Perfect financial software for your small to mid-size business
Microsoft Dynamics SL is our primary financial software. We use this program for invoice entries, vendor information, purchase orders, …
Overview
What is Microsoft Dynamics SL?
Microsoft 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…
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- Accounts payable (10)7.676%
- Single sign-on capability (9)7.474%
- Standard reports (9)7.171%
- Custom reports (9)6.161%
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What is Microsoft Dynamics SL?
Microsoft 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.
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What is Microsoft Dynamics SL?
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Microsoft Dynamics SL Technical Details
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft 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.
Reviewers rate Accounts payable highest, with a score of 7.6.
The most common users of Microsoft Dynamics SL are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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December 25, 2015
Dynamics SL For Project and Crew Based Accounting
We are using it for project and crew based cost accounting in one of our utility contracting companies and are in the process of rolling out the system to another one of our largest companies. Eventually, all companies under the holding company will deploy Dynamics SL as their ERP system as well as the parent company. The parent company will perform cross company consolidations.
- 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.
- Incorporate some functionality provided by third party products into the core product.
- Since Dynamics SL has strong multi company capabilities, incorporate functions to secure projects within a company to certain groups.
- Improve the budgeting, forecasting, and change order interfaces so that the tools are more online.
- Improve the forecasting capabilities to include more robust and integrated tie in to the project EAC/ETC (Estimate at Completion/Estimate to Complete) numbers. This would allow project revenue/margin/cash forecasting.
- Expand on the subtask concept
- Improve the interface for multi level rate entry for pricing and cost allocations such that more security can be applied and reduce risk of inadvertent changes.
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- Faster Closing Cycle
- Improved Reconciliation Tools
- Accurate and Timely Revenue Recognition
Dynamics SL provides built in complex project accounting flexibility with the benefit to accommodate additional complexity with customization tools to enhance the system capabilities and fill requirement gaps either as to process, reporting, or controls.
- Implemented in-house
December 18, 2014
Dynamics SL-The Right Choice for the Project-Based Organization
We are a professional services firm mostly with client billings of time making up 70-80% of our revenues. Creating billing transactions from timecards based on many different rules that are sometimes client based, task based, project based or even fixed price-make for the need for some capable software.
We are much happier with the web apps having moved off of the business portal time entry tool which was extremely slow and time consuming.
We use Dynamics SL across the whole organization and everyone enters a timecard. We use the software for expense reporting and evaluating which were good projects and bad, which tasks were good and which were bad. We use the software to help us make better estimates on future similar projects.
We've used Dynamics SL the entire 20 years we've been in business and really love it.
We are much happier with the web apps having moved off of the business portal time entry tool which was extremely slow and time consuming.
We use Dynamics SL across the whole organization and everyone enters a timecard. We use the software for expense reporting and evaluating which were good projects and bad, which tasks were good and which were bad. We use the software to help us make better estimates on future similar projects.
We've used Dynamics SL the entire 20 years we've been in business and really love it.
- Facilitates Time Entry from any device.
- Facilitates billing with "Allocator" which is really a transaction creator-creating billing records from time cards using unique rules
- Simplifies the review of draft invoices-making transactions not ready to be billed yet default to the next billing period so revenue does not "leak".
- When we have a lot of invoices rather than just a few large invoices, we can be frustrated by how long it takes Flexible Billings to generate a lot of invoices
- It would be nice if Dynamics SL had an easy integration to some of the nicer salestax tools such as Avalara and CCH.
- It would be nice if the fixed assets module and electronic banking were not third party.
- Less time needs to be invested to create invoices from timecards.
- Project profitability is right there for you to review as the whole product is "project-centric"-we do less of the work that tends to lose us money and more lucrative work.
- The ease with which we are able to hide unwanted fields makes data entry simple.
- The intuitive naming of the tables makes report writing much easier than most accounting/ERP products.
We selected Dynamics SL because our business lives and dies by the success of our projects. A product that can tell you that you have a problem before you invoice, helps you get your project back on track much better. It's also much easier to evaluate across projects, tasks and project types-what you do well and where you need to improve.
21
Accounting, professional services providers, managers. We use most of the modules available.
8
We have people that do support for our Dynamics SL users so perhaps this is not a fair question for us. Just about everyone on the team can provide in-house support if we were to need it. We rarely do need it however as the software is stable for us.
- Time Card Entry
- Time Card Approval
- Billing transactions that get generated automatically from time cards.
- We charge trip charges based on distance to clients offices in Flexible Billings
- We've created SQL Reporting Services reports that red, yellow and green light utilization from services professionals on the team.
- We use Quick Queries to fetch worked, billed, and realized time for all.
- We could use the purchasing and inventory modules better
- We could integrate with nice requisitions products such as Paramount's Workplace.
- We could share our nice project accounting data with clients on a portal that is part of SharePoint.
No
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Vendor Reputation
Ease of converting time cards to draft invoices was probably most important to us. This is how we make money and we don't want our managers having to invest a lot of time on admin work when they can have a tool that does most of the work here automatically.
We are happy with where we ended up. I would not change anything. We were thorough and practical and have a solution that does not take us a lot of time to do our work.
- Implemented in-house
- Professional services company
We are a professional services firm that implements Dynamics SL, Dynamics GP and Dynamics NAV so we did this ourselves as you would expect. The process was easy and painless in part because we understand the software so well and have such a broad team of support specialists to help with questions.
No
Change management was minimal
Because we had a process that worked and only needed the software to automate that process - we did not need to go through any organizational change to be successful. Our firm is only 21 people. When we do this for clients we do often document an "as is" and "to be" workflow so that we have a blue print before we start to build.
- Finding time to work on it while doing the rest of our work
- Configuring the allocator module to default exactly what we needed into the draft invoices
- Getting every one to enter time weekly-no exceptions.
No
We provide this support ourselves to users of Dynamics SL-so we don't need to buy it. The group that we speak to at Microsoft has a lot of experience and passion about doing a good job when we do need to contact them. We have over 100 years of Dynamics SL support experience so it is rare that we need to call Microsoft.
Yes
It depends on the severity of the problem. Serious problems get dealt with quickly. Issues where it is difficult to discern if the "bug" is really a design disagreement between what the user wants and what the software does obviously take longer. We can typically mitigate these differences with either a work around or some custom code for our clients.
We have gotten tremendous support from Microsoft on all 3 products-not just Dynamics SL but Dynamics NAV and Dynamics GP as well. I would say that Microsoft goes the extra mile in that they will even help debug a partner's code rather than just say "it's your fault-deal with it". This is rare for us but is happening now and we are getting the help we need for a very large Dynamics SL client.
- Integrating sales order lines with project revenue and costs is unmatched.
- Having project costs and revenues entered from any screen is extremely handy. You can make a Journal Entry to a project-updating both project and task
- Hiding fields, making fields required, even creating your own screens and reports with the toolset are easy relative to most accounting software/ERP solutions.
- Archiving data to a data warehouse if custom tables and custom programs have been added.
- Transaction Import is not quite as easy to use as other transaction importing tools-but it's free.
- Modifying some of the project accounting reports in Crystal is a bit difficult at times.
Yes
It works great. It's built with HTML 5 so works on any browser, tablet, or phone. This was such a huge and needed improvement to Dynamics SL! we are very happy that Microsoft made this investment as people get crabby when it takes them too long to enter their time.
July 21, 2014
Aside from Integration and Reporting, Microsoft Dynamics SL is a Good Small Business Solution
It is used by the accounting department for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger entries, and is integrated with a quoting system for sales invoice creation.
- Controls - Administrators can set very specific user roles and allow access to only the modules and screens that an employee needs. As far as accounting controls, the system does not allow you do delete items, manually adjust sub-ledgers, or other things that might raise red flags to auditors.
- Multi-Currency - We use three different currencies, and Dynamics allows us to easily create journal entries, raise sales invoices, and receive payments in any of those currencies. The system automatically converts other currencies to the home currency for reporting purposes based on Fx rates that you enter each month. Any payments received in other currencies are applied to the invoice and then any gain or loss on the exchange is automatically booked to the Realized Gain/Loss account.
- Subaccounts - Subaccounts/Classes/Dimensions are easy to set up for each GL account. You can control the combinations of subaccounts and accounts that are used to prevent users from accidentally keying invalid combinations. You can run reports on subaccounts to see all revenue or expenses for a specific subaccount.
- Not Intuitive - A lot of the functionality of Dynamics is not intuitive. For example, when you are on a field where you can enter information from a pick list, you have to hit F3 to show the list. Once you get used to it, it's no big deal, but the initial learning curve is pretty high if you are trying to learn it on your own.
- Reporting - The reporting feature is another area that is just not intuitive. There are a lot of canned reports that are separated by module, but you have to know how to use the feature to even get a basic report to work properly. I've been on the system for almost 10 years and I there are still some basic reports that I struggle to run if they're not ones that I use regularly (ex. an Aged A/R or customer statement for a single customer). The export to Excel leaves a lot to desire as well since the reports always have to be reformatted manually to even be usable.
- Integration with other Systems - We use a separate CRM and quoting system to track customers and create sales quotes. Once the quotes are created, they have to be imported into Dynamics using a integration tool. The import crashes frequently and there are a lot of bugs.
- Sales Tax - Dynamics does allow for the use of sales tax, but it is not very robust. We use a third party to import sales tax rates every month. Our sales tax is a little more complex than what the system can handle so we end up doing a lot of manual adjustments and double check every invoice before it is processed.
- Since our company is relatively small, Dynamics has been a good option for us since we need a package that is more complex and robust than something like QuickBooks, but we aren't big enough to warrant spending all the money on a solution like Oracle or SAP. The overall return on investment has been good.
- QuickBooks Online,QuickBooks Pro,FinancialForce Accounting
QuickBooks is not a bad solution, but it is typically used by smaller companies since it is not a true, auditable accounting system. Dynamics is much more robust than QuickBooks and handles complex accounting much better.
FinancialForce may be a good option if you are looking for something that is on the Force.com platform. If you are already a Salesforce.com user and are looking for an accounting system, this may be the way to go. However, if you already have a good accounting system, I would not suggest making the switch to FinancialForce. My experience with it so far has been that it was designed by engineers as a solution for people using Salesforce, not as an accounting system. There are many red flags right out of the box, and customization seems to be far more difficult than initial expectations. For example, the system does not use debits and credits, but rather positives and negatives. This is mind blowing for an accountant! Out of the box, there are three screens to click through just to create a journal entry. Reporting falls anywhere from difficult to impossible. My CFO recently spent the better part of a week trying to run a YTD Trial Balance. Again, mind blowing that this is being called an accounting system.
Dynamics definitely feels like a much truer accounting system than either of the other products that I've worked with.
FinancialForce may be a good option if you are looking for something that is on the Force.com platform. If you are already a Salesforce.com user and are looking for an accounting system, this may be the way to go. However, if you already have a good accounting system, I would not suggest making the switch to FinancialForce. My experience with it so far has been that it was designed by engineers as a solution for people using Salesforce, not as an accounting system. There are many red flags right out of the box, and customization seems to be far more difficult than initial expectations. For example, the system does not use debits and credits, but rather positives and negatives. This is mind blowing for an accountant! Out of the box, there are three screens to click through just to create a journal entry. Reporting falls anywhere from difficult to impossible. My CFO recently spent the better part of a week trying to run a YTD Trial Balance. Again, mind blowing that this is being called an accounting system.
Dynamics definitely feels like a much truer accounting system than either of the other products that I've worked with.
June 27, 2014
SL Review for Direct Sales Companies
We use SL to manage our warehouse operations, inventory, purchasing, ordering, and shipping functions.
Additionally, we also use SL in the Accounting Department for GL, AP, AR, and Fixed Assets (this is an add on module).
Additionally, we also use SL in the Accounting Department for GL, AP, AR, and Fixed Assets (this is an add on module).
- It is very robust in the Project Modules. There are many different ways to use Project functions and many companies like the flexibility of having it be stand alone or integrated with other modules.
- The web piece, Business Portal, is also a valuable asset to SL. While not having every function that the regular program has, BP allows users who may not need the full install to do day to day functions like time and expense entry, check reports, etc.
- The Accounting Modules are pretty straight forward. While SL itself is lacking in many of the standard reports, there are add on pieces to make this easier. FRx in versions past, and now BI360. Both are excellent options.
- A standard Fixed Assets module would be wonderful. While there is a piece out there as a third party, bringing that in house would be a giant step in the right direction.
- Process Manager can be cumbersome and difficult to use. There are many mysteries as to when it's going to process records, aside from the midnight. Additional options in set up to push types of jobs at specific intervals would be an amazing option to have, as well as perhaps a process flow somewhere of what it's looking for and priority that it's processing requests. Even Microsoft hasn't been able to answer all of this very well when asked for clarification!
- A more user friendly way to customize SL would be great. Seeing products like AX that have a more advanced customization piece in place makes me very envious. SL seems to be a little behind in keeping up with this.
- A mobile solution for a direct sales type company. We struggle with wanting consultants to go mobile, but the foundation isn't there for it to be done easily. From what I have seen, SL is behind in moving into the mobile era for retail businesses. It's possible but again requires third parties and getting the data back into SL can be clunky and tedious.
- We paid a partner an obscene amount of money for an upgrade almost a year ago, and almost every part of it has gone badly. We are STILL finding problems that didn't exist before the upgrade happened. Our partner has been somewhat attentive at certain issues, and not at all with others. It's been very frustrating to shell out more funds for support and still having problems that we were told would be 'fixed.'
SL is lacking in various places for a direct sales type of company plan. Currently, we are looking into other options and have decided on Microsoft Dynamics AX as a solution. The move to AX will allow us to keep ordering in one system instead of two (right now we are forcing SL and another program to speak to each other = Giant mess), and it will also be a better springboard for getting us into a mobile app position with our consultants. Unfortunately, years of SL in this environment has not proven to be a good solution at this time, and we are moving in a different direction.
- Easy: Time and Expense Entry in Project.
- Easy: Basic Document creation in Financial Modules
- Easy: Running reports.
- Knowing which order to do what step in some of these modules can be tricky for someone who is not familiar with how SL works.
- Setting up Projects to integrate with the Financial Modules and getting all pieces in place for FTT to run properly.
June 27, 2014
Dynamics SL Partner Review
Dynamics SL is used by our firm to do all accounting, payables, receivables, billing, project accounting and financials. We use many add on products since we resell this product and support over 200 customer users. It gives us experience on what works well to solve our problems and our customer needs.
- SL Dynamics has a deep background in project costing. For over 15 years, the product has focused on this type of business and added deep functionality. We have many government contractor and other professional services firms that run their business a project at a time and SL is a great fit.
- SL also has strong multi company accounting capability. One of our customers has 52 entities. Due to and Due From accounting is automatically managed. Cost allocations to entities is quite strong. Users can work in more than one company at a time.
- SL also has deep functionality for distributors. Inventory, Sales order and purchasing are quite strong. For firms that have inventory and also are project oriented, it is one of the few products that manage both functions in a single system.
- Core financial accounting is also strong and there are many add on products that enhance the capability of the product.
- Because the product has been used in Windows since the mid-90s, there is a lot of feature depth. This sometimes gets in the way of customers with simple needs. Training can usually address this concern.
- The application is client server at this time, so it can be hosted in the cloud using Terminal Services. Web enabled functions are starting to be released in the last year and more are to come, so in a few years, the product will be browser based.
- The payroll module (used by less than 10% of our customers) could be easier to use and needs some new features, but it is a 3.5 out of 5.
- Microsoft doesn't have a good budget solution, but there are good products from Solver (BI360) that do a great job of addressing complex budgeting needs.
- The main reports in SL are Crystal and SSRS. Third party tools for simple reporting are available to help get data out. The new Smart Reports address this need also.
- Dramatic improvement in our ability to judge the profitability of jobs.
- Lots of improvements in delivering invoices and statements to customers.
- Automated AP approvals and imaging made our last tax audit a breeze.
- Ease of reporting data is a big plus. Financial statements with drill down capability are very useful.
- One integrated system means less data moving around and more real time information.
- EFT payments, email statements and live linked Excel charts have improved our efficency
- Too many more to name.
We used Connectwise, which did a good job costing function, but had to be periodically integrated and lacked some reporting capability.
We looked at GP but it does not have good project accounting, so it was not a good fit for our company.
We looked at NAV but there was too much customization required.
We used to use MAS 200, but the database was proprietary and the technology was very old and slow to change.
Deltek is used by many firms in our business, but feedback from customers that changed to Dynamics SL led us to avoid that choice.
We also looked at SAP Business One, but the product had weak job costing and limited functionality.
We looked at GP but it does not have good project accounting, so it was not a good fit for our company.
We looked at NAV but there was too much customization required.
We used to use MAS 200, but the database was proprietary and the technology was very old and slow to change.
Deltek is used by many firms in our business, but feedback from customers that changed to Dynamics SL led us to avoid that choice.
We also looked at SAP Business One, but the product had weak job costing and limited functionality.
12
Accounting department, Executive leadership for financials, project managers for billing and project measurement, marketing for customer infomation.
3
A network engineer, a consultant and one of our owners. Of course,we are a Dynamics SL partner so most of our firm could support the product.
- Project costing and analysis
- Corporate financials
- Expense reimbursements to employees
- Email distribution of invoices and statements
- Inventory and product billing
- Excel reports for Top customers by year and all to date
- Completely paperless expense reports with EFT payments direct to employee banks accounts
- Project alerts and other alerts for out of bounds conditions and proactive analysis
- Cloud deployment with no on site servers or equipment/software.
- More integrated document storage and approval
- Web based budgeting system
- Automated email distributions of statements to internal Project Managers and Executives based on past due automated testing
- Additional alerts to internal staff.
Yes
Microsoft and our firm have programs to get access to premium support. Less than 5% of customers have to get this as the standard support is quite strong.
Yes
We have reported customer issues related to bugs and have found that the delivery exceeds the promised time in many cases. Bugs are taken seriously by Microsoft. Good experience here.
SSi Consulting (my firm) has an assigned Escalation Manager at Microsoft. We don't have to use them often, but when necessary, they can bring a team to focus on a customer problem and solve it quickly. It can be very helpful.