Many of know that Dwight Specht doesn't mince words, he whacks them with a meat cleaver. This is appropriate for a man whose posts have been compared to a Tarantino movie. Just before Convergence, Dwight went off his meds with an epic, ranting partner post. Don't worry, he's back on medication as evidenced by his follow up, but the verbal rampage is a fun read, in a "don't let kids watch this movie" kind of way.

Big annoucement for Microsoft Dynamics GP’s Extender module | Victoria Yudin

Victoria Yudin notes that in a Big annoucement for Microsoft Dynamics GP’s Extender module , Extender is being discontinued as a Microsoft Dynamics GP module with GP 2013 and returned to eOne. I had seen this in the SPLA announcement but that wording wasn't clear about whether or not it applied only to online implementations or to all implementations.

I've got a bunch of thoughts around this:

• Extender isn't dead, if you like it, its still available from eOne.
• Developers hated Extender but it was really nice to have for mods where using a developer was really overkill.
• Dynamics AX has a reputation for being extremely flexible but difficult to implement quickly and consistently. It's getting better at that. GP has a repuation for quick, consistent implementations but its not as customizable as AX. Extender went a long way toward making customization concerns go away. Especially since the Extender fields would upgrade.. It seemed as if GP and AX were moving toward each other in terms of both consistency and flexibility. I consider the loss of Extender a step backward.
• I've heard from a number of people that the Microsoft Dynamics GP team is shedding products where Microsoft paid outside developers to maintain parts of GP. These include Extender, Audit Trails and the Concur connector. This seems to be a cyclical process that Microsoft periodically goes through. Then at some undetermined point in the future they realize that they have too many developers on payroll and the pendulum swings the other way.

VAR 2.0 « The Death of Reason

Dwight explores the idea of VAR 2.0 at the Death of Reason.

Dynamics AX and Enterprise Agreements–What Next? « The Death of Reason

Dwight explores Dynamics AX and Enterprise Agreements–What Next?   for partners.

7 Years of Failure

Today is the 7th anniversary of DynamicAccounting.net. In 7 years I've failed a lot.

• By the end of the day this blog will have over 4,870 posts on Dynamics GP, but I didn't make 5,000 posts in 7 years. I Failed.
• At this point my Twitter followers are stuck in the low 900's. I failed to hit 1,000.
• I've failed to change the behavior of any number of people who continue to do dumb things with Dynamics GP. I Failed
• I've failed to make a million dollars with this blog. (Not that there was ever much hope in that.) I failed.

The funny thing about failure is how you measure it. Measuring against a goal, something is a failure. Measureing against results, it's a success. For example:

• I'm happy that though I haven't yet hit 5,000 posts, it will happen before year end and I added more than 1,300 new posts this year.
• While I haven't fixed everything in Dynamics GP (I'll get right on that) we all made strides together this year by highlighting Microsoft Connect items that we would like to see in future versions. I also think more and more of the basics of how to setup GP effectively are spreading through the community. We're building a body of knowledge that helps everyone.
• I have made a little dough through some great blog sponsors and those of you who were kind enough to buy my book. I'm writing another so start saving now.

Dynamics GP 2013 is going to be the best release ever and yet they will fail. Some features won't make the cut. Something you want won't be in there. I already know of something that I really wanted in the product that didn't make it so I'm right there with you. But here is the thing about failure, we can shoot for crazy goals and fail. In the process, we still do some pretty incredible things. We could choose instead to chase easy goals. Everyone is a winner, everyone gets a trophy and everyone is bored. I think I'll keep failing for at least one more year.

Competing Against NetSuite - Inside Microsoft Dynamics GP

Jay Manley talks about Competing Against NetSuite and the confusion they spread around the Cloud. According to a Slashdot story that popped up right after I saw Jay's post, 51% people in a recent survey thought that stormy weather interferes with cloud computing.

Clearly we all have a lot of work to do.

[To pontificate briefly, accounting is accounting. we did it for 500 years on paper, by hand, apparently wearing little green eye shades. We can automate the rote pieces with computers just as engineers can automate calculations when designing a bridge and doctors no longer have to wait weeks for lab results. However, like Engineering and Medicine, Accounting remains a profession and no amount of automation (on premise, in the cloud or up someone's behind) can replace the judgment and expertise required to ensure proper control, accuracy, timeliness and usefulness of financial information. If anyone tell you differently, run. I've cleaned up too many messes created by someone playing accounting.]

Real Life vs. House of Lies « The Death of Reason

Dwight is back a with a look at Real Life vs. House of Lies.  As usual, his intense jealousy of my hair causes him to take an unwarranted swipe at me.

[For those of you who don't know, Dwight and I have worked together on and off for the last 13 years. I've foolishly signed up to report up through him twice so ultimately the jokes on me.]

Windows 8: One Week or So « The Death of Reason

Dwight's been playing with Windows 8: One Week or So  He comes to basically the same conclusions I did...more than a month ago.

It's been a good couple of months for Fastpath

If I were Fastpath, I'd be wondering where all the free marketing was coming from and how I could get more. The last several months have seen a number of unrelated items all point to Fastpath's products for users of a Microsoft Dynamics ERP system.

For those of you not familiar, Fastpath makes security related products for all of the options in the Microsoft Dynamics line. For Dynamics GP specifically they offer:

Config AD - Single sign on and security management tied to active directory. Yes you can log in to GP using AD.

Audit Trail - Transaction auditing.

Assure - Separation of Duties evaluator for Dynamics GP. This doesn't get enough airtime but for risk junkies it's pretty cool.

Audit View - Audit/Security report scheduling and delivery.

It all started with the July issue of Journal of Accountancy which profiled ten years of Sarbanes-Oxley. I thought, hey, SOX generates plenty of Audit Trail and Assure work for Fastpath. Thought drifted away into the ether.

Then my much anticipated August J of A arrived (they are all much anticipated, don't read anything to the August part) . Lo and behold, it's all about fraud and we're back talking about security control, auditing and separation of duties.

[Sidebar: For fun, checkout this this fraud, described at CFO.com, that included the CEO colluding with the HR manager because the CFO “always demanded proper documentation”.]

Finally, MSDynamicsWorld.com is reporting that Microsoft is killing the native Audit Trail module in Dynamics GP. Frankly, MS bought this functionality and doesn't appear to have ever spent a dime improving it. I think they got tired of trying to support it.

 So in a couple of months span, Fastpath has two J of A issues, not just articles, dedicated to needs and problems that their products help solve and a major competitor exits the business. (By major competitor I really mean inertia and the idea that "It's included so let's try to use it".)

Yep, they've had a couple of good months. If they are smart, they'll leverage these marketing gems for a long time to come and hope for September J of  A hat trick.

Dynamics GP Land: Dynamics GP Customers: Demand Good Service!

Steve Endow tells Dynamics GP Customers: Demand Good Service! I've said many of these same things over the years. Steve gets it just right.

Longtime GP ISV David Eichner Running for Congress

David Eichner, long time owner of Dynamics GP solution provider ICAN Software Solutions, is running for Congress. Many of you know Dave from Convergence and other events. It's fun to see a CPA and one of our own running for office.

You can find our more at www.welikeike.org

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Is Microsoft Dynamics AX Becoming the Betamax of the ERP World to NAV's VHS? | MSDynamicsWorld.com

Writing at MSDynamicsWorld.com, Sam Vin-Dycan asks Is Microsoft Dynamics AX Becoming the Betamax of the ERP World to NAV's VHS?

What does this have to do with GP you ask? Well the arguments that Sam makes about NAV & AX with respect to the UK market have a lot of similarities to GP and AX in the U.S. market. It's worth reading.

CPM, Financial Statement Analysis and the Grumpy Old Accountants

At Decisions 2012 (free registration) I’m presenting an introduction to Corporate Performance Management (CPM). We will look at what CPM is, what it isn’t and see some representative software options for the mid-market.

CPM can help you better manage your planning, budgeting, reporting and forecasting process. In the end, one output of CPM is a set of financial statements. But what do those financial statements REALLY say about your company?

If you’re intrigued by financial statement analysis, or simply want to know if you’re ailing company is going to survive the next two quarters, I’ve become a fan of Grumpy Old Accountants and recommend that you check them out as well.

Their analysis of Groupon in particular was a fun read, especially when contrasted with Facebook. We make choices about how we treat and present financial information. Our choices say a lot about our organizations.

The Cloud Isn't the Answer - Inside Microsoft Dynamics GP

Errol Shoenfish emerges as the voice of reason in his post The Cloud Isn't the Answer

The answer is always “it depends”. Each business  is unique. Each solutions should be as well.

You are a Writer–So Start Acting Like One

I write..a lot more than even I realize. I have regular monthly columns at MSDynamicsWorld.com and the Dynamics Community site. I have book that was a best seller for the publisher and a spin off. I’ve written six well received short stories with another one due soon. I’ve written more original blog posts than I can count…but I don’t think of myself as a writer.
I’m a CPA. I’m a consultant. Now Jeff Goins has made me realize that I’m a writer. I’m not a writer because I’ve done all of those things. I’m a writer, because I write.
Jeff was kind enough to give me an advance copy of his new book You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One).  I’ve mentioned before that Jeff’s previous book, The Writer’s Manifesto, is one book that I never archive from my Kindle. I think that You Are A Writer is the same type of book.
You Are A Writer is a short, easy read. It mixes kick in the pants inspiration with practical tips for getting writing done and getting your writing read. I ripped through it an evening and got up from the couch with a desire to go write something.
Even for people who don’t think of themselves as writers, much of this book applies to other creative endeavors. But, many people write more than they think. For example, a colleague was writing documentation for a project. When she got done, the documentation was 250 pages long. That’s the length of a book, but she doesn’t think of herself as a writer.
Whether you think of yourself as a writer or not, pick up a copy of You Are A Writer, you may be surprised.

I Want To Buy Off Your Website But It’s A Hunk of Crap–A Rant « The Death of Reason

Dwight riffs on an issue that I’ve been touching on lately. Specifically, I Want To Buy Off Your Website But It’s A Hunk of Crap–A Rant

We’re Not Charging Enough for Microsoft Dynamics GP | MSDynamicsWorld.com

My contention is that, especially in the enterprise space, We’re Not Charging Enough for Microsoft Dynamics GP. My arguments are up at MSDynamicsWorld.

Let the comments begin.

DynamicsBlogger: Partner Point: A proactive approach MUST

Janakiram M.P. makes his point about A proactive approach by partners in a post up at DynamicsBlogger.

Brass Tacks: What Really Matters in a Consultancy? « The Death of Reason

Dwight Specht looks at What Really Matters in a Consultancy?

I haven’t talked to Dwight about this but my thoughts are in the comments at the end. Hint: I disagree.

Dynamics GP - Learn & Discuss: Microsoft KB Articles - Is it really confidential?

Vaidy digs into Microsoft KB articles and asks “Is it really confidential?”
I’m glad Vaidy brought this up, I’ve had the same types of questions come up and I generally agree with Vaidy’s stance. If something is in the wild any way (some has blogged on it, written an article, etc) or if I’ve solved something without a KB and then found the KB later, I’ll blog about something with a link to the Knowledge Base article. If the KB gave me the answer, I’ll point to it instead of spelling it out.
Here is the problem from my point of view:

• Microsoft probably marks way too many items as confidential
• Searching the KB is still very bad so we want to help folks with issues and when we see a solution we want to share and promote a solution. Heaven knows we’ll probably never find that KB again.
• But Microsoft makes money of CustomerSource and PartnerSource and the fact that access is behind a password. If you don’t pay for enhancement/support, you don’t get CustomerSource.

I’m not knocking Microsoft for that, they have a right to charge for access to support and these articles are definitely support related. I’ve had people ask for items and when I point them to the KB they tell me that they’re not on a support plan and don’t have access to CustomerSource. Unfortunately, the answer is tough luck. Even in my book there are a few cases where I point to the KB to go beyond the book.
As partners of both our clients and Microsoft we sometimes have to walk a fine line here. There is certainly nothing wrong with pointing someone to a KB. Nor is there anything wrong with pointing someone to a non-kb resource that answers their questions. However, I wonder about folks who reproduce wholesale KB’s for public consumption. Then again, there are partners out there who have taken my 50 tips content, ripped of the I.B.I.S. name and presented it as their own. There are also people who steal my book and try to offer it for free so I’m not sure why I’m surprised at a little CustomerSouce scraping.