How to Customize Dynamics GP Great Plains

As general observation, Great Plains is mid-market Corporate ERP application and its business logic is pretty complex.  When you are modifying it on your own, the consequences might be negative, if you do the programming work directly in the production company.  We even recommend you to establish separate test server, where you load your GP databases.  If you are short of servers and cannot dedicate the one for testing, at least consider to create a test company and load its database from the production company backup.  Another advise, if you plan to undergo moderate or even large scale customization project, the best is probably to give it into professional technical consultant (except probably reporting – here you cannot harm the data, report only pulls it from the database and doesn’t update table records):

1. Modifier with VBA.  We specially placed this tool higher than such fundamental technology as Great Plains Dexterity.  Modifier allows you to make small project with limited consulting budget.  What you do here is – you are including the form into modification realm (in recent versions of the application you may choose the option Modify This Form and it will go likely to Forms.dic).  Feel free to play with the form: reshuffle the fields positions, add new fields, such as static text(disclaimers, important information, etc.), logos.  If you would like your modified form to carry new editable fields, where you expect interaction with MS SQL Server company database, this is possible with event driven script for the field.  You would have you get refreshment on your Microsoft (pre .Net) ADO VBA programming.  Please, note here that Modifier is just for what it names stays for – to modify, it doesn’t create new forms, tables (however you may still create something looking like dialogue in VBA script – message boxes for example).  Microsoft VBA scripting language is not a rocket science and you may consider to do it internally, especially if you have VBA scripting experience for such products as Excel, MS Access or Word

2. Extender.  This tool does just the opposite to the Modifier – it only extends, or adds new forms and windows, custom tables.  Extender is programmed in Dexterity (next paragraph below), and it doesn’t require you to be a programmer to use Extender.  If you would really need advanced logic to be associated with new objects, you may consider so-called Extender Enterprise, available from Extender original ISV partner in Australia – eOne.  In Enterprise version you can add Dexterity Sanscript codes to your new objects (unfortunately debugging is not available, so you would have to be really good Dexterity programmer)

3. Dexterity.  This is really high pilotage, Dex lets you to customize everything and it is actually the architecture or the foundation.  But, to cool you off, we have to warn here, that Dexterity is semi-proprietary and learning curve for new programmers is very long.  It is advisable to establish a good relations with Great Plains technology consulting firm, carrying Dexterity programmers in staff, and having access to Source Code program

4. eConnect SDK.  This tool, originally introduced for ecommerce programmers, now covers most of the native modules.  There are various interfaces for eConnect, but in our opinion the most natural way to use it – to include into Microsoft Visual Studio .Net project (C# and VB are recommended, as you will have the code samples available – we program MS VS by example, right?).  eConnect is relatively harmless, as it only allows you to create work transactions (SOP Invoice, POP Purchase Receipt, etc. without the option to post them or the batch) and master records (Customer, Vendor, Employee…) .  Also, we would like to set your expectation about eConnect – this is for integration, it doesn’t modify the user interface

5. New tools.  It is possible to modify GP windows in Microsoft Visual Studio project.  There are several blends of SDK available directly from Microsoft Business Solutions.  However these tools are pretty new and they often appeal to Dexterity in creating new tables.  We were attending GP customization tools seminar on Convergence 2010 in Atlanta and we got the feeling that you can probably experiment with them, but do not expect large scale customization project to be done without Dexterity coding and design

6. Report Writer.  Here you usually customize such reports as SOP Blank Invoice form (and you are right, the most popular request is placing your company logo on the form, modified reports goes into Reports.dic dictionary file)

7. Generic Managerial Reporting.  Please, be aware that Financial Reporting should be done in FRx or new tool – Microsoft Management Reporter (as these tools have GL connector with business logic).  For managerial report design you are freed to use the tool of your own choice: Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Crystal Reports, Excel, MS Access Reporting (usually via ODBC connection)

8. For additional information, please feel free to call us 1-866-304-3265 or 1-269-605-4904 (this number works for international customers) or email us help@alba866.com  We serve you USA/Canada nationwide via remote support (web sessions and phone/Skype conferences).  Local service is available in Western Michigan, Chicagoland, Southern California (LA, Orange County, San Diego), Houston area of the state of Texas