Plumbline Solutions - Software Consulting Services

November 2008 Newsletter

In this Edition:

Greetings! With the presidential election over, it's time to start planning end-of-year activities and focus on business opportunities for next year.

The downloadable version of the Dynamics SL 7.0 Feature Pack 1 is now available! Since the busy holiday season is soon to arrive, you may want to start planning for and scheduling your customer upgrades now to take place the next quarter or two. I also encourage you to take a look at the new Plumbline Proven Solutions we have available - they could save you or your clients hours of time each month by optimizing the way data is displayed in heavily-used screens.

Best Regards,

Todd Michael
Director of Sales & Marketing
Plumbline Solutions, Inc.
(419) 581-2973

Plumbline Solutions provides software engineering services for Microsoft Dynamics^® Channel Partners and Microsoft Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). We offer software development, application support and technology consulting, with a focus on delivering excellence and building lasting relationships. Our 2008 Microsoft Competencies include: Data Management Solutions, Information Worker Solutions, Microsoft Business Solutions, Small Business Specialist Community, Custom Development Solutions and Business Intelligence.

New Plumbline Proven Solutions

We have developed over a dozen additional custom solutions to increase productivity and streamline data visibility within the Dynamics SL Project and Timecard applications. Sample types of customizations include:

Display/require daily timecard comment entries, or have these print on the Time Card Report.
Modify time or expense entry screens so more detail lines are visible per page.
Require a minimum number of hours before an employee can set timecard to complete status.
List default values for projects, based on the employee's most recent activities.
Disable the rounding function on project hours tracked for increased accuracy.
Display the project and/or task description for the line item during data entry in the Web Project Timecard application.
Provide increased supervisor capability to see timecard comments during the approval process, and allowing a delegate for timecard approval.

Take a peek at the detailed list of new Proven Solutions to see if there is one that may benefit you or one of your customers! [Read More].

September 2008 Payroll Tax Table Updates for Microsoft Dynamics SL This tax update document for calendar year 2008 contains tax table changes announced after the document “Microsoft Dynamics SL (formerly Microsoft Business Solutions–Solomon) Payroll Tax Updates and Changes March 2008” was published. This document includes tax table changes available to date, which will go into effect for the 2008 calendar year.

Flexible Billings Invoice Posting Sends Blank Lines to General Ledger in Microsoft Dynamics SL A setup issue can cause flexible billings batches not to post in the General Ledger module.

How does the sort grid by column functionality work in Visual Studio? Grid sort is accomplished via a call to the Grid Sortable API in the Dynamics SL SDK and its use can be looked up in that documentation. This API has been available to any SL SDK app before 7.0 FP1, so if you are writing your own apps, it is available to you. For 7.0 FP1, that API call was added to most of the inquiry screens throughout the product.

Troubleshooting Performance Issues in Dynamics SL 7.0 If you are experiencing screens that are slow to open or reports that seem to be taking a long time to run, check these tips to improve responsiveness. Customers can view the hints here.

Cannot Change The Tab Index of a Field in Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.0. Describes an issue where you cannot change the tab index of a field to a lower value using Customization Manager in Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.0 SP1. CustomerSource link: Cannot Change The Tab Index of a Field in Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.0

Are you interested in networking with other Microsoft partners in your city? Check out the local chapter of the International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

Convergence 2009
Agenda and Registration information is now available (registration opens December 3rd).

“Dream Server” Launch of Windows Essential Server Solutions
On November 12 there will be a live webcast starting at 8am PST for the launch of Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 featuring Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Invite your customers to learn more about Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and its new enhanced capabilities. This half-day event will help them better understand what SQL Server 2008 has to offer. Explore security and database management, how to best manage your data, and what’s new in business intelligence with SQL Server 2008.

Microsoft Dynamics Support Series: Year-End Processing in Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.00 (Event ID 248595)

This session is being held on December 9, 2008, at 8:30 A.M. PST, and provides hints and tips on having a successful and problem-free year-end processing in Microsoft Dynamics SL. The discussion will cover 2008 requirements for processing W2s and 1099s, and how to apply the year-end updates to Microsoft Dynamics SL installations. After completing this session, you will be able to:

Have a greater awareness of upcoming changes to year-end processing.
Understand what is required to install the year-end update package.

Name: Joe "The Tester" Worden

Background: At Plumbline, Joe is a test engineer. Prior to joining Plumbline, Joe held a variety of Quality Assurance and Testing positions at Microsoft, Great Plains and Solomon Software, bringing over 15 years of experience working with the Microsoft Dynamics SL product. Prior to entering the software industry, Joe worked for many years in Accounting and Cost Analysis functions in the manufacturing sector, as well as being a small business owner/operator in the food service industry.

Likes best about consulting: Enjoys having the ability to help bring ideas about software needs from a user’s perspective to the table during the development process of the product. Helping to insure that the quality of our products is meeting the highest standards possible before being released to the public is a great point of pride.

Hobbies: Woodworking, collecting old music memorabilia, playing guitar.

Booth Sharing opportunity at Convergence 2009. For as little as $500, you can enjoy visibility for your products in our SL ISV showcase booth. With an investment of $2,000, we'll demo your product and forward you leads! [Read More]

Partners can download the Dynamics SL 7.0 Feature Pack 1 from this site. Please note that the feature pack will be not be automatically delivered via DVD/CD to partners or customers. The DVD/CD will be in stock in the December time frame and can be requested at that time.

Is your head in the clouds? At the Microsoft 2008 Professional Developer Conference held October 26th - 30th, several new product announcements were made:

Windows 7, the next operating system with increased security, controls and easier connection to devices;

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), the tools used to take Windows Vista customers to the Windows 7 release; and

Azure Services Platform provides the ability to build new applications in the cloud.

More details about the conference sessions can be viewed at microsoftpdc.com.

The launch of Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 and Microsoft Windows Essential Business Server 2008 is just around the corner (November 12th), so it’s a great time to be talking with customers about how these solutions can improve their business.

Office 2007 Productivity Boost Ready-to-Go Campaign. You can take advantage of the Office 2007 Productivity Boost campaign and help your customers become more productive. Free customizable marketing resources are available, in addition to this customer-ready piece: Fact Sheet for Microsoft Dynamics- Built to Work with the 2007 Microsoft Office System

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Available for Microsoft Dynamics as of January 2009. Microsoft SQL Server 2008-Runtime is scheduled to release to the Microsoft Dynamics price lists on January 1, 2009, for Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Microsoft Dynamics SL. Customers who have licensed Microsoft SQL Server 2005-Runtime and are current on the Business Ready Enhancement Plan as of January 1, 2009, will be entitled to an upgrade to Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

On January 31, 2009, Microsoft will discontinue sales of Windows XP. Now is a great time to consult with your customers about transitioning to Windows Vista.

Access Plumbline Solutions' Link Exchange for a list of Microsoft Dynamics SL add-on products in one easy-to-search area: Plumbline Solutions' Link Exchange

To participate in the Plumbline Solutions' Link Exchange Program and gain greater visibility for your products or services, e-mail us or read the participation details.

If you have consultants in your organization that are not receiving the Plumbline Newsletter, please forward a copy of the newsletter to them and have them click on the "Subscribe me!" link in the email. Sign-up is also available on our website. We want to make sure we have these professionals “in the know” about the latest SL activities and ensure they have access to the monthly hints & tips.

To read previous issues of our Newsletter click here.