Each business is unique including its documents entering and processing procedure in ERP system. At the same type accounting system vendors have to offer the product that fits to reasonable strata of customers to generate reasonable sales volume and profit
And plus they have to offer various setting where you can define user defined fields and tables as well as provide software development tools for those of you who has to program custom integration logic. There is also ISV partners community offering so-called ‘add-ons’ with unique business logic which might cover your modification requirements. Let’s take a look at business one in some detail regarding tailored implementation. If you are programmer then we have to apologize as this paper is not intended to be technical and it is rather for managerial team. It is always better to think about custom coding and decide if it is required or not prior to launching Microsoft Visual Studio:
1. ‘We like this system, but it looks like we have to do heavy programming to make it fit our requirements.’ This is fair statement and it is good that you like this ERP application. However it is recommended to see competitors where coding might be minimal or not even required at all. Each accounting system vendor is trying to stay behind its native logic and does huge QA work as well as releasing patches and service packs on the regular basis. Custom software development typically has single installation and there is no budget for massive quality assurance and bugs fixing
2. ‘We hate modifications but at the same time we cannot find the system which fits us hundred percent. We’ll keep doing our homework and research. We have already seen so far about thirty executive and technical demos…’ This is probably the situation where you have to lean toward accepting moderate custom coding approach. Small portion of modified logic is fine as long as you understand it technology and future maintenance
3. In-house programming versus add-ons. ISV solution might do the job but it also has some negative sides such as annual contract fee and maintenance. Plus it might offer a way more features that you really need and you feel that you have to pay for the logic that you don’t plan to use
4. Custom Software Development. It is typically done in MS Visual Studio in VB or C# projects where you are linking Software Development Kit libraries and refer to code samples in these programming languages. Here you have the ability to program integration with legacy database or text file as well as modify and extend standard user interface
5. Version Upgrade. Custom extension must be reviewed and recompiled in Visual Studio on the computer where you have new version client interface installed. This is one of the reasons to own source code of the extension. You should also understand that recompilation requires programming budget and it is good idea to test it first meaning that test upgrade project should be expected
6. Remote future. ERP applications have their life cycle and they may last ten or twenty years. However in the future you should expect walking away from the old platform and implementing something new. If you are long time in management you probably remember DOS based accounting systems such as Great Plains Accounting. Such systems are no longer supported by their original vendors and these vendors might no longer exist as well. If you are sticking to standard logic then there might be a chance to see migration tool to your future system. In the case of custom tables and code you should expect data export, cleansing and migration and the cost might be high
7. As the conclusion we would like to note that customization introduces manageable risks but it might be the recommended way to undertake assuming that you are in control of the situation
8. Please call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904 (for international customers, where our representatives pick up the phone in Naperville and St. Joseph, MI call centers). help@efaru.com. We have local presence in Atlanta, Chicago, Southern California, South West Michigan, Houston and Dallas areas of Texas. We serve customers USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil nationwide and internationally via web sessions and phone conferences (Skype is welcomed). Our consultants speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese. One of our experiences is international Corporate ERP and Consolidated Financial reporting
Dexterity Customization for Dynamics GP Evaluation Level Paper
When you are developer it is always a good idea to read technical manuals. But if you was just assigned to the IT team to decide if Dexterity is the right tool to customize your ERP application then first you need something which is in style of ‘easy reading papers’ or FAQ
Planning Dynamics GP Customization in Large Corporation
If you are reading this page then chances are high that you were not able to find ISV add-on and need customization project. Let’s talk about planning, quality assurance and future event such as version updates.
Dynamics GP Invoice Logo Attributed to Specific Company or Crossing the Borders of Three SOP Forms
Initial Great Plains Dynamics architecture had three SOP Invoice forms: Long, Short and Blank. Modern GP is popular in scenarios where you have more than three companies under one business entity umbrella
