Bond's Excellence in Microsoft Business Applications
Excellence is a talent or quality which is unusually good and so surpasses ordinary standards, according to Wikipedia. In the business software industry, excellence is defined by the positive impact software has on a business including its functionality, reliability and flexibility. For more than three decades, Microsoft has been a leader in the business software industry and has provided excellent business software solutions that enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of businesses.
Microsoft has defined its own measures of excellence for its partners to strive for, which are Gold and Silver Competencies in multiple specific business software niches. In order to attain these competencies, Microsoft partners must meet many criteria including multiple team members obtaining various certifications, multiple customer references, multiple customer satisfaction survey participants, and revenue attainment goals.
We’re pleased to share that Bond Consulting Services (BCS) has achieved excellence in the Microsoft community by earning Gold Competency in ERP with Dynamics GP and Dynamics AX, and earning Silver Competency in Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
We’re proud to leverage our knowledge of Microsoft ERP & CRM solutions and our partnership with Microsoft and dozens of Independent Software Vendors (ISV) to help realize our mission of “improving the lives and business success of our clients, team members and partners”.
Bob Bond has led an expert team of consultants as owner and president of Bond Consulting Services.
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2013 by David Gersten
What is WPC? WPC is the Worldwide Partner Conference for Microsoft Partners. WPC is Microsoft’s official fiscal year kick-off with partners, and is meant to give us the vision, strategy and roadmap for joint successes in the year ahead. It is an annual conference that this year attracted almost 15,000 people to Houston a few weeks ago. I had the opportunity to attend this year and all I can say was that it was an incredible opportunity that I truly am now convinced that every Microsoft Partner should have someone from their organization attend.
I had to go a few days earlier to Houston to participate in some additional events since I am the West Region Chair for International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP). These events included an all-day board meeting, a special VIP tour of the Expo Hall, volunteering at the golf tournament and an exclusive dinner with Microsoft Senior executives.
The key message that Microsoft shared during this event was that Microsoft is experiencing the transformation to a devices-and-services company and the four pillars driving this transformation are cloud, mobility, big data and enterprise social.
As we share new information over the next 12 months about Dynamics GP, Dynamics AX, and Dynamics CRM, you will see how the directions of these solutions align tightly with the above four pillars. Bond Consulting Services will continue to help our customers and future customers use this technology to better their own organizations. Please make sure you continue to read our newsletters, subscribe to our social media feeds and visit our webinar calendars as we continue to share more information that directly will help us help you with your strategy too.
David Gersten is a Sales Account Executive at Bond Consulting Services who is focused on Microsoft Dynamics AX, Dynamics GP, Dynamics CRM and Microsoft SharePoint solutions.
The BCS Team also recommends: Does the Maintenance Plan Really Help Me in the Long Term? by David Gersten
What Does Transformation Mean to You?
The Benefits of Warehouse Management Systems by Mike Zapp
Warehouse management systems (WMS) have long been focused on efficiencies in distribution /supply chain industries. Many manufacturers do not focus on the benefits that can be derived by WMS. After all, every manufacturer is a distributor. Once produced, products must still be delivered in an efficient manner. One of the greatest benefits of WMS is the relatively quick ROI. The hard cost savings alone could provide a return within 90 days, not to mention soft-cost savings which include improved customer service through reduced shipping errors.
WMS impacts the inventory processing from receiving at the dock through put-away processes, picking, packing and shipping processes, item transfers (bin or site) and product location. Directed pick tells the picker where the item is located, which item should be picked next – all in an organized routine for efficient travel through the warehouse. No bouncing from one end to the other just to pick through the list of items for an order. Wave picking is generally supported which provides for picking multiple orders in a single pass through the warehouse. The side benefits include reduced human error through validation of fulfillment; including correct items picked, correct serial/lot numbers identified all updating the system directly without separate keying of information.
There are several aspects to WMS that need consideration. Bar coding is the fundamental basis for the process. Planning for vendors to provide barcoded products at the receiving dock can speed implementation. Talk with vendors about making some adjustments to the labels or box printing that they are already performing. Adding your company’s item number and lot/serial number in barcode format can speed the flow of all processing from put-away through the pick/pack/ship processes, reducing touch time, searching for product and item validation.
For manufacturers, a WMS system can just as easily make the issuance of raw materials or components, shop floor movement and work order status updating processes just as efficient.
Consider an investment in a warehouse management system to reduce operating costs or manage investment in additional personnel.
Mike Zapp is a Microsoft Dynamics® Certified Professional at Bond Consulting Services with 20+ years work experience.
The BCS Team also recommends: Configuring Company Charge Cards within Dynamics GP
Does the Maintenance Plan Really Help Me in the Long Term? by David Gersten
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I believe that every year when most customers receive the renewal notice from a software vendor or Bond Consulting Services, the first question that comes out to their mind is “Is it really worth it to pay the software maintenance fee?” or “What happens if I don't continue on software maintenance plan?” This sometimes might be a tough decision for a customer to make.
Here are some important facts of software maintenance plan you should consider and evaluate yourself before you make the final decision.
The biggest benefit of renewing the maintenance plan is the software updates or new version software release from ERP vendor. With a software maintenance plan you are entitled to receive them at no additional cost specifically for the software. ERP vendors spend significant sums of money on the R&D to improve the software functionality by incorporating best practices or processes for their ERP users, and the majority of R&D fund comes from the software maintenance plan revenue.
Once you cancel your maintenance plan, your organization will be no longer be eligible to receive the software updates and it becomes very unlikely that you will change the software to keep up with the business growth or expansion of your organization. As a result, your business needs are likely misaligned with the functionalities of the ERP system and users are likely to become frustrated with the system and start adopting their own business processes and workarounds outside the ERP system. This misalignment of your business needs to the system may accelerate the need to completely replace your ERP system, which can be more costly than the savings from cancelling the software maintenance plan.
Since most ERP users do not upgrade their system on every version software release and the average timeframe of new software version release is approximately 1 to 2 years, some of you might be tempted to let your maintenance plan lapse to save the cost and sign up again when they see the needs of upgrade. While the cost saving idea appears reasonable, the actual cost savings sometimes is not as much as you think. It’s a very common policy now that software vendors require customers to pay for the renewal fee owed for the lapsed period, normally up to 3 years, plus a penalty fee or late fee at the moment of re-enrolling their maintenance plan. The penalty or late fee charge may range from 18 to 25% additional on top of the re-enrollment fee. Therefore, it’s very important to understand the re-enrollment and penalty fee policy in order to do your cost saving calculation from cancelling the software maintenance plan.
Beside software updates, there are other benefits that come with a software maintenance plan such as access to free online training materials and knowledgebase websites. These tools can be very helpful for internal troubleshooting support or user training.
Again, the software maintenance plan is optional to customers after the first year of purchase. Customers need to understand all of the benefits and value behind the maintenance plan and not just looking at the dollar amount of renewal fee or the cost saving to justify the decision making. If you are continuing with a software maintenance plan make sure you are fully utilizing all of the benefits and value out of it. On the other hand, if you decide to cancel the maintenance plan, you should review your business needs and potential changes within your organization and plan ahead what you need to do keep up your system while you don’t have software maintenance plan in place.
David Gersten is a Sales Account Executive at Bond Consulting Services who is focused on Microsoft Dynamics AX, Dynamics GP, Dynamics CRM and Microsoft SharePoint solutions.
The BCS Team also recommends: What Does Transformation Mean to You?
Is Your Business Playing Russian Roulette With Sales Tax Compliance?
In today’s world, it is not a question of if a business will get audited, but when. As states budget deficits continue to soar, income taxes are shrinking, and federal aid is drying up; the states have had no choice but to become more creative with the products and services that they tax and more aggressive with the taxes that they collect. With thousands of rate, rule, and boundary changes every year in the US and an epic legal debate over e-commerce taxation, managing sales tax has never been more complex. Not only is manual sales tax management very time consuming but all it takes is one erroneous interpretation, honest mistake, or even reliance on a long-term industry practice for your business to be at risk of losing tens of thousands of dollars. And with the recent explosion of tax auditors on the streets, each armed with the goal of finding lost revenue, is that a chance you are willing to take?
By applying the right tools to your sales tax processes, you can save valuable time and greatly improve your odds of coming out of an audit unscathed. AvaTax for Microsoft Dynamics provides you with a cloud-based sales tax management solution that helps you stay one step ahead of any tax rate or rule changes and ensures that you are always collecting the correct amount of sales tax. In addition to managing your sales tax calculations, they can also manage your exemption certificates, file your forms and remit payments on your behalf to ensure that you are in complete compliance.
Bond Consulting has teamed up with Avalara, the creator of AvaTax for Microsoft Dynamics, to provide you with an informational webcast series that will help you stay on top of the ever changing sales tax landscape, and provide you with tips to help ensure compliance. Whether you collect sales tax or not, we have something for you!
Join us for a webinar on June 18 to learn about the top 12 Sales Tax Survival Tips and July 16 to learn about Exemption Certificate Best Practices that Reduce Audit Risk. If you are unable to attend but would like to learn more, please contact Bond Consulting at (562) 988-3451 or email Avalara.
The Importance of Database Backups in Dynamics GP
In the first quarter of 2013, we came across a couple of situations where database backups were not taken prior to the year-end close procedures being run. Running the year-end close processes is usually not a big deal if everything goes well, but what if something goes awry?
The year-end close documentation beats you over the head with reminders for database backups, but it is done in your best interest. The database backups serve as a safety net in the event that some unforeseen event occurs. In both support cases, I strongly suspect that there were hard drive space issues that did not allow the database to grow while closing the year, which killed the year-end close process midstream. The end results were no year-end posting journal being printed and the year-end balances not closing out properly in the fiscal year being closed. In addition, there were no beginning balances posted in the new fiscal year.
Back up your Dynamics GP Databases
Take the extra 10 minutes to have your Dynamics GP databases backed up. And while the backup is being taken, check the hard drive(s) on which your data and log files are stored to ensure you have a good amount of space to work with (this will vary with the size of your Dynamics GP database). If you have any doubts, or questions, you can always contact us. Believe me, the 10 minutes spent on the database backup will save you hours in support calls.
George Rios is a Microsoft Dynamics® GP Certified Professional and senior consultant at Bond Consulting Services. He has over 13 years of work experience with accounting and accounting systems.
The BCS Team also recommends: Move Forward with Year-End Closing in Dynamics GP
How to Add Your Company Logo to a Dynamics CRM Form
I recently received a customer request to allow Dynamics CRM users to click a link within an Account and open a URL in a new browser session. They didn’t want to make the user interrupt the natural process flow by making them click a ribbon button at the top of the browser. The following instructions outline the steps necessary to add the company logo to the Account entity form. In a future article, I’ll explain how to add a URL link to the logo. To perform these tasks, you must have either the System Administrator or System Customizer role.
- The first step is to add a graphic image as an HTML web resource in CRM. I decided to use the Bond Consulting Services company logo.
- In CRM left navigation, select Settings > Customization, and click on "Customize the System".
- Select Web Resources and click New.
- Enter a name, select a file format (allowable formats are PNG, JPG, GIF, or ICO), browse to select the file. Then click "Save and Close".
- In CRM left navigation, select Settings > Customization, and click on "Customize the System".
- The next step is to add the image web resource to the Account entity.
- While still within the customizations form, expand Entities, expand the Account entity, click Forms, and select the Main Information form.
- We want to add the logo to the Header section of the form. As a default, the resource will be inserted to the first available location in the Header section. We will have the option to drag the resource to another location on the Header after it is inserted.
- Click Insert, and select "Web Resource".
- Browse to select the Web Resource, enter a Name and Label.
- Click the Formatting tab. Select "One Column" and "Number of Rows" = 1. Click OK. After it is inserted, drag it to the desired location.
- Save and publish the form customization in order to review the results. Select the "Home" tab, click "Save", click "Publish" and wait for the "Publishing Customizations" message to complete, and then click "Save and Close".
- Close the customizations form and navigate back to Accounts and open one to see the results. In CRM left navigation, select Sales > Accounts, and click on an Account to see the new logo.
- While still within the customizations form, expand Entities, expand the Account entity, click Forms, and select the Main Information form.
Chris Francis is a Senior Consultant/Developer at Bond Consulting Services. He has developed many CRM customizations and xRM vertical solutions for our customers.
If you have any questions regarding this article or how Bond Consulting Services can help your organization get the most out of Dynamics CRM, feel free to contact us.
What Does Transformation Mean to You? by David Gersten
Recently, I was reminded to the concept of transformation. I was reminded that when I was a child I did not know how to ride a bike, and then I learned how to ride and I was transformed into a bicyclist. I learned that before I said my vows to my wife, I was a fiancé and then I walked down the aisle transformed into a husband. Finally, I learned that as soon as my first child took its first breath of air, I transformed again, this time into a father.
About a year ago, my children and I entered our first Tae Kwon Do tournament after only studying martial arts for less than 12 months. My sons and I competed in a total of five events receiving a total of 5 medals – one gold and four silver. All of us transformed that weekend into medal earning competitors.
Why do I reference these types of transformations?
I do because many people do not realize that transformations are happening all around us. Today, as winter becomes spring, we are reminded again about transformation. Although the experience of transformation appears to happen suddenly, like turning on a light, it often takes days, weeks, months and sometimes years to transform.
Business transformations happen too. They can be simple or quite complex. Remember when Coca Cola introduced the “New Coke” or when Federal Express became “FedEx”. What about when Netflix was to become Flixster and when Kentucky Fried Chicken became “KFC”. These are examples of business transformations of branding and image, although they truly were changes to the way their businesses operated.
According to Wikipedia, Business transformation is “the fundamental change to the way a business operates, whether that is moving into a new market or operating in a new way. It is an approach that attempts to align an organization’s activities relating to people, process and technology more closely with its business strategy and vision.”
Bond Consulting Services has been recently transformed itself. We have been able to do this by looking at our core competencies and seeing where we can expand our services and operate in new ways. We started by launching our new website about a year ago. We recently completed our merger with another Dynamics partner and I was recently added to the sales and marketing team. BCS is transforming by solidifying our Silver and Gold competencies in Microsoft CRM and ERP business solutions like Dynamics GP and Dynamics AX.
In closing, I would love to ask you to take a moment….think about the ways you have transformed as a person and also think about the ways you may want your business to transform. Once you do that, feel free to reach out to us for more information – as your Trusted Advisors, we can be an integral part of your transformation.
- David Gersten, Sales Account Executive
The BCS Team LIVE at Convergence 2013
If you're not following us on Twitter and Facebook, now is a good time to start! As we post this, three of our BCS team members are hard at work, actively engaged in the many sessions, interactive discussions and expo happenings at Convergence 2013 in New Orleans. Bob Bond, Eric Klauss and David Gersten are soaking in all of the new information about Microsoft Dynamics while meeting tons of new people from all over the world. They're also in social media overdrive, tweeting pictures of Convergence happenings like this one:
Keynote at #conv13 in New Orleans! twitter.com/eklaussbcs/sta…
— Eric Klauss (@eklaussbcs) March 19, 2013
We'll continue to keep you in the know by posting and retweeting BCS Team tweets, along with a few from our key partners including SalesPad, Horizons International, Accellos and more. Don't know what Convergence is? Read this post.
Advanced Reporting using Microsoft Dynamics GP
All the data that you prepare, setup and input in your ERP system is the raw data that your business generates. Regardless of what industry you’re in, there are some standard reports that we all use. The true power of your ERP system is not in how much data is in your system, or how fast it can be processed. The real value of your Dynamics GP is to understand the data in the system better, and faster than previously possible.
Advanced reporting either using Smartlist Builder, Excel Reports, or SQL Server Reporting Services should be an area of focus for your accounting team. Use your personnel to define the data that needs to be reported. Figure out if your distribution processes can be enhanced with a few key insights into your live and not so-historical data. Compare your numbers, sliced and diced in different methods, to those of last month, last quarter or last year.
Bond Consulting Services can help you define and build reports using the tools mentioned above to allow for maximum value from your ERP system. From advanced Employee productivity reports, to getting the sales data you need to forecast shipments more accurately, Microsoft Dynamics GP provides you the tools to get access to these critical business metrics. Stay ahead of the competition with your own advanced reporting capabilities; ask us where to start.