Microsoft Small Business Manager Customization Options - Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Small Business Manager is Great Plains Dexterity based application and successor and small business market niche version of Microsoft Great Plains. Microsoft Great Plains itself has variety of customization and integration tools: Integration Manager, VBA/Modifier, Great Plains Dexterity, SQL Server stored procedures to name a few. By one reason or another MBS decided to restrict Small Business Manager and do not provide VBA/Modifier, restricted Great Plains ReportWriter version and didn't include Great Plains Dexterity IDE installer on SBM CD.

Here we would like to give you your options and tools available in your disposition. If you are developer who is asked: how do we customize Microsoft Small Business Manager ? read this and you will have the clues on where to look further.

1. Great Plains Dexterity ? this is proprietary programming language and technology, designed back to earlier 1990th with the goal to build platform independent graphical accounting package ? Great Plains Dynamics. Dexterity itself is written in C (following popular those days hope ? that C will provide platform independence). You can install Dexterity from Great Plains 7.5 /8.0 CD #2. In case of Small Business Manager ? you need to call to MBS Partners, such as Alba Spectrum Technologies/ Obviously it requires a lot of learning / training, but it allows your custom piece be seamlessly integrated with Great Plains interface. Nowadays, however ? and this is a good thing ? most of Great Plains installations are moved to SQL Server ? so you can use Dexterity for custom forms drawing only and make the buttons run SQL stored procedures.

2. Crystal Reports. Great Plains has its own ReportWriter, but its functionality is limited ? you can't do cross modules reports (you can't link Sales and Purchasing tables in one report, for example). So ? you use Crystal. The GP tables structure is in Tools->Resource Description->Tables ? and you are in control. Feel free to create views and stored procs directly in the companies databases ? it doesn't hurt the Dexterity engine

3. Direct web publishing from Great Plains SQL databases, using Visual Studio.net and your language of choice (VB.Net, C#, J#, etc). Plus you probably want to have several SQL stored procs.

4. eConnect ? this tool is type of SDK with VB.net samples. It allows you to feed data into Great Plains and was primarily created for eCommerce developers.

5. SQL queries - as a developer you have unlimited potential in using SQL queries, because the database in MS SQL Server. Be careful, it is kind of surgery - you can easily delete all your customers, by executing: DELETE RM00101

Happy customizing! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York and having locations in multiple states and internationally (http://www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

---

Microsoft CRM Programming Secrets ? Tips For Developers

This article is for advanced Microsoft CRM SDK C# developers.... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Integration Manager ? Working With Text File

Microsoft Business Solutions main middle market ERP application - Microsoft... Read More

Examining the Substance of Studio MX

To all web designers out there, this article is for... Read More

A Time-Saving Programming Tactic that Doesn?t Work

Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More

Importance of Coding Standards

Programming Help for BeginnersWe write programs to instruct computers. When... Read More

eConnect: eCommerce Development for Microsoft Great Plains

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has several options to enable... Read More

Navision Sales Module & Reporting: Jet Reports, C/ODBC, XBRL, Business Analytics ? highlights

Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with... Read More

Microsoft Navision Database Selection: C/SIDE or MS SQL Server - Overview For IT Specialist

There are certain pluses and minuses in both cases and... Read More

Bridging the Gap between Paper and Data

The cornerstone of successful automated office systems is the ability... Read More

.NET :Solving the Multiple Inheritance Issue Under .NET Platform

.NET platform does not support multiple inheritance. Do not confuse... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Nationwide Remote Support

ERP Consulting industry is on the way to serve clients... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Upgrade ? Version 8.0 Overview for IT Director/Controller

If you have Microsoft Great Plains as main accounting and... Read More

The Tools and Features of Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is one of the world's leading graphics editing... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Customization Tools Evolution ? Overview for Consultant

When Great Plains Software introduced the first graphical accounting application... Read More

Resume Software ? Advantages Revealed

The various resume software offered, particularly on the internet, can... Read More

Microsoft Navision and Crystal Reports - An Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for... Read More

Cisco Certification: Introduction To ISDN, Part III

Configuring PPP PAP AuthenticationNow we know how the ISDN link... Read More

Lotus Domino Implementation and Development: Infrastructure ? Present and Future

Domino server is a buffer between the operation system and... Read More

Review of TikiWiki Content Management System

TikiWiki is open source software - it is written in... Read More

How to Tell You Have Spyware, Ad-ware or Viruses

Usually, the easiest way to tell you have spyware is... Read More

Software Piracy

SOFTWARE PIRACY We regularly hear reports... Read More

Demand More From Your Lead Tracking Software

An integral part of any quality CRM system is lead... Read More

Microsoft CRM ? Consulting in the Post-Recession Time

New post-recession era has new features, which didn't exist in... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Government & Non-Profit Organization ? Workflow Implementation

Usually workflow & messaging is realized in CRM and then... Read More

Microsoft CRM Custom Design & Development: SDK, C#, SQL, Exchange, Integration, Crystal Reports

Microsoft CRM is new player on the CRM software... Read More

ERP for Large Corporation ? New Selling Strategy

Our opinion is based on our Microsoft Business Solutions Great... Read More

Software Process Improvement -A Successful Journey

Background: For many organizations like ours, the interim target of... Read More

Will Adobe Manage to Replace Industry Work Horse Quark Express by Giving Adobe InDesign for Free?

Heard about the Quark "killer"?Adobe InDesign CS2. Will it really... Read More

Off The Record - Tips For Picking Recording Software

Need software to record your voice, streaming audio or musical... Read More

HelpDesk & Asset Management Software - Choosing The Right One

If you are to buy a HelpDesk & Asset Management... Read More

10 Things You Can Do With Photoshop CS2 That You Couldnt Do Before Now

Is Photoshop CS2 worth the upgrade? You bet it is!... Read More

Save Your Resources - Combine Your IM Clients

There are so many different programs that clutter up your... Read More

Dreamweaver vs FrontPage

There are two major WYSIWYG(What You See Is What You... Read More