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The Summer 2013 Edition of The GP Optimizer Magazine is set to release early July! Do you wish to be one of the first to receive this new edition? If so, click here to sign up TODAY!

Here are some quick facts about The GP Optimizer Magazine:

• It is a free, online publication
• All articles and advertisements are written by Microsoft Dynamics GP Add-On Partners like Rockton Software www.rocktonsoftware.com 
• The articles in this publication focus on solving some common Dynamics GP user needs

So, sign up NOW to receive The GP Optimizer Magazine via email from Rockton Software!

GP Optimizer Winter 2013: Saving the World from Evil…One Commission at a Time

Written By John Stulak, President of
EthoTech for The GP Optimizer Winter
2013 Edition by Rockton Software

The sirens howled and the lights were flashing DANGER throughout the command center. Commander Rice yelled, “OK people, we have less than 8 hours until all satellite systems are under his control!!! GET ME Chronos! NOW!”

Commander Rice was in charge of our utility company’s Cyber Command Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He was solely responsible for synchronization of all electrical networks under our control.  And right now, life as we know it was about to change, unless the Commander could stop Apoc.

Apoc was an infamous and dangerous hacker, but his most diabolical plan would soon affect every person on the planet. He was about to use a network of satellites to shut down all electricity everywhere at precisely 12:21:12 PM that very day . . . apparently, Apoc’s infatuation with the Mayan calendar haunted him.

“We need Chronos here, NOW,” the Commander shouted as the vein on the side of his head came close to bursting. “Chronos was our only Agent that was able to stop Apoc from taking down the I.R.S. when the U.S. government needed our help.”

I blinked . . . then took a deep breath as I prepared to give the Commander the bad news. “Commander, Sir! Agent Chronos is not happy with our behavior after the last time he helped us. He claims that he didn’t receive his promised compensation for months after the I.R.S. fiasco, and then we sent him the wrong amount.” I carefully chose my next words. “The calculations are extremely complex, we often make mistakes by using clunky Excel spreadsheets in conjunction with our outdated manual systems.”

Just then, a text message pinged my phone. It was… Chronos!

Ping! Chronos’ Text: So I hear Rice needs me again . . .

“Tell him to get here on the double,” yelled the Commander.

Ping! Chronos’ Replied: Not so fast. I insist you calculate and schedule my payment NOW, so I am not left hanging like last time.

 “Do it,” replied the Commander.

I ran into the compensation office and tripped over a pile of printed Excel spreadsheets, “Ugh! I’ll never get this calculated in time . . .” I mumbled to myself.

Ping! Chronos’ Text: Laptop under desk.

What? How does he know. As I opened the laptop that I found tucked under the desk, a message box popped up with a link. Then a Remote Desktop session opened directly to our Microsoft Dynamics GP system, yet something was different. There was a new program running called Commission Plan.

Ping! Chronos’ Text: Answer the phone.

Sure enough, it rang. A pleasant voice said, “Hello, My name is Ethos. I’ve configured Commission Plan on your Microsoft Dynamics GP system, so you can accurately calculate Chronos’ compensation in just minutes and wire it to him pronto.”

Sure enough, it took me less than 5 minutes to calculate the proper sum that would be due to Chronos for stopping the nefarious plan underway by Apoc.

Ping! Chronos’ Text: Use Commission Plan from now on to keep your agents happy and avoid cyber-warfare.

I texted back immediately: If that is all it takes to keep you happy, then we are on it. 

I quickly wired the exact amount to Chronos that was calculated by Commission Plan. Frankly, I didn’t know what was going to happen next.

It took me just a few minutes to run back to the Command Center. To my surprise, I found everyone–including Commander Rice–high-fiving and congratulating each other. The Commander asked, “How did you do it?

“Did what?” I replied.

“The report in time,”

“All I did was use Commission Plan from EthoTech to satisfy Agent Chronos. You mean Apoc’s plan has been foiled already?”

“Apparently, upon receiving his payment, Chronos delivered a disabling software worm directly into Apoc’s system,” the Commander beamed, “Apoc’s plans have been crushed… for now.”

Download the Winter 2013 Edition of The GP Optimizer: http://www.rocktonsoftware.com/gpOptimizer/Winter2013/

Staying Healthy in the Air

Sue Roe, Sales Assistant
at Rockton Software

Traveling is stressful, but so is getting ready to travel. By the time we get things squared away at home and at work in the days leading up to a trip, most of us board the plane already feeling tired and stressed. How many times have you told yourself, “I’ll just sleep on the plane?” Added to that is the illness-friendly environment of the aircraft itself. Here are a few really simple tips to increase your odds of  leaving the plane without an unpleasant “something extra.”

wikiHow suggests  thinking of the surfaces inside a plane as being about as clean as a public restroom.I am not terribly germ-phobic as a rule, but I have started carrying a pack of antibacterial wet wipes when I fly. They can be used to wipe down the armrests and tray table on the plane, the handles on luggage after the flight, and of course your own hands throughout the trip.

Don’t use the airline-provided blankets & pillows. They get used by multiple passengers between washings.

The air inside a plane has less than 25% humidity, much lower than a typical home environment that’s more like 35%. Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Some say that green tea helps too. Skip the alcohol for now as it will exacerbate dehydration.

The low air pressure in the cabin can make you feel like you’re at about 8000 feet altitude which makes breathing more labored as there’s less available oxygen in the air. So focus on taking  long, deep breaths.

Of course, that dry air that you’re breathing is being breathed by everyone else on the plane, and you’re sharing germs from all over the globe. That’s why this is a good  time to avoid eating and drinking sugar. Sugar suppresses the immune system, and bacteria and viruses love it. Eat light food if you’re hungry.

A well-known risk of air travel is the development of blood clots in the leg. Sitting in those cramped seats for long periods of time is the problem, especially if you’re unwilling to disturb your row partners by getting up to use the lavatory. If you’re stuck in the middle and the guy in the aisle seat has fallen asleep, just contract your calf muscles. Tapping your feet will do the trick because it stimulates blood flow from the legs back to the heart.

If you can, schedule some time to rest once you've arrived.

Happy travels this summer!

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GP Optimizer Winter 2013: GP on the Case- Achieving Awesome Productivity with Case Management

Written By Marya Ulis, ImageTag, Inc.

Does your accounts payable department put the “AP” in “awesome productivity?" Your answer may depend upon how well they are able to keep up with the constant flow of documents that define your organization’s purchasing process. While Microsoft Dynamics GP provides a great platform for managing your business operations from AP to AR to human resources and more, all too often it’s the age old “paper problem” that can bring those operations to their knees. That problem is compounded by the fact that very few business transactions depend on a single piece of paper or electronic document. The majority of the time, multiple documents; multiple approval processes; and multiple internal and external stakeholders define how business gets done. Whether it’s a matter of going from procurement to payment in AP or from recruiting to interviewing to hiring in HR, the path to greater productivity demands systems and tools that can pull all the data and documents together and deliver instant transparency and access to that knowledge.

From Managing Documents to Managing Business Processes 
In today’s world, the solution to the problem of managing and tracking all the documents that support a business process is referred to as case management. Case management is distinct from document management because it focuses first on the business process you want to manage. Then, it manages your documents in the context of that process. Case management systems present data, document, and decisions in a way that portrays a clear picture of the entire process and every step along the way. As a result, your organization can eliminate bottlenecks, enforce compliance, and provide instant auditability to anyone, anywhere.

From an AP perspective, this means looking at each step in the procure-to-pay process and presenting the data, documents and decisions each step of the way. With a case management solution, your AP team can associate documents with the specific forms in GP that relate to their vendors, purchase orders, invoices, packing slips and any supporting correspondence. A case management system not only allows them to instantly associate and retrieve those documents from within GP, but it also automatically aggregates those documents to support their matching process.

What about those approvers and reviewers that don’t use Microsoft Dynamics GP? An effective case management solution should give them instant access to the data and documents they need to review, using the systems and tools that they rely on daily. That may mean providing a Web-based interface where they can review documents and add necessary data like G/L codes, or it may mean providing the ability to review data and documents on the form of an email that can be reviewed and approved by PC or smart phone.

Take the example of your payment approval process today. Let’s assume that you’ve already used your case management system to pull together scanned paper and electronic invoices that have been routed to approvers, who have digitally coded the documents and provided their approval. Your AP team has created their check batch in GP associated with those invoices. Next, rather than printing that check report or printing the individual checks to be signed, then paper clipping those documents to the printed invoices, your case management system can pull all of those documents together automatically and present them to your CFO for quick review and approval online.

A case management solution doesn’t just serve up the documents to your CFO. It presents a dashboard that clearly illustrates how each step in the payables process has been met and instills confidence in the fact that no check will be presented for review/approval unless all of the necessary criteria.

Making the Business Case for Case Management
The great thing about case management solutions is that it’s easy to quantify your return on investment (ROI)—and to demonstrate the potential to recapture your investment in as little as six months or less. Based on data collected from industry organizations like AIIM and from surveys send to thousands of KwikTag case management users, ImageTag offers an online ROI calculator. This free, online tool can help you and your organization take the first steps in outlining your potential to inject awesome productivity into accounts payable, and anywhere else in your organization where documents drive your business process. Combined with the power of Microsoft Dynamics GP, case management solutions can drive greater productivity throughout your enterprise.

Visit www.imagetag.com or go directly to http://www.imagetag.com/ap-roi  to calculate how quickly your organization can increase productivity, reduce costs and capitalize on your investment in case management.

Download The Winter 2013 Edition of The GP Optimizer Magazine: http://www.rocktonsoftware.com/gpOptimizer/Winter2013/