Dynamics GP Purchase Order Processing Module and Extensions Notes

If you would like to implement Requisitions and their Approval and have limited number of Dynamics GP users to be approvers, please read about implementing WorkFlow in GP, where approvals could be switched on:
1. Purchase Orders.  The functionality begins with Purchase Order (not with Purchase Requisition, if you need negotiation and tenders automation, please read about Purchase Management module in Dynamics GP Business Portal below).  There are several types of Purchase Orders: Standard, Drop-Ship, Blanket and Blanket Drop-Ship, plus you can commit PO to Sales Documents.  In Purchase Order module settings you can allow such optional features, as Allow Receiving without Purchase Order, Change Site ID in Receiving, Holds placing and removing mechanism, Allow Altering Costs in Receiving.  And, in addition you can enable multiple User Defined Fields in POP module settings.  Purchase Order Processing could be integrated with GP Project Accounting in standard logic (no customization needed).  When you change one line of Standard PO to Released, all PO status changes to released as well.  When you print Drop-Ship or Blanket PO, its status automatically changes to released.  There is also a change order mechanism
2. Purchase Receipts.  If you allow Receiving without PO, then you can receive whatever you suppliers send you, otherwise you have to match received merchandise with PO lines.  Receiving could be of three types: Shipment (when you receive merchandise and packing slip - no invoice, Vendor Invoice comes later in mail), Shipment/Invoice (when you receive vendor invoice with the shipment, or when you prepaid to your vendor and they ship you merchandise with paper paid invoice for your reference), and In-Transit Inventory is not a real Purchase Receipt from you vendor, or supplier, this is a way to use third party agents to deliver your merchandise from one Inventory Site to Another (and be sure that in the case of confuse it is not accepted as Sold Merchandise in your destination Warehouse)
3. Purchase Order Generator.  If you do not use Manufacturing Suite of modules, and if you are using something like automatic stock level replenishment in your wholesale or retail operations or in Bill Of Materials (light discrete production), PO Generator is reasonably simple way to reorder merchandise with several criteria: Order Method, Replenishment Level , Vendor Selection, Cost Selection (Order Point Quantity, Order-Up-To-Level, Vendor EOQ, etc., - we would like our customers reorder Dynamics GP modules, add-ons and services via PO Generator!)
4. Requisition and PO Approval Cycle in Dynamics GP Business Portal Requisition Management Module.  If you are large public corporation or non-for-profit organization with required PO tenders and Requisition approvals, please review Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Portal.  It is web based Sharepoint Application, you should check with your IT department if you can host Sharepoint and Business Portal.  Normally you save of Business Portal user licenses, as you do not need all the requisition creators to be Dynamics GP users, BP user license typically costs you forty dollars or less.  Requisition Management module has approval hierarchy (consider two level approvals, for example employee submit requisition to purchase new computer for her/him, department manager, assuming that budget permits, approves or declines, and if approved it goes to corporate purchasing manager for final approval or declining).  When requisition is approved by final approver it is showing up in Dynamics GP POP module as Purchas Order.  BP in our opinion is good for being implemented for Dynamics GP version 10.0 or 9.0.  For earlier versions of GP, including Great Plains Dynamics on Pervasive SQL Server 2000/Btrieve or Ctree, we recommend upgrade to Dynamics GP version 10.0 (we are writing these lines in October 2009, if this looks historical, feel free to check with us on current GP version). There are Dynamics GP ISV partners web based Requisition Add-Ons available, please check with us
5. Dynamics GP POP module historical excurse.  If you deploy Great Plains Dynamics, eEnterprise in your organization over ten years or more, you may find this paragraph useful, especially in upgrade and migration scenarios.  Back in late 1990th Great Plains Dynamics (the name of former Microsoft Dynamics GP, prior to its acquisition by Microsoft and rebranding as Microsoft Dynamics) didn't have native POP module, and there were reasons, as GP Dexterity platform was open to Great Plains Dynamics ISV partners to program their own extension modules to Great Plains.  One of the most popular was Intellisol Advanced Purchase Order Processing (with Requisitions, POs and Receiving), however it seems now that the acquisition negotiation about future GP Project Accounting (where both Intellisol and Philippines based Match Data had strongest chances, but finally MD was chosen and that was the beginning of Intellisol decline).  If you are on old GP version (7.5, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0, 4.0 or earlier) and you are using Intellisol APOP, please consider migration to Dynamics GP POP module.  Migration tool is available for Great Plains Dynamics 7.5, please check with your Dynamics GP Partner or call our office
6. Purchase Order Processing in Great Plains Accounting for DOS, Windows and Macintosh: 9.5, 9.2, 9.1 and earlier versions.  Please, note that GPA for DOS, archaic Microsoft Windows and Mac is predecessor of Great Plains Dynamics for Windows and Mac, but it had its own technology and code base and its POP business logic might resemble current GP POP logic, but it is not exactly the same.  GPA is no longer supported (however if you would like to get support from Great Plains VAR, feel free to contact us), you should consider GPA migration to Microsoft Small Business Accounting, Dynamics GP, migration tools are available, however user and modules licenses should be purchased at discounted price, as you will get credits for GPA modules owned
7. GP POP for international customers and for multinational corporations.  If you plan to implement Dynamics GP or add POP module for international company or subsidiary, please check if Dynamics GP is localized for targeted country.  Microsoft Dynamics GP current version 10.0 is available in English Speaking countries: USA, Canada (including French Canadian version for Quebec Montreal), UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South East Asia (where English is used as primary business language), Spanish speaking Latin America, Caribbean, Central America, Mexico.  If you are outside of US, please check with Dynamics GP Partner or Microsoft Business Solution in your country or region if POP module is compliant to local regulation.  Please, note that in Russia, Brazil, East Europe, Continental Europe GP is no longer available, we recommend you to consider Dynamics AX Axapta as alternative.  If Axapta looks too expensive and complex, please consider SAP Business One as more budget oriented solution, which is localized for most of Europe, Brazil.  Also Dynamics GP doesn't support UNICODE characters (often referred as hieroglyphs: Chinese, Japanese, Korean) - again, in our opinion the work around is to consider Dynamics AX or SAP B1, plus consider popular local accounting packages, in Brazil it would be Microsiga, in Russia 1C Bukhgaltery, etc.
8. How to get help?  Please, feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, outside of USA: 1-630-961-5918 or email us help@albaspectrum.com  We are very technical and real Dynamics GP Dexterity, SAP Business One SDK and Microsoft CRM programming gurus.  We have Great Plains Software Development Factory and could support unlimited Dynamics GP Customization and Programming needs.  Plus we speak English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and not only as native speaking sales folks, but as real technical consultants.  If you prefer skype: albaspectrum