Dynamics Confessor Blogspot

Refunding Over withheld FICA

2012-01-26T11:34:00.001-06:00

I’m getting more and more questions trickle in regarding how to ‘fix’ payroll when you’ve over withheld on FICA.

This problem came about mostly because the first release of the 2012 tax tables put employee FICA back to 6.2%. As you all know, recent legislation kept the employee rate at 4.2%.

Well, for you early adopters out there, you may have a problem.

This blog article includes a proposed series of steps you can take to resolve the issue of having over withheld FICA the extra 2% that was part of the first release of Release 1 of the 2012 tax tables.

You have two problems when you Over withhold FICA (or any tax).

First problem: You need to give the employee back the money and correct his payroll summary to reflect the correct FICA. This fix assumes the percentage was wrong; it does not include the added complication of FICA wages being wrong. Meaning that you included an amount in FICA wages that you shouldn’t have

Second problem: Fixing the employee’s tax record in GP so it properly reflects the amount of FICA tax withheld.

Problem 1: Fixing the Employee

1) Set up a new pay code (or use an existing) with the pay type of ‘Business Expense’. Uncheck all of the ‘Subject to Taxes’ boxes and make sure the ‘Report as Wages’ box is not checked

2) Assign this Pay Code to the employee needing the refund, accept the company defaults. Be sure the Workers’ Comp Code is blank.

3) Enter a payroll transaction for the employee needing a refund and use the Business Expense pay code you set up in step (1). Make sure no taxes are calculating.

4) Close the batch and build the check(s). Make sure:
a) No automatic pay types are checked
b) You have included the pay period that you put on the employee pay code
c) No deductions are included (check it, don’t presume)
d) No benefits are included (check this too)
e) Don’t forget to select the batch you just created

5) Select ‘Build’ when you are happy with the settings.
6) Check your Build report for errors – you shouldn’t have any.
7) Calculate checks from payroll transactions menu

8) Print the checks and post the batch.
9) Make sure NO other entries are on the report except for the amount paid the employee. There should be NO TAX, NO BENEFITS, NO DEDUCTIONS.

The employee should be fixed at this point as far as getting their money back, now to deal with the FICA tax record.

Problem 2: Fixing the Employee FICA withheld amount.

1) You will use the Payroll Manual Check window to adjust the tax.
2) DO NOT enter a batch ID for this transaction.
3) Select the Transaction Type as FICA Soc Sec Tax, the Code FICASS should appear on the window.
4) Enter the amount that you refunded the employee AS A NEGATIVE NUMBER in the amount box.
5) We aren’t doing anything to Taxable Wages, so leave that field blank.

6) Save the transaction and make sure the Net Amount is the amount that was over withheld.

7) Post the entry – remember no batches!
8) Watch your Distribution accounts and checkbook register because those may have to be adjusted, depending on your settings

Good luck with it.

There are probably other ways to do this and I invite your comments. This is the way we have been doing it.

Kind regards,

Leslie

Management Reporter 2012–more info 1

2012-01-26T11:10:00.001-06:00

First, the blog that tells all on what is currently public on Management Reporter 2012.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dynamicscpm/

Remember that I said there was more! My good friend and fellow MVP Mariano Gomez is trying to get the fine folks at Microsoft to let us wow you by letting us talk about ALL of the planned features instead of trickling them out one at a time.

This new release is big. It’s time to start making plans to convert to Management Reporter and say goodbye to our good friend FRx.

Leslie

Management Reporter 2012 Rocks!

2012-01-26T10:57:00.001-06:00

It’s time to put FRx out to pasture and welcome Management Reporter with open arms!

Heretofore I have not been carrying the flag for Management Reporter, but I just saw some stuff today that blows the doors off of what it can do. Management Reporter has come of age!

I’ll be sharing more details as soon as I find out which ones I can share, but there are more features coming that have not been advertised. Stay tuned, Management Reporter 2012 is a must.

It’s so good that it would be worth it to go to Convergence just to learn about Management Reporter 2012. Since its targeted release date is date Q1 2012 – that puts it in prime time for Convergence.

More to come, but just know that so many things you wanted it to do it WILL!

Until next post!

Leslie

2012 Tax tables re-released!

2011-12-28T12:59:00.000-06:00

Round 1 of the 2012 tax tables have been re-released to reflect the changes made by congress to extend the 2% tax holiday. Make sure you have the new tables or you will be buying yourself a lot of heartache.

Get the new tax tables from PartnerSource: 2012 Tax Tables from PartnerSource

Until next post!

Leslie

Federal W-2 electronic file couldn’t be created

2011-12-28T07:06:00.001-06:00

If you have ever been lucky enough to receive this error, it can be difficult to track down a solution. Fortunately, one solution is easy – an ‘additional information’ button would have been nice though.

In my world this error message is presented because the path indicated in the File Name field does not exist, or you do not have ‘write’ permission to it.

Some of the newer operating systems, like Windows 7, will not let you create files in what they deem to be ‘protected folders’. So what worked last year might not work this year.

Good luck with year-end!

Until next post!

Leslie

Beware the 2012 Tax Tables!

2011-12-28T06:11:00.000-06:00

The first batch of 2012 tax tables issued by GP are WRONG.

DO NOT USE THEM!

The FICA withholding is set to 6.2% instead of 4.2%. I know how much fun we had last year with this problem, let's not do it again. GP will be issuing new tables this week - those should be correct.

If you have imported the 2012 tables, you can simply change the FICAS tax table to reflect the correct 4.2% rate.

Here's how to change the percentage:

Microsoft Dynamics GP > Setup > System > Payroll Tax

1. Tax Code = FICAS

2. Select the 'Filing Status' button

Payroll Tax Setup window

On next window:

3. Filing Status = NA

4. Select the 'Tables' button

Payroll Tax Setup window

Type in the new Tax Rate where indicated. You can also update the limit. In the window below, the FICA limit is 106,800. The limit goes up for the 2012 tax year to $110,100.

Payroll Tax Tables window

We are all rushing to the finish line this time of year - don't forget to have fun! I hope this will help someone.

Until next post!

Leslie

Internal Error 2738

2011-12-16T19:04:00.000-06:00

Have you ever started to install a product, think it’s about to install, and then been greeted with:

This happened to me recently (today) while installing the GP2010 version of AvaTax. Specifically AvaTax 11.0.0.0.1.05.

Well, I’ve seen this error many times and have solved it by registering the vbscript.dll. To register the DLL, do the following:
For a 32-bit machine

First, be sure to close the Windows installer.
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories
Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
Type cd C:\Windows\System32 and then press Enter.
Type regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\vbscript.dll and then press Enter.
You will hopefully receive the following dialog:
Click OK
Close the command prompt window.
Restart your computer.

For a 64-bit machine

First, be sure to close the Windows installer.
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories
Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
Type cd C:\Windows\SysWOW64 and then press Enter.
Type regsvr32 C:\Windows\SysWOW64\vbscript.dll and then press Enter.
You will hopefully receive the following dialog:
Click OK
Close the command prompt window.
Restart your computer.

Normally, that’s all you need to do. But what if things go wrong???

If Things Go Wrong:
If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to take more aggressive action. After searching the MSDN site and blogs, I found the solution. If you want to read the original article, go to: article on 2738 errors. As it turns out, script-based custom action failures are behind many 2738 (and 2739) errors. If you are a programmer (are you listening Avalara?) it would be best not to use script-based custom actions in an MSI. If you do, you are opening up your users to problems.
The problem is that re-registering the DLL from a regular command prompt writes the registration to HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead of HKEY_CURRENT_MACHINE. Starting with Vista, the Windows Installer will not load and use scripting engines if the registration is written to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Consequently, re-registering the DLL from a normal user cmd prompt, will not help fix this type of error.
To see if you have this problem – MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR REGISTRY- and then check for the existence of the key below, and unregister it if it exists in HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

For a 32-bit machine: HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{ B54F3741-5B07-11CF-A4B0-00AA004A55E8}
For a 64-bit machine: HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{B54F3741-5B07-11CF-A4B0-00AA004A55E8}

To unregister the vbscript.dll from HKEY_CURRENT_USER:

First, be sure to close the Windows installer, and then MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR REGISTRY. After the backup is complete, continue the listed steps.
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories
Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
For a 32-bit machine type in the following command:
reg delete "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{B54F3741-5B07-11CF-A4B0-00AA004A55E8}" /f
For a 64-bit machine type in the following command:
reg delete "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{B54F3741-5B07-11CF-A4B0-00AA004A55E8}" /f

After removing the HKCU key, my software – Avalara’s AvaTax – installed perfectly.
I hope this helps someone with this delightful dialog:

Until next post!
Leslie

W-2 Issues with Deceased Employees

2011-12-08T21:34:00.000-06:00

This is never an easy topic, but nonetheless something that needs to be reviewed every now and then.
If an employee dies during the year, you must report the accrued wages, vacation pay, and other compensation paid after the date of death. You may need to file both a W-2 and a 1099 for the deceased employee.

If you make payment in the same year that the employee died, you must withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes on the payment. You should report this payment on the employee’s W-2. Show the payment as Social Security wages (Box 3) and Medicare wages (Box 5) and Social Security and Medicare wages withheld (Box 4) and (Box 6). Do NOT show the payment as salaries and wages (Box 1).

Be sure to check with your state before you re-issue a deceased employee’s paycheck. There are differences among the states as to who can receive what kind of payments. For example, certain states allow the payment of vacation time to a 3rd party, but not sick time.
If you made a payment after the year of death, do not report it on the W-2. Additionally, you should withhold neither Social Security nor Medicare taxes.

If you pay the estate or a beneficiary, the IRS requires that you report the payment as Miscellaneous Income (Box 3) on the Form 1099-MISC. This is the rule regardless of whether you make the payment in the year of death or after the year of death.

In summary:

Payments made in the year of death, but before the death occurred, are reported as run of the mill wages subject to all the normal W2 reporting.
Payments made in the year of death, after the death occurred, are reported in W-2 Boxes 3 through 6. No FIT is withheld. What you would normally report in box 1 is instead reported in Box 3 of the 1099 MISC issued to the estate (or whomever received the check).
Payments made after dearth are not subject to FICA or FIT withholding, nor are they reported on a W2. Instead, the amount is reported in Box 3 of the 1099 MISC issued to the estate (or whomever received the check).
All bets are off for the states, they make their own rules. Check with your state taxing authority in order to properly report amounts paid on behalf of a deceased employee.

Until next post!

Leslie Vail

Demystify Monthly Maintenance Routines Transcript

2011-12-06T20:34:00.001-06:00

Today was GP day at the Decisions Fall 2011 virtual Conference! My session was ‘Demystify Monthly Maintenance Routines’. After the presentation we all had some time in the chat room to exchange questions.We had some great questions in the session, but it was hard to match the question with the answer due to my below average typing skills.

I took a copy of the transcript and matched up the questions with the answers the best I could.
If you weren’t able to attend the session ‘live’, I hope you can listen to the recorded session that will be available next week.

It’s a great conference with some very fun and informative sessions!

Enjoy!

Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 12:43:33 PM):Why should you wait to move transactions to History in Receivables? Is there a benefit?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:13:08 PM):Sheila: why wait to move transaction to history. For AR, you cannot get them back to open if you need to void or modify, or bounce a check. added info: When you move trx to history, you will also clean up the Apply window. The Apply window lists transactions in the Open table only. If you don't archive, this list can become quite unwieldy.

Stephanie Cole (12/06/2011 12:45:03 PM):What can you do if you have moved an accounts receivable transaction to history and need to change the application?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:13:44 PM):Stephanie: There is a tool called Unapply RM that you can buy. it's part of the PSTL tools

Barb Schroth (12/06/2011 1:04:21 PM):Will these slides be available anywhere?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:14:01 PM):Barb: yes, the slides are available

Hal Steinkopf (12/06/2011 1:06:48 PM):A "print only" option to preview what will happen seems so logical for all routines/utilities. Is there some operational reason that it is not available for all of them?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:14:31 PM):Hal: I agree 1000%. Different programmers are about all that I can come up with.

Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:08:33 PM):Can any user access PSTL once installed or do they have to login as 'sa'?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:15:02 PM):Sheila: you have to log in as ‘sa’ to run any PSTL tool. Of course, normal security also applies

Laura O'Loughlin (12/06/2011 1:09:23 PM):did you say the gl year end utility deletes active, but unused accounts orjust inactive
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:15:24 PM):Laura: it deletes inactive accounts that have never been used

Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:12:27 PM):My current users have kept 3 years worth of POP transactions in the work tables...
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:15:48 PM):Beat: Boy, their lookups and reports must be slow. Why?

Hal Steinkopf (12/06/2011 1:13:00 PM):Leslie, are you chatting with us or are we chatting among ourselves?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:16:10 PM):Hal: I'm here, just moving through the quesitons

Ladd Sustar (12/06/2011 1:13:03 PM):Good job. thank you for the information.
Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:13:08 PM):Moving PO's to history can be done more often than 3 years. They are only moved to history and can viewed at any time.
Mariano Arias (12/06/2011 1:13:13 PM):Thank you Leslie ... Regards from Mexico!!!
Brenda Haynes (12/06/2011 1:13:32 PM):Hi Leslie: Is it only on Receivables that checklinks should be run over and over until it clears?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:16:45 PM):Brenda: no, all of them should run until clear

Ladd Sustar (12/06/2011 1:14:09 PM):i have done this on other modules as well - rerun of checklinks
Hal Steinkopf (12/06/2011 1:15:46 PM):Different programmers is a mighty poor excuse for inconsistencies in a product. I will put heat on microsoft to clean that up and encourage others to do same.
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:17:03 PM):Hal: Here here!

Tom Johnson (12/06/2011 1:16:12 PM):Similar to Beat's question, is there a recommended interval for running Paid Trx Removal on RM? Is there any issue with never moving open trx to history?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:17:32 PM):Tom: never moving to history is a problem if you print statements.

Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:16:22 PM):I really have no idea... I told them to keep at max the current year worth of POP documents..
Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:16:58 PM):If you don't move your paid transactions to history in AR you will have incredibly slow reports - trial balance, statements etc...
Sonny Pawchuk (12/06/2011 1:17:01 PM):Do you have any hints with Analytical Accounting, Running the Check links on that module always provides interesting errors/results and running a year end with the module still intimidates me (because there always seems to be a possibility of loosing AA data). Trying to run any AA process in a test company never seems to work.
Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:17:09 PM):I think the move to history should be part of the month end activities, but purchasing doens't really have one..
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:18:43 PM):All: I don't know what the reluctance is to moving to history. Back many years ago you couldn't reprint a PO in history. But today that is not a problem

Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:19:21 PM):Leslie - can you copy a PO that has been moved to history?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:24:26 PM):Sheila: you can copy open or history POs

Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:19:28 PM):I think it's a remaining of 'old' business processes that were never challenged... :-)
Hal Steinkopf (12/06/2011 1:19:53 PM):...and records in history will really speed up processing of SmartLists, NavigationLists, inquiries, etc when done on "Current"/open records
Tom Johnson (12/06/2011 1:20:00 PM):I personally don't have a problem with moving data to history....it's all the other people. Isn't that always the case?
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:20:21 PM):Tom: darned all of those other people :)

Hal Steinkopf (12/06/2011 1:22:01 PM):Thank you Leslie - a very informative session! ...and with just enough detail (and not too much) to keep my interest.
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:22:28 PM):Hal: thank you very much.

Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:22:26 PM):On the topic of Mass Deleting of Vendors - I just ran a SQL script that changed the vendor status to Temporary if they had not had any checks cut since 2006 and their current balance was zero. This saved a huge amount of time in changing all those vendor cards manually and now they can review their list of Temp vendors before using the Mass Delete.
Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:22:40 PM):Hey Leslie, thanks anyway for the presentation... didn't got everything because I was distracted by some urgent user calls :-(.. will recope with the recorded sessions.
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:23:04 PM):Nice to see you again Beat!

Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:23:17 PM):Sheila, would you mind to share the quick script ?
Gabriel Vegas (12/06/2011 1:23:27 PM):Gracias por la sesion , bastante interesante
Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:23:48 PM):Me too :-p
Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:23:53 PM):How about I send it to Leslie and she can post it on her blog for all to see. Would that be something you would like Leslie?
Laura Vance (12/06/2011 1:24:03 PM):Yes, it was very helpful. Thanks for the info
Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:24:04 PM):YES !!
Brenda Haynes (12/06/2011 1:24:33 PM):That script would be great. Thanks.
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:24:42 PM):Sheila: sure, bring it on

Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:25:17 PM):I'll put it together for you. Has everyone seen Leslie's blog? Can you share your blog address Leslie?
Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:25:20 PM):See you in Houston :-) and have a great time in the mean.
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:25:50 PM):if you search for the Dynamics Confessor (corny I know) it will come up

Hal Steinkopf (12/06/2011 1:25:52 PM):and you can then convert the concept in that script to a view in your company database and then create a smartlist (with possible reminder) of all those vendors who qualify (obviously without the update effect).
Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:26:11 PM):http://dynamicsconfessions.blogspot.com/
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:26:22 PM):Thanks Beat!

Beat Bucher (12/06/2011 1:26:27 PM):no Pb
Sheila Jefferson-Ross (12/06/2011 1:27:00 PM):You're the best Leslie. Talk soon!
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:27:18 PM):Thank you thank you!!!!

Maryana Estrada (12/06/2011 1:27:38 PM):Thanks a lot Leslie! :D
Leslie Vail (12/06/2011 1:29:32 PM):You are all very welcome. I am so glad you came!

Reconciling Inventory, what really happens?

2011-11-11T04:17:00.000-06:00

I’ve seen this question come up a couple of times lately, even here at the GPUG 2011 Summit. I have some good information about the details of the inventory reconciliation process so I thought it might help to pass it along to everyone.

The Inventory files involved in the reconcile are:

Purchase Receipts (IV10200)
Purchase Receipts Detail (IV10201)
Item Master (IV00101)
Item Serial Number Master (IV00200)
Item Quantity Master (IV00102)
Item Lot Number Master (IV00300)
Item Vendor Master (IV00103)
Inventory Transaction Amounts Work (IV10001)
Inventory Serial and Lot Numbers Work (IV10002)
Item Site Bin Master (IV00112)
Inventory Transaction Bin Quantities Work (IV10003)
Inventory Transaction Bin Quantities History (IV30302)

Additional files outside of Inventory are involved in the reconcile if modules Purchase Order Processing, Sales Order Processing, or Invoicing are loaded.

The files outside of inventory that may be involved are as follows:

Purchase Order Line (POP10110)
Purchasing Receipt Line Quantities (POP10500)
Sales Transaction Amounts Work (SOP10200)
Sales Serial/Lot Work and History (SOP10201)
Invoicing Transaction Amounts Work (IVC10101)
Invoicing Serial and Lot Number Work (IVC10102)

The Reconcile process goes like this:

The quantities are reconciled first between the Purchase Receipts and the Item Serial Number Master file.
Then the Purchase Receipts and Item Lot Number Master files are reconciled.
At this point, the quantities are reconciled between the Purchase Receipts file and Item Quantity Master file
Reallocating of Inventory Transaction Amounts Work, Inventory Serial and Lot Numbers Work, Sales Transaction Amounts Work, Sales Serial/Lot Work and History, Invoicing Transaction Amounts Work and Invoicing Serial and Lot Number Work tables is done next.
The On Order quantities are determined for the Item Quantity Master and Item Vendor Master tables by comparing them to the Purchase Order Line and Purchasing Receipt Line Quantities tables.
The last step in the reconcile is to reconcile the quantities on each of the items’ individual quantity location records to the total quantity record for that same item.

This information is avaialble in Article ID: 874220.

I hope this is helpful!

Until next post!

Leslie Vail

Recording a Rebate from a Vendor

2011-08-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

This has come up a few times in recent days, so I thought I’d post this quick tip about how to record a refund check or rebate received from a vendor.

You get a check in the mail!

Let’s say you buy enough office supplies to get a $100.00 cash reward from Advanced Office Systems. They send you a $100.00 check. You could create a deposit in the Bank Rec module, but then you wouldn’t have a record of your good fortune with the vendor.

To record this $100.00 check and keep it linked to the vendor, use the Document Type Return in Payables Transaction Entry.

Put the amount of the refund in the Returns field and in the Check field. When you post the transaction, you will have evidence of it in the vendor record and the check will be waiting for you to deposit in the check register.

The $100.00 check is waiting to be deposited.

How do you apply it to a credit memo?

A kind user of the Community asked how to handle receiving the cash after they had already entered a credit document in anticipation of a credit or refund. My advice in this situation is to simply void the credit and re-enter it as a refund as described above.

Please let me know if you have more ideas!

Until next post!

Leslie Vail
leslievail@earthlink.net

Notable settings on the Account Maintenance Window

2011-05-24T14:13:00.000-05:00

There are several settings on the Account Maintenance window that are underutilized. These settings have existed for over ten years, but still I see the default settings used in all but a meager number of installations. The following settings will be explored:

· Account Aliasing
· Allow Account Entry
· Account Category
· Posting Type
· Typical Balance
· Level of Posting from Series
· Include in Look up
· Effectively Inactivating an Account

Account Aliasing

Creating an account Alias allows you to speed data entry by creating a Nickname for an account. Instead of having to remember or search for a specific account number. To create an alias, simply add the nickname to the alias field just under the Description field.

To use the Alias during account entry, select the expansion arrow next to the Account Look up Button or use CTRL Q on the keyboard to open the Account Entry window. Enter the Alias in the Account entry window, and the corresponding account will automatically come into the transaction.

Allow Account Entry Check box

Using this check box can help keep your control accounts in balance with the general ledger. The default setting is checked thereby allowing this account to be selected if it has not defaulted in to a transaction. Therefore, you could make a journal entry directly to the cash account which most likely will create a problem during bank reconciliation. For all of your control accounts – those accounts updated by a subsidiary module – the Allow Account Entry check box should be cleared.

Once the check box is cleared, an attempt to use it will result in a warning dialog and the entry will not be allowed.

Account Category

This is a required field on the window and is used exclusively by the Advanced Financial Analysis module.

The category assigned to an account determines where the account will appear on the financial statements printed from the Financial Area Page.

The accounting system would run perfectly even if every account were assigned to the Cash category. Neither FRx nor Management Reporter relies on this setting to determine classification on the financials. Account Category reports CAN be used in financial reporting, and, you can create as many categories as you would like. In addition to creating new categories you can modify the descriptions of the default categories.

Add categories or modify category descriptions on the Account Category Setup window.

Financial > Setup > Category

Posting Type

The posting type determines which accounts are rolled into Retained Earnings during the financial year end close. This setting affects nothing else. As part of your year end close checklist be sure to check each account’s posting type. If you have a beginning balance in an income or expense account after year end close, then the posting type is incorrect. KB article 864913 provides detailed instructions on how to recover from this type of problem.

Typical Balance

This setting determines whether the account appears as a positive or negative number on the financial statements. The title is a bit misleading because even though the ‘typical’ balance of the accumulated depreciation account is a credit, the correct setting for purposes of the Account Maintenance window is Debit. Since accumulated depreciation functions as a reduction to an asset account, marking debit causes it to appear negative on the balance sheet. These settings were designed for the Advanced Financial Analysis module, and also control in which column (debit or credit) the cursor defaults during transaction entry.

In short, the following are the correct selections for this section regardless of the typical balance from an accounting point of view:

Account Type	Typical Balance
Asset	Debit
Liability	Credit
Equity	Credit
Income	Credit\
Expense	Debit

Level of Posting from Series

This setting works in concert with the ‘Create a Journal Entry Per’ option in the Posting Setup window. With ‘Batch’ selected and the ‘Use Account Settings’ check box marked, the system looks to the Account Maintenance window in order to know how to create the journal entry coming up from the subsidiary module.

Using the Payables Transaction Entry window as an example, the settings illustrated above would result in a single summarized entry to the Accounts Payable (000-2100-00) account per batch. Whether entries to the other accounts are made in detail or in summary would likewise be controlled by the settings on those individual accounts.

For example, suppose only the Accounts Payable account was set to ‘Summary’ and our batch contained three vouchers. Each voucher contained a debit to the Prepaid Insurance account and a credit to Accounts Payable.

The resulting entry posted to the GL for this batch would be as follows:

Dr. Prepaid Insurance 56.98
Dr. Prepaid Insurance 27.50
Dr. Prepaid Insurance 15.00
Cr. Accounts Payable 99.48

Include in Look up

If all of your accounts are listed whenever you click on the account look up button, then you haven’t made use of this powerful setting. The default setting marks all of the items (Sales, Inventory Control, Purchasing, and Payroll) and is rarely changed. To illustrate this setting, I’ve taken away the ‘Sales’ setting from all of the accounts except for the accounts I want to appear when I first hit the account look up button. Likewise, I’ve only included ‘Sales’ in the ‘Include in Lookup’ selection for my Sales accounts.

Now that my sales related accounts are marked to be included in the sales look up, my account look up window starts with Accounts Receivable instead of Cash.

The other accounts are readily available by clicking on the View menu and selecting All Accounts.

Inactivate that Account for good!

· Inactive – dah, enough said
· Allow Account Entry – uncheck this box
· Include in Look up – unmark all items

Until next post!

Leslie Vail

Mekorma MICR error message (GP10)

2011-05-09T17:12:00.003-05:00

I had a client get the following error when trying to create Payroll checks with the Mekorma MICR module:

Could not load external Get GUID@mdexlib.dll. Mekorma MICR needs to be re-installed on the workstation giving the error. Be sure to install using the MICR *.exe logged in as 'Administrator'

Mekorma did indeed need to be reinstalled. Reinstallation had been required before but I never understood what happened to the mdelib.dll file. Well now we know. The client’s malware detector isolated that file as a threat.

So, if this happens to you, be sure to identify the Mekorma .dlls as ‘friendly’ files.

Until next post!

Leslie

Dexterity I class scheduled for May 16th - 20th, 2011 will be running as scheduled

2011-04-29T10:18:00.000-05:00

There are 3 seats left and still time to sign up!

Come join us in Orlando for Dexterity Basics training.

The Dex I class is being held at the facility of Integrated Business Group (IBG). IBG is a Certified Partner for Learning Resources and have the best classrooms I have ever seen. Comfortable chairs and lots of room to spread out!

For more information and to register call Roxanna Alvarez @ 407-677-0370 or e-mail her directly ralvarez@ibgnet.com.
Date and Location:

When: May 16th – May 20
Where: Orlando Florida

This class is very hands-on and starts at the beginning; no previous Dexterity experience is necessary.

A synopsis of the class is below this post.

I hope to see you there!

Until Next Post!
Leslie Vail

Dexterity I – Product Fundamentals
Synopsis:
Dexterity Product Fundamentals will teach you about the development environment used to build the Microsoft Dynamics GP family of products. This course will provide you with the foundation you need to build integrated, database-independent applications. In addition, you will learn how to provide powerful application functionality for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

By actively participating in these classes, you should learn:
Basic programming techniques used by Microsoft Dynamics GP to develop their core modules.

How to modify existing Dynamics GP forms and reports in order to make customizations for customers.
How to develop add-on applications that will interact with the Dynamics GP products to meet specific requests by customers.
How to package and ship your dictionary allowing Microsoft Dynamics GP to make updates to Dynamics GP without affecting the developer's dictionary.
How to register your product with Microsoft Dynamics GP using a unique Product ID to ensure no duplication of add-on applications with the same name.
How to develop add-on applications that will "look and feel" like Dynamics GP and provide seamless interface between the applications to ensure a professional finished product.
How to use object triggers, which are scripts in your applications that are invoked by events in Dynamics GP, allowing several developers to deliver enhancements to the same Dynamics GP form.

Who should attend?

Customers or Partners who will be customizing or building add-on or standalone applications to integrate with the Microsoft Dynamics GP products.

General Prerequisites:
Prior to attending the course, it is highly recommended that students prepare for the course by going through the Dexterity Quick Start reference manual and working through the lessons in that manual. The Quick Start manual is located on the second CD of Dynamics GP and can be found under the Help-Online Manuals option from within Dexterity. Also, necessary is knowledge of basic programming concepts.
Price: $2,995 for 5 day course
Accepted Payment Methods: Check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express

Granting Security to Basic Information and Navigation Windows

2011-04-28T14:37:00.001-05:00

When security is converted, the DEFAULTUSER task is not included in the Role created for an existing user. Because this task is not included, some of the windows for general navigation new to GP 10 were not available to converted users. This post explains how to add the DEFAULTUSER role to a CNV Role.

On the Navigation Pane, select the Administration Series button to launch the Administration Area Page.

On the Administration Area Page, navigate to the Setup Content Pane and then the System menu. Select Security Roles from the System menu and the Security Role Setup window will open.

Select from Icon	Select from Button

On the Security Role Setup window select each user’s Role ID, scroll down to the DEFAULTUSER Security Task ID and select it. This will grant access to a variety of navigation and lookup windows. Save this record and move on to the next applicable User Role ID. For versions prior to GP2010 there is no utility to copy security between users.

Until next post!
Leslie

GP 2010 R2 – Ready to Download!

2011-04-25T04:12:00.001-05:00

It’s HERE!

The covers have been pulled off of the newest version of Dynamics GP. Some fabulous new features have been added that really make it worth your time to install. Links to all of the download are at the bottom of this post.

Take a look at some of the R2 updates to Foundation alone:

Business Analyzer - this is the absolute COOLEST!

You can use Business Analyzer to help you make business decisions by viewing
Microsoft Dynamics GP reports from your desktop. The following illustration
shows Business Analyzer from your desktop.

Home Page - Viewing multiple metrics
Multiple metrics can be displayed in your home page. You also can create your own
metrics to display in your home page.

Sending reports in e-mail messages
You can send most reports in an e-mail message if you’re using a MAPI compliant email
service. All reports sent in an e-mail will be sent in HTML format, which
doesn’t require any other setup procedures. The recipient of the report must be
using Internet Explorer 7 or higher to view the e-mailed report, but no additional
setup is required.

To send a report in an e-mail, you first must set up a report option. Then, you can set
up e-mail options for each report option. Those settings, which include recipients
for the e-mail and settings for embedding or attaching the report are saved with the
report option and you’ll be able to send updated reports to the same recipients.

Sending customized messages
You can create predefined messages to send to your customers and vendors. These
messages can be assigned to the documents that you want to send in e-mail so all
customers or vendors receive the same message for selected documents. For
example, you can send a promotional message to your customers when sending
sales quotes in e-mail. You also can assign a specific message to an individual
customer or vendor. For example, you can send a holiday greeting message to a
customer. When you create a message, you can enter an e-mail address so your
customer or vendor can reply to your e-mail.

You can customize your messages by adding fields that are associated with a
document type. For example, a message can be personalized to address each
customer or vendor by name. You could add the due date for a sales invoice in a
message or the PO number for a purchase order. You also can copy the message
information from an existing message ID to a new message ID.

Viewing Reporting Services metrics
You can use Microsoft® SQL Server® Reporting Services 2008 or Reporting Services
2008 R2 to display graphical representations of Microsoft Dynamics GP data in the
metrics area of your home page. Reporting Services metrics appear in the SQL
Reporting Services Report list.

Viewing additional information
If you want to analyze data in a Reporting Services 2008 or Reporting Services R2
metric displayed in your home page, you can click a data point in the metric to open
a detailed report for additional information. If you want to view additional data in
the detailed report, you can click certain data fields to open the maintenance or
inquiry window related to that data field.

Modifying a metric – At Last!
If you are using Report Builder 3.0 or Report Builder 2.0, you can open the Microsoft
SQL Server Report Builder window from the Metrics Detail window to modify SQL
Server Reporting Services metrics and KPIs (key performance indicators). SQL
Server Reporting Services R2 also must be installed and set up to use with Microsoft
Dynamics GP.

Opening a metric in Report Viewer
If you are using Reporting Services 2008 or Reporting Services 2008 R2 to display
metrics, you can click the View icon to display a metric in Report Viewer.

Installation and deployment features
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for Receivables Management is installed along with
Microsoft Dynamics GP instead of as a separately selectable Microsoft Dynamics GP
feature.

Human Resources and Payroll Suite
This is now installed as a separately selectable Microsoft Dynamics GP feature instead as an additional component.

When deploying Reporting Services reports using the Microsoft SQL Server
Reporting Services Wizard, you can deploy reports to either Native mode (SQL Server Reporting Services) or SharePoint® mode.

You can deploy Reporting Services reports and Excel reports using Microsoft
Dynamics GP Utilities. After creating the system database or company database,
you can select which reports to deploy and the location to deploy the reports to.
Instead of selecting the series that you want to deploy reports for, reports for the
components that you have installed are deployed. If you are upgrading a company,
the deployed reports are automatically upgraded. In previous releases of Microsoft
Dynamics GP, you had to use a separate wizard to deploy SRS reports and a
separate wizard to deploy Microsoft Excel reports to Microsoft SharePoint.
If you aren't ready to deploy reports using Microsoft Dynamics GP Utilities, you can
deploy reports using the Report Tools Setup window in Microsoft Dynamics GP.
You can use the Report Tools Setup window to redeploy reports or deploy reports to
a different location.

List Performance Enhancements YAY! WOO HOO!
List views provide a view of your data that you can customize in a variety of ways.
In Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 R2, improvements were made to the speed at which
the information is displayed, enabling you to spend your time using the list rather
than waiting for it to display.

Report deployment
You can deploy SQL Services Reporting Services reports and Microsoft Excel report
using the Report Tools Setup window in Microsoft Dynamics GP. You also can use
the window to redeploy reports or deploy reports to a different location.

SmartList Builder Publish multiple Excel reports at once
You can use the new Bulk Deploy Excel Reports window and select multiple Excel
reports to publish at once, rather than publishing them individually.

SmartList Builder Set the default column order in SmartList Builder
You can define default column order using SmartList Builder so that the SmartList
is displayed with the columns in the order you want when it is first opened. A new
window, Default Column Order is added to SmartList Builder for determining the
column order.

SmartList Builder Drill Down to Extender and SmartLists
You can use the Drill Down Builder to create drill downs from Microsoft Dynamics
GP, SmartLists and Extender. A Dynamics GP Form drill down opens a Microsoft
Dynamics GP form and sets values on the form. A SmartList drill down opens a
SmartList and sets search parameters. An Extender drill down opens an Extender
Form or Detail Form and sets the values of the ID fields.

SmartList Builder Multicompany Excel Reports in a Single Excel Worksheet
You can add data from multiple companies into a single Excel Worksheet. In
addition, you can add the Company ID and/or Name to each line so that you can
see which company the data came from.

SmartList Builder Update Multiple field settings at one time
You have the ability to modify field options for multiple fields with the same field
type at once instead of one at a time. For example, you can select display options
such as currency symbols and percentage signs and mark several fields to display
the option for using the Set Field Options window.

Add Microsoft Dynamics GP forms to Extender menus
You can add Microsoft Dynamics GP forms to Extender menus using the Add
Dynamics GP Forms window allowing additional flexibility to the menus you
create.

Unified Communications and Office Communicator 2007 functionality was added. This functionality is also available using the Linked Lookup fields on Extender windows and forms, detailed forms, and extra windows.

Copy lists in Extender
You can copy list field items from one form or window to another one. The Copy
List Items window shows all the lists defined in Extender, so you can choose which
list to copy from; then, select all or individual list items to copy. In addition, you can
append the list you copy to the existing list items.

Matched Table Enhancements
In the Matched Tables window, you have new Table Description fields to help
identify the tables, and the ability to include fields that don't appear in both
matched tables.

GET YOUR COPY NOW!

Until next post!

Leslie Vail

Upgrade to 2010 R2?

2011-04-25T03:59:00.001-05:00

I had no problem with a clean install of R2. When I tried to update a current installation I received the set of errors listed below right after the ‘Install Microsoft . . . ‘ was selected. Any ideas?

Until next post!

Leslie

Watch David Musgrave's Moves on You Tube!!

2011-04-15T13:28:00.001-05:00

David Musgrave

Shattered is the image of David Musgrave staring intently at his computer screen putting yet another finishing touch on the Support Debugging Tool.

Here's the scene - the Convergence Reception reaches a fevered pitch, the music starts to pound, and then David breaks loose with some moves all his own!

The Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta was the 'Place to Be' on Tuesday night (April 12, 2011) where Musgrave moved to the beat in a way that was nothing less than astonishing. Sheila Jefferson-Ross, always ready with a camera, captured this legendary display for your viewing pleasure.
Watch, as David reveals yet another of his hidden talents!

Be sure to post your comments so that David can see how much you support him in pursuing a place on "Australia's Got Talent!" See the video here

Enjoy! Until next post!
Leslie Vail

SOP order and POP document in the same order

2011-04-12T10:27:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post from Convergence.

Yesterday I was asked if it was possible for the PO created from a SOP document to retain the line item order of the PO. Their customer matched up the invoice with their PO when approving the bill. You certainly don't want any delay in receiving our customer's payment, so having the two documents match is essential.

The answer, yes you can!

Microsoft Professional Services sells a tool that will cause the PO to be created in the same line item order as the SOP document that created it. At last call the tool was a mere $500. This tool is not on the regular GP product offering so you must submit a support request (non-chargeable) to acquire it.

There are several other tools available from Microsoft that solve problems we have been laboring over for years. I have more detail at: http://dynamicsconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/02/tools-available-from-professional.html

Until next post!

Leslie Vail

House passes repeal of new Form 1099 reporting rules!

2011-04-06T00:15:00.001-05:00

We were all holding our breath waiting for this to happen! It’s hard to imagine, but there were some who voted against it. Go figure.

CCH® PAYROLL — 03/08/11

The House passed the repeal, on March 3, 2011, of a section of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) that required businesses to file Form 1099 for all transactions valued at $600 or more, that is, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011 (H.R. 4). The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The Senate passed its version, as an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill on February 2, 2011 (S.B. 223) (see CCH Payroll Management Guide Report Letter 1333/2185, dated February 8, 2011).

The Obama Administration raised “serious concerns” about the method of paying for repeal of the Form 1099 reporting requirement for small businesses under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) contained in a House bill. The administration in a written policy statement, said the proposed offset in the Comprehensive 1099 Tax Protection and Repayment Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (HR 4) would increase taxes on certain middle-class families that incur unexpected health care tax liabilities even though they followed the rules.

A provision repealing the same information reporting requirements in the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act also drew criticism by the administration. The aviation bill would pay for the repeal with an unspecified rescission of $44 billion which, the administration noted, could seriously disrupt services provided

by the federal government. The administration said it will continue to work with Congress to find an acceptable offset for repealing the bookkeeping requirement. (House Ways and Means Committee Report on the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011 (HR 4).)

Payroll Tax Round 4 for 2011 tax year

2011-04-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

Time to update those tax tables again! This update does require a code change, so give yourself some time

Download them here:

Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 - Build 10.00.1727
This page contains the latest U.S. Payroll Tax Update for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0.
https://mbs2.microsoft.com/public/insights/ReadArticle.aspx?rcpt_id=17551421&ja_id=49904

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 – Build 11.0.1708
This page contains the latest U.S. Payroll Tax Update for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010.
https://mbs2.microsoft.com/public/insights/ReadArticle.aspx?rcpt_id=17551421&ja_id=49905

Until next post!

Leslie

The Vendor ID is Missing or Invalid

2011-03-26T02:05:00.000-05:00

This will be a short post. When I come upon an error message in a third party product I am going to post it if a resolution does not come up on a search.

This error was received when using the Ethotech Commission Plan product. The error is presented when you try to Preview or Process commissions. If a salesperson is a contractor, s/he must be associated with a Vendor ID. The message is telling us something is wrong with that association. Open the Salesperson Maintenance window (Sales > Cards > Salesperson) and check for the existence of a Vendor ID.

Zoom back on the Vendor ID. To zoom, hover your mouse over the word ‘Vendor ID’, when the mouse pointer changes to a pointing finger , click. A menu will drop down that says Vendor Maintenance at the top. Click on the menu and the Vendor Maintenance window will open with the vendor associated with that salesperson displayed.

Because the Vendor Maintenance window opened displaying a vendor, we know the vendor is valid. Further investigation of the window revealed that the Status of the vendor was Inactive. Changing the vendor to Active status solved the problem.

GP2010 R2 - More Information Released with Tech Conference Materials

2011-03-09T17:44:00.000-06:00

Tech Conference materials are available for download. Get all of the information from the 2011 Technical Conference in Fargo, including details about GP 2010 R2!

Very exciting features are coming with R2, download the resources and see for yourself!

https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/newsevents/events/conferences/msdygp_techconference2011.htm?p=5

Dynamics GP 2010 R2 Features

2011-03-04T10:50:00.000-06:00

We have tons of new features to look forward to with the release of GP 2010 R2. There are some VERY exciting things planned for version ‘12’ as well.

Take a look at all of the R2 new features!

Be watching CustomerSource/PartnerSource for the official announcement and a special ‘Feature of the Day’ series of articles explaining each of the new enhancements.

Fargo Tech Conference – Day One, Wednesday

2011-03-02T08:18:00.000-06:00

Although we have been here for 3 days, this is officially Day 1 of the Conference.

David Musgrave and MVP Mariano Gomez delivered their first presentation of the conference today. Of course, they were stellar. Who’da thunk you could have this much fun listening to the finer points about a debugging tool! Actually debugging code? You’ve got to be kidding! I thought everyone just used the ‘let’s try this’ approach.

After the conference, about 25 of us braved the cold and walked over to the mall to meet up at Grizzley’s for dinner. OK, from the hotel to the mall was about 300 yds (275 meters), BUT IT’S MINUS 5F OUTSIDE ! (that’s –21C) and that doesn’t even count the wind chill factor from the 14mph winds! Suffice it to say it was bitterly cold.

I made it across, but there was definitely a taxi in my future if I was expected to walk back. That’s right, a 300 yd taxi ride. Hey, I’m from Texas; we don’t do this kind of thing in Texas. David took a lot of pictures, I imagine some will show up on his blog. I did get a ride back to the hotel, so thankfully, I didn't have to call a cab.

Tomorrow is the 2nd presentation by the Dynamics Duo. That also means that tomorrow night is the Expo. David will undoubtedly instigate a Tim Tam Slam competition. What’s a Tim Tam Slam you say? Read on . . .

Tim Tam Slam Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Tim Tams
Milk, Hot Chocolate, Tea, Coffee
Sweet alcoholic beverage (optional)
Cup
Camera!

Get hold of a Tim Tam! This may be easier said than done if you're outside Australia or New Zealand, but trust me - they're worth the effort. If you don't have friends willing to ship you these goodies, you can get some here:
http://www.about-australia-shop.com/timtams.htm
Bite two of the four corners off your Tim Tam. You'll want to pick two corners that are diagonal to each other, lengthwise.
Put one of the short ends of your Tim Tam into a glass of milk, coffee, hot chocolate, tea or Baileys, and then suck inward, like you're using the cookie (biscuit) as a straw. Once the liquid touches your tongue, shove the whole thing in your mouth (the Slam!) or it will collapse and make a huge mess.

While you are buying your Tim Tam’s, pick up some chocolate Chicos http://www.aussieproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NECH19

The Masters at Work!

2011-02-28T07:51:00.000-06:00

Here’s David Musgrave and Mariano Gomez honing their presentation on development tools (what else!). They have picked a quiet table in the corner of the bar at Basies. Hey, it’s never too late to prepare for your presentation, right?

David Musgrave & Mariano Gomez

We worked there all day, and David got to experience an ‘object reference not set’ error and couldn’t uninstall Dynamics from his computer. He was off to the races then trying 'things', but the computer was winning. After 6 hours we got a new set of eyes looking at it. David Eichner to the rescue. David E. suggested some pretty agressive 'fixes', but everything started working again at last. And it only took 6 hours! Welcome to my world David!

After our day at the bar, Mariano needed to get some fresh air. I guess two solid days inside the Ramada in Fargo was starting to close in on him. David M, David E, Mariano and me ventured across the street in the cold to Granite City Food & Brewery to get some dinner and exchange more stories and laughs.

We have an early day Monday, so we all headed upstairs to our rooms at about 10:00 pm.

Until next time!

Leslie

Tech Conference in Fargo–Cold Cold Cold

2011-02-28T07:35:00.000-06:00

Fargo was cold (zero degrees F) when I arrived from 70 degree Dallas on Saturday. After enduring a two-hour delay in Chicago for de-icing, I was rewarded by meeting up with Haseet Sanghrajka at the Fargo airport. Haseet came in from England and was also on his way to the Ramada.

Mariano Gomez, Leslie Vail & David Musgrave

When I finally walked into the Ramada I was greeted by the best of the best – David Musgrave and Mariano Gomez! It was well past dinner time when I finally arrived, but David and Mariano waited for me to get there so we could all sit down together for a meal at Basies. Mariano was looking mighty hungry though.

All inconveniences of the cold and the delays soon vanished from my mind. David Eichner joined us for conversation and mashed potatoes during dinner and we gabbed until after 1:00 am.

What a great day to catch up and ready ourselves for the Conference!

Until next post!

Leslie

Dexterity Training in Orlando (May 16th to 20th, 2011)

2011-02-27T04:07:00.042-06:00

Come join us in Orlando for Dexterity Basics training. We have nine people signed up so far!

It’s –1 F (-18 C) in Fargo, Orlando sure sounds a lot nicer!

The Dex I class is being held at the facility of Integrated Business Group they are a Certified Learning Resources partner and have the best classrooms I have ever seen. Comfortable chairs and lots of room.

For more information and to register call Roxanna Alvarez @ 407-677-0370 or e-mail her directly ralvarez@ibgnet.com.

Date and Location:

When: May 16th – May 20
Where: Orlando Florida

This class is very hands-on and starts at the beginning; no previous Dexterity experience is necessary.

You can download a synopsis of the class Here:
http://www.4shared.com/document/gK3muz4n/Dexterity_I_Synopsis_.html

I have pasted the synopsis below if the download doesn't work.

I hope to see you there!

Until Next Post!
Leslie Vail

Dexterity I – Product Fundamentals

Synopsis:

Dexterity Product Fundamentals will teach you about the development environment used to build the Microsoft Dynamics GP family of products. This course will provide you with the foundation you need to build integrated, database-independent applications. In addition, you will learn how to provide powerful application functionality for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

By actively participating in these classes, you should learn:

Basic programming techniques used by Microsoft Dynamics GP to develop their core modules.

How to modify existing Dynamics GP forms and reports in order to make customizations for customers.
How to develop add-on applications that will interact with the Dynamics GP products to meet specific requests by customers.
How to package and ship your dictionary allowing Microsoft Dynamics GP to make updates to Dynamics GP without affecting the developer's dictionary.
How to register your product with Microsoft Dynamics GP using a unique Product ID to ensure no duplication of add-on applications with the same name.
How to develop add-on applications that will "look and feel" like Dynamics GP and provide seamless interface between the applications to ensure a professional finished product.
How to use object triggers, which are scripts in your applications that are invoked by events in Dynamics GP, allowing several developers to deliver enhancements to the same Dynamics GP form.

Who should attend?

Customers or Partners who will be customizing or building add-on or standalone applications to integrate with the Microsoft Dynamics GP products.

General Prerequisites:

Prior to attending the course, it is highly recommended that students prepare for the course by going through the Dexterity Quick Start reference manual and working through the lessons in that manual. The Quick Start manual is located on the second CD of Dynamics GP and can be found under the Help-Online Manuals option from within Dexterity. Also, necessary is knowledge of basic programming concepts.

Price: $2,995 for 5 day course

Accepted Payment Methods: Check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express

NEW! Keys.ini file Control your Macro's Date and Time

2011-02-19T14:31:00.000-06:00

How to Test Date Driven Features in GP

I have added a new file to the .ini collection – the Keys.ini

This information comes compliments of Alice Newsman from the GP Test Team. Alice explains how to use the file, where to put it and why you NEED to use this file when testing date driven features http://blogs.msdn.com/b/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2009/12/18/testing-date-driven-features-in-gp.aspx

Download the new file here: http://www.4shared.com/document/Dn7XeHVj/KEYSini_file_settings.html

Dex.ini Settings

Several settings in the Dex.ini file control the application and enable more consistency to be driven into tests. The below settings will allow you to specify whether you want to use the Control Panel settings for date, time and currency values as well as allowing you to set the preferred format.

StdInternationalInfo
This setting allows the operating system settings for date, time, and currency formatting to be overridden.

TRUE = Use Dexterity standard formats for date, time, and currency values
FALSE = Use control panel settings for date, time, and currency values

StdInternationalInfoDateCentury
This setting allows control over the year portion of the date values used by StdInternationalInfo

TRUE = Four digits will be used for the year portion of date values
FALSE = Two digits will be used for the year portion of date values

StdInternationalInfoDateZeroPrefix
This setting allows control over the date format for SdtInternationalInfo

TRUE = Single-digit day and month values will be prefixed with a 0 (zero)
FALSE = Single-digit day and month values will not be prefixed

Keys.ini Settings
The Keys.ini file contains commands that are run at startup to configure various system behaviors. The commands in the Keys.ini are run only if the file is included in the command to launch Microsoft Dynamics GP.

You create this file using a text editor such as Notepad. The Keys.ini file is typically stored in the Data folder of the Microsoft Dynamics GP installation.

To work properly, the Keys.ini file must also have a blank line as the last item in the file. The following commands allow the user to set a static system date and time.

SetEbDateTo
This command specifies the date value to use for the system date. Note that for this setting the '=' is not included in the switch, it is here just for definition readability. Examples are included to clarify.

'o/s' = Use the operating system date
MM/DD/YY/DOW = Use the date specified, where MM is the month, DD is the date, YY is the year, and DOW is the day of the week

Example: SetEbDateTo date 01/01/1965

SetEbTimeTo
This command specifies the time value to use for the system time. Note that for this setting the '=' is not included in the switch, it is here just for definition readability. Examples are included to clarify.

'o/s' = Use the operating system time
time HH:MM:SS = Use the time specified, where HH is the hour (from 0 to 23), MM is the minute, and SS is the second

Example: SetEbTimeTo time 4:15:00

Here is an example of how the switches would look in the Keys.ini file

SetEbDateTo date 01/01/2001
SetEbTimeTo 'o/s'

Once the above settings have been specified you will then be able to setup your starting data including specific dates for orders, items, etc to create in-depth testing for date driven features.

Enjoy!

Leslie Vail

Dex.ini Downloadable File Updated

2011-02-19T13:58:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone,

I have updated my Dex.ini collection. The file name is the same, but it contains a few new switches. As before, please comment and correct me if the descriptions are wrong or give me some new ones that I can add to the list!

I’m still looking for an explanation for the two below. If anyone knows what they mean, please – speak up!

NextEntryID =

NextGroupID =

Link to download the dex.ini document:
http://www.4shared.com/document/lFerwmn7/DEXini_file_settings.html

Until next post!

Leslie Vail

Remembering the Company, not the User

2011-02-18T04:24:00.000-06:00

GP 2010 brought with it a couple of new features involving security. Mariano wrote a nice article about several new features on his blog last year:
http://dynamicsgpblogster.blogspot.com/2010/01/microsoft-dynamics-gp-2010-security.html

I would like to add a comment about security that I have seen misinterpreted quite a bit lately. There are two new options, (1) Remember user and password & (2) Remember this company. These two options are not related in any way.

Remembering the user and password can be turned on and off through System Preferences (see below). Turning off the ‘Remember User’ option does NOT turn off the ‘Remember this company’ option.

The Remember user and password checkbox is disabled in the Welcome window because it is not enabled in System Preferences.

The checkbox for ‘Remember this company’ is not controlled by System Preferences. You can always check this box. When the box is checked, you still have to log in to the system but then you are automatically logged on to the remembered company after your password is accepted.

I like the option to remember the company. I think remembering the user and password is too big of a security risk to be viable. For anyone who has Field Level Security, I recommend you hide the field (L) RememberMe on the Login form/window.

Until next post!

Leslie

Dexterity Training Rescheduled

2011-02-16T11:56:00.000-06:00

The Dexterity Basics class that was originally scheduled for the week before Tech Conference has been rescheduled and moved to Orlando, FL.

The class is being held at the facility of Integrated Business Group (they are a Certified Learning Resources partner)

For more information and to register:
call Roxanna Alvarez @ 407-677-0370,
or e-mail her directly ralvarez@ibgnet.com.

New Date and Location:

When: May 16th – May 20
Where: Orlando Florida

No previous Dexterity experience is required nor suggested. This class starts from the ground up. We only ask that you have some familiarity with programming in general.

You will be surprised at how much fun you can have in a programming class – and we are close to Disney World!

You can download a synopsis of the class HERE.

I hope to see you there!

Until Next Post!

Leslie Vail

Update path is back for 9.00.0388 to GP 2010

2011-02-16T11:39:00.000-06:00

The only path from 9.00.0388 is to 11.00.1667

Version 11.00.1667 is the resulting build after the installation of the 2011 US Payroll Round 2 Tax Update.
Download the tax update patch HERE.

Dexterity – Learn it – Love it

2011-02-02T17:33:00.000-06:00

With all of this discussion about the fate of Dexterity, I thought I would remind everyone that you can come to the Dexterity Basics class in Fargo the week before Tech Conference and decide for yourself .

Personally, I do not think Dexterity is going to disappear so long as Dynamics GP is alive. Remember the ill-fated project ‘Green’? As Tim Gordon reminds us ..." it (Dexterity) was designed specifically as a language for building an accounting system…"

Dex is in a class by itself!

Until next post,
Leslie

GP Reports Viewer moves into the Shipping Lanes!

2011-02-02T16:17:00.000-06:00

MVP Victoria Yudin just released a fabulous product that will remove so much pain that is now part of herding together all of the various reports in Dynamics. Wow, below is a list of what it can do (stolen directly from Victoria’s blog ).

Download a trial copy and see for yourself! http://www.flex-solutions.com/gpreports.html

Run Crystal and SSRS Reports directly from Dynamics GP

Organize your Crystal and SSRS Reports into Batches and run them all at once

Reports can be run from our GP Reports Viewer screen or from any window in GP - via the Print Button or Extras menu

Your report can automatically use data from the GP company you are in

Auto detection of report parameters and ability to pass parameters directly into reports from GP windows

Assign built-in GP lookups to parameters or easily create additional lookups as needed

Technorati Tags: reporting

Download GP 2010 Payroll Tax Round 2!

2011-02-01T21:09:00.000-06:00

It’s finally here for real – GP 2010 Payroll Tax round 2 – and you can download it HERE
GPUG has a nice announcement on their site http://www.gpug.com/member-resources/payroll-update-news

Dexterity Training is coming to Fargo!

2011-02-01T00:41:00.000-06:00

That’s right! A Dexterity training class is being held the week before Tech Conference (Feb 21-25) in Fargo. If you have been wanting to get started with Dexterity, now is a great opportunity for some classroom training. Details of what is covered and other particulars can be had by contacting IBG.

It’s coming up fast, but it’s worth the trip. We are running the Dexterity I class covering the basics in Dexterity, it’s an introduction to the language aimed at a developer who has not worked with Dexterity before. You will learn how to create user interfaces having the exact same look and feel as Dynamics GP, how to create resources and interact with the core applications. This class will bring it all together for VSTools programmers and new Dexterity developers alike.

Don’t forget to bring a coat

For details and to sign up contact ralvarez@ibgnet.com. You could also fill out the ‘Request Information’ form on their web site. Their web site is http://www.ibgnet.com/.

You can download a synopsis of the class using the link below. http://www.4shared.com/document/gK3muz4n/Dexterity_I_Synopsis_.html
I hope to see you there, if not I will see you at the conference.

Until next post!

Payroll Tax Round 2 for GP2010 for year 2011 UPDATE

2011-01-31T00:06:00.001-06:00

The KB article announced on January 26th (KB2477921) is still a no-show. That means the GP2010 Round 2 (aka, we’ve fixed the 4.2 – 6.2 FICA problem) is not available. The version 10 code is available, but that seems to be all.

We all wait with anticipation for the release of the real code update.

Stay tuned!

Find anything GP thank you Mark Polino!

2011-01-30T17:39:00.001-06:00

MVP Mark Polino is at it again. As if it wasn’t enough to write the ultimate tips and tricks book in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook, he has developed a new web search called My GP Search. This is an amazing piece of work! Find it HERE. It’s a simple one-stop search engine for GP related information. I do not know where he finds time to do so much. Just three years ago we didn’t have blogs or communities or all the sites we rely on today for GP information. Today we can find nearly anything. So much information is now available that it is hard to find everything. Well, those days of going from blog to blog are over! Check it out!

How is FICA/S wages and withholding calculated?

2011-01-26T22:39:00.000-06:00

It’s that time of year again! W-2s are due out early next week and we are just now looking at the numbers. You know who you are!

Have you ever noticed a difference between the Social Security Wages and withholding reported on the Form W-2 and the amounts in the Employee Summary record?

Understanding the relationships between the components listed below can be challenging. This post intends to clarify the inter-relationship between these items and the amounts recorded as Social Security wages and Social Security tax withheld.

Below are the components I discuss:

The Year-end Wage Report
The W-2 Validation Report
The amounts displayed in the Edit W-2 window
The amounts that print on the W-2
The amounts that print on the W-3

Payroll Year-end close

1. When the year is closed the year-end wage file is created. The system captures the actual amounts from the employee summary record. The FICA limit and percentage in effect when the year-end wage file is created are also captured.

2. The Year-end Wage Report reads from the year-end wage file, so it shows the actual amounts withheld regardless of the limits

3. The Validation Report does two things

a. Compares the FICA wages recorded in the year-end wage file to the FICA wage limit that was captured when the year-end wage file was created

b. Calculates what FICA withholding should have been in accordance with the FICA wage limit and percentage captured when the year-end wage file was created

c. Any differences are reported on the Validation Report

4. The W-2 form that appears in the Edit W-2 window is reading the year-end wage file, so it shows the actual amounts withheld

5. The amount that appears in the Social Security Wages W-2 box is the lessor of:

a. The Social Security Wages from the year-end wage file or,

b. The FICA limit captured when he year-end wage file was created.

6. The amount that appears in the Social Security Withheld W-2 box is the lessor of:

a. The amount actually withheld as captured in the year-end wage file or,

b. The amount of the FICA limit in the year-end wage file times the FICA % captured in the year-end wage file. This amount is calculated without regard to the amount recorded in the year-end wage file as Social Security wages.

7. The amounts appearing on the W-3 are the sum of the amounts on the W-2s. The W-3 amounts are not the same as the Year-End wage report amounts.

Have fun with it!
Until next post!

v 9.00.0386 Upgrade Path to GP2010 Gone

2011-01-26T12:05:00.003-06:00

Microsoft announced yesterday that currently there is NO upgrade path to GP2010 from version 9.00.0386 (2010 Canadian Payroll Year End Update & 2011 Round 2 Tax Update KB 2492902) until the release of the 2010 Canadian Payroll Year End Update & 2011 Round 2 Tax Update for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010.

Click HERE to get the latest update document.

Click HERE to download the latest patch for Microsoft Dynamics GP2010.

Payroll Tax Round 2 for GP2010 for year 2011

2011-01-26T10:41:00.004-06:00

Microsoft announced that the much anticipated Round 2 for GP2010 is out. The update filename is MicrosoftDynamicsGP11-KB2477921-ENU.msp (for U.S. English).

Read about it here: https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/downloads/taxupdates/usgptu10.htm?printpage=false

The Tax Tables themselves are here: TX.cab Round 2

Here is an excerpt from the U.S. 2011 January Payroll Tax Update For Microsoft Dynamics ® GP Round 2

“Installation is divided into two portions: the tax table update and the program code update. Installing the tax table update is required for all states included in the Round 2 update.

To install the tax table update:

You can run the tax update installation from any workstation. The update installs payroll tax table data on the server computer where your existing Microsoft Dynamics GP application data is located. You need to install the tax table update only once.

To install the program code update:

You need to install the update on the server as well as every workstation that runs Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Installation instructions vary, depending on the release you are using. Follow instructions for the release you are using:

Installing the program code update for Release 9.0 (links to a different part of the document)

Installing the program code update for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 or Release 10.0 (links to a different part of the document)

Before you begin, ask all Microsoft Dynamics GP users to exit the application until the update is complete. Exit all other applications, turn off the screen saver, and back up important data (including Forms.dic, Reports.dic, and Dynamics.vba if they exist) before you proceed with the installation.

Note: The Payroll Update Engine, which is used to install the tax table update, is not supported on 64-bit operating systems when running Release 9.0, or Release 10.0 prior to Service Pack 3. For more information, refer to the Knowledge Base article at

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;947191

(https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/support/downloads/servicepacks or https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/support/downloads/taxupdates/.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0:

The update filenames are:

MicrosoftDynamicsGP-KB2477916-v10-ENU.exe (for U.S. English) and

MicrosoftDynamicsGP-KB2477917-v10-ESLA.exe (for Latin American Spanish).

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010:

The update filename is MicrosoftDynamicsGP11-KB2477921-ENU.msp (for U.S. English) and

MicrosoftDynamicsGP11-KB2477922-ENU.msp (for Latin American Spanish).

The file incorporates all previous code updates, including Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 and Release 10.0 Service Pack 5, the 2010 U.S. Payroll year-end update, and all recent hotfixes. If you are using Canadian Payroll, it also includes the Canadian 2010 Year-End Update/2011 Tax Update, as well as all previous Canadian Payroll tax updates.”

Stay tuned for upgrade path changes.

Until next post!

Change the Date at Midnight without the Dialog

2011-01-24T21:00:00.002-06:00

A friend asked me recently how to get the date to advance if you are using the .ini switch SuppressChangeDateDialog=TRUE.

First, let me explain the .ini switch. If GP is open overnight, a dialog displays at midnight asking you if you want to advance the date.

Many firms run integrations overnight and this dialog displaying in the middle of an integration will cause it to crash. To keep the dialog from presenting, the ‘SuppressChangeDateDialog’ .ini switch was developed. If this switch is included in your dex.ini file, the date dialog will not be presented and therefore the integration will not crash.

A byproduct of the .ini switch is that the date does not automatically advance. So, we have a dilemma. In order to force the date to advance while suppressing the Change Date dialog, a tool was developed by Microsoft (then Great Plains). The tool is known as the ‘Update User Date’ utility. There is no charge for it, but you have to ask Tech Support in order to get it.

For versions GP 2010 and beyond, this utility is included as one of the free tools in the Professional Services Tools Library. Every GP installation should include this module because so many free tools are included. You can find the Update User Date utility in the upper left-hand corner of the Professional Services Tools Library window. In order to turn the functionality ‘on’ simply check the box to the left of the radio button.

I hope this helps you with your integrations.

Until next post!

Leslie

Check those 1099s! You may have more than you bargained for!

2011-01-09T23:51:00.002-06:00

Version 10 introduced ‘date sensitive’ 1099 reporting. This allowed us to print 1099s for a year without regard to the actual closing date for that year. Prior to this, if you didn’t close A/P right at the year end, it was not possible to cut off payables for the purpose of accumulating 1099 amounts.

The introduction of this new feature brought with it a new ‘gotcha’ in the world of 1099 reporting. If you have a vendor incorrectly marked as a 1099 vendor during the year (and amounts are paid to the vendor in excess of the thresholds), a 1099 will be issued for that vendor even after you change the setting to ‘Not a 1099 Vendor’. In order to prevent the Form 1099 from printing, you need to zero out all of the 1099 amounts recorded in the 1099 Details window. (Purchasing Area Page > Cards Content Pane >1099 Details.)

In order to see the 1099 Details for a vendor, first mark them as a 1099 vendor. After the vendor is marked, remove any amounts from the 1099 Amount column in the 1099 Details window. Don’t forget to reset the 1099 option after clearing out the balances. Once the balances are cleared, the 1099 will no longer print for this vendor. Marking the vendor as ‘Not a 1099 Vendor’ is no longer sufficient to cause the 1099 not to print.

This was an issue in version 10 and continues to be an issue with version 2010.

Until next post!

Leslie

Support Debugging Tool–new release!

2010-12-03T05:46:00.002-06:00

David Musgrave has done it again! He’s added more to the already unbeatable Support Debugging Tool. Find out more on David’s blog:

Support Debugging Tool Build 14 released

If you do not already have it, then your life is incomplete. For those of us who use it everyday, it’s hard to imagine life without it!

Thank you David!

Until next time,

Leslie

AutoComplete Data for GP – it’s not really a Mystery

2010-10-25T22:59:00.006-05:00

I have heard a lot of buzz lately about the AutoComplete fields and I thought I would take the opportunity to put it to rest. If I'm wrong about this, please correct me, but this is the truth as I know it.

The AutoComplete fields are not stored in the SQL database! They are stored in each user’s profile on each workstation they have used to log in to Dynamics GP.

For example, if I log in to workstation “A”, and then log in to Dynamics GP, an AutoCmpl.dat file will be created in my AppData folder on workstation “A”. If I then log in to workstation “B”, and log in to Dynamics GP, a different AutoCmpl.dat file will be created in my AppData folder on workstation “B”. A folder is created for each company database. Therefore, none of these files includes all of my AutoComplete data. Since the AutoComplete feature has a workstation component, you may have different AutoComplete fields pop up if you log in to Dynamics GP from multiple workstations.

On my Windows7 workstation, the AutoComplete fields for Fabrikam are stored here:

C:\Users\Leslie\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Business Solutions\Microsoft Dynamics GP\TWO\AutoCmpl.dat

A corresponding AutoCmpl.idx file is in that same folder. The ‘AppData’ folder is a hidden folder, so you will need to modify your folder view options in order to see it.

Another point; I do not think all of the AutoComplete records are “loaded into memory” when the form loads. The data is simply stored in a file and is pulled from the file when the user asks for it. I think the “AutoComplete” feature has been around since version 8, it works by matching typed-in text character-by-character and displaying matches in a drop-down list.

It seems each user can store up to 99,999 entries per AutoComplete field, per company. Theoretically, I suppose you could get millions of records in that file, but just like other data, it is merely taking up a little hard drive space until it is requested. The default number of entries is set to 10,000 per field. I'm not sure why 10,000 was selected, but there must be a reason (or it just seemed like a good idea at the time!).

It has been suggested by many that each user lower the per-field maximum from 10,000 to around 300. Rather than changing the AutoComplete limits, I would think it more appropriate to select ‘Remove unused entries after x days’. If the user wants to remove an entry before that, simply right click on the errant entry and select ‘Remove from list’.

To satisfy my own curiosity, I connected an Excel spreadsheet to the AutoCmpl.dat file and imported the data. The data stored in the file looks like this.

If you open the Dex.dic file using Dexterity, you will find the AutoComplete table definition. The database type is forced to c-tree.

The .dat and .idx files are ctree Plus files. ctree Plus is an ISAM database from FairCom Corporation. Dynamics GP used to be available on the ctree platform. ctree files are still used for some of the temp tables in GP today. For more information about Temporary Tables, take a look at David’s article Working with temporary tables in Dexterity. As a Dexterity programmer you can define that a certain table will be created as a ctree file.

The Table Import Utility definitions are stored in ctree files (SY50000.dat and SY50100.dat). The On-Line Field Descriptions are stored in ctree files too, OLDF001.dat (for the tables) and OLFD002.dat (for the forms). If you have the ctree Plus ODBC driver, you can read these tables. If you want to learn more about using the ctree Plus ODBC drivers, read the article Using ODBC to read the On-Line Field Descriptions File.

Until next post!

Leslie

Dex.ini file has been updated!

2010-10-09T05:10:00.003-05:00

I added a few more switches to the dex.ini file over the last few months so I have uploaded the latest and greatest to the share site. You can download the file from my 4shared site.
Have fun with them!
http://www.4shared.com/document/lFerwmn7/DEXini_file_settings.html
Leslie

Come to the GPUG 2010 Summit!

2010-10-08T12:24:00.002-05:00

Time is running out! If you haven’t already got your ticket to the 2010 GPUG Summit there is still time. If you still need some convincing, check out the ‘Top 6 Reasons to Attend’. If you need to convince someone else that it is essential that YOU are sent, check out Why You Need to be at Summit-Tell your Boss!

I have been to the last three (the only three?) Summit’s and have vowed to go to them from now on. MVP Mark Polino and I will be delivering several separate sessions at the Summit – be sure to attend these sessions! If you want to come in a day early or stay an extra day, sign up for some of the optional training classes being offered.

In addition to all of the other valuable content, GPUG Summit 2010 will be featuring several Focus Areas. Among them is HR/Payroll, Reporting and Potpourri. In the HR/Payroll arena, I will be delivering three sessions, fellow MVP Mark Polino will be delivering a session in the Reporting area and Both MVP Mark Polino and I will each be delivering a session in the Potpourri area. Stop by the sessions and be sure to say ‘hello’!

HR/Payroll Special Interest Group Focus Area

Learn What You Can Now do with HR and Payroll Inside GP – delivered by MVP Leslie Vail
In this presentation session learn about the Dynamics GP functionality currently available in the Human Resources (HR) and Payroll areas. This session will feature a live demo of some of the new functionality brought to us by GP 2010.

Understanding the Latest Government Regulations Around HR and Payroll – delivered by MVP Leslie Vail and Landon Russell
There are a lot of recent regulatory changes in the HR and payroll areas lately. In this presentation learn how Dynamics GP can assist in meeting these regulations. Some of the key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have already taken effect; come to this session for some guidance on what those provisions really mean to us as employers. Topics include the new W-2 reporting requirements as well as what it means to be a ‘grandfathered’ health benefit plan.

20 HR and Payroll Tips to Make Your Life Easier – delivered by MVP Leslie Vail
As a follow up to the presentation session on HR/Payroll and GP, attend this presentation session to see 20 HR/Payroll tips which will make your HR and Payroll department jumping for joy! Learn how you can set up employees faster, enter transactions faster, navigate the interface with more precision and pick up some tips on what to do ‘when things go wrong’. This will be a fun session.

Reporting Focus Area

Leveraging the Power of Extender – delivered by MVP Mark Polino
This presentation session will be about Extender. Learn more about this exciting Dynamics GP feature and how it can be used to enhance your GP user experience.

Potpourri Focus Area

This content area is, in my opinion, the most just pure fun! Be sure to catch the following two presentations:

What's Available for Free in the GP World – delivered by MVP Leslie Vail
Did you know there are plenty of free resources available to assist you and your company in its use of Dynamics GP. In this presentation session see some of these tools in action. You'll be surprised what all is out there for free!

All New! 50 Tips in 50 Minutes – delivered by MVP Mark Polino
Don't miss this always exciting session where 50 new tips for Dynamics GP will be shown. Leave this presentation with immediate take back information that can make your GP installation better! Mark always delivers a top notch performance. This session will keep you talking for weeks and looking forward to the next time you cat attend. So much information in so little time!

Until next post!

Leslie

GP Partner Connections 2010 Conference

2010-09-08T10:21:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

From our own and fellow MVP Mariano Gomez ‘GP Blogster’

http://dynamicsgpblogster.blogspot.com/2010/09/microsoft-dynamics-gp-partner.html

“Partner Connections 2010 is an ideal setting for Implementation Professionals, Consultants, and Technical Sales Engineers to enhance their competency and effectiveness for their clients. The Conference features a jam-packed agenda, bringing together the best in the GP Community to learn from each other. The pace will be frantic. Although you may feel like you are "drinking from a fire hose" as you soak up this new knowledge, the conference leaders know it is important to get you back out into the field and chargeable again!”

Meet and greet your colleagues and compatriots come join some of the most talented people in the GP community. Mariano, Mark Rockell’s Crew, Mark Polino, Richard Whaley, Leslie Vail, teams from Microsoft, not to mention the fine people from GPUG.

So much information will be available that you will be amazed at how much you can learn in such a short time. I went last year and vowed to go every year if just to see everyone. And I have a new cape I need to check it out! http://dynamicsgpblogster.blogspot.com/2010/09/microsoft-dynamics-gp-partner.html

This is a true peer-to-peer professional networking group for Dynamics GP Implementation Partners and ISVs dedicated to increasing the knowledge and competency of Implementation Professionals, Consultants, and Technical Sales Engineers. If you want to know more than is in the books this is the place to be. Some people are on the phone implementing things they learn before the conference is over. Have a chance to finally meet face to face all the folks you normally only see on the forums!

Taking place Saturday, October 23 - Monday, October 25 at the Renaissance Resort near SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. The GP Partner Connections Conference will feature:

Training Workshops
Break outs / Roundtables
General Sessions / Speakers
Microsoft Conduit Focus Groups
Networking Meals
Cocktail Mixers

The Conference will occur in conjunction with the Dynamics GP User Group Summit, providing the greatest opportunity for partners attending the Summit to get involved in the GP Partner Connections Conference, as well.

Select registration type:

ISV Partner: $499.00 Details
Enter a discount code:
VAR Partner: $499.00 Details
Enter a discount code:
Microsoft Support: $499.00

http://www.gpwindow.com/ – an absolute Masterpiece!

2010-08-16T03:28:00.001-05:00

A Window to the Dynamics GP World!

The Dynamics Community now has the mother of all websites! This is your one-stop access to every imaginable resource on the web for Dynamics GP. Jivtesh Singh has raised the bar and created a phenomenal site at http://www.gpwindow.com

Can you imagine. Entering a search for ALL of the blogs? Simply incredible. This is a must add to the ‘Favorites Toolbar’.

Check it out!

Great job Jivtesh!

Delete all but Master Files

2010-07-24T02:19:00.001-05:00

Here’s the scenario. You have set up a Pilot environment, loaded all of your setups and master files, tweaked the settings, tweaked the master file setups, have your security perfect, entered some test transactions and are ready to go live. Well, you do not want to leave the test transactions in there, but you want everything else.

Where’s the Tool?

In my world, this scenario is a common event. I saw a question on the forum asking if there was some sort of tool that would strip out all of the transactions and leave us with a clean company to take to production. I was hoping there was.

Richard Whaley answered the question succinctly - “Nope”. While I do not have a tool, I do have a ‘starter list’ of things the go-live team performs to prepare the company for production. Some of the things are redundant, but it works and I haven’t spent the time to be precise.

What are the Clearing Steps?

As many of you have learned, there are many more things to change then just clearing out the transaction files. I posted a list I used in a recent implementation for download. It isn’t all encompassing – but it will get you started.

http://www.4shared.com/file/i_-DFZ8Y/Clear_Work_Open_History.html

Help me complete the List

It would be nice to develop a more organized list. I invite your comments so that I can continue to improve this. I can see this list becoming a passion for me like the dex.ini switches.

I know this is a pretty rough format, but I hope this can help someone make a cleaner cutover.

Until next post!

Leslie

Using ODBC to read the On-Line Field Descriptions File

2010-07-19T20:19:00.001-05:00

This post describes how to read the On-Line Field Description Tables (OLFD001.dat & OLFD002.dat) using the c-tree ODBC driver. It is the tool I have used forever to put the table and window names in a spreadsheet for easier access.

FairCom c-tree Plus

Dynamics GP v 7.5 and prior supported three databases. Pervasive SQL 2000 (Btrieve), FairCom’s c-tree Plus and MS-SQL. Dexterity still supports these formats. If you search the GP folder, you will find a few tables with the extensions .dat and .idx. These are c-tree tables. Although there are others, I’d like to focus on the On-Line Field Description tables. When you navigate to Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Resource Descriptions > Tables, you are reading those files. While you can, of course, access these tables using Dexterity, you can also read them with an ODBC driver.

The c-tree ODBC Driver

GP used to sell a read-only ODBC driver for c-tree files. I think it was about $300 per workstation. They do not sell it anymore, but you can get it from FairCom http://www.faircom.com/ace/ctpodbc_information_t.php.

If you still have your CDs from version 6 of Great Plains (September, 2000), the c-tree drivers are located on CD 2 in \ODBC\Ctree. You must still pay FairCom for the drivers, they are not shareware, nor were they included with your purchase of GP. Although they are 10 years old (at least), I have been using them on Windows 7 Pro on a 64-bit machine with no problems (and yes, I paid for them).

Instructions on how to use these drivers are scarce, so I thought I would tell you how I use them.

Setting up the c-tree ODBC

After installation, you will have a folder named OTREE of off your root (if you installed to the default location). Inside that folder is a file named faircom.db. This is a text file that documents the path of the .dat files to the driver. It’s a simple format. Name the table something, space, and then put in the full path to the .dat file.

This is what my faircom.db looks like:

CN40102 C:\OTREE\DATA\CN40102.dat
OLFD_Tables C:\OTREE\DATA\OLFD001.dat
OLFD_Windows C:\OTREE\DATA\OLFD002.dat
IUHeader C:\OTREE\DATA\SY50000.dat
IUDetail C:\OTREE\DATA\SY50100.dat

The configuration of the driver itself (in Control Panel) looks like this on my machine. Notice it is a 32-Bit driver:

As you can see, you can name the .db file anything you wish, so long as you tell the system where it is located in the Data Dictionary field.

From there it is a simple process of using the Microsoft Query wizard to create a connection between Excel and the .dat files. You can even create an .odc file! You can do this from any connection you make, not just FairCom.

Generating the OLFD files

‘Out-of-the-box’, the OLFD files do not exist. In order to generate them and populate them, you need to open each product under the Resources menu. If you add any new products, you will likewise need to populate the tables by opening that product under the Resources menu. Recently, I was told that these tables were not automatically re-populated when resources are added to existing dictionaries, so you should go through this process each time you do an upgrade or install a service pack to any product you are using. This is only necessary if new tables were added, or existing tables deleted.

Download the Excel file

Here is a link to the most recent spreadsheet I created using this method. This is current as of build 1411. If anyone has a product they would like to see in an Excel spreadsheet, just e-mail me the .cnk file (or a link) and I will be happy to create another spreadsheet for you and post it.

http://www.4shared.com/account/file/d6x1cNPR/Table_and_Window_Names.html

I try to put fairly original material on this blog, I hope you benefit from it!

Until next Post!

Leslie

Dex.ini switches now available to download

2010-07-14T02:29:00.004-05:00

I finally figured out how to post items for download – the blogs will never be the same! The second thing I would like to share with you is my list of .ini switches for the Dex.ini file. This is a 12 page document spanning 17 years of my career as a GP consultant. I’m looking for that 13th page! Anybody that sees something to add or that needs correction please let me know. My goal is to keep this a reliable list!
Have fun with it
http://www.4shared.com/document/lFerwmn7/DEXini_file_settings.html
Until next post!
Leslie

The GP Recipe Book is at last for sale! Amazon.com

2010-07-14T02:12:00.001-05:00

This is the book! Written by MVP Mark Polino, who endured the technical editing provided by me and fellow MVP Frank Hamelly, how can it miss?! It’s available right now!

If you won’t take my word for it, read a chapter for yourself at :

https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/0424-chapter-2-organizing-dynamics-gp.pdf

then buy one for yourself at https://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-dynamics-gp-2010-cookbook/book

It is a fabulous manuscript – you will NOT be disappointed. If you liked my Confessions book, you will love this one. It takes Confessions and adds all of the missing information, like examples and explanations.

I think this is available at Amazon.com as well.

Let’s make Mark proud by each getting a book! Of course, I think he should sign the book for each of us!

Until next post!

Leslie

You Can’t Deny security for some Windows!

2010-07-12T14:42:00.001-05:00

How you can tell which windows

If you open the window with Modifier (or Dexterity) you will notice the Window Title value is ~internal~. The System Setup Checklist is one of those windows.

Windows with this title are not available as a security object that can be added to a task.

Can you change it?

Modifier – Changing the Title in Modifier doesn’t work. The window is not available in the Alternate/Modified list.

VBA – You could make the window invisible. I’m sure there are other things a skilled VBA programmer can come up with.

SQL – Adding the window to the SY10700 table doesn’t help. It still does not show up as a valid operation. It is listed on the Security Task Setup report however.

Dexterity –

Creating an Alternate window doesn’t work.
Hacking the Dynamics.dic, well of course that works, but not recommended.

Get a List of the ~internal~ windows

Follow the link below – I created an Excel Spreadsheet called ‘Table and Window Names’ that will show the window & table resources listed in the Window Descriptions and Table Descriptions in Dynamics GP.

http://www.4shared.com/file/d6x1cNPR/Table_and_Window_Names.html

Until Next Post!

Leslie

Goodbye CEIP Program!

2010-07-09T03:03:00.001-05:00

This little post addresses the question:

How do I get rid of this annoying reminder at start-up?

Well, here’s how you do it.

First, click on it to open the item.

Next, Zoom on the ‘Name’ prompt at the bottom.

Answer ‘No’ and then click ‘OK’

Change the Status to ‘Completed’ and then hit the ‘Delete’ button.

Refresh your Home Page and it will be gone forever!

Of course, if you DO want to participate in the CEIP program then you would answer ‘Yes’. The rest of the steps would still be the same!

I hope this helps someone.

Until next Post!

Leslie

Attaching a .pdf File to a Payables Transaction

2010-07-09T02:20:00.001-05:00

Recently I was asked how to attach a .pdf file to a payables transaction. Since pictures are so much easier to follow than words, I am posting the steps necessary to accomplish the task.

First, select the Note icon next to the voucher number.

When the Note window opens. There is a little paperclip icon to the left of the Attach button. This is what you need in order to attach files. If the paperclip icon is not present, there is a problem with the OLEPath = setting in your dex.ini file.

Once you select the paperclip icon, you will be presented with the OLE Container window. On this window select Edit and then Insert New Object.

On the Insert Object window, select the ‘Create from File’ radio button, browse to select your .pdf file and select the ‘Display As Icon’ check box. The ‘Display As Icon’ check box is not necessary, but it makes the Container window look more orderly.

After Selecting ‘OK’ the OLE container will contain an Icon for Adobe.

Select File Exit, save when prompted and then hit the Attach button when you return to the Notes window. After it’s close, you can open the note back up and there will be a little piece of paper in the paperclip.

If you click on the paperclip icon, the OLE Container will open again.

Click on the Adobe icon and Acrobat should open your .pdf file.

There should be no degradation in the quality of the .pdf file as a result of inserting it as an OLE object.

I hope this helps!

Until next time,

Leslie

Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook At Last!

2010-07-09T01:26:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to fellow MVP Mark Polino on the release of his fabulous book that is available for sale right now!

http://msdynamicsgp.blogspot.com/2010/07/microsoft-dynamics-gp-2010-cookbook-is.html

Everyone who works with Dynamics GP should add this to their library. Thank you Mark for the great effort and diligence that I know it took to bring this to fruition!

Leslie

Dynamics GP Table Names

2010-07-06T01:15:00.002-05:00

A client recently told me they were very confused by the table naming conventions for Dynamics GP. I’m so used to those legacy table names that I don’t appreciate what a wonder it must be for a new user trying to write reports.

In fact, any class I train that involves pulling data from tables (Extender, SmartList Builder, Excel ReportBuilder, ListBuilder, Report Writer, SSRS, Crystal Reports, etc.) sooner or later results in the question “How do we know which table to use”. This query spawned the on-line class I will be doing for GPUG Thursday http://www.gpug.com/events/GPAcademyGPData070810 entitled “Finding the GP Data you Need”

What do the table names mean?

There is actually a very good naming convention for Dynamics GP data tables. This is only a convention, however. It is followed by the GP programmers pretty diligently, but not so much by some 3rd party programmers. Here’s the basics, the first 2 or 3 characters will indicate the module name, the numbers indicate the type of table.

The modules (prefix)

Some of the more popular module abbreviations are in the table below.

Prefix	Module
GL	General Ledger
AF	Advanced Financial Analysis
PM	Payables Management
RM	Receivables Management
SOP	Sales Order Processing
POP	Purchase Order Processing
IV	Inventory
IVC	Invoicing (NOT SOP)
UPR	US Payroll
CM	Cash Management (Bank Rec)
LK	Linked Transactions
ME	EFT
PA	Project Accounting
FA	Fixed Assets
AA	Analytical Accounting
DTA	Multi-dimensional Analysis
SY	System or Company
AHR	Advanced HR
HR	Human Resources
BM	Bill of Materials
DD	Direct Deposit
EXT	Extender
MC	Multicurrency
SVC	Field Service
ASI	SmartList Favorites
ERB	Excel Report Builder
EXT	Extender
SLB	SmartList Builder
WDC	Field-Level Security

The Table Types

After the prefix, the number indicates the table type. Knowing these numbers will help you zero in on the correct table. The table below sets out the numbering convention used by the Dynamics GP programmers.

Table Number	Description
00000	Master Tables
10000	Work Tables
20000	Open Tables
30000	History Tables
40000	Setup Tables
50000	Temp Tables
60000	Relation Tables
70000	Report Options Tables
80000	Posting Journal Reprint Tables

One of my earlier posts explains the difference between ‘work, open, and history’ http://dynamicsconfessions.blogspot.com/2009/11/moving-from-work-to-open-to-history.html.

Some information on the remaining tables follows.

Master Tables are mostly what you find under the ‘Cards’ area. These are your Customers, Vendors, Inventory Items, GL Accounts and the like. For instance, the information you see on the Customer Maintenance window is stored in the RM Customer MSTR or RM00101.

Setup Tables include choices you have made to initiate a module. For instance, the information entered on the Payables Management Setup window are stored in the PM Setup File or PM40100.

Temp Tables are tables that are used temporarily by the system and the records in those tables can normally be deleted without issue. For instance the Net Profit Temporary table or AF50000 is used by the Advanced Financial Analysis module to hold the Net Profit amount that will be used on one of the statements. Once the statement has been printed, the number is irrelevant.

Relation or Cross Reference Tables are tables that are used to store information that spans more than one module. For instance the SOP/POPLink table (SOP60100) holds the information about POP documents linked to SOP documents. Another example is the Sales Customer Item Cross Reference (SOP60300). This table reflects the information as to how customer item numbers relate to regular item numbers. There are not that many tables in the 60000 range.

Report Options Tables contain all of the information you enter in any of the report options windows. The image below comes from the Payables Trial Balance Report Options window (PM70500).

Posting Journal Reprint Tables contain all of the information you need to reprint your posting journals. So don’t feel like you MUST print all of those reports. They are here waiting for you should you ever need to reprint them.

So now you know. If you were looking for a posted inventory transactions, you would start with the IV20000 table and go from there.

Victoria Yudin has some great information on the popular tables from each module. If you are creating reports, it is information you can use. http://victoriayudin.com/gp-tables/

Have fun with it! Until next post!

Leslie

Congratulations MVPs!

2010-07-02T09:08:00.001-05:00

I would like to offer my hardiest congratulations to the July MVP awardees! I am very humbled yet thrilled to be included with such a group of talented people.

You each are very generous with your help and benefit all consultants, resellers and users alike. Your blogs are the standard for information about Dynamics and Dexterity. Before looking on PartnerSource, I check with you first.

Congratulations again, you guys are the best!

The list:

Victoria Yudin- Dynamics GP- Design (The expert on helping us ‘find the data’. Definitely the ‘go to’ person for table information and cool SQL queries)

Charles L. Allen- Dynamics GP (Another ‘old timer’ like me, we need to get together and share stories!)

Andrew Anatol Karasev- Dynamics GP- Development (Great job! How about learning Spanish? There are so many people that need your talent in Mexico and Latin America. Gosh, after English, French, Latvian and Russian it should be a breeze! Thank you for all of your valuable contributions to the community)

Leslie Vail- Dynamics GP- Training (That’s me!)

Mark Polino- Dynamics GP- Systems Administration (Buy his fabulous ‘Great Plains Recipe Book)! Don’t miss any of his ‘50 tips’ sessions! Mark, you are as funny as you are informative. You can make accounting software ‘fun’!)

Monzer Osama AL Shaikh- Dynamics GP- Engineering (I need to meet you! It looks like you know just about everything!)

Frank Hamelly- Dynamics GP- Systems Administration (don’t miss his tip 4 today! I finally got to meet you Convergence. You are every bit as fun in person as you are on the forums! You can always help me without making me feel dumb!)

Mariano Gomez- Dynamics GP- Development (Talented in so many ways, your blog is an absolute must for developers. Thank you Mariano for all the help you have given me over the years. This man is very funny in person, and sets the new standard for Convergence and Tech Conference presentations). We expect to enjoy your sessions for years to come.

Ian Stewart- Dynamics GP (So often our savior on the forums. Where’s your picture?!)

Good luck to you all this year! And keep up the good work, the community would never be the same if any of you left.

Kind regards,

Leslie

You NEED this book by Mark Polino!

2010-06-22T05:24:00.001-05:00

This is an exciting year for all Dynamics GP partners and users!

The Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook is available for preorder.

This is a fabulous book covering so many tips and tricks that you will want it in your personal collection. Imagine, 400 pages of tips with step-by-step instructions on how you can take advantage of these unique topics.

My hat (pink with LED lights) is off to you Mark, great job!

Until next post!

Leslie

Change your Fiscal Period Names!

2010-06-22T03:40:00.001-05:00

Fiscal periods should not be named Period 1, Period 2, Period 3, etc. These are the default names assigned by GP when new years are created. These names are editable and are easily changed just by typing into the field. Recording a macro to change the period names can make the job much easier and can be used year after year.

Access this window in the Administration Area Page in the Setup Content Pane, using the Fiscal Periods item in the Company menu.

The default period names

Better period names

These period names will appear in reports, range selections, and even FRx!

Until next post!

Leslie

Change your Account Segment Names

2010-06-22T03:29:00.001-05:00

Account segments should have meaningful names. They should not be named ‘Segment1’, ‘Segment2’, etc. Turn them into relevant names using the Account Format Setup Window.

How it is now

So many look similar to this:

The ‘Name’ field is an editable field. Type the proper name of the segment and many of the reports and views will have meaningful names.

How it can look

This change will cascade down to all of your range descriptions and inquiry screens throughout the system!

Until next post!

Leslie

Taming the Accounts Lookup Window

2010-06-12T18:04:00.002-05:00

Some features exist in Microsoft Dynamics GP that have been there ‘forever’, but are not given much attention. This post explores the ‘Include in Lookup’ option on the Account Maintenance window.

What’s the big deal?

The big deal is that when new accounts are created the default selections are most likely not the appropriate settings for your accounts, yet these selections are often left ‘as is’. Take a look at the familiar Account Maintenance window below.

Focus on the ‘Include in Lookup’ box, notice that all of the items are highlighted. I do not think this is the best setting for most accounts.

Restrict the accounts displayed

If you are entering a sales transaction, do you really want to see ALL of the accounts when you hit the lookup button on the distribution window? I don’t think so. For the accounts you do NOT want to display in the initial lookup window, simply remove that series from the ‘Include in Lookup’ option.

Here’s how it’s done

Open the Account Maintenance window. Select an account that should not be displayed in the Sales lookup window. Hold down the CTRL key and click on the Sales item to remove the highlight.

Now, whenever the account lookup is selected in any sales series module, this account will not appear in the list. By using the View menu you can select to see all of the accounts, but this is an effective method to limit the initial choices presented.

There are several methods to limit the items that appear in a lookup window, but this one is often overlooked.

Until next post!

Leslie

Converting Security to v 10 – it’s OK!

2010-06-04T22:44:00.002-05:00

Hi all,

I’ve heard a lot of buzz about converting security from earlier versions (8 or 9) to version 10. Most of what I have heard is “don’t do it”. I disagree. Do it, but understand the ramifications.

Why Convert?

The first (and only) ramification I can speak to is that you can get up and running more quickly by converting your current security than by completely re-doing your security using the new v 10 concept. In my world, if my clients had to re-do their security they would possibly never convert. Converting security to the new paradigm for a site with many users and many companies is an onerous task; and that’s putting it in a good light.

Making it Easier

Before you upgrade, you need to ‘skinny up’ your security such that you end up with the minimum number of tasks after the conversion.

For example, if you have 8 users and 6 companies, and each user has the same security for each of the companies he/she has access to, then after conversion each user has a task and role and Alternate/Modified Report ID for each company. Wow! Don’t do that.

This recommendation came to me from Sheila Jefferson-Ross, an experienced (read over 15 years) consultant near Sacramento, California.

Before conversion, remove access from each company for each user who has the same security for each company. Whew, that’s another one where reading it again won’t help. Let’s look at an example.

Bob has access to three companies. His security is exactly the same for each company. If the conversion is done ‘as is’, then after conversion Bob will have a task for each of the three companies. Each of these tasks will roll into a role for each company. Multiply this for each user, and you end up with more identical tasks than anyone wants to manage.

In order to minimize the number of Tasks/Roles/Alternates, simply remove Bob’s access from two of the three companies before conversion. After conversion, grant him access to the other companies and copy the security from the first company to the other two.

You will end up with a manageable number of roles until the security is re-worked to embrace the v 10 model. Go ahead and convert! Version 10 has so many enhancements on v 9; don’t let the new security model slow you down!

Until next post!

Leslie

Making the Account Number SMALLER

2010-06-04T21:47:00.002-05:00

We all know that we can increase the number of characters in an account segment up to the maximum number allowed in the Account Framework. However, if we need to REDUCE the number of characters, all of the documentation tells us we cannot.

Once upon a time there was not an option to display an expanded account width. Therefore, if you wanted to use an alphabetical character instead of a number, the alphabetical character would not be displayed if it was wider than a number. The only way around this limitation was to make the segment an extra character long.

After the ‘display width’ option was introduced, it was desirable to remove the extra character(s) from the account segment. All questions to Microsoft (then Great Plains) tech support said ‘NO’ you can’t do that.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you can!

Making it Smaller: Setting it up

First, you need to make sure that you do not have any characters in the position(s) that you want to reduce. For example, if you want to reduce a segment from 5 characters to 4 characters, then each of your accounts must not be more than 4 characters long in the segment you want to reduce.

If I want segment two to go from 5 characters to 4 characters, your accounts must include a blank character for position 5 of that segment.

Before account size reduction:
555-6588 –000

After account size reduction:
555-6588-000

Notice that the second segment includes 4 characters and then a ‘blank’. If your accounts are not in this structure, then you might want to invest in the Professional Services Tools Library’s Account Modifier/Combiner tool in order to align your accounts to the necessary structure.

Making it Smaller: Executing the change

Once your accounts are in the specified format, simply run the System Reconcile Utility (Microsoft Dynamics GP >> Tools >> Utilities >> Reconcile) against the Account Format Setup table.

The length of the account segment will be reduced from 5 characters to 4.

And they said it couldn’t be done . . .

Until next post!

Leslie

SmartList .ini switch Problems

2010-06-04T19:55:00.001-05:00

What’s the switch?

SmartlistEnhancedExcelExport=TRUE

What’s the problem?

A client of mine was gracious enough to do some testing with this switch and discovered a couple of notable issues.

Leading zeros are stripped from string fields when they are exported to Excel.
The last digit of a string field is changed from a ‘2’ to a ‘0’. For instance:

Without Enhanced switch:

6055762161047502

Same record with Enhanced=TRUE

6055762161047500

I am not sure if it matters that there were two zeros in a row, but for now the switch is not usable for these types of fields. Using only numeric fields it is wonderful, but for string fields it seems to have issues. Like Patrick reminded us, it’s ‘undocumented’ for a reason.

Until next post!

Leslie

Organize Your QuickLinks Section

2010-05-17T14:53:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Landon Russell I learned a tip today that I think will ‘tame’ the QuickLinks content pane on our GP 10 (and 2010) Home Pages.

Landon’s Quick Links section contained dividers much like this:

I thought it was fabulous to have dividers and asked him how he did it. He explained how he created those dividers and I thought it was genius – and can be used in other places throughout our GP system. But for now, let’s deal with the Home Page.

To create a divider line you need to add a web page shortcut to your QuickLinks pane. In the Name field on the Add Web Page box you should put in whatever you want to appear as the divider. For our example I will use a string of hyphen characters (-----). For the address, select either http:// or https://, it does not matter which. In the name field to the right of the address simply type in a hyphen.

The hyphen is really just a placeholder, you will not get any error messages because it will really not try to launch any web page.

The new line will be added to the bottom of the Quick Links pane and can be moved up and down to accommodate your needs.

It’s a wonderful thing, thank YOU Landon Russell!

Until next post!

Leslie

Boolean Logic to the Rescue

2010-05-17T05:18:00.001-05:00

We all have a couple of phrases we say all of the time which are probably despised by our friends because they have heard them so often. One of mine is:

“Don’t make this hard”

On a recent post by Richard Whaley on the Dynamics GP Newsgroup, he suggested adding up the values in a field to see if the field was populated. If the resulting value was greater than zero, the field was populated.

With that in mind, let’s explore the world of Boolean logic. I like it, no gray areas, no fancy nested conditional statements, it’s either true or false. Pretty easy.

True or False?

Often we find ourselves building IF statements that go through multiple logical tests. We string together a bunch of AND, OR, and NOT functions in order to test our data and arrive at a conclusion. Throughout this complex statement, all we are doing, really, is making up a group of True or False computations. Think about it, each step of our equation is either true or false. If it is False it is 0 and if it resolves to True it is 1. Such is the logic behind the ‘IF, THEN, ELSE’ statement. So before you reinvent the wheel with some monster conditional structure, consider breaking it down into a logic statement and see if you can get to your answer more quickly and more elegantly.

Before I go into the example, write down these cornerstones for Boolean logic problems:

Cornerstones for Logic

FALSE is Zero (0)

Add (+) if you want ‘OR’

Multiply (*) if you want ‘AND’

Anything else is TRUE (1)

An Example in Logic

Scenario: A 5% bonus is paid to salespeople who have sales over $50,000 so long as their gross profit percentage is greater than 30%. Oh, and it is always paid to ERIN J. because she has a special relationship with Aaron Fitz. Your job is to figure the bonus amount for each sale.

OK, let’s take this apart. The bonus is paid IF:

(Sales > $50,000 AND GP > 30%) OR Salesperson ID = ERIN J.

Programmatically that would look something like this:

IF(OR(AND (Sales > 50,000, GP > .3),
Salesperson = “ERIN J.”),
.05 * Sales, 0)

If we could create a calculation to solve this logical test, we could check the value of the resulting number. If the number is 0, the answer is FALSE. If it is anything else, the answer is TRUE. So if the answer is TRUE, then the bonus is paid, otherwise it is not.

Using the cornerstones we set out above, let’s solve this problem with Boolean logic.

Sales > 50,000 AND GP > 30% would turn into:
Sales > 50,000 * GP > .3
The result of this calculation is 0 if either of the components is not true. The result is 1 if both components are true.

If that was all of our criteria, then we could just multiply this formula by the bonus calculation and we would have our answer. The whole formula would look like this:

Bonus = (Sales > 50,000) * (GP > .3) * .05 * Sales

We have another wrinkle that we need to factor in, however. ERIN J. always gets the bonus, just because she is ERIN J. So now we have a big fat OR clause in our logic problem.

Our cornerstones say that an OR clause should be converted to an addition operation. On its face we might rewrite the formula to this:

Bonus = ((Sales > 50,000) * (GP > .3)) + (Salesperson = ERIN J.)

We need to be careful here because if ERIN J. had a sale that qualified for a bonus in its own right, then the result of our formula would be 2. ERIN J. may like this outcome, but the stockholders would not. In order to avoid this, we need to convert the result to TRUE or FALSE, or 0 or 1.

The restated formula would look like this:

Bonus = If((Sales > 50,000) * (GP > .3) + (Salesperson = ERIN J.) 1, 0) * Sales * .05

Breaking it down into its components, you can do this easily even in Report Writer. Boolean logic turns it into 3 conditional fields and 3 straight calculated fields.

Calc 1, conditional = if Sales > 50,000 then 1
Calc 2, conditional = if GP > .3 then 1
Calc 3, calculated = Calc 1 * Calc 2, this will be 1 or 0
Calc 4, conditional = if Salesperson = ERIN J. then 1
Calc 5, calculated = Calc 3 * Calc 4 this will be 1 or 0
Calc 6, calculated = Sales * Calc 5 * .05 =The Bonus Amount

If you try and convert your IF statements into Boolean logic, you may find that they are much easier to understand and faster to write.

Don’t make this hard!

Until next post,

Leslie

Speeding up SmartList Exports

2010-05-14T22:21:00.004-05:00

Put SmartList on Hyperdrive! There is a dex.ini switch that has just been disclosed. Patrick has posted a great article about how he found it and how it works at the Developing for Dynamics blog. The article explains why SmartList exports are so slow and how to speed them up. Check out his article here:

http://blogs.msdn.com/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2010/05/14/smartlist-exports-slowly-to-excel-part-1.aspx

The switch is:

SmartlistEnhancedExcelExport=TRUE

It's a wonderful piece of information, thank you Patrick.

Until next post,

Leslie

Allocating Tips in Payroll – How and Why?

2010-03-05T09:00:00.004-06:00

This posting steps through the tip allocation computation used by the Payroll module in Dynamics GP. Some questions have come up lately on the forums; rather than posting a lengthy answer, I thought it would be better to cover it in more detail in my blog.

What is it? -- The IRS has set a minimum amount that it expects waitstaff should have included in income for tips. The tip allocation calculation function merely adds an amount to taxable income; it does NOT result in an extra amount going into the paycheck.

The amount includable in income for an employee who is directly tipped is the greater of (a) the amount they reported to their employer or (b) their allocable share of the minimum amount established by the IRS (for 2009 it was 8%).

An indirectly tipped employee does not receive allocated tips. Generally, indirectly tipped employees receive their tips from other tipped employees rather than directly from the customers. Positions such as cooks, bussers, hostesses, barbacks, and dishwashers are typically indirectly tipped employees. Of course, an employee could receive both direct and indirect tips, if so they will be included in the allocation computation for their direct tips.

The Dynamics GP instructions provide the following explanation about allocated tips:

Microsoft Dynamics GP uses the Gross
Receipts method that is calculated per pay
run. The allocated tips amount equals the
difference between tips received and
employee gross receipts divided by
company gross receipts, multiplied by the
tip allocation rate, provided the difference is
more. Made to each directly tipped
employee.

Reading it again won’t help. I think an example is in order.

Our Example -- Let’s say our company, named Tailspin Pizza (“Tailspin”), has three employees who receive tips. The employees are tipped both directly and indirectly

During a payroll period, gross receipts at Tailspin were $15,500. Total tips reported by employees for this period were $980. Directly tipped employees reported $430 and indirectly tipped employees reported $550. Based on the IRS guidelines, the employees’ total tips should have been 8% of $15,500, or $1,240. Our job is to properly calculate and allocate the $260 shortfall.

Dynamics GP can do it!

How to set it up in Payroll -- Payroll Options need to be set telling the system that you want to use the tip allocation feature. To do this:

1. Navigate to the Payroll Setup window

Microsoft Dynamics GP>>Tools>>Setup>>Payroll>>Payroll

2. Select the Options button on the lower right-hand corner of the Payroll Setup window.

3. Mark the Calculate Tip Allocation checkbox in the Options section of the Payroll Setup Options window and set the Tip Allocation Rate to 8.00% (or whatever applicable percentage).

The allocation rate is determined by the IRS. Unless a lower amount was negotiated with the IRS, the rate was 8.00% for 2009.

How to set up Pay Codes --The appropriate pay codes need to be set up in order to include tips in a payroll run. Additionally, we need to be able to indicate whether the tips were received directly or indirectly. For the purposes of the tip allocation computation it does not matter whether the tips were ‘charged’ or ‘reported’. We’ll set up the following 3 Pay Codes to use in our example:

Pay Code	Pay Type	Tips Received
CTIPI	Charged Tips	Indirectly
CTIPD	Charged Tips	Directly
RTIPD	Reported Tips	Directly

For the payroll period, Tailspin has total gross receipts of $15,500. Total gross receipts are calculated by adding together the individual employee receipts entered on the payroll transaction. The employee’s receipts are entered on the Payroll Transaction Entry window with the ‘show’ details open.

The Calculation -- Total gross receipts were $15,500, total reported tips were $980. Tips received directly were reported as $430. Tips received indirectly were reported as $550.

Directly Tipped Employees	Gross Receipts for payroll period	Direct Tips Reported
ACKE	3,500	30
BARB	5,500	100
BARR	6,500	300
Totals	15,500	430

1. $15,500(gross receipts) x .08 = $1,240

2. $1,240 - $550 (tips reported by indirectly tipped workers) = $690

The amount used to calculate each directly tipped employee’s share of 8% of the gross is $690.

3. Calculate each directly tipped employee’s share of 8% of gross receipts.

Directly Tipped Employees	Directly Tipped Share of 8% of the gross	(Times) Gross Receipts Ratio	Employee’s share of 8% of the gross
ACKE	690	3,500/15,500=	156
BARB	690	5,500/15,500=	245
BARR	690	6,500/15,500=	289
		Total	690

4. Calculate the shortfall in reported directly received tips

Directly Tipped Employees	Employee’s share of 8% of the gross	(Minus) Tips Reported	Employee shortfall (use 0 if no shortfall)
ACKE	156	30	126
BARB	245	100	145
BARR	289	300	-
Total	690	430	271

5. Calculate the allocable share of the total tip shortfall. $1,240(total gross receipts x 8%) less $980 (total tips reported, includes direct and indirect) = $260(amount to be allocated among employees who had a shortfall).

Shortfall Employees	Allocable Amount	(Times) Shortfall ratio	Amount of allocation
ACKE	260	126/271=.46484	120.86
BARB	260	145/271=.53516	139.14
BARR	260	0/271=.00000	0
Total			260.00

6. Since employee BARR did not have a shortfall, there is no allocated amount to employee BARR.

Leave it to the IRS to dream up this ‘simple’ allocation calculation. Fortunately Dynamics GP does it for us!

Until next post!

Leslie

DEXVBA.ini Switches - Part 1

2010-03-02T18:39:00.003-06:00

In keeping with my ‘.ini’ switch theme I would like to keep track of entries we can make to the DEXVBA.ini file. I currently have only two. I hope you will comment here if you have any others and I can add them to the list. I have titled this ‘Part 1’ in hopes that I will get additional settings so that I may post a ‘Part 2’.

The DEXVBA.ini file is not created by default. You will need to open Notepad (or similar text editor) and create it. The file should be created in the root Windows folder, not in the GP folder.

Step 1. Create a file named DEXVBA.ini in the root Windows folder.

Step 2. Add the following line to the top of the file: [General]

Step 3. Add the selected .ini setting beneath [General].

INI Setting

Description

LogObjects=TRUE

This will create a text file that will include all of the objects in a VBA project. The text file will be the same name as the product dictionary with a ‘.txt’ extension.

NoUnresolvedDialog=TRUE

This will suppress the following error message when you launch Dynamics GP.

“The product_name.vba project references some objects that cannot be found.

These objects are listed in the file: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Business Solutions\GP\ product_name.txt”

The warning will be suppressed for all VBA projects loaded. It doesn’t solve the problem regarding missing objects, but it suppresses the message.

Until next post!

Leslie

GP 2010 on 64-bit Windows 7 with i3 Processor

2010-02-19T13:08:00.013-06:00

I have more to report on my attempted installation of Dexterity 2010.

Thanks to Vaidy for the guidance, I did the following:
I ran "dw20sharedia64.msi" from the following path:
GP2010 Main Folder -> Tools -> Dex -> Watson -> dw20sharedia64.msi

I got this error:

I then ran “dw20sharedamd64.msi'” from that same folder and was greeted with nothing noteable. I didn't expect anything because this is not an AMD processor, but you never know.

I then ran the “dw20shared.msi” and received this message:

It looked promising, but then nothing else happened.

I then run the setup.exe file for Dex and got this again:

I restarted the machine between attempts.

The test machine's processor is an i3. The i3 was released January 8th, 2010. Since the first error message tells me the processor isn't supported, I am thinking the new processor may be the issue.

I do not have another machine to use for the beta - has anyone tried to install Dex 2010 on a similar hardware configuration to mine?

The machine is 64-bit, running Windows 7 Professional, with an i3 processor.

Until next post!

Leslie

12 inches of Snow in Dallas!

2010-02-19T10:36:00.010-06:00

How is this related to Dynamics GP? It isn’t, but it was a record setting day! The snow fell on Thursday, Feb 11, 2010. It is all melted now, but it was amazing.

The city shut down, schools closed, electricity went out, etc. I grew up in Michigan, if they had closed the schools because of cold weather and snow, I would still be in high school.

The pictures are from my neighborhood. We lost a lot of trees, that was a shame.

Until next post!

Leslie

Tools Available from Professional Services

2010-02-19T10:05:00.001-06:00

Lately there have been several posts to the various newsgroups regarding functionality that is not part of Dynamics GP ‘out-of-the-box’.

I received a list from GP Professional Services of tools available to partners for resale. Prices are subject to change, and the versions supported have been based on the popularity of the request. Some of the tools are my favorite price, free! The most expensive one is $1,500, most are $500 or $750.

I have struggled with so many of the issues that these tools have solved so I thought I would put the list out for all. I asked Microsoft first and they said it was OK to post it.

Name	Description	Versions	Price
AutoDim	Utility allows you to launch Great Plains and run one or more integrations or integration groups and have Great Plains exit upon completion of the integrations. This product also supports integrating into several different companies.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	500
Customer PO Number Check (this is a very nice tool, it prevents some orders from being duplicated)	This tool checks the Customer PO Number for duplicates as data is entered into the field on both the SOP Entry window and the SOP Customer Detail Entry window.	7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	500
Doc Date Verify	When a document date is entered in Payables Transaction Entry or Receivables Transaction Entry, a check will be performed to determine if the document date is in a fiscal period. If the date does not fall within a valid fiscal period, a message will be issued and the user will not be allowed to continue until the date is in a valid period. This customization will also do a validation if the period is closed.	7, 8.0, 9.0,10.0	FREE
Grant All Access Script	Grants all users access to all projects.	Not version specific	FREE
Master Record Macros	Macros to populate the master records when Project Accounting has been implemented after Vendors, Customers, or Employees have been created.	Not version specific	FREE
Payroll Local Tax Tool	This utility allows specific local taxes for an employee to be sheltered for TSA style deductions while allowing other local taxes for the same employee to not be sheltered. Each deduction in the system can specify which local taxes should be sheltered, and employees can also be specifically excluded from this process.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	500
PO Returns (this prevents you from paying for an item that has been returned)	When invoicing a receipt in POP, this customization will check the previous quantity invoiced and the quantity returned for the line item. The maximum quantity allowed to be invoiced is based the following formula: Quantity Shipped minus (Previous Quantity Invoiced plus Quantity Returned). This customization will not allow invoicing of more than this amount.	7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	FREE
POP Cost Defaulter (a life saver if you don’t want your PO cost to float around)	This utility allows the user to default in the Standard Cost or the Current Cost within the Purchase Order Entry window instead of the vendor specific Last Invoice Cost.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	FREE
RM Auto Apply Utility	This application will allow the user to Mass Apply posted RM Credit Documents to posted RM Debit Documents. The user can select a range of Customer, Debit Document Dates, Credit Document Dates, and a Credit Document Type restriction if desired. The credit documents will apply to the debit documents in the order specified in Receivables Management Setup window which is the same order that Dynamics Apply Sales Documents Auto Apply button uses.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	750
Shipment Notification (YES! No more delaying customer billing!)	Will allow drop ship sales orders to be transferred to invoice prior to invoicing the purchase order	7.x, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	750
SOP Lot Number Overrides	Use this tool if you use Lot Number processing and run into situations where you sell Lot Numbers before they are entered into the system through POP or BOM. This utility will create a temporary Lot Number receipt during the Sales Transaction Entry process and manage the Lot Number quantity accurately. After the Lot Number is received through POP, BOM or IV, the temporary receipt is removed and the actual lot receipt is updated to reflect that a portion of it has already been sold.	7.0,7.5,8.0, 9.0, 10.0	1,500
SOP Partial Kit Transfers	This utility supports partial transfers of Kit items from Orders to Invoices and will maintain the Previously Invoiced quantity for the overall kit item and all of its components. This utility does not currently support partial transfers to back-order documents.	7.0,7.5,8.0, 9.0, 10.0	1,500
SOP to POP Line Reordering (the PO doc will now be in the same order as the SOP doc.)	This utility will reorder the line items of Purchase Orders generated by the SOP to POP transfer process to be in the same order as they originally were on the Sales Order document(s). The preview report will still show an alphabetical list, but on the actual Purchase Order document the line items will maintain their correct sequence. This is critical for companies who rely on matching up PO printouts to Packing Lists or Picking Tickets in SOP.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0	500
Default AddItem for POP/SOP	Application that defaults the Add Item option to be marked in Sales Transaction Entry, Purchase Order Entry, POP Receivings Entry and Purchasing Invoice Entry.	8.0, 9.0, 10.0	FREE
AutoPost	COM dll that can be called from IM or an outside application to post some types of Dynamics Batches. Currently the application supports posting of: Sales Order Processing Batches GL Transaction Entry Batches IV Transaction Entry Batches RM Cash Receipts Batches Because this application uses the Continuum API, the Great Plains client must be running and a user logged into a company for this application to work. The posting process would then use that user & company to post the desired batch.	8.0, 9.0	500
Benefit Modifier Tool	Allows users to change the Benefit Code	7.5,8.0,9.0	750
Deduction Modifier Tool	Allows users to change Deduction Codes	7.0,7.5,8.0,9.0	750
Credit Limit Override for eOrder	Allows the function of overriding credit limits for customers that have no credit or have reached their credit limit during the creation of an Order. This feature is not available on the base package of eOrder or eCommerce.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0	750
Customer specific Catalogs for eOrder	Provides ability to setup multiple catalogs and assign different catalogs to different customers.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0	750
Email confirmation for eOrder	Sends an email to the shopper after the order has been placed with the order details to the email address entered on the Internet Information page from the page off the Customer’s main address record for eOrder.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0	750
Email used as login for eOrder	Changes the login from Customer ID to the email address entered on the Internet Information page from the page off the Customer’s main address record.	7.0, 7.5	750
Extended Pricing eOrder / eCommerce	Allows extended pricing for the eOrder and eCommerce module.	7.0, 7.5	1,500
Historical Order Inquiry for eOrder	Provides the capability of viewing historical Order information within eOrder.	7.0, 7.5	750
Email Invoices	Allows users to email invoices to Customers. No more hassles mailing invoices to customers, simply specify their email address and send the invoice electronically.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	750
Employee Business Card with Image	The Employee Business Card with Image web part will display the image of the employee. Employee Business Card with Image web part adds an image to the Employee Business Card web part found in the Business Portal at Company – Directory. Business Portal administrators simply name their *.jpg file according to the Employee ID and copy the file to a specified directory.	8.0, 9.0	FREE
IV Post To GL	Allows IV Transaction Batches to look at the checkbox in Setup>Posting>Posting to determine if the Post To GL checkbox should be marked or unmarked for IV batches.	6.0,7.0,7.5,8.0,9.0	FREE
Multi-Build Payroll Tool	Allows multiple people to build /calculate / print / post payroll batches at the same time	8.0, 9.0	1,000
Pay Code Modifier Tool	Allows users to change Pay Codes	7.0,7.5,8.0,9.0	750
Payables Management Checks (Decimal Place Tool)	There is an option under Setup \| System \| Currency to change the decimal places. Once you move them up (example 2 to 4) it affects all modules checks and you are not able to back it down. This tool will print the checks out with two decimal places for Payables Management and Bank Reconciliation checks.	7.0,7.5,8.0,9.0	FREE
Payroll Checks (Decimal Place Tool)	There is an option under Setup \| System \| Currency to change the decimal places. Once you move them up (example 2 to 4) it affects all modules checks and you are not able to back it down. This tool will print checks with two decimal places only for Payroll checks and Direct Deposit.	7.0,7.5,8.0,9.0	FREE
Payroll Customized 941 Report	Prints the 941 by date range and / or employee	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	500
Payroll Detailed Activity Tracking	Each time a change is made within HR and Payroll to an employee a script can be processed to see the activity.	7.5, 8.0, 9.0	750
Payroll Pay Code History Edit	Allows users to change WC, FUTA and SUTA within the Pay Code History window	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	500
PM Checks Default (remember this feature?)	Default Print PM Checks to check and not alignment form	6.0,7.0,7.5,8.0,9.0	FREE
Print Check Default (and its cousin in payroll)	For payroll only (not used with Direct Deposit) to default into print the check within the Print Checks window instead of Printing the alignment first	7.0, 7.5	FREE
PM EFT User Defined Setup Utility	Allows users that require slight variations to the EFT file to format in order for their banks to accept the files.	8.0, 9.0	FREE
POP Over Receipt Tolerance	Utility that allows a receipt tolerance percentage for quantities. A setup window allows the user to enter a tolerance percentage, that percentage is then used when a Purchase Order is received. The highest quantity that can be received is the original quantity ordered plus the percentage amount. For example, a Purchase Order is entered for a quantity of 10. A tolerance percentage of 20% is entered. The highest quantity allowed to be received would be 12.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	750
Security Troubleshooting Utility	This utility assist in troubleshooting security issues which have occurred in Great Plains. Utility lists each window/report resource ID then trace these references to the security table before the permissions to the resources ID is validated by Great Plains, aiding in which resource is causing a security issue in Great Plains. Does not function with Small Business Manager.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	FREE
SOP Default Site per Line	This customization changes the site that is defaulted on line items. Instead of pulling the site from the Default Site on the SOP Entry window, if there is a default site assigned to the item in Cards>Inventory>Qtys/Sites, then that site will default for that line item If there is no default site id for the item, then the customization will default the first site that is assigned to the item.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	FREE
SOP Returns Account Default	This customization will default the sales order returns account when a return is created from SOP Entry under Extras>Create Return. As the SALES distribution type is created for the return, the customization will check the Sales Order Returns account from the customer card. If the account is not empty, then all SALES type accounts will default with the account number in the Sales Order Returns slot from the customer.	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	FREE
SOP Sort Line Items	This utility allows the user to define custom sorting options to display line items in Sales Order Processing. For example, a sort could be defined by Item Number and then the currently selected SOP Document would display the line items in Item Number order instead of the standard by order entered. This utility does not physically reorder the records in the underlying tables; it only displays them differently in the Sales Order Processing window. This application also does not affect the way that sales documents print. (SQL database only)	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	500
Update User Date Utility (otherwise the user date will be off and so will all of the default batch dates)	This application automatically updates the User Date in Great Plains to the next date at midnight. The application will run in the background as long as Great Plains is open. This tool can be useful when Great Plains is left open on a machine overnight running integrations or other processes. (date disabled with dex.ini switch)	7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0	FREE

GP 2010

2010-02-16T22:11:00.003-06:00

I installed the beta version of GP 2010 on my 64-bit Windows 7 pro machine running SQL 2008. It installed without a hitch. I installed the SDK with no problems. I could not get Dexterity installed. I received a simple error message:

So that was a little disappointing but I still plan on taking GP2010 through the upgrade cycle of one of my smaller clients and see what I can discover. The 'new' FRx is also part of my plan - conversion wizard and all. I'm doing all of this on a clean machine dedicated to the beta test of GP2010 and the Office Beta.

Good news! I hooked up the old c-tree ODBC driver and can easily read the .dat files now.

This should be a fun process, especially since I have a machine just for testing.

Until next post :)

Leslie

System Preferences Option GP 10

2010-01-30T09:18:00.009-06:00

Setting up a new installation recently I wanted to prevent both the 'Metrics' and 'Outlook' sections of a new user's home page from loading. I've read solutions about running a SQL statement against the Users Master (SY01400) in the Dynamics database, but I wanted it to prevent it from happening in the first place rather than going back and changing it after the users had been set up.

The solution is found in the System Preferences window. To navigate to this window select the Administration button on the Navigation Pane to open the Administration Area Page. In the Setup content pane of the Area Page expand the System menu. Near the bottom of the System list is 'System Preferences'. This screen shot is pretty small, but it shows the general area.

In the lower half of the System Preferences window there are three check boxes. Your options are 'Load To Do: Reminders', 'Load Microsoft Office Outlook' and 'Load Metrics'. Unmarking a checkbox will prevent the selected area from loading on a new user's home page. Note that the 'Load To Do: Reminders' will only prevent the 'Reminders' content to be suppressed, the 'Tasks' content will still display. The section heading will still appear for the unmarked content. But the content will be empty. The System Preferences window is illustrated below:

A new Home Page with each of the checkmarks unmarked looks like this:

Until next post!

Leslie Vail

DEXTERITY class May 10th in Orlando

2010-01-17T22:59:00.005-06:00

I am happy to announce that the Dexterity I class is on the schedule for the week of May 10th, 2010 in Orlando, FL.

This class is a lot of fun and will be especially helpful for VBTools programmers. It will teach you just enough Dexterity to make your integrations easier. Officially, it's the Dexterity Basics class which assumes the student has not done any work with Dexterity, but is familiar with programming in general.

At the end of the 5-day class you will know how to create Forms and Windows, write scripts and procedures, and create triggers that interact with the GP business logic. During class you will create a functioning 3rd party integrating add-on.

Most of all, you will understand how it all works in that block box we call Dexterity dictionaries. You never know, you may like it so much you'll become a full-time Dexterity programmer! We cover a lot of information in 5 days.

The more people we have in the class, the more fun it is; and it is a fun class.

The classroom in Orlando, Florida is one of the most posh training centers in the country. For more information send an e-mail to Roxanna Alveraz at ralvarez@ibgnet.com. Or, go their website at www.ibgnet.com. There you can see all of their class offerings.

I'm not part of the IBG staff, I'm an independent instructor willing to go anywhere and teach anything I can. I would be delighted to come to your office and teach it for your staff. If you want classroom training, IBG is your best bet.

Other classes available include:

Installation and Configuration
Foundation
General Ledger
Payables Management
Receivables Management
Bank Reconciliation
Fixed Assets
Inventory Management
Purchase Order Processing
Sales order Processing
Payroll with or without HR
Modifier with VBA
Report Writer
SQL Server Reporting Services
SmartList Builder
Excel Report Builder
Extender
Integrated Excel Reports
Learning the Dynamics GP Data Model

Until next post!

Leslie

Contact:
cell: 972-814-8550

.net 3.5 sp 1 Year End tax forms OK!

2010-01-02T03:35:00.002-06:00

Hello friends,

I'm happy to report that after all of the issues that came up during the SP 4 year end update and .net 3.5 sp 1, the Forms W-2 and 1099 printed perfectly.

We did have a problem with the Reports dictionary, but that was resolved by creating a new reports dictionary and importing the reports from the old dictionary using the Import function within Report Writer. The GL trial balance report was DOA and had to be redone. Most of the previous customizations, which were mostly calculated fields, could be copied from the package files created as backups. At least all of the SOP and POP reports came through the update error free.

So, at the end of the day each of the workstations were using build 324 of both the Dex.dic and Dynamics.exe files. From now on I'm going to jump right to this configuration. I will test it again on 24 workstations over the next week or two.

I'll let you know what happens.

Until next post!

Kind regards,

Leslie Vail

Beware the .NET Framework 3.5 sp 1

2009-12-30T05:01:00.002-06:00

DEX.DIC version 10.0.320.0 is not compatible with executable version 10.0.324.0

This error came up yesterday while trying to load the 2009 year end update. Going from build 1237 to build 1400 I did not expect any problems (my first error of the day).

This only happened on the new machines, not on the older ones. hmmm.

It turned out that the culprit was .NET Framework 3.5 sp 1. Every machine with 3.5 sp 1 on it threw an error. There was an old machine that I installed 3.51 on just to check, and sure enough, the same error. What to do . . .

I tried a variety of things, but here's what worked for me.

Choice 1 -- Download and install build 324 of Dexterity.

Choice 2 -- Simply copy the files from one of the functioning workstations to the one giving you a problem. You need to go as far as you can with the installation before doing this in order to load the Dex components.

Tomorrow we'll see if the Forms 1099 and W-2 print correctly after all of this effort.

Until next time!

Leslie Vail

Can't Import Excel Budget??

2009-12-30T04:41:00.003-06:00

Here's the story. You export a 'blank' budget to Excel to make sure you have the format correct. You make all of your adjustments, save it and then try to import it back into GP.

Have you ever been thanked for all of your budgeting efforts with the message above?

You think -- but I exported the format from GP and then tried to import it back in, I didn't change it!

And I believe you :)

Check your column headings in Excel. If even one of your period descriptions is interpreted as a date by Excel, you will get the above message. Easy to fix, just turn it into a string and you're good to go. Don't forget to go into your Fiscal Periods Setup screen and modify your Period Name(s) so that it doesn't happen again.

Until next time!

Leslie

Wasted, Unused or Voided Checks

2009-12-30T01:30:00.004-06:00

This is a little tip for anyone who wants to keep track of all of their check numbers to account for 'voided' checks. By 'voided' I mean checks that were not actually used in a transaction, they were wasted. Like when someone prints a report on your check stock.

The method I use to record 'wasted checks' is very simple, here it is:

Go into Bank Transaction Entry, fill in everything except the amount. No
need to deal with the distribution accounts, leave everything zero. I usually
put 'wasted check', or something to that effect in the description field. It's nice to have something show up on reports. Post the check; boom, you're done.

I've recorded the wasted check and I don't have to do anything else.

I think this works very well and it keeps the auditors happy :)

Dynamics for Manufacturing - Understanding the difference between NAV, GP, SL and AX

2009-11-17T18:25:00.003-06:00

The link is to an article by Houston Neal comparing the 4 products in the area of Manufacturing. I'd love to see more like this. If you have any articles comparing the products, Please send me the link.

Thanks!

Leslie

http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/manufacturing/understanding-the-difference-between-gp-nav-sl-ax-1111709/

Dex.ini Switches Part 3

2009-11-11T20:44:00.013-06:00

Now that I have figured out that I can't attach a file to this blog, I thought now would be a good time to add more to the list. Hopefully I haven't included any repeats (or if I did I gave the same explanation).

ADCProcessor=TRUE
You will see this line in the Dex.ini file if you are using Manufacturing and have the checkbox marked in ADC Preferences.

AdvLookups=FALSE
New Users created will NOT be granted access to the Alternate lookup windows in the SmartList dictionary and will instead be assigned the old ‘green bar’ lookup windows.

AllowBCPTest=FALSE
Prevents utilities from running the BCP test.

AllowWrongDex=TRUE
Will allow Dynamics GP to launch with mis-matched versions of dexterity. This switch can get you in trouble, so make sure you know if this is OK. It should NOT be used just to get rid of the error. If you are getting the error, something is amiss.

ApplicationName=name
Changes the name the runtime engine displays when it is launched. Without this setting the name “Dexterity Runtime” is displayed. Kind of fun, but you have to watch carefully because this isn't displayed for very long.

AutoDisplayUpdate=TRUE
Automatically redisplays the process monitor queue.

AutoInstallChunks=TRUE
Causes Dynamics to automatically include the *.cnk file not prompting the user for 'Add New Code to Dynamics.set' during launch.

BTInterface=NoLoad
This applied to the old Btrieve file handler (PSQL 2000) as to whether the interface would load when Dynamics was launched. This one only applies to versions 7.5 or before, assuming PSQL 2000 is being used. It's out of date, but hey, it was on the list.

Buildphantom=TRUE
Allows creation of a Manufacturing Order for a Finished Good Phantom Item.

BuildSQLMessages=TRUE
This one will copy the Dexterity messages to a SQL table on next login and then it will set it back to FALSE. Once in a SQL table the messages can be used in stored procedures. The table is DYNAMICS.dbo.MESSAGES. Give this one a try, it's pretty neat. It's also a very good way to easily 'browse' all of the message resources. If you have Modifier, these are fun to change. I especially like changing the droll descriptions Check Links adds to recovered records. Be sure to keep track of what you changed so you can change it back if you did something for a laugh.

DebugFonts=TRUE
This setting causes Dexterity to generate a trace file named "debuglog.txt". This file lists the fonts that were considered and why particular fonts were chosen or rejected.

DebugRW=XXX
Where XXX equals the sum of the values you want to trace from below.

1 = QueryOK Specifies if the report will use a single query or not
2 = Sanscript Logs the run report statement as the Report Writer sees it
4 = RW Query Logs all API calls from RW to the Data Manager
8 = RW Setup If used with RW Run, logs all data returned by Data Manager
16 = RW Steps Logs internal RW steps in processing the report
32 = RW Run Logs all RW runtime calls to the Data Manager
64 = DM SQL Logs internal Data Manager structures and SQL Generation
256 = RW Frames Logs the beginning of each report frame
512 = Tab Delimited Logs output as tab delimited output

Output will appear in a log filed named DebugRW.txt next to the application dictionary.

Example: If you want to log if a report is using a query and the SanScript and SQL code used, then add the following line to your Dex.ini file:
DebugRW=67 ; 1 + 2 + 64

To help in trouble shooting problems related to the generation of reports, before printing a report you may choose to mark the Where XXX equals the sum of the values you want to trace from below.
Value = Name Description
1 = QueryOK Specifies if the report will use a single query or not
2 = Sanscript Logs the run report statement as the Report Writer sees it
4 = RW Query Logs all API calls from RW to the Data Manager
8 = RW Setup If used with RW Run, logs all data returned by Data Manager
16 = RW Steps Logs internal RW steps in processing the report
32 = RW Run Logs all RW runtime calls to the Data Manager
64 = DM SQL Logs internal Data Manager structures and SQL Generation
256 = RW Frames Logs the beginning of each report frame
512 = Tab Delimited Logs output as tab delimited output

Output will appear in a log filed named DebugRW.txt next to the application dictionary.

Example: If you want to log if a report is using a query and the SanScript and SQL code used, then add the following line to your Dex.ini file:
DebugRW=67 ; 1 + 2 + 64

To help in trouble shooting problems related to the generation of reports, before printing a report you may choose to mark the Suppress SQL Query option on the Report Definition window. This will force the system to perform individual table operations instead of creating a query. If you have the SQLLogSQLStmt = TRUE setting included in your DEX.INI. The individual select statements are then included in your DEXSQL.LOG file and can be analyzed to uncover any potential problems.

DebugUnknownFile=TRUE
Returns a Btrieve or Ctree error code to help track problems with table errors back in the day of Btrieve and Ctree. (version 7.5 and previous)

DevAssistHide=TRUE
This is a 'Dexterity' ini switch used to keep the Developer Assistant window from automatically opening after you login to a company when you are running in test mode.

DexHelpPath=pathname
Path to Dexterity help files.

Dictionary Version=
This isn't a switch you can set, it is set for you by the application. It displays the current version of the Dynamics.dic file.

DisplayTableErrors=TRUE, ALL or OPEN
This is used to display an ID for an unknown table error when the Dexterity Database Management Subsystem encounters one. The ID that's displayed can be used to determine the cause of the error.
TRUE – Displays only unknown errors.
ALL – Displays all table errors except the two most common: “duplicate” and “not found”.
OPEN - Displays all table errors for an open operation.

DPSInstance=number
Where number indicates the instance number. This tells the engine which instance of the Dynamics Process Server to use.

DynHelpPath=pathname
Path to Dynamics help files.

EmailStmtStatusPath=pathname
The path for the delivery of e-mail statements.

EXTPRICINGQTYFREEISADDER = TRUE
The EXTPRICINGQTYFREEISADDER option is included in the extended pricing component to let you type a negative value in the Maximum Quantity Free box. The extended pricing component uses a negative value in this box to let the Maximum Quantity Free field behave in an additive manner instead of as a multiplier. Refer to KB article 910125.

FAGroupPath=Pathname\filename
FAPhysicalInventoryPath= Pathname\filename
FAPhysInvInfoPath= Pathname\filename
FAAssetImportPath= Pathname\filename
FAAssetIDExportPath= Pathname\filename
FAAssetLabelExportPath= Pathname\filename
FAMacroPath= Pathname\filename
FASampleDataPath= Pathname\filename
This is the group of settings that determine the import/export file names for user preferences in Fixed assets. Setup>>Fixed Assets>>User Preferences

FHCheckRanges=TRUE
This setting specifies whether to log the instances when Dexterity decides which type of range to use for tables that use the SQL database type. The log will list all instances when Dexterity detected a range that was not “well-behaved” and whether Dexterity used an exclusive or inclusive range. The FHRANGE.LOG text file to be generated in the same location as Dexterity or the runtime engine. This setting is pretty much outdated too, because now SQL is the only allowed database type.

FileHandler=database type
This used to be the Database Type that was used to determine, in part, what kind of tables to create when Ctree and Btrieve (PSQL 2000) were supported. Now the FileHandler type will always be SQL.

That's all for now. Until next time . . .

Moving from Work to Open to History

2009-11-11T20:20:00.002-06:00

This article started from a question posted on the newsgroup. There doesn't seem to be any summary of how transactions move from Work to Open to History.

I put together this document attempting to address this for the following series:

GL
CM (Bank Transactions)
AR
AP
SOP
POP
Invoicing
Inventory

I haven't worked on Payroll yet.

GL

Work - Unposted GL Transactions
Open - Posted GL Transactions
History - When GL Fiscal Year Closes

Until the year closes all of the GL transactions are in the Year to Date Transaction Open table. You cannot move them back to the Open table after the year end closes. Entries cannot be ‘unposted’ and moved back into the Work table.

CM (Bank Transactions)

Work – Unposted Deposit Transactions
Open – Posted Bank Transactions
Posted Deposit Transactions
Reconciliations
History – There is no history table

AP

Work – Unposted AP Transactions
Open – Posted AP Transactions that are not yet fully applied.
Posted Purchasing Invoices that are not yet fully applied.
History – Transactions automatically move to history when the document is fully applied (a transaction is a check, credit memo, invoice, etc.) For a check or credit memo it is when the amount is fully applied to an invoice or invoices. For an invoice it is when it is fully paid off, or a credit memo, or memos takes the balance to zero. Voiding a document in the Open file moves it to history. Documents can be voided after they have been moved to history and that moves them back to the Open table. Documents cannot be 'unposted'.

AR

Work - Unposted
Open - Posted AR Transactions
Posted SOP Invoices
Posted SOP Cash Receipts
History - You need to run the 'Paid Transaction Removal' routine in order to move transactions to History. Nothing automatically moves to history. This routine will only move 'fully applied' documents to history. So if you still have a balance on an invoice it stays in the Open Table. If a credit memo or receipt has not been applied to an invoice, it will stay in the Open table. The fact that the customer's net balance is zero does not impact whether the document moves to history.

When you run the Paid Trx Removal you specify a cutoff date that applies to
NSF checks
Voided documents
Waived (finance charges)
Paid Transactions

You specify a separate date for:
Checks

Once AR transactions are moved to history - they cannot be voided thereby moving them back to open. This is why the checks have a separate date - what if they bounce!

Documents can be 'unapplied' only while they are in the Open file, not after they have been moved to history. For instance, if you applied a cash receipt to the wrong invoice, you can change it to the correct invoice only if it has not been moved to history.

Documents can be voided only while they are in the Open file.

SOP

Work - Unposted documents
Open - There is no Open file (when SOP docs are posted the transactions go into the AR Open file)
History -These transactions automatically move to history:
Posted SOP Invoices or SOP Returns
Voided SOP Documents
Orders whose items have been fully transferred to other documents
Quotes that have had any item transferred to another document
Backorders that have been fully transferred to other documents
For documents that do not automatically transfer to history, run the Reconcile-Remove Sales Documents utility.

The following documents cannot be posted
Quotes
Orders
Backorders

POP

Work - Any document that has not been moved to history
Open - There is no open file
History –
Posted Receipts automatically move to history
Posted Purchasing Invoices automatically move to history
Voided Purchasing Documents automatically move to history
Purchase Orders - You must run the Purchasing Routine 'Remove Completed Purchase Orders'. This will move all of the closed or canceled POs to History. If a PO is not closed or canceled it will not be moved, so there is no danger of moving a PO that doesn't qualify. You can set restrictions on which POP docs are examined for removal.

IVC (Invoicing)

Work – Unposted Documents
Open - There is no open file (posted transactions update receivables, like SOP)
History –
Posted Invoices automatically move to history
Posted Returns automatically move to history

IV (Inventory)

Work – Unposted Adjustments
Unposted Variances
Unposted Stock Counts
Unposted Transfers
Open - There is no open file
History – Posted Transactions

Database Maintenance Utility

2009-11-06T01:03:00.003-06:00

After you load GP 10 you will notice a little extra item has loaded. That extra item is called the Database Mantenance Utility. I've been asked many times of late as to what it does and why we should care. Here goes. When the databases are created by GP several other objects are created as well. Views, Triggers, Stored Procedures and functions. Sometimes these objects become corrupted or messed up in some other way and need to be reloaded. The Database Maintenance Utility is the tool for the job. Before running this utility please be sure to back up your database. Also script out any customizations you have made to any of these objects, because they will need to be reapplied.

As an aside, you want to script any changes made to table keys and indexes because you will most likely need to re-run those modifications after any table update.

That's all for now, I'm heading to the Tech Conference Friday.

Hope to see you there!

Using the Adjust Costs inventory Utility

2009-11-06T00:44:00.005-06:00

Adjust Costs.

It looks like a simple enough tool and it does exactly what you tell it to do. However, read on, what it does may not be exactly what you want it to do. Here's what it does. Say you have a purchase receipt that went through the system at $1465. Several of the items were sold but now the inventory is obsolete and the powers that be task you to write it off. They still want the items in inventory in case they can sell them later, but the carrying value should be zero. No Prob! you say. You open up the adjust cost screen and take each of the receipts that have not been completely sod and adjust the cost to zero. A bunch of reports print, you check that your stock status shows zero and you think you are done.

Not so fast. When you make a cost adjustment to a receipt in the Adjust Cost window you are telling the system that the entire receipt had a bad cost, not just the items left over. Dynamics GP will go back and attempt to adjust the cost on the posted sales from this receipt to the new cost (in our case $0). You may not want that. If all you are trying to do is write the current inventory down to zero cost, make Inventory Transaction Entries. First, a negative entry which will pull the correct cost. This will give you your 'write off' journal entry. Next do an increase adjustment at $0.00 cost. Now you have written off exactly the inventory you want and the carrying value is zero.

You can go home fulfilled from a good writeoff :)

Until Next Post

Leslie

Dexterity Training in Orlando Oct 5 - 9, 2009

2009-09-25T09:41:00.002-05:00

Come to Florida for Dexterity Training!

This class is only held once per year, so please don't miss it if you are interested in learning Dexterity.

If you want to sign up please call Roxanna at 407-677-0370 or ralvarez@ibgnet.com.

This is a hands-on programming class using Microsoft Dexterity. This class will take you from creating the initial development environment to delivering a fully integrated .cnk file.

This week-long Class will include several programming projects such as:

Creating a data-entry window project
Using the debugging tools
Creating a lookup window project
Understanding multi-user record locking
Creating a transaction entry project
Using Dexterity Utilities
Creating an integrating application project using object triggers
Creating integrating reports with Report Writer

For more information look here:
http://www.ibgnet.com/images/pdfs/Dexterity_I_Synopsis.pdf

To sign up for the class look here:
http://www.ibgnet.com/IBG-Training-GP.html

Copy Fields for Jocelyn

2009-07-01T05:22:00.003-05:00

Here's what the Calculated Fields section looks like for the Direct Deposit Earnings Statement:
This to answer Jocelyn's question on Copying calculated fields.

CalculatedFields
{
CalculatedField "SickAvail"
{
EvaluateAfter ""
Expression " ( 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Sick Time Available' - 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Sick Time Hours' ) * 0.01000 "
ResultType "Currency"
}
CalculatedField "VacAvail"
{
EvaluateAfter "SickAvail"
Expression " ( 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Vacation Available' - 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Vacation Hours' ) * 0.01000 "
ResultType "Currency"
}
CalculatedField "Sick Time Total"
{
EvaluateAfter ""
Expression " ( 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Sick Time Available' - 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Sick Time Hours' ) * 0.01000 "
ResultType "Currency"
}
CalculatedField "Vacation Time Total"
{
EvaluateAfter "Sick Time Total"
Expression " ( 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Vacation Available' - 'UPR_WORK_Check'.'Vacation Hours' ) * 0.01000 "
ResultType "Currency"
}

Copy Calculated Fields in Report Writer

2009-07-01T04:58:00.002-05:00

Yes you can! The secret is in the editing of the .package file.

Let's imagine you want to use the rw_SelectAddrLine user-defined function to create the address block in the SOP Blank Invoice Form. KB (862653) entitled "Description of the rw_SelectAddrLine Report Writer function" will show you that 9 calculated fields could be required if you want to use all of the available fields in the address block. If you like going through that drill, the process definitely works.

I prefer the copy and paste method. What you need to do is create a couple of the calculated fields as directed in the article and then export the modified report to a .package file. Open the package file using the text editor of your choice and then copy and past until you have what you need. For the SOP Blank Invoice Form here is the text you can past into the calculated field portion of your report.

The calculated fields below skip the 'Name' field (the first variable)
CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 1" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 1 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 2" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 2 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 3" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 3 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 4" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 4 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 5" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 5 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 6" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 6 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 7" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 7 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 8" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 8 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" } CalculatedField "Ship To Address Line 9" { EvaluateAfter "" Expression "'rw_SelectAddrLine'( 9 \"\" 'SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Contact Person''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 1''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 2''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Address 3''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'City''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'State''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Zip Code''SOP_HDR_WORK'.'Country' ) " ResultType "String" }

The Anti-Spec

2009-05-07T10:39:00.001-05:00

http://www.willoware.com/docs/Flyer_TheAntiSpec.pdf

This is hilarious - every programmer should take a look at this. Kudos to Benny at Willoware!

Convergence 2009

2009-02-09T10:41:00.003-06:00

Who's coming to Convergence? I'll be there and I hope you all will stop by the Hands-on Labs and say 'hello'.

My friend and fellow MVP Mark Polino will be presenting a fact-filled and fun session - 50 tips in 50 minutes. He's a blast, and his session should not be missed!

I still use the image on his last slide from 'SQL Saturday' as my splash screen. "Microsoft - change the world or go home"

If you copy any .bmp file into the GP folder and name it 'splash.bmp' it will display while Dynamics GP is loading.

Look out New Orleans! GP is coming to town!

Leslie

Problem ascertaining product version

2009-02-09T10:34:00.002-06:00

Have you ever launched Dynamics GP Utilities and received the error below?

Error message when you access Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Utilities: "There was a problem ascertaining product version information. Microsoft Dynamics GP Utilities will now exit. Check DUinstall.log for more information"

KB article 952054 discusses the error, but doesn't tell you how to fix it. I've had this come up a couple of times. In both cases the client was attempting their own update. Usually they were changing servers or upgrading to SQL 2005 at the same time.

The fix is in. When you are moving your installation of GP, restore the databases FIRST and then install the software. If you do it the other way around you will get this error message and then it's difficult to diagnose.

Remember - databases first, then application.

I hope this helps someone out there in GP-Land.

Kind regards,

Leslie

Year end closing Retained Earnings validation

2009-01-04T20:41:00.004-06:00

What's this? Two posts in a single day after weeks of silence? Hopefully this will be helpful for someone out there.

This is for those of you who do 'divisional' closings to Retained Earnings. That's where each 'division' has separate balance sheet and income statement accounts. This is a popular technique when clients want to keep several companies in the same database, yet close out each company to its own retained earnings account.

First of all, you can only (out-of-the-box) differentiate according to a single segment of the chart of accounts. So you can't close by the combination of segment 1 AND segment 2. Also, you need to have created an account for each segment whether or not you need it.

Before executing the close, GP searches through the chart of accounts to make sure you do indeed have a separate retained earnings account for each separate 'division'. The surprise to me was how the software determines whether you're good to go. Instead of looking at the account indexes or separate segment definitions, it looks at the Account Number String field in the Account Index table.

I discovered this last year when one of my clients tried to close and couldn't. Earlier in the year we had removed an unused segment from the chart of accounts (more on that later). The Account Number String field still had a trailing dash "-" left over from the deleted segment. So account number 100-4560-090 read in the field as 100-4560-090- . Once we removed the trailing dash from the field, everything closed beautifully. Go figure.

Another related item. The Account Number String field is used by Integration Manager too. When importing account numbers, you have to use the account separator or the integration will fail. Remember when you could just import the string of characters with no account separator? Not anymore. This was changed a couple of versions ago, so everybody who had strings of characters as the source has probably changed the integration by now.

Gee, and here I thought they created that field so we would no longer have to concatenate segments in reporting.

Enjoy those forms 1099 and W-2!

Leslie

Dex.ini Switches - Part 2

2009-01-04T19:16:00.010-06:00

I'm finally getting back to posting. Here's the second installment of the .ini switches. My favorites were posted with part 1, but I'm always on the lookout for more. I've got some for VBA and IM as well.

ADC Processor=TRUE
You will see this line in the Dex.ini file if you are using Manufacturing and have the checkbox marked in ADC Preferences. (dah!)

AdvLookups=FALSE
New Users created will NOT be granted access to the Alternate lookup windows in the SmartList dictionary and will instead be assigned the old ‘green bar’ lookup windows. Very useful if you want to use Dex and try to do a lookup.

AllowBCPTest=FALSE
Prevents utilities from running the BCP test.

AllowWrongDex=TRUE
Will allow Dynamics GP to launch with mis-matched versions of dexterity. DANGER, this is not such a good idea.

ApplicationName=name
Changes the name the runtime engine displays when it is launched. Without this setting the name “Dexterity Runtime” is displayed. With versions 9 and higher this doesn't display very long so it's hard to spot. Hardly worth the effort anymore. It used to be quite fun.

AutoDisplayUpdate=TRUE
Automatically redisplays the process monitor queue.

AutoInstallChunks=TRUE
Causes Dynamics to automatically include the *.cnk file not prompting the user for 'Add New Code' during launch.

BTInterface=NoLoad
This applied to the old Btrieve file handler (PSQL 2000) as to whether the interface would load when Dynamics was launched. Version 7.5 was the last version where PSQL could be used.

Buildphantom=TRUE
Allows creation of a Manufacturing Order for a Finished Good Phantom Item. Sounds spooky.

BuildSQLMessages=TRUE
This one will copy the Dexterity messages to a SQL table on next login and then it will set it back to FALSE. Once in a SQL table the messages can be used in stored procedures. The table is DYNAMICS.dbo.MESSAGES.

DebugFonts=TRUE
This setting causes Dexterity to generate a trace file named "debuglog.txt". This file lists the fonts that were considered and why particular fonts were chosen or rejected. This applies to Report Writer reports.

DebugRW=XXX
Where XXX equals the sum of the values you want to trace from below.

Value = Description
1 = QueryOK Specifies if the report will use a single query or not
2 = Sanscript Logs the run report statement as the Report Writer sees it
4 = RW Query Logs all API calls from RW to the Data Manager
8 = RW Setup If used with RW Run, logs all data returned by Data Manager
16 = RW Steps Logs internal RW steps in processing the report
32 = RW Run Logs all RW runtime calls to the Data Manager
64 = DM SQL Logs internal Data Manager structures and SQL Generation
256 = RW Frames Logs the beginning of each report frame
512 = Tab Delimited Logs output as tab delimited output

Output will appear in a log filed named DebugRW.txt next to the application dictionary.

Example: If you want to log if a report is using a query and the SanScript and SQL code used, then add the following line to your Dex.ini file:
DebugRW=67 (which is 1 + 2 + 64)

To help in trouble shooting problems related to the generation of reports, before printing a report you may choose to mark the Multi-Login Report option on the Report Definition window. This will force the system to perform individual table operations instead of creating a query. If you have the SQLLogSQLStmt = TRUE setting included in your DEX.INI. The individual select statements are then included in your DEXSQL.LOG file and can be analyzed to uncover any potential problems.

DebugUnknownFile=TRUE
Returns a Btrieve or Ctree error code to help track problems with table errors back in the day of Btrieve and Ctree. (version 7.5 and previous)

DexHelpPath=pathname
Path to the Dexterity help files. Consider using this if you want to 'share' help files. This defaults to the application folder on the local client.

Dictionary Version=xx.xx.xxxx
The current version of the Dynamics.dic file. Changing this value will not change the dictionary, but this value is updated when a service pack is installed.

DisplayTableErrors=TRUE, ALL or OPEN
To display an ID for an unknown table error when the Dexterity Database Management Subsystem encounters one. The ID that's displayed can be used to determine the cause of the error.
TRUE – Displays only unknown errors.
ALL – Displays all table errors except the two most common: “duplicate” and “not found”.
OPEN - Displays all table errors for an open operation.

That's all for now. Please let me know if there are any errors in any of the switches so I can be sure to correct the post.

Thanks for "listening"!

Leslie

Dex.ini Switches - Part 1

2008-12-20T22:41:00.013-06:00

Over the years I've collected a number of dex.ini switches. I love these things. I'd been beating my head against the wall for 2 or 3 hours and somone comes by and says 'Oh, that's just an ini switch.' An .ini switch can control all sorts of things. From where to look for the help file to turning off that nagging reminder about the sample company date. Some of my favorite switches are below. Since, I can't figure out how to attach a text file to this blog, I'll make this a multi-part post and eventually cover all of them in my list.

ShowAdvancedMacroMenu=TRUE
When you get that message that says your macro failed on line 65,423 you can use this to open your macro and jump right to the line of failure for analysis. Being a frequent user of the 'Mail Merge' macro, this tool is used frequently to find out what went wrong. Another cool thing about this is that it lets you start a macro in the middle, also there's no separate .cnk to install. A simple .ini switch does the trick!

DISALLOWSNLOTAOF=TRUE
Prevents users from being able to "create" new lot numbers or serial numbers while transferring an item from one site to another. Version 10 now has a setup option that disallows this, but the box is not automatically checked. GP is good about not changing the old functionality (really, I mean this) so be sure to check your setup screens after each update or SP for new settings.

EmpLookup=2
Causes the Employee Lookup to default to Last Name

EmpLookup=3
Causes the Employee Lookup to default to First Name

EmpLookup=4
Causes the Employee Lookup to default to Social Security Number

ExplorerFormatCurrency=FALSE
Exports currency values to Excel from SmartLists as numbers instead of text.

ExportOneLineBody=TRUE
All fields and text entered in the body of the report will export to a single line when the report is printed to a file. Allows you to enter many fields vertically instead of having to enter them horizontally in the report layout. This was what we had to do back in the pre-SQL days. If you don't exactly have your arms around the SmartList Export Solutions, it's still a nifty way to 'export' Excel formulas. Be sure to change your Excel formula options to R1C1 reference style and you won't need to keep track of any Excel templates. My clients enjoy just being able to run a Report Writer report to get all of the formulas they need. That, and I already had it written so it was easier.

FormDictionaryPath=pathname
ReportDictionaryPath=pathname
These are new for version 10 and welcomed with open arms! These lines tell dexterity where the forms/reports should default to when installing a new .cnk file. Switch it to a shared location for a shared forms/reports.dic and any new dictionary applications that are installed will default to that location instead of the client installation folder.

MinPMCheck=50.00
Used in conjunction with PSTL free tool this sets the minimum payables check amount. This is used in conjunction with the 'Select Checks' feature. No check for under the amount specified will be created. In this example the minimum check would be $50.00

OldRelationshipWindow=TRUE
Just kidding, this one doesn't work anymore. For the oldies among us, remember when Report Writer would let you create invalid relationships? Like you could build a relationship between a string field and an integer field. Hey, sometimes you needed to! This switch allowed the old Relationship Definition window to work again. This switch was used prior to version 8.

OLEPath=pathname
Thanks to Matthew, I have a new solution to this one. Apparently you CAN use the UNC path so long as you have the folders pre-created for each company. Read explanation below:

You only need one line in the dex.ini to accommodate multiple GP companies. If you have three companies in GP (CMP1-CMP3) the line in the dex.ini would still be, for example,

OLEPath=\\ServerName\GPShare\OLE\

For this path to work with the three companies, you would need to manually add the company directories under the OLE directory on the share. For example, the folders would look like this:

GPShare\OLE\CMP1\OLENotes
GPShare\OLE\CMP2\OLENotes
GPShare\OLE\CMP3\OLENotes

If you're using a local drive or a mapped drive instead of UNC for the OLEPath, this directory structure is automatically created for you by GP.

If you don't have the folder structure set up first, UNC will not work. IP addresses won't work either.

REVALUEINDETAIL=TRUE
Inventory cost adjustments will flow into the general ledger in detail instead of the default behavior which is to create a single summarized journal entry.

SAMPLEDATEMMDDYYYY=00000000
To prevent the 'Sample Company' dialog box from being displayed and to use the current system date instead of April 12th, 2017

SAMPLEDATEMMDDYYYY=MMDDYYYY
To prevent the 'Sample Company' dialog box from being displayed and to use a user-specified date

SAMPLEDATEMSG=FALSE
To prevent the 'Sample Company' dialog box from being displayed, while leaving the user date at April 12, 2017.

StdInternationalInfo=TRUE
The date format will not be pulled from the International settings and will instead use the default format of mm/dd/yy.

SuppressChangeDateDialog=True
To keep an IM integration from failing if the integration is running when the computer’s clock hits midnight. The computer date doesn’t change either – so be sure to watch this if running overnight integrations.

SuppressSound=TRUE
Stop Dexterity and Dynamics from generating any sounds. This is popular if you don't want the whole office to hear the computer 'beeping' when you make mistakes. It was also popular back in the 'Welcome to Dynamics' .wav file days.

For those who want more, watch this blog, contributions and corrections ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED!

That's all for now,
Leslie

First Post - Dynamics Confessor Blogspot

2008-12-20T01:23:00.004-06:00

Well, I have finally found a blog to call home. I'm a Microsoft Dynamics GP consultant out in the field day after day trying to put hope into my client's eyes (or at least keep tomatoes out of mine). My fellow confessors and friends said it would be fun to blog. I was also told that I was the only remainng MBS-GP MVP not to have a blog. Well it's here - I'm officially a blogger. So does anyone have any topics or ideas they would like covered in blogs to come? I'll try to handle the basic stuff and leave the heavy lifting to Mariano and David!

Leslie