If you receive errors when attempting to view this white paper, please install the latest version of
Adobe Reader.
"
Microsoft Business Solutions developed Solomon 5.5 to meet the unique needs of small to midsize
project-driven organizations, specifically in the industries of business services, management and engineering services, social services, special trades contracting, general contractors, and wholesale trade (durable goods)."
Source : Microsoft Dynamics
Powerful Solutions for Project-Driven Organizations
Powerful Solutions for Project-Driven Organizations is also known as :
powerful solutions for project,
project driven organizations,
solutions project driven,
project driven,
project management,
expert project management,
succeeding in project-driven organizations,
define project driven organizations,
project driven versus non project driven organization,
leading the project driven organization,
examining risk tolerance in project-driven organization,
project organization,
project driven organizations,
building a project-driven enterprise,
specialized needs of project,
introduction to it project management,
when projects and organizations collide,
seven behaviors of successful project-driven,
document management for project driven,
functionally-driven organization,
Project-driven organizations and distributors,
examples of those project-driven organizations,
mature project-driven organization,
how to build a project-driven organization,
project-driven organization system,
widespread project management approach,
technology-driven organization.
Powerful Solutions for Project-Driven Organizations
Maximizing on time and profitable delivery of
projects while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction are the goals
of every project-driven organization. Project managers, resource managers,
business managers, consultants, executives, team members, IT professionals, and
accounting staff must work together to achieve these goals, using tools
tailored to their specific roles and responsibilities.
Microsoft Dynamics SL
solution for Project Management and Accounting combines the power of Microsoft
Dynamics SL project accounting capabilities with the enterprise project
management version of Microsoft Office Project 2003.1 This end-to-end
solution delivers powerful functionality for managing all phases of a
project"from planning, scheduling and status review to expense capture,
profitability analysis, and billing.
Best of Both Worlds: Integrated AND
Best-of-Breed
Too often, project-driven organizations are faced with a
difficult choice: they can choose best-of-breed line of business applications
and integrate them at great cost, or choose a fully integrated solution that
lacks functional depth in key areas. Successful management of your business
and its projects requires integrated tools that also provide deep
functionality. Microsoft Project Management and Accounting combines
best-of-breed functionality with unparalleled flexibility, including
integrated resource management, project management, knowledge management,
time and expense management, project accounting, financials, reporting, and
analytics.
Plan Intelligently
Project and financial managers can now plan
projects efficiently and control budgets to maximize profitability.
Guided planning
Quickly master the project planning process with the
interactive Project Guide in Microsoft Project 2003, which helps you set up
plans and track projects. Customize the Project Guide to promote your
organization's best practices from within Microsoft Project.
Granular
budget control
With the ability to track and control your budgets from
project initiation to completion, right from within Microsoft Project, you'll
see how change orders and revisions affect your budget throughout the life of a
project. Revenue and cost budgets can be defined for each cost category for each
project task, making it easy for project managers to spot and receive alerts
when cost overruns and other potential problems threaten project success.
Flexible project creation and standardization
Create projects, tasks,
and budgets manually or reuse enterprise-wide templates to promote standardized
planning and reporting across your organization. The ability to initiate and
update projects automatically in both Microsoft Project and Microsoft
Dynamics SL enables project managers and accounting staff to use the tools
that are most appropriate for their roles.
Centralized resource
management
Manage resources effectively throughout your organization with a
central resource pool. Use the Microsoft Project Resource Center to view,
group, and edit enterprise resource information and evaluate availability
across multiple projects. Update the enterprise resource pool automatically
using cost rates from Microsoft Dynamics SL, so that back office staff and
the front line project managers always access the same set of data.
Resource optimization
Get accurate information about resources throughout
your enterprise so that you can assemble the best team for each project.
Evaluate skills and assignments with the help of resource availability graphs,
the Resource Substitution Wizard, and the Build Team from Enterprise option.
Demand planning
Determine the skills and resources required to execute on
proposed projects so that the right people are available for the right jobs
when you need them.
Execute Effectively
Collaborative tools and shared
data allow project teams and business stakeholders to keep projects on time
and on budget
Time and expense reporting with materials capture
Help
eliminate errors and duplicate data entry by allowing project team members to
capture time and expenses at the project and task level for multiple
purposes"including costing, billing, payroll, and project status update. Your
project and accounting staff can now capture materials costs and other accounts
payable transactions directly against projects and tasks, providing insight into
ALL the costs associated with your projects, not just the labor costs.
One-time data entry
Reduce administrative delays and errors caused by
duplicate data entry. Customers, contracts, projects, tasks, resources,
budgets, time, expenses, and financial transactions can be entered once and used
throughout Microsoft Dynamics SL. Server-level connections virtually eliminate
the need for manual import and export of files to and from Microsoft Project.
Enterprise portfolio visibility
Quickly evaluate mission-critical
initiatives and identify projects that are behind schedule or over budget
with high-level views of projects across your organization. Gain insight into
projects with Portfolio Analyzer, a flexible analysis tool in Microsoft
Project that allows you to interact with real-time project and resource data
to identify trends and problem areas throughout your portfolio
Resource utilization
Maximize profits with efficient, accurate, and
consistent tracking of employee utilization data. Track everything from goals
for billable hours and revenue to actual hours billed and revenue earned.
Team collaboration
Web-based tools let team members and project stakeholders
view, update, and submit project information such as time cards, expense
reports, and task status updates. Review and approval capabilities streamline
workflow and ensure timely and accurate submission of mission critical data.
This allows you to bill your customers, analyze profitability, and review
project status efficiently and accurately.
Centralized project
documentation
Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing with Microsoft
Windows® SharePoint' Team Services, which provides a central location for
organizing and tracking project-related documents and issues down to the task
level.
Earn Accurately
Customizable and automated revenue recognition,
accounts receivable, and billing tools will help you increase your cash flow
and profitability.
Project financial reporting
Get a clear and detailed view of project and task
profitability. Evaluate budget versus actual using drilldown and graphing
tools. Whether you are a project manager, line manager, or project accountant,
you always have easy access to the data you need for analyzing project
financial performance " even on multiple projects at one time.
Shorter
Billing cycles
Help improve cash flow by automating your management of
unbilled receivables. Utilize specific billing methods and apply custom
mark-up rules to automatically post billings to Microsoft Dynamics SL Accounts
Receivable and then to the Microsoft Dynamics SL General Ledger once they are
approved.
Flexible invoicing
Invoice customers with different
types of compensations and fees " all at one time. Choose from Time &
Materials, Progress, and Fee Billing methods. Whether your company applies
retainer, retention, project management, or service fees to projects, you can
schedule, track, and invoice the appropriate amounts, using custom invoice
formats that meet specific customer needs.
Recognize revenue accurately
Use Cost Plus, Fixed Price, and
Time and Materials methods at the project or phase level for greater control
over your revenue. Flexible revenue recognition methods help you meet specific
business and project needs.
Contract management
Turn
change orders into billable work, automate the document tracking process, and
tighten payment controls to keep projects on budget.
Adapt to Meet
Changing Needs
Built on Microsoft technologies,
Microsoft Dynamics SL can be adapted as you grow and tailored to meet the
specific needs and goals of your project-driven organization.
Integrated
functionality
Microsoft Project Management and Accounting integrates with
other Microsoft Dynamics SL modules, including: General Ledger, Accounts
Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Distribution, and Field Service
Management. This ensures that project driven organizations with varying or
changing needs " from professional service firms to construction companies "
can maximize their long-term investment.
Configurable and customizable
Administrative tools allow non-technical users to make changes to best suit your
organization's needs. Power users and programmers can customize the solution
to provide unique enhancements and integrations to other line of business
applications.
An investment for the future
With more than 20 years of
experience meeting the needs of project driven organizations, Microsoft will
continue to provide reliable and affordable solutions for years to come.
Backed by a global partnership
Microsoft Dynamics SL is delivered by a vast
worldwide network of Microsoft Certified Partners that share a commitment to
lasting customer relationships. These reseller partners, project driven
organizations themselves, are among the most highly trained in the industry
and can meet your needs as your business grows.
Total ownership
experience
Microsoft provides award-winning customer support that is among
the best in the industry. Our CustomerSource Web site provides up-to-date
product information for all current customers. Each year in the spring, our
customer conference, Convergence, brings together thousands of customers to
learn how to get the most from their business solutions.
White Paper - Microsoft Dynamics SL
Project Management and Accounting
Table of Contents
- Powerful Solutions for Project-Driven Organizations.
- Best of Both Worlds: Integrated AND Best-of-Breed
- Plan Intelligently
- Guided planning
- Granular budget control
- Flexible project creation and
- Centralized resource management
- Resource optimization
- Demand Planning
- Execute Effectively
- Time and expense reporting with materials capture
- One-time data entry
- Enterprise portfolio visibility
- Resource utilization
- Team collaboration
- Centralized project documentation
- Earn Accurately
- Project financial reporting
- Shorter billing cycles
- Flexible invoicing
- Recognize revenue accurately
- Contract management
- Adapt to Meet Changing Needs
- Integrated functionality
- Configurable and customizable
- An investment for the future
- Total ownership experience