Tag: Dynamics

The Importance Upgrading

We often say that accounting systems are “sticky”. Once you find one that works for your business you feel locked in because of:

1. The cost.
2. The fact that you need it up and running every single day so that your business can function efficiently.

The problem is that most organizations are constantly evolving and changing and re-evaluating their needs. You may now need functionality that was not initially needed when you implemented the system. How do you rectify this without starting from scratch with a new system? It’s actually quite simple; you upgrade your current system.

February 10, 2015

Can Peer Feedback be Your Best Influencer?

Have you ever had that one friend who was always “down with the trends?” He/she would also have the designer clothes, newest kicks, or best hairstyles before any of it even came into your radar, or better yet before it even hit stores. You would, in some ways, look up to them for advice on where to get these items for; where was the best deal or bargain; and what was coming out next so you could try and prepare yourself for it. They were, in a labeling sense, your “influencer.”

February 9, 2015

Making Your Software Work for You: Dynamics CRM

Part of our job here at KTL Solutions is to show or demo business solutions to our clients. These solutions can range from Budgeting/Reporting, AP Automation, Warehouse Management, to Customer Management software. One of the first requirements we hear from most customers is that they need the software to work for them, not the other way around.

All businesses are unique, and everyone has a different way of conducting business. Established organizations have processes already in place. These processes can be extremely difficult and disruptive to the entire business if they have to change to accommodate a new software solution. More to that point, it does not make sense to purchase a “solution” that requires you to change the way you do business. Software is an investment. It takes money, time, and man power to implement a solution so at the end of the day it should work for you, not the other way around.

January 29, 2015

Signoffs, what are they? Why are they important?

They (signoffs) play a very significant role in the project lifecycle and add tremendous value and leads to an overall positive outcome to your project. But like everything else, there is a time and a place to use signoffs. Using a signoff should not cause and be looked at as an unnecessary burden.

I have seen that using signoffs during a software implementation that is using a waterfall methodology is most appropriate. There are distinct phases, each phase is broken out into more granular tasks and everyone is aware going into the project on what happens next.

January 23, 2015

Is On-Premise ERP Dead? Hardly…….

The ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) concept grew out of early accounting systems; the idea that you should join up all your disparate engine-room components to have an integrated, holistic view of operations. ERP suites from Oracle, Microsoft, SAP and others were intended to create a one-stop shop for payroll, invoicing, HR, logistics, supply chains, general ledger and all line of business systems like manufacturing or supply chain.

There has been a recent plethora of blogs about the “death of on premise ERP” as companies utilize SaaS for critical business functions. The blogs say that as nimble, less costly SaaS systems replace ERP components, the whole concept of a single system crashes to the earth.

January 14, 2015

How to Pay Employee Expenses by EFT (Part 1)

Why Pay Employee Expenses as an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer)?
1) Ensure Employees receive their expense reimbursements in a timely manner
2) Save time not printing checks / getting checks signed / stuffing envelopes / mailing payments
3) Automatically Email EFT Remittances to Employees

Steps to Setup the Company Side of the EFT Transaction

Setup Company EFT Information (You will need to work with your Bank for the file layout specifications and preferred transmission method)
1) Go To Financial >> Cards >> CheckBook
2) Select the Appropriate CheckBook

January 2, 2015

A 40 hour week in 60 minutes – The Status Report

In college during a project management class the instructor was looking for 2 volunteers to act as scribes and present an executive level status report of the course being taught that day. When we met the following week each of us had a 5-page document that covered every aspect of the previous class in great detail. The detail part is a superb quality for a project manager but the instructor actually went around the class, collecting everyone’s copy of the report and promptly dropped it into the recycle bin.

The moral of the story was clear to us: Most people do not have enough time to read what is already on their desk so why clutter their “To Do” list with a 5 page thesis.

December 29, 2014

Dynamics CRM: A Team Effort

I’d like to break down the difference between two types of teams found in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. Most people who are familiar with teams in Dynamics CRM know about what are called, “Owner Teams.” These are the traditional teams that have been around since CRM 4. In Dynamics CRM 2013, Microsoft has introduced a new type of team called an, “Access Team.” The purpose of creating Access Teams appears to be for the benefit of working around and with some of Dynamics CRM’s security features.

December 19, 2014

Kick-Start Your Data Warehousing

Many of the projects that I’ve been working on over the last 12 months have evolved integrating data into a data warehouse. Specifically companies are looking to import more data from other systems to do various types of analysis. Data integration is nothing new, companies have been doing it for a long time, but usually with a very manual process that includes vast Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

What Is a Data Warehouse?

A data warehouse is a database designed to enable reporting and data analysis activities. Data warehouses store current and historical data from one or more disparate sources. Some of these sources may include:

December 12, 2014

PaperSave Version 6.0 – Document Management at the next level

I have been involved in a new PaperSave implementation utilizing the newest version of PaperSave – PaperSave Version 6 and I wanted to provide a summary of my findings. In PaperSave version 6, they have added several new features and have further taken advantage of the browser based technologies. Overall, I was impressed with the product and I think it would be a good addition to any ERP system.

December 10, 2014