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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Ellucian Banner

    Score5.2 out of 10
    N/AEllucian offers Banner educational ERP, including its student management system emphasizing control and reporting of process-oriented facets of education such as grading and attendance.N/A

    Microsoft Dynamics GP

    Score5.4 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Dynamics GP is an ERP software with accounting capabilities. It includes various packs for customizability and features tailored to specific industries’ needs. GP is offered as a perpetual license or subscription.N/A
    Pricing
    Ellucian BannerMicrosoft Dynamics GP
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Ellucian BannerMicrosoft Dynamics GP
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Ellucian BannerMicrosoft Dynamics GP
    Considered Both Products
    Ellucian
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    80%
    Would buy again
    12 Answers
    33%
    Would buy again
    2 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    82%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    83%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    80%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    83%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    78%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Ellucian BannerMicrosoft Dynamics GP
    Student and Faculty Administration
    Comparison of Student and Faculty Administration features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    8.5
    8 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    -
    Ratings
    Integrations with 3rd-Party Education Technology7.98 Ratings00 Ratings
    Online Registration Management8.97 Ratings00 Ratings
    District Communications, such as messaging and alerting8.94 Ratings00 Ratings
    Roster Management8.56 Ratings00 Ratings
    Platform Customization8.16 Ratings00 Ratings
    Teacher Self-Service8.86 Ratings00 Ratings
    Student Data Security8.67 Ratings00 Ratings
    Community Support8.66 Ratings00 Ratings
    Class Scheduling8.67 Ratings00 Ratings
    State and National-level Reporting9.27 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance Support8.96 Ratings00 Ratings
    Teacher and Parent Mobile Application7.25 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    6.4
    20 Ratings
    17% below category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings6.219 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings5.815 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings7.518 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings6.517 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings6.016 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    4.3
    27 Ratings
    55% below category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings2.526 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings6.021 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    6.8
    40 Ratings
    18% below category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings5.532 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.140 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    5.3
    41 Ratings
    38% below category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings3.429 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings6.139 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings6.439 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    4.9
    48 Ratings
    44% below category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings6.245 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings5.736 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings6.236 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings5.541 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings4.431 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings8.014 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings4.428 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings2.619 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings3.026 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings3.214 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings9.012 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings7.012 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings6.07 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings4.721 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings3.618 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings4.513 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings4.526 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings2.616 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings3.517 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings3.214 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings6.119 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    4.2
    26 Ratings
    54% below category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings5.524 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings1.013 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings4.018 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings3.415 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Ellucian Banner and Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Feature
    Ellucian Banner
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    3.5
    25 Ratings
    71% below category average
    Pricing00 Ratings3.718 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings3.721 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings1.012 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings4.925 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings4.99 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings3.312 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings3.37 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Ellucian BannerMicrosoft Dynamics GP
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Schoolmint Hero
    Score9.7 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Schoolmint Hero
    Score9.7 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Ellucian BannerMicrosoft Dynamics GP
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.4
    (21 ratings)
    4.0
    (54 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    9.9
    (7 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    5.4
    (10 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    7.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Ellucian BannerMicrosoft Dynamics GP
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Ellucian
    As a SIS, Banner Pages is the full meal deal. There are multiple modules that integrate out of the box. Because Banner is all I've ever used as a SIS, I can't contrast it with another program. I can say, it gets the job done for us. I will also say that a tremendous amount of time goes into strategizing how to get new functions to work for us and there always seems to be some catch that requires even more work. In general, the university has been hesitant to build too many modifications into Banner because they take a lot of time to maintain. Inevitably, a new update (of which there are MANY for Banner) will break stuff that isn't "vanilla." This is unfortunate because we've had some great ideas for how to make Banner better for us, but also understandable. If you're looking for a highly modular system, this isn't it. Banner has lots of components, but the components work the way they work and that's that. Also, don't expect very quick responses to bugs or glitches. If the bug is major, yes, it will be addressed. But, little function issues seem to be regularly overlooked.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Microsoft Dynamics GP is well-suited for our environment, as we pay a diverse group of employees, including on-the-road drivers, shop employees (some in other locations), and office employees. It easily tracks time off, taxes, pay, etc. The reporting allows us to verify with our drivers how they are paid each week, whether it be through mileage or stop-offs.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Ellucian
    • I think it's great to use if you are tracking grades for certain classes, especially if you'd like to see how students do, comparing midterm to final grades. If you have the permissions, you can see both.
    • It's also good to track students individually. You can look up a certain semester, and see how they did in that particular time frame, but you can also see their cumulative gpa, or even look up their entire course history.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Great Plains started as back office/accounting, and that is still it's strong suit.
    • SQL and the GP programming language, Dexterity, provide a robust, scalable, and stable platform with well documented maintenance and repair procedures. Relatively easy to manage, tune, and support.
    • Microsoft support for GP verges on "particularly well". Doesn't quite get there but good enough once you know what you're doing
    • Strong partner network, including the GP User Group (GPUG)
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Ellucian
    • One thing I miss from the previous version of Ellucian Banner, is the control + page down. I struggle with alt + page down.
    • I love the Ellucian Banner favorites; however, it is a little difficult to navigate.
    • I can honestly only think of 2 things that could be improved. I use Ellucian Banner daily.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • With respect to the allocations, once the expense is entered into the allocation account, you lose the ability to run any detail on just the total of the expense. It would be nice if you could run a trial balance on the allocation accounts the same way you can with regular accounts.
    • I've always thought security set up could be a bit simpler. It actually has gotten better through the years. Specifically, with eight separate entities, it would be nice to have a "master" setup where you could call up one group entity, assign the users rights, and then be finished. Currently, whenever I have a new user, I have to call up each individual entity and select all of the features I want the user to have. That means I have to do eight steps for each user.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Ellucian
    We have no reason not to renew with Ellucian - we are in deep with the ecosystem, and have Ellucian providing us with information technology support. If anything, should the opportunity arise, we'd probably consider adding a different ellucian tools into the suite of applications we already have on board.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Due the economic challenges that Puerto Rico is having, the company has had to merge some companies in order to be more efficient. It has been easy in GP to process those merges, even thought we had to spend days to accomplish that the process was smooth and accurate. In addition we were able to streamline the purchasing and sales process and the organization is confident to keep renewing GP for the future versions.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Ellucian
    You definitely have to learn it before it becomes easy to use. It's better than it was, but it's still not entirely intuitive. You can't just look at it and play around to figure out how it works
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Though it is a basic accounting package, I believe some users do not find the old style menus and navigation options intuitive. There is also a great lack of training resources in the market, so users have to learn the product without guidance a lot, resulting in inefficient workflows and misuse or misunderstanding of many features.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Ellucian
    It's pretty much up all the time.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Ellucian
    Has gotten much better due to new hardware.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Ellucian
    Our department generally does not contact the support center for Banner but the IT department does. That being said, in the seven years that I have been here, I have not once needed to contact the support center; we have had no glitches on Banner's side that needed to be addressed.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    The rating is directed to the thrid party serive provider that we use. I do not now how good the Microsoft direct support is.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Ellucian
    very satisfied, along with the IT staff and ellucian support the upgrades do very well and have minimum down time.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Basically the challenge with this implementation was the Business Portal, too many errors and even the aplication is up and running the users are still having issues. We will start planning the migraton to GP 2015 soon.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Ellucian
    PeopleSoft was more user-friendly. It also provided the ability to save and bookmark queries. PeopleSoft will allow users to use common names to search for queries. Overall, it seemed much more current than Banner. PeopleSoft provided enrollment data for specific sections which allowed one to spot trends of enrollment in a given class.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    I come from a strong background of using SAP. SAP doesn't have the flexibility of GP, an example would be SAP doesn't allow core mods, if they catch you, you lose support. Microsoft doesn't really care about mods, but they will be quick to have the vendor you used support your issue if it is caused by those mods. With SAP your company adapts to the software, where with GP you adapt the software to you.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Ellucian
    being able to scale with hardware was easy and not cumbersome. We were allowed to user virtual machines which made things very scalable.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    The functionality that GP and related ISV solutions offer and the ease of integration of GP to other systems makes it an extremely scalable solution
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Ellucian
    • There is positive ROI on the product overall. It had reduced or allowed us to focus our staff members on something which is very use and it does the job in the background.
    • The application has supported in a lot of ways in saving resources and utilizing them in very productive & efficient manner
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Microsoft Dynamics GP allows my clients to move from a paper or spreadsheet based company to an integrated, electronic, streamlined business. I love being able to help clients gain efficiencies through the use of Microsoft Dynamics GP.
    • Microsoft Dynamics GP allows for better customer service because everything is at our fingertips. If someone calls questioning an invoice, we can easily look it up. If someone calls stating they paid an invoice with a certain check number, we can quickly run a query to find that particular check number to see where it was applied.
    • Having everything on a single platform provides ease of use for upgrades, backups and end user training. There is only one software to learn!
    Incentivized
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