Microsoft Dynamics SL - Power through Flexibility
Rating: 8 out of 10
IncentivizedUse Cases and Deployment Scope
Dynamics SL is our Accounting and Financial Reporting engine for almost 200 companies in the US and Canada. Using Multi-Company allows us to centralize some processes (AP Checks for example) while allowing a very decentralized user base to perform local transaction activity. SL's flexible structure has allowed us to add companies and sub-accounts enabling us to grow from a $100 Million dollar company in 1999 when implemented to a $3 Billion dollar company at the end of 2014.
Pros
- Ability to add companies, and sub-accounts on the fly allows for the growth of the system without conversions, and flexible reporting allows for the quick utilization of the data.
- Multi-Company allows for easy and automated data entry and reporting across multiple legal entities and business segments.
- Multi-Company also allows for easy centralization of business processes (AP check writing and Fixed Assets for example), while spreading data entry across the enterprise.
- Ability to Copy/Paste into Dynamics SL has always been a strength- especially from Excel. The additional power of being able to use Excel for a myriad of calculations, including complex allocations, and formatting the result into a JE to paste directly into the Journal Entry Screen has saved countless hours in data-entry, and made re-use of complex items very easy.
Cons
- Built-in functionality for workflow/reviews/approvals could be improved.
- Better documentation of controls and reporting of the audit trail (think SOX).
- Better remote office, work from home capabilities (such as cloud bases SAAS) would help resolve security and speed/performance constraints.
Likelihood to Recommend
The key strength is the ease of adapting to ever-growing operations. Designing the setup with both the short and long-term goals in mind will allow the best setup/configuration to be completed. As growth requires changes, the flexibility of the system and reporting will grow with the company. Internal knowledge should be gained to allow for the ease of utilizing the system to accomplish this growth in addition to the reseller/consultants used.
