Microsoft Dynamic GP 2010 : System and Company Setup (part 2)

2.6 User security

Once Dynamics GP users are created, they need to be granted access to the Dynamics GP companies they can log into and security needs to be set up for them.

Access to companies

To give a user access to Dynamics GP companies, navigate to Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | Setup | System | User Access. Select the user in the Users list on the left and check the Access checkboxes for the companies listed on the right.

User security

 The following is a refresher on the Dynamics GP security components and the navigations paths for them:

You can assign roles to your Dynamics GP users on the User Security Setup window (Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | Setup | System | User Security).

As security can differ by Dynamics GP company, select a User ID and Company, then choose the Roles for that user and company. Multiple roles can be assigned to each user, even if those roles contain some of the same tasks. A user with no roles assigned will be able to log into Dynamics GP, but will not have access to anything in the system.

Before modified forms or reports are set up in Dynamics GP, there will only be one option, called DEFAULTUSER available in the Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports ID drop-down list. The AFA Reports button will bring up an additional window to set up security for Advanced Financial Analysis (AFA) reports. If AFA will not be used, no setup is needed for AFA.

Clicking the Print icon in the upper right corner of the User Security Setup window will print a report showing all the roles assigned and the tasks included in each role for the selected user and company. The Copy button will allow you to copy the selected user and company settings to any other company for the same user.

It is recommended to create a new user for the person performing the Dynamics GP setup and assign them the POWERUSER role, rather than using the sa login for everything.

A nice new feature in Dynamics GP 2010 is the ability to copy both company access and security settings from one user to another. To use this feature, navigate to Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | Setup | System | User, select the user you want to copy access and security to, then click the Copy Access button.

2.7 Multicurrency setup

Multicurrency setup is global to the entire Dynamics GP installation, so currencies and exchange rates can be set up once and used by all the companies in the system. There are three steps to system-wide multicurrency settings: currency setup, exchange tables, and multicurrency access.

Currency setup

Dynamics GP is installed with a number of predefined currencies. If desired, these can be used as they are with no additional setup needed. To see the existing currencies in the system or to create new ones, navigate to Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | Setup | System | Currency.

Before a new currency can be used in Dynamics GP, it must be set up on the Currency Setup window. Make sure the Currency Symbol, Negative Sign, Decimal places, and Separators are correct for each currency you plan to use. These settings will control the display of all currency amounts on windows and reports throughout Dynamics GP. Verify the Payables Check Terminology, as this will determine how amounts in words appear on your payables checks.

For US companies not planning on using Multicurrency, the default Z-US$ already set up for the US Dollar is typically used.

Exchange rate tables

Exchange rate tables must be created for each currency you plan to use that is not your functional currency. Each exchange rate table will define the relationship between the functional currency chosen for a company and the currency of the exchange rate table. There is no built-in method in Dynamics GP to automatically update exchange rates, so typically companies choose to update exchange rates manually on a monthly or quarterly schedule. Often the frequency of the updates will depend on the volatility of the exchange rates.

To create or change an exchange rate table, navigate to Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | Setup | System | Exchange Table. The following are examples of a typical exchange rate setup and rate table:

The illustrated settings will cause a transaction entered in Australian dollars to divide the Australian dollar amount by 1.09915 in April and 1.10856 in May to calculate the functional amount for that transaction.

The following are explanations of the settings on the Multicurrency Exchange Rate Table Setup window:

• Rate Frequency can be changed at any time and determines the default Expiration Date for new exchange rates entered. If you are not sure how often new exchange rates will be entered you can select None, so no expiration date is defaulted. It is important to always have a valid exchange rate, otherwise users may get error messages during transaction entry. This can, however, be mitigated by the Transaction Rate Default setting described further in this section.

• Rate Variance is a limit on the difference that will be allowed between a new exchange rate entered and the previous rate. This variance limitation will also apply for any rates entered on-the-fly during transaction entry, if that is allowed. A rate variance of zero means there is no limit. This setting can be changed at any time and is useful for preventing mistakes when typing in exchange rates. For volatile exchange rates, consider making the rate variance something large or zero.

• Rate Calculation Method determines whether the specified currency gets multiplied or divided by the exchange rate entered to arrive at the functional currency. This setting cannot be changed once exchange rates and transactions have been entered.

• Transaction Rate Default determines how the system chooses what exchange rate to use:

  • Exact Date: A valid exchange rate must exist for the exact date of the transaction. With this option and the exchange rate table shown previously, a transaction dated June 2, 2010 would cause an error, because there is no valid exchange rate for that date.

  • Previous Date: If there is no valid exchange rate for the transaction date, the exchange rate with the closest date prior to the transaction date will be used. If no previous exchange rate exists, the exchange rate with the closest date following the transaction date will be used. With this option and the exchange rate table shown previously, a transaction dated June 2, 2010 will use the 1.10856 exchange rate, even though it expired on June 1, 2010.

  • Next Date: If there is no valid exchange rate for the transaction date, the exchange rate with the closest future date to the transaction date will be used. If no future exchange rate exists, the exchange rate with the closest date prior to the transaction date will be used. With this option and the exchange rate table shown previously, a transaction dated June 2, 2010 will use the 1.10856 exchange rate, as there is no future exchange rate to use.

  Many companies leave this setting onExact Date to ensure that exchange rates are entered in a timely manner.

• Search for Unexpired Rates is only available if Previous Date or Next Date is chosen for the Transaction Rate Default. This setting allows you to limit the number of days the system will look backward or forward for an exchange rate. For example, if this was set to 20 on the previous example, a transaction dated July 1, 2010 would not have a valid exchange rate, as the latest expiration date is 30 days prior. This setting can be used to have a bit of a grace period for entering new rates.

The Multicurrency Exchange Rate Maintenance window is opened by clicking Rates on the Multicurrency Exchange Rate Table Setup window or navigating to Cards | System | Exchange Table.

Multicurrency access

Before a Dynamics GP company can use a currency, you need to allow that company access to the currency. This is done on the Multicurrency Access Setup window (Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | Setup | System | Multicurrency Access), which will only be available when no other users are logged into Dynamics GP.

On the Currencies list, select one currency at a time and then check the Access checkboxes for the companies that can use this currency. Select the Exchange Tables IDs one at a time and check the Access checkboxes for the companies that can use the exchange tables:

2.8 Additional system-wide setup

There are a few additional system-wide settings that you may want to consider for the Home Page metrics settings and default tasks.

Home Page metrics

The Metrics section of the Dynamics GP Home Page may not load properly if the computer does not have Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components installed. If you get an error displaying the metrics, use the following link to install these components: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7287252C-402E-4F72-97A5-E0FD290D4B76&displaylang=en.

Default tasks

Every user created in Dynamics GP will automatically get assigned at least one task called the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP):

There are also additional tasks assigned to administrative roles, such as creating backups or installing payroll updates. These are recurring tasks and deleting or marking them as completed simply brings them back later. To get rid of all of these tasks globally, you can run the following SQL script in SQL Server Management Studio:

delete from DYNAMICS..SY01403 where APLICFIL in ('SQMTask',
'BackupCompany')

Some of these tasks do not get created until a user first logs into each company, so you may want to wait to run this script until all the users have logged in, or rerun it periodically as needed.

Sometimes the CEIP task is persistent and will not go away with the previous method. In that case, Leslie Vail has a blog post with the steps to remove this task: http://dynamicsconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/07/goodbye-ceip-program.html. These steps are user-specific, so they will need to be performed while logged into Dynamics GP as each user.

If you had set the system password to blank during the system setup, you may want to change it now by navigating to Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | Setup | System | System Password.