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Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 Cookbook
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 Cookbook

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 Cookbook: Over 100 powerful and effective recipes to help you solve real-world Dynamics GP problems

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Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 Cookbook

Chapter 2. Organizing Dynamics GP

In this chapter, we will look at:

  • Speeding up account entry with account aliases
  • Cleaning account lookups by removing accounts from lookups
  • Gaining visibility with horizontal scroll arrows
  • Streamlining payables processing by prioritizing vendors
  • Getting clarity with user-defined fields
  • Developing connections with Internet User Defined fields
  • Controlling reporting with account rollups
  • Remembering processes with an ad hoc workflow
  • Improving financial reporting clarity by splitting purchasing accounts
  • Speeding up lookups with advanced lookups
  • Going straight to the site with web links

Introduction

Dynamics GP provides a number of features to better organize the overall system and improve its usefulness for all users; these recipes are designed for the use of administrators rather than typical users. This chapter is designed to demonstrate how to implement and fine-tune these features to provide the most benefit.

Speeding up account entry with Account Alias

As organizations grow up, the chart of accounts tends to grow larger and more complex as well. Companies want to segment their business by departments, locations, or divisions; all of this means that more and more accounts get added to the chart and, as the chart of accounts grows, it gets more difficult to select the right account. Dynamics GP provides the Account Alias feature as a way to quickly select the right account. Account aliases provide a way to create shortcuts to specific accounts, which can dramatically speed up the process of selecting the correct account. We'll look at how that works in this recipe.

Getting ready

Setting up account aliases requires a user with access to the Account Maintenance window.

To get to this window perform the following steps:

  1. Select Financial from the Navigation pane on the left. Click Accounts on the Financial area page under Cards. This will open the Account Maintenance window.
  2. Click the lookup button...

Cleaning account lookups by removing accounts from lookups

A consequence of company growth is that the chart of accounts grows and account lookups can get clogged up by the number of accounts on the system. While the general ledger will stop showing an account in a lookup when the account is made inactive, other modules will continue to show these inactive codes.

However, Dynamics GP does contain a feature which can be used to remove inactive account from lookups; this same feature can also be used to remove accounts from lookups in series where the account should not be used, such as a sales account in the purchasing or inventory series.

How to do it…

Here we will see how to remove inactive accounts from lookups.

  1. Open Financial from the Navigation pane on the left. In the main area page, under Cards, select Account.
  2. Enter, or do a lookup for, the account to be made inactive and removed from the lookups:
    How to do it…
  3. Check the Inactive checkbox.
  4. Press and hold the Ctrl key and click on each of the lines...

Gaining visibility with horizontal scroll arrows

A consequence of company growth is that not only does the chart of accounts grow larger and less intuitive, but the actual length of account numbers tends to grow longer as well. Companies want to be able to report by account, department, location, and so on, which results in a proliferation of segments added to the main account number and can create very long accounts. Dynamics GP can accommodate an account number as long as 66 characters. The longest I've seen used in practice was 27 characters and even that was unwieldy. Most users only need a portion of that length for their day-to-day work.

This presents a problem because very long account numbers won't fit into the account number field on most screens. For this recipe, we'll look at how Dynamics GP provides a solution to this in the User Preferences area.

How to do it…

Here we'll see how to increase the visibility of long account numbers:

  1. On the Navigation pane...

Streamlining payables processing by prioritizing vendors

Management of vendor payments is a critical activity for any firm; it's even more critical in difficult economic times. Companies need to understand and control payments and a key component of this is prioritizing vendors. Every firm has both critical and expendable vendors. Paying critical vendors on time is a key business driver.

For example, a newspaper that doesn't pay their newsprint supplier won't be in business long. However, they can safely delay payments to their janitorial vendor without worrying about going under.

Dynamics GP provides a mechanism to prioritize vendors and apply those priorities when selecting which checks to print. That is the focus of this recipe.

Getting ready

Setting this up first requires that the company figure out who the priority vendors are. That part is beyond the scope of this book. The Vendor Priority field in Dynamics GP is a three-character field, but users shouldn't be seduced...

Getting clarity with user-defined fields

Throughout Dynamics GP, maintenance cards typically include at least two user-defined fields. User-defined fields can be renamed in the setup screen for the related module. This provides a great mechanism to add in special information. We'll take a look at a typical use of a user defined field in this recipe.

How to do it…

For our example, we'll look at using a user-defined field to rename the User-Defined1 field to Region in Customer Master:. To do so use the following steps:

  1. From the Navigation pane select Sales. In the Sales area page under Setup click Receivables and then, finally, the Options button.
  2. In the User-Defined 1 field type Region and click OK to close each window:
    How to do it…
  3. Back on the Sales area page, click Customer under the Cards area. On the bottom left above User-Defined 2 is the newly named Region field, ready to be filled in:
    How to do it…

How it works…

Changing the field name only changes the display field; it doesn't change...

Introduction


Dynamics GP provides a number of features to better organize the overall system and improve its usefulness for all users; these recipes are designed for the use of administrators rather than typical users. This chapter is designed to demonstrate how to implement and fine-tune these features to provide the most benefit.

Speeding up account entry with Account Alias


As organizations grow up, the chart of accounts tends to grow larger and more complex as well. Companies want to segment their business by departments, locations, or divisions; all of this means that more and more accounts get added to the chart and, as the chart of accounts grows, it gets more difficult to select the right account. Dynamics GP provides the Account Alias feature as a way to quickly select the right account. Account aliases provide a way to create shortcuts to specific accounts, which can dramatically speed up the process of selecting the correct account. We'll look at how that works in this recipe.

Getting ready

Setting up account aliases requires a user with access to the Account Maintenance window.

To get to this window perform the following steps:

  1. Select Financial from the Navigation pane on the left. Click Accounts on the Financial area page under Cards. This will open the Account Maintenance window.

  2. Click the lookup button (the...

Cleaning account lookups by removing accounts from lookups


A consequence of company growth is that the chart of accounts grows and account lookups can get clogged up by the number of accounts on the system. While the general ledger will stop showing an account in a lookup when the account is made inactive, other modules will continue to show these inactive codes.

However, Dynamics GP does contain a feature which can be used to remove inactive account from lookups; this same feature can also be used to remove accounts from lookups in series where the account should not be used, such as a sales account in the purchasing or inventory series.

How to do it…

Here we will see how to remove inactive accounts from lookups.

  1. Open Financial from the Navigation pane on the left. In the main area page, under Cards, select Account.

  2. Enter, or do a lookup for, the account to be made inactive and removed from the lookups:

  3. Check the Inactive checkbox.

  4. Press and hold the Ctrl key and click on each of the lines in...

Gaining visibility with horizontal scroll arrows


A consequence of company growth is that not only does the chart of accounts grow larger and less intuitive, but the actual length of account numbers tends to grow longer as well. Companies want to be able to report by account, department, location, and so on, which results in a proliferation of segments added to the main account number and can create very long accounts. Dynamics GP can accommodate an account number as long as 66 characters. The longest I've seen used in practice was 27 characters and even that was unwieldy. Most users only need a portion of that length for their day-to-day work.

This presents a problem because very long account numbers won't fit into the account number field on most screens. For this recipe, we'll look at how Dynamics GP provides a solution to this in the User Preferences area.

How to do it…

Here we'll see how to increase the visibility of long account numbers:

  1. On the Navigation pane on the left, select Home.

  2. Click...

Streamlining payables processing by prioritizing vendors


Management of vendor payments is a critical activity for any firm; it's even more critical in difficult economic times. Companies need to understand and control payments and a key component of this is prioritizing vendors. Every firm has both critical and expendable vendors. Paying critical vendors on time is a key business driver.

For example, a newspaper that doesn't pay their newsprint supplier won't be in business long. However, they can safely delay payments to their janitorial vendor without worrying about going under.

Dynamics GP provides a mechanism to prioritize vendors and apply those priorities when selecting which checks to print. That is the focus of this recipe.

Getting ready

Setting this up first requires that the company figure out who the priority vendors are. That part is beyond the scope of this book. The Vendor Priority field in Dynamics GP is a three-character field, but users shouldn't be seduced by the possibilities...

Getting clarity with user-defined fields


Throughout Dynamics GP, maintenance cards typically include at least two user-defined fields. User-defined fields can be renamed in the setup screen for the related module. This provides a great mechanism to add in special information. We'll take a look at a typical use of a user defined field in this recipe.

How to do it…

For our example, we'll look at using a user-defined field to rename the User-Defined1 field to Region in Customer Master:. To do so use the following steps:

  1. From the Navigation pane select Sales. In the Sales area page under Setup click Receivables and then, finally, the Options button.

  2. In the User-Defined 1 field type Region and click OK to close each window:

  3. Back on the Sales area page, click Customer under the Cards area. On the bottom left above User-Defined 2 is the newly named Region field, ready to be filled in:

How it works…

Changing the field name only changes the display field; it doesn't change the underlying field name in...

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon

Key benefits

  • Switch to Dynamics GP 2016 to take advantage of improved cloud support, workflow enhancements, and a more intuitive user experience
  • Understand the various tips and tricks to master Dynamics GP, and improve your system’s stability in order to enable you to get work done faster
  • Discover how to solve real-world problems in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 with easy-to-understand and practical recipes

Description

The latest release of Dynamics GP 2016 offers a powerful, adaptable, and cloud enabled enterprise accounting software solution. The new version has experienced changes in serviced-based architecture, workflow, existing functionalities, and the introduction of plenty of new features. This book will help you get the most out of Dynamics GP quickly and effectively. This book picks up where implementation training leaves off. Whether you are new or experienced, you will find useful recipes to improve the way you use and work with Dynamics GP. The book starts with recipes designed to enhance the usefulness of Microsoft Dynamics GP by personalizing the look and feel of the application. Most of the recipes are designed to give you tips for a typical installation of Dynamics GP, including core financials and distribution modules. The book then moves through recipes that include automating Dynamics GP to allow users or administrators to focus on value adding tasks, connecting Dynamics GP to Microsoft Office, exposing hidden features in Dynamics GP, PowerBI, and much more!

Who is this book for?

The book is for Dynamics GP users or Dynamics GP partners. It assumes that you have a basic understanding of business management systems and Microsoft Dynamics GP.

What you will learn

  • Explore the new enhancements in Dynamics GP 2016
  • Personalize Microsoft Dynamics GP to improve accessibility and efficiencies
  • Maintain Dynamics GP and ensure proper operation of the system using optimum processes
  • Efficiently organize Microsoft Dynamics GP to improve processes
  • Leverage the power of SmartLists using proven tips and techniques and undocumented search functionalities
  • Connect Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 to Microsoft Office 2013
  • Enhance the usability of Microsoft Dynamics GP with hacks
  • Expose the hidden features in Microsoft Dynamics GP to improve efficiency and get more from the system
  • Deploy and use the Support Debugging tool to trace, locate, and resolve problems encountered by users
  • Explore PowerBI and how it can be used with Dynamics GP 2016

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Aug 24, 2016
Length: 376 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786463401
Vendor :
Microsoft

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Product Details

Publication date : Aug 24, 2016
Length: 376 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786463401
Vendor :
Microsoft

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Table of Contents

14 Chapters
1. Personalizing Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Organizing Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Automating Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Leveraging New and Updated Features in Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Exposing Hidden Features in Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Improving Dynamics GP with Hacks Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Preventing Errors in Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Harnessing the Power of SmartLists Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. SmartList Designer Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Connecting Dynamics GP to Microsoft Office 2016 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Maintaining Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
12. Extending Dynamics GP Professional Services Tools Library Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
13. Modern Business Intelligence for Dynamics GP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
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