Microsoft Great Plains in Advertising & Publishing ? implementation highlights

Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Dynamics is excellent fit for service oriented business and in this small article we'll give you magazine publisher and advertiser implementation and reporting scenarios. The system we describe is not real, we are putting together industry specifics, based on our consulting practice. In the case if you do not see some unique features of your publishing business ? this just means that publishing industry is diversified and say, regional newspaper publishing is quite different from magazine with narrow specialization.

? Advertisement Selling. This is the blood of every publishing company/house. In Great Plains you usually deploy Sales Order Processing module without Inventory control and all your SOP lines are advertisement services.

? Multiple Magazines. Publishing house has very turbulent life and it is industry norm when you do frequent acquisitions and spin-offs. There is time lag between acquisition and incorporation new magazine into your main company. In Great Plains you typically create new company for your newly acquired magazine, transfer chart of accounts, modules settings, enter beginning balances and you are ready to go. There are SQL scripts that you can deploy for new company initiation

? Collection Department. Advertisement sales require very strong collection and follow up. In Microsoft Great Plains you deploy Collection Management module. This module integrates with AR and SOP modules and allows you create collection query, where you select customers for your collections calls batch. For example, if you are in Houston ? you may create your East Coast clients batch for your morning calls and then by the end of the day ? another batch for California. And the most productive hours you can use for day of the week specifics ? say ? on Monday your call large collection accounts, on Tuesday ? to who is almost hopeless and should be sold to specializing collection agency, etc.

? Complex Financial Reporting. Assuming different size and data format of financial data, belonging to variety of magazines ? you need advanced FRx reporting technique: Reporting Trees for consolidation and even combining Great Plains GL data with Excel spreadsheets. Also turbulent publishing environment requires you to have reliable cash flow report.

? Data Import. Some magazines may give you their daily batches in text logs and you need Microsoft Great Plains Integration Manager customization to handle various data format import automatically with minimal user intervention.

? Customizations. You probably need several industry specific Crystal Reports, we saw advanced requirements coming from collection management department. Alternative way is to do this in Great Plains Dexterity. If you have authors, writing articles for honorary ? you might need advanced 1099 filing scenarios and reporting ? this is Great Plains Dexterity customization candidate.

We encourage you to analyze your alternatives. You can always appeal to our help, give us a call: 1-866-528-0577 or 1-630-961-5918, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), serving Microsoft Great Plains, CRM, Navision to mid-size and large clients in California, Illinois, New York, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan

---

Sample Business Plan Outline

If you are looking for a partner, funding, angle investor... Read More

8 Ways to Earn More Without Working Harder

Conventional wisdom has it that there are only three ways... Read More

Strategy Without Tactics is Futile

From time to time there seems to be a flurry... Read More

Business Plan 101 How to Write a Table of Contents

No matter what business you plan to start in your... Read More

Documenting the Exit Strategy in Your Business Plan

All investors greatly desire and are motivated by a clear... Read More

10 Ways To Make Your Business Unique

1. Largest Selection -One way that you can make your... Read More

Strategic Planning Fundamentals

Strategic planning is vital while starting a new business or... Read More

Fail to plan... or Plan to FAIL??

Running a business, whether it be an offline multi-billion dollar... Read More

SWOT Analysis Is No Magic 8 Ball

Q: A key investor in my business has suggested that... Read More

Business Process Methodologies

I've either been involved with or held a process-related role... Read More

I Always Play by the Rules and It Stinks!

This week I coached a wonderfully lovely woman I'll call... Read More

Hunters and Gatherers - Are You Serving Both Their Needs?

The University of Exeter in the United Kingdom recently published... Read More

The Impact of Price Popularity on Profits

The goal of almost every business owner is to generate... Read More

College Students and Graduates to Run Company Outlets or Franchises

Does your overall business strategy include the recruitment of college... Read More

Idaho Market for Automotive Businesses; Doing it Right

Anyone who has been watching the Idaho Market Carefully for... Read More

More Uses for Your Business Plan

You have invested a lot of time and energy on... Read More

Under Construction During the Storm ? A Hurricane Guide for Businesses that are Under Construction

As a business owner, you've likely created a hurricane plan... Read More

Consolidation in the Software Industry is Hardly New: Obsess About It or Risk Losing it All

Some analysts credit [Larry] Ellison with anticipating the consolidation in... Read More

Vendor Relations Strategies Sample Outline

One of the quintessential parts to any business is your... Read More

The 7 Critical Steps to Formulating Your Annual Strategic Business Plan

Businesses tend to avoid doing their annual business plan thinking... Read More

Top Ten Reasons To Create A One Page Business Plan

There is a story, about a business owner who wasn't... Read More

10 Critical Facts to Put On the Cover of Your Business Plan...

In most business plans, no matter how striking the idea,... Read More

Menu Driven Business Planning

A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will... Read More

Call in the SWOT Team: Produce More Opportunities to Expand Your Business

Have you ever done a SWOT analysis? No, it's not... Read More

ERP Role in Selling Your Mid-size Business ? Microsoft Great Plains and CRM Example

If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More

Have You Identified the Enemy?

One of the most powerful driving forces in human nature... Read More

Turning On The Lights

Fun From The StartFor those with the will to start... Read More

The Chief Cause of Business Failure & Success

Business rises and falls on leadership. According to business guru,... Read More

How to Snuff Out the Competition Without Leaving a Mark

Does the competition drive you crazy?Are they relentless about taking... Read More

Making a Decision to Outsource: Strategic Constraints

Many companies are reluctant to dive into outsourcing ocean because... Read More

Buying Used Detailing Equipment and Rainy Day Services

Mobile auto detailing equipment becomes very inexpensive around March each... Read More

Writing a Business Plan for Success in Business and for Funding

Writing a business plan to help you direct and manage... Read More

Will and Vision

Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by... Read More