218.486.5095 |  920 O’Donnell St Hawley, MN 56549

Implementation Specialists

Microsoft Gold ERP Partner in Minnesota

Dynamics GP

How to Tackle Billing Issues in Dynamics GP

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Are you suffering from billing issues in Microsoft Dynamics GP? During the course of your workday, situations arise where you need slick, simplified methods to fix invoices while running KEY2ACT. Two wsTOOLS, VoidMaintenance and VoidReOpen, will have you running to your service manager asking, “Do you realize how many times a day these products could be beneficial to me and our company?”

It’s pleasing to hear exactly how these tools can help your Dynamics GP billing issues and improve daily functions. VoidReOpen returns the costs back to the service call for re-billing, reducing the need to issue credit memos and create additional invoices. Missing charges can be added or adjusted on the missing invoice.

On that same note, VoidMaintenance will reverse a maintenance invoice out of receivables and allow you to regenerate the invoice with the proper corrections. Even better, a recorded history of voided documents is kept for reporting purposes in both products

If your service manager is not yet convinced, Cheryl Simmons, Vice President and peer-proclaimed tools guru, simplifies the functionality of these tools for the end-user: “If one needs to void a service invoice due to a mistake or customer request, it can be voided while having the costs return to the service call. This way, any adjustments that are needed can be made. The same is true for a maintenance invoice. It turns back the contract information prior to running the voided maintenance invoice in question.”

Intrigued but wanting to see the solutions in action? Our webinar on January 26 at 1:00 CST will satiate your hunger. You guessed it, Cheryl will be running the show. Register for the Tools to Tackle Billing Blunders webinar here: Tools to Tackle Billing Blunders.

We look forward to “seeing” you at the webinar.

Empower Your Dynamics GP Workforce Training

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Embrace Working Remote

Many Dynamics GP users are confined to working remote at the moment due to COVID-19. Why not embrace working remote by learning something new or refreshing your Dynamics GP knowledge?

We’ve Got You Covered

We’ve launched a 3-week, 21 session training course dedicated to providing the best experience possible for you and your team. We have put together this training series based on common questions we have received over the last few months, including questions we received at our annual GPUC event.

We will cover topics from Security, Finance, BI and Reporting, Tech/IT/Admin, General GP questions and more. There’s a course for everyone on your accounting team.

Sign up before April 6th and have the opportunity to attend all trainings live. You will also have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have during the training. Your team will also have access to all recorded trainings. If your team signs up after April 6th, you will automatically have access to all past trainings so you can start learning right away.

Now is the most important time for enabling your team to succeed, which is our number one goal and commitment.

Visit our registration page for more information and to register.

Managing Your Software Systems

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There is nothing more frustrating than having a system that you are paying for and either not knowing how to use it or not using it to its full potential. In both scenarios software becomes a financial burden and obstruction to productivity and growth. There are three ways to manage your software and each has its own set of pros and cons.

  • Train people within your organization to manage the system and train future users.

Training people within your organization is beneficial as they already understand your business processes and can apply the system to these processes right away. Make sure to train a few people to assist with coverage in case of time off or attrition.

Difficulties can arise as these users are newer to the system and have divided focus with original job duties and the software, so advanced capabilities may remain undiscovered and problems that arise pose challenges due to inexperience.

  • Hire an expert with the software system to manage the system and train end users.

Hiring an expert gives you someone with detailed and tenured experience on the software system. Problems are easily solved and advanced capabilities are able to be integrated. Make sure to train a few individuals to handle basic issues and questions in case of time off.

Having a full-time employee that only works on one system may not be cost effective depending on how much administration and training is required. You can look at adding responsibilities outside of managing the system to help get more for your money.

  • Use a consulting company to manage the system and train end users.

Using a consulting company gives you the benefit of having multiple experts with the software, so you benefit from many points of view and experience. Consulting companies specialize in helping organizations integrate software systems into their business processes and use the software to its fullest potential. There will be no divided focus, keeping your employees focused on growing the business and letting the consulting company focus on keeping your software running to support the business.

With consulting companies, the cost per hour can seem high; however, you only pay when using the service and issues can be resolved quickly due to expertise and experience with the system creating a positive return on investment. It can be beneficial to train a few individuals within the organization to handle basic questions and issues to help alleviate some of the cost.

Software systems are a substantial investment and each organization needs to review individual requirements and choose what option will work best for your organization.

At Implementation Specialists we can help you design a custom plan for your organization. With specialists in Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics 365 Financials, Dynamics 365 CRM and Power BI we can assist with anything including total management of your system, system training so you can take a do it yourself approach or a hybrid between the two. Visit our solutions and services sections on the website to read more about what we offer or contact us directly and we can answer any questions you might have.

2018 GP User Conference Wrap Up

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Simply put – the best GP User Conference Ever! We kicked off our annual GPUC event and it did not disappoint. With over 20 different companies from near and far and over 100 attendees, we were very excited about what GPUC 2018 would bring.

The first day kicked off with a welcome session by our very own President, Deb Sletmoen and Keynote speaker, Theresa Nistler with Microsoft. Over the course of 3 days, attendees could choose from over 60 sessions and were easily able to do so with our new event app. With the GPUC app, attendees were able to create their own schedule, provide session feedback through surveys and network with peers. We think the app was a great asset for this event and we look forward to utilizing it for future events. If you attended GPUC and haven’t taken the GPUC survey on the app, you can take it here.

Our team enjoyed showing off their knowledge with session topics from Financials to SQL, and even a session about social media. Which session was your favorite?

One of our conference highlights was the social happy hour sponsored by Concur. We had a great time chatting with everyone over drinks and enjoyed the time to relax after a busy day filled with all things Dynamics GP.

Over the course of GPUC, we gave away awesome swag, gift cards, a Surface Pro and even a Yeti cooler! Congratulations to all our winners – we hope you enjoy your prizes!

Thank you to everyone who attended GPUC this year and big thank you to all our sponsors, as this event wouldn’t be possible without them!

Didn’t get a chance to attend GPUC 2018? Don’t worry, contact us now to learn more about IS or to chat about GPUC 2019.

 

Keyboard Shortcuts for Dynamics GP

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The key to becoming proficient at demonstrating Dynamics without using the mouse is to practice. You probably felt awkward the very first time you used a mouse, and you will initially feel awkward using only the keyboard in Dynamics. This feeling will occur not because Dynamics is difficult to use with the keyboard, but because you initially learned the program with a mouse. The only solution is to practice!

Watch our recent webinar on how to Customize Your GP.

TAB SEQUENCE

The tab sequence in Dynamics is the order in which fields and controls will be selected as you navigate from field to field with the keyboard. On a windows machine, almost every field and control on a window is part of the tab sequence. The Dynamics tab sequence follows a defined format for every window:

1. Data entry fields and controls from left to right, top to bottom: These are all the text fields, financial fields, check boxes, radio buttons, list boxes, etc. where you can enter information.

2. Window Body Buttons from left to right, top to bottom: These are buttons in the main body of the window which open other windows or start processes, such as the Summary, History and Budget buttons on the General Ledger Account Maintenance Window.

3. Window Control Area Controls from left to right These are all of the controls (Browse buttons, Save, Cancel, etc.) which are located in the window control area. The Push Pin button is not included in the tab sequence.

4. Window Body Controls from left to right, top to bottom: These are all of the other visible controls on the window such as lookup window buttons, expansion window buttons, record note buttons, etc.).

5. Display only fields and hidden zoom buttons are not part of the tab sequence.

FIELD-TO-FIELD NAVIGATION

The TAB key selects the net field or control in the tab sequence. SHIFT + TAB selects the previous field or control in the tab sequence. ENTER will activate the default button. (These are standard Windows actions.) In Dynamics, we give the user the option of using ENTER (or RETURN), to select the next field in the tab sequence. When this selection is made (Setup, User Preferences), ENTER and TAB will select the next field or control in the tab sequence. SHIFT + TAB will select the previous field or control in the tab sequence. SHIFT + ENTER will activate the default button.

DEFAULT BUTTON

It is imperative to understand the concept of the default button to navigate effectively with the keyboard. As described in the previous section pressing ENTER (or SHIFT + ENTER), will cause the default button to respond as if it had been clicked with the mouse. The default button on a window is indicated by a black outline that is wider than other outlines. Which button is the default button changes in a predictable manner based on user actions. When a window is opened or restarted (a window restart occurs when the user finishes with the current records, usually with save, clear or delete), the standard default button is automatically set to the most common action the user is likely to take with the window (save, select OK, etc.). As long as the user is moving between data entry fields, the default button will not be changed and can be activated at any time by pressing ENTER. However, if the user navigates to a button by pressing TAB, that button becomes the default button and can be activated by pressing ENTER. As soon as the user navigates back to a data entry field, the default attribute is restored to the standard default button. Take a few minutes to use the TAB, SHIFT + TAB and ENTER keys to navigate around the General Ledger Account Maintenance window. After a little use, the concept of the “default” button becomes intuitive. (The concept and selection of the “default” button is a Windows standard action.)

KEYBOARD EQUIVALENTS

Most mouse actions in Dynamics can also be done using a keyboard equivalent. The following items can be controlled from the keyboard:

1) MAKING A MENU SELECTION : Holding down the ALT key while pressing one of the underlined letters in a menu title will activate that menu, (e.g. ALT + F activates the File menu). Once a menu is activated, you can use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to highlight the desired menu option. Once the correct option is highlighted, press ENTER to select it. You can also use the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys to activate the next menu to the left or right of the currently active menu. ALT + SPACEBAR activates the Dynamics control menu, (the little box in the upper left comer); ESCAPE deactivates the menu selection process and returns you to your previous Dynamics window. (These are all standard Windows actions.)

2) CLOSING A WINDOW : CTRL + F4 will close the currently active window and activate the next front most window. (This is a standard Windows action.) Switching Windows: CM + F6 will activate the next front most window in Dynamics. Repeatedly pressing CTRL + A will allow you to cycle through all of the currently open Dynamics windows and palettes. (This is a standard Windows action.)

3) EXITING DYNAMICS : ALT + F4 will exit the Dynamics program.

4) CHECK BOXES : Pressing the SPACEBAR will alternately mark and unmark a check box control. Radio Buttons: Pressing the DOWN or RIGHT ARROW key will select the next radio button in a series. Pressing the UP or LEFT ARROW key will select the previous radio button in a series. You may also press the first letter of the radio button prompt to select a specific button in the series. Drop Down List: Pressing the DOWN or RIGHT ARROW key will display the list. Pressing the UP or DOWN ARROW key will move the highlight within the displayed list. To make a selection, highlight the desired item and TAB out of the field. Combo Boxes: Pressing the DOWN ARROW key will display the list. Pressing the UP or DOWN ARROW key will move the highlight within the displayed list. To make a selection, highlight the desired item and TAB out of the field. You may also type information directly into a combo box. The LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys are used to position the insertion point for editing.

5) LIST BOXES : Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to highlight the desired item in the list and TAB out of the field to make your selection.

6) MULTI-SELECT LIST BOXES : Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to highlight the desired item in the fist and TAB out of the field to make your selection. You may also use SHIFT + UP and SHIFT + DOWN ARROW to select a fist of contiguous items.

7) ACCELERATOR KEYS : Button accelerator keys are the underlined letter in button names, (e.g. the “D” in Delete and the “t” in Post in the General Ledger Transaction Entry Window.) When a button accelerator key is used, the result is the same as if the mouse had been used to click a button. To use an accelerator key, hold down the ALT key and press the underlined letter, (e.g. ALT + A would activate the Save button in the General Ledger Transaction Entry Window).

8) MENU ACCELERATOR KEYS : Menu accelerator keys are the keys listed to the right of a menu selection, (e.g. CTRL + H for “About this Item” in the Help menu). The menu does not have to be activated to use the accelerator key.

9) LOOKUP BUTTONS: When you are in a field where a lookup window is available (indicated by the lookup icon), pressing CTRL + L will display the lookup window.

ACTIONS WITHOUT KEYBOARD EQUIVALENTS

1) MAKING A TOOLBAR MENU SELECTION : At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for using the mouse to select options from the Toolbar.

2) LEAVING A BIG TEXT AREA: A big text area is used for entering large amounts of unstructured text, (e.g. the Notes window). At the current time, you may TAB into a big text area, but you cannot TAB out of it to leave a big text area. You must use the mouse or enter one of the keyboard equivalents which activates a button.

3) LEAVING AN EDITABLE SCROLLING WINDOW: An editable scrolling window is one into which you can enter data (e.g. General Ledger Transaction Entry). A non-editable scrolling window does not allow any data entry (e.g. General Ledger Account Number Lookup). At the current time, you may TAB into an editable scrolling window, but you cannot TAB out of it to leave an editable scrolling window. You must use the mouse or enter one of the keyboard equivalents which activates a button. You may TAB out of a non-editable scrolling window.

4) ZOOMS : At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for zooms (the looking glass cursor).

5) MULIT-SELECT LIST BOX : At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for CTRL + CLICK (selecting discontinuous items), in the fist.

6) PUSH PINS (in lookup windows): At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for using the mouse to “stick” and “unstick” the push pin in a lookup window. You may TAB to the push pin button and then press ENTER to change the status.

7) BROWSE BUTTONS : At the current time, there is no direct keyboard equivalent for using the mouse to click on the browse buttons. You may TAB to these controls and then press ENTER to initiate the action.

8) PASSWORD BUTTONS : At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for opening a password window (padlock icon).

9) SHOW/HIDE LINE BUTTONS (scrolling windows): At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for changing the number of detail lines shown in a scrolling window.

10) OPENING AN EXPANSION WINDOW: At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for opening an expansion window. The “handcuff ” icon next to a prompt indicates the availability of an expansion window.

11) SCROLL BAR THUMB: At the current time, there is no keyboard equivalent for using the mouse to drag the “thumb” in a scrolling window to a new location. (You can use the PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, etc. buttons as described above to move the display to different records. This capability is different from the thumb that allows access to any portion of the file at once rather than one page at a time.)

FIELD EDITING

The following keys may be used to assist in editing the contents of fields:

LEFT ARROW: Moves the insertion point one character to the left.
RIGHT ARROW: Moves the insertion point one character to the right.
CTRL + LEFT ARROW: moves the insertion point to the beginning of the line.
CTRL+ RIGHT ARROW: moves the insertion point to the end of the line.

GPUG Summit: Our passion for GP

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Phoenix, Arizona. What makes it special? The weather, the people, the “x” in its name?

The answer is: all three! Of course, there’s another reason Phoenix is special to our team at Implementation Specialists. Phoenix was the host city for Microsoft’s annual Summit conference this past week. I’d like to share with you some of our team’s thoughts and impressions of our experiences at the conference.

  1. Passion for the Product is Present. The GP community is loud and proud. The sessions we attended were filled to the brim with people passionate for GP. Our booth was constantly buzzing with GP customers, all sharing their excitement about such a robust community of professionals genuinely sharing best practices with newcomers and experienced users alike.
  2. Family Feel. There were multiple occasions in which a partner, customer, or vendor would greet a counterpart, or even competitor, with a hearty handshake and hug. Oftentimes, there were conversations with the easy comradery of longtime friends. That’s because they usually are! Since GP is a mature product, and many of the companies partnered with GP have a long and established history, there is a distinct feeling of stability that you only get with a strong family that legitimately want to assist and care for each other.
  3. Energized Attendees: It wasn’t just the coffee that gave the attendees a buzz – there was a genuine sense of determination and focus within the conference on new features within GP and the opportunity to expand their networks. Our conversations were pointed, and there was little fluff – everyone we spoke with had a problem that needed solving. Whether it was centered on re-opening AP and AR for year close, reporting from a specific module, or how to correct a posting mistake, our guests wasted little time in cutting to the crux of the issue.
  4. Phoenix Rising: Phoenix was an excellent choice for the conference. Our hotel was a short walk from the convention center, so we got to take in a bit of the local architecture. The Herberger Theatre Center was on our route, so we were treated to beautiful modern sculptures of youths and adults in various states of play. The St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Basilica was across the street from the convention center, and gave us a snapshot into Phoenix’s Franciscan history. The Phoenix Convention Center was enormous and easy to navigate, with a modern glass and steel design that more than suited our needs for space and comfort.
  5. New Products Push Boundaries: One of the most consistent messages I absorbed from the conference was Microsoft’s commitment to not only their existing products, but a push into new horizons. Intelligent Edge would augment GP’s core functionality with Business Central’s cloud accessibility, analytics capability, and AI automation. Intelligent Edge could potentially enhance GP by providing real-time insights into your customer’s buying schedules, industry trends, your internal KPI’s, and much more.

Phoenix and the Summit Conference were both experiences that further confirmed the GP community is one of a kind. People who genuinely want to help others and an excellent air of hospitality around the city was palpable. I can’t wait to attend Summit 2019 in Orlando.

Steve Green

Business Development Manager