Microsoft Dynamics® accounting software drives dramatic, dynamic improvements

If your company is growing and/or accounting system software response is slowing, it’s time to look at upgrading accounting software. One option is Microsoft Dynamics® GP.

This accounting software contains 2,550 features, 1,531 more than QuickBooks® Enterprise (Source: J. Carlton Collins, CPA). These accounting software features drive better financial reporting, extensive Microsoft Office integration that’s familiar to users, and scalability for years to come. A Product Ranking competitive analysis published by The Accounting Library (March 2008) showed that Dynamics GP 10.0 met 84% of user requirements, while QuickBooks Enterprise 7.0 met 40%. (The Accounting Library is a computer-based tool that allows users to define their accounting software and business management requirements and then rank each of the 100+ accounting solutions products in its database according to how well each product met the user’s unique requirements.)

CRN Tech Magazine addresses scalability of Microsoft Dynamics accounting software: “The four-pronged Dynamics suite is Microsoft's ERP crown jewel. With Dynamics, solution providers can develop warehouse management solutions using SharePoint portals. Dynamics also provides CRM, electronic banking and e-commerce… Much of the complexity doesn't end up passed on to the end user.”

The CPA Technology Advisor gives GP 10.0 high overall marks, noting that it “made more substantial improvements than any other software I have seen in this year’s review…Microsoft Dynamics GP remains a truly diverse and solid product capable of supporting large numbers of users across a variety of industries with strong reporting, customization and extensibility capabilities.” This December 2007review further elaborates on Microsoft Dynamics GP suitability to provide a complete accounting system software package:

Modules/scalability—Business accounting solutions components include Financial Management, Business Intelligence and Reporting, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, Human Resource Management, Manufacturing, and Workplace Collaboration—“a highly stable and scalable solution capable of easily supporting hundreds of end users.”
Usability/User Experience—“…very comfortable look and feel. Version 10.0 extended the Office look and feel beyond the home page to nearly all areas within the program…Data-entry screens were improved from prior versions, allowing users to adjust the screen size…Action pane functionality seems to be a key reason for upgrading to version 10.0…”
Security—“Product security is comprehensive and well thought out, enabling administrators to control the use of the product by company, user, user class, function and field.”
Extensibility—“…highly specialized applications currently exist to help make Dynamics GP a strong fit for many industries including Education, Non-Profit, Professional Services and Distribution.”
Integration/Customization—“...very customizable and provides tight integration with the tools your staff already works with…The eConnect interfaces can support a number of independent applications, allowing changes to financial data in Dynamics GP to be simultaneously available to all applications with an eConnect connection to that company in Dynamics GP.”
Support, Training and Help—“…additional support and training is available through VARs…the Help, documentation and training tools within Microsoft Dynamics GP are some of the best of all the products reviewed.” Effective accounting software training is especially important to the overall success of an accounting software implementation.

Against QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics GP accounting system software fares particularly well, according to a report issued by ASA Research, an entity operated by J. Carlton Collins. An accounting solutions study completed by The Accounting Library compared Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 and QuickBooks Enterprise 7.0—identifying percentage of accounting software user requirements met:

	GP/QB
General Ledger:	87 / 56
Accounts Payable:	79 / 37
Accounts Receivable:	83 / 51
Payroll:	91 / 58
Inventory:	87 / 38
Job/Project Costing:	83 / 33
Fixed Assets:	72 / 43
Order Entry:	89 / 32
Budgeting:	91 / 64
General Questions:	78 / 33
Multinational Accounting:	84 / 2
Manufacturing:	84 / 43

Collins concludes: “…while QuickBooks is a good entry-level product, its database shortcomings and lack of features make it possible for companies to quickly outgrow QuickBooks…in many cases, QuickBooks users who’ve outgrown the product must look outside the Intuit family of products in order to indentify an acceptable solution to meet the current and future needs of the organization.

“If so, QuickBooks users may wish to consider migrating to the Microsoft Dynamics GP product line. Competitive pricing, support, conversion tools and product design have been implemented to help QuickBooks users shed the QuickBooks system and step up to a more powerful business management system solution that will meet your needs for many years to come.”

Compared to entry-level accounting solutions as well as mid-market accounting system software, Microsoft Dynamics GP shows strong promise for companies expanding in size and scope.

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