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Showing posts from June, 2020

Data and Documents for Grant Management

by James Townsend Managing government and non-profit grants usually requires a combination of structured data along with documents to track all the information required for applications, review, award and post-award reporting.  One of the more important design decisions you can make in implementing grant management software is to determine the proper place for structured data and documents, that is which information is stored where. By a structured database, I mean data that is divided into fields and records which is typically stored in a database.  Structured data lends itself to validation, such as restricting entry to defined data types, making fields required, or checking the data entered against a rule such as minimum and maximum values. Documents are sometimes needed to capture less structured narrative such as a project description, or to print a well formatted paper document for a signature.  Online documents can have some validation rules themselves, and even some logic such

Understanding Microsoft Dynamics Products

by James Townsend One of Microsoft's growth engines is the Dynamics family of products .  These are business software applications that include enterprise resource planning (ERP), accounting, finance, operations, human resources, customer relationship management (CRM) and even mixed reality and artificial intelligence. In contrast to operating systems and general purpose applications such as Office 365, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams, Dynamics 365 products are for businesses rather than personal use.  In fact, the Dynamics group was formerly called Microsoft Business Systems. Every week I get questions from customers about Dynamics 365, so I thought some background in a post like this might be helpful for those who are considering Dynamics products.   Here is Microsoft's list of application categories for Dynamics: As the figure above illustrates, there are many product categories and Dynamics products, and Microsoft is adding new ones each year. The Dynamics 365 products have ev

CPA Practice Advisor 2020 Review of Serenic Navigator for NPO

by James Townsend The latest review of Serenic’s comprehensive ERP solution for non-profit organizations,  Serenic Navigator for NPO ,  is  featured in CPA Practice Advisor . The review describes the requirements of non-profit organizations, such as accounting, management and administrative needs and how they can meet their needs from a single solution – Serenic Navigator for NPO.  The Serenic Navigator for NPO includes Accounting and Financial Management, Award Management, Budgeting and Expense Tracking, Payroll & Human Resources, and Analytics and Reporting. Optional modules including Deposits and Loans, Field Connect, and Donor Management with DonorDirect are also available. In addition, as an embedded Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central solution, complete integration with Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, is available as well.   CPA Practice Advisor rated Serenic Navigator for NPO a 5-star rating based on the completeness of its functions, the grant

NaviPayroll from Serenic Software Now Available on Microsoft AppSource

by James Townsend Serenic Software is now offering it  NaviPayroll on Microsoft AppSource . NaviPayroll is an integrated payroll and HR solution and the most widely used add-in for businesses using Microsoft Dynamics™ 365 Business Central. By using NaviPayroll as part of Dynamics 365 Business Central, organizations maintain full control of their most sensitive employee data.  NaviPayroll provides a range of functions for all types of organizations, including: Complete Payroll Processing Define an unlimited number of pay controls Define pay cycles to suit the business Support multiple business locations and job types Customizable earnings distributions Enter, track and report pay by hour, pay cycle, and source Calculate commissions and track and post expenses, automatically calculate taxes, print checks Create direct deposits and automatically export direct deposit files Automatic postings to General Ledger, Accounts Payable Mass updates and automatic accruals Tax & Regulatory Updat