Acumatica vs. Dynamics SL : Project Allocations
Microsoft Dynamics SL has always had a strong reputation for project accounting going back to the Smith, Dennis and Gaylord (SDG) days. One area that was always a differentiator was the Allocator module. With the Allocator module users are able to calculate and post new transactions to post to the GL and to the project. These transactions may apply indirect costs, like fringe and overhead, calculate fees and revenue or create asset entries to WIP, CIP or Unbilled A/R.
So how does Acumatica’s functionality compare to Dynamics SL’s for project allocations? We take a look at some areas below:
Say hello to Polaris Hosting!
Effective October 2017, Polaris has launched a hosting service for companies (and Polaris customers, of course!) seeking to run their ERP, accounting, or other business-critical software on a cloud-based platform. The hosting service – which is an alternative to businesses running and maintaining their own servers – offers advantages like improved security, improved reliability, increased server performance, and cost-savings. The new offering is a logical extension of our company’s core business of developing, deploying, maintaining, and troubleshooting software solutions from Microsoft Dynamics SL and Acumatica.
“We’ve been helping a wide range of clients manage their Dynamics SL- and Acumatica-based ERP, accounting, and other business software for over 10 years now, almost exclusively on their own servers or in homegrown data centers,” says our founder and president, Todd Delaney. “While there’s nothing inherently wrong with taking a DIY approach to running things on your own box, there can be considerable advantages to moving to the cloud. So, we’re excited to offer that as an option — and a broader service offering of both software and robust, remote servers to run it on.”
In launching Polaris Hosting, we’ve identified and expanded on three key benefits to businesses currently managing their own servers:
- Lower “IT” costs – Information technology is oftentimes not a core competency of many businesses. By moving software and server management outside, businesses can reduce their “IT” costs or render them more predictable, eliminate headaches, and focus on their mainline business.
- Scalability – Especially for smaller or growing businesses, needed server capacity, bandwidth, and speed can fluctuate and evolve, making it difficult (and costly) to predict and purchase the right hardware. By ‘leasing’ space in the cloud, servers can be added (or even scaled back) to stay in step with demand, web traffic, or common business fluctuations; companies reduce the risk of purchasing and maintaining equipment that can quickly become obsolete; and, with Polaris Hosting, customers can establish a ‘hybrid’ approach of in-house and cloud-based servers to migrate to the cloud gradually – or choose between a privately held or “public” server farm (such as Amazon or Microsoft Azure).
- Superior security – In the face of ever-evolving security environment, Polaris’ hosting service increases confidence, thanks to added protection, automatic server software updates (no need to track and manage updates, patches, and upgrades in-house), robust back-up power, and well-defined/documented disaster recovery.
Current and prospective Polaris customers interested in learning more about the hosting services now available from Polaris Business Solutions can initiate a no-cost server audit, consultation, and estimate with a simple email.
10 Years
I am incredibly grateful and excited to announce that Polaris Business Solutions is celebrating its 10th anniversary this February. A decade is a long time, especially for a small business in the tech world. Obviously we could not have been successful without the great and loyal customers we have been fortunate to work with over the years – some have been with us since the beginning. It has also been a privilege to work very closely with several of our vendors towards our mutual goals. And as any small business owner will tell you, they can’t succeed without their friends and family by their side – to help you through the lows and to celebrate the highs.
I am happy to say we are close to making some big announcements over for the next year that I believe will better help Polaris provide you with the high level of Dynamics SL and Acumatica support that you have come to expect from us over the years. The ERP world is changing fast and we are excited about the changes and opportunities to come.
Thank you for the 10 years of support, I feel fortunate to be able to do what I love to do. As we take the next steps towards another 10 years, we hope you will come along for the ride.
Sincerely,
Todd Delaney
How to Reopen a Period in Project Controller for Dynamics SL
If you are using Project Controller you are probably already aware that closing the period (or year) for Project Controller is different than closing the period (or year) for the financial modules. You close the financial modules (i.e. GL, AP, AR, etc.) using the Closing (01.560.00) screen found in the General Ledger processes section. But, closing the period for Project Controller is done within that module using the Close Period (PA.CLO.00) screen. But, how do you reopen a period in Project Controller?
You Should Not Rely on Spreadsheets for Cash Flow Forecasts
Finance executives and professionals must rely on purpose-designed planning, budgeting and analysis software solutions that will deliver complete and accurate forecasted financial statements for all budgeted period. Use of spreadsheets or pure guessing of anticipated future results can never deliver this level of completeness and accuracy and any cash flow projections done in this manner will be a gross estimate that should not be relied on.
Dynamics SL and Leap Day
Today is Leap Day and if you spend most of your day using Dynamics SL you won’t notice anything real different. It is, just another day. However, there are a couple places in the system you may want to check or update to make sure there isn’t any surprises.
Dynamics SL 2015 Year End Updates
Microsoft has released the 2015 Year End Updates for Dynamics SL. They include changes for 1099 and W-2 reporting to comply with 2015 tax year regulations. These updates are only compatible with the following versions:
- 2011 Feature Pack 1
- 2011 Service Pack 2
- 2011 Service Pack 3
- 2015
- 2015 Cumulative Update 1
Closing Project Year at Actual in Dynamics SL
The Close Project Year at Actual (AL.CPA.00) screen was added with Dynamics SL 2011 Feature Pack 1, which still makes this a fairly new screen. It was added with several new features including Indirect Rate Calculator (AL.IRC.00) and some changes to reports like Job Summary Report at YTD Actual and some new tables like PJPTDAIC and PJYTDAIC. So, if you are using the project series modules and trying to track your indirect rates, it is important to understand what these fairly new features do. […]
Closing Project Controller for the Year in Dynamics SL
Around this time of the year, I usually get several calls regarding when the best time to close Project Controller is. So I have created a little checklist of things to check before you close Project Controller for the year. […]