Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS) are originally developed by different software vendors, who had no idea that in the remote future (now) these two applications will be owned by Microsoft and will need to be tightly integrated. Current 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 and Purchase Order Processing 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. This product allows you to map multiple RMS stores to one or multiple Great Plains companies. We usually have to tune it for specific needs of the customer, but in general words - it is based on SQL insert into statement and so can handle hundred thousands transactions per day - maximum of what RMS can handle. Integration is usually setup on RMS Headquarters database. However we can set it for Store Operations database.
Overview of out-of-the-box Microsoft RMS integration. This integration is currently available for Great Plains version 7.5 and Microsoft RMS 1.2. MBS is in process of subcontracting Nodus Technologies to write new integration for version 8.0. The weak points of the out-of-the-box 7.5 integration are:
1. It is for integration into one Great Plains company only. If you have multiple stores as multiple companies in Great Plains - then you have to remember which batch should be posted into which Great Plains company.
2. It is on GL and Purchasing level only. So, if you have to reconcile checkbooks / Bank Reconciliation module in Great Plains - you can not do it with standard integration
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
About The Author
Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, Microsoft RMS customization company, based in Chicago, Arizona, Colorado, California, Texas, New York, Georgia, Florida and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer; akarasev@albaspectrum.com
Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions product, targeted... Read More
With many manufacturing shops heading over seas in favor of... Read More
Currently Microsoft Business Solutions is on the way of creating... Read More
Pirated software is on the increase and now accounts for... Read More
If there still are few unprotected computers left, I haven't... Read More
Since Version 8.0 Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains & Great... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions products: Great Plains, MS CRM, Navision, Axapta,... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more... Read More
The world of small business accounting software can be a... Read More
It is really interesting that a bug can create problem... Read More
Our hosted solution allow you to run your own search... Read More
Great Plains Accounting, accounting package for mid-size and small companies... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more... Read More
Intro This concise article will tell you in plain English... Read More
A few months back I really got sick of my... Read More
We are in a transition phase in the Managerial Administration... Read More
Microsoft CRM is now on the scene and it is... Read More
What is Software?Software is a set of instruction written to... Read More
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Overview covers What is ERP, Brief... Read More
What is Groupware?Have you ever had to manage document collaboration... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
... Read More
The java programming language is becoming more and more popular... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains as new ERP for multinational... Read More
2005 ? Back to the Future.What does the future hold?... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS)... Read More
It is possible that if one avoided all sources of... Read More
Some companies that are in need of fleet management may... Read More
There are many commands that are used in linux on... Read More
Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision... Read More
Current Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has more that 10... Read More
Microsoft CRM was designed to be easily customizable. Microsoft CRM... Read More
There are several kinds of software piracy. The bottom line... Read More
Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision... Read More
... Read More
What is Colossus?Colossus is software licensed to about twenty-five insurance... Read More
Great Plains Fixed Assets Management module is a robust tool... Read More
Most computer users use spreadsheets software such as Microsoft Excel... Read More
The objective for Zandi Digital is to make available clever... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves multiple industries in the... Read More
Spyware and malware are large problems for Internet users today... Read More
Fundraising software lets you connect with donors in a way... Read More
Microsoft CRM is CRM application, maintained and supported by Microsoft... Read More
Simply put, fleet maintenance allows companies to monitor and maintain... Read More
Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More
The destruction of the Soviet Union about 15 years ago,... Read More
The vast majority of us will have, at some point,... Read More
Follow the steps below to quickly design, generate, and deploy... Read More
Microsoft CRM ? Client Relationship Management package from Microsoft Business... Read More
The first topic we are going to discuss... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is web-based CRM application, deploying all... Read More
Former Great Plains Software Dynamics/eEnterprise, and currently Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share and... Read More
Think of this, first we had the HAM Radio, then... Read More
In the previous ISDN article, we looked at how and... Read More
What is 'adware'?Adware is basically software or scripts that are... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions accounting package... Read More
If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it for... Read More
What is Tripwire?Tripwire is a form intrusion detection system (IDS)... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Great Plains is designed to meet... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions is now in process of creating so... Read More
Crystal Reports is the most flexible tool on the market... Read More
There are plenty of articles out there about how to... Read More
IntroductionSurprised, by the title? well, this is a tour of... Read More
Shareware is software that you can try before you buy;... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics... Read More
Software |