Dynamics Small Business

“rsItemNotFound” error when clicking on any Navigation List in GP 2010 R2 (SP2)

2011-07-21T08:49:00.001-07:00

After a recent upgrade from GP 9.0 to GP 2010 R2 I ran into an interesting problem. The client is running on SQL Standard 2005 SP4 and I was aware that the Charts and KPI’s in GP were not going to work since they are only supported with SQL 2008 or above. See an excerpt from the upgrade documentation below:

During my tests after the upgrade, I selected the Customer Navigation List and I was confronted with this error message:

rsItemNotFound400The item '/xxxxxx/Sales/Charts And KPIs' cannot be found.http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=20476&EvtSrc=Microsoft.ReportingServices.Diagnostics.Utilities.ErrorStrings&EvtID=rsItemNotFound&ProdName=Microsoft%20SQL%20Server%20Reporting%20Services&ProdVer=9.00.5057.00Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services9.00.5057.00127OsIndependent1033ReportingServicesLibraryThe item '/xxxxxx/Sales/Charts And KPIs' cannot be found.

The first thing my mind jumped to were the new Business Analyzer panes in GP 2010 R2. How could I turn them off? The BA pane is looking for the Charts and KPI’s on the SQL Reporting services server and they of course are missing since they are not supported on SQL 2005.

Solution:

I discovered that I could hide the BA pane and the error message would then not show up. Once you click past all the error messages, the navigation list will load. You can then click the List Name settings dropdown >> Show/Hide >> and uncheck Business Analyzer.

This is great but what if I have many users and I want to hide the BA pane for every user? Using the Manual Logging feature in the Support Debugging Tool (written by David Musgrave from Microsoft, a must have if you’re a GP admin, available only on Partnersource, ask your partner to get it for you), I was able to determine which table holds this setting for the Navigation Lists. Below is a SQL script that will hide the BA pane for every Navigation List.

     UPDATE DYNAMICS..SY07225 SET FactBoxVisible = 0

The above SQL code is great but there’s one problem. Every time a user clicks on a Navigation List that they’ve never clicked on before, a record will get inserted into the table and of course the BA pane will be visible by default. To overcome this problem, I used the above mentioned Support Debugging Tool to create a table trigger. When GP reads data from the List View Options table (DYNAMICS..SY07225), this trigger catches that read and changes the data that is getting returned to hide the BA pane. You can download the trigger here. Download the SDT_HideBAinNavigationList.xml.dbg.xml file. In Support Debugging Tool (I am using build 15, not sure if this file is compatible with earlier versions of SDT), select Options >> Configuration Export/Import and import the downloaded file. This will create an Automatic Debugger Mode trigger which you will need to enable for all users. Since this is not an SDT tutorial, please check out the Debugger pdf on the SDT page for instructions on how to use the Automatic Debugger Mode and the other features of the tool.

PS. This was a quick and dirty debugging job. I did NOT thoroughly test every bit of code in this example. Use at your own risk.

Of course, I gotta say, you really shouldn’t be on SQL 2005 because you’re missing out of all the new features. I should go tell the customer this…

Megan Has a Backup Plan. Do You?

2011-05-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

Even 11 month old, Megan, has a "backup" plan. Do YOU have a backup and disaster recovery plan for your important files? (accounting data, photos, email archive)

Check out the video:
http://youtu.be/Qdv85ivcTlc

History of Microsoft Dynamics GP (aka Great Plains)

2011-04-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

Came across this short history of Dynamics GP and thought it was interesting:
http://www.mbsadvisor.com/great_plains/history.htm

My Review of the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook: Tips You Can Use Now!

2011-04-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

I just finished going through Mark Polino's "Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook" and I can say that this is not just another manual that says "click on the obvious menu, then click next...then click next..." (or maybe I should say this is as far from the built in GP help as one can get? ;-) This is a book full of tips that come from the field on how to solve real world problems that are sure to be encountered by Dynamics GP users.

But beware: This book is not a complete 1,2,3 on how to use or implement GP. (and not meant to be) Rather it is immediately useable tidbits that address common issues that can and will come up when using Dynamics GP. (just as the subtitle mentions very accurately notes) If you have had the good experience of sitting in any of Mark's "GP 50 Tips" sessions at Microsoft Convergence (he started a whole new genre of Convergence training session that has been spreading like wildfire ;-) you will know exactly the format of this book: fast tips that provide immediate solutions to real world problems.

I would guess that even the most savvy GP user will take away at least 5 very valuable tips from the GP Cookbook that will make the part of your life spent inside GP easier and more productive. (For most of us it will be a lot more. ;-)

There is one thing I can't figure out about this book: What is the picture on the cover?

You can get the book here:
http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-dynamics-gp-2010-cookbook/book
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Dynamics-GP-2010-Cookbook/dp/1849680426

PS-I co-authored a book by Packt publishing just last year and realize we had the same project team leader, Priya. Aparently I didn't totally drive her crazy. ;-)

Didn't Make It to Convergence? Here Is Another GP Training Oppertunity

2011-04-18T14:38:00.001-07:00

http://decisions.msdynamicsworld.com/session/conducting-gp-annual-physical-simple-steps-diagnosing-health-your-microsoft-dynamics-gp-syst

A Free, Community Based Dynamics GP Knowledge Base Compiled from Blogs

2011-04-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

Looking for a place to get free help about your GP problems? Now there is yet another source of assistance! Checkout Mark Polino's "My GP Search" and tap into the vast knowledge of many GP wisdom giants. ;-)

There is even an Android app for this resource as well.

http://mygpsearch.blogspot.com/p/my-gp-search.html

Dynamics GP Goes Web Based: Microsoft Dynamics GP Web Client Announced

2011-04-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

Microsoft announced that a Dynamics GP Web Client is coming. At the GP General Session at Convergence 2011 this drew a lot of wows from users and partners. This product will not be out for another year so there are a lot of unknowns at this point.

My suspicion has been for some time that Microsoft is taking baby steps towards a web ui. Things like the web based components that kept appearing such as Navigation Panes, Navigation List preview pane and most importantly the SQL Reporting BI and reports which render on web engine.

Here are Some questions and the answers I could uncover.
(This was in chats here and there so things could change/be inacurrate etc. Keep in mind.)

Q:What does GP Web client UI look like?
A: In one word: Nice! It looks just like the existing Dynamics GP user interface with the Outlook overall view. It is running inside a browser but had a neat little feature that in the bottom of the window there was a panel that show a preview of all the open windows. Below is the Home screen:

Q: Is the UI snappy?

A: Obviously the demo will show something that works nice (not like,let's say Navigation Lists a year ago ;-) but in the General Session they demo'd editing a Vendor master and then moving to a new record. The navigation and data entry seemed to be snappy.

Q: Did I see "Tabs" on the GP Windows?

A: Yes you did! GP Web client is rendering extra windows supporting the main window as a tab. Wow--very smart. Take a look below and note the tabs on the Vendor Master windows.

Q: What about performance and server loading?

A: One person noted that with Terminal Services a server can handle approximately 15 users. With a GP Web Server they heard a test number of something like 75. So this shows that GP Web server will be considerable more efficient than TS.

Q: What About ISV Modules?

A: All Dexterity based modules will work with the new GP Web Client. It seems like behind the scenes the dexterity windows are being converted/(compiled?) to the web based screens. So this is huge and very well thought about.

Q: Won't some current GP windows not be well suited for Web?

A: Yes, and Microsoft noted that they are "cleaning up" some windows for the web client version to make things more streamlined.

Q: What is it built with?

A: Silverlight. It shows--nice.

With Internet Explorer 9's new "drag to your taskbar" feature which effectively makes any web page act like a windows application, GP Web Client will feal like a win app to most!

This developement is very big for the GP community. This means that GP is heading into the future and will be part of the "cloud" motion of everything. It will also make hosting GP exponentially easier. It will make the huge community of ISV products effectively web enabled.

And once again this demonstrates that Microsoft is fully behind Microsoft Dynamics GP!

Note: for even better screenshot of the web client I suggest going over to David Musgraves' article on this same subject:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2011/04/13/microsoft-convergence-2011-atlanta-day-2.aspx

My Review of Microsoft Dynamics GP Implementation by Victoria Yudin

2011-04-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

I took the flying/waiting/travel time to Convergence 2011 to wrap up reading "Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Implementation" (using a some speed reading methods ;-). In this book fellow Packt Publishing author and GP consultant, Victoria Yudin, does a good job of walking the non-initiated through what a normal implementation of Dynamics GP should look like.

She also give a lot of practical, real world suggestions for anyone going through the implementation process. There is a lot of infrastructure advice (since we do infrastructure I can say this has a lot of good tips--actually many we recommend as well!): What does "official supported" hardware configurations mean? Lots of little practical tips around what server, SQL versions, getting Windows 2008 Remote App feature working with GP and running GP on Hyper-V. She also discusses some common questions that come up like: "Why don't we just implement on Terminal Server?" and gives a good list of pros and cons.

But the book doesn't stop at infrastructure. What is the best methodology for training? Who should train? What should a implementation time line look like? (with very specific list) Importing considerations and a lot more.

This book is a great read for those who have not implemented GP (or done erp) before as it gives a good overview of the processs. It is an especially good book to loan to those who want to self implement as it guides them away from many of the common pitfuls that will befall them. It was also good from my perspective to look over Victoria's shoulder and see another consultants tips and tricks.

Here you can get the book:
https://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-dynamics-gp-2010-implementation/book

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Dynamics-GP-2010-Implementation/dp/1849680329

NOTE: i was not paid, given a book or in any way compensated for this review. ;-)

Our Dynamics GP Team is Ready to Head to Convergence 2011!

2011-04-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

Our team is ready to head to Convergence 2011 in Atlanta, GA! Convergence is the premier Microsoft Dynamics event where we increase our ability to help you, our customer, optimize your business and improve your bottom line. This event serves as the meeting point for the Microsoft Dynamics Customer and Partner business community. We are ready to learn more about GP 2010, host clients/prospects and meet some of our regular vendors. If you want to meet us there you are welcome to drop us a line—we’d be glad to meet you in person.

Visit with one of our team members to find out more about SmartSearch, the new "Google for GP." It takes the pain out of searching for & finding the information you need, giving you results in mere seconds. You can also look here for more information.

Our GP consultants will be out of the office from Monday, April 11 – Wednesday, April 13. If you need support during that time you can call in and we will schedule you to be taken care of ASAP beginning on Thursday the 14th.

How To Get a Application Back On Screen in Windows 7

2011-04-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ever start an application and for some weird reason it is running OFF the screen? Well there is a very easy solution to getting it back on in 2 easy steps:

#1-Make sure the offending application has the focus by clicking on it in the task bar.
#2-Next press WindowsKey + Left Arrow until it shows up ON-screen again!

That was easy. Also using WindowsKey + Arrow will move an application from one monitor to another as well.

Learn About GP and Get 20% GP Purchases at the Same Time

2011-02-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

Good convergence website

https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/newsevents/events/convergence/

Learn GP and Get 20% Off New GP Modules!

Microsoft is excited to announce the "Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2011 Exclusive Attendee Offer" a Microsoft Dynamics promotion exclusively available to you as a Microsoft Dynamics ERP existing customer in the U.S. and Canada, by attending Convergence 2011. Visit the Convergence Website or CustomerSource to find out more!

To take advantage of this offer and for additional details please talk to your Microsoft Dynamics partner. Mention Promo code: NA-HI-11-22

http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/atlanta11/about_salesoffer.aspx
Register Today to attend the Convergence 2011 Microsoft Dynamics GP Event!

Google for Dynamics GP: Smart Search

2010-12-31T11:48:00.000-08:00

Search for ANYthing in Dynamics GP from one place! Amounts, Sales Order Lines, Vendors, GL transactions or whatever!

This module is totally secure and observes GP User Role security.

And you can add any new search for GP or other data.

This module will be released shortly. Email sales@landiscomputer.com if you need it now! ;-)

Credit Card Processing Capability Built Into Dynamics GP for Free

2010-12-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Microsoft sure isn't sitting still with Dynamics GP. Dynamics GP 2010 saw a large amount of new features. And now new functionality and service are making their way into the product: How about accept credit cards directly from the Sales Order processing recieve payment screen? Yes and at no additional cost. And Microsoft has even negotiated low credit card processing fees if you elect to process through their providers.

If you want to implement this let us know! sales@landiscomputer.com.

How to Take 35% Off a Server, Telephone or Accounting Software Upgrade If Done in 2010

2010-11-26T13:49:00.000-08:00

Section 179 of 2010 tax code means you can save your income tax rate (35%?) on equipement, vehicles or software purchased and installed in 2010. The math is simple but click on the below calculator to figure it out.

http://www.crestcapital.com/tax_deduction_calculator

If you have a big purchase your planning you might want to save in 2010.

Google for Dynamics GP: Easily Search All Your GP Data from One Place

2010-10-06T10:44:00.001-07:00

(NOTE: FREE COPY FOR EVERY GP PARTNER DURING CONVERGENCE 2011. SEE BELOW)

Wish you could "Google" your Dynamics GP data? Our new SmartSearch for GP enhancement will allow you type in any unique term and click search and results from all GP modules will be returned in nicely organized tabs. Even though SmartSearch querys quite a bit of data the results are usually returns in seconds.

We have found that user adoption is immediate after demoing this search tool only for a short time!

See our 1 minute video of our SmartSearch product below:

The SmartSearch search engine can easily be extended if a unique search we didn't think of is need by you. We can add the new search or an admin user can.

Security is also an integral part of SmartSearch. For example: Sales users will be able to access sales and inventory without allowing access to payroll and GL information.

SmartSearch: "Google" for Dynamics GP:

Easy to Buy ($1500+maint), Easy To Install & Easy to Use!
Free NFR for all GP Partners that email sales@landiscomputer.com ask for "SmartSearch/Google for GP" during Convergence 2011.

Coffee in Your PC Keyboard? Use Your Garden Water Nozzle to Fix It!

2010-08-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

We had a little discussion among techs the other day after I accidentally poured a cup of coffee into my desktop computer keyboard. Will using a garden hose to wash the coffee out of a keyboard ruin it? Well, we decided to test it--and it worked!

How to Clean Coffee Out of a Keyboard:

#1-Determine if you are willing to damage the keyboard trying to fix it, if so step #2
#2-As soon as possible after spill spray water to completely wash coffee out of keyboard.
#3-Put in a warm place and allow to dry for 2 days.
#4-Test--It should work.

Warning--Do not try this at home if you are not a Microsoft Certified Professional. Only use this method if you are willing to accept possible damage to the keyboard. Not a guaranteed fix! For sure do not use it on laptop computers!!

Free Addon Add's Dynamics GP Click-To-Dial Functionality With Most IP Phone Systems

2010-07-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am a communication enthusiast (I have a blog and wrote a book on Windows phone systems) and also Dynamics GP partner so at Landis Computer we have merged this expertise to enhance your Dynamics GP! We are very shortly releasing our free Dynamics GP Productivity Pack addon for GP and it will now include the ability to click on a phone number and have your favorite softphone dial the number!

I was a bit surprised to see that Dynamics GP 2010 didn't include this feature considering the great new Communicator integration into GP 2010--but we will solve this little bump in the road by providing a free GP addon that will add this for. Hey, the addon actually does quite a little list of other cool things (click here to see the other features)

We will be releasing the new addon in the next few days. To get on the list to be notified when we release the GP click-to-dial Click Here. (you will also get a link to the current version of the addon.)

To See the New PDF Brochure (including click-to-dial functionality) Click Here.
To Sign Up to Get the New Addon Click Here.

Has Microsoft Marketing Already Entirely Forgotten My Dear Microsoft Small Business Financials?

2010-06-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

It appears that the marketing department at Microsoft has already forgotten which product used to go by the acronym "SBF" at Microsoft. Checkout the new offer to upgrade Microsoft Small Business "Framework" data to GP for $1000.

It's hard not to be miffed that my dear product, Microsoft Small Business Financials, is already dead, buried and forgotten by Microsoft! ;-)

Partners can check out this gaffe at:
https://mbs.microsoft.com/Cms/Templates/document/General.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7bECDA6FD9-01E3-4BE0-98C4-EE2DB9255981%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2fpartnersource%2fsales%2fpromotions%2fmsdgp2010sbfwmigrate%2ehtm%3fp%3d8&NRCACHEHINT=Guest&p=8

For those of you who don't know it--I was introduced to Dynamics GP through our company supporting a LOT of clients using Microsoft Small Business Financials--so that is why it is so "dear" to my heart. ;-) In fact Landis Computer recieved an award (2 Zunes ;-) for doing more SBF moves than any other partner! ;-)

http://dynamicssmallbusiness.blogspot.com/2009/08/landis-computer-microsoft-dynamics.html

So, if you are still using Microsoft Small Business Financials--call the experts who know small business and can make the move from Microsoft Small Business Frame--ah--rrr Financials...as smooth and fun as possible.

Another Compelling Thing About Office 2010 & Office Web Apps: Seamlessly Save To Skydrive!

2010-06-18T05:13:00.001-07:00

I am highly impressed with Microsofts new Office Web Apps. Basically free web based Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. I was just testing out their feature that allows you to save desktop versions of Office 2010 files to skydrive and I am IMPRESSED. You can save Office 2010 to files to skydrive just like your computer folders! Take a look at a very nice screenshot by screenshot look at how you do this by HowToGeek:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/8951/how-to-upload-documents-to-office-web-apps-technical-preview/

If you are ready to use Office Web Apps goto http://www.skydrive.com/

How to Get GP 2010 New Reminder Cues To Render Right on 64bit Workstations

2010-06-15T05:40:00.001-07:00

Reminder Cues are a very nice new feature on GP 2010 that gives you a visual cue as to how many items are returned in a Homepage Reminder. I’ve been noticing ever since GP 2010 Beta that on our systems the little stack of papers is Missing! We just installed GP 2010 at our site and Urggghh…they are still missing!

After a little digging I discovered that this is a 64bit workstation issue and there is a “simple” fix: Just install GP 2010 in any directory EXCEPT the default. Microsoft appears to know about it.

Hmmm...we have all Windows 2008 64bit, all Windows 7 Pro 64bit workstations...Office 2010 64bit...and I'm hearing rumblings there are some warnings about 64bit Office too.

Source:
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/partnerdynamicsgp/thread/77c93f0c-9fa1-4a30-8a57-dd7ba72a2e22

PS-I just noticed another issue with Cues on Windows XP Pro 32bit: Reminder Cues only seem to appear for "Predefined Reminders" and not for "Custom Reminders". If anyone has anymore to say about this or a solution I'd love to here it.

Get Community Help for GP: The Dynamics GP Forums

2010-06-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

https://community.dynamics.com/forums/32.aspx

http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/partnerdynamicsgp/threads

Microsoft Office Web Apps: Free Version of Office 2010!

2010-06-11T05:32:00.001-07:00

Wow! Microsoft has released the the long awaited Office Web Apps. This is basically a free version of Office 2010! (Word, Excel, Power Point & OneNote) Yeah.

Because they are web based that means you have Office on Mac, Linux and whatever else can run a popular browser. Microsoft also throws in 25GB of FREE storage.

Another feature that is unique to web apps is the ability to SIMULTANEOUSLY edit documents by 2 or more users at one time. For example, 4 users can have an Excel spreadsheet open and be editing it and the other users will see the updates in near real-time (my experience is in about 2 seconds). OneNote also allows simultaneous edit, although I've noticed a much longer update interval (about half a minute). Word currently doesn't appear to support more than one user.

For some reason my embedded video demo of Office Web Apps is not working. If so, just click here to see video demo.

Office web apps are limited in features--but still very useable. Here is a list of some of the limitations that I noticed:

Word Web App: No multi-edit,
Excel Web App: No printing, no chart creation
PowerPoint Web App:
OneNote Web App: No printing, No Search Feature

Some very great points about Office Web Apps:

-Free
-Office on Linux and Mac
-Included
-Host Office Documents You can link to: Click Here to See a Word Web App Doc.
-Access Your Docs Anywhere

My colleague Kurt just send me this comparison of google doc and Office Web Apps you might want to see too.

Get Web Apps right now at:
http://www.skydrive.com/

REMEMBER: Landis Computer is the lowest price source of Office 2010. Buying directly from Microsoft will be costlier--so if you like web apps and want to upgrade--pop us an email!

JUST IN: Keeped tuned to this blog...A free PC Version of Office is coming down the pike too!

What Are Requirements for GP 2010?

2010-06-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

With the release of GP 2010 there are a lot of people wondering what the server and workstation requirements are. Below is a great web page to give you all the information you need related to the requirements for GP 2010:

http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/en/us/using/gp-system-requirements.aspx

This page also gives scenario requirements for the SQL server. Very good page.

How to See the Dynamics GP Items You Didn't Sell

2010-05-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ever have someone that wants to see GP Items that didn't sell lately?
Here is the SQL statement:

select itemnmbr, itemdesc, Item_Sales_Aggregates.Last_Sold, Item_Sales_Aggregates.Line_Qty from iv00101 left outer join

(

select max(document_date) as Last_Sold,count(document_date) as Line_Qty, item_number from

(select sop10100.docdate as document_date, sop10200.itemnmbr as Item_Number, sop10100.soptype as sop_Type
from sop10100 join sop10200
on sop10100.sopnumbe=sop10200.sopnumbe and sop10100.soptype=sop10200.soptype

union

select sop30200.docdate as document_date, sop30300.itemnmbr as item_number, sop30200.soptype as sop_Type
from sop30200 join sop30300
on sop30200.sopnumbe=sop30300.sopnumbe and sop30200.soptype=sop30300.soptype) as B

where sop_type=3 and document_date between '1/1/2009' and '5/30/2010'
group by item_number

) as Item_Sales_Aggregates

on iv00101.itemnmbr = Item_Sales_Aggregates.item_number

where line_qty is null

Convergence 2010 Recap: The Year of GP

2010-05-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

I thoroughly enjoyed being at Convergence 2010 once again this year with our team. GP was up font and central. The GP buzz was great.

I was also glad to get to meet Mark Polino and David Musgrave for the first time in person. Leslie Vail, in the GP Learning Center, was giving value far beyond just getting users launched on GP training. Thanks

On Convergence Dynamics GP Content

GP Business Intelligence is getting up to speed with 245 BI SRS Reports, 119 Charts/Gauges and 23 built in drill back into GP fields. Cool.

GP to CRM Integration keeps improving and now supports CRM Online

CRM improving cost-wise also: GP owners get discount on CRM Online subscription.

Mark Polino's 50 Tips Session was fast, fun & full. Just getting the deck isn't like being in the session--but it's better than nothing.

Andrew Brown from eOne says performance on Navigation Lists in GP 2010 has been fixed. Once I test this personally in GP 2010 I will post an entire article about this. This will be very big for Navigation List up-take.

The GP + Unified Communication (OCS) integration is huge. Chad Sogge said they showed it off to Steve Ballmer (who was impressed) at some Microsoft retreat. I'm a GP and communication dude and this integration has huge potential in several ways in my mind. See my post on it.

Did you see that GP Sales Order Processing Add-on that allows offline sales entry? .Net but looked just like Dexterity.

Some Random Thots:

Having wifi in the session rooms would be a great way to make live bloggers happier--and perhaps make speakers feel less listened too? ;-)

Next year, could someone order nice weather so our customers don't get their flights canceled? ;-)
For anyone that noticed (and commented) on my MacBook, don't worry--I'm a PC! ;-)

New Dynamics GP Book Coming Out: Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook By Mark Polino

2010-05-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

The Dynamics GP 2010 availability is also accompanied by the news of a new GP book by prolific GP blogger and now author, Mark Polino. His new book is due in August and is titled "Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 CookBook" and published by Packt Publishers.

The book promises to provide "useful recipes for improving the way you use and work with Dynamics GP" and if the tips in it are similar to the very popular "50 Tips" session Mark delivered for the last 2 years at Microsoft Convergence you can count on some very good content.

I've just finished co-authoring a book on a Windows based communication solution for the very same publisher and I know its a lot of work (and not necessarily huge pay ;-) so I would say to Mark, thanks for once again contributing to the GP community!

Get over there and pre-order your copy.

New "Black Box" Backup and Data Storage Solution Perfect Fit for Small Business

2010-04-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

Wendell Martin and, service manager, Sheldon Kilmer from Landis Computer talk about the "black box" backup solution now available. Affordable, fireproof, waterproof, lockable and easy-to-use makes a very impressive solution. It is also very popular with our clients for backing up a complete image of your small business server.

Watch as they demonstrate this very popular new product.

Our Dynamics GP Team is Ready to Head to Convergence 2010!

2010-04-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Our team is ready to head to Convergence 2010! We are ready to hear more about GP 2010, host clients/prospects and meet some of our regular vendors. If you want to meet us there you are welcome to drop us a line—we’d be glad to meet you in person.

Did you know that we are the makers of the free GP Productivity Pack Add on? Make GP Customer interaction more efficient! Get it free here:
http://landiscomputer.com/modules/default.aspx

Microsoft Shows Off ERP + UC: Wow

2010-04-01T06:09:00.001-07:00

Microsoft blog post shows off how Dynamics GP can integrate to Microsoft Office Communication Server to make to powerful possibilities. Being both a GP and OCS (aka MS Communications Server) fan this is of a great deal of interest to me.

Microsoft Blog Post:
http://blogs.msdn.com/gp/archive/2010/03/30/feature-of-the-day-unified-communications.aspx

My blog post on the same subject:

http://dynamicssmallbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/01/microsoft-dynamics-erp-gets-in-depth.html

We'd Like to Show You Dynamics GP 2010 in Person in Ephrata

2010-03-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

Don't miss a Microsoft Dynamics® GP 2010 launch event coming right to Ephrata, PA! If you are outgrowing Quickbooks or have an aging accounting solution this event is for you.

-New Features of GP 2010 that help business be more efficient
-How GP 2010 Streamlines Business Communication in transformational ways
-How GP surfaces business information to help you manage more effectively
-"Mold" GP to your specific industry needs
-More...

We are planning a Dynamics GP seminar for April 15th. We plan to discuss some of the new features of GP 2010 and also do some training on the existing version, GP10. Seating will be limited to around 25 so I am sure it will fill up pretty quickly. For new customers we will be going over a new deal by Microsoft that makes new implementations more affordable. This would be a good time to talk to other GP users who will be attending and see how they use it in their businesses. Our GP consultants will be presenting so you can get to know our team.

There will be a drawing for a Zune HD MP3/Video player mid afternoon (must be present to win). You can call or e-mail me for more information otherwise see you next month.

Lunch Provided
Price: No Charge.
Time: 12:00 – 3:00 PM
Location: Hampton Inn, 380 East Main Street, Ephrata, PA 17522

Please register:
http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=146680
Email: wendell@landiscomputer.com
Phone 717-733-0793 option 1

Dynamics GP: How to Create a PO from a Sales Order

2010-03-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

Some GP users aren't aware that it is very easy to create a PO from a sales order. Below is a video of the steps to do it.

Remember: Microsoft Small Business Financials Will End Jan 11, 2011--Upgrade to Dynamics GP Now for 75% Off

2010-03-03T06:28:00.000-08:00

After having been, perhaps, the largest promoter of Microsoft Small Business Financials, it is with just a twinge of bittersweet to remind you that Microsoft SBF will be discontinued on Jan 11, 2011. No more product updates, payroll updates, the End.

The opportunity in this is that Microsoft is offering 75% Off of Dynamics GP to all Microsoft Small Business Financials (SBF) users:
http://dynamicssmallbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/01/get-microsoft-dynamics-gp-for-75-off-is.html

We have found clients that are a good fit for SBF typically see quite a bit of value moving up to Dynamics GP. So if you are a current SBF user definitely consider this opportunity to move to GP for a very low investment.

You can talk to us by emailing sales@landiscomputer.com or during normal business hours you can LiveChat (top right of our blog) questions about this.

With Partnersource or Customersource login read more here.

Windows Phone System Book I Co-Authored Released! Join the Authors on Tues Mar 2, 2010 at 2PM EST for a Live "Virtual" Event!

2010-02-19T11:28:00.000-08:00

The 3CX Phone System Tutorial Book is released and you can order your copy today:
http://www.packtpub.com/the-3cx-ip-pbx-tutorial

You can also read excerpt here: http://www.packtpub.com/article/call-control-using-3cx

We would also like to invite you to Join the Authors on Tues Mar 2, 2010 at 2PM EST for a Live "Virtual" Signing Online Event! The agenda will be live streaming with input allowed from the audience. We will entertain questions and have a good time.

The Authors will talk about:
-How Do You Do a "Virtual" Book Signing?
-What are your thots on writing a book after this 3CX book?
-What is the most interesting communication client you've worked with?
-What do you see in the future of windows communication solutions?
-What are some Inside the Industry (windows communications) rumblings & rumors?
-We Will Take YOUR live questions about 3CX and Windows Communications In General.

Give Aways:

-Three "3CX IP PBX Tutorial" Books will be given to attendees Read More
-1 snom m3 SIP, Dect Portable phone with base station Read More
-1 snom 300 SIP Phone with OCS Edition firmware available Read More
-Varios snom gear (mixed bag)

We will try to wrap up by 3PM EST.
Register for event here:
http://www.landiscomputer.com/offer/1101_form_3cxbook.htm

Join the event on Mar 2 by clicking on the below link:
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2009/12/windowspbxblogspotcom-events.html

Thanks for your interest!

Attend a Dynamics GP 2010 Launch Event!

2010-02-15T17:28:00.001-08:00

http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/gp2010-uslaunch/default.aspx

Windows 7 Phone Series Announced

2010-02-15T07:04:00.001-08:00

http://www.windowsphone7series.com

We Have "Dug Out" from the Blizzard!

2010-02-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

We had normal business hours today just after the snow storm yesterday. Most everyone could make it in. I thought our national clients may have interest in some pictures. I think Pennsylvians are about ready for the a stretch with no snow!

From Landis Computer at Work2

Here is how things looked yesterday in from of my house!

Exchange 2010 Outlook Web App Will Guess the Contact Your Start Typing

2010-02-11T12:37:00.001-08:00

One of the reasons I tend to jump into Gmail instead of Outlook Web App when out of the office is because it had one nice feature: When you start typing an email address it guesses what your typing. It looks like Outlook Web App in Exchange 2010 has taken that reason to use Gmail away too!

Outlook Web App is a bit more “appy” than Exchange 2003 and will be more comfortable to use. Plus all your work Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Public Folders and now Presence (2) and Instant Messaging (3) can also be accessed!

A big “Way to Go!” for Exchange 2010.

How Much of Email is Spam?

2010-02-11T06:56:00.001-08:00

I’ve been monitoring how much of the email that comes to our Exchange server is spam. Guess how much? 85-90% of the email our Exchange Server processes is SPAM! My guess is we are not all that much higher than other small/mid sized companies. That is powerful argument for an edge spam catcher!

Dynamics GP 2010 New Feature: Navigation List Builder-Build New Lists that Run Fast!

2010-02-03T17:29:00.001-08:00

I'm a big fan of GP Navigation lists and just this morning I had the oppertunity to play with the new Navigation List Builder available in GP 2010. Wow, one very nice tool. And the performance is great! Microsoft--take notes, collaborate with eOne or do whatever is nessesary to make the built in Navigation Lists be similarly fast!

Bill Gates On Twitter & Has Hundreds of Thousands of Followers

2010-01-25T05:48:00.001-08:00

Bill Gates is now on twitter. According to reports he had over 100,000 followers in 2 days! That is approx 2000 followers added per hour! (Twitter servers got hit!)

If you want to see his interests and posts, check it out:
http://twitter.com/BillGates

Landis Computer Moves HP Business Class Computers: CEO says "HP has a compelling business PC"

2010-01-22T13:40:00.001-08:00

Landis Computer has a long relationship with a white box PC manufacturer but after looking at the quality and features of the newest generation of business class HP desktop computers we have made the switch to HP as our desktop computer supplier.
We did not make this change lightly and below are some of the items that went into the decision.

-no junkware (runs faster--no time wasted removing it)
-low power consumption (even over other new pc models)
-12 USB ports!
-parallel and serials ports
-sound and speakers built in case
-Solid Busines Class Case/Chassis
-3 year HP warranty! (Known to be excellent)
-This Warranty covers our Nationwide Clients
-Very competetive price

Landis Computer CEO, Matt Landis says “We put a lot of thought into this move. HP business class desktops are not the cheapest computer in the field but we feel the best business value. HP is the largest computer manufacturer in the world for a reason. HP has a compelling business PC”

Microsoft Dynamics ERP Gets In-Depth OCS Integration

2010-01-20T07:10:00.001-08:00

Forward looking communication professionals have been asking why phone handsets are an “island by themselves” for quite a while. Microsoft has taken a huge step in making your communication system (formerly known as a phone system—but that terminology is getting outdated) an integral part of your business management solution. Visionary professionals in the communication industry say this merging will have transformational possibilities in organizations—and I am seeing this first hand.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 will start the first wave of these transformational communication possibilities. Let’s give some scenarios to highlight the power of this merging of technologies:

What if you were the purchasing person at your company, you are looking at a sales order that has an item on it you need to special order. You have a quick yes or no question for the salesman that made the sales order (but he’s not in the office!)—so you right click on the salesman’s OCS button (right inside GP) and he instantly gets your Instant Message on his mobile device (Windows mobile or nearly any other device) and answers you “Yes, I need that ASAP.”

What if you are the companywide service advisor in your company. A lead tech at another location emails you and says he has a question about service request #10500. You pull up the service request and immediately see the Part he needs to replace has some tricky things about it and you want to SHOW him how to do the repair. You grab the part and directly from Dynamics GP you can start a Hi-Resolution video call with the tech and show him how to do it…(Enterprise video cam=$99 street price)

How about initiate a call to a warehouse phone handset to check on inventory? Initiate a multi-person video conference?

This is just the start of powerful integration of communication and business management software…

Lookups More Efficient in GP 2010

2010-01-18T19:05:00.001-08:00

Mohammad Daoud over at http://mohdaoud.blogspot.com says GP 2010 will allow you to save your lookup defaults to make finding things more effecient. Take a look at the full article over at:
http://mohdaoud.blogspot.com/2010/01/inside-dynamics-gp-2010-lookups.html

GP 2010 Beta Released

2010-01-16T19:19:00.001-08:00

http://blogs.msdn.com/gp/archive/2010/01/15/it-is-a-great-day.aspx

Timeclock That Tightly Integrates to Microsoft Dynamics GP

2010-01-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

We have just dumped our aging MS Access-based time clock software in favor of Time Matrix Time Clock solution for Microsoft Dynamics GP. This solution integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics GP (using the same SQL database). The entire setup took only about 2 hours (we have 11 employees) and was painless. This allows us to have all our punch time calculated automatically and dropped right into GP payroll. It also eliminates another application and database that needs to be backed up, maintained and updated.

http://www.business-computers.com/
If you need a Time Clock solution for Dynamics GP, let us know. We can help.

20-30% of New GP Customers Are Users Migrating Away from Quickbooks

2010-01-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

Rich Miller, in the GP 2010 Launch webinar today, noted that 20-30% of new Microsoft Dynamics GP customers are people that have out grown Quickbooks. Wow! I didn’t realize the number was that high!

We have specialized in small Microsoft Dynamics GP clients and have migrated clients from Peachtree, Quickbooks, Small Business Financials and other low-end products. Microsoft has a Quickbooks -> GP migration tool to take your QB data and put it into GP so you can hit the ground running. No need to re-type all that information!

If you need help with this process you can call, sales@landiscomputer.com or click our "Live Chat" button to the right and top. -->

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Launch is "to be Biggest Microsoft Dynamics Launch to Date"

2010-01-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Just sat in a Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 launch meeting hosted by Rich Miller, Errol Shoenfish and others. I understand there were approx. 800 attendees and there was quite a bit of interesting content. Rich Miller noted that “GP 2010 will be the biggest Microsoft Dynamics launch in our history to date…” cementing the importance of Dynamics GP in the Microsoft stable of ERP solutions.

Errol noted that 100,000 hours of programming went into the Dynamics GP 2010 upgrade! So Microsoft is investing heavily in GP 2010. Some technical features that will be in GP 2010 is “graphs and charts that allow drilling the whole way down to the transaction that created it.” Errol noted that while others have graphs, in many cases you must lookup the transaction elsewhere.

I was very happy to hear that Microsoft Office Communication server will be tightly integrated into GP leveraging communication system and ERP solution. Being a huge proponent of Microsoft Windows-based communication systems (see my blog) this has business transformational possibilities that will be disruptive and put MS Dynamics in a class of it’s own. (The question I ask a business descision maker: Why is your phone handset an island? Why when it is so key to your survival is it so seperated from your business management solution?)

There are many other features and functionality added to GP and we will keep posting them as they become available.

Microsoft Convergence 2010 - Take In a 4 Day Dynamics GP Conference

2010-01-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Convergence is a great way to get to know Dynamics GP and other Microsoft Products better in a 4 day conference format. This year Convergence is in Atlanta April 24-27. Our team will be there and we would be glad to host you.

More Details:
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/atlanta10/
http://www.facebook.com/MSDynamicsConvergence

Get Microsoft Dynamics GP for 75% Off if You Own Microsoft Office Accounting or Microsoft Small Business Financials!

2010-01-12T11:40:00.001-08:00

If you did not take the Microsoft Small Business Financials 90% off offer and now are having “Didn’t take the deal remorse” you now have another chance to get to Microsoft Dynamics GP at a great (no incredible) discount of 75% off. This new offer also includes owners of Microsoft Office Accounting can also move to Dynamics GP for 75% off.

This 75% off offer is good for these products:
-Microsoft Small Business Financials
-Great Plains Accounting (aka GPA)
-Real-World Accounting

You can get up to 10 users for 75% off. To get all the details pop an email to our salesman Wendell Martin at sales@landiscomputer.com. Or chat immediately via the Live Chat icon on the right top of this blog!

Here is the Microsoft Link: (Only for Partners)https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/sales/promotions/h110_erplicenseoffer.htm?printpage=false&stext=leap%20ahead
https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/sales/promotions/fy10h2_welcomeerpoffer.htm?printpage=false

Bing & Dynamics GP Unite: Automatically Validate & Fill Customer Address Information

2009-12-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

I got wind that there is a new addon coming for Dynamics GP that will automatically add a customer name, address, city, state and zip if you provide the phone number! This is a powerful merging of two Microsoft technologies! Bing and Dynamics GP. To see this addon in action watch the below video.

To keep abreast of new GP / Bing Addon Updates you can subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter here:
http://landiscomputer.com/offer/1010_GP_Newsletter.htm

Our GP Blog is One of Top 20!

2009-12-17T13:44:00.001-08:00

http://janakirammp.blogspot.com/2009/12/dynamics-gp-blogs-analytics-2009.html

The Ultimate Small Business Backup? Affordable, Fire/Water Safe, Big Capacity & No Monthly Cost.

2009-12-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

An ioSafe external hardrive combined with Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery backup software can make a backup solution you can count on. We've taken a look at the fireproof and waterproof ioSafe external hard drive and are quite impressed. (we looked at other fire proof units we were NOT impressed with). Our salesman, Wendell Martin, was a fireman and says he can recommend the ioSafe. "The ioSafe is rated to survive 1550 degrees for 1/2 hour and it would have to be in the hottest part of a fire not to survive." he says. ioSafe prices run from $500 for 2 TB down to under $200 for a 500GB so they are affordable for small businesses and even home owners.

A video of the ioSafe being burned can be watched here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6l4kxhl_DI

Dynamics GP Can Easily Be "Molded" To Fit Your Needs - Part 1: Reminders

2009-12-05T12:35:00.001-08:00

Many people have the concern that if they buy Microsoft Dynamics GP they will have to turn to their partner for each and every tweak, configuration and customization (ugly word) they do to GP. (Customization can be a really bad word to a company that was used to writing entire modules as opposed to the small tweaks usually necessary in GP)

Just to show that GP can be easily “molded” to your need without customizations (in many instances) take a look at this demo on making a new reminder. It is much like making a reminder in Outlook!

http://www.screentoaster.com/watch/stVk5VQE1IR1xWSVtfW1xZXldT

Remembering Our Accounting Software Research

2009-12-04T05:27:00.001-08:00

I’ve been doing some yearend house cleaning in my office and came across the stash of research we did when we selected an accounting solution that Landis Computer would represent. I am amazed at the breadth of products we looked at! As I reminisced and flipped through the old marketing material I clipped some of the logos in the included picture. As I look back I sure am glad we ended up with Dynamics GP! (formerly known as Great Plains and I think the product was called C/S+ the first time we looked at it in 1996)

Some of the products in the list don’t even exist anymore! Like AVAST Accounting. (At least I can't find it) I didn’t list those in our path of research we actually sold and supported: Like Microsoft Profit (low end accounting), Image Accounting, Armor Systems and others. When I compare some of those other systems to GP I am…thankful. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

HP Profits Up 14% In a Recession!

2009-11-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

Harry over at SMBNation, a company that focuses on small business IT consulting, noted that HP profits were up 14% during this recession while Dell missed their projections. Is selling direct the wave of the past?

Read Harry's Twitter...

Landis Computer is an HP Server & Printer reseller because of HP's wide array product options, long time reputation for quality products and nationwide service options.

Free Dynamics GP Addon Enhances Customer Maintenance Window

2009-10-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

We have just released a new add on for Dynamics GP that will add some exciting new features to the GP Customer Maintenance window! We've added a "Goto" button to the Customer Maintenance window that will allow you to see Payment Summary, Sales Order transactions, Aging information and more, directly from the customer maintenance window!

from Dynamics GP

The features of this free addon for Dynamics GP:

-A "Goto" button is added to the customer maintenance window
-The email address is added directly to the customer maintenance window
-The ability to "click-to-email" is added to the window
-The address ID automatically is filled with "PRIMARY" when adding a new record.

To get this free addon please click here.
(this will sign you up for our GP free addons newsletter and email you the link, but you can just unsubscribe with one click if you don't want it!)

Detailed instructions on how to install this addon click here.

The Managed Network

2009-10-16T11:03:00.001-07:00

Are any computers running out of hardrive space? Does any pc not have antivirus on it? Are there any key computers with critical hardrive errors? Has anyone installed rogue software? Are key computers being backed up? What if you could get a report each month on the health of your network? (that anyone can read) Up until now system to do this were only affordable for large corporations but now they are becoming available at a price point well affordable for the small & even tiny business. There is now no need to be "guessing" if your system is in shape.

To be continued...

How To Install Dynamics GP VBA Addon

2009-08-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

We've released several free VBA addons for Dynamics GP ( click to email & email on customer maintenance addons). We've had several people ask us to show them how to install a VBA addon that modifies a screen or report. Here are the steps:

#1-Login to GP as SA.

#2-Click on Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Customize > Customization Maintenance and import the package file we provided.

#3- Now we need to tell GP to use the modified version of the form. To do that:
Click MS Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > System > Alternate Modified Forms and Reports.

Now you will see the Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports window. Select the ID, then set Product to "Microsoft Dynamics GP", type to "Windows" and then in the list check that you want to use the alternate window as show. Click "Save" and you should be done.

#4 - Now you should be able to open the modified window and it should be the new one.

Note: If the VBA code includes a "shell command" you may need to do one last thing. If when you open the window you get the below error, just delete the "()" at the bottom of the code, click "Save" and continue.

If you need any additional help we are glad to help at our very reasonable consulting rates.

Thanks for using our free Dynamics GP add ons!

Another Free Addon to Make Dynamics GP Easier to Use! Email Address Right on the Customer Maintenance Window

2009-08-12T14:53:00.001-07:00

In our world of everyday email communications it is hardly handy to have the GP email address tucked 2 clicks away from the customer master! We've made a simple, free, Dynamics GP addon that puts it right where it should have always been: right on the customer master!

(To those good ole' GP veterans who are saying this isn't nessesary...ahem...this is 2009. ;-)

Also remember our great little fix that made it so you can click to email? That is incorporated in this addon too.

One last way this addon makes GP easier to use is that it automatically puts "PRIMARY" as the address ID when you add a new customer saving you a few more (unessesary) keystrokes when entering a new customer record.

So just to recap what is in this Addon:
#1-The email address is added directly on the customer maintenance window
#2-The ability to "click to email" is added
#3-The address ID automatically is filled with "PRIMARY" when adding a new record.

To get the addon just click here. (if that is a problem try to click here.)
(this will sign you up for our GP free addons newsletter and email you the link, but you can just unsubscribe with one click if you don't want it!)

If you need a step by step to install this VBA addon:
http://dynamicssmallbusiness.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-install-dynamics-gp-vba-addon.html

we are...Making Dynamics GP Easier to Use!

Dynamics GP as PSA Software? New Competition for Connectwise, Autotask and TigerPaw?

2009-08-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

We have enhanced Dynamics GP Field Service to provide PSA functionality for IT companies.
Take a look at our quick video.

We use built-in Dynamics GP Field Service but extend it using the (free) GP Webservices connected GP Time Tracker module. Adding time to a GP Field Service call is 2 clicks! Wow! Use it inside and outside your network via webservices!

Since Dynamics GP Field Service module is tightly integrated there is no messy inventory, customer and invoicing syncing issues to deal with.

Affordable. Integrated.
Let me know what you think.

Do We Really Need 2 Operating Systems on our Mobile Devices?

2009-08-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

I just happened to see this VMWare demonstration of two O/S's running on a phone. Does anyone else think that this is an overkill?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNo6pn-dnSQ

Windows Mobile 6.1 As an Extension to Your IP PBX

2009-08-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

I just registered my Windows Mobile 6.1 phone to our SIP based IP PBX for the first time. I'm impressed how nicely the built-in WM6.1 SIP phone integrates into the device when you actually configure it!

To configure the SIP info into your WM phone, you need a windows mobile SIP setup application running on the phone. (Note:this is NOT supported by Microsoft...do it at your own risk!)

Below is the link to the .CAB file to modify your phone:
http://www.voipphreak.ca/2008/03/29/enable-the-hidden-voip-features-of-windows-mobile-6x-for-free-voip-calls-using-asterisk/

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=303493

If you have any question please post a comment below.

Landis Computer: Microsoft Dynamics Partner with Most SBF to GP Migrations in FY2009

2009-08-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

We were astonished to recieve a notice from Dynamics GP product mangager, Andy Westby, that Landis Computer had done more MS SBF to Dynamics GP moves than any other Microsoft Partner in the world! Japheth and Wendell show off some of the "awards": Microsoft Zunes.

But we are not satisfied with just pushing the most product out there. Our goal is to make Dynamics GP make our client's businesses more effecient. One way we are helping our clients beyond just getting product out is by our monthly Dynamics GP Newletter. If you want to subscribe to it just click here.

Thanks to each of our clients that made this a great year! We want to keep serving you.

Will Windows Phone Kill iPhone?

2009-08-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

Microsoft plans to refresh the Windows Phone with version 6.5 which will include some big updates to how Windows mobile works. Some things that are planned are gesture navigation and scrolling, ability to preview a voicemail as text when combined with Exchange 2010 and a browsing experience redesigned for touch gesturing.

For those of you familiar with the Zune, you might notice some similarity in navigation on the home screen below.

An excellent video comparing iPhone and WM6.5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP9PQ5iWFzM&feature=rec-HM-r2

I'm looking forward to Windows Mobile 6.5.

windows iphone killer, windows mobile kill iphone

My snom MeetingPoint Conference Phone Video Review

2009-08-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

I just got a chance to play with the new snom MeetingPoint conference phone and here is a link to the first impression video review I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veHhBdKvAq8

I couple things that make this unit unique are that it is the first Microsoft OCS compatible conference that is also a standard SIP phone and it also uses the standard snom firmware so if you are used to that, this phone will be comfortable for you.

ps-I just noticed it has power over ethernet so no cable tangle either. Nice.

Streamlining Small Business Communications Using Free Windows Instant Message Server

2009-07-30T05:49:00.001-07:00

I've written a previous article about using Windows Live Messenger as a poor mans Office Communication Server. In the mean time our Instant Message requirements keep growing. Some of the things we wanted to do:

-Connect multiple Public Instant Message services into one client
-Have a tool to connect our website and blog to us via web live chat
-More central control over our internal Instant Message system
-Have a more business oriented IM Client (Tired of Live Messenger MSN pop ups!)
-Archive IM chats
-Persistent Group Chats
-All this functionality combined into one IM client.
-Oh, we want to be able to change when we are not inside our network too.

Our first thought was Microsoft Office Communication Server 2007. After reviewing OCS my thot was that it was a bit "heavy" hardware requirements and configuration wise. I talked to another Microsoft Partner who tried OCS and moved to Openfire. So we took a look at Openfire. I was amazed at the features, ease of installation and low hardware requirements. It seems to be a perfect fit for small business. It runs very nicely on Windows Server and is a breeze to administrate.

We achieved all of our objectives above along with some interesting benefits I didn't expect:
-Tabbed IM client really make heavyIM users screen less cluttered!
-The "Close Stale Chats Tabs" really saves time too.
-the IM client has ability to integrate to SIP IP PBX's

So far what did I notice that we don't have that OCS would?
-Pocket PC IM client with tight integration to IM Server
-OCS voice features on Pocket PC
-Any integrations to Dynamics products (like GP) that OCS will have.

Openfire IM Server is a free product and seems like it could fit us quite well at this time. We are still watching if Microsoft will release SBS OCS!

What is the difference between Dynamics GP, AX, NAV, & SL? Microsoft Partners Duke it out

2009-07-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

A question that comes up quite often is "What is the difference between all the Dynamics Accounting packages". In the below linked in discussion partners and consultants from all four give their comments. (Some balanced. Some not?;-)

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=41656&discussionID=4323674&split_page=1

Want To Test Drive Dynamics GP Right Now?

2009-07-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

You can! Just click the link below and your off!

www.dynamicsgptestdrive.com

Microsoft Response Point Future: RP Program Manager Say "There are no current plans for future version releases of Response Point..."

2009-06-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

At a Microsoft Response Point town hall meeting today, RP program manager John Frederickson says "There are no current plans for future version releases of Response Point, but MS will continue to evaluate specific feature requests and continue to maintain the product...We are not prepared to commit to a next version release today..." Later on John said, "RP is in maintenance mode..."

To questions about the future of RP John said "RP is funded for FY2010...RP will be evaluated for ROI from year to year like all Microsoft products..."

John also noted the Response Point does have a budget for marketing activities for FY2010.

From my experience with how Microsoft handled the discontinuation of the Microsoft Small Business Financials product, current RP developements sound eerily similar. The first step was putting the product in a "holding pattern". One difference that I can see is that there appears to be a much more active partner community. (Could Harry Brelsford have anything to do with that? ;-)

My opinion remains that if you are a good VAR (or Trusted Advisor), work with Microsoft resources and you have the possibility of emerging stronger than before.

You might have interest in my previous post that talks a little about RP Var Survival.
My Research on Windows Based Phone System Compared to Response Point.

Dynamics CRM to Dynamics GP Integration is HERE!

2009-06-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

A two way integration between Dynamics GP and CRM has finally arrived in BETA form! To CRM and GP partners this is an exciting announcement. See more at:

http://blogs.msdn.com/dynamicsgp/archive/2009/06/23/microsoft-dynamics-crm-4-0-beta-adapter-for-microsoft-dynamics-gp-integration-demomate-now-available.aspx

Dynamics GP: How To Easily Create a Test Company? WillowWare Helps Out.

2009-06-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

We were just talking the other day how to easily create a sample/test/demo company from a live company. Our other requirement was the ability to refresh the sample company. Doing it with SQL scripts isn't totally a no brainer...but I did run across a product from willowware.com that seems to do just what we wanted!

How to Upgrade SBF to GP Documents

2009-06-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Having difficulty finding how to upgrade or step up SBF to GP? Here is the link:
https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/downloads/migrationtools/sbf90togp90.htm?printpage=false

You will need Partnersource access.

Windows based Phone System PBXnSIP v4 Overhauls User Interface

2009-06-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

PBXnSIP, Windows based phonesystem, has released version 4 beta. It's hard to miss the newly refresh user interface that now includes context sensitive help. PBXnSIP has many legacy pbx features, is use by ISP's and managed service providers and from our experience is very stable.

My Quick Slideshow of PBXnSIP v4 Beta:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mattmlandis/PbxnsipV4Beta#slideshow/5346433834075244306
Below is an illustration of the new UI.

From pbxnsip v4 Beta

Dynamics GP Field Service as PSA Software Set to Save IT Service Company 624 Hours a Year

2009-06-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

We are implementing Dynamics GP Field Service as a PSA (Professional Services Automation) solution for our own IT service company. We reviewed ConnectWise, Autotask, TigerPaw & Dynamics GP with Field Service. We realized the only way to get a completely integrated system (sales, inventory, financials and service management) was with GP Field Service.

The previous system consisted of a web based time tracking system and ERP. There was no link between them so all invoices were retyped into ERP. Customer information needed to be cut and pasted into the time tracking/service request system from the ERP. A Outlook appointment needed to be manually entered. So the service manager spent quite a bit of time flipping between ERP, Time tracking system and Outlook for a new service request. The whole service request entry time was approx. 5 minutes.

With Dynamics GP Field Service and a GP Field Service tech module the process has been greatly streamlined. Adding service requests requires having only Dynamics GP open. We added a button to automatically generate an Outlook appointment for the service call. GP Field Service has the ability (built-in) to SMS the tech when a new call comes in. The service manager now spends approx 1 minute or less adding new service calls.

For the technician entering time into GP Field Service there have been been improvements too. We were not quite satisfied with the effeciency of Field Services Anywhere module included with GP so we wrote a small application that techs use to enter time into GP Field Service via GP Web Services. The tech literally has only 3 clicks to start the timer on a service call. One click selects which service call, one to press the START button and one to click into the "description of work" field. As soon as the service call is clicked the tech can see the problem, customer name, contact, address, big note and phone number. Since we are IP phone experts we have a button to dial the client's phone number using the tech desk phone. There is a button to run a SQL reporting services report that shows the tech their own utilization for the day. I would expect this interface will save several minutes per call but won't figure this in my equation.

Immediate Time Savings in One Week:

Service Manager
89 Service Calls were setup. The prior system required approx. 5 minutes to setup a service call. In Dynamics GP Field Service we are seeing times of 30sec. to a minute.
Old: 89 * 5min. = 7.41 hours
New: 89 * 1min. = 1.48 hours for a savings of 5.93 hours per week for the Service Manager.

Invoice Entry Person
The normal time to create invoice weekly was approximately a day. Due to a Navigation List bug (and yes it's a bug...I'm being really honest here ;-) we tested doing the weekly invoices a little early. (ahem) It takes minutes to do what used to be a day job. But I'm going to say 2 hours to allow for printing and putting in the mail.
Old: 8 Hours
New: 2 Hours for a savings of 6.00 hours per week for Invoice Entry.

If my figuring is correct that is about 624 hours a year.

I'd like to show some of the management reports (using SRS) we have but I guess that should be another post.

Bing: 76% Google, 17% Bing and 5% Yahoo.

2009-06-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you in marketing and website search optimization, you might want to keep an eye on Bing.com. Microsoft's new search engine seems to be getting some traffic. Monitoring our own website I noticed Bing.com was driving a fairly high percentage to us: 76% Google, 17% Bing and 5% Yahoo (small % other).

Microsoft is doing the "I'm a Mac" play on Google with some very catchy ads promoting Bing and insinuating that Google returns confusing results. I don't know if the facts support the ads, but the ads are interesting.

Windows 7 Adventures Part 2: Connecting My HP IPAQ 910c Mobile Phone

2009-05-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

At our company we are tightening up some of our security measures (after sitting in a session by Dana Epp at SMBNation and getting his security tirade--one we needed by the way. ;-)

One of those measures is getting a security certificate that is not self signed for Remote Web Workplace and for our Direct Push email for our Windows Mobile devices. Our server guy told me all I need to do is drop a cert on my mobile device and click on it and it will be ready to roll.

I gleefully slapped my hands and thot "Now I can BREAK Windows 7!". I plugged my HP IPAQ 910c Business Communicator Windows Mobile 6.1 phone into my newly Windows 7 laptop with a mini USB cable. And waited for destruction! ;-) I was rewarded with a little notification down beside the clock that popped up and said "this usb device is not recognized". I ALMOST jumped for joy(?) that I had finally found something that Win7 wouldn't do right...but wait...automatically an install window with a progress bar popped up...Win7 was installing something...what?....and in a few seconds my IPAQ was fully installed and the below window popped up!

From Windows 7 Stuff

Not only had Windows 7 installed the driver for my PRECISE phone it popped up a menu after it installed (not nagging me to do something I didn't want to do like sync or something) and let me do just what I wanted to: just drop a file in a folder!

Since my efforts at "busting" Windows 7 aren't going very good I shouldn't bother to mention the the cert install went flawless too...

Keep tuned...my efforts to "bust" Windows 7 will continue...

ps--if Microsoft doesn't hurry up and make some mistakes with Windows7 I'm afraid it's going to be a smash hit. I didn't even talk about it's inuitive new UI that should instill fear in Apple...;-)

Windows 7 Adventures Part 1: Converting My Home Network to Windows 7

2009-05-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

I've been casually playing with Windows 7. So far I've been taking the safe road: just loading it on test laptops at work. ;-) My initial opinion from those tests has left me highly impressed with Windows 7. But being the perennially cautious guy (I'm know at work for a quote: "If you didn't test it, it DOESN'T work!") I decided it's high time to test Windows 7 in a live environment on computers I depend on. I decided the first test would be my home network.

What does my home network consist of? 3 Thinkpad laptops, 1 Dell Workstation, 1 SNOM IP P phone handset and a Linksys WRT54G wireless router. Also there is a OfficeJet J6480 WIFI printer. Everything was Windows XP Pro except one Vista Ultimate laptop. My list of applications to be installed: Office 2009 Enterprise, Adobe Reader 9, PDFCreator, Live Mesh (web network drive), iTunes* and PowerBible (a Bible research program I use). Oh, I do use AVG too. Since Landis Computer manages networks I'm pretty defined in what I install so that is pretty much the list.

So far I have "clean installed" Windows 7 the 2 most used Thinkpads. How did the upgrade go? I keep shaking my head in amazement. The initial install is brainless and quick.

I did need to manually load the ATI video drivers on the one Thinkpad to get full resolution and Aero to work. I'm not sure why because the other Thinkpad is the same model and I didn't need to. But a small blip there.

After I got AVG and all Windows updates going I decided it was time to install my Wifi connected network HP Office Jet J6480. I took a deep sigh because I figured THIS is where we will get stuck. I tried the original HP install disc first: It said the OS was not supported. Ok, that's understandable. I went to my old ways: Google. A couple posts noted that J6480 doesn't work on Win7 and complaints. Then I thot: Why not use Win7 Add Printer Wizard? My mind was saying it probably won't work but I tried the Win7 Add Printer Wizard and 6 clicks later the OfficeJet was installed! Wow!

What were the steps?
Start > Devices & Printers > Add Printers > Add Network Printer...
Next Windows 7 will check the network (including WIFI) and show you a list of printers. You just click on it and it's installed.

From Windows 7 Stuff

I continue to amazed by Windows 7 in spite of my skepticism. ;-)

Windows 7 Adventure Parts to follow: How did my Applications work? Could I easily connect my HP Mobile phone?

* I won an iPod at the SMBNation conference a year or two ago and sold it to stay loyal to my Microsoft roots. ;-) But then this spring I found an iPod Nano complete with headsets lying in my front yard! After making sure it was not any of my neighbors I began playing with it and am now hooked!

Windows 7 real life review, windows 7 experience

Microsoft Response Point: What Is Happening?

2009-05-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Response Point is a small business phone system that I have been keeping my eye on for a little bit. I passed over it because of lack of features but because of it's Microsoft backing it's hard to ignore. Just a couple weeks ago at the SMBNation conference several active VARs (Ed Carnes and others) gave a pretty good Keynote on RP and peaked my interest again...

But the GM of ResponsePoint, John Frederiksen, made an announcement that jolted RP VARs about "changes in the RP business..." in a "coded" statement. What has been deduced by VARs closer to the subject then myself is that large reductions to the RP team were made.

There are a lot of rumors around and I don't want to feed them. I do want to say that if there is change in the air it doesn't need to be bad. At Landis Computer we survived having one of our primary Microsoft products, Microsoft Small Business Financials, being phased out in favor of a more costly product, Dynamics GP. We had a large amount of our business around SBF and approximately 40 clients using it so you can imagine our anxiety. But we worked with Microsoft through this process and emerged stronger and thriving more than before. Just some comments from my experience going through a product "change":

If you are good at RP you will survive in some other product if need be
The guys with the least installs will make the most noise
Don't yell: be reasonable and work with microsoft contacts--they can help
Have your own strategy too
Don't beat up John Frederiksen at the town hall meeting...collaborate... ;-)
Town Hall likely means big change or bad news but not end of world. ;-)
Usually Microsoft put considerable research into a market move (more than we can afford!)
Remember that the best solution may be a new one

In our case we emerged from the Microsoft Small Business Financials "change" in a much better position. I believe we are a stronger partner, with better connections to Microsoft, and using more resources from Microsoft. We are a solid, growing Microsoft GOLD Certified parnter as well as a Dymamics GP partner now.

I think I will attend the meeting just to see how things go. For all RP'ers, I wish the best!

ResponsePoint General Manager John Frederiksen twitter:
http://twitter.com/responsepoint

Links About RP Developements:
http://www.crn.com/networking/217500245;jsessionid=UVU4QY3KMP1MQQSNDLOSKHSCJUNN2JVN
http://www.thevarguy.com/2009/05/14/microsoft-response-point-unplugged/
http://ts2blogs.com/blogs/sdeming/archive/2009/05/14/what-s-going-on-with-response-point.aspx
http://telephonation.com/forum?func=view&catid=20&id=1769

Why Windows 7 Is Making People & Companies Wish They Could Get Their Hands On It

2009-05-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Remember that this is just a sampling of new features. There are many, many more. As a Microsoft GOLD Partner we are very confident that Windows 7 will be a winner. (In fact I'm personally eager to move my home network to Windows 7.) Remember this is coming from a Microsoft Partner that usually has quite a "wait and see" attitude about new releases.

(Blazing?) Fast Performance: According to a test done by Zdnet of 25 everyday/realworld tasks Windows 7 beat Vista and even XP on every one. See Source Here.

Reduced Startup Time: New "Instant On" supposed to reduce start up to 15seconds. Windows 7 reduces start up to 50% in some cases even without using "Instant On".

ISO Disk Burning Now Built-In: Before Windows 7 3rd party software install was needed but with Win7 it is built in. One less thing to clutter your Windows.

Search Text Inside TIFF Image Files: Now you can search TIFF files by text contained in them. Makes Windows 7 one step closer to being a simple document management system for small companies.

DirectAccess: A new seamless and simple way for remote users to connect to their Windows Server network.

Securely Use USB Drives with BitLocker: Allows USB drives to be easily encrypted so if they are lost no data/passwords/financial data gets in the wrong hands.

Wordpad Gets Major Face lift: Looks just like the latest version of Microsoft Word with ribbon menus. But still no spell checker. ;-)

Total Compatibility With Windows XP Mode: No need to worry that an XP application will be incompatible with Windows 7 because with XP Mode your app will actually be running on XP. (transparent to user)

I suggest that companies begin to plan to take advantage of the benefit of Windows 7. I didn't say this with Vista but I think Windows 7 is a product that will bring immediate and realworld value to many small companies.

Want to read more?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/windows-7.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_7

microsoft gold partner highly recommends windows 7, microsoft gold partner recommends companies plan to implement windows 7,

More Benefits of Dynamics GP Navigation Lists...

2009-04-30T07:03:00.001-07:00

At our company we use what we recommend (eat our dogfood? ;-) and I just stumbled on yet another wonderful use for Navigation Lists in GP.

#1-A colleague was in a quote, I got the "another user is editing this doc" msg and I thot, "thats a pain now I need to wait to see that thing". But hey, no! I can use the GP Navigation List Preview window and see just about everything (if not more) than i can on SOP window. And in fact the preview is RIGHT in front of me right now!

#2-Then another benefit popped out at me. Did you ever want to just copy and paste a bunch of lines out of a sales order into an email or somewhere? On the Navigation List Preview its a cinch. Or copy the whole address of the customer...or copy the WHOLE thing. Pretty neat.

Just another reason to run out there and start using GP Navigation Lists.

ps-Yeah, I know I could have used a SOP inquiry window...but its not nearly so easy. And remember: We're after EASE of USE. ;-)

Making Dynamics GP Easier to Use: Some Tips Your GP Partner Might Not Tell You

2009-04-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

We work with clients, users, and business owners who have become used to the world of "Quickbooks". This is likely because for the last 4 years we have been promoting, supporting and sweating over the $400 per user little brother of Dynamics GP--Microsoft Small Business Financials. (Or maybe it is because nearly every small business in the USA has or had Quickbooks? ;-) In any event the expectations surrounding ease of use in accounting software has been forever changed by the presence of Quickbooks.

So if you are a Dynamics GP user and feel it's too hard to use the good news is--Microsoft is "getting" it! (even if some of us partners are not! ;-) What are some of the areas that Microsoft is making big progress on in the area of ease of use?

-Finding Stuff (like customers, sales docs and more)
-Reports (drill downs, splashy graphics, fancy charts, zooms to details...)
-Importing Stuff

In this blog post about making GP easier to use I'm going to focus on Finding Stuff.

We just had a client who moved from Microsoft Small Business Financials to Dynamics GP. They had been on GP for about a month so I called them to see how things were going. I got the dreaded pause...(meaning a good client hates to say something bad...) but soon the truth tumbled out: Dynamics GP seemed harder to use than SBF. Ahem. We drilled into what was harder to use and it turned out that "Finding Stuff" was the culprit. I asked "Are you using Dynamics GP Navigation Lists"? The answer was no.

#1 Use Navigation Lists

Navigation Lists is a relatively new feature in GP. Many partners and users haven't gotten onto using them yet. But for making GP easier to use (in my opinion) they are a big step forward.

Why?
-Finding Customers, Vendor, Sales Documents is as easy as using Google.
-The 3 click rule applies: Anything that can be done to a record can be done in 3 clicks.
-You can preview, say a sales order, without even opening it!
-You select multiple records and do an action on them: like print or post.
-Assign a hot key Navigation List-Now your favorite lookup is one key away.
-Tweak the Action Panel to have the actions you use up front.
-And a lot more.

If you think GP is hard to use and you are not using GP Navigation Lists...beg, drag, coerce your GP Partner into showing you how to use them. Or just start using them.

#2 Take a look at the Smartfill Addon By Rockton Software.

http://www.rocktonsoftware.com/products.aspx?p=5

What if you were on a sales order and could type anything you knew about a customer instead of needing to know the Customer Id? What if you could type anything you know about an inventory item to add it to the sales order line item? Same goes for vendor id's, general ledger id's...And this work ANYWHERE you use an id. That is why we make Smartfill a mandatory add on for each GP implementation we do.

Okay, so much for the first part of making Dynamics GP Easier to Use. More to come.

making dynamics GP easier to use, dynamics gp ease of use
http://blogs.msdn.com/gp/archive/2009/04/27/all-about-rapid.aspx

Dynamics GP Free Customization: Click on Customer Email Address to Send Email

2009-04-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

In Microsoft Small Busines Financials when you click on an email address it will pop open Outlook send message window. In Dynamics GP the email needs to be prefaced with "mailto:" for this to work. Our great GP Consultant, Japheth, has made a small customization package to make clicking on an email address work like most people would expect.

As a way to say "thanks" to all our customers & everyone that helps us out when we are stuck we are providing this small, easy to install customization free for download:
http://landiscomputer.com/web/DynamicsGP_Email_Customize.package

Download the file then in GP click on Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Customize > Customization Maintenance and import the package file we provided.

If you think this was easy and cool-- think about how we can make your Dynamics GP buzz in other ways! Just drop us a line at sales@landiscomputer.com.

PS-I just realized GP is cooler than I thot. If GP is installed on your computer and you you click on the link above it will automatically prompt you to import it! Could installing a customization be any easier?

To see more addons we've made for Dynamics GP: http://landiscomputer.com/modules

dynamics GP send email, Dynamics GP Free Customization download

Dynamics GP: A Great Upgrade for a Growing Company

2009-04-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

At Landis Computer we have stepped up from Microsoft Small Business Financials to Dynamics GP and I keep being amazed at what business problems Dynamics GP solves for us. Our collections person just started using the Collections Management which really streamlines our collection process and (as a nice side benefit) keeps our AR quite a bit lower at a time when anyone can appreciate that benefit!

Our company has been growing and we are realizing that doing a better job at managing our people is becoming increasingly important. I was trying to figure out how to easily track wage history (in a nice historical view), who is committed to what certifications/training, conversations about job responsibilities and more. I am pleasantly surprised that Dynamics GP also takes care of this problem with the Human Resources module.

This year we have also committed to getting a comprehensive Service Management system (PSA) instead of the multiple systems we currently have. We are reviewing the Dynamics GP Field Service module which looks like it may solve our needs with a little configuring. This will cut out a lot of typo errors that happen when transferring service requests to sales invoices. We also hope it will also largely avoid manually typing sales invoices that come from our web based time tracking system.

What would my opinion be about the move from Microsoft Small Business Financials to Dynamics GP? I am glad we made the move. I think it is helping our growing company be better managed and more profitable. I am confident that I don't need to worry about outgrowing the system and can look forward to the innovations that will come with future versions.

www.landiscomputer.com

microsoft small business financials step up to Dynamics GP experience, sbf to gp step up

Exchange Server 2010 Amazing Telephony Features

2009-04-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

Microsoft sure is pumping out the new products: Office, Windows 7 and now Exchange 2010. The feature that really impressed me is the Voicemail Preview feature that appears to convert audio voicemails into readable emails! (it will even SMS the first part of it to your mobile!)

To read the official Microsoft site on this feature (and more) click below:
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010/en/us/unified-messaging.aspx

To quote the section about Voicemail Preview:
"Voice Mail Preview: Exchange Server 2010 will facilitate the cumbersome task of navigating through voice messages. With Exchange Server 2010 speech-to-text translation, the user can read the contents of the audio recording in the same fashion they would read an e-mail. Furthermore, if the resulting voice messages are opened using Microsoft Office Outlook 2010, the text of the voice mail preview will become "actionable". Recognized names, contacts, and phone numbers will all be identified with icons that the user can select to add contacts, call using Office Communicator, or send e-mail. To facilitate navigation of the audio, clicking in the text will cause the voice mail to jump to that word and continue playing."

There had been several companies (simulscribe was one) doing this as a service for approximately $30/month and $.25 over a certain amount of voicemails and this just might be hard on their business plan. I now see that google plans to offer voicemail to email too. click here. Hmm.

What to Look for in a Windows-based IP PBX

2009-04-16T06:14:00.000-07:00

There is quite a bit of interest in Windows based IP PBX systems lately. For a company that sells, implements and provides ongoing support for Windows based IP PBX's this is great! But are all windows pbx's created equal? What should I look for?

Rock Solid Operation
Businesses have come to expect a phonesystem to be up and troublefree nearly 100% of the time. If a software pbx needs reboots when relatively small changes are made or to correct day to day issues this will cause CEOs and users quite a bit of frustration. Does the pbx require manual watching to make sure it is still up? Or does it have a good system to proactively alert the admin to urgent issues? Can the system admin put new pbx features & components to use with confidence the will work solidly? Without spending a lot of time debugging and fiddling?

Features Comparable to Legacy System Being Replaced
If there are a lot of features that are missing when moving to a software IP PBX I goes without saying that the move will be painful. No one wants to move to a new system and loose features they had with their "20 year old" system! What are some commonly "missing" features when moving to a software IP PBX?

-Ability to see which phone lines are in use
-Ability to put a phone line on hold and tell a colleage to pick it up by pressing its button
-Ability for the PBX to integrate to standard call accounting software
-Ability for the system to go into night mode and have a light to indicate this
-A simple call parking system

Features That Let An Organization Go Beyond Legacy Features
Typically when a company moves to a new system they want to keep at least on par with what they had before. But a good Windows based IP PBX should also let them grow into the future in features, capabilities and integration. What are some of these items?

-Instant message server capabilities
-(or ability to integrate to a server like Microsoft's OCS or free open source options)
-Presence Indication (ability to see who all is on the phone or away)
-Ability to integrate to Exchange UM to integrate email and voice
(or at the least voicemail to email capabilities
-Some type of call control application for reception call control
-Ability to automatically make mobile phones a part of the phone system
(ring when deskphone called, easily forward someone to a deskphones corresponding mobile phone)
-more...

Low Ongoing Maintenance (from IT perspective)
Most people expect a phone system to keep on running with very little intervention. Does the software IP PBX just run? Or does it require a lot of service pack and fixes to keep it up and running? How often do new "fix" releases come out? While a lot of new fix releases shows the companies dedication to the product it can be time consuming for the IT person taking care of the system.

These are just some ideas and I'm sure there are more.
If you have more ideas I'd love to hear them. Please post below.

Step Up To Microsoft Dynamics GP License Offer

2009-04-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

Step Up To Microsoft Dynamics GP License Offer
Last Modified 2/3/2009
Posted 9/29/2008
Microsoft Dynamics GP (US and Canada) Migration from Microsoft Small Business Financials Promotion

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Step up to increased functionality, step up to greater productivity, step up to Microsoft Dynamics GP. Microsoft Dynamics is excited to announce the “Step Up to GP” offer- a Microsoft Dynamics GP (US and Canada) promotion targeting existing customers of Microsoft Small Business Financials. The promotion is comprised of up to a 90% discount on user licenses and select A La Carte functionality for up to 10 users in the first purchase of Microsoft Dynamics GP.

DETAILS OF THE CUSTOMER OFFER
Effective August 25th, 2008, and available until end of business day Friday June 26, 2009.

OFFER NOTES, INCLUSIONS, EXCLUSIONS

Inclusions:

Applies to the first purchase on Microsoft Dynamics GP software only.
The following Microsoft Dynamics GP software is eligible for the discount:
1. User Licenses of both Business Essentials and Advanced Management
2. The following A’La Carte modules:
-- US and Canada Payroll (Up To 500 Users)
-- Payroll Direct Deposit
-- Federal Magnetic Media
-- Crystal Reports
-- FRx Report Designer
-- Bill Of Materials
Volume discounts (waterfall pricing) apply when calculating list licenses and enhancement fees.
Eligible customers must have purchased Microsoft Small Business Financials on or before August 1, 2008. Standard investment credit policies apply.
Exclusions:

User offer does not apply to:
1. Enhancement Fees (Service Plan). Enhancement fees must be calculated based on the published list price of all users and components.
2. SQL Runtime Edition and Database licenses.
3. Business Lite Users.
4. Other Microsoft Dynamics Products: Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Dynamics RMS, Microsoft Dynamics SL.
5. Third Party (ISV) software and functionality.
Offer is limited to a total of 10 user licenses of Microsoft Dynamics GP
Notes:

This promotion cannot be combined with any other promotions or discount offers.
This offer is only available in US and Canada, and is available only to eligible US and Canadian customers.
To be eligible, customer must purchase a 3 yr service contract.
ORDER PROCESSING OVERVIEW
In order to ensure that your orders are processing efficiently and without errors, the following process must be strictly adhered to. Any orders submitted outside of this prescribed process will be rejected.

Orders:

Place your order on PartnerSource (PartnerSource>>Pricing & Ordering>>Place an Order), including applicable signed license agreement and customer evidence (utilizing the customized order form). Partners must note in the subject line and also in the body of the email that the order relates to the “Step Up to Microsoft Dynamics GP” promotion, promo code: NA-Q3-09-29.
Your order will then be submitted, on your behalf to the America’s Operations Center for processing. You will be copied on the order submission.

Microsoft Small Business Financials Step Up to Dynamics GP Process: Real Life Experience

2009-04-02T05:22:00.000-07:00

Over the years we have been Microsoft Small Business Financials promoters and have specialized in the product and helped clients & resellers all over the USA (and beyond).

We have quite of few clients that are taking advantage of Microsoft's 90% Step Up to Dynamics GP from Microsoft Small Business Financials Offers and thought I would post some insights on how this process works for those considering it.

First of all there are no gimicks about the cost: Microsoft IS giving 90% off of Dynamics GP for those who want to stay on maintenance. (My unofficial opinion is that this is the deal of century as far as getting Dynamics GP for nearly nothing!)

Some people ask me "What Immediate Benefits Will I See If I Go from SBF To GP?". My answer? A lot. A couple years ago I wrote an article "What MSFT Needs To Do To Make SBF Even More Compelling" and almost every one of those bullet points Dynamics GP fulfills. Let me just list some of the immediate benefits:

-Ability to Copy SOP Documents: Copy Quotes, Orders & Invoices.
-Use Ctrl+Q (QuickPrint) to print SOP Document with one keystroke
-Categorize Inventory Items, Customers and Vendors (no work arounds needed!)
-Easily type Invoice line item notes without splitting things into 4 lines of 50 characters
-Have sales graphs and other key graphs on your Home Page
-Have negative quantities on sales documents (to return an items when selling item)
-Use the new Navigation Lists to make finding customers, vendors, sales doc and more EASILY!
-Easily use multiple warehouses and track bins.
-Track Landed Cost of Inventory Items
-Now you have access to advanced modules not available to SBF like Collections,
-Use Integration and Customization tools built for GP: modify GP windows, integrate to webcarts and more...
-Get all the exciting new features coming in GP version 11 and beyond! see some here
-and much, much more.

If you want to see Microsoft's official list of benefits to you to upgrade, click here.

Will Dynamics GP be too complex for us or take a huge server? First the complex question: GP is more complex than SBF but because the screens are soo similar GP is a natural segway. There IS some getting used to. The first week will be some pain. We have some people that just take it after we do the data migration but most will want to schedule some training time with us. Also you will soon want to take advantage of some of the new GP features. We suggest just getting what you did in SBF first, then schedule the new GP features later. If you have a modern server and workstations, very likely no hardware replacements will be nessesary as the requirements are similar. If you have a server or workstations that already should be replaced, it might push them over the edge.

What are the costs and how long will it take to do the Microsoft Small Business Financials Step Up to Dynamics GP Process? #1 to get yourself a ballpark figure on licensing cost just take GP licensing and subtract 90%. (i know thats not exactly right but gets you an idea) Then add the maintenance of the full GP (18%). That is license cost. #2 there is the data migration. All of your history and data will come from SBF. (gp and sbf have same code base) There is a tool to do this data migration so if your real savvy you could do it yourself but most people get us to do it. Figure $1000 for one company. (quite a bit less if more companies). #3 You will likely want us to be on hand for the day you roll over to GP and at the minimum a day after so figure approx. $3000 there. #4 I would suggest at the minimum schedule a day sometime later to do more training.

I need to wrap up this article but I would like to post another one about the "issues" you will need to work through when Migrating from SBF to GP. They are not huge but it helps to know about them and a couple key training points moving from SBF to GP.

Our team at Landis Computer has invested a LOT of time, effort, sweat (and tears? ;-) promoting and helping people with SBF and I believe those who have been putting the power of SBF to use will be in good hands with Dynamics GP.

If you have more questions or would like more help with a SBF Step Up you can email sales@landiscomputer.com.

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Think a HowTo Book About 3CX Would Be Good?

2009-04-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

A publisher has approached another 3CX MVP and I to see if we would have interest in a writing a book about 3CX. Do you think having a "How To" book about 3CX would be good? Please comment what you think.

OCS (Office Communication Server) Small Business Edition?

2009-03-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

I've been attending the Microsoft Convergence 2009 Conference this past week. The conference is focused on Microsoft's Dynamics business software but there were some Office and Server sessions. I sat in 2 sessions about OCS 2007 R2 just for diversion and because of my interest in OCS and got to ask the question: "Considering the many servers involved in a typical OCS implementation, Will Microsoft release a OCS small business edition?" The answer: "Based on MVP and other input we are definitely talking internally at Microsoft about the possibility of an OCS small business option."

He also noted that currently it is "possible" to have a single server implementation of OCS and noted some of the missing features that make OCS "not quite fitted" as a complete pbx replacement at this moment.

Follow Events At Convergence 2009

2009-03-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning on it but I am "live blogging" from Microsoft Convergence 2009 on events, products, people and sessions I find interesting. Follow it at:

All Convergence live blogging:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23GPUG

My entries:
http://twitter.com/matthewlandis

Have a good week!

Dynamics POS 2009, Dynamics GP & Microsoft Office Accounting: Becoming Less Integrated

2009-03-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

I had a quick chat with Dynamics POS program manager, Michael Griffiths, at Convergence 2009 about the roadmap for Microsoft Retail Management System or what will become Dynamics POS 2009. It sounds like version 2009 will be a major facelift to the current RMS. It will combine the current RMS and POS products into one product call Dynamics POS 2009. This product will be out (nothing official) July 2009 timeframe. The other good news is that Microsoft is going to try to get on a more regular release cycle for the POS product.

The bad news is the great inventory level integration between Microsoft Office Accounting and Microsoft POS will be dropped. Also there is no inventory level integration planned for Dynamics GP and the new Dynamics POS product. If you want inventory level integration it is being planned for Dynamics AX. (For GP there is a basic GL level integration)

There is a 3rd-party Dynamics GP to POS integration:
http://www.profad.com/download/GP_RMSConnectPro.pdf
http://www.profad.com/products/rms_connectpro.htm
(not sure it does Dynamics POS 2009 though)

microsoft rms dynamics gp moa pos integration

Software GiveAways With High Value

2009-03-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Sharepoint: Make Your Company Policies & Processes as Easy to Find as Google.Ever spend an hour hashing how a certain process in your company should be handled? You debated the very best way to do it and everyone in the meeting "knew" what the process was and then a week later you get a call "Hey, how did we decide to do that?". And even YOU were foggy? Microsoft Sharepoint can solve this problem and guess what? If you have a Windows Server already you receive a free Sharepoint license. Installing it is not a long process and you can start to benefit in mere hours.

Office Accounting 2009 Express: Accounting Software for Very Small Businesses.
I am adamant that small businesses need to "know their numbers" just like bigger businesses. Microsoft has announced that is it giving Microsoft Office Accounting 2009 Express away for free and I think this means no small business should be without good accounting software. This accounting system is based on SQL and is defintely worth a lot more than free.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/accountingexpress/FX101729681033.aspx

Windows Instant Message Server: Increased Productivity Without External IM Interruptions
You are on the phone with a customer and just need a quick "yes or no" from one of your co-workers. What if you could just quickly pop a quick message to them as you talk? At one time this was a $500-$2000 solution...now available at no cost.

There are two solutions. If you want just free IM you can use Openfire available at the below link. This server combined with the SparQ IM client could easily be an OCS replacement in SMB senarios where IM is all you want. It sets up in as little as an hour.
http://www.igniterealtime.org/projects/spark/index.jsp

If you would like to get a FREE IM server that can grow up to be a incredibly powerful business phone system (phone system not free, but very affordable) take a look at PBXNSIP. This phone system is impressive for the simple office to offices with lots of phones and complex needs. Once again, can be setup in a short time. Use Xlite as the IM client.
http://pbxnsip.com/

If you want consulting related to any of these products, you can pop an email to sales@landiscomputer.com.

Dynamics GP Call Assistant: The Benefits of Standards Based IP Phone System & Accounting System

2009-03-05T15:37:00.000-08:00

I've been spending a lot of time helping people with and promoting standards based business IP phone systems. This week I'm heading to Microsoft's Convergence 2009 in New Orleans (microsoft's erp/business management software solutions conference) so I thot I'd highlight an integration we've done and will be providing to the Dynamics community.

We support roughly 75 Dynamics clients around the country. We also provide Windows based Phone Systems to our clients. We thought we would combine our expertise in both to make a powerful integration that shows off the power of open phone systems and the open Dynamics GP product.

What if you could see all the important information about a client as your phone rings and before you even talk to them? (without doing anything!) Who they are? Do they have overdue invoices? Are they a big client? (YTD sales) The screen shot above is just a starter...things like opening the last sales order could easily be added. Or anything custom you need for your company.

Not a Bank Breaker:

We are using a free, standards based softphone along with the Dynamics GP Call Assistant to create a very low cost solution. ($500/approx)

FAST Implementation:

Installing this solution if you are using a standards based IP PBX is about 5 minutes.

What are the Requirements?

Dynamics GP or Microsoft Small Business Financials and a standards based SIP IP PBX that supports call forking. Some examples of specific IP PBX's are:

Grandstream GXE502x

PBXnSIP Communication Server or PBXnSIP Office
3CX IP PBX

Any other IP PBX that supports SIP and call forking.

(Asterisk does not support call forking)

Where Can I Get It?

At this moment we don't have a "boxed" product but we will get you the details if you email us at sales@landiscomputer.com. Figure an approx. cost of $500 plus time to help you get setup.

dynamics GP CTI, great plains call pop, dynamics call pop, dynamics gp phone integration, microsoft great plains phone integration

Coincidence? PBXnSIP & 3CX Release Call Monitor/Control Apps on the Same Day.

2009-02-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

Two major Windows based IP PBX vendors have released their versions of call monitor and control tools on the same day. 3CX just released their 3CX Call Assistant and PBXnSIP announced their pbxnsip Attendent Console today.

Good Screen Shots of PBXnSIP's PAC:
http://wiki.pbxnsip.com/index.php/PAC_V3

See my first impression video of 3CX's Call Assistant: (excuse my bad, quiet voice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKeGdXtCMaY

PBXnSIP has an interesting feature: built in Instant Message client included in their PAC which is quite compelling. The other PAC features seem more geared to a user. Feature for feature 3CX packs in more features and seems to aim at the receptionist desk with bigger display area and more indication and control.

SNOM 870 Touchscreen & SNOM MeetingPoint Pictures Now Available

2009-02-24T05:13:00.000-08:00

Jan Boguslawski, of http://www.itacs.de/, just forwarded me some pictures of the SNOM 870 and SNOM MeetingPoint. Check out the below pdf link to see the pictures:

http://landiscomputer.com/page/SNOM870_MEETINGPOINT_OCS.pdf

It looks like SNOM is partnering with Konftel (it appears Konftel is providing the hardware, SNOM is using it's firmware--that is just a guess)

http://www.konftel.se/default.asp?id=6401

ps-I did get an update from SNOM usa sales that the meetingpoint unit will run $899 USD retail. pss- new update: Snom's office page on MeetingPoint
http://www.snom.com/en/products/snom-meetingpoint/

snom meetingpoint pictures, snom 870 pictures

Business Lessons from a McDonalds Experience: How to Turn Off Customers

2009-02-13T05:01:00.000-08:00

Normally I try to pick the positive things out in life. On this blog entry I'm going to point some good lessons I learned from a bad experience at a McDonald's recently. So in the end, maybe it was a worthwhile experience? ;-) So...

It was late and I needed some refreshment. You know the drink that refreshes (Coke of course), a built to order hamburger (no onions, etc) and another chance to experience the speedy service system that has revolutionized American eating...

Try to Confuse the Customer
I pulled up to the drive thru and stated my simple, CEO request: "#1 with no onions, a coke and that's all". (sometimes, to the chagrin of my wife, I also let them know it is "to go"--just in case that question will come up) Now with that straightforward, no loop holes, request you would think, "No questions", but then that maddeningly confusing question: "Will that be medium or large?" Now is the medium what comes with? Or did they jerry rig those sizes again and large is actually a super duper mini and I need to order a super x-large to get a medium? "I'll just take a regular" I say, trying to get what comes included. "Sorry we don't have a regular, sir". Rggg. Now I'm not going to "beat around" and say "Could I just have what is included?" And the metallic voice says "Sir, I don't understand that request, do you want small or large?" Finally in frustration I find a way to cut through this obfuscation "Could I have the drink that is included for $5.99?". "Yes, sir." Whew...

Plan Not To Deliver The Customer's Request
Now just let me say that when you "special order" at fast food drive thru, always CHECK the order. I think somewhere in the operation manual for fast food operations it says "If the customer is in drive thru, ignore any special orders because its too hard for the customer to get them corrected." And since these employees were following the handbook, I got onions free. At our company I'm known for this mantra "If you didn't test it, it doesn't work." You know, I guess I didn't check it so...I'm to blame! ;-) Well, maybe McDonalds doesn't plan not to deliver, but I'm awfully suspicious.

Deliver a Disappointing Solution
Have you ever had that thirst for "the taste that refreshes" only to recieve a fountain soda that was hard tell exactly what flavor it actually was? It's dark colored so it has to be coke, diet coke or rootbeer but the taste is so flat it really could be anything? Or the taste of fresh, hot, crisp (and heart attack inducing) McDonald's french fries irrationally caught hold on you? Only to recieve old, lukewarm, limp, mushy things?

You know we can beat up on McDonald's but actually most companies have the capability to make the mistakes above. But if we are aware of them its the first step to improving.

Wikipedia: Office Communication Server Article

2009-02-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

I've spent quite a bit of time working on & cleaning up this wikipedia article (one of my hobbies) and thot you might have interest in reading it. It came up when I was searching for OCS compatible phones and thought I could make a link to it from here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_Communications_Server

New At Snom: Touch Screen & Conference Phones

2009-02-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

I'm a fan of snom phones for a while and just had to post this. Just got an email announcing CeBit and stating that snom is releasing the snom 870 which will be touch screen. This same series has a port so it can become a wifi deskphone which is something I've been looking for for a while already. (870 & wifi module not out yet)

I haven't gotten a snom 820 in our office yet but I did get to play with one at the Miami IT Expo. Very nicely made phone (like all the snom 3xx series). It is not after the "key system" replacement market like the snom 3xx. It's firmware is based on the 3xx series from what I can see, with more modern looking, swoopy UI graphics. If you can find your way around a snom 3xx firmware, your at home in the 8xx series. I connected it to our IP PBX in a minute. I has a very nice, large color display. It supports displaying a color photo of the caller (if your IP PBX supports it) which makes for a nice demo. The snom 8xx series is also natively OCS (Office Communication Server) compatible, the first open SIP phone to be.

Also they stated they are releasing the snom MeetingPoint SIP conference phone too. We have been researching conferencing phones and may hold off to take a look at this one. Snom rarely dissappoints us.

So if your looking for phones for your favorite Windows IP PBX, here are some more to consider.

Snom 870 Link:
http://voip.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/snom%20870
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/01/26/3939258.htm

Just found photos of the SNOM 870:
http://forum.pbxnsip.com/index.php?showtopic=2180&hl=

Newer post with more info on MeetingPoint: Who makes it, etc.:
http://dynamicssmallbusiness.blogspot.com/2009/02/snom-870-touchscreen-snom-meetingpoint.html

ocs phone

OCS and 3CX: Do They Integrate?

2009-02-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

This post is in response questions & google searches I get on whether the 3CX IP PBX and OCS 2007 R2 integrate. I'll answer the question in two pieces: #1-Does 3CX support integration? and #2-Can it be done.

#1-Does 3CX Support OCS 2007 R2 Integration? The answer is no, according to 3CX support. 3CX comments as of Nov 2008 are that it doesn't work and there are no plans to make it work since the products are essentially competing products. 3CX noted that it would make most sense to decide between either 3CX or OCS. 3CX does plan to add messaging features sometime in 2009.

#2- Can it be done? I've read posts here and there of people making it work and with OCS r2 SIP trunking it likely can be done but I have not personally tried it. And if it's not supported it would be easy to get in a corner. Can it be done? Likely. Should I? Probably not.

I need to admit I can see some companies may want a full featured phone system and full featured instant messaging server. I did a bit of research and did find a company, http://www.pbxnsip.com/, that makes a PC/Windows IP PBX that does integrate to OCS. They have a wiki page detailing the steps at:

http://wiki.pbxnsip.com/index.php/Office_Communications_Server

I haven't tried the integration but I discussed the integration briefly with the VAR that wrote the wiki page and he said the integration works very good. He said they did it for Microsoft for a show and it worked so well they now use it in house.

I certainly do believe that Microsoft OCS has the black box and software based IP PBX squarely in their sights so I can see why 3CX feels uninclined to court OCS. On the other side 3CX is based on being open and interoperable.

3cx ocs 2007 R2 pbxnsip

Response Point: Do We Do It or Not?

2009-02-05T07:26:00.000-08:00

We have been reviewing a bunch of Windows/SMB IP PBX's to keep up on the competition and to make sure we know what's going on and if we should offer more systems to our clients. Because we are a very Microsoft oriented shop we haven't been able to "not see" Response Point. My first opinion with the Linksys and Syspine phones was that our clients will want more "key system" features on the phones. Also the limited features concerned me. Now with the Aastra phone (a very business oriented phone) I did a bit of research again. At this moment the BLF lights on the Aastra phone do not indicate other phone's status. It still seems to me that some of the features many SMB people want aren't there.

My hunch that Response Point is a fit for only the smallest SMB clients was confirmed when I briefly discussed RP with a very active promoter of RP. He said he really feels that RP really is a best fit for companies with 1-10 phones even though it can go to 50 phones.

Since we need to support 1-75 phones for clients we have ruled out RP as a product in our stable. But if you are evaluating RP, it keeps getting new features...