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Dynamics GP Only For Big Organizations?

Well, it probably depends on your definition of “big.” Microsoft defines its mid-market as
companies with revenues of $5 to $500 million. $500 million is big, but Microsoft has a pretty hefty range at work.  The bottom line is, there are a lot of $5 million companies running Microsoft Dynamics GP,  and depending on what your business objectives are, the savings in a cloud environment mean much smaller organizations find that GP often has a niche to meet their needs. In fact, a good number of our newest accounts at SMB Suite have been smaller organizations jumping up from Quickbooks.

Whether or not GP is a fit for you also depends on your budget. If you have $600 to spend on software, go with QuickBooks. Microsoft Dynamics GP is not for you. But if you’re willing to consider the real cost of software that no longer meets your business needs, you might come to the realization that $600 is just money wasted if QuickBooks falls short of your requirements.

Here’s an analogy that I just made up on the spur of the moment. Once upon a time, you had only
1 sales rep working for your company. And your phone system had only 1 outbound line. Most of
the time that sufficed. Now there are 4 sales reps working for your company and you still only
have one outbound line. So sure, you can say you have a phone and it doesn’t cost a lot of
money, but at any given time you have 3 sales reps sitting around doing nothing as they wait for a
phone line to free up. It’s pretty obvious from my rather silly example here that this would not be a good business practice.

Can you really afford to have 3 sales reps twiddling their thumbs? What’s the cost to you in lost
business? Are you in the business of paying people to do nothing? And do you doubt that my analogy holds water? Let’s look at software now. Once upon a time, you were a one-person shop. You bought QuickBooks. Maybe it was even recommended to you by your accountant. It was really, really cheap and easy to use, too. A good deal.

Now you’re a 10 person company. There’s you (the owner), your son or daughter who just joined
the business, 4 sales reps, a marketing manager, office manager, bookkeeper, and a customer
service rep. Your accounting needs have grown beyond the basics that QuickBooks provides.
Your business is more complex. Maybe you should look at QuickBooks Enterprise. But (and hey,
you had to know there would be a “but”) you’re also continuing to grow. You’re moving into new
markets. Your transaction volume has tripled in the last 5 years. How much longer will an edition
of QuickBooks meet your needs?

So do you spend money moving to QuickBooks Enterprise now only to find out in a year or two
that you’ve outgrown that, too?

It’s time to move up to the next level altogether. Do you actually know what a one or two user
Microsoft Dynamics GP system costs, or have you just heard rumors? And a better question might
be, do you know how much you GET when you purchase Dynamics GP? That’s an easy question.

Here’s a list of all the modules that some with Dynamics GP right out of the box:

Top 5 Reasons to Use SMB Suite for Your Business

SMB Suite is the industry’s first fully integrated cloud subscription-solution for accounting, productivity, collaboration, and Ecommerce designed with your business in mind.  Here are the top five reasons why you to use SMB Suite to exceed your business needs.

Dynamics GP And Advanced Reporting

Many insurance businesses, government contractors and other organizations with complex reporting needs find their cloud ERP home with SMB Suite because of our flexible integration options and the superior customizaton of Dynamics...

Read More

Where QuickBooks Falls Short Part II

According to PartnerCompete, Quickbooks online has had a surge of growth in Q4 of FY10 in
spite of multiple outages in the service. This doesn’t surprise me for the most part. In a recession,
people are forced to start over and try for their dreams of owning a business. But with this, also
comes growth of businesses and outgrowing Quickbooks online is fairly easy to do.

I’m sure you have run across a few comparisons of QuickBooks vs. Microsoft Dynamics® GP, so
the first thing you should know is that QuickBooks Online currently does not provide purchase
orders or inventory tracking. Reports and graphs are available, but not as many as in QuickBooks
desktop-based. Report customization also is somewhat limited in QuickBooks Online. So if you’ve
already determined you’ve outgrown QuickBooks, you have definitely outgrown QuickBooks
Online.

Where QuickBooks Falls Short Part I

QuickBooks is one of the most popular small business accounting systems on the market. There is no denying the success of the product with over 3.5 million users. For the money,...

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What the CFO Wants From Cloud ERP

SMB Suite is unique not only for it’s 24/7 helpdesk and total-integration cloud solution. It’s also a company that was founded by CPAs and others with strong public accounting backgrounds. I recently asked our CFO about his perspective on what matters most in financial accounting software:

His unabridged reply:
10. Ability to track customer credit lines and insure we are not increasing our exposure
9. Ability to know what inventory shortages exist and be aware of them as they happen
8. Ability to assemble the financial reporting package for the Board
7. Ability to identify slow moving inventory items
6. Ease in which to export data to Excel spreadsheets for analysis
5. Ability to interface with Microsoft Office
4. Ability to track customers’ purchasing behavior on a product by product basis
3. Ability to break out information by segment
2. Ability to generate relevant information from raw data
1. And the number one reason is: The ability to access the information I need, when I need it and
how I need to see it without requiring significant effort from the IT department or the Accounting
Department staff to generate it.

In my role, I speak with literally dozens of prospects every week. And I would concur that our
CFO’s number 1 point above is the most common complaint I hear from finance professionals
about the shortcomings of their current system, be it QuickBooks (compare QuickBooks and
Dynamics GP), Peachtree, Sage MAS90/200/500 (compare MAS90/200 and Dynamics GP), or
whatever. Access to information (not just data) is a key reason for evaluating Microsoft Dynamics
GP. It’s what keeps the C-level executives up at night. Hopefully with the right system in place,
these executives have peace of mind.

There’s a lot more information comparing Quickbooks to Our Cloud ERP Offering in our resource centers!

LinkedIn + Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales = Coming Soon!

Announcing the Microsoft Relationship Sales solution coming SOON—bringing LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Dynamics 365 for Sales together to build and manage customer relationships.

Sales Navigator by LinkedIn provides an integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales (CRM) solution.  The sales tool for prospecting and Insights will be available through LinkedIn Sales Navigator combining two leading Sales solutions at one low price.

Three reasons to check out Sales Navigator:

1. Targeting the ideal buyers and organizations

Find the right people quickly with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Easily save leads and create a sales lead list to focus on buyers that matter. This sales tool also features a sophisticated algorithm to give you lead recommendations that are tailored to you.  Find key decision makers from over 500 million LinkedIn members and determine the best path to reach them, including introductions from colleagues.

2. Managing relationships at scale

Increase your sales pipeline, keep data in sync, and engage buyers with relevant content throughout the account lifecycle. Understand buyer intent and follow up effectively.

3. Engaging buyers with personalized outreach

Sales is all about building relationships. Designed for sales professionals, this sales tool helps you build trust even before the initial conversation. LinkedIn Sales Navigator has the tools to help you stay informed and up-to-date on contacts and accounts. Be in the know with timely and accurate information to turn cold calling into warm conversations.  

 

 

 

Steve’s been with SMB Suite since 1998 and has been involved with nearly every aspects of the Company’s business as a strategist, professional services executive, cloud solutions architect, and senior consultant. In his current role, Steve is responsible for SMB Suite’s revenue and oversees the execution of ERP, CRM and BI projects for customers across a broad range of industries. Steve combines his expertise in MS Dynamics GP, CRM and other Microsoft products with a strong foundation in accounting and business to identify gaps and streamline customers’ processes. Prior to co-founding SMB Suite, Steve was previously Corporate Controller for MEHLE Behr and, prior to that, Audit Senior for Ernst & Young. Steve holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Jeremy is responsible for SMB Suite’s technology vision, strategy and implementation and is the architect of the Company’s Dynamics Cloud Platform. Highly adept in every facet of managed services, ERP systems and e-commerce platforms, Jeremy’s expertise spans the implementation and support of business and financial software solutions, as well as the customization and integration of SMB Suite’s cloud ERP technology stack. He holds numerous Microsoft and industry-related certifications, and was primarily responsible for designing the Company’s progressive business services platform in the early days of the Cloud. Prior to SMB Suite, Jeremy served as the financial analyst, systems administrator, and information systems liaison for a $2 billion financial services corporation.

Monty is responsible for SMB Suite’s day-to-day operation and, most importantly, its customers. As a leader, motivator and mentor, Monty creates loyal high performance teams willing to “walk through walls” to accomplish their goals. Prior to SMB Suite, Monty served as President of The Bradshaw Group (TBG), a global distributor, manufacturer, and repair facility for digital printers. In this role, he was the Company’s ambassador to its most important domestic, European and Latin American customers and TBG achieved a best-in-class Net Promoter Score of 74 for its superb customer satisfaction. Prior to TBG, Monty served as the General Manager of Sam’s Clubs three highest grossing U.S. stores and was named Regional Operator of the Year in 1999. Monty holds a BBA in Marketing from Texas Tech University and is an active member of Business Navigators. He has been active in Vistage International, Executives in Action, the Dallas/Fort Worth Retail Executives Association, as well as, A.P.I.C.S., the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management. Monty also volunteers with Hunger Busters and ManeGait, a therapeutic horsemanship organization.

David is a proven financial and information technology professional with expertise in providing business accounting software and computing solutions. He began his career by starting and managing a successful independent consulting practice for several years. He then launched the local systems consulting unit of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Services Group, leading the office into the hi-tech consulting arena. After successfully developing the unit for Ernst & Young, David founded NextCorp (which became SMB Suite in 2013) to serve the business software needs of clients throughout the US. David has made SMB Suite one of the best cloud ERP providers in the industry. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur and leader, he is a software and technology specialist, holding certifications in various Microsoft and other technologies.