Microsoft Dynamics GP

Article Dean Dorton

What are the signs of an unproductive accounting department? They are subtle. The important obligations still get done and major milestones get met – but never as effectively as they could or should.

The month-end close is a good indicator. Accountants have all month to plan and 12 opportunities each year to practice. It’s something that should fire on all cylinders. Yet for many, the month-end close takes days of hard work, cuts deadlines close, and never seems to improve. It’s adequate. What it’s not is a productive process that uses resources effectively.

Start looking around, and a similar problem appears everywhere. All the boxes on accounting get checked, but rarely without involving some delay, workaround, or lowered expectations. The unproductive accounting department feels like it is never caught up, fully prepared, on in control of whatever comes its way.

Adding staff or tweaking the accounting processes can help. But neither of those addresses the core problem: the accounting software. It’s either the engine that drives productivity – or, too often, the roadblock that stands in the way.

Accountants at Odds with their Software

Accounting software always starts out as a solution. It puts new tools and data in the hands of accountants, vastly improving how things are done.

But then the accounting team, company, and economy start to change. Perhaps a global pandemic breaks out. Whether slowly or suddenly, the circumstances facing accounting start to change – and yet the accounting software stays the same.

Vendors offer occasional updates (or expensive upgrades), but essentially the system in place on day one looks the same as the system years later. Meanwhile, the team using the software and the ways they are using it look drastically different. It’s that disparity – between what accountants need and what the software can deliver – that causes productivity to suffer.

The effects are small at first. But then a company takes on bigger accounting workloads as the number of employees, clients, and locations grow. Accounting needs simultaneously become more sophisticated as companies start to take on greater financial risks and responsibilities.

The disparity eventually gets so wide that the software breaks entirely. But productivity starts suffering long before that. Recognizing the problem and replacing the software (the earlier the better) is the first step. Implementing something that won’t replicate the problem is the second.

How Sage Intacct Keeps Productivity on Pace

As a leading financial management platform for mid-market and growing companies, Sage Intacct does everything. But it keeps the features updated, relevant, and productive in two ways.

First, cloud-native development means that Sage Intacct (including all accounting tools and financial data) travels anywhere and everywhere. Access never inhibits productivity. Second, free updates installed automatically every quarter bring new features, improvements, and additions to the platform on a regular basis. Stale tools never inhibit productivity, either.

Is the current accounting software pulling its weight? Contact Dean Dorton to put something more productive in place.

Stacey Neideffer| Software Services Senior Consultant
sneideffer@ddaftech.com
859.425.7739

Article Dean Dorton

Unless you are using Microsoft Dynamics GP (GP) for payroll, or you just want to be on the bleeding edge of technology, most GP users will choose to upgrade their software somewhat infrequently. They will usually stay within a version or two of the most recent. It is wise to stay on a current version of GP so that you can receive any important updates to the software. Clients that utilize the payroll module in GP are required to stay on a supported version in order to receive year end and tax table updates. Most other clients can comfortably have a little more discretion when to upgrade. Unless there are new features that would greatly aid their business process activity in the system, they may only upgrade to conform to new server operating system requirements or other requirements from third-party or connected software.

Why should I care about 1099 form changes now?

While allowing GP to fall into an unsupported version is not the best approach, it usually doesn’t cause a lot of panic. That is, until the IRS decides to make a major change to the way that 1099s are reported. Effective for tax year 2020, the IRS has changed the way non-employee compensation should be reported.  This was previously reported on 1099-MISC Box 7. Non-employee compensation will now be reported on 1099-NEC Box 1. There are few 1099 form changes, but one that affects most users is the non-employee compensation change. You can find all of the 1099 form changes on the IRS website here: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-nec.

What about software updates?

The good news is that Microsoft has released an update that will automatically fix all of the 1099 form and box changes for you. For GP 18, an update was released in early October of this year that fixed the 1099 forms and boxes. This is release 18.3.1173. This October release will also be included in the 2020 payroll year end update file (18.3.1200). There was not an October update for GP 2016. However, the 2020 payroll year end update for GP 2016 (16.00.0864) will also have fixes for all of the 1099 forms and boxes. You MUST be on GP 18 or GP 2016 to receive this update. Support for GP 2015 ended in April 2020.

What if my Dynamics GP is not upgraded?

Until your GP upgrade is complete, you will need to continue to use GP as before, entering all non-employee compensation into 1099-MISC box 7.

If you need to print 1099s out of GP and are not currently on GP 18.3.1173 or GP 16.00.0864, please contact the Dean Dorton Microsoft Dynamics GP team at erpsupport@ddaftech.com and we’ll work with you to get upgraded. Note, you must also be current with your Microsoft annual enhancement fee to be eligible to install any GP updates.  If you are on a version of GP older than GP 18 or GP 2016, we will work with you to put together an upgrade plan to get you on a current version.

What if I still cannot upgrade in time and need to print 1099 forms?

If you need to print 1099s and it is not possible to upgrade GP in time, you could use GP to retain the 1099 amounts and then use a third-party software such as tax1099.com. There are several of those 1099 filing software solutions available. If you would prefer or if you need help, Dean Dorton has team members that can assist you with printing and/or filing your 1099s. You can connect with us at erpsupport@ddaftech.com to schedule time to discuss how we can help.

Learn more about Dean Dorton’s Accounting Software services and products:

Accounting Software

Dean Dorton ERP Team
erpsupport@ddaftech.com

Article Dean Dorton

Have you found yourself or your employees scrambling to cash in checks? Are you running to the office just to manage paper invoices and process ACH payments? During these challenging times of performing work at home and keeping up with the economic turndown, it’s critical that you have the right technology tools in place to properly manage your organization’s cash flow.

Join Dean Dorton for a high-level presentation on how automation and the right tools can make your cash processing quicker and more insightful- all while letting you successfully “shelter in place” and keep it all paperless.

Anyone who plays a financial management role in their organization including (but not limited to):

  • AR/AP Specialists
  • CFOs/COOs/Controllers
  • VPs and Directors of Finance
  • Accountants, Bookkeepers, Office Managers
  • Presidents, Executive Directors

Resources:

Article Dean Dorton

In the era of digital transformation, there’s no doubt that more and more companies are turning to the cloud as they continue to scale. Technology and cloud-based systems are the next big global trend- so are you prepared to join the journey?

Join Philip Massey, Director of Software Consulting Services at Dean Dorton for a high-level overview of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central platform- the new, up-and-coming path for current Dynamics GP users.

Anyone who plays a financial management role in their organization including (but not limited to):

  • CFOs/COOs/Controllers
  • VPs and Directors of Finance
  • Accountants, Bookkeepers, Office Managers
  • Presidents, Executive Directors

Resources:

Article Dean Dorton

The announcement has trickled to users that Microsoft Dynamics GP is launching a new release on October 1st, 2019!

Typically, past releases included the year portion at the end of the release, but going forward, there will be no date.  For example, there will be no Dynamics GP 2019 R2- the releases will just be called “Microsoft Dynamics GP”.

Users are excited that there are almost forty new features and enhancement coming out with this release. For details about all the changes,  Microsoft has announced a plan to post a blog series called “Feature of the Day” to update users of the individual enhancements in detail. This blog can be found HERE.

Modern Lifecycle Policy

Another major change is that this product will now be a part of the Modern Lifecycle Policy, which covers products and services that are serviced and supported continuously. This policy is also used by Office 365 and Dynamics 365.
Under this policy, the product or service remains in support IF the following criteria are met:

  1. Customers must stay current as per the servicing and system requirements published for the product or service.
  2. Customers must be licensed to use the product or service.
  3. Microsoft must currently offer support for the product or service.

Enhancements and Features

Some of the most notable changes in features and enhancements can be found below:

Dynamics GP release
Dean Dorton is a Certified Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner and a Sage Intacct Premier Partner. If you have any questions, please visit our Contact page. 

Article Dean Dorton

This blog was reposted from our partner, AvidXchange.

We all know that the accounts payable process isn’t a straight and narrow path. Several small steps can make a big difference when it comes to paying vendors on time—invoice entry, approvals, and handling different payment methods. These steps aren’t all that simple, especially with paper.

Paper is the reason for most problems plaguing finance departments. Common obstacles that stem from paper include hours of manual labor, errors, and fraud risks that could cost your business thousands of dollars. The time and money spent solving these problems are one of the many reasons why finance decision-makers are considering a paperless accounts payable process—AP automation solutions.

Currently, there’s a lot of buzz around finance departments transforming from paper to paperless accounts payable processes. They want to reduce the time spent on manual tasks and streamline the process without missing critical steps. Businesses want flexibility, visibility, and security when paying vendors, which just isn’t possible with paper.

If your finance staff is facing any of the typical payment problems, we have four simple solutions to ease the pain:

4 accounts payable problems and reasons to seek a paperless AC process

1) Your paper-based accounts payable process makes it impossible to improve long-term strategies and visibility.

Even though paper-based accounts payable processes and strategies may be working just fine for your finance department, they’re not the best. Storing invoices, receipts, and vendor information in a file cabinet makes it nearly impossible to predict financial problems or opportunities accurately. Chances are if you’re analyzing payment data with piles of paper and Excel files, there’s a high chance of errors and limited visibility into ineffective spend or vendor costs over time. Not to mention the amount of time spent analyzing information, rummaging through file cabinets, and looking for lost printed invoices and vendor records.

With a paperless accounts payable process, finance leaders have easy access to historical payment information and customized reports to make well-informed decisions without paper or manual labor. The AP staff has all information needed for audits, tax season, and month-end closing, all in one cloud-based SaaS. AP automation’s increased level of visibility helps finance leaders stay ahead of potential overspend based on payment history.

2) You’ve established poor vendor relationships thanks to problems with paper.

Let’s face it: vendors dread calling your accounts payable department to checking on invoices or payment statuses. The reality is, that they just want their payments on time. AP specialists waste hours combing through piles of paper to answer these emails and phone calls from vendors.

Paper-based accounts payable processes often lead to late payments. Late payments and lack of communication often lead to poor vendor relationships. From a supplier’s point of view, they’re counting on your business’ payments from their sales to avoid debt and effectively manage their budgets just like your business. With paper-based accounts payable processes, it’s nearly impossible to provide vendors with real-time updates and visibility into your finance department’s accounts payable process.

The best solution to keep the supplier happy is a paperless AP process. AP automation solutions allow companies to log in to the supplier portal to get real-time updates on each invoice and view payment history without phone calls and emails. Many AP automation solutions also have the option to pay vendors in batches when using electronic payments. There’s also less worry about managing different payment types. For example, the AvidPay Network handles the heavy lifting of contacting vendors to verify payment types to save your finance department time and money.

3) You’re stuck in the Stone Age of paying with paper checks.

Why are businesses still clinging to the Stone Age with paper checks? For most finance departments, it’s convenience and cost savings. However, organizations that use paper processes often have to rely on internal processes to double check for fraud, but that’s not enough. Finance departments that stick to paper run the risk of duplicate invoices which can lead to duplicate payments. Or even worse, they may mail a paper check to a scammer who sent a fake invoice.

4) Your finance department is spending more than expected on payment processing.

Most finance leaders don’t invest in AP automation solutions because they’re afraid that they won’t see a return on the investment. There’s the common misperception that AP automation solutions are for larger businesses that have high payment volume. So, naturally, these companies stick to paper-based accounts payable processes that don’t seem to cost as much money, but in fact, paper processes cost more. On average, companies are paying $22 to process a single paper invoice. According to Due.com, some companies are spending as much as $40. If your company handles at least 500 invoices per month, you may be spending as much as $11,000 to process your payables.

Paper checks also have high costs. According to PYMNTS.com, processing one check can cost your business almost $10. That doesn’t include manual labor costs and hours spent. Multiplying these costs by the number of payments received each month can add up quickly. On the other hand, AP automation solutions cut accounts payable costs by as much as 60 percent for many businesses.