The Dynamics GP Copy company utility that is now included in the Professional Services Tools Library is a great tool. You can create a new company in GP in the normal way, and then use this utility to copy set up data from an existing company. So things like Vendors, Customers, Inventory Items, GL accounts etc. get copied across, as do things like VAT Details and Schedules, Sales Document set up etc. Additionally you can copy across report options. Two things to watch out for though if you are operating in Europe.

If you use the VAT Daybook – the utility will not copy across the VAT setup – specificially the ‘Use VAT Daybook’ setting in Tools >> Setup >> System >> VAT Daybook. This is where you mark what companies will use this functionality. These settings (since they are held at a DYNAMICS database level), won’t be created for the new company. Also, you will need to set up the VAT Calendar for the new company.

Country codes are not copied accross. These will need to be set up manually in the new company.

Also – you may need to reset some document numbers. If the originating company is up to GL Journal number 189, then the Next GL Journal number in the new company will be 189. So – check the next GL, AR, AP, SOP, POP and inventory numbers before you start – you may want to reset these to ’1′.

Remember PSTL is free to users on Dynamics GP 10 and 2010.

Its been so long since I posted, I forgot my Blog password. For someone who can still remember the registration number of my fathers 1970′s Rover 2000, that’s a significant memory lapse! All of which has nothing to do with the new licencing model for Dynamics GP 2013 announced by Microsoft. We all knew there were changes coming and prayed it would make entry more atractive to new users. The new licence model is called Perpetual Licencing and builds on the Business Ready Licence model.

Lets look at users first. Dynamics GP Users come in two flavours – Full Access Users and Limited Users. The concept of concurrent users doesn’t change – the number of licences purchased determines how many connections there can be at any one time – regardless of who is actually accessing.

Full Access Usesr have full access rights (Read and write) to all of the functionality through any means – be that the standard locally installed client, the new web client, sharepoint, web services, and any other connecting software.

Limited Access Users have full read, but limited write access rights, to all of the licenced functionality. What this means in practical terms is – these users can access all of the data available through the standard Locally installed client or the Web Client. They have however only write capability through the Time and Expense module. You can kind of see where this is aimed at – users such as maybe Sales People who need to enquire and print reports, and record their time and expense details.

Thats users…now for the more significant changes of how we licence functionality. Similarly with the current BRL licence model, there are two levels of licence available. Thats where the similarity largely ends.

Starter Pack- This includes core financial and distribution functionality, plus three Full Access Users. Its intention is to make Dynamics GP a more attractive prospect for smaller companies. The ‘smaller’ bit is covered by the 3 user licences – however there is nothing small about the levels of functionality included. Apart from the core financial (GL, Cash Flow, Fixed Assets, AR, AP, Multicurrency, Intercompany, Bank Reconciliation, Electronic Banking, Analytical Accounting etc)  and distribution modules (Sales Order Processing, Purchase Order Processing, Inventory Management, Bill of Materials, Landed Cost, PO Generator, Time and Expense), the following are also included:

Unlimited Busines Portal users, Modifier with VBA, Customisation site licence and the Microsoft Dynamics GP connector.

Extended Pack -  All of the above plus unlimited Forecaster, Manufacturing Suite, Project Accounting, Additional supply chain functionality (Available to promise, Returns Management) and CRM (Note this is the inbuilt CRM within Dynamics GP…and NOT Microsoft CRM).

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 is only available under the new Perpetual Licence model. Therefore existing customers will need to transition from BRL in order to upgrade. There are transition paths based on when your system was first registered – While details are still a bit hazy the key date is October 1 2012. If registered before this data (which is ALL current users of the system)…then you will follow the Licence Migration Transition model. This maps your current system to a new perpetual licence on a ‘same functionality or better’ basis but excluding any discontinued functionality.

Available here.

Customersource

Partnersource

An article I wrote for MSDynamicsWorld - in two parts for organisations considering an international implementation of Dynamics GP:

http://msdynamicsworld.com/story/how-prepare-microsoft-dynamics-gp-multi-national-deployment-part-1-language-and-local-requirem

Microsoft have announced compatibility for Dynamics GP 2010 and SQL Server 2012 with the issuance of a Hotfix. One caveat – Business Portal and Analysis Cubes will be compatible with the release of SP 3 (which should be out in Q2 2012).

More later…

Update on Integration Manager error – ERROR: ADO Field is nothing

Drill Downs (open a GP window from within XL)

Date Effective Tax Rates allows you to record various different rates for a Tax Detail, and the date range that these rates are effective. This overrides the default Tax Rate entered in the Tax Detail set up window. For European Dynamics GP users this is a god send with the various EU wide changes in VAT rates.

Date Effective Tax Rates works with the SOP, POP, RM and PM modules in Dynamics GP. Once it is installed (it’s an option available from the Additional Products / Features menu when you install GP 2010 R2) it can be accessed through Tools >> Setup >> Company >> Company >> Options >> Additional >> Date Effective Tax Rates Setup. In this window you can enable the feature for a specific company.

Once enabled a user can set up various rates for each Tax Detail ID, and specify from and to dates for each rate. (Tools >> Setup >> Company >> Tax Details >> Additional >> Date Effective Tax). Remember, rates entered here take precedence over the rate entered in the Tax Detail set up window.

A cool part of this functionality is that you can update all saved transactions after you have set up date sensitive rates. (Tools >> Routines >> Company >> Regenerate Taxes). So once set up, all those unposted invoices etc. can be mass updated based on their dates.

One small issue is when you need to seperately report standard rate VAT at different percentages. Shouldn’t be an issue with rate changes effective from 1st January – since the change is at the start of a fiscal year. But if the rates changed mid reporting cycle and your local VAT authority required transactions at the old and new rates reported seperately, it would probably be best to create a new Tax Detail for the new rate.

Its VAT Rate change time again. Irish Standard Rate VAT is increasing from 21% to 23% on 1st January 2012.  (Hungary is also increasing 2% to 27%, and there will be others).

So, what’s the best approach to cater for these changes in GP, and what should you look out for? The good news is that the change takes effect at the start of a fiscal year – so there will be no need to report at the different rates as there was the last time Irish VAT increased.

At its simplest, changing the %age rate in your standard rate tax detail (Tools >> Setup >> Company >>Tax Details) after you have entered all 2011 transactions and before you enter any 2012 transactions, will suffice for those users using just Dynamics GP Financials (RM, PM and GL).

Slightly more complicated, but best for POP and SOP users – set up two new tax details, one for sales at 23% and one for purchases at 23%. Then set up two new Tax Schedules (Tools >> Setup >> Company >> Tax Schedules) – again one for sales and one for purchases at 23%…and assign one of the two new tax details above to each (Remember to tick Auto Calculate in each if the ‘Auto Calculate’ box is visible).

For most Irish users – you will have Tax Schedules already created called ‘SALL’ and ‘PALL’ (or some derivative). Add the relevant new tax detail into these as well.

Depending on how your system is set up and how it calculates the VAT payable / receivable…you will now need to update your master records. Look at your Item set up – if your inventory items are set to ‘Use Customer’ and ‘Use Vendor’ for their default tax schedules – then you will need to update your customer and supplier records. Any customer or supplier who is set to the current Standard Rate Tax Schedule, will need to be updated to use the new Standard Rate Tax Schedule (the 23% ones you just set up).

If your Inventory Items use their own Tax Schedule (i.e. they are not calculating VAT by reference to the customer or vendor ones) then you will need to update your Inventory records.

If you are lucky – updates can be rolled down by class ID. Or you could run a SQL query to update your master files (Update XXX set Tax Schedule ID = ‘new’ where Tax Schedule ID = ‘old’…something like that!).

You need to be aware of a few things.

• Sales Orders entered in December 2011 will have defaulted to the old rate (21%). When these orders get transferred to Invoice – this rate will follow through. If they are transferred to Invoice in January 2012 – you will need to manually update the Tax Schedules on each.
• If you process a return in 2012 for a sale that happened in 2011 – the return will default to the new 23% rate. You may have to manually change it back to the 21% rate.
• You will need to edit your VAT Dayooks to include the new tax schedule in the standard rate box. (Leave the old rate there as well – since you may enter sales returns etc. at the old rate in 2012.)
• The above will apply to Purchase Order transactions as well.