Mark's Musings: New Year's Resolutions

Written By Mark Rockwell,
President of Rockton Software

My most lasting resolution, which I made so long ago, is to never make New Year’s Resolutions. There is something about a calendar prompting people to suddenly change that I find strange.  Almost nowhere in life do people make changes based on time; rather, they make it when new information presents itself.  For instance, if my car breaks down today, I get it into the shop right away.  I don’t know why I’d wait until next January to fix it.  If someone finds a new friend or romance, do they put off growing that relationship until the calendar turns a page?

Most New Year’s Resolutions are in the form of making ourselves better people: working out, eating right, stopping smoking, or improving a skill.  But if you’re aware that you want to change something, because the awareness occurred sometime recently, why would you put it off?  Why not start now?  The rest of life’s choices for change present themselves all the time; they never care where an arbitrary date in time lands.

I’m a huge fan of making change at the time change needs to happen.  And some of those battles—like being less judgmental, being honest and caring, and sharing the good life—are resolutions I make almost daily.  Resolutions need not be an infinite commitment, but rather a conscious choice to move in a new direction, falling forward when we stumble rather than downward.  Real change takes time, practice, patience, and learning.  Regardless of what day it is, what do you want to change today?

Follow Rockton Software on Twitter to keep updated with us this New Year!

The 2012 Rockton Review

Written By Kelli Sexton,
CEO of Rockton Software

You might not know it from the outside, but we have made significant changes this past year at Rockton Software. I thought perhaps some of our changes might be beneficial for your organization to see, so here are the major changes.

• Agile Development – This is by far the biggest paradigm shift we have had as an organization. As you may already know, Rockton has committed to a substantial software solution built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Rockton Connect. We attempted to spec out the design using our usual development practice of Waterfall. Unfortunately, we kept running into delays, roadblocks, and learning spikes. We knew we needed to tackle the project in a different way, so that is when we embraced the Agile methodology. Agile met an organic need of better procession of tasks and as a result has been embraced by everyone because it was not a top-down decision of direction, but an answer to a true need.

• Kanban Boards – Out of the Agile methodology, we were introduced to Kanban boards. Of course, we all had a typical list of things to do, but there is something significantly beneficial about being able to track your entire backlog in one single place, and methodically move them along the path from Backlog to In Progress to Completed. A sense of empowerment has overtaken the entire staff in this transition. The Kanban boards are the perfect compliment from our busy non-development team.

• More Meetings – As crazy as it sounds, we are actually benefiting from more meetings. Our biggest bang-for-buck meetings are the daily Scrum and twice-weekly Stand Up meetings. These come directly from the Agile process. The meetings are intended to be short (less than 15 minutes) where each person reports what they worked on during the time from our last meeting to this one, what they are committed to work on between now and the next Scrum/Stand Up, and any Roadblocks they have encountered. Our development staff has these meetings daily and our non-development staff has them twice a week.  Making commitments to the entire team is very powerful and uncovering roadblocks as they happen rather than weeks down the road has greatly increased our efficiency.

• SharePoint – We started working with SharePoint about 18 months ago but opted for a slow adoption. This past year, we really started leveraging the power of SharePoint. With different departments handling different business needs, being able to track all related information for each department has really helped us leverage our knowledge base.

Through our adoption of these processes, we are communicating more effectively, tackling our highest priorities routinely, and our overall job satisfaction has risen dramatically. It is my hope that you may find our success beneficial to you and your organization.  We are fired up and excited to see what 2013 has to offer us, here at Rockton!


To keep updated on Rockton Software in 2013, follow us on Twitter!

Benefits of Working from Home

Written By Pam Rasmussen,
Technical Support at Rockton Software

After working in the corporate world for more than three decades, I was given the opportunity to work from home when I took a new job, Technical Support at Rockton Software (www.rocktonsoftware.com). It was always a goal of mine to be able to work from home full-time. When it finally happened, I was thrilled to say the least. After working this way for some time now, it would be difficult for me to go back to the old way.

Working from home has so many advantages for both you and your employer. Here’s a list of the benefits I have noticed:

• More Productivity
• Less Interruptions
• No Commute
• Lower Car Insurance
• Lower Vehicle Maintenance
• Less Gas Expense
• Less Stress
• Less Cost for Work Clothes, Lunches Out, Etc.
• More Flexible Hours

In addition, your employer doesn't have the expense of providing you with a physical office: furniture, heat, coffee, janitorial services, etc. When I think about having to drive to work, I get the chills. I love working from home, and if you ever get the chance to do it—take it!

Rockton Software has employees working in seven different states, so we could not have the perfect team unless nearly all of us worked from home.

Learn about the Disciplines of Working from Home! And, don't forget to follow Rockton Software on Twitter!

A Dynamics GP ISV Developer Shares his Tool Tips for the Office

Written By Bryan Page, .NET
Developer at Rockton Software

In today’s age of information overload, having the right tools around the office becomes almost essential in your day-to-day routine.  The more time you spend at your computer, the more you begin to appreciate the little tools, which can make your life easier while working. Over time, I have collected a small arsenal in my toolbox that I take to work each day at Rockton (www.rocktonsoftware.com). Most of these are so near and dear to me that I don’t know what I could do without them at this point . . .

What is in my toolbox?

Input Director
At my desk, I run my laptop and my server each with 2 monitors, jumping between them all used to be a pain.  I would either have to run 2 sets of Keyboard/Mice to jump between the two, or install a physical KVM switch to move between the monitors on each machine, which was always a clunky solution.  Now thanks to the help of Input Director, I can move between the 2 different environments just as simply as moving the mouse to where I need it to be.  It allows the clipboard to move between machines and also allows locking & unlocking all machines at the same time.   There are several other similar items out on the market, but I found this to have the easiest setup and also the most reliable from the ones that I have tested.

RDCMan
If you have to manage multiple remote servers at any time, this tool is really hard to beat.  It allows you store, group, and organize all of the connection information for each of the servers that you would connect to.  You can also provide a friendly name, so that you can easily relate to the server if you don’t like to remember IP addresses.

One Note 
I haven’t really been considering Microsoft Office products as part of my toolbox items, as they are part of business machine standards. But I feel that OneNote deserves a special shout out because it is completely overlooked by most.  This is really a do everything tool.  It allows you to drop notes anyplace in the file page you want, move them, add URL links, links to files, or include the whole file itself and copy in pictures like you would do with a regular notebook, but this is portable and searchable.  You can save files up to a Sky Drive or cloud account and then synchronize them with your devices . . . and yes, there is a OneNote app for iPhone/iPad  and Android devices, so you can truly take it anywhere and share notebooks with anyone you trust.

One of my favorite features is the screen clipping tool that is included.  On Windows machines, if you press the “Windows+S” key, it will gray out the screen and will allow you to highlight the area of the screen that you want to capture, and it will copy an image of just the selected area, automatically. Ultimately, saving a copy in OneNote and placing it on the clipboard if you choose to set it up to do so.  I use this feature at least 2-3 times a day since it is so simple to use.

Norton Ghost
Ghost allows you to create a snapshot in time image of your hard drive to a backup device.  Not just the operating system, but all of your personal files, settings, and installed programs.  The worst feeling in the world is turning on your computer and not having it boot up to the desktop that you stare at each and every day.  With Ghost, you can replace the computer or hard drive, or whatever is failing and bring you back to a full working condition in about an hour or two.  With how fast things change these days, we can’t afford to be down for an entire day or more while trying to get back to a working state. This is a great tool to relieve a lot of the concern for machine failure, thus, let you focus on getting your job done.  Now, we hope that they have the update to Ghost for Windows 8 coming soon.

Bitlocker To Go
For those that travel and carry portable drives with them, this offers a secure way to protect those devices, or more appropriately the data that is on it.  With machines that have Windows 7 or later software, Microsoft provided an easy way to protect and encrypt your machines hard drive, but also portable devices in case they are ever lost or stolen.  Once enabled, the drive will recognized paired machines so there is not a noticeable difference to the user, but if you try to use it on different machine, you will be required to enter a password, and if it senses unauthorized use attempts, will lock down to a point where it can only be unlocked by an encryption key, which was created when you initially enabled the protection.  This is a great way to make sure your portable data is safe.

Notepad ++ 
This isn’t anything fancy, but there are quite a few times where you get a large text file, and you need to find a specific line, or need to look at an XML or HTML file. Windows built in notepad editor just doesn’t have the power it needs to handle those files properly.  This is a lightweight text editor that also has support for many of the coding languages, which gives you inline color representation of different coding tags as well as the ability to expand and collapse sections if applicable.

Pandora
This is one of the many streaming music service that allows you to tailor the music to suit your taste.  I’d go stir crazy in my office without having some background noise, so this is great for me.  I don’t have to browse through the endless songs in my collection to put together playlists, I just give it a song and it finds similar tunes. I either like it or not, then Pandora refines itself to what I have told it. After a few months of active voting, I don’t have to hardly touch it anymore; it just plays good music all the time.  Not to mention the price is right, free!

I hope that you can find something in my toolbox that may make your job just a little easier.

Additionally, I am always up for a hot tip on a different tool that I am missing out on, or if you have something better than what I am using, let me hear it in the comments below because I am constantly looking for tools that would help make my day Simpler and Easier.

Follow Rockton Software for more tips!

GP Optimizer Summer 2012: Making the Most Out of Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll

Written By Integrity Data for GP Optimizer
Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software

Paying your employees is a little more complicated than just tracking their hours and cutting a check. There are a lot of different components involved that require close attention to detail. For example, if your employee signs up for direct deposit, you need to ensure they receive notification of payment. Or if employees participate in an investment plan, you need to closely track and report on those amounts. Microsoft Dynamics® GP Payroll helps streamline these processes to make sure your employees get paid the right amount and at the right time. The functionality of Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll right out of the box works perfectly for most organizations. But in some cases, payroll gets even more complicated, and you start struggling with gaps in GP Payroll.

Here are some examples:

• Somebody entered their time incorrectly – they entered 40 hours worked but they actually worked 35. Or somebody planned vacation time but didn't let you know that they actually worked that day, so they come to you and say “My paycheck isn't right. I didn't take any vacation last week! You need to back those hours out!” What is your process for making these corrections? To make a data entry correction in Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll takes about 10-15 steps. If you only have a few employees, that is not a big deal but if you have many employees, this can be an incredibly time-consuming process.
• Most companies offer a regular 401k investment plan. Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll covers this type of plan right out of the box. But what if you offer more than just one. For example, some companies offer a regular 401k plan and a Roth 401k Plan, as well as a catch up plan for employees over 50 years old. 
• Direct deposit in Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll is a great benefit for employees. Instead of waiting for the physical check, your employees can be at ease knowing their bank account will be replenished on pay day. But wouldn't it be great if you could also streamline communications with direct deposit employees even more by automatically emailing pay-stubs as an encrypted PDF instead of snail mailing all of them out?
• Sooner or later, one or many of your employees will need to change dependents or deductions on their W4. In order for you to calculate how much a check would be with these changes, GP Payroll has you run a mock payroll every time and then you have to remember to change everything back before you run actual payroll. Time consuming and not immune to risk…
• Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll out of the box accrues and tracks both vacation and sick time (two buckets). This is enough for most organizations, but some companies want to track vacation time, sick time, personal time, FMLA, maternity leave, etc. 

Again, the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll right out of the box works perfectly for most organizations. But as you can see, in some cases, payroll gets even more complicated, and you start struggling with gaps in GP Payroll. If you are facing these challenges, think about adding Integrity Data GP Payroll enhancements that easily fix these gaps and increase the flexibility that’s sometimes needed in your organization. They seamlessly work with Microsoft Dynamics GP to help you save time, meet the needs of your employees and run a successful business. Their products are extremely easy to install and implement. In fact, it only takes as little as 15 minutes to install some products. This fast turnaround time is a huge perk for clients and gets them up and running fast.

To learn more about Integrity Data and the extensions they provide for Microsoft Dynamics GP, please visit www.gphrp.com or call 888-786-6162.


Download GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software for more great content on how to make Microsoft Dynamics GP work simpler and easier, click on the GP Optimizer Picture at the bottom, right corner of Rockton Software's Homepage.

SmartFill Object Advanced Settings

Written By Jim Peliksza, Developer at Rockton Software.

There are some circumstances where you may want to alter the SmartFill’s default behavior.  For this reason, we have exposed a few advanced, object-level settings that may be of use to you.

In older builds of SmartFill by Rockton Software, these settings were visible on the SmartFill Object Maintenance Details window, which you see when you open an object definition from the SmartFill Objects window.  To make room for the new Preview area, and to reduce general clutter and improve usability, these settings were moved to a separate window.  You can access this window by clicking the Advanced button, as shown below:

 We will now describe each setting and when you would use them.

Open Lookup on Exactly One Match 
Selecting this checkbox will cause SmartFill’s lookup window (titled, “Make a Selection”) to open even if only one match was found.

Here’s an example of when you would want to use this option: let’s say you enter “blue” as a search, hoping to find a blue phone.  However, as it turns out, the only blue item in the system is a blue widget.  SmartFill’s default behavior will be to automatically select the blue widget because that was the one and only match.

Unfortunately, this is not what we want.  Since no blue phones were displayed in the results list, it means that we probably need to select a different color phone, not a blue widget. On many windows it may not be simple to “undo” the selection of the blue widget and look for another phone because the ID field will now be locked.

If you find situations where this happens a lot with a given object, you may want to use the Open Lookup on Exactly One Match setting so that the SmartFill lookup window will open instead.  This will give you the option of cancelling the lookup window, and allow you to enter a new search value that will get you a list of items that better match what you were initially looking for.

Prompt to Add on Zero Matches
By default, when SmartFill by Rockton Software (www.rocktonsoftware.com) attempts to do a lookup, if it does not find any matches it will do whatever the original window would have done if SmartFill was not installed.  In most cases, when you type in an ID value that does not exist, GP will either just give you an error message, or it will prompt you to enter a new record with that ID.

However, on some windows this is not the case.  An example that comes to mind is the Sales Transaction Entry window.  On this window, if you enter an Item Number that does not exist, it is treated as a non-inventory item number.  Since you don’t get any message that this has happened, you may end up accidentally using a non-inventory Item Number on a transaction when you really were just searching for an inventory item.

Selecting this checkbox will give you two options when no results are found: 1) use the default GP behavior, or 2) cancel the lookup so that you can make changes to the value you originally entered.  This solves the problem above because you will now always know when a search value that you typed returns no results.

Search With Each Token
We will define a “Token” as an individual word separated by a space in the search value.  For instance, if you typed “blue widget” into an ID field, then “blue” and “widget” are each considered “tokens.”

Normally, if the Search With Each Token box is not checked, and you typed “blue widget” as a search value, SmartFill would search for matches of “blue widget”.  Only results where these exact eleven characters are found will be displayed.

However, if this box is checked, then the two tokens are treated individually when determining whether or not to include a record in the results list.  If you select AND for Compare Type, SmartFill will display all records that contain “blue” and “widget”.  For instance, if a record contains “widget container, blue”, then this would be considered a match if Search With Each Token is marked.  If it is not marked, then this would not be considered a match.

If you choose OR for Compare Type, SmartFill will search for matches of either “blue” or “widget”.  For example, “blue carton” and “green widget” would both be matches.

Learn more about SmartFill by Rockton Software by watching a YouTube Demo!

What If Microsoft Dynamics GP Customers had an Elf on the Shelf?

Written By Jenn Schoemer,
Project Manager at Rockton Software.

I consider myself a pretty practical person and don’t normally buy into the latest gadget or this year’s hottest toy.  I would call myself more of a mid to late adopter, which is one of many reasons why I love working with so many trailblazers at Rockton Software (www.rocktonsoftware.com), but that is another subject for an entirely different blog.

I recall a few years ago hearing all this hype about Elf on the Shelf, but when I saw how much they cost, I didn't think it was worth it.  After all, I could just use the ol’ “Santa is watching you” line.  Well, I finally broke down and bought one and, let me tell you, I would have paid double for it to get the results I’m getting. It’s crazy to think how far a little magic can go.

Which got me thinking . . . what if Microsoft Dynamics GP customers had an Elf on the Shelf, what would it be seeing and hearing?  Since we are nearing Year End, and GP payroll is near and dear to my heart, I envision heads in hands, people putting in extra hours trying to figure out errors in W2s and 1099s, high stress levels (you know the image of the person banging their head against the computer screen), or a famous clip out of “Office Space.”

So if you are looking for a few last-minute gift ideas, and ones to help avoid a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency, here is a good start.

SmartFill:  Who wouldn't want some extra time in their day?  Or to be able to work faster or more efficient. And most customers deal with large data sets in at least one area: customers, vendors, accounts, items, etc.

SmartFill allows you to type part of the name, description, or whatever you know into any ID field, and then intuitively discovers the correct ID and types it in for you. No look-up required!  In the end SmartFill will end up saving your customers $1 per user per day.  A no-brainer! Add it to the list!

Auditor:  I’m sure those elves would hear plenty wishes from customers trying to understand the who, what, when, where, how, and why around data changes in their system.

Another time-saver!  Just think of all the time the customer will save not having to manually dig through records trying to understand what, why, and when a record changed.  We have also heard the time customers spend with their auditors was dramatically reduced, in some cases by days.

Sounds like another one to add to the list!

Dynamics GP Toolbox: And . . . what about those IT folks?  Here is another group of people who could use some fun new toys.  Our Dynamics GP Toolbox offers over 20 different tools to improve user experience and business process. But the IT folks will LOVE the security and IT administration tools.

I’m sure those elves would hear needs for Security Manager, Inactivity Timeout, System Maintenance lockout, Mentor, and Inspector to name a few.  After all, what IT person do you know wants to spend countless hours trying to insure everyone is out of the system, so they can install the latest update?  Who can mull over pages and pages of security reports just to understand which windows and reports a specific user has access to?  And you know at the top of their list is spending hours trying to figure out which tables they should be using for that “Must-have, needed-it-yesterday report.” Those are just a few of the headaches you could relieve this Holiday Season by adding Dynamics GP Toolbox to their list.

Dynamics Report Manager (DRM): Oh, the reports, reports, reports!  Whose Santa’s list wouldn't be complete without a gift that would empower them to get any information, from any device at any time? DRM is a nice little package which can add automation and organization to their customer reports.

Omni Price:  Omni Price is just what those elves will be suggesting for those customers who are poring over Excel spreadsheet after spreadsheet of customer prices. They know these customers have visions of an easier way to create, manage, and update complex customer price sheets. Visions of how they could apply pricing contracts to a specific customer or to groups of customers; or applying a contract to groups of items using advanced item filters; or entering individual items directly into the pricing matrix; or using date filters to apply pricing for specific intervals or days of the week. Now you know Omni Price would make their Santa list.

What would a little Elf magic do for your customer this year?


Don't Forget to Read "Dear Microsoft Dynamics GP Santa . . ." featured on the ERP Software Blog!

GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition: U.S. Fund for UNICEF Relies On the Microsoft Dynamics GP User Group (GPUG)

Written By GPUG for GP Optimizer Summer
2012 Edition by Rockton Software

When your organization’s mission is something as important as “building a world where the rights of every child are realized,” you don’t have room for inefficiencies in your processes. No organization understands this better than UNICEF, and that’s why they rely on the Microsoft Dynamics GP User Group (GPUG®) to help maximize the effectiveness of their Microsoft® Dynamics GP solution.

UNICEF is a 180-staff organization serving children in 190 countries around the globe. The organization utilizes Microsoft Dynamics GP for grant management—a critical part of their operations, as they are a non-profit organization funded solely by grants and voluntary contributions. Eugene Kogan, UNICEF Director of IT and Database and Application Developer, turned to the expertise of GPUG as a go-to resource for ideas, strategies, and answers from others who are using Microsoft Dynamics GP to accomplish similar objectives.

Since joining GPUG, Eugene has found immense value in the networking and learning opportunities that the group provides. “It’s a great investment and a network I can leverage that helps me nearly every single day.”

Eugene notes that he has realized particular benefits from attending a number of educational webinars and GPUG Summit, the user group’s annual conference. Of Summit, Eugene says “It’s an event dedicated solely to Microsoft Dynamics GP and you have access to a wealth of expert resources. It gives us great opportunities to collaborate with fellow users and tackle our most important issues together.”

Eugene has also found many other ways to participate in GPUG and has become an invaluable participant and contributor. He leads his local GPUG Regional Chapter, actively participates in Special Interest Groups (SIGs), and is a member of the GPUG Board of Advisors.

About the U.S. Fund for UNICEF
For the past 60 years, UNICEF has provided health care, clean water, nutrition, education, and emergency relief to children in over 190 countries.  The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York, NY.

About GPUG:
The Microsoft Dynamics GP User Group (GPUG) is an association of companies sharing the common interest of optimizing their usage of Microsoft Dynamics GP. This independent community of users collaborates through a myriad of conferences, virtual events, local meetings, and programs to exchange knowledge and best practices.

To learn more, please visit www.GPUG.com or email us at info@GPUG.com.

Download GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software for more great content on how to make Microsoft Dynamics GP work simpler and easier, simply click on the GP Optimizer Picture at the bottom, right corner of Rockton Software's Homepage.

Limited Technical Support: January 7-8

Written By Kelli Sexton,
CEO of Rockton Software

Rockton Software will have limited technical support on Monday, January 7, 2013, and Tuesday, January 8, 2013. We will be in Orlando, Florida for our biannual Rockton Retreat. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience that this could cause you or your business.

If you have an urgent request, contact support@rocktonsoftware.com; we will get back to you as soon as possible that Monday and Tuesday!

Thank you for your understanding.

Useful ISV Products for Microsoft Dynamics GP: Part 8 of 8

Written By Mark Rockwell,
President of Rockton Software

141. Software Index: Reconciler for Inventory matches Inventory GL Control Accounts against transactions that have been generated through the Inventory Module.
142. Solutions@MBAF: PaperSave is a Document Management and Electronic Workflow built on SharePoint.
143. Solver, Inc.: BI360 is a complete, Excel-based Business Intelligence solution for the Microsoft Dynamics ERP systems. It is integrated with both GL and sub-ledgers as well as with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
144. TARGIT: TARGIT BI Suite streamlines the decision processes in your company through a set of tools that enables you to create intelligent dashboards, multi-object analyses with insightful reports in less clicks.
145. The World On-Line, Inc.: The Missing Link, (Sr.) imports data into almost any module. Imports can be scheduled and imported from outside Microsoft Dynamics GP.
146. Trinity Computer Services: Advanced Inventory Replenishment helps you make sense of your demand history and ensures that you purchase the right items at the right time in the right quantities and at the right price.
147. Trinity Computer Services: Pricing Enhancements and Integrates enables you to manage your pricing off-line in Excel with whole order value discount, product group volume discounts, sales rebate tracking and online price negotiation.
148. Trinity Computer Services: Consolidated Invoicing is a rules based approach to simplify your accounts by rolling up multiple shipments into a single financial invoice with full audit trail back to original documents.
149. Trinity Computer Services: Sales Powerpack takes you from simple order capture to proactive up-selling and cross-selling while speeding up the order entry process.
150. Vicinity Manufacturing: Vicinity for Process Manufacturing is specifically for the needs of formula-based manufacturers. Also called process or batch manufacturing.
151. vSync, an Accellos Division: EDI completes, integrates, rules-based EDI for sales order and purchase order processing.
152. vSync, an Accellos Division: vShip provides integrated pack verification, ASN generation, customer specific labeling, reporting, small parcel, and LTL shipping.
153. vSync, an Accellos Division: Accellos One Pinpoint is a comprehensive suite of supply chain execution products built around a common technological framework that leverages Microsoft’s complete platform stack.
154. vSync, and Accellos Division: Pulse and EDI for GP Adaptor is a management tool that permits business systems to generate an enterprise-level views with charts, graphs, data grids, reports, also include an EDI adaptor.
155. vSync, an Accellos Division: Accellos One Collect for GP is an Automated Data Collection product that leverages RF handheld devices to automate inventory transactions.

Searching for Part 7 of Useful ISV Products for Microsoft Dynamics GP?

Take the Audit Challenge!

We, here at Rockton Software, are offering FREE trials of Auditor, thus, giving you the chance to see the benefits or contest your current auditing product!

Learn more about the Audit Challenge by Rockton Software!

GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition: Manufacturing for Label, Carton, and Flexible Packaging

Written By Computer Productivity Services, Inc.  for
GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software

Since 1994, Computer Productivity Services (CPS, www.cpsinc.ca) has specialized in providing business management software based on Microsoft Dynamics GP and Dexterity for the Label, Carton and Flexible Packaging industry.

Computer Productivity Services is the only Microsoft Dynamics based ERP software vendor to specialize in label, carton, and flexible packaging converters. In an increasingly competitive environment, this is key.

“Preparing quotes no longer requires hours; it’s done in minutes with the ability to change variables in an instant. CPS proved to be familiar with the industry and our specific needs, and was able to modify the system to accommodate our unique applications. CPS is a true partner in this endeavor. The implementation of the new system went very well and we avoided many of the pitfalls and problems typically associated with a new implementation.” Jim Imburgia, Control Group USA

Case Study: Control Group, USA
Being a supplier to the pharmaceutical industry is not for the faint of heart. It’s a high-stakes, highly regulated industry that requires the utmost in manufacturing discipline and control.

One company that has been highly successful as a pharmaceutical label supplier is Norwood, N.J.-based Control Group. This company cut its teeth in pharmaceuticals, with its early roots in 1971. Today, the Control Group is supplying a number of demanding markets, including health and beauty, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals, along with other consumer goods markets using flexo and gravure.

“Like everyone in our industry, cost is the driving factor,” according to Jim Imburgia, Control Group USA, “our customers want to have first-class service at the lowest price. This drives us to constantly look at our costs to see how we can manage our business so we stay competitive.”

“Paper” trail - Being a supplier to the pharmaceutical market brings along a number of challenges, not the least of which is traceability and ISO compliance. Customers in including health and beauty, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals require a tremendous amount of documentation supporting what was produced and how it’s verified.

Solution - The Control Group uses a solution from Oakville, Ontario-based Computer Productivity Services (CPS, www.cpsinc.ca). CPS specializes in providing business solution software based on Microsoft Dynamics GP. With CPS, paperwork associated with the quote to cash cycle has been virtually eliminated.

CPS was selected because his company’s team felt CPS had the right mix to meet their needs. “Because it was a Microsoft-based platform, it gave us a tremendous amount of comfort,” he adds. “CPS proved to be familiar with the industry and our specific needs, and was able to modify the system to accommodate our unique applications.”

Benefit - The benefits provided by a management information system are especially important in dynamic market segments, such as pharmaceuticals. “We are able to process accurate quotes and orders quickly and at the same time, check capacity and inventory.  This makes our scheduling and turnaround times more accommodating to our customer base,” notes Imburgia.

Satisfaction - The Control Group is more than satisfied with the results of the investment in its new information system. “The ERP system provides us with all the business intelligence we need to manage our business, identify trends, and provide accurate and timely cost information,” says Imburgia.

Download GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software for more great content on how to make Microsoft Dynamics GP work simpler and easier, simply click on the GP Optimizer Picture at the bottom, right corner of Rockton Software's Homepage.

What are you grateful for?

Written By Mark Rockwell,
President of Rockton Software

It feels phenomenal as Rockton (www.rocktonsoftware.com) is finishing our fourteenth year of business. Rockton has survived, perhaps even thrived, during the radical changes in technology and business world.

Rockton’s roots are in the Microsoft Dynamics GP space, this year we announced our future direction utilizing Dynamics CRM with our Rockton Connect. Rockton Connect is a financial management system built on the foundation of CRM, and our future vertical prospects are exciting and promising.

To be where we are today and to propel us forward requires a dedicated and loyal team of employees. As president of Rockton Software, I am grateful and often humbled by the commitment and passion of the Rockton team in providing software solutions that make a difference in customers’ lives. It is fun, challenging, and most of all rewarding to work in synergy with our team throughout the entire creative process. While we focus on software, Rockton is a team that could be successful with almost any business venture, mainly because of our company culture. We value each person for who they are and what they bring to our team. With a personal core of humility and integrity, our team is more like a big family where we encourage each other to do their best.

I am grateful to have the support of the Rockton team, especially my wife, Kelli. Growing a business can be tough, but it is highlighted with a multitude of blessings.

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Useful ISV Products for Microsoft Dynamics GP: Part 7 of 8

Written By Mark Rockwell,
President of Rockton Software

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121. Nolan Business Solutions: InterCompany Postings automatically posts all types of transactions between companies.
122. Nolan Business Solutions: Advanced Bank Reconciliation automatically reconciles posted GL Transactions to an imported bank statement.
123. Olympic Systems, Inc.: Project Cost for Dynamics GP is a full featured, easy to use Project Costing solution for Microsoft Dynamics GP. It is well suited to government contractors.
124. Olympic Systems, Inc.: Multi-Currency  Import Module provides unattended daily imports of currency exchange rates from one of 3 data sources: The European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada, or Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.
125. Panatrack: PanatrackerGP is a bar code data capture for inventory management, fixed asset tracking, and sales transaction processing.
126. RedTail Solutions: RedTail Transaction Manager takes responsibility for EDI success—every transaction, with every trading partner, everyday including setup and testing of trading relationships. Out of the box integration with continuous monitoring.
127. Reporting Central: The Closer automatically reconciles the Dynamics GP System with multiple sub-ledgers. Reconcile, Balance, and Close the books with The Closer.
128. Reporting Central: The ValidatorGP inspects over 100 key points in the Dynamics GP System covering system set-ups and master data files.
129. Reporting Central: The Validator1099 is specifically for Microsoft Dynamics GP that automates the process of validating TIN’s for expedited and accurate 1099.
130. Rockton Software: SmartFill: Do you want your team to increase their productivity? They can. SmartFill dramatically decreases data lookup time.
131. Rockton Software: Dynamics Report Manager: Got Reports? Sure you do. Use DRM to email and print your reports when and where you need them. SRS, Management Reporter, Crystal, FRx, Word, Excel—DRM will launch them all!
132. Rockton Software: Auditor: Do you waste time figuring out why data changes occurred? Take the guess work out of WHY with Auditor.
133. Rockton Software: Dynamics GP Toolbox is a collection of over 20 tools to improve the Microsoft Dynamics GP experience. 1. Got Deadbeats hogging your GP licenses? Kick ‘em out with Inactivity Time-Out. 2. Ever wonder where the data hides behind those window fields? Stop guessing with Inspector. 3. Ever wish you had a search tool to find windows in Dynamics GP? Now you do with Mentor.
134. Rockton Software: Omni Price: Are your pricing updates ugly? Turn that toad into a prince with Omni Price.
135. RockySoft, Corporation: RockySoft’s Pack Light Inventory Management Suite delivers software and services to help mid-market distributors and manufacturers manage their inventory.
136. Rose ASP: myGPcloud provides Microsoft Dynamics GP on-demand with no annual commitment, no setup fee, no user minimum, and instant provisioning.
137. SalesPad Solutions: SalesPad is a quick quote and order entry, complete inventory visibility, access to all customer information, configurable workflow, and built-in credit card processing.
138. Sierra Workforce Solutions: TimeMaster Labor Management Solutions: Time, Attendance, and Labor Management solutions with Data Integration for Payroll, HR, and Job Costing using Biometrics, Badge, Web, or PC based time clocks.
139. Software Index: Invoice Approvals and Accruals is a browser based invoice approvals for Purchasing and Payables transactions integrated with Microsoft Dynamics GP.
140. Software Index: Reconciler for AR and AP validates transactions that have been entered into Receivables and Payables against their respective control accounts within the GL.

The Rockton Software Family

Written By Bryan Page, .NET
Developer at Rockton Software

I am one of the newest members of Rockton Software Family (http://www.rocktonsoftware.com). I used to work for a huge corporation, so I was not exactly sure what to think when joining Rockton Software. Granted, one of the biggest draws for joining this team was that I wouldn't be a nameless face inside the big machine; I would be a key piece in a smaller company, which gives me more of an opportunity to do something great.

When I first started, I only had brief conversations with most of the team over the phone or a meeting with a small subset of the company in the Denver office since Rockton is a mostly remote company. I seemed to get along with those that I had met, but it is hard to know if you fit in based on quick conversations. It wasn't until we had our company retreat that I found out what the Rockton Software Family is all about.

For those of you that do not know, twice a year Mark Rockwell, President of Rockton Software, and Kelli Sexton, CEO of Rockton Software, pull the team together for a corporate retreat. This gives the whole company a chance to meet up and discuss the state of business, as well as bond as a whole. The Summer 2012 Retreat was the first time I was able to see how Rockton comes together and melds similar to a big family. At first, I was nervous that I would be the outsider since everyone else knew each other, but it was quite the opposite. The Rockton Software Family seemed very happy to meet me and interested to learn about my wife and I. The conversations never felt forced, but there was a genuine interest in getting to know us.

Throughout the retreat, meals were a ton of fun. We would go into a restaurant and even though everyone would order their own meals, it always turned into family style eating. If anybody wanted to try a different entrée, it was possible because someone would be willing to share. Afterwards, we would caravan around town from one event to another in the family truckster (from the National Lampoons Vacation . . . and yes at times it seemed eerily similar). All of this carefully orchestrated amazingly by Mark and Kelli. I’m still not sure how they pull it off so well, but I guess that is why they are the head of the household!

During the retreat, my wife and I never once felt out of place. Even though we are located across the country, it seems that we all have a common bond in our values, which pulls the whole family together. Each of us have the best interest of the customer in mind, from the design of the product to the support of the finished product; we like to think of our customers as our extended family. We hope to make you feel that way. I am truly thankful to be a member of the Rockton Software Family.

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We Need Auditor NOW! How Long Will It Take Us to Install and Set It Up?

Written By Pam Rasmussen,
Technical Support at Rockton Software

As the primary support person at Rockton Software (http://www.rocktonsoftware.com), I often get asked how long it takes to set up Auditor. The installation of Auditor happens fairly quickly—a matter of minutes for each server or workstation where you are installing it. The part that takes a bit longer is the pre-planning of what you want to track. To help expedite this process, it is helpful to have a good understanding of the different types of audits available.

There are three types of audits in Auditor by Rockton Software, here is a description of each:

Window Field Audit:
Using a wizard, this setup provides a simple way for the non-technical person to setup fields to audit with or without notes at the window level. An audit at the window level will track any change made to a window, not necessarily the database. For instance, it will track changes to a window field after the user tabs off of it, before the Save button is clicked.

Table Audit:
At the table level, table fields that are set up to be audited are tracked when a data change occurs within Dynamics GP application, regardless of the window in which the change was made. A typical scenario would be on a maintenance window after the Save Button is clicked. Once this table save occurs, the audit is triggered and those changes are tracked.

SQL Audit:
The SQL audit level requires a thorough understanding of how SQL tables are setup and used. This type of auditing allows audits to be tracked in Microsoft Dynamics GP as well as other applications. The audits are tracked once the changes are made to the SQL database. NOTE: With SQL audits the user will not have the option to track the “Why” (reason code/note) a change took place. Auditor will capture this change at the point when the data in the database has been changed. SQL audits place triggers on the database and capture when the data is being changed regardless of who changed it.

Once you determine the type of audit(s) you would like to set up, it is just a matter of deciding if you want to use a specific method or grouping to create your Audit Groups (i.e., Accounting, Financial, HR, etc.), and which forms, tables, and fields you want to audit.

You can also decide if the User is required to enter a note when they make a change on a field. With a note required, you will not only know who made the change, but why they made it. You can also assign an E-Signature to a field so that when it is changed, an approval is required before that change is saved. These are both great features to use when you have payroll changes, name changes, and anywhere else where you want to know why a change is made or not allow a change until it has been approved by your predefined approvers.

Knowing what you want to audit and how, is key!

Watch an Auditor Demo to learn more!

GP Optimizer Summer 2012: Multi-Entity Management Streamlined QTS' Database Infrastructure to a Single Database

Written By Binary Stream Software for GP Optimizer
 Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software

• Multi-Entity Management streamlined QTS’ database infrastructure to a single database
• Redundant Processes were eliminated by 30%
• Centralized AR, AP and POP processes
• Fully Automated Audit Trail
• Simplified Complex Deferrals
• Simplified QTS compliance with regulatory standards


QTS (Quality Technology Services) is a leading national provider of data center solutions and fully managed services for enterprise businesses. QTS offers a complete, unique portfolio of core data center services including a Custom Data Center, as well as Colocation and Cloud services, while offering the flexibility, scale and security needed to support the rapidly evolving infrastructure demands of web and IT applications.

Using Microsoft Dynamics GP to manage their business flow, QTS found themselves requiring additional customization to meet some specific needs. After a thorough search, they chose Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management (MEM) solution and Binary Stream’s Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals (ARED) solution.

With 12 data centers across the U.S. and multiple GP databases for each of these facilities, QTS was operating a total of 33 separate Dynamics GP databases – a significant number of core processes were both redundant and time consuming.

Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management solution streamlined QTS’ database infrastructure to a single database environment – eliminating redundant processes by 30%!

With Multi-Entity Management, QTS now enjoys centralized AR, AP and POP processes, which are accessed from a single database by a centralized team.

“We can now create a single purchase requisition and distribute the GL coding amongst multiple facilities,” says Kitty Geiger, QTS’ Senior Dynamics GP System Administrator.

Using Multi-Entity Management, QTS also created a fully automated audit trail for posted, voided and corrected entries, as well as fully automated intercompany transactions such as transferring fixed assets or bank transactions between their data centers.

QTS also had as many as 38,000 unrecognized deferral entries that were processed manually from the many different databases they were utilizing. QTS chose Binary Stream’s Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals solution to help them address this challenge.

Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals is a fully integrated solution that simplifies complex deferrals by creating deferrals by line item and building schedules allowing for complete control over the timing of sub-ledger and GL recognition postings.

Following the Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals installation, QTS’ team was able to close their previous month-end financials a full 11 days sooner than their previous month-end financials. Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals also simplified QTS’ compliance with EITF 08-1 and subsequent rulings with regards to Vendor Specific Objective Evidence (VSOE) revenue recognition.

Ultimately, QTS is better able to serve their customer base using Dynamics GP in conjunction with Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management and Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals.

“We have customers with work orders in multiple facilities. With Multi-Entity Management and Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals, we are able to effectively manage our monthly invoicing and apply corresponding payments across invoices in multiple facilities,” says Geiger. 

And that makes good business sense!

These are just a couple of ways Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management and Advanced Revenue and Expense Deferrals have added value to QTS’ daily business. Please contact Binary Stream to learn more. 

Download GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software for more great content on how to make Microsoft Dynamics GP work simpler and easier. Click on the GP Optimizer Picture at the bottom, right corner of Rockton Software's homepage.

GP Optimizer Summer 2012: The Quality Habit - Affordable Improvement for Any Organization

Written By Horizons International for GP Optimizer
Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software

Organizations that value a habit of extreme quality are organizations that can expect greater profit margins.

What if a “quality habit” became a virtue in your organization?

What if having better quality was more affordable than you think?


A Paradigm Shift to the Quality Habit 
Improvements in the quality habit will typically lead to reduction in costs and increases in margin, at relatively lower cost compared to other investments in change.  Yet, even in the face of the clear and obvious benefits of adopting a higher standard of quality, many organizations struggle with creating and improving their quality habit.

Organizations and individuals already committed to quality have a hard time conceiving of “the quality habit” as anything less than a permanent foundational philosophy.  However, if we speak to those same groups about the development of their quality habit they will tell us that it was challenging to achieve and requires focus to maintain. In fact, in many cases we would hear there were several false starts to the process and that while the goal might have been ‘get it right the first time’ it actually took several attempts before the habit became fully ingrained in the organizational culture.

Given the data and anecdotal evidence of the benefits to a company’s bottom line of an effective quality habit, it is difficult to understand why the quality mission is not more robustly pursued and fundamental to all activities across organizations.

It turns out the answer is that this shift of creating a quality habit within an organization may be similar to creating a personally successful habit.  The authors of the book “Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success ” provide a useful explanation of how these hindrances affect our personal habits, along with useful insight, explanations and suggestions on how we can incorporate successful habits into our daily lives. In their explanation of successful habit building we are encouraged to see the building of good habits as less about will power and more about motivation and structure.

The authors identify three levels of habit forming: personal, social, and structural. Each of these levels has two facets, motivation, and ability.  How then might we use this information on personal habit building to shift effective action for organizations?


Personal Habit Building Processes Can Create a Quality Habit
Personal: Individual employees must personally care about quality. They also must be given the empowerment to act on their caring.  Employees must have a way to achieve the goals of quality. They must have the ability and access to the right skills and tools.  Most importantly they must be able to promptly know if they are getting it right.

When these conditions are not present we find that personal frustration and consequent lack of motivation derails the quality habit.

Social: The social aspect of a quality habit in an organization is easy to recognize – the habit must be everyone’s job, not just the work of a select few.   As an example, let’s consider the difference between accomplices versus friends, as part of the support structure for good habits.  In the world of the habit of better eating, our accomplices will enable us to enjoy a celebratory meal, even though we are on a diet. Our friends are those who remember our diet goals and suggest an alternative celebration.

In the world of quality, our accomplices are those who encourage us to believe that the effort of our quality process is not really needed. They might use the example that it hasn’t gone wrong yet so why change? But our friends, those who truly support not just the quality mission but the responsibility we all have in delivering quality goods and services, will support the efforts and disciplines of our quality habit. They don’t just willingly follow procedures with patience and focus but actually embrace the information gains that are achieved from those efforts, encouraging others to do the same.

Structural: When we reach the structural level of building a successful quality habit we would want to see availability of formal methods for tracking our adherence to quality methods. These methods or tools need to be measurable and we need to be prepared and able to monitor and take responsibility for results.  In addition, our monitoring needs to be timely otherwise we find ourselves too far removed from the original impact to properly evaluate and define consequences and will have lost the ability for effective corrective action.

We should also incorporate methods in our quality habit that acknowledge our successes.  All too often when quality systems are manual or otherwise cumbersome we can begin to find that only errors are reported to a level of action.  This focus on the negatives of mistakes can create an organizational awareness of quality as a problem creator, not a success driver, which is an attitude that erodes successful habit development and morale.


A Quality Habit Solution Creates Instant Feedback and Profit Growth
In establishing or developing a quality habit, organizations may find it beneficial to utilize a formal quality system such as Quality Essentials Suite. This solution provides unlimited user access and integrates with Dynamics GP products, including functionality for advanced lot management.

Utilizing software based systems with unlimited user licensing, real time data collection, analysis tools and reporting ensures that all three levels of successful habit formation are supported. Employees individually are motivated and have the ability to participate and monitor results.  All members of staff can have access and visibility to relevant data, which reinforces the social level.

Finally, the structural level of successful habits is achieved through the use of a formal integrated and comprehensive system that includes certificates of analysis, non-conformance reporting, corrective action tracking and root cause analysis.

The use of a formal quality system will have a positive impact on employee morale resulting in improved customer satisfaction and rich rewards to the bottom line.


Download GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software for more great content on how to make Microsoft Dynamics GP work simpler and easier.

Useful ISV Products for Microsoft Dynamics GP: Part 6 of 8

Written By Mark Rockwell,
President of Rockton Software

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101. Integrity Data: Enhanced Retirement Plans allows you to calculate maximum contributions across multiple deferred compensation and/or Roth plans, support catch up maximum contributions within the same plan, or offer employer-matched contributions based on tiers.
102. Integrity Data: Paycheck “What If” Calculator enables payroll users to process hypothetical payroll calculations to determine what an employee’s new net paycheck could be.
103. Integrity Data: Life Insurance Tax Calculator calculates the tax on the imputed income of an employer’s Group Term Life Insurance benefit.
104. Integrity Data: U-LINC provides workflow virtually anywhere, anytime within Microsoft Dynamics GP.
105: Joesoftware Inc.: Penny is an employee and manager time and attendance self-service, featuring online pay advice, T4’s, and vacation entitlement.
106. Joesoftware Inc.: Spencer is a web-based expense reporting solution. It works with both Payables Management and Project Accounting.
107. JOVACO Solutions: Project Control is a Project Accounting solution, which is integrated in Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM and is specifically designed for Professional Service firms.
108. JOVACO Solutions: Time & Expense is web-based and allows all one’s employees and subcontractors to capture all expense details. It also allows electronic approval processes with a set of diverse reports on project budgets and statuses.
109. JOVACO Solutions: Resource Planning enables your Project Managers to plan projects and allocate resources to the tasks that need to be scheduled over a fixed period of time.
110. Kamp-Data, Inc.: DynamicZip maintains nationwide sales and use tax rates, provides automated addressing and tax schedule assignment.
111. kCentric Technologies, Inc.: k-eCommerce is an out of the box B2B/B2C e-commerce solution. It is multilingual and multicurrency and offers over 350 functionalities including a Self-Serve Customer service module and Sales Portal.
112. M4  Systems: Advanced Time and Expense Management: Capture Time and Expense data. Approval workflows – segment based GL auto-coding – performance and utilization reporting – Employee Expense re-imbursement management.
113. M4 Systems: Advanced Security Monitor is an easy to understand format for Security Reports and Enquiries by User, User Group, Profile or Product.
114. M4 Systems: Advanced Recurring Billing automates billing of recurring, subscription, and membership type contracts within Microsoft Dynamics GP.
115. M4 Systems: Advanced General Ledger creates multi-segmented Charts of Accounts in minutes based on logical segment combinations. One is able to copy charts of accounts between companies.
116. M4 Systems: Advanced SOP/GL Defaulter automates SOP transaction coding. Defines where each segment of account comes from either Customer, Item, Fixed, Salesperson, or Class.
117. M4 Systems: Advanced Batch & Document Management has greatly improved Batch entry and Enquiry windows for all core GP modules.
118. Mekorma: Mekorma MICR – Check Printing allows companies to print MICR line on checks with password protection, security and configurability.
119. Metafile: Metaviewer is a paperless ERP for scanning, workflow, invoice approval, GL coding, and more.
120. MHC Software, Inc.: MHC Document Express is a document output solutions commonly used for electronic payments and electronic remittance advice, and for securely delivering pay stubs to employees via email.

Searching for part 5 of 8 Useful ISV Products for Microsoft Dynamics GP?

GP Optimizer Summer 2012: Did You Know Microsoft Dynamics GP is an Inventory Management System?

Written By Panatrack Inventory & Asset Tracking for
GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software

Many looking for a Warehouse Management System (WMS) are actually looking to add automated data collection to their inventory management.  Warehouse Management Systems can defined as a full independent inventory system (inventory is actually tracked outside of GP with integration points back to GP) or add-on data collection solutions.  In either case, the key feature to adding inventory management is introducing mobile technology (capture the transactions at the point and time of the activity) and barcode (or other automated) technology. When looking to add a WMS, evaluate the inventory features within GP that you may not be using or even may not know about to set up for your inventory management and add the tools to automate GP.

As an ERP solution, Dynamics GP already offers the ability to manage inventory. On a simple level, inventory is managed by quantities located in site locations. Items can be set up to be tracked strictly by quantity, but can also be set up to be tracked by lot or serial number. The infrastructure to purchase, receive, transfer, use, and sell inventory already natively exists within Dynamics GP.  Even features such as item and site resource planning, cycle counts, multiple bin tracking, and alternate item numbers are standard within Dynamics GP.   Here are a few key inventory tracking features within GP.


About Sites
When you think of a Site, you probably think of a physical building or location.  Sites can be set up to also represent a status for inventory, often identified physically within a physical location.  Examples include a Quality Hold or In-Transit site location. It may also represent a production area, storage area, or vehicle. When you set up sites, consider that you will want to be able to physically identify where the inventory is located; therefore, sites should have an area that can be physically identified. For example, if you are putting inventory in a “Hold” status, designate a physical location for that inventory.

Adding Multiple Bin Tracking
Dynamics GP has support to set up and manage multiple bin locations under sites.  This is often another selling point of a WMS solution.  If you add a barcode data collection solution TO Dynamics GP, multiple bin tracking becomes a key component to your inventory management initiatives.  You can now add another level of definition of where inventory is located.  Additional features such as default bin settings for receiving, assemblies, sales, and returns can be set up. Priority bins can be used to define and direct where inventory items should be stored and incorporate min and max levels.   When setting up bins, define your bins with a logical sort order and plan for expansion.  We recommend setting up a test company database to assist you in your planning stage.

On Hand versus Available Quantities
When tracking inventory within GP, you will see what you have On Hand and what you have Available.  Even veteran users of GP often ask us what the different actually is, as the quantities may be different.  Inventory can be allocated in GP.  An allocation can be done on a sales order.  This “reserves” inventory so when analyzing inventory requirements, inventory for pending sales orders can be accounted for.  When inventory is on an un-posted inventory transaction (such as an adjustment or transfer), the inventory is in a temporary allocated state for the originating site and/or bin location. This eliminates the ability to select a quantity that is greater than what you actually have available.  Once the transactions are posted, the adjustments to the inventory on hand will be updated appropriately for the site and bin.

Serial and Lot Tracking
Inventory is always tracked by a quantity on the item level. Many of our customers have determined that they would see benefits from or are required to track inventory by a serial number or a lot number.  A serial number is a unique number to identify a single unit of an item.  Quantity is restricted to 1 for the serial number itself.  You can have 100 of the item, and each individual item would then have a unique serial number.  This provides the ability to track where that specific is located, movement of that individual unit, and where it was used or sold.  Lot tracking is another option.  Typically a lot number represents a group of inventory that shares the same attributes.  Lot tracking is often used in tracking food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, or textiles.  Within Dynamics GP, a lot number can be assigned an expiration date and manufacturer date.  There are also up to five user-definable lot attributes that can be set up under a Lot Category.  Multiple lot categories can be set up. A category is assigned to the item.  A lot number is tracked by quantity.  Both serial and lot tracking add the ability to trace the specific inventory in the event of recalls, warranty, or by expiration.

Alternate Item Numbers
For many of our customers, we find that barcodes are already on their inventory. In many cases it is a manufacturer item number which is different than the GP item number they set up.  Those cross reference item numbers can be stored within your Dynamics GP database.  Look under Cards>>Inventory>>Item Purchasing Options.  This will open the Item Purchasing Options Maintenance window and is where Unit of Measure information is set up for purchasing.  Once you enter an item number, next to the item look up icon, a gear icon appears.  Click on that gear to open the Manufacturer’s Item Number Maintenance window.  You may set up multiple cross reference numbers here.  You can also access this window from the Purchase Order Entry screen.  The gear icon is available on the Item header field.  When using our mobile barcode solution, the scanning or entry of the alternate item number is supported and will return your Dynamics GP item number automatically.

Dynamics GP offers a full-featured inventory management infrastructure where an add-on data capture solution can be used to take advantage of those features and add the automation to complete the transaction in real-time.  For more complex inventory management needs such as slotting and cross-docking, consider a full WMS. Panatrack offers mobile barcode data collection to Dynamics GP for Inventory Management, Field Sales, and Fixed Asset tracking. Visit www.panatrack.com for more information.

Download GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Edition by Rockton Software for more tips and tricks that help make Microsoft Dynamics GP simpler and easier.

GPUG Summit 2012 Recap

Written By Diane Bilyeu,
Controller at Rockton Software

Another GPUG Summit 2012 is behind us and what a great one it was! There was over 500 attendees, 22 preconference classes, and nearly 150 breakout sessions. I had an awesome time meeting new friends, old friends from previous Summits, customers, VARs, and part of the Rockton Crew that are located in different parts of the country.


At the opening ceremony, Mark Rockwell, President of Rockton Software, jingled about Rockton Software Products. He also presented two Partner Showcases: Making Microsoft Dynamics GP Work Simpler & Easier by Rockton Software. It was a huge success! During the second Rockton Partner Showcase, Andi Boutwell, Chief Financial Officer at Express Employment Professionals, won the drawing for the Kindle HD; everyone who attended a Rockton Partner Showcase was entered.

Mark Rockwell, President of Rockton Software, presenting at GPUG Summit 2012

Since GPUG Summit is always busy, I was thankful to have enough time to quiz a few Microsoft Employees to see if they could fix a problem that I was having in Microsoft Dynamics GP. And, they were able to fix it! It was fun to see the male and female Microsoft Employees vying to see who could fix it first. Hats off to the female Microsoft Employees who fixed my issue!

I would like to give a shout out to our new Microsoft Dynamics GP All-Stars for this year: Mark Polino, Richard Whaley, and Howard Swerdloff; and, a fair well to last year Microsoft Dynamics GP All-Stars: John Lowther, Bob McAdams, and Zubin Gidwani.

For all that missed this year, don’t miss out next year! It is going to be held in Tampa, Florida. Meet Rockton Software (www.rocktonsoftware.com) there!