Microsoft RMS ? Great Plains Integration ? Overview For IT Specialist

Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS) are getting new market share due to the Microsoft strong marketing campaign. Both products: Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft RMS are coming from the same Microsoft subdivision - Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), however due to the fact that both products were bought by Microsoft from different vendors, the integration between the two is not an easy thing. At this time MBS has RMS integration on the General Ledger and Purchase Order level into Great Plains out of the box. This integration has some advancements in comparison to old product: QuickSell, but it is still GL and PO only. We do understand the need for midsize and large retail companies, structured as clubs and selling on account to their members to have more adequate integration when you can synchronize your Sales information and have robust Great Plains reporting. There is the product on the market, which is integration on the Receivables Management level from RMS to Great Plains, written by Daniel Sionov and Andrew Karasev and maintained by the alliance between LightEdge Solutions (www.lightedge.com) and Alba Spectrum Technologies (www.albaspectrum.com). In Alba Spectrum Technologies we actually do coding and product tuning for specific client needs.

If you are developer you can end up with your own custom solution, we would like to give you directions.

1. Great Plains Integration Manager - if the sales volume is very low, say 100 transactions per day - then you can do data export from RMS and import it into Great Plains via Integration Manager. This is rather end-user tool - it is very intuitive, it validates 100% of business logic, brings in/updates master records (accounts, employees, customers, vendors. etc.) brings in transactions into work tables. The limitation of Integration Manager - it does use GP windows behind the scenes without showing them - so it is relatively slow - you can bring 100 records - but when you are talking about thousands - it is not a good option. By the way you can program Integration Manager with VBA.

2. eConnect ? You can create VB.Net application which will be pulling info from RMS and then uses eConnect to move it to Great Plains. eConnect is kind of Software Development Kit with samples in VB.Net. Obviously the development environment should be Visual Studio.Net. eConnect will allow you to integrate master records - such as new customers, vendors, employees, etc., plus you can bring transactions into so called Great Plains work tables (eConnect doesn't allow you to bring open or historical records - you need to post work records in Great Plains, the same limitation applies to Integration Manager above) eConnect is rather for ongoing integration. It was initially created for eCommerce application integration to Great Plains.

3. SQL Stored Procedures. The product we've mentioned above is collection of stored procs. Obviously you have unlimited control and possibilities with SQL queries. You need to know Retail Management System Headquarters and Great Plains tables structure and data flow. Launch Great Plains and go to Tools->Resource Description->Tables. Find the table in the proper series. If you are looking for the customers ? it should be RM00101 ? customer master file. If you need historical Sales Order Processing documents ? they are in SOP30200 ? Sales History Header file, etc. Do not change existing tables - do not create new fields, etc. Also you need to realize that each GP table has DEX_ROW_ID - identity column. Sometimes it is good idea to use inbound/outbound XML in the parameters - then you can deploy web service as a middle party between two systems. RMS tables structure is self explanatory.

4. Data Transformation Services (DTS) ? Good tool for importing your third party data into staging tables in GP - then you can pull them in using either stored procs of Integration Manager. You can also deploy this tool for EDI export/import.

5. Great Plains Dexterity Custom Screens. You can create the window, which will have integration settings in it - RMS store ID matching GP Company database, etc. Sometimes users prefer to have seamlessly integrated into GP interface custom screens - for parameters settings and initiating integration. Dexterity is a good option, however remember - it is always better to create new custom screen versus customizing existing one - due to the future upgrade issues. Also - Dexterity is in phasing our by Microsoft Business Solutions.

6. Modifier/VBA custom buttons on the existing screens - alternative to Dexterity is you are comfortable with VBA and ADO. Happy integrating! if you want us to do the job or use our product - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, based in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, New York, and Miami and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, VB/C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

---

Microsoft Great Plains SOP: Sales Order Processing

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Interest Calculation Example ? Stored Procedure for Crystal Report

This is intermediate level SQL scripting article for DB Administrator,... Read More

Spyware - The Internet Devil Of Our Times!

Spyware and Adware infest over 90 percent of computers in... Read More

Fleet Maintenance Software Reviews

Innovative Maintenance Systems (IMS) is one company that offers solutions... Read More

Microsoft CRM Customization Secrets ? Second Edition

This article is for advanced Microsoft CRM SDK C# developers.... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains & CRM in Transportation & Logistics ? Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains and MS CRM (client relation... Read More

Microsoft CRM Messaging through Lotus Domino eMail Server - Balanced Solution

Microsoft CRM and IBM Lotus Notes Domino seem to be... Read More

Start Developing Your Own Software

Learning how to program software seems like a daunting task... Read More

Off The Record - Tips For Picking Recording Software

Need software to record your voice, streaming audio or musical... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains in Metal Distribution: Implementation & Customization ? Consultant Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves to the wide spectrum... Read More

Seven Reasons Why a Hosted Inventory Management Solution Might Be Right For Your Organization

Upgrading. Downtime. Maintenance. Hardware obsolescence. Implementation issues. The litany of... Read More

A Guide To Purchasing Professional XP Icons Online And Enhancing Your Applications

Icons are used everywhere; right from software applications, to internet... Read More

Demand More From Your Lead Tracking Software

An integral part of any quality CRM system is lead... Read More

Hubris - Definition: Microsofts Passport

Before September of 1995, Microsoft ignored the Internet because their... Read More

How to Choose the Right Accounting Software for Your Business

With any good luck and a good amount of hard... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions Customization Options - Overview for Programmer

Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision... Read More

Begun, The Browser Wars Have

As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over... Read More

Lotus Domino Implementation and Development: Infrastructure ? Present and Future

Domino server is a buffer between the operation system and... Read More

OLAP, An Alternative Technology Over Spreadsheets

Are Spreadsheets Robbing your Enterprise of Competitive Advantage?'90% of "average"... Read More

Benefits of Shareware

Shareware has been fighting the stigma of being misunderstood for... Read More

Four Easy Ways To Prevent Spyware

How would you like to prevent spyware and adware from... Read More

Helping Newbies Understand Professional Software

The Windows registry is a huge database that ensures normal... Read More

Adware and Spyware Blockers

The most important things you can do for your computer... Read More

An Easy Way to Develop JAVA Enterprise Applications

Research bears that less than 70 percent of development projects... Read More

Secure File Transfer Using SSH Plus Additional Audit & Automation - FSA Reporting

In order to meet regulatory and corporate compliance requirements reporting... Read More

Choose your Java Wisely

Java has come along a long way. Many would agree... Read More

Microsoft C# vs. VB.Net

Hi, Guys,I believe a lot of programmers are trying to... Read More

Accessing XML Using Java Technologies

The most important benefit of XML is its simplicity. Though... Read More

The Dreaded Paper Label - Should it be Used?

While paper labeling CDs and DVDs may appear to be... Read More

Importance of Coding Standards

Programming Help for BeginnersWe write programs to instruct computers. When... Read More

Vlans

In order to implement VLANs in a network environment, you'll... Read More

Software Companies: Generate New Revenue Streams and Decrease Costs with Custom e-Learning Content

It's no secret that software companies operate in a very... Read More

Free Program Removes Spyware not Detected by Premium Security Scan

What is Spyware?Spyware monitors your surfing habits and sends the... Read More