Microsoft Dynamics SL

Vantagens

Multi Company functionality is fantastic. This is a product designed to empower your people and making them more productive. It's focused on Financial and projects deployments. Provides the tools to share information across the company. Budgets, Invoices, projects and information in general.
It's scalable and focused on Professional Services, Government Conntractors, Service in General, Distribution and we can say that Construction can be an industry that is perfect for this software.

Desvantagens

It requires some hardware resources that can be overwhelming for small businesses. But the more you allocate for this area, the bigger the reward.

Vantagens

Reporting is great. I use reports weekly for time sheets when entering in payroll, for commission data. All of the look up screens are simple and give great information-- such as in the modules for Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Purchasing, and General Ledger.

Desvantagens

Different modules do not speak to one another. You have to go to several different modules to complete a task, so multiple windows must be open at a time. It tends to slow down our servers and sometimes crashes when you are in the middle of something.

Vantagens

-The biggest pro with Dynamics SL is the interchange functionality with Excel. Exports from Dynamics SL to Excel have the formulas pre-written, and the formatting isn't great but isn't crazy. Copy and paste a journal entry from Excel to the GL!!! Yes please!
-Subledgers are abundant.
-Useful and simple multicompany reporting.
-Good for project-based accounting I guess.

Desvantagens

Where to start? CASH MANAGER AND BANK RECONCILIATIONS. The biggest thing that drives me crazy about Dynamics SL is that users can enter an accounting event, say a check, where the check date is different than the transaction date and both are different than the post date. In other words, there is no control function over periods!!!! One transaction could impact three different periods. Go back to the check example, where a check cut on July 1 could have a period post of June 30 and a transaction date of August 1. The check shows in the GL in June, Cash manager in August, and AP aging and reports in July. Absolutely horrible control for an ACCOUNTING system.
-Not user friendly or simple to use. My staff all have over a year experience and still don't know where certain things are in the system.
-Requires a lot of third-party support, which piles on the consulting fees in addition to the fees paid for annual maintenance to Microsoft.
-DSLUG [Dynamics SL user group] doesn't seem very user friendly either. My guess is that most outstanding organizations are on different software.

I suppose there are a lot of "hidden tricks" which make you valuable if you know the system inside and out, but since most users can't just pick it up off the street [even with an accounting background], they end up paying a lot to the consultants.

Vantagens

It's basic set up isn't too hard to use ONCE you have had some training. The set up of projects versus general ledger is pretty user friendly.

Desvantagens

The reporting piece is pretty limited without customization. We have had to rebuild the general ledger and projects. If we didn't have an EXCELLENT internal support employee we would be in great trouble.

Vantagens

The ability to develop custom software modules using their tools. We created three robust modules that integrate with core financial, project and distribution modules.

Desvantagens

Microsoft doesn’t seem to put much investment in the product any longer. The legacy VB.Net Windows client is dated.