs, Roles & Tasks – ERP Software Blog appeared first on DynamicAccounting.net.

It seems like something out of a science fiction movie: people wear glasses on which they can access information, and that data appears on the lens. However, it’s not something you’d have to shell out money to see on your local big screen. Smart glasses and other forms of wearable technology are real, and people are using them right now.

The term “wearable technology” refers to tiny computers which users wear on their body. The most popular wearable devices are watches, with glasses coming a somewhat distant second. These items are networked, so they can connect to the Internet or another computer.

Wearables, as many people have taken to calling them, have many applications in the consumer market. Smart watches, such as Apple’s much-heralded version, can run applications which the user can access anywhere. Other wearables are used to measure how much a user exercises.

Like smartphones and tablets, wearables are not confined solely to consumer use. They have a significant role to play in the enterprise. For example, warehouse employees could track inventory on their smart watches or on smart glasses. In the pharmaceutical industry, workers in clean rooms could review instructions for creating batches of drugs on the lenses of smart glasses. And salespeople in the field who need important data urgently could simply tap their smart watch, and it would appear.

As with any emerging technology, wearables raise questions. If they become commonplace within the enterprise, how will the business manage them? Company leaders must remember wearables are mobile devices, and they can transmit and access vital corporate information. Therefore, IT departments must find some way to secure them. Furthermore, business application vendors will need to release wearable device versions of their products.

Some business analysts believe that it is still too early to tell whether wearables have staying power. They do not have mass appeal to consumers, who have confined their use of wearables to smart watches used to track their fitness habits. Unless the public adopts them en masse, they might not find their way into the enterprise.

However, that doesn’t mean that the enterprise shouldn’t consider adopting wearables… in certain circumstances. The oil and mining industries can benefit from this category of mobile devices. Many of their employees work in dangerous conditions and need to keep their hands free. Smart glasses could notify them of safety issues.

What’s the best course for businesses to take regarding wearable technology? They must evaluate the existing products on the market which are suitable for enterprise use and determine whether they would either save them money or make them money. What’s the worst strategy to adopt? There are two answers to that question. The first answer is, “jumping headfirst into the wearable technology phenomenon without researching whether it’s a sound move.” The second answer is, “ignoring wearables completely because there’s no role for them at our firm.” When it comes to wearables, the best advice is to choose wisely.

What gives your company the competitive advantage when it comes to attracting the best and brightest talent?

When RReal looks for the best talent to join their team, they are not just looking for the brightest candidates. They are looking for the brightest, most compassionate candidates. They want People who will understand the vision of this nonprofit and join them in their mission of bringing solar energy to low income families and ending fuel poverty.

But, not all of these bright and compassionate people will be willing to relocate to northern Minnesota to work in the company’s offices.

That is not a barrier for RReal because the company uses Microsoft Dynamics GP on Azure and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with Microsoft Office 365. All of their business systems can be accessed anywhere, anytime.

Mobile Workforce

According to Jason Edens, Director of RReal, “We can attract really top notch people by virtue of the fact that they can work anywhere.”

People can be managing projects, closing sales and handling accounting from any location. The only people that need to be onsite are the ones doing the manufacturing and installation of the solar panels.

Digital Nomads

More and more, the brightest people in our workforce are choosing to live as “digital nomads”, a phrase coined for people who want the ability to work anywhere with a digital connection and not be tied down to one single place. All those people you see in coffee shops with their laptops are not just students anymore, many are highly skilled professionals who value a flexible lifestyle (and good coffee). 

Companies who adopt Cloud ERP/CRM systems can make that lifestyle possible.

Egalitarian Culture

In a previous interview Jason Edens said he strives to have an egalitarian workforce at RReal, meaning that everyone is equal.

One description of an egalitarian workforce says: “the work environment doesn’t depend on job descriptions and traditional management roles to define employees and structure the workforce. This allows employees to exist without hierarchies and function as an inclusive workforce.”

Reading the book “No Greatness without Goodness: How a Father's Love Changed a Company and Sparked a Movement” impressed upon me personally that treating people equally does not mean that they need to be treated exactly the same. It means determining what is right for each worker and seeing if that can be accommodated within the work structure to allow them to be the best they can be.

During our interview I challenged Jason Edens to think of ways his choice of Microsoft Dynamics contributes to that egalitarian culture.

He replied, “We are definitely a small company and under-resourced.  A good example is of a young woman who was pregnant. Our small company was not in a position to offer a really lucrative maternity leave.  But we were able to tell her that whenever she was ready  to leave work she could work from home as long as she wanted to.  For the last 6 months she has been working at home and she is so grateful. Even though we are a small company we can do cool things like that.”

Flexible Circumstances

Studies prove that when employees are grateful for their circumstances, they are more likely to stay with their employers, despite other challenges or even sacrifices.

A flexible work schedule and environment is a key motivator, often of greater value than a higher salary.

Microsoft Cloud

Jason Edens concludes, “Moving to Microsoft Dynamics in the cloud gives RReal a competitive edge. We can attract the best, brightest, most compassionate people. And this empowers us to serve more low income families.”

Are you able to attract the best and brightest digital nomads? If not, perhaps it is time to move your business systems to the cloud.

Click here to find out more about Microsoft Dynamics ERP/CRM Online.

Read: Using Microsoft Dynamics GP To Bring Solar Energy to Low Income Families – The Inspiring Story of RReal

By Anya Ciecierski, ERP Cloud Blog Editor, www.erpsoftwareblog.com/cloud

Read Original Article

Mahmoud reminds us about Management Reporter Data Mart integration with Dynamics GP 2015 | Company Integration

The post Dynamics GP Essentials: Management Reporter Data Mart integration with Dynamics GP 2015 | Company Integration appeared first on DynamicAccounting.net.

Many moons ago when I was a Java developer and learning how to code, I remember two things which had a big impact on my coding.  One was learning about Design patterns and the other was learning about Test Driven Development.

Writing unit tests for your code before you actually write the code seems like a strange thing to do and I didn’t meet many developers who did this or in fact bother writing unit test at all.

I found writing code which you knew was going to be tested with units tests forced me to write modular/reusable code.  It makes you write code which can be tested and usually this means each function does only one thing (because that’s easier to test).

The code is more likely to Single responsibility principle and each class and method doing one thing, the reason for this is because it’s easier to test something which only does one thing.

Pro and Con’s of Unit Testing

When unit tests and writing unit tests are mentioned this question is not usually far behind

What’s the benefit of writing extra code to test your code?

This can be a hard sell to some developers, it would be similar to trying to explain to a messy teenager the benefits of cleaning your room.   One the major complaints raised against writing tests is it takes extra time and we developers don’t have time to do it.

Writing unit tests involves thought and effort creating dummy data, deciding where to mock or stub to get enough data to test the code.  This can feel like a lot of wasted time when you can spend half a day getting the data created to test your code.

The irony of the aversion to unit testing is developers test their code by creating console apps or debugging the code. Unit testing is taking this process and making it reusable and self-contained

When writing unit test you stop and think about how the code and objects are going to be used.

Below is my experiences of unit testing and CRM, there are probably lots of companies and CRM developers are are unit testing their code

PRO’s of Unit Testing

• confident the code works because it has been tested
• Higher quality code (more modularised/reusable) to enable tests to be written
• Any changes to the code can be tested quickly with no extra effort once tests have been written
• unit tests can help developers new to a project understand how the code (should) work
• very useful for testing refactored or bugfixed code
• It’s easier to debug unit tests than deployed CRM code

CON’s of  Unit Testing

• It takes extra time to write the unit tests and prepare the data
• Unit tests have to be maintained and updated
• You have to learn the testing framework and how to write tests (this is non-revenue generating time)
• A feeling of not moving forward

My Experience of CRM Unit Testing

Unit tests and CRM in my experience have never really happened for a number of reasons/excuses, I have listed them below

Smaller projects

Smaller projects usually remove all non development tasks and reduce everything to the bar bones.  Unit tests were seen as non productive time the customer didn’t want to pay for.

Often small projects had a very limited about of code customizations

Time

Best Practise/Best Testing framework

Cost

Some unit test frameworks do have a cost associated with them.  Microsoft Fakes used to only be included in the Ultimate version of Visual studio (which was very expensive) but it got voted into visual studio premium on Jan 30th 2013.

CRM developers didn’t seem to know (or maybe care) about this because I didn’t meet any CRM developers who liked or did any unit testing of the plugins/custom workflows until recently when I joined my current company.

Joining a project with no unit tests

Legacy code impossible to test

Plugin/Custom workflows hard to test

What do I mean hard to test?  Plugins/custom workflows need a IPluginExecutionContext context so you can test the plugins.  So to properly test a plugin you would need to create a IPluginExecutionContext with the correct attributes.

This would take quite a bit of effort.  To get an idea of all the data created you can use the debugging with the plugin profiler as an example.  When you debug with plugin registration tool, you set it to record the data for a certain plugin, run through triggering it in CRM.  This will create an xml file with all the fields and values.

You can then use this file to recreate the scenario you ran through in CRM and it will pass all those field choices into your Visual studio debugger.   This blog runs through the process

No insistence of unit tests

Senior developers weren’t doing it

Examples to copy

How Hosk tested his Code

The way I developed my code customizations was to create the code in separate class outside of the plugin code.  I would then create a console app and test the code by passing in a IOrganisationservice, TracingService and Entity.  This allowed me to walk through the code and retrieve data from the development CRM organisation.

I’m not entirely sure how other developers would test their code, I have a sneaky suspicion most would use integration testing (deploy and test it using CRM) and look at the log files.

This article was in draft status for quite a while and in the mean time I have started writing unit tests. I first tried using RhinoMocks and then found Microsoft fakes was free in the premium edition.

I have written the article

Why CRM Developers should unit test their code

I am now a firm believer CRM developers should be writing units for their customizations and there isn’t any excuses why unit tests are not written.  The lack of unit tests is not limited to CRM Development but wide spread in a lot of programming.

There are some difficulties in writing unit tests in CRM but it is achievable using Microsoft fakes.

CRM Project with Tests

There has been a drive to test the code in a project and the developers are writing tests for code which already exists.

I won’t lie this is a tricky a task.  When code hasn’t been written with testing in mind it can be very difficult to test.

I will say some tests are definitely better than no tests and the code was decently structured so a lot of the code plugins are using is now separately tested.

It has taken some time for developers to get to grips with the testing framework and the testing methodology.  Testing is a different mindset and it takes  bit of time to learn the tips and tricks and common testing methods.

The benefits have been

• Tests any developer can run
• The business logic is quite complex in the project, so having a method to step through parts of the code is very useful.
• Tests can be run be developers who didn’t create the code, much quicker than trying to test the code yourself.
• Easier to see if your code has broken other parts of system

Plugins and testing

Some developers can have a blinkered view of testing the plugins themselves.  Plugins are not always easy to test and sometimes a plugin doesn’t do much.

A create plugin might validate values

A plugin could update related records

I personally remove all the code from the plugin and create separate classes where the constructors take IOrganisationService and TracingService.  The method can then take an entity record which has triggered the plugin.

Unit tests can be run against the code which is split up into small focused classes/methods.

At the end you plug all the small tested parts together and link it to the plugin.

Why have I changed my mind about unit tests and CRM

Looking at the list of reasons why unit testing was done on the CRM projects I worked, I can see they are not reasons they are excuses.   Most disappointingly is some of the excuses for not writing unit code are excuses I have been making to myself.

I have been reading  Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship (Robert C. Martin) and Uncle Bob mentions we as developers/programmers should be testing our code and our code should be good.

He has this quote in Clean Code

Why does good code rot so quickly into bad code? We have lots of explanations for it. We complain that the requirements changed in ways that thwart the original design. We bemoan the schedules that were too tight to do things right. We blather about stupid managers and intolerant customers and useless marketing types and telephone sanitizers. But the fault, dear Dilbert, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. We are unprofessional.

This year I have been thinking about the quality of CRM code/customizations and have been coming to the conclusion the quality of code in CRM projects need to be better.

I re read my post –  The Frustrations of a CRM Developer many of the frustrations come from poor code.

Quite a few of the CRM Developers articles I have written this year are focused on creating quality customizations

• Bad code is like a virus, don’t get infected
• Why rushed projects/code doesn’t save time and reduces quality
• The problems with complex code and complex CRM Customizations
• Why Code Readability is important
• What’s slowing down your CRM development?

Before reading Clean code I knew I should be writing unit tests but took the easy option of not doing it.  After writing some unit tests for my current development, it has been so much easier refactoring my code and making changes.  Having 40 unit tests testing code change gives me confidence the refactored code works.

Unit testing helps projects from falling into a state of Legacy code because writing code you can tests makes the developer

• Think about the code design
• Think about what the functionality should do
• Test the code more thoroughly
• Creates reusable tests to all developers on the project

I hope this and future blog posts will get more CRM developers to start unit testing their code.

The biggest driver for unit testing code should come from the developer, who has pride in their work and wants to deliver high quality code.  This is an attitude, it’s a desire to create quality code.

The benefits of unit testing are undeniable and if you start unit testing your work you will soon enjoy the benefits.  If you are already writing unit tests then keep up the good work and write a blog about it to encourage other CRM developers.

Dynamics GP Self-Serve User licenses provides access to users that only need to view and modify their own employment data and make purchase requests for their own supplies.

Is your accounting department wasting time answering employee questions?

What if each employee asks you, “How much vacation time do I have?” or “Can you resend a pay stub.” If you have a few employees this is an inconvenience, if you have hundreds of employees this can be a full time job, for someone who already has a full time job.
For example, Dynamics GP Self-Serve users can view/edit/enter:

• Address
• Dependents
• Emergency contacts
• Title/Position history
• W-4/Direct Deposit account changes
• View benefits and employee contributions
• Distribution changes
• Skills/Training/Certification history
• View/Print Pay stubs
• Enter time

Workflows and security rules can be set up for changes that require manager approval.

Are employee requests for purchasing supplies still entered manually?

Dynamics GP Self-Serve users can submit purchase requests for their own supplies.

Here is a detailed review of the Microsoft Dynamics GP security roles and tasks for Microsoft Dynamics GP Self-Serve users:

1. Employee Self Service Employee: This role allows employees to view and update their personal information, including time & attendance, skills & training, direct deposit information, paystubs, and W-4 details.

Role Name: Employee Self Service Employee (ESS Employee)

Tasks: Update direct deposit information, View employee paystubs, Update employee profile, Update employee skills and training, Enter payroll time and view reports, Update W4 information, Employee timecard entry, Employee timecard history.

1. Employee Self Service Manager: This role provides access to manage employee profiles and approve the updates made by the Employee Self-Service Employee.

Role Name: Employee Self Service Manager

Tasks: Approve Employee profile, Approve Employee skills and training, Approve timecards

1. Employee Benefits Self Service Employee: This role allows employees to view their existing benefits and make benefit selections during open enrollment periods.

Role Name: Employee Benefits Self Service Employee

Tasks: Employee Benefits Enrollment

1. Project Time & Expense Employee: This role provides employee access to enter project-related time & expense.

Role Name: Project Time and Expense Self Service Employee (ESS PTE Employee)

Tasks: Self-Service employee project expense entry, Self-Service employee project time entry.

1. Employee Self Service Purchase Requester: This role grants the user access to enter or view purchase requisition transactions, including requisition history.

Role Name: ESS Purchase Requester

Tasks: Purchase requisition tables, View purchase requisition transactions, Enter purchase requisition transactions, view requisition history.

How much do Dynamics GP Licenses Cost?

The Dynamics GP system list price for each license type is:

• Dynamics GP Starter Pack (required): $5000 includes 3 full user licenses.

• • Each Additional Full User: $3,000 (concurrent)
  • Limited Users: $600 (concurrent)

• Self Service Users: $60 (named)

Be sure to check for current Dynamics GP promotions available from Microsoft and review the Dynamics GP Module List & Licensing Guide.

Find out about 3 Self-Serve users promotions offered until June 27, 2015

Important notes for Dynamics GP Self-Serve licenses:

• Unlike full and limited users, which are concurrent, self-serve CALs are licensed per individual and are not concurrent. So each named user would need a separate license, no sharing.
• The Self-Serve user is only available for Microsoft Dynamics GP using the Perpetual Licensing model.
• Self-Serve Users are included on the Dynamics GP 2015 price list, but customers will have downgrade rights to Self-Serve User that they can use with Self Service functionality with GP
• 2013 R2 such as Project Timesheet Entry.
• Business Portal has been discontinued in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 and the majority of the functionality has been rolled into the core Dynamics GP system and can be access with these Self-Serve users. If you own Business Portal licenses check with your partner regarding license transition policies/discounts.

Does every Dynamics GP Self-Serve license need a SQL CAL?

The official license guidelines say: “Each user accessing GP directly or indirectly via are GP client or via Business Portal or via Management Reporter or via any other mode must be licensed with a SQL CAL.” Since Business Portal has been discontinued and basically replaced by Self-Serve users, the answer is YES. This is a cost that should be factored into the total per user price.

Are you concerned that self service employees will see sensitive financial data in Dynamics GP?

Self-Serve users in Microsoft Dynamics GP do NOT have access to anything within the Dynamics GP system except their own employee information. Even this can be limited within the security settings. If you want users to be able to view financial data in Dynamics GP they would need a Full or Limited User License.

What is a Dynamics GP Limited user?

Next steps?

Contact CAL Business Solutions to discuss your specific business goals and user roles in more detail and receive a personalized quote. sales@calszone.com 860-485-0910 x4.

By CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner, www.calszone.com