Dynamics NAV 2013 Beta Look-see

Ok, so I should probably wait until I have more, but f0r this one I can’t. When NAV 2009 came out, one of the things I really liked was the idea that we could have charts and graphs on the home screen. I was disappointed when I learned (a) the data had to come from only one table (no queries), and (b) you could graph in any color you wanted as long as you wanted GREEN.

Why green? Green is the color you use for the baby’s room when you don’t know if you’re having a boy or a girl.I figured it was someone’s throwback to the ‘green screen’ days of yore.

Now you can have more than green. I see blue and red in the Beta. Haven’t had a chance to lift the hood yet, but I will.

Screenprints coming…

I was talking to an employee of a new client yesterday. We are helping them implement QuickBooks POS. The conversation started with, “When I saw this was QuickBooks, I thought Uggghhh…” Oh, boy, I thought. This is going to be a fun conversation. But then he continued, “But when I looked at it, it looked like a pretty good register system. The more I played with it, the better I thought I’d like it.”

Then I told him that they were going to have 3 different workstations from which they could process transactions (they have one of those old grey carbonless ticket dispensers now). Manual summaries of sales for the day are going away. The system will automatically store history. And on and on.

Turns out he thinks QuickBooks POS is a pretty good thing for their business. We wouldn’t have proposed it if we didn’t think so as well.

Looks like Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 (Navision) also (from the Beta download file name) being referred to as “7.0” is moving into its final months.

Here are just a few snippits from the various documents I’ve scanned today:

• Requires a 64-bit server AND 64-bit SQL.
• Classic client is not supported
• Must upgrade to NAV 2009 first (can only upgrade to 2013 from 2009)

I’ll post more as I get time to look at the new Beta.

If you’ve played with the ODBC link in QuickBooks (QODBC) that allows you to extract data for reporting, etc., then you know that it’s pretty powerful. You have probably also realized that some queries can run very, very slowly. In this case, there’s an “optimizer” that will speed up queries and reduce the load on the QuickBooks database.

In our tests on large QuickBooks Enterprise databases, the increase in speed is pretty amazing.

However…if you have to rebuild the QuickBooks database, you’ll find that you need to redo the optimization (rebuild the optimization database). As much as we may not like it, this is a “feature” of QuickBooks ODBC link.

Happy ODBC’ing!

Have you seen the new Jet Express report writer released with the R2 version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2. It works with the 2009 version as well.

Jet Express is a simple but functional version of the more powerful Jet Reports and Jet Enterprise products. It allows you to build basic reports as well as financial statements. In both modes, it’s a bit like most Excel based report writers. It provides a live link into the accounting database.

If you have Dynamics NAV 2009, you need to check out Jet Express. It’s included in your license.

One of the additions to Sage ERP 300 6.0 (ACCPAC) was the new portal. There’s a button on the portal that some users have found, and others seem to have missed. It’s the new Inquiry feature. When you click the button and choose A/R Transactions, the screen that appears looks like this one:

After a bit of toodling, you’ll figure out that you can set criteria or filters in the top part of this screen, and see the result below. You also have some control over what appears in the columns at the bottom. And–best yet–you can export this display to your favorite spreadsheet.

Check it out! It’s useful.

Wish list: Add the ability to query Inventory Control, Purchase Orders, Payroll, and Order Entry data!