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Financial Edge (legacy) vs. Microsoft Dynamics SL

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Financial Edge (legacy)

    Score6.8 out of 10
    N/AA legacy software offering, Blackbaud now instead offers and supports their cloud-based accounting solution, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT as a modern alternative.N/A

    Microsoft Dynamics SL

    Score5.1 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Dynamics SL is one of the ERP products in the Dynamics family. This product was acquired from Solomon 2000. The product is typically used by SMBs, particularly in project-based businesses (e.g. construction). It has strong accounting and project management capabilities.N/A
    Pricing
    Financial Edge (legacy)Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Financial Edge (legacy)Microsoft Dynamics SL
    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
    Features
    Financial Edge (legacy)Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    1.0
    4 Ratings
    153% below category average
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    8.5
    2 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Pay calculation1.03 Ratings9.62 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Direct deposit files1.02 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management1.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reimbursement management1.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    1.0
    7 Ratings
    153% below category average
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    6.0
    6 Ratings
    23% below category average
    API for custom integration1.05 Ratings6.06 Ratings
    Plug-ins1.07 Ratings6.04 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    1.0
    9 Ratings
    156% below category average
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    8.7
    10 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Single sign-on capability1.06 Ratings7.49 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions1.09 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    1.0
    9 Ratings
    155% below category average
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    8.0
    10 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Dashboards1.09 Ratings8.06 Ratings
    Standard reports1.09 Ratings8.010 Ratings
    Custom reports1.09 Ratings8.010 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    1.0
    10 Ratings
    154% below category average
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    7.1
    11 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Accounts payable1.09 Ratings6.011 Ratings
    Accounts receivable1.07 Ratings6.08 Ratings
    Cash management1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation1.010 Ratings00 Ratings
    Expense management1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Time tracking1.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Fixed asset management1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support1.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-division support1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing1.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global Financial Support1.06 Ratings6.02 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers1.08 Ratings6.63 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Localizations1.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations1.08 Ratings3.04 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting1.07 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standardized Processes1.07 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    1.0
    3 Ratings
    152% below category average
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    5.7
    6 Ratings
    33% below category average
    Inventory tracking1.02 Ratings5.06 Ratings
    Automatic reordering1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location management1.03 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Manufacturing module1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    1.0
    2 Ratings
    152% below category average
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    6.2
    4 Ratings
    25% below category average
    Pricing1.02 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Order entry1.02 Ratings3.04 Ratings
    Credit card processing1.02 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold1.02 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    Order Orchestration1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Subledger and Financial Process
    Comparison of Subledger and Financial Process features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    5.7
    4 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Billing Management00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
    Cash and Asset Management00 Ratings7.33 Ratings
    Travel & Expense Management00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting00 Ratings6.32 Ratings
    Period Close00 Ratings6.04 Ratings
    Project Financial Management
    Comparison of Project Financial Management features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    4.7
    3 Ratings
    47% below category average
    Budgeting and Forecasting00 Ratings7.33 Ratings
    Project Costing00 Ratings6.33 Ratings
    Cost Capture00 Ratings2.12 Ratings
    Capital Project Management00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Project Revenue Recognition00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
    Grants Management
    Comparison of Grants Management features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    6.3
    1 Ratings
    17% below category average
    Award Lifecycle Management00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Manufacturing
    Comparison of Manufacturing features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    6.0
    1 Ratings
    22% below category average
    Production Management00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Supply Chain
    Comparison of Supply Chain features of Financial Edge (legacy) and Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Feature
    Financial Edge (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Dynamics SL
    6.0
    1 Ratings
    20% below category average
    Inventory Planning00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Financial Edge (legacy)Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Zoho One
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Zoho One
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics AX (discontinued)
    Score4.8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Financial Edge (legacy)Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Likelihood to Recommend
    1.0
    (10 ratings)
    5.0
    (18 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.4
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    2.0
    (1 ratings)
    3.0
    (7 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.9
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.5
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.4
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Financial Edge (legacy)Microsoft Dynamics SL
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Discontinued Products
    • Financial Edge is well suited for traditional day to day accounting, accounts payable, and related needs.
    • Financial Edge dashboard does not provide a snapshot view of data that I have found are available through other platforms (like QBO).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    For a small to mid-size business, MS Dynamics SL is effective. We are capable of managing our finances with a very low risk of error. We have worked with MS Dynamics for almost 15 years and have more than doubled the size of our business in that time with very few issues from the program. We have exponentially increased our revenue and reporting demands and have found SL to be very dependable and stable. The program does have the occasional glitch and those are sometimes outside of the realm of expertise of our IT department. SL support is excellent, but their timeliness is not as urgent as ours.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Discontinued Products
    • Financial edge is able to be customized in a way that fits our organization.
    • Financial edge is able to provide reports to our end-users on budget versus actual account balances.
    • Financial edge is able to handle a large volume of transactions with ease, having built-in capabilities for batching and balancing.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Provides flexibility for complex project based cost accounting
    • Strong and flexible allocation processer for cost allocations, markups, and pricing
    • A "Flexible Billing" module under the project controller series that allows for multiple billing formats ranging from fixed price schedule of values, T&M or Cost Plus, and scheduled billing.
    • Flexible reporting with options using Crystal Reports, SSRS, a Quick Query tool, and ability to tie into MS Office tools such as MS Access and MS Excel
    • Tight integration with Financials, but also the ability to integrate with modules such as Sales Order, Inventory, and Field Service
    • Customization abilities ranging from a VBA (visual basic for application) foundation to allow customizing existing forms to the ability to use the SDK (Software Development Kit) to build more complex customizations that integrate with Dynamics SL.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Discontinued Products
    • Customer service blames the customer, and never offers solutions other than "wait it out." I've always been told it's my computer, even though everyone else at my work has the same issues.
    • Website is constantly "under maintenance" and it somehow never gets better.
    • The Database View is outdated and glitchy. Honestly get rid of it.
    • The Crystal Report is the only way to handle monthly recurring statements, and Financial Edge does not offer support for it anymore. Good luck figuring that out on your own.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Reporting in the Project module is lacking functionality. I understand that most companies have specific needs when it comes to tracking project information but the standard reports are not good.
    • I would recommend a product like Management Reporter that is for Projects only. Project Reporter should allow users to pull in all Project related data into reports.
    • Fixing suspended batches. Obviously all of us users have experienced this mess. SL knows what needs to be corrected and there could be some step by step fixes in a separate repair module to do the steps we do in Query Analyzer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Unfortunately, Dynamics' lack of ability to smoothly integrate with our CRM system is causing us to look at other solutions. The efficiencies that we gain by using Dynamics for our day to day accounting are lost in the constant headaches of getting sales quotes to import properly into the system for invoicing. Another major issue for us has been budgeting and reporting. We currently do all of our budgeting and board reporting in Excel, which is too time consuming and inefficient, especially when a system as robust as Dynamics should easily be able to handle this relatively simple task.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Discontinued Products
    It's user friendly, when it wants to be.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    I rate it a 10 because we have removed the fields we don't need so users can really crank the data into the system. The software was designed for the professional services firm in mind but does a tremendous job for construction firms and "blended" companies that are both distribution firms but project centric as well. Perhaps they drop ship inventory to a project where their employees or subs need to work on a project for example.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    We have had only one unplanned outage for 2 hours in the last 30 months. We shut down for 30 min to 1 hour once a month, but that is for Microsoft OS updates to the servers. Being a 24/7 world wide operation, the reliability is really important. We do get an 8 hour window on the weekend that we can be down for a short period to install Microsoft Dynamics SL updates, but we do not have many of those. On our last version upgrade, we shut the users out at 9:30 am and were fully operational in less than 6 hours. The upgrade was New SQL server, New SL server and 2 new Citrix servers.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Discontinued Products
    I would give this a zero if I could. Here's the deal. Once you request a chat with a representative, they immediately respond. So responsiveness: 10/10. However, they have a tendency to (always) tell you that whatever problem you're experiencing is your problem, not theirs. They offer no solutions and never take responsibility for their website malfunctioning
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Support is only used when needed, so unfortunately ,they get all the odd issues. It's a difficult business, but Microsoft and our firm do a great job of meeting customer needs. We get routine feedback that our support services are very good.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Just to let it take its course. The implementation for me once I became a part of my former organization was pretty seamless. Just get to know the basics and call the support team to ask questions if you need help on an issue, should they arise. They are ready, willing, and able to help!
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Discontinued Products
    Financial Edge is more economical than GuideStar, and more focused on the financial successes than simply the management of funds and general data.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Of the comparable mid-range ERP systems, Dynamics SL competes at the lower end based on price, but also above the high-end based on flexibility, data, and reporting. Being able to stay with the same core accounting from a $100 million dollar company to a $3 billion dollar company shows the range of capabilities.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Since the backbone of the database is MS SQLServer, the database can be easily scaled.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Discontinued Products
    • Like any enterprise software, there are costs/investments ahead of return. It isn't something you would implement without support.
    • During the significant financial downturn, we were able to use FE to forecast trends and make budget adjustments easily. It transformed communication about forecasting and cuts with assurance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • More time is spent on manipulating reports which can and should be automated.
    • Lack of electronic invoicing process and other green technology features creates more cost on printing and storage costs.
    • The lack of a user friendly interface requires more training and a bigger learning curve for staff.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots