When you are running multiple companies, in the environment, where you are serving as accounting outsourcer, it is possible to work out reasonably simple procedure to create new company without coming through numerous setup routines.
The main assumption here - you can capitalize on the similarities in Chart of Accounts. If you have it the same for each company, you can quickly clone FRx Financial Reports. Plus your accounting personnel is comfortable to add new line, as they already manage records in another companies. Let’s review suggested procedure and some cautions:
1. What should be really different in the new Great Plains company? First thing to consider – in GL Account structure you should have one of the segments to be dedicated to company ID. If you do it this way, consolidated reporting in FRx or Microsoft Management Reporter should be easy. Second, Check Books, Credit Cards, Banks. Next: Customers, Vendors
2. What could be the same in the new company? GL, AP, AR, POP, SOP IV, Bank Rec settings (except Check Books on the module level). Here we assume that you are not using Payroll, Fixed Assets and other modules, just core financials. We recommend you to keep the same chart of accounts, but consider updating Account Descriptions. It is common scenario, where you are taking over accounting from such small business packages as QuickBooks, PeachTree, MYOB, SAP Business One, Great Plains Accounting for DOS, Windows or Mac, where Accounts could be exported, mapped to recommended existing GP account IDs
3. Creating Company procedure. Make backup from the sample company directly in MS SQL Server Management Studio 2008, 2005 (or Enterprise Manager in SQL 2000). Run GP Utilities to create new company (this is the natural and simple way to create company record in Dynamics database), copy security access from anther existing company. When company is created, in SQL Management Studio load its database from backup file of your sample company (be sure to rename file names for MDS and LDS files)
4. Cleaning transactions and master records. In Maintenance -> Clear Data, select all Historical, Open, Work, and some master tables (you would like to keep Account Master, probably Check Book Master, keep Setup tables as they are – do not clear data there) in all the series: Financial, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, etc.
5. Some nuances about GL Account Master. Here you have to delete in SQL Query Account Current Year Summary Master GL10110
6. Integration Manager. Now you are ready to update Account Names from Excel file, where your accountant mapped old Cart of Accounts to the new one. This is GL integration, the type is Accounts, make sure you selected insert and update option
7. GL Beginning balances. This is GL Entry integration, typically with two Sources: header and lines (could be done from one file, where header is just a grouping)
8. Deleting accounts, you do not need. It should be done directly in SQL Query. Be sure you are taking accounts off in two tables: GL00100 (Account Master) and GL00105 (Account Index Master, if you do not remove accounts from this table, next Check Links routine will recreate all the accounts deleted from GL00100)
9. Loading Customers and Vendors. In Integration Manager we recommend you to create just one MAIN address for both entities. You can export these master records to Excel from virtually every small business accounting system. Here some challenge is to split address lines into line One, Two, Three, City, State, Zip and Country – we recommend you to practice your Excel text and logical formulas skills
10. Creating New Check Books (and if required Banks and Credit Cards). This is typically minor issue, but it is required, as it is unlikely that your new client has the same bank account or credit card number. We recommend you deactivate old check books to avoid confusion
11. SOP Invoice Form logo. If you are planning to send invoices on behalf of your customer, there are several options. If you are on GP 2010, 10.0, we recommend you to consider setting up Word Templates, working under Modified Forms and Reports Security realm (basically similar to Report Writer). Customer logo could be uploaded to the Word Template in Reports -> Template Configuration. If you are on the older version: 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0 – feel free to place logo on SOP Blank invoice Form directly in Report Writer (and manipulate Reports.dic saving techniques or on the newer versions, such as 8.0, 7.5 – save the newly created report as a package and load it in the future)
12. FRx or Microsoft Management Reporter. Well MMR seems to be very similar to FRx. Let us tell you what you do in FRx. Create new company, be sure to have to use the same ODBC DSN. Then open report catalog for the sample company, change company there and save it under new name. If your new company has one of the account segment unique, review Row Format (and sometimes Column Layout and Reporting trees, if they supersede Segment number, typically managed in the Row Format) and save it with new company abbreviation
13. Some fresh air. Great Plains version. Our recommendation should work for GP customers on the version 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0 and current one 2010/11.0 (as we are writing these lines in February of 2011). It is always a good idea to upgrade to the most recent version of your Corporate ERP system, but the real life might be more complex. One of the most typical obstacles – you may not have access to the new version registration key, as your annual contract with Microsoft Business Solutions expired (or lapsed as MBS terminology might name it). If you are orphan customer (without MBS active contract), and you do not have Integration Manager – your options might be limited to direct SQL table copying. In you are on Great Plains Select on Pervasive SQL 2000/Btrieve or Ctree, we recommend Microsoft Access linked tables to connect to your database and do all required new company creation routines: inserting, modifying and deleting chart of accounts, customers, vendors, employees, addresses, inventory items
14. Support domestically in the USA, Canada, Mexico and internationally. This option is possible via Web Sessions, Skype or Phone conferences and direct visits onsite (in the case of the large scale project). Our consulting team speaks English, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Filipino. Feel free to call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904, or email help@efaru.com
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