If you are switching to AX from legacy accounting system, often the problem happens in exporting master records, such as customers, vendors, GL accounts and transactions, such as Sales Invoice, Purchase Order.
If you as Axapta developer would have legacy ERP data exported to something like text file, SQL Server custom database, or Microsoft Access format, then further import into AX is not a problem. If you need help with integration methods to this application, please read whitepapers on Microsoft website. We’ll try to concentrate on data preparation and massage from your legacy accounting side. Let’s take a look at several popular data migration scenarios:
1. Walking away from QuickBooks. Database access might be complicated and we recommend printing reports into text file and then importing these files into custom MS SQL Server database. At this point you should be able to proceed with importing records to Axapta. We are helping exporting data from QuickBooks for several years and we usually had our customers to end up with massaging text files, produced via printing reports into text format. Other Microsoft Dynamics ERP applications, such as GP or former Great Plains have migration tool from QuickBooks. We are not aware about such option in the route of AX
2. Great Plains Dynamics on Pervasive SQL 2000. It was popular on versions 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0 and earlier. Pervasive SQL database is partially Client Server compliant. However access is based on Windows file system and user security. Formerly this DB platform was known as Btrieve. We recommend you to export GP tables via ODBC connection to Pervasive SQL or Btrieve. Great Plains table structure could be reviewed in GP user interface: Tools -> Resource Description -> Tables. To be sure that you got the way to the table structure, could you see that GL Account Master is GL00100, or Customer Master is RM00101. To connect via ODBC to Pervasive SQL 2000 you need DDF files (Data Definition Files). These files could be generated by capturing with the mice GenDDF.Set file, dragging and dropping it on Dynamics.exe. There is also known issues with redeploying Btrieve Great Plains database on the new computer, from where you may plan conversion – location translation. This topic is outside of the scope in this paper, however you should be able to find our older publications on Great Plains Location Translation resolution
3. Great Plains Accounting for DOS, Windows or Mac, versions 9.5, 9.2 and earlier. This is legacy accounting system on Btrieve database platform. Again you will need DDF files (fields, files and indexes DDFs). ODBC access is more complex, as GPA was reusing the same files/tables for document header, inventory item lines, taxes, sales commissions, etc. In our practice we prefer to use Pervasive SQL Control Center SQL Queries and saving them into text file. GPA is out there on the accounting market since mid or late 1980th and you may expect huge number of historical transactions in its database. This fact makes data export time consuming, as it should be done on WindowsXP/7/Vista 32 bit version (old Pervasive SQL 2000 and Btrieve are not compatible with Windows7 64, as this trend was not expected in time)
4. New Corporate ERP implementation and data conversion scope general advises. Theoretically and mathematically SQL and Database migration is precise science compliant. In real life you as Corporate ERP customer have to pay for consulting hours, where you are restricted by your IT budget. The idea to minimize data conversion scope is favored by Corporate ERP practitioners. Instead of ordering your consulting firm to migrate ‘everything’, consider the way where you keep your old accounting application somewhere in the corner for inquiries only (in case when historical customer calls to get his status, especially when they are under state tax or federal audit). If you do it that way, then you need just GL Accounts, Customers, Vendors, Employees and Addresses to be converted and by entering General Ledger Beginning balances you may start AX in production without serious data conversion. The unexpected issues typically begin when you are ordering large scope historical transactions conversions project. In our practice we have seen numerous Corporate MRP and MRP projects implementation to fail due to unrealistic historical data conversion
5. Data Migration in Global Organization with International Exposure. Dynamics AX is available internationally; it supports Unicode and is translated to such languages as Russian, German, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese (including Brazilian Portuguese), Arabic, Korean, Japanese. We recommend you to the principle to host all international subsidiaries databases on the central MS SQL Server in your headquarters and enable international user access via Enterprise Portal (web interface) or Citrix (AX Windows user interface, formerly also referred as fat client)
6. Please call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904 (for international customers, where our representative pick up the phone in St. Joseph, MI call center). help@efaru.com We have local presence in Chicagoland, Southern California, South West Michigan, Houston and Dallas areas of Texas. We serve customers USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil nationwide and internationally via web sessions and phone conferences (Skype is welcomed). Our consultants speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese. Our core expertise is in International Business
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