Dynamics GP Posting Batches Automatically from Ecommerce or Custom Application

It is known restriction in such tools, as eConnect SDK for Microsoft Dynamics GP, Integration Manager, where you are restricted to the methods, available to regular Great Plains user in the sense of entering, editing or deleting document, placing it in the batch for following approval by the manager.  Just to remind you – GP is mid-market Corporate MRP, ERP, HR and Accounting application, where transaction entering could be assigned to the user with low level of credentials with the ability to save the record in the so-called “batch” for the following approval cycle and final posting by the user with higher level of credentials.  This flexibility (and especially with virtually unlimited capabilities of such database platform as Microsoft SQL Server), allows you to implement Dynamics GP in large organization, where responsibility should be segregated.  Now, let’s review why eConnect doesn’t allow you to do all the work, including final batch posting.  Initially eConnect was introduced as SDK, opening Great Plains Dynamics SOP transactions for e-commerce programmers to transform Shopping Carts (including such popular platforms as Magento/PHP, ASP.Net Storefront and even custom programmed ones) into Sales Order Processing Invoice or Order with Customer Deposit (Credit or Debit Cart prepayment).  If you think about the security level of walk-in customer (typical internet surfer, who are willing to purchase something cheaper online), or even on-account customer (in B2B ecommerce scenario), this guy probably should not be allowed to post ecommerce transaction all the way through the General Ledger in Great Plains.  Well, at least this should not be allowed to the programmer, who is not really sure what is behind it.  But now, let’s assume that you are very comfortable about your grip on Dynamics GP business rules, settings and processes:

1. Transaction validation directly in ecommerce web application.  Popular eCommerce shopping carts might have the abilities to validate Credit Card and reserve the amount of payment.  Plus, they might be advanced to look at your stock status to be sure that ordered merchandise is available on your default ecommerce warehouse; as additional precaution, you are sure that customer cannot override price level (sometimes it might be difficult to combine legitimate discounts and manufacturer coupons).  If you believe that you validate ecommerce shopping cart legitimacy directly through your web application, you may decide to process your shopping cart image, likely SOP Order or Invoice all the way through, including posting in SOP, Inventory Control, Bank Reconciliation and in General Ledger modules.  This scenario has some advantages, especially obvious immediate opening the order for fulfillment and shipping directly on the warehouse floor (in good scenarios you may already have Warehouse Management System implemented with sophisticated Barcode scanning, picking and packing, etc.).  Let’s now take a look on the additional software tools, that you might need to enable this scenario

2. Dynamics GP Batch Posting Server.  Available from Alba Spectrum, this product is based on Microsoft Dexterity technology and it posts the batches, submitted for posting from your external application (it might be web project, generic Microsoft Visual Studio application written in C#, VB.Net and deploying eConnect libraries), or even non-Microsoft platform based application, where you are ready to place batches into custom tables in Microsoft SQL Server to trigger your batch for quasi real time posting (MySQL/PHP/Linux, Oracle, FoxPro, or you name it – good idea to be sure, that you can send the records into MS SQL Server through something like ODBC DNS or native MS SQL Server drivers, if they are available for your computer platform).  Posting server posts batches in quasi real time (every five minutes it checks the table if new record – batch number was submitted and it initiates the posting immediately after)

3. Not only e-commerce.  Yes, most of the modules in Dynamics GP deploy Batch editing and posting method.  And Posting Server handles automatic posting in all the modules (there might be some restrictions, especially when you are deploying Dynamics GP ISV add-ons with posting functionality or when you are programming your own custom module in Great Plains Dexterity).  In the case of custom Dexterity programming, it typically possible to open your custom add-ons for auto posting, you need to call Alba Spectrum for the resolution, expecting reasonable budget

4. Posting in multiple Great Plains companies.  Yes, Posting Server is capable to post batches in multiple companies without the need for your (or PS itself) to log off current company and login the targeted company in Dynamics GP.  Posting Server is programmed directly in Dynamics GP Dexterity with the references to Dexterity Source code (Dynamics.DIC with Dex Sanscript functions, procedures, and fields scripts sources not stripped out), this is why our Dexterity programmers were able to go beyond the normal expectations

5. Versions supported.  The product was initially introduced for Dynamics GP (Microsoft Great Plains) 7.5 and it is available for all the subsequent versions: 8.0, 9.0, 10.0 and 2010/11.0 (we are writing these lines in December 2010, so if you are reading this paper few years from the date, please check with your Dynamics GP Reseller on the status or call us directly)

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