Microsoft Dynamics GP FRx Reporting Notes from the Fields
If you are Dynamics GP Corporate ERP application in your organization, where Financial Reporting is built on FRx platform, we would like to share with you some technology notes about FRx. Current version of Microsoft Dynamics GP is 10.0 (Dynamics GP 11.0 should be released in first half of 2010) and current version of FRx Financial Reporting is 6.7 (Service Pack 10).
FRx is covering multiple Accounting packages,
this is its strength and at the same time this fact exposes FRx to some additional overheads in supporting and reports design and re-haul:
1. Modifying Dynamics GP Chart of Accounts and FRx potential issues. This is normal to decide on Great Plains Chart of Accounts restructure, especially considering the fact that GL accounts distribution tables (GL20000, GL10000, GL10001, GL30000) are based on Account Index field (not physical accounts segments). So, you can go ahead and change accounts segments, if you have clear one-to-one picture (and designed SQL scripts accordingly). However the challenge for FRx might appear when you change normal balance from Debit to Credit or vice versa. FRx for Dynamics GP looks at GL Account Current Summary Master table (GL10110) in order to expedite results, so if your GL10110 table has old summaries - the only way to force your FRx Balance Sheet report to balance is to reconcile accounts. Typical accounts and account groups for changing its typical balance are in Assets: Accumulated Depreciation and Amortization, and in Equity: Dividends (C or S Corporation), Partner Draws (LLC). Plus, if you have multiple companies in consolidated reporting, you may decide to review Due to and Due from sections (AP and AR)
2. "Changed Default Base Period to C" - this issue is often considered as mysterious, but the explanation is quite simple. You typically have this error message in the first week of January in New Year (or in the initial week of your fiscal year, if it is different from Calendar Year). You have to build fiscal periods (typically months) in each Dynamics GP companies (if they are participating in consolidated FRx report), then you have to rebuild GL indexes in FRx itself for each company. GL Indexes rebuilding is FRx setting sensitive. In some case you have to delete *.G32 files (specific GL indexes cashing file in FRx Sysdata directory). Often you can do the same job by simply change Default Company in FRx one by one and watch how GL indexes are rebuilt in left bottom status bar line. The way to setup automatic GL indexes rebuild is to go to Admin -> System Preferences and check there GL automatic index rebuild
3. Older versions of FRx and Microsoft Dynamics GP, Great Plains Dynamics or eEnterprise: 10.0, 9.0, 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0, 4.0, 3.2. FRx Financial Reporting came all the way from earlier Great Plains Software Dynamics versions to the current version of Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0. However FRx didn't change much in its functionality, and FRx report designer, who is familiar with FRx 6.7 for Dynamics GP 10.0 should be able to modify or recover FRx report for earlier Great Plains versions (FRx 6.5 or earlier, including FRx for Dynamics GP on Pervasive SQL 2000 or Ctree)
4. If your FRx issue is not answered here in this article. Well, if you have active support contract with Microsoft Business Solutions - then you should have login info to MBS Customer Source (then take support and search knowledge base, download current service pack, etc.)
