Software Answers

Postcode Lookups

For years you have had the ability to use postcodes to accurately retrieve addresses in the UK.  For most companies the  high cost to licence and pain to install and update was such that it was not viable however given that licence costs per annum per user where anything up to £300+. Unless a large proportion of your time was spent entering addresses the return on the cost was simply not there. 

Now however a company called World Address have changed that. First point is that you pay per query as as the pricing table shows below even for small usage its not so expensive.  At between 8p each for less than a thousand per to 7p for ten thousand plus its justifiable to make sure you get accurate addresses entered rapidly.

Secondly there are no installation or maintenance costs, its a service over the web that your systems can just call when they need it. This means that you don’t have to install it on each computer and get and distribute update files from the provider, much better.

Finally the interface we have to link it seamlessly to your existing systems is very good, From CRM, NAV, AX or Pegasus you can just enter a postcode in the normal box and a new window comes up to display the alternatives i.e the house numbers and names in that postcode, you select the one you want and it updates the relevant fields, simple and easy.

Technology Management have been using it both internally and with clients for a while now, it gets our clear recommendation. If you think it could help your business let us know. 

Are you invoicing electronically?

Technology Management, in partnership with Equisys, has introduced an electronic document management solution, Zetadocs, which integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics NAV. We can provide advice on how adopting a secure, sustainable approach to invoicing can benefit your company.

With seamless integration to NAV, Zetadocs allows invoices to be delivered via email and/or fax, providing the following benefits:

· Reduced costs - no postage, reduced stationery and less time spent by staff preparing invoices

· Improved cash flow – delivering documents in real-time encourages faster payment

· Increased efficiency – time spent preparing and sending invoices can be spent on other tasks

· Improved customer service – automatic archiving of documents allows quick retrieval for quicker query resolution.

· Reduced carbon footprint – eliminating paper from your invoicing process can help your organisation meet sustainability targets.

Electronic Invoicing for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web Event

Our software partners Equisys are running a series of free webinars. The upcoming event on “Electronic Invoicing” focuses on how Zetadocs can help you improve business efficiency and save you money:

Date: Wednesday 22^nd February 2012

Time: 3.30pm

Cost: FREE

To register for the event follow the link: http://www.equisys.com/products/zetadocs_for_nav/einvoicingwebinar.html

For more information on how Technology Management can help your business, contact Jason Tromans at Jason.Tromans@tecman.co.uk or call 01902 578300

Dynamics CRM Update ‘R8’

So in the last twenty four hours the web has been alive with tweets welcoming the announcement of what will be in the Dynamics CRM Q2 2012  update codenamed R8. Titled CRM Anywhere it includes two major highlights allowing CRM systems to be accessed from as many devices as possible in as many different places as possible plus four other “enhancements”. What does it all mean for you?

• There will be a mobile app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone devices
• It will support other web browsers than Internet Explorer, such as Firefox, Chrome and Safari
• More social network integration (improving the activity feeds introduced in R6)
• Industry templates to get new customers started quicker
• Support for SQL 2012 including its new Power View BI tool and links to Azure
• More security certifications for CRM Online such as SAS70 Type II, Safe Harbour & DPA 

Well we were at the announcement in person at ExtremeCRM conference in Berlin so got the detail that is maybe not highlighted in the official announcement document.. 

There is no doubt the most exciting bit is that Microsoft is launching their own Mobile app. This is in fact a version of the CWR mobile application that's been available for some time and now we have the full detail we know that despite communicating through Microsoft’s data centres it will connect to both our hosted and clients on premise applications that have been setup with an Internet Facing Deployment. It costs $30 per month per user but you can access it from as many devices as you like so those with a phone and a tablet will not have to pay twice.

A few will like the ability to use other browsers and the same for the ability to filter, like and unlike activity feeds but for me the best news is the early support for PowerView which is a really strong Excel add in for analysing data. Reporting in CRM is already strong in 2011, made stronger in R6 with more graph possibilities including 3D out of the box but will be unbeatable by any application in my judgement once PowerView is in the mix.

The good news in that this announcement is making all the mobile partners like  Resco look at their pricing and most are likely to match Microsoft’s price point if not better it, bringing down the slightly prohibitive entry level costs to date. Even better  ones Resco  can support all the standard entities such as service cases which appear missing on the MS option as well as allowing customisation to a far higher level. That means the tailoring you’ve had done to make your CRM fit your business will be possible on the whatever device your using too.  

And finally you don’t have to wait, either the CWR or Resco options are available now rather than waiting till Microsoft release in the the October/November timeframe (their Q2 is our Q4) so if you’d like to try it out give us a call.

Assistance PSA for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a truly versatile product allowing for customisation and development of xRM solutions to support your business processes. Out of the box, CRM provides tools to enable us to customise the product in order to work with and not against your organisation. Microsoft Dynamics CRM also allows for the use of managed solutions to enhance the existing software to provide tailored solutions for different industries or aspects of functionality.

Technology Management are happy to announce that we are now partners with Assistance Software and certified to deliver Assistance PSA, their solution for the professional services market. Assistance PSA provides a total solution for professional services that extends CRM to manage:

• Project and Contract Management
• Project Calculation and Estimation
• Sales Forecasting
• Project and Resource Planning
• Activity Gantt Chart Planning
• Time and Expense Registration
• Invoicing

All of this from within a single application!

By utilising Assistance PSA within your Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation it truly provides a 360 degree view of your professional services delivery from opportunity management through to project completion.

Over the next few weeks I will be writing posts to cover different aspects of the solution however if you would like any more information in the mean time please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Dynamics NAV 7 missing Forms

Information about the next version of Dynamics NAV is starting to hit the public domain now think and fast. Michael Neilson, one of the people in charge of NAV development, has just posted a screenshot of the new ‘classic client’ replacement onto the community Mibuso site.

Three points to note,

1. There are no Forms, forms are dead, you will not be able to upgrade to NAV 7 with forms, you have to use RTC pages.
2. There is a new option of Query to help simplify reporting.
3. The Run button is not active, you cannot run NAV business logic from the classic client.
4. Its headed Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment and its only to be used for development. This means ‘classic’ reports no longer work as well.

Its worth taking all of the above into consideration when planning enhancements to your systems, make sure they are RTC based and have a long term future.

Current date for NAV 7 release is September/October 2012.

Dynamics NAV via a Browser & Sharepoint

Last year Microsoft announced that the next version of NAV (codenamed NAV 7 but likely to be called NAV 2012) would allow you to access NAV not only via the full RTC windows client but also via a standard web browser and also through SharePoint. Now we have the first screenshot examples of how it will look that are not covered under the non disclosure agreements that we normally see previews under. As you can see it is completely recognisable and pretty cool.

And the SharePoint alternative looks good to, web parts from NAV can be mixed on pages with any other SharePoint web parts such as document library's.

Scheduled release seems to be September/October of 2012. You could be using this before the year is out!

QR Codes now available in Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Quick Reason Codes are barcodes for the 21^st Century (well ok they were devised in 1994).  Because they work in 2D where data is stored horizontally and vertically like a crossword, they contain a lot more information than a standard barcode and as a result have a greater range of application.

Because QR codes can be read with a camera this makes them more accessible than the standard barcode.  Many people now have phones and tablets with a built-in camera and web connection.  All you need on top of that is a barcode reader app.  These are free, can read both QR codes and standard barcodes, and are easy to use.  Simply placing the QR code in the frame will activate the QR code’s function. This can be anything from opening a website to picking an item out of stock.

So why all this talk of QR codes?  The clue is in the title.  Microsoft have released an add-in for Dynamics NAV that allows it to create and use QR codes.  A quick update to your NAV implementation will enable QR codes to be placed almost anywhere in the NAV environment – pages, forms, reports, you name it.  So once you’ve got the ability to show and print QR codes, how are you going to use them in a way that improves your business?  Here are four ideas we’ve come up with:

 

1. Warehouse Stock Tracking

- Items can be scanned in and out of locations around the warehouse as usual.  The twist is QR codes carry more information enabling additional traceability.

2. Point of Sale

- Customers with a loyalty card printed with their own QR code, can wave the card under a webcam at the point of sale.  From this action a discount could be applied to their purchase, trading details brought up on the screen, loyalty points added to their account etc.

3. Track and Measure Trends

- By allowing your customers to vote for products you can track and measure what they’re thinking and plan for the future.  This can also work internally to see which systems your colleagues are using the most.

 

4. Promotion

- So you send out an invoice to a customer.  Payment is made.  End of transaction.  Well what if you put a QR code on the invoice that will take your customer to your company website?  As an example, scan the QR code at the top of this blog post and see where it takes you.

- Notice that the code has our company logo on it?  Another exciting feature of QR codes is that they can be customised.  As long as 70% of the black/white pattern remains visible the code will scan accurately.

 

If you have Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 or R2, or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 SP1, then this is a simple update that opens up all sorts of opportunities for improving efficiency in your business.  If you’ve been holding back from upgrading then this may just be a good enough reason for you to make the jump.  The ideas above aren’t the only way to use QR codes.  Take a little time and think how QR Codes can improve your business.

DynamicsFood Events

With the latest release of our DynamicsFood software (combining Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Certified for Dynamics add on, SI Foodware) due at the end of February, we have been busy updating our website and arranging some events to coincide with this.

We will be demonstrating the total food journey right through from the initial entry of the sales order using various different methods,via purchasing,production and quality control and ending with the final delivery of the goods to the end customer showing you where your business can save time as well as improve accuracy and traceability.

 

Events will be held at our offices in Wolverhampton, Microsoft’s offices in Reading and the home of Yorkshire County Cricket, Headingley during February and we look forward to welcoming everyone to these. To book a place, please register at www.tecman.co.uk/events or spend some time browsing our new website at www.dynamicsfood.co.uk and register from there!

If you can’t make these dates but would like to know more, please contact Claire Evans at claire.evans@tecman.co.uk

Incorrect Year-End Date in Pegasus Opera II / 3

 

Incorrect Year End Date

One common support call that we receive, particularly at this time of year, is a problem with the year-end date. When the Sales or Purchase Ledger transfer to Nominal is attempted in the final period, the system date is set to the period end date as normal, but a message comes up to say something like:

Unfortunately the period end date is occasionally set incorrectly for the next year when the Nominal Year-End routine is run.

To resolve this issue, you need to access Nominal - Utilities – Set Options and go to the Calendar Tab.

In the Calendar tab, amend the Year End date to the correct date and click OK.

This message will appear.

The Rebuild Periods Routine must be run. This is found in the Nominal Utilities Menu.

You should select “Yes” to Rebuild Nominal Periods and then select “Yes” to continue. It does not normally take much longer than 1 minute. It would be advisable to remove all users from the system before running this process.

Once the Period Rebuild has been done, the Sales Ledger Transfer to Nominal should work fine.

To prevent this problem from happening in the future, please go and check the year end date as soon as you have run the Nominal Year-End Routine.

There is no harm in checking the year end date at any time during the Nominal year, and if you make the change now, it will prevent the warning message in the final period of the year.

New Schedule of Free NAV workshops at TecMan announced

The popular free monthly workshops that have run for several years, are now scheduled for the 1st quarter of 2012.

We are covering VAT settlement returns and reconciliation, Jet Reports and Fixed Assets.  These run at our offices in Wolverhampton and hosted by our support team which means its a guaranteed sales person free event! 

If you have a support contract or are interested in moving your support across to Technology Management, book on, meet the team and maximise your investment in Dynamics NAV by finding out what's possible with the software.

Book on at www.tecman.co.uk/events

Liam