What happened to Microsoft Dynamics GP Accounting Software?

Microsoft Great Plains Accounting, currently known as Microsoft Dynamics GP. It is still a powerful financial accounting software designed to expand and streamline workflows of small and mid sized businesses. Microsoft Dynamics GP provides solutions not only in financial management but has advanced applications and modules for supply chain management, human resources, project management, manufacturing, ecommerce and more.

This ERP platform seamlessly integrates with hundreds of third-party applications from independent software vendors to better fit your business requirements. These add on tools can often replace expensive and hard to maintain customizations to the core system. In this article, we will focus on what Great Plains accounting has become and what it can do for your business.

Great Plains Accounting Solution

Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains Accounting Software) centralizes and tracks financial data across your entire business, allowing you to accurately set and stick to your budget, as well as identify regions of profit where you can invest and scale your business. Advanced analytics in the system give you the ability to forecast your financial inflows and outflows and spot areas that may need improvement. You can use your favorite Microsoft products such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word, allowing you to easily share your data across other platforms.

Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains Accounting Software) can become even more valuable when it is combined with analytics tools. At Dexpro Dynamics, we offer several one hour training courses like this one - Visualize your General Ledger Dynamics GP Data in Power BI. In this free session, one of our Microsoft Dynamics MVPs, Belinda Allen, will show you how to analyze the data from your General Ledgers in a more simple and efficient manner.

Reporting should never be an issue in Microsoft Dynamics GP. Outside of Power BI, Microsoft rewrote all of the internal GP reports in SSRS, SQL Server Reporting Services. Every client now has over 200 Microsoft Dynamics GP reports that export to many different formats as well as include wanted by management KPIs. Those reports can be accessed from inside as well as from outside of GP. If you have users that need to only access reports, save your money on additional user licenses and deploy SSRS reports. There are also over 200 live Excel reports that come with every system. They include Dashboards and carry similar information to existing SmartList reports. Those reports can be deployed in minutes and also allow users to access them from inside and outside of GP. Instead of exporting Smartlists to Excel, you can access live Excel reports and save yourself a step in a process. Also, keep in mind that we can customize both, SSRS and live Excel reports to fit your reporting needs. A great example is to get those reports for consolidated reporting in a multi-entity environment.

Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains Accounting) now comes with a professional services tools library (PSTL) which include financial tools like account modifier and combiner, checkbook modifier, fiscal period modifier, GL master triggers and payroll tools like certified payroll report and employee modifier. These and other PSTL tools help keep your data consistent and enhance the entire experience inside Microsoft Dynamics GP. Previously this was an expensive add on but it has been included at no charge since the licensing change.

Another handy feature you have access to with your Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains Accounting) is electronic bank account reconciliation and other electronic bank module functionality. It will automate bank reconciliations. Many clients are unaware of modules like Safe Pay (Positive Pay) as well as the ability to send ACHs from within GP. Every Microsoft Dynamics GP license includes those modules. Below is a list of all features that are included in Microsoft Dynamics GP perpetual license:

Account Level Security
Account Rollup Inquiry
Advanced Analysis Cubes Library
Analysis Cubes Library
Analytical Accounting
Auto PO Generator
Bank Reconciliation
Bill of Materials
Business Alerts
Cash Flow Management
Cashbook Bank Management
Customer/Vendor Consolidations
Customization Site License
Dynamics Modifier
Dynamics Process Server
Electronic Bank Management
Electronic Bank Reconciliation
Electronic Funds Transfer PM
Electronic Funds Transfer RM
Electronic Reconciliation Management
Encumbrance Management
Explorer
Extended Pricing
Field Level Security
Fixed Asset Management
General Ledger
GL Transaction Matching
Grant Management
Human Resources
Intercompany Processing
Inventory Control
Invoicing
Landed Cost
Language: English
Language: French Canadian
Language: Spanish
Lockbox Processing
Magnetic Media
Multi-bin
Multicurrency Management
Multidimensional Analysis
National Accounts
Payables Management
Payroll
Payroll Connect
Payroll Direct Deposit
Position Control
Purchase Order Processing/Receivings
Receivables Management
Refund Checks
Revenue/Expense Deferrals
Safe Pay
Sales Order Processing w/ Advanced Invoicing
System Manager

Some clients own Extended Pack and their License would include the following features:

Account Level Security
Account Rollup Inquiry
Advanced Analysis Cubes Library
Advanced Distribution
Advanced Management
Advanced Picking
Analysis Cubes Library
Analytical Accounting
Auto PO Generator
Available to Promise
Bank Reconciliation
Bill of Materials
Business Alerts
Cash Flow Management
Cashbook Bank Management
Contract Administration
Customer/Vendor Consolidations
Customization Site License
Depot Management
Dynamics Modifier
Dynamics Process Server
Electronic Bank Management
Electronic Bank Reconciliation
Electronic Funds Transfer PM
Electronic Funds Transfer RM
Electronic Reconciliation Management
Encumbrance Management
Explorer
Extended Pricing
Field Level Security
Fixed Asset Management
General Ledger
GL Transaction Matching
Grant Management
Human Resources
Intercompany Processing
Inventory Control
Invoicing
Landed Cost
Language: English
Language: French Canadian
Language: Spanish
Lockbox Processing
Magnetic Media
Multi-bin
Multicurrency Management
Multidimensional Analysis
National Accounts
Payables Management
Payroll
Payroll Connect
Payroll Direct Deposit
Position Control
Preventive Maintenance
Project Accounting
Purchase Order Processing/Receivings
Receivables Management
Refund Checks
Returns Management
Revenue/Expense Deferrals
Safe Pay
Sales Order Processing w/ Advanced Invoicing
Service Call Management
System Manager

Extended Pack would also have separate keys for a Manufacturing Module.

Customization Pack includes keys for Integration Manager.

All Microsoft Dynamics GP License keys include Microsoft Management Reporter. Management Reporter is an add on designed specifically to be used for financial reports. Microsoft designed it to replace the well known FRx. Management Reporter is no longer enhanced by Microsoft. However, it is not going away and it will remain as a supported product until further notice. It is a fairly intuitive product that comes with Report Viewer as well as Management Reporter Viewer for easy report distribution.

Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains Accounting) includes a variety of powerful business intelligence tools, reporting capabilities and 3rd party tools that are all too often, completely overlooked by Dynamics GP users. From the implementation process, ongoing support and training, your MS Dynamic GP consultants at Dexpro Dynamics are ready to provide you with the personalized attention and support you need to make the most out of your investment to increase efficiency and productivity.