Legal Aliens

I have been quiet on the blog for a good few weeks but have certainly been very busy. I have just become a legal alien in the United States and given up the wonders of Sydney Australia for the good weather Fargo North Dakota.

Questioning the move: 

As I was coming through customs at LA Airport I passed my paperwork across the officer who looked at it, looked at me, read the visa documents again, looked up, paused for a long time and then said ‘This is BullXXXX’ no-one moves from Sydney to Fargo!! Why would you do that!!  This was not exactly what I needed my family to hear after a 14hr flight. 

I am excited to be here and especially excited to be working closely with the eOne team that have been doing such a great job on their own for the last 6-7 years.  Given 90% of our sales activity occurs in North America I am also excited about working directly with our partners and customers on a daily basis (without the time zone differences).

In my 9 days in Fargo the one thing I have noticed is just how friendly, kind and thoughtful the people of Fargo have been to complete strangers. My wife is currently reading a book entitled ‘How Fargo of you’ which is full of stories that highlight the great generous nature of Fargoans. This is certainly something that I hope rubs off on my two boys during our time in Fargo.   I also credit the ‘Fargo’ attitude to the success of eOne over the years. A team that has become known for always doing a great job,  always going the extra mile and making the lives of our customers and partners lives easier.

Mixing a little Australian adventure, risk taking and tenacity together with a big dose of ‘Fargo-ness’ and I am very excited about what eOne will achieve in the next couple of years.  We are actively growing our team here in Fargo and if you feel you can add to the eOne journey we would love to hear from you.  Call me and tell me why you should be part of the eOne team.      

Post Script Update

I had another Fargo moment just this afternoon. At lunch I went out for a sandwich and proceeded to leave  - with my wallet containing $200USD sitting on the table.  It was 20 minutes before I realized my mistake and returned to the sandwich shop.  I was not at all surprised to find my wallet sitting behind the counter fully intact with all its original greenbacks in place. Money aside - for a newbie to the US - losing my wallet containing my ID, brand new bank cards, SSN's etc would have been unbelievably painful and time consuming.  

SmartConnect and Extender Eliminate Unneeded Data Entry

Company

AstroCare Home Healthcare provides quality home healthcare for the elderly and disabled.

Project Scope

After spending valuable time completing triple and quadruple data entry in order to enter payroll transactions from a state healthcare data system to Microsoft Dynamics GP, AstroCare knew they needed a solution to automate the process and cut out the unneeded data entry. To address their need for an automated system, Tom Jenkins, Controller at AstroCare, knew exactly where to look.
“I used SmartConnect and Extender Enterprise as a Microsoft Dynamics GP partner before working at AstroCare and loved it. I had used other integration solutions as a partner, but none of them could ever match SmartConnect” commented Jenkins.

Solution

Soon after addressing the need, Jenkins put together a plan to eliminate the triple and quadruple data entry and automate their payroll processes. He used Extender to build additional windows on master cards in GP in order to cross reference some of the key fields within his outside billing system. Then, using SmartConnect, Jenkins built integrations between their outside state billing system and Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Details

AstroCare has an extremely detailed time punch system – used by several hundred employees, working for several hundred clients of the state. The system involves each employee calling in and out with their time via a phone system that feeds to the state system with the detailed time punches. Jenkins took a raw data dump from the outside system and used SmartConnect to pass that information to a custom Extender table in GP: a process that could not have happened without SmartConnect and Extender Enterprise.

Next, Jenkins created a view off the Extender table, using SmartList Builder, so he could see only the information he wanted. He then used SmartConnect to pass that information back to Microsoft Dynamics GP and create the payroll transactions required, according to the timesheet information he received. The total process saving his team an incredible amount of time.

Unlimited Capabilities

Jenkins shared his satisfaction with both products stating, “SmartConnect and Extender Enterprise have virtually unlimited capabilities. I haven’t found anything I can’t do with them yet. The more solutions I create, using SmartConnect and Extender, the more people on my team request that I create more of them!”

Interested in SmartConnect and eXtender Enterprise? Contact abbey.cooper@eonesolutions.com or danielle.erickson@eonesolutions.com for more details!

2013 Product Release Updates: Extender & SmartView

We have just released a new build of Extender Standard for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 that will allow you to upgrade from version Dynamics GP 10 as well as Dynamics GP 2010. This essentially means that anyone that was on our standard versions of Extender can now upgrade to the 2013 build.

Testing on the Extender Enterprise 2013 version is still going on and things are looking good for the June 1^st release date.

Additionally, we have released the new version of SmartView External that can be accessed outside of Dynamics GP. This version will work for Dynamics GP 10, 2010 and 2013 and is a blazing fast way of accessing your SmartLists and grouping them with easy drag and drop.

Chris Dew
Director of Product Management

eOne Convergence 2013 promos ending Tuesday (4/23)

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost a month since we all gathered for Convergence in New Orleans. Thanks again to all of you who stopped by our booth, chatted with us after (or during) sessions or caught up with us at the various events throughout the week. We loved meeting you face to face and discussing ways that we could be an extension of your business – providing solutions to meet your needs!

A quick reminder that our Convergence promos, reserved for you - our faithful New Orleans alums - end on Tuesday, April 23rd! That means you have 4 business days to get your SmartConnect trade-in or SmartView Internal/External Bundle order in to receive our discounts!

Need a refresher as to what those discounts are exactly OR have your order ready?? Reach out to us, as we’d love to help! Call 888.319.3663 or email sales@eonesolutions.com.

Tech Tuesday – SmartConnect Key Fields and Grouping

One of the most important steps to setting up an integration in SmartConnect is ensuring that the correct key fields are set and the proper grouping is done.

Key fields needs to be added in on every map when setting up the data source, these fields are used by SmartConnect to break up the data into different records that it sends through to eConnect. SmartConnect does not look at the original source to determine the keys – it only cares about what is setup in the key fields section.

An example below shows how we broke up a GL Entry map into different records. There wasn’t a journal number in the source, so the batch ID and GL Reference were the fields used to break up the data. This setup will cause every unique combination of batch ID and reference to create a separate document/record that is sent through to eConnect.

 

An easy way to test whether the grouping and key fields are setup correctly is to change the destination to GP – File and run the map. The map will then create one xml file per record – which is determined based on the key fields. If one of those files are opened up, there should be one occurrence of the header node and possibly multiple entries for the line nodes in the record.

 

Chris Hanson

Senior Technical Consultant

New SmartConnect Online Training Offering

Need some training on SmartConnect but don’t have time to dedicate two full days to it?? No need to worry – we are providing you with a few new options. Every Tuesday, starting April 30^th, we are now offering a 2 hour SmartConnect Online Public Training that will begin at 10 am to 12 pm CST. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from our experienced SmartConnect trainers live over Web Ex and walk away with a new set of skills to add to your integration tool belt.

Since we want you to take the best steps, in the best order possible, we encourage you to take each class and sign up as soon as possible (limited seating!). If however, you’d only like a small amount of training – you can do so – but just know there is a 2 session minimum requirement. Please see the class offerings below:

·         April 30^th& June 11^th: SmartConnect Install & Set Up

·         May 7^th& June 18^th: SmartConnect Basics

·         May 14th & June 25^th: SmartConnect Advanced*

·         May 21^st& July 2^nd: SmartConnect & GP**

·         May 28^th& July 9^th: SmartConnect & CRM**

·         June 4^th& July 16^th: SmartConnect & SalesForce.com**

*SmartConnect Basics is a pre-requisite.

**SmartConnect Advanced is a pre-requisite.

Want to know the steps to attend?

1.       Tell us which classes you’re interested in. (sales@eonesolutions.com)

2.       Pay for a 4 hour block of time for every 2 sessions you want to attend. (Pay for 12 hours total if you want to attend all sessions.)

3.       Receive the Web Ex invites from the eOne team.

Easy, right?

 Any questions at all? Feel free to reach out to me directly as I’d love to help! abbey.cooper@eonesolutions.com 

Also check out our Events calendar for more trainings: http://www.eonesolutions.com/Events.aspx 

SmartConnect Feature Review: Import/Export eConnect Node Definitions

A great feature we have just implemented in the SP2 release of SmartConnect 2012 is the ability to Import/Export the Nodes that have been setup in Node Maintenance. What exactly does this mean to you? Well, in the past we have allowed you to add any eConnect node into SmartConnect but this would need to be done on each Test and Production system. If you had added any list values, added any parameters (eg Binary Stream Facility ID), or changed names of the parameters this would need to be repeated in each system.

With the new release you can now Export/Import the solution directly from Node Maintenance under the following path: Maintenance-->Node Maintenance-->Import/Export.

We have wanted to put this feature in for a while now but the timing was right as we are trying to make SmartConnect even more powerful and easy to use.

Chris Dew

Director of Product Management

Extender and Extender Enterprise Release Dates

Next week we will be shipping the release of Extender that will upgrade from the Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 version of Extender to go along with the 2010 upgrade that is already available. 

The next Extender release after that will be for the full Extender Enterprise release that will support upgrades from Dynamics GP 10.0 and 2010. This version is still undergoing some upgrade testing and you can participate by exporting your current solution and sending to us to help us in ensuring the upgrades will be completely successful. Please send to chris.dew@eonesolutions.com.

The release of Extender Enterprise 2013 will be June 1st.

Thanks,

Chris Dew

Convergence Proves Again That GP is Still The Very Best Mid Market ERP Available

Convergence in New Orleans: 11,000 people, 4 days, extreme working hours, no sleep, 1000 smiles, some new friendships and way too many beverages.

My big take away from New Orleans this year is that there is absolutely no doubt that Microsoft Dynamics and specifically GP and CRM provide one of the very best mid-market solutions available. Here are a few of my thoughts as to why I reached that conclusion:

1. GP is Experienced: and has been around forever meaning it is tried, tested and an extremely solid solution. Fully functional and relatively bug free.

2.  GP customers just love it: Some folks seem to be even too passionate (a little over the top) about their software! I met thousands of customers that think their GP solution is just awesome. I want to clarify this a little - as every one of the people that love GP - put a lot of effort into making it work to suit their business. They invest time and effort into their systems and use it to do way more than just basic accounting functions.  If you want any software solution to do everything for you without putting in an effort - you will be sorely disappointed no matter how much software you purchase. ERP and CRM are complex, they must be configured, must be maintained and most of all must be deeply understood if you are going to reap the benefits.

3. WebClient:  I believe that too many people are getting hung up in the cloud. That said - the new GP web client is providing access to critical ERP functionality via a browser for those that need it. Microsoft sinking plenty of dollars into this as the delivery mechanism for GP. CRM already has a world class browser and cloud delivery.

4. Mid Market Flexibility: The happy clients I met were not small businesses. These companies are mid to large enterprises with complex needs, complex solutions and clever people to deliver them.  Many of these companies were amazed at the value for money they receive vs. a large scale SAP type ERP solution. If you are a small company wanting a generic solution that does your accounting  - then GP is probably not for you. (Go and buy NetSuite).

5. ISV community: Some call this a downside, I believe it is awesome. The ISV development community for GP and CRM is deep, experienced and passionate. This community is the envy of most other ERP solutions. The ERP that tries to build in functionality to fit every situation ' is really dreaming'. The knowledge required to truly nail these more niche solutions is something that a large ERP solution (including Microsoft) can not and do not possess (leading to half baked software releases).  If you need some extra functionality - there is an App for that.  These ISV's have been around for a long time and have deep domain knowledge in their chosen solutions. They all integrate seamlessly and closely with Microsoft Dynamics (especially as more of them take on SmartConnect as the integration tool of choice).

6. Ease of Integration:  Every business has some very business specific solution in place. It might be a point of sale system, a transaction website, an industry specific CRM or billing engine, warehouse or any number of point software solutions. This makes GP the back end core for all these systems - and with tools like SmartConnect it becomes a very simple process to integrate data in and out.

7. Clever hard working people:  This is perhaps the best and most important factor - the people I met were smart, they had good ideas, were creative and knew how to get things done. Software is no use to anyone unless it fits into the daily process of your business, and that's where people fit in.

 8. Community: The willingness to both learn and share was amazing. Groups like GPUG (GP user group) do an amazing job in connecting people who are working on the same types of businesses with similar needs and similar solutions.  Learning from others and learning their lessons the easy way is just super.  Other ERP solutions I look at would do anything for a strong user community like GP and CRM has.

You will notice that many of the points above are about people rather than technology. The GP technology is current and as good an anything in the market - but it is the people that make it a success. I for one - will continue to invest my money in my business building solutions for the Dynamics range. There is a long future for GP, and other products will come and go while creating a buzz, but GP will remain a technology leader with the best network of people supporting it.

Tech Tuesday - Calculating Dates Using Scripts

This week we're going to look at a couple specific scripts dealing with how to determine dates in SmartConnect. The first one will show how to get the last day of the previous month, and the second will show how to get the last day of the current month. The second script involves an extra step, but using these as a basis you should be able to get any other day you need as well.

Last day of the previous month:

 Dim myDate As DateTime = Date.Now.ToString("MM/01/yyyy")

 myDate = myDate.AddDays(-1)

 return myDate

The first thing we do in this script is declare the variable to hold the date, along with assigning it a value. Date.Now gets the current date, but we throw a format onto it in order to modify the date its generating. MM/01/yyyy in the format means we grab the current month and year, but the day is hardcoded to the value 01.

So if we ran the first line of code anytime during this month it would generate 04/01/2013. The second line then is simply setting that date equal to itself minus 1 day, which ends up being the last day of the previous month. By calculating it in this manner we don't have to worry about whether the previous day had 30 or 31 days (or 28), we let the .Net framework take care of that for us.

Last day of the current month:

 Dim myDate As DateTime = Date.Now.ToString("MM/01/yyyy")

 myDate = myDate.AddMonths(1)

 myDate = myDate.AddDays(-1)

  return myDate


This second script adds one extra step to the process. We are able to add and subtract months the same way we can with days on any date we have. So before we subtract a day, we add one month to the date so that it will end up being the last day of the current month.

Hopefully these scripts help out when creating new integrations where we need to calculate a date separate from what is in the source file. Using these, you could easily modify them to get the first day of the month or any other day you needed.


Chris Hanson
Senior Technical Consultant