Why Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics SL

Keep Your Business Competitive and Thriving 

Why should you upgrade?

The software that runs your business is not something you can implement and forget about. Technology develops at a rapid rate and it is vital to keep your business and software completely up to date to ensure your business continues to function effectively.

Security and compliance

Out of date and unsupported software could lead to slow performance, risk of crashing, compliance issues and loss of valuable data.  If your system is unsupported, who will be able to help?

Employees are spending more time entering information manually.

Time is money and this could be costing you more money than you think.  Taking advantage of new improvements could solve this issue.  Upgrades introduce improvements and new features that increase your efficiency and productivity.

Integration with the latest technology

It is very important to stay current on the latest version in order to ensure that software integrations do not become a problem for you.  Older software versions may not provide your employees with the capability to use the latest technology like IPads and mobile devices.  These devices are common place in businesses and permit your people to work anywhere at any time and get more done.

Power Apps & Flow

Microsoft Dynamics SL 2018 included a Power App and Flow example that shows the value add of these Microsoft technologies to Microsoft Dynamics SL users. The Microsoft Dynamics SL 2018 CU2 continues this by updating the existing Power App and adding nine new Flow email notifications.

SL Home Page enhancement

The Microsoft Dynamics SL Menu Home page feature updated to support modern web pages. This means that web sites containing information on SharePoint, SL DocShare SSRS reports or other sites will display and allow interactions within the Microsoft Dynamics SL menu system.

Some of the improvements you will find in Microsoft Dynamics SL 2018 include:

• Web Apps:  New product that runs on any browser and mobile device.  It replaces Business Portal to perform the following functions: Project Analysis Reports
• Timecards (employees who enter their own time)
• Timesheets (employees who enter time for others)
• Advanced Payroll Timecard Entry
• Expense Reports with attachments
• Project Approvals (timecards, expense reports, budget revisions, project invoices)
• Quick Query and Crystal Reports
• Business Analyzer:  A modern business intelligence (BI) app that graphically displays key information about your business. Business Analyzer is available as web-based reporting and is now supported for use with Microsoft Dynamics SL on the Windows 8/10 Modern UI
• Project Analyst:  Now available as an SSRS report that can be launched from Report Server, Web Apps, or Business Analyzer
• Management Reporter:  Web based financial reports with similar functionality to FRx
• Improved F3 search capabilities – Now when you perform a lookup (F3) in Dynamics SL 2015 you can do partial text searches, export F3 lookups to Excel, etc.
• Improved report search capabilities – “Easy to read” column names in sort/select, plus you can use F3 to determine values when building your selection criteria!
• Improved report delivery capabilities – can export a report directly to MS-Outlook email without printing or exporting to PDF
• Improved Quick Query export capabilities – Quick Queries can now be exported directly to an Excel Pivot Table or table bound grid (updates itself each time you re-open the spreadsheet)
• Resource Planning: A new Web Apps module to help you plan and assign resources to projects and tasks.  Planning and assignment can be done by project or by resource.
• Multi-Company and Multi-Currency Projects – Takes advantage of Dynamics SL built-in multi-company and multi-currency platform to allow users in the project modules to work in multiple companies / currencies without signing in/out.
• Introduction to Power BI – Power BI transforms your company’s data into rich visuals for you to collect.

Next Steps – Contact us and we will provide you with a clear and concise strategy and work plan for a smooth and successful upgrade.  We can schedule a personalized demonstration of Dynamics SL 2018 to you and your team to help you plan your upgrade.   We will take the time to review your current environment and software customizations and give you a reliable individualized plan of your path to Dynamics SL 2018.

You can either complete the form on the contact page or give us a call at 844.418.1592.  A member of our upgrade team will contact you to discuss your upgrade and explain the process.

Some of the new features demonstrated include:

• Power BI – business analytics tools to analyze real-time data and share insights
• Power Apps – create and use custom business apps across platforms
• Flow – Easily monitor, notify and take action
• Web Apps – New Apps available
• Financials, Distribution, and Project Enhancements
• User Interface Enhancements
• Odata Service – connecting SL to 3^rd party systems

The release of Dynamics SL 2018 includes the following:

• Query & Preview Enhancements
• New Approvals Processes added to key areas
• GL/AP/Financials Interface Enhancements
  
• Projects Enhancements
  
• Distribution Enhancements
  
• Power Suite Evolution – Power BI, Power Apps for SL, Flow for SL, and more

Resources

View additional release notes, installation guides, and other documentation here

Microsoft Dynamics SL 2018 CU7 includes:

• This update focused more on the 1099-NEC Form, as well as the 1099-MISC Form. The 1099-NEC or Non-Employee Compensation has been updated to support the IRS 2021 tax reporting formats. The same goes for the 1099-MISC (03.740.00) Form. The new 1099 Forms can be printed through the 1099 Forms Report.
• In addition, some minor fixes have been included in CU7

Microsoft Dynamics SL CU8 is now out, what is new and what has changed in this release:

• The DMGDataAccess Business Object now uses the Microsoft OLE DB driver for SQL Server Version 18 in the latest update. This means that Inventory Replenishment Create Transaction, Convert EDI Pos to Sales Orders, and Orders to Purchase will all now connect using the OLE DB driver.
• SL CU8 will be able to run on Windows 11, if you have questions on how this works, please Contact Us.
• The look and feel of journal entries have also changed with this update. The Journal Entry (01.010.00) screen has been updated to now have hidden labels. These labels generate list text for the cBatchHandling and creconstatus drop down controls. There are hidden labels for O and V options of the cbattype dropdown to make localization easier. See the picture above for the hidden label controls.

“I’m writing this letter to express how satisfied Melrose PLC is with the services that SIS provided us. We contacted SIS to help us upgrade our ERP solution and consolidate a number of databases with multiple companies into a single environment and in order to accomplish this we needed a strong, experienced Partner that took the time to understand our requirements along with our businesses’ processes. From the beginning, we received excellent service, support, and a professional team that demonstrated they truly cared about the success and timeliness of the project.

Much of the success of this project was due to a strong project management and a knowledgeable Sr. Consultant, who was very responsive and delivered timely communications throughout. The entire SIS team delivered on all of their promises, thereby, delivering the project on time and on budget. I would highly recommend SIS as a Microsoft Business Partner that will seek to meet and exceed their customer expectations.”

Jason Care, Group Systems Manager – Melrose PLC