Do you know how to tighten the reins on what can post where in GP?
A control account is an account within the general ledger that corresponds to a subsidiary ledger, such as Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cash and Inventory. Normally, general journal entries should not be posted to these accounts because then they will no longer tie out to subsidiary reports.
You can prevent users from posting to these accounts by going to Financial > Cards > Account and unchecking the “Allow Account Entry” checkbox.
If a user tries to post a journal entry to this account, they will get the message below.
These accounts can still be posted to through the subsidiary module. And you can go back to Account Maintenance and temporarily recheck that box as needed.
GP Tip – Federal Payroll Tax Table Update Instructions for GP
Wondering how to update the federal payroll tax table in Dynamics GP? Here is a helpful explainer:
1) Ask all users log out of GP 2) Log into GP as the ‘sa’ user 3) Go to Microsoft Dynamics GP > Maintenance > U.S. Payroll Updates > Check for Tax Updates 4) Select the Automatic method then click Next
5) Enter your Authorization Number. This is your Authorized number with CustomerSource, which is normally your phone number (with the area code and no punctuation). Click on Login.
6) The tax tables will update. Click on Finish after the updates have been applied successfully.
7) You can verify that you have the latest tax update by going to Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > System > Payroll Tax. The “Last Tax Update” field should have the date of 1/19/18. 8) This updates Federal and State withholding taxes only 9) If you have a change to your state unemployment tax rate, go to HR & Payroll > Setup > Payroll > Unemployment Tax. Select the State and change the Tax Rate.
Do you have inventory items that you would like removed? Did you know that there is a process to accomplish this in Dynamics GP? Here’s how:
You can start preparing items to be removed during the year-end process by changing the item type to Discontinued. Go to Inventory > Cards > Item. Change the Type to Discontinued.
Items are tracked the same as Sales Inventory items in that you can still sell Quantities On Hand. You can also enter adjustments for the item and can delete the item when the quantity reaches zero.
You can also remove Discontinued items during the Inventory Year-End process.
Mark this option to remove the records for discontinued items that have been completely sold. Items assigned the discontinued item type will be removed from the item records during the year-end closing process, unless there are quantities of the item, or one of the following is true:
The item does not exist on an open transaction (sales document, purchase order, unposted inventory transaction).
The item is assigned to a kit.
The item is a component of a bill of materials.
The item has one or more bills of materials of its own.
Are you taking advantage of the GP Fixed Assets module? It is included with your GP license. You can use Fixed Asset Management to set up, enter, and maintain asset records. You also can use Fixed Asset Management to complete the following tasks:
Calculate depreciation
Import information to Fixed Asset Management from other sources
Create and use asset groups to make maintaining asset records easier
Transfer an asset to a new general ledger account or property tax location
Retire an asset, partially retire an asset, or retire a group of assets
Add insurance, lease, and user-defined information
Track General Ledger information entered in Fixed Asset Management, such as additions, transfers, depreciation, retirement of assets, and other changes
If you are using Payables Management or Purchase Order Processing, you can track assets that originate in those modules and add them as fixed assets.
If you do not see Fixed Assets options on the GP Financial page, that means it just needs to be installed.
If you or any of your GP users get a script error, like the one below, when they log into GP, it has to do with a setting on your GP Home Page.
Click on No many times until the error goes away. Then click on “Customize this page” in the upper right-hand corner of the Home Page.
Uncheck the Connect checkbox.
Or you can disable the Connect option one user at a time by running the SQL script below against the DYNAMICS database. (Replace ‘xxxxxx’ with the GP user ID.)
UPDATE SY08100 SET Visible = 0 WHERE SectionID = 6 AND USERID = ‘xxxxxx’
If you want to disable it for all users just omit the last line that filters by a specific user ID.
Get More Help With GP
We hope this helps you solve GP script errors at the login screen. For more GP support, training, or upgrade help, please contact CSSI.
Getting a ‘Maximum Users Logged In’ Message?
Do you or any of your users have trouble logging into GP sometimes because the maximum number of users are already logged in? Maybe you need to review which users are performing which tasks.
The 3 Types of Users In Dynamics GP
Full User. This is the most common type of user. This user has full access to do anything in GP, but they are limited based on the security permissions assigned to them within GP.
Limited User. These users can view data only, with inquires, reports and SmartLists. They cannot post transactions or change master records. PLUS, the cost of a Limited User is 80% less than the cost of a full user.
Self Service. These users can only access the Self Service modules, which are used to enter PO requisitions, payroll expenses and timecards, and project expenses and timesheets.
You can see which users are currently logged into GP by going to Administration > Utilities > System > User Activity. Here you can remove (Delete) users who should be logged out.
Keep in mind that, with the use of refreshable Excel spreadsheets, you can have non-GP users viewing GP data outside of the system.
This is a repeat of a tip we published in February of 2022 but, with the rise in the number of check fraud cases, this may be a good time to start using Safe Pay (also known as Positive Pay).
Microsoft Dynamics GP has this built-in tool to assist in the prevention of check and ACH fraud. It’s a process that involves creating a file of payables payments (checks and EFT’s) that you submit to your bank.
Any payments presented to your bank are compared to your company’s issued Safe Pay file. If a payment does not match the information in the file, your bank will contact you for authorization.
If you do not see this option in your GP, then it either needs to be installed and/or registered.
It requires a few setup steps. You first need to contact your bank to confirm that they offer this service and then ask them for file specifications. This file format gets created in GP by going to Financial > Routines > Safe Pay > Configurator, where you select an Output file Type and define the types of records lines and record fields per line.
Next, go to Financial > Routines > Safe Pay > Upload Maintenance. Select the Bank Upload ID (Bank Format) that was created in the first step. Link it to a Bank ID and a Checkbook ID. Select the Upload Filename and Path where you want the file to be created. The same file name will be used every time. (The file gets overwritten each time you create a new file. Have no fear, though, you can always recreate a file from history.)
If you are using EFT processing in GP, be sure to check the “Include EFT Transactions” checkbox at the bottom of the window.
Once you are ready to create a Safe Pay file, after you have posted a batch of payments, go to Financial > Routines > Safe Pay >Transaction Upload. Select the Bank Upload ID. Enter a Last Upload Date and Upload Cutoff Date. Click on the Load/Reload Transactions button. The payments to be included in the file will appear. Click on Upload to create the file.
Click on Proceed when the window below appears.
Click on OK again.
If your bank provides you with a confirmation number when the file is submitted, you can enter that in the next window. If you do not have a confirmation number, just enter any number then click on Successful.
You can then print a report listing all the payments that were included in the file.
To recreate a Safe Pay file, go to Financial > Routines > Safe Pay >Transactions History. Select your Bank Upload ID. Click on the left and right arrows to scroll through previously created uploads. Click on the Upload button the recreate the file.
Need More GP Support?
For more helpful Dynamics GP support, contact the pros at CSSI. We’d be happy to help. Get GP help here.
Monitor your data with GP Home Page and a SmartList
Use your GP Home Page and a SmartList to help you monitor your data. Use reminders to view customers who have gone over their credit limit. Or use a reminder to list all inventory items that have a on hand quantity that is below the item’s reorder limit. Or keep an eye on purchase orders created that exceed a certain dollar amount.
First, create a new SmartList favorite that displays the columns you want to see and that is filtered on whatever criteria is needed.
Let’s work with the example of seeing all purchase orders over a specific dollar amount.
First create the SmartList favorite that will give you the information you need, such as what is shown in the screenshot below.
This list is filtered on
“Released” PO’s only, meaning they have been printed but not yet received or invoiced.
PO’s with a Remaining Subtotal greater than $5,000
PO Status not equal to “Canceled”
Once your new SmartList favorite is displaying the information that you want, now we can save it as a Reminder on your Home Page.
Click on the Favorites button. Enter a new Name then click on Add and select Add favorite and reminder.
In the Custom Reminder window, under Remind me when, select Number of Records, choose “is greater than” and enter 0. This means show my SmartList as a reminder only when it’s returning more than 0 records (rows). Click on OK.
Go to your Home Page. You may need to refresh it if you had been on the Home Page while creating your reminder. You can refresh your Home page by clicking on the double blue arrows in the upper right-hand corner. Or go to another page then come back to the home page.
Here is my new Reminder on my Home page. The “3” in parenthesis indicates that I have 3 records on the SmartList. I can click on it and it will take me right to that SmartList.
Here’s an easy way to handle cash received from a vendor, whether it’s a vendor rebate or a refund of an overpayment. Use the Return document type in Payables Transaction Entry.
Go to Purchasing > Transactions > Transaction Entry and change the Document Type to Return. Fill in all the header information as usual: Document Date, Vendor ID, Document Number, etc.
Enter the amount received from the vendor in both the Returns and the Check fields.
Once you tab off the Check field, the Payables Check Entry window opens where you select which Checkbook ID this payment will be deposited in. You can also enter the vendor’s check number here. Click on OK when finished.
Then, click on the Distributions window to verify the GL accounts that will be posted to. The CASH account defaults from the Checkbook ID selected above. The PURCH account defaults from the Purchases account assigned to the vendor but it can be changed. (Never change the CASH GL account as it’s assigned to the checkbook.)
Once the return is posted, it will be waiting to be deposited in the Bank Deposit Entry window.
You can see in the Payables Transaction Inquiry window that the Return transaction has been fully applied and, therefore, moved directly to History.
Did you know that Dynamics GP enables you to prevent users from posting to prior fiscal periods by closing fiscal periods? Here’s how to take advantage of the feature.
Go to Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Company > Fiscal Periods.
Also be sure to close all the periods for a year that has just been closed. Because GP allows you to post back to the last closed year, you’ll want to be sure all the periods and modules are closed for that year.
You can always go back and uncheck a period to temporarily reopen it.
You also have the ability to leave just one particular type of transaction open. Click on the Mass Close button (highlighted above). Select a Series and Origin and reopen a period for just that transaction type.
