BroadPoint Technologies and CCH partner to help manage State Sales and Use Tax Compliance

In a healthy economy most state and local tax revenue will usually increase and go a long way in helping to fund the needs of a state and the given localities; however, when economic conditions change to the downward side, such as we are currently seeing, state and local governments are forced to take measures to help them deal with their own tax revenue shortfall. It is a safe bet to assume that audit activity is already on the increase nationwide. Desperate times require desperate measures, and like any other functioning entity, state and local governments also will have to do whatever they can to generate the additional needed revenue that is required to run the state.

Broadpoint Technologies in partnership CCH helps to solve the grueling experience of sales tax compliance, monthly tax processing and sales tax audits. With solutions that are directly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics GP and SL, CCH helps companies cut the cost of sales tax compliance, reduce your audit risk, and streamline your operations. CCH can help teach what's new with automating sales tax and Dynamics GP and how to eliminate manual calculation, address verification, and preparation of returns.

BroadPoint is currently the 4th highest fundraiser for the AIDS Walk of Washington 2009!

Check out BroadPoint's Team Page for the upcoming AIDS Walk of Washington.

BroadPoint's Bethesda office is participating in the race and has made some great fundraising goals!

AIDS Walk Washington is a 5K fundraising walk and timed run benefiting and produced by Whitman-Walker Clinic. Whitman-Walker Clinic is a non-profit community-based health organization which provides dependable, high-quality, comprehensive and accessible health care to those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

In Washington D.C. 1 in 20 people has HIV. BroadPoint is proud to join the community in raising funds and awareness!


You can help us reach our goal!
.

We made the cut!

BroadPoint Technologies Ranks Number 17 on Top 100 VAR

Accounting Technology, a trade publication ranks the top value added resellers for accounting soluitons each year and this year BroadPoint made number 17.

Check out the full article here.

Todd Hager appointed as Treasurer of DC IAMCP

 

Todd Hager is Vice President of BroadPoint Technologies and a frequent contributor to our blog! He is also involved in the Washington DC International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners (IAMCP). Most recently Todd was nominated and appointed to the position of treasurer for the IAMCP.

 

IAMCP exists to help Microsoft Partners Grow. With an ever growing membership of the areas top Microsoft Partners our Chapter is dedicated to helping Microsoft Partners Grow. As treasurer, Todd will be responsible for annual financials and reporting for the DC local chapter.

 

The IAMCP DC Chapter holds specialized events, parties, and seminars to enable better partnering opportunities within the Microsoft Partner community. 

 

Check out their website: http://www.iamcp.org/washingtondc

 

 

Tip of the Week from Brenda Hopkins - Week 2

Account Rollup

This Feature is an inquiry that you build which allows you to see various GL accounts rolled up together and the ability to drill down into the account details. If you need to look at groups of accounts this is the inquiry for you. You can even perform calculations! Reports can also be printed from these Inquiry Screens.


Additionally, you can perform calculations on those accounts.We use this for all kinds of things like:
· What's the Fixed Asset total across all divisions.
· What's the commission allocation based on sales.
· Useful for things like departmental totals with drilldowns.
· Accounts do not have to be consecutive.
· Rollups can include Actual, Budget and Calculated information.

Traditionally users have been using FRx will to do this type of consolidation, but I don't want to launch FRx and run financial statements just to get a breakdown of my FA accounts.

In Dynamics GP, select Inquiry->Financial->Account Rollup


Enter an Option ID, tab and click yes to add the option or Modify to create new options or make changes to the Account Rollup Inquiry Option.


Account Rollup Inquiry :
Controls on the right let you see net change or period balance totals. If you want to see what makes up the total number, select a month and click the blue column header.

Account Rollup Inquiry Options:
You set the number of columns you want to see up in the right side. If all you want is totals, one column is fine. For calculations, use at least 2 columns.

In the center, you set the types of columns, but we'll come back to that. At the bottom, you add criteria like accounts, departments, divisions, etc. UNLIKE OTHER GP criteria areas, you can multiple independent criteria here. So if you want to see department A and Department C but not Department B. You add A, then add C.

Now, to get really fancy, you can ad calculated columns to a rollup. Simply create or modify (with the button) a rollup.

Change the type from Actual to Calculated. In the Selection column, click the More Info button. This is a little arrow.

My example is Commission on Retail/ Parts Sales. Let's say, I accrue 8.9% of sale as a commission accrual. My first column is my monthly sales for the Retail/ Part Division. So I'll pick the only available column in the column box and hit the double arrows (>>) then add the multiply sign (*) then in the constant box I'll add .089 and hit the double arrows (>>).


You formula now looks something like C1 * 0.089. Save and refresh and you get a report with sales and the commission allocation for each month.


This is great for all those estimates you do every month. You can just take the numbers and do a JE.

Click the HRP icon and nothing happens…

How many of you have been recently completed your upgrade to version 10 and
noticed when you click the HRP icon and nothing happens…

I know many of you have been there and know what I’m talking about.

This is an annoying bug, guaranteed to be fixed in 10 SP 4, but many of you may not want to wait any longer.

[45647] HR/PR Area Page doesn't show up first when select navigation button for HR/PR

There is a solution that has created by the Microsoft developer support team that fixes the issue,
using the Support Debugging Tool, as a Microsoft Partner BroadPoint has access to this tool.

If you would like to get this problem resolved now contact BroadPoint Support.
Support@BroadPoint.net

Tip of the Week from Brenda Hopkins

Brenda Hopkins is MBS Practice Manager for our Virginia Beach office. She has many helpful insights and will be posting often!

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Correct Journal Entries

Reverse and Replace a Journal Entry using functionality found in Transactions>Financial>General>Correct.

In version 8.0 Microsoft introduced Journal Entry corrections and copies.. You now have the ability to undo a journal entry, easily, and with a complete audit trail.

In Transactions->Financial->General, select Correct. You now have an option to Back Out a Journal Entry or Back Out a JE and create a correcting entry.

You will also need the JE number (you can look it up) and year of the entry you want to correct.

What happens behind the scenes when you Back Out an entry is that GP creates a duplicate, opposite JE with a new JE number to offset the one you want to correct. If all you need to do is undo an entry, simply post your correction and you're done.

If you also select a correcting entry, the first entry created is the Back Out entry. When you post or save the Back Out entry, a second entry is created. This second entry is your original entry as a new, unposted JE that you can make changes to.

Both the Back Out and the correction are normal JE's that can be save to a batch, changed, posted, made reversing, etc.

Some obvious uses:

• That batch of month end accruals was accidentally posted in next month. Simply pull up the JE, do a correction to back it out of next month, and change the date on the correcting entry to the correct month.
  
• The 150 line JE keyed incorrectly.
  Use this tool to Back Out the incorrect entry and then correct the entry.
  

 

A related feature is to Copy a JE. It is the same process, just click copy instead of correct. This is great when you need to create a JE just like the one you did last month!

 

By default, Correction only works for transactions that originated in the General Ledger. However, the administrator can change this behavior.

 

Tools>Setup>Financial>General Ledger now has new check boxes to control this functionality.

 

Voiding/Correcting of Subsidiary Transactions

Mark this option to allow transactions originating in other modules to be voided, backed out, or backed out and corrected in General Ledger. Voiding transactions originating in other modules will not update the transactions in those modules.

Why it makes sense to focus on CRM in the current economy

By Todd Fleming

Senior Consultant, Microsoft Business Solutions

IT spending in the current economy is expected to decline in certain areas but not all. A recent Gartner Study showed that enterprise applications including ERP and CRM was number 2 on the 2009 Top 10 Technology Ranking Priorities list. "In 2009, companies must do more with less as they strive to provide high levels of customer service with limited resources. But while CRM will be geared more toward client retention during this Great Recession, as time goes on, the ability to define, clean, integrate, and manage vast customer data will be at the center of the enterprise." - Stephen Loynd, program manager, IDC Contact Center Services program

The importance of customer retention:

• Major global corporations now lose, and must replace, half their customers in five years. A typical company's customers leave at a rate of 10% to 30% per year. Frederick Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits and Lasting Value
  
• Increasing customer retention by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%. Bain & Company
  
• Patronage by loyal customers yields 65% of a typical business' volume. American Management Association
  

How can CRM help improve customer retention?

To understand how a CRM solution can help with customer retention it's important to look at the four major reasons a customer leaves a company.

1. They die or are no longer buying products and services you supply
   
2. They are unhappy with the price
   
3. They are unhappy with the product
   
4. They think that you do not care about them
   

Rockefeller Corporation shows that 68% of customers leave because they think that you do not care about them. Since this is the biggest reason that customers leave a company let's focus on that reason and a few areas where a CRM solution can help overcome this.

It is important to know who your customers are.

Keep track of your customers and all of their interactions in a central repository. Let your staff in every department know who your best customers are and more importantly be sure that they are treated as such.

• When using CRM as a central repository, activities and notes from all departments provide a more complete view of the customer allowing staff to better understand and serve the customer's needs
  
• CRM should be used across all departments to manage tasks, scheduling of follow-up phone calls and appointments with customers
  
• CRM should be used to track specific customer interests and demographics so that they can be selected for fewer more targeted campaigns
  
• CRM should be used to store all customer information and interactions so that reporting and business intelligence tools can be used to provide useful insight into customer trends and identify problem areas
  
  

It is important that you communicate with your customers.

• Workflow rules can automate repetitive tasks allowing a salesperson more time for personal communication with customers
  
• CRM can be used as a central repository for recording customer information such as birthdays, special interests and hobbies. This will allow the staff to build a more personal relationship with their customers.
  
• Workflow rules can manage case escalation so customer service requests are assigned to the appropriate parties and are followed up within acceptable time limits
  
• Staff can run reports and filtered lists to monitor customers that have not had any activity within a certain timeframe and be pro-active in scheduling follow-up calls, appointments or emails to reconnect with these customers
  
  

Your competition is constantly trying to make your customers their customers. Knowing more about your customers and keeping in constant contact with them can help reduce the customer attrition rate. A well designed CRM solution will allow you to store and analyze key customer information, uncover and respond to any trends, and identify new opportunities with existing customers.

How can integrating Business Applications help grow your business?

By Todd Fleming,
Senior Consultant, Microsoft Business Solutions, BroadPoint Technologies

The goal of integrating business applications is to consolidate key data from all systems that are customer touch points into one system accessible to all departments within your company. This allows each person within the company to have a complete view of the customer without having to research the customer's activities in all business applications used by the company. It allows your staff to sound more knowledgeable about your customers needs and therefore able to respond quicker to their inquiries.

Why retaining existing customers is so important

• Research has shown that a 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10% and a 5% reduction in customer defection rate can increase profits by 25-125%, depending on the industry. ("Leading on the Edge of Chaos", Emmett C. Murphy and Mark A. Murphy)
  
• "It costs the average business 5 to 10 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain and existing one." The Loyalty Effect & Loyalty Rules Marketing Metrics 2002
  
• Most business leaders (80%) believe they do a good job in building customer relationships, while only 8% of customers agree, according to research from The Whetstone Edge
  

Benefits of integrating business applications

• Allows you to better understand your customer's needs
  
• Allows you to more quickly respond to customer inquiries
  
• Provides for a more personal relationship with your customers
  
• Provides for better analysis and future decision making in meeting your customer's ongoing needs
  
• Reduces the need for duplicate entry and increases data accuracy
  

Things to consider when choosing an Integration Solution

The ideal integration solution allows the company's applications to communicate and exchange business transactions, messages, and data with each other using standard interfaces. It enables applications to transfer data in real-time or in scheduled batches in either a bidirectional or unidirectional configuration. The four elements needed in an integration solution include:

• Management - The Integration solution should include an interface for data administration and data management tasks. The interface should allow for management of rules, scheduling of jobs, system configuration and other administrative tasks such as configuration of alerts and notifications.
  
  
• Data Cleansing - Data cleansing tasks should be part of the integration process prior to loading the master data source. The integration solution should include a tool for cleansing and matching data and the ability to update records when matches are found.
  
  
• Customer Cross Reference - An Integration Solution must include customer reference data for all connected applications and must communicate any changes in the master data to all affected applications. The repository needs to have the ability to manage unique master record keys and associated cross-reference keys that link back to source systems.
  
  
• Scalability - An Integration solution with low cost of ownership for enterprises requires the ability to easily extend the solution to other data sources or eliminate existing data sources as your business needs grow and change.
  

When implementing application integration technologies, the idea is to make the company more effective, more profitable, a better business partner and more accessible to its many clients. Integrating business applications allow you to consolidate and manage customer information from all available sources so that all departments in the company have access to the most current, complete, and comprehensive view of customer information. Doing so can greatly aid in the customer retention and customer acquisition process having a positive impact on your company's profitability.

 

 

What are you looking for?

By Kyle Kienzle, Account Executive
BroadPoint Technologies, Raleigh NC

Some reporting guidelines, capabilities, and tools often asked about by my Microsoft Dynamics GP clients are:

1. SmartlistBuilder - This tool allows the user to extend the query capability in Smartlist in Dynamics GP to span different modules and datasources. SmartlistBuilder has been well received by BroadPoint clients. Many of the clients that I am in contact with tell me that it is "used hourly" and "the starting ground" for many of their workdays. It is best for quick views and inquiries.

2. SRS (SQL Reporting Services) – This is a packet of reports and reporting tool, all free, provided by Microsoft and deployed by BroadPoint. There are some automatic template reports and more can always be tailored for your organization by BroadPoint.

3. Microsoft FRx is a mid-market financial reporting tool. It is used by most of our clients for financial reporting due to its many capabilities. A FRx report allows a scale of information from the summary financial level to the single transaction level in Dynmaics GP.

4. The inherent report writer comes with about 150 reports per module, over 2000 all together, making it the main reporting engine. The report writer will be the primary source of reporting because adjustments can easily be done and shared.

5. There are free Excel reports already created as well that are embedded in the Dynamics.dic. A user can go to the Reporting Tools Setup window and deploy them.

6. For advanced reporting – there are a number of ISV Solutions available, each with different pros, cons, and price points. A few examples: Prophix, Solver, Targit, ProClarity, Zap Technology, etc.

If you would like more information please do not hesitate to contact me!

Parkinson's Law applied to Project Management

By Todd Hager, Vice President at BroadPoint Technologies

Cyril Northcote Parkinson posits in a 1995 essay for The Economist that, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” He went on to provide a mathematical equation that was used to show the rate at which bureaucracies bloat over time. (I love Wikipedia..)

What is the implication for completion times of project tasks? Assume that a particular task estimated to take 7 days actually is completed in four days, does the performer deliver it to the next resource person? Not likely. Because the time estimates given are negotiated numbers, reporting an early finish of a task means that future estimate given by the project worker will be trimmed by the manager.

To avoid this possibility, rather than report early task completion, the worker is likely to spend the extra time performing checks and adding nice to have "bells and whistles" not strictly required by the specifications. Result? Extra time gained is wasted. The key here is to be aware of this phenomenon and guard against it by getting early completions identified, taking advantage of the resulting schedule slack.

BroadPoint consultants and project managers strive to complete projects on time and on budget while at the same time keeping a steady eye on the momentum of the work to gauge how best to achieve the greatest results in the least time regardless of the plan.

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For more from Todd Hager please visit his blog.

User Adoption – The Key to CRM Success in a Sales Organization

Beth Scheidt is CRM Practice Manager here at BroadPoint and our guest blogger today.

User Adoption – The Key to CRM Success in a Sales Organization

By Beth Scheidt

CRM systems are implemented for a variety of reason in a Sales Organization but generally with one common goal – to improve profitability. The IT departments may implement CRM to reduce the number of systems they are supporting. Marketing may implement a new system to improve their lead management. The executive team may want a CRM system to gain greater transparency into their pipeline.

The success of the goal hinges on the group of people least likely to have a reason to implement a CRM system and most impacted by the change – the sales staff. The key to a successful CRM implementation is sales rep adoption of the new system.

Try to imagine the point of view of the sales staff. The top sales reps already have a system that is working well for them. Why should they change? For those reps who are struggling, it is often viewed as a means to justify letting them go (which frequently does happen). There are several ways to help bring this critical group of people to the table and improve your chances for successful user adoption.

First, be sure to include them in the implementation process from the very beginning. They should be included in the system selection and design as well as testing and final roll out. Ask for their input and be sure to use it. Be aware of their time constraints, too. Time is money for the sales rep. So, every minute they sit in meetings is potentially a lost sale. The inclusion in the process will help build system ownership. As part of this process, be sure you pick the right sales reps to participate. Look to include those reps who are seen as leaders as well as those who are early adopters. However, you should always include those who are slower to adopt change. Their cautious approach will often provide insightful additions to implementation.

Second, make sure you have the right sales process in place before you choose, much less implement, the CRM software. Sales processes are often very messy. Executives often choose to implement CRM to clean up this process. However, the best practice is to make sure you have a working, well defined process in place BEFORE you implement CRM. Knowing your process will also help you understand which CRM tool will work best for you. Another clear benefit of having a solid process in place prior to an implementation is that only the CRM software will be new, not the process, too. The CRM tool should also be able to automate the process in many ways. Another plus for the implementation!

Third, be sure you implement the appropriate data security model. Sales organizations that are implementing a CRM system for the first time are also most likely introducing the concept of shared data, too. Sales reps need to have confidence that their data isn't going to be changed or deleted in error. A sure way to lose your user adoption is have them revert back to using their personal Excel spreadsheets because that's the only data they trust.

Fourth, make sure management is leading by example. So many times, sales reps are slow to use the system, hoping that the lack of use will make the system fail and go away. And that tactic works more often than you would think! However, if management relies on the data in CRM to manage the staff, the sales reps will be inclined to use the system. This goes double when executives use CRM data to manage their company. Management needs to be visibly and vocally using the data, especially pushing back on old or inaccurate data. If management isn't using CRM data to manage sales, it will be a fast path to low user adoption.

Fifth, be sure you don't create a system that becomes a sales prevention tool. Sales reps make money for your company by interacting with people not machines. Don't design the sales process so that sales reps are required to enter burdensome amounts of data. Keep data entry to the minimum and assist with dropdown lists or automated workflows and data population whenever possible. Whenever you add a piece of data to be collected, always ask how that information will help them sell. Out of the box CRM systems always have fields and entities that don't apply to every organization. Remove any unnecessary or only nice to have fields and entities at the start of an implementation. Those can always be added later when the basics are covered. Keep it simple to start with!

Sixth, make sure you have a very responsive support plan in place during and after the roll out of the system. Provide users with a knowledgeable and responsive help desk to handle technical or training issues that come up during the roll out. Make sure that support and training aren't just for the roll out but are planned for going forward. A support plan sends a clear message that the system is there to stay. On the subject of training, provide appropriate training based on the sales reps needs. If you need to train the sales reps for more than a day on the system, then you have probably implemented the wrong system. There should also be a process for implementing changes to the system. Requested changes should be given due consideration and implemented when deemed appropriate.

CRM implementations are most successful when you treat the sales staff as customers. They need to be sold on using the system, too. Take every opportunity to point out what is in it for them and be sure there really is something in it for them. Have the end users get the basics down first. Phase in changes to the system rather than overwhelming them with a plethora of new changes. Take care of your sales reps and your user adoption will happen.

Who's your Source on That? Creating Source Control for CRM Customizations

Please meet Michael Dodd, BroadPoint CRM Consultant, he will be posting often to provide insights into CRM and Tips and Tricks for users.

Part 1 of 2: Suggestions for CRM Customization Versioning in Team Development

By Michael Dodd

One of my newest CRM books is called "CRM as a Rapid Development Platform" by David Yack. The book is probably the first CRM 4.0 book that only covers CRM Development. The book's focus is on using MS CRM 4.0 as a platform for Line of Business applications. In doing so, Mr. Yack touches upon some of the pain points experienced with CRM 4.0 Team Development. The top 2 pain points will be the focus of this 2-part blog post:

1. No Versioning/Source Control in the CRM Entity Customization UI (10 out of a possible 10)
2. No Intellisense for Client Side (JScript) Coding (9.5 out of a possible 10).
   

No Versioning/Source Control

This is most evident in developing client side (JScript) code for a given entity, whereby developers can over-write someone's code with their own revisions and publish these changes without ever knowing they were stepping on the other developer's toes. As you may or may not know, this will all change with CRM 5.0, where they have finally departed with the quick-to-deploy, yet “versionless”, customization UI and added a new "Solution Deployment" UI, which will not only include files for Source Control, but native versioning and roll-back features.

I have created my "Top 5 Ways We Can Improve CRM Team Development" below.

1. Do all CRM Customizations & Development on a Shared Environment - This is possible the most obvious yet most ignored step to improving team development. If the client does not have a development environment, we should create a shared virtual environment that everyone can access (and have local access to via diff disks). This would contain all the necessary development tools (CRM, VS, SQL, SRS, Scribe) as well as an instance of Visual SourceSafe.

2. Treat CRM Customization Files as Source Code - First, all CRM Customization should be done against a Blank Solution in Visual Studio. Next, create separate folders for each Entity being customized. Finally, you must keep each Customization.xml file and all supporting JScript (as .js files) for each CRM Entity being customized (and checked into SourceSafe) in the appropriate entity folder. This will allow for some semblance versioning for each CRM Entities, Workflows, Sitemap and ISV configurations. It will also provide (albeit somewhat flawed) roll-back capability.

3. Standardize Naming Conventions for Customization files

4. Have a Scheduled Deployment of CRM Customizations - Whether it is nightly of weekly, developers must be in sync with the team's changes. one of the biggest reasons we step on each other code is because of a lack of organized deployment of code to the "Master" (or Testing/QA) environment. This will also keep "quick changes" from messing up your code

5. Use Descriptive Comments in your JScript Code

Hi from Tunesia Winn, and check out a GP user site

Hi there! My name is Tunesia Winn, Account Manager for the VA - Central VA, Richmond & Hampton Roads area here at BroadPoint. I am one of our Microsoft Dynamics customer’s dedicated advocates and specialize in keeping you informed about events, support plans, tools, and training options.

I wanted to take this opportunity to mention the Microsoft Dynamics GP User group site. The site URL is http://gpug.com/. This is an international community site and was created to allow GP users the freedom to share thought, tips, tricks & advice across the board. Members are also allowed to form Regional groups and plan events.

I absolutely love this site!

If you have any problems using the site or want to talk about other ways I can help please let me know. In addition, I would be happy to spend time with you to plan your system roadmap and help you find the right products to meet your company's future needs and goals. Please feel free to contact me at anytime to answer any questions and/or help you find solution!

Way to go Ann and Serguei!

We are very excited because two of our consultants, Ann Lehew, and Serguei Popovski have received certification for the Dynamics GP distribution module. They are both already master certified in Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 in general but went for a more specific certificate with the distribution module. The distribution exam is specific to all the distribution modules and extends their Dynamics GP 10 expertise to be more inclusive of all modules. This is beneficial for our clients as they will then have comfort in Ann and Serguei providing knowledgeable and efficient support so that they can have more efficient operations.

Creating iQA Business Objects from User Defined tables

A frequently asked question from clients starting out with the iQA query tool is:

“I’d like to join the CSContact object to the User Defined table (ex. Demographics) but don’t see anything in the iQA ‘Common’ list of objects or anywhere else. How do I get Demographics (or any other table that isn’t in an object) into a query object?”

From the iMIS 15-iSA tab (accessible to iMIS system administrators) click the 'User Defined Tables' item on the left nav menu....

then click the 'Build All' button

Your user Defined tables should then appear as business objects available for use in iQA queries.

iMIS: To insert special foreign language characters

To insert special foreign language characters …

Character Map

Locate the desired character

Click ‘Select’

Click ‘Copy’

Then paste (Ctrl+V or Edit>Paste) the special character into the necessary field position.Note: The alternate keystroke entry option of the Alt key + number sequence for special character entry.

Note: On my Dell D630laptop I do not have a dedicated 10-key number pad…to use the ALT+0241 keystroke command to insert the “ñ”.

For example I have to turn on the ‘number lock’ then holding down the ‘Fn’ key and the ‘Alt’ key simultaneously enter the numbers 0-2-4-1 on the letter keys (m-k-u-j) that also serve as an embedded 10-key number pad…the standard laptop number/symbol keys DO NOT WORK…going to the Character map and copying the special character is easier…each laptop is independently owned and operated..actual mileage may vary…see participating McDonalds for availability in your area…

Character Map Overview

You can use Character Map to view the characters that are available in a selected font. Character Map displays the following character sets: Windows, DOS, and Unicode. You can copy individual characters or a group of characters to the Clipboard and paste them into any program that can display them. Or, depending on the program you are using (such as WordPad), you can even copy characters by dragging them from Character Map directly into an open document.Using Character Map, you can search for characters by Unicode character name or Unicode subgroup (such as arrows or mathematical operators) or by other special classifications.

You can also use Character Map to view and copy private characters that you have created using Private Character Editor. If you know the Unicode equivalent of the character you want to insert, you can also insert a special character directly into a document without using Character Map. To do so, open the document and position the insertion point where you want the special character to appear. Then, with NUM LOCK on, hold down the ALT key while using the number pad keys to type the Unicode character value.

International characters
Environment: WIN_SQLSERVE:Version: 4.29.17.02Module:SYSTEM

Description: Can iMIS support International (foreign language) characters?

A. iMIS supports International characters like ñ. ç, é, è, ò, etc. These characters are supported via the font and inserted by keystroke combinations. To determine what keystrokes will insert a specific character, go to Start>>Programs>>Accessories>>Character Map.

Keywords: foreign characters French letters

E-Procurement as Counter-Cyclical

This is Brinton Baker and I lead marketing and business development for Paramount Technologies. We’re the leading global provider of Employee Workforce Automation software; we automate your procurement, project, time and expense transactions to deliver reduced transaction costs and enhanced process efficiencies that will streamline your employee management and procurement processes, improve your employee productivity and accelerate your business.

In this challenging economy everyone is trying to manage costs. Perhaps surprisingly then, we are seeing increased interest in e-procurement solutions. It’s not hard to figure out why. According to a leading industry analyst firm, e-procurement can:

• Achieve 5% - 10% price reductions through improved contract compliance
• Reduce order requisition costs from $114 per order to $31 on average
• Shorten purchase and fulfillment cycles from 8 days to 2 days
• Cut in half instances of maverick purchasing
• Lower inventory costs for indirect goods by 25% to 50%

The bottom line is that less money is wasted on inappropriate purchases and excess inventory, better prices can be negotiated, and employees are more productive. Just what businesses need these days.

How is this possible? Businesses typically spend between 50% and 80% of revenues on the procurement of external goods and services, so even small cost improvements can quickly yield significant bottom line benefits and create sustainable year-over-year cost reductions to support continued profitability and growth.

Paramount Technologies has proudly partnered with BroadPoint Technologies since 2004. If you would like to find out if e-procurement will help your business, or if you are currently using Dynamics GP Requisition Management and want to see how much more is possible, call BroadPoint to arrange for a personal demonstration.

Nadia Isata Back from Convergence!

Hi Everyone,
This is Nadia Isata, Account Manager for the Washington DC Metro area here at BroadPoint. I am our Microsoft Dynamics customer’s dedicated advocate and specialize in keeping you informed about events, support plans, tools, and training options. In addition, I can spend time with you planning your system roadmap, and finding the right products to meet your future needs. Simply put, I am available to answer any questions, find you a solution, anytime!

I have recently returned from Convergence, Microsoft’s Dynamics annual end user conference, in New Orleans. What an amazing four days! We were able to learn so much, and had such a fun time connecting with everyone. If you have never gone, I would really suggest attending. Next year’s Convergence is April 25- 28th in Atlanta.

One of the most popular sessions at Convergence this year was, "50 Tips in 50 Minutes for Microsoft Dynamics GP." The session included tips for financials, purchasing, sales, reporting, and system topics. It was such a great session, that I thought that I would share with everyone. Click here to download.

Why Should Our Organization Invest in a Social Networking Tool When We Can Use Facebook for Free?

As you discover the new world of social media and social networking and evaluate whether it’s even good for your organization, you may be asking yourself this very question. Most organizations are very excited by the use of social networking tools and offering this powerful tool to their constituents, but most often ask the following questions:

1. Especially in these tough economic times, why would I invest in a social networking tool for my organization when I can offer it to them for free through facebook?

2. Will my constituents/customers use this tool? Our constituents are not in their 20’s….

Consider the following in your evaluation of social networking tools for your organization:

We think Facebook is a great tool for organizations to reach out to large numbers of potential new members/customers, and encourage organizations to consider using Facebook for that purpose. Then, once users are interested in the organization, they should be redirected to join the organization’s own Social Networking community site.

Facebook is a purely social networking site, and was not designed or intended to be an organizational or business environment. The Facebook groups functionality is really designed primarily to let friends touch base with one another. It’s terrific for that! But, it’s lacking most of the collaboration and communication tools included with more professional social networking applications that are so valuable to an organization and its members/customers. With Facebook:
• There’s no bridge to your internal database. So, no single sign on; no coordination of profile information; and no linking of groups.
• The users are on Facebook’s website. They’re not within the organization’s website environment.
• The organization may not even get credit in the eyes of the participants, because anyone could set up a Facebook group for that organization’s constituents.
• There is no email listserv (probably the most-used feature of professional social networking tools).
• There’s no library for sharing documents (other than photos and videos).
• There’s no wiki for collaborating together on a document.
• There are no administrative reports or administrative controls.
• The discussion board allows nothing but plain text, instead of the feature-rich WYSYIWYG editor and the ability to embed images and attach documents that professional social networking tools provide.
• There are no personal or group blogs.
• There is no search capability—an almost fatal lack for any real business use. How can participants use it to share knowledge effectively if they have no way to find that knowledge?
• There is no flexibility of set up (as compared to the hundreds of configuration options in professional social networking applications).
• And, finally, there’s no real branding for the organization other than a logo.

All of those features are included in a professional Social Networking application and more.

Another very important differentiator is the treatment of data and privacy. The data in Facebook is subject to Facebook’s terms of service which give it much more control than a business organization would want. Facebook just recently tried to assert that they owned all of the content created or uploaded by users, and could use it for any purpose they wanted! That effort was beaten back, but there’s no certainty that they won’t find some other way to use users’ data.

In addressing the concern as to whether your constituents (especially those over the age of 20) will use a professional social networking tool offered by your organization, consider the following information reported by GuideStar and gathered through a Deloitte survey:

Social media is here to stay. A survey by Deloitte reported that 43 percent of Internet users over the age of 61 spent time sharing photographs with people. Some 36 percent watched and read personal content created by others. And surprise: the average blogger is a white, 37-year-old male with an average annual income of nearly $56,000. For organizations, that profile is prime for targeting as a potential customer, member, or donor.

Soroptimist on BroadPoint Implementation

Tim Riley, former IT director for Soroptimist International speaks about his experience with iMIS and a BroadPoint implementation.

"I think the key to the upgrade process is having a really good reseller who know s the upgrade process and has done it with previous customers”



“Overall we are very satisfied with the implementation it went on time and BroadPoint Technologies our reseller, did a great job of doing our data conversion and getting us live when we expected.”

To learn more about what a BroadPoint implementation of iMIS can do for your organization please give us a call at 1-888-920-2784 or email Allison Brown.

Meet Allison Brown

Hi Everyone,This is Allison Brown and I am a Account Executive at BroadPoint Technologies in Bethesda, MD. I focus on providing business management software to Not-for- Profit organizations. Previously, I spent a number of years implementing crm, accounting and e-marketing solutions.

In light of the current economic climate, I focus on helping organizations to do more with less resources utilizing technology. Not-for-Profit organizations have more limited funds with donations down, professional memberships more scrutinized, and possible reductions in force. As a result, success in 2009 is dependent on the ability for organizations to provide high value at a low cost.

I hold regular webinars and presentations to our customers and prospective customers on how you can utilize technology ( much of which you may already own) to achieve success in 2009!

Please contact me or sign up on our website through the ‘Events’ page.
Look forward to discussing with you!

Allison Brown

Hi Everyone,

This is Kyle Kienzle and I am the Account Executive for BroadPoint Technologies. I cover the Greater SouthEast for BroadPoint assisting clients find the right solution (and thankfully so as North Dakota has a slightly different climate J). Previously, I spent a number of years at Microsoft supporting various modules within Great Plains and Solomon. I really focused on GP’s Project Accounting as that appeared to be the greatest need for clients yet caused the most headaches! Over my years of working with the product at Microsoft and VAR’s, have run into about 20 solutions - and below are the most noted. Each has different strength, weaknesses and of course, price points. This is not a comprehensive list, but some of the main players within GP:

Dynamics GP Project Accounting
Wennsoft
Shining Brow
Olympic Project Cost
The World Online
Encore
Tenrox

To find which is right for you, just reach out to me and we can discuss.
Kyle

Welcome to BroadPoint's Tech Topics!

Hello and welcome to BroadPoint's Tech Topics Blog. My name is Elaine Crooks, and I am the Marketing Manager her at BroadPoint. We will be using this blog to communicate faster and less formally with our clients and colleagues.

Tech Topics is designed to be an outlet for our intelligent consultants to share ideas, best practices, opinions and news. So while topics may vary they will (almost) always be interesting to someone!

Please come back often for tips and tricks using several different systems ranging from Microsoft Dynamics GP, and CRM to ASI’s iMIS. Or look at custom solutions we have built for organizations just like yours!

We will also announce events like free training webinars and webcasts and let you know when we will be attending events and conferences (because where we are is a hot topic – we know).

Thanks for visiting, come back often - and if you are interested in BroadPoint Technologies for any membership management, accounting, or customer relationship management solutions please do not hesitate to visit our website www.broadpoint.net or call 1-888-920-2784!