KTL Blog
Insights and News from KTL Solutions.
Featured
Recent
What’s New in CRM 2015
Dynamics CRM 2015 is around the corner and there is a lot of excitement building up towards its launch. CRM 2013 completely changed things by introducing a whole new user interface and CRM 2015 is building on top of it by adding and improving existing features. CRM 2015 has introduced a lot of platform enhancements that make it a solid and great CRM experience. I have listed a few exciting features here but it’s a big list and we will explore through them as we approach the CRM 2015 launch.
Making the Case for Microsoft SharePoint
So you have probably heard it all when it comes to SharePoint, huh?
Throughout my Client ventures, I still hear the questions, “Well, what can SharePoint do for me?” “Our business is too small, does it make sense for us to deploy?” “What hardware or resources will I need?” “What’s my ROI?” and finally, “Can we use that in the cloud?”
In past years, SharePoint was a larger on-Premise more complicated platform that needed Administration, Developers, Maintenance, Site managers, and sometimes full team collaboration to make a successful best practices deployment and positive user experiences. This is still needed in some environments, but clearly some things have changed.
How to Balance Your Consulting Life Without Going Crazy
A long time ago I started a family and after taking some time off work completely, I was ready to get back to into the game. However, being a mom, I did not want to have a typical 9 to 5 job because I needed to be available to take my kids to school as well as continue to be the main caregiver. I eventually took a job doing consulting work. Consulting, to me, makes me think of having some freedom within your schedule and not the typical 9 to 5 hours. (A testament to this statement is that it is currently 9pm on a Monday and I am writing this. The down side is that I left my house to go to work at 7am this morning and am still working.) But I do enjoy my job. It consists of new implementations, software upgrades, training, and support. Something new that challenges me everyday. But the question still remains (and sometimes, I still struggle with) is how does one handle the process of juggling the demand of multiple clients, multiple projects, and a family life outside of work?
3 fundamental steps to build a Top Notch Software
Creating a software is an art, and here at KTL, we take it seriously!
Building software that meets business requirements is quite a tedious process. It involves various disciplines to come together in order to gather requirements, design, code, test and deploy. The journey of a software does not end here, in fact it is just set on a long sail and is expected to do its duty and perform here on. This is when the durability of the software is tested and it is rated as mediocre or class apart. I am going to discuss a few principles that we follow to make a software that customers want to ‘Take Home’ and ‘Keep’.
Dynamics ISVs…Use Your Partner!
In previous blogs, I have touched on the sheer number of Dynamics ERP ISVs (third party products). They are great tools to add on to an accounting system, however choosing out of the thousands can be a daunting task. Implementing them can also be quite an undertaking. It involves multiple systems, and should involve several parties, not just the ISV but also your Dynamics Partner and IT personnel/company. All too often us partners get calls from clients saying they have purchased a product that was supposed to solve all their problems and now they have no clue how to use it and their ERP is crashing.
Your Thanksgiving Day Dinner vs. Your ERP Project
Tis the season when most get excited about the holidays and gather with friends and family in celebration. For some, the holidays are stressful. There is planning, preparation, execution, and clean up and doing so all on top of your regular daily routines. Oh and it isn’t always just for one holiday but for two, three, or more in a 2 month period. I’m just going to think about Thanksgiving.
Tax rate tables + ZIP codes = disaster. Here’s why.
Here’s a not-so-fun fact: A large percentage of businesses in the United States have rate tables in their ERP system with rates based on ZIP codes. In fact, you might be one of them. Unfortunately, this method can give you inaccurate rates, landing you in trouble with customers and taxing authorities. Here’s why:
The U.S. Postal Service developed Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) codes in the 1960s, so mail could be delivered more efficiently. What many people don’t know is that these “zones” can not only overlap each other, they can be adjusted and, sometimes, they might not represent a geographic region at all. In any given year, the USPS makes numerous boundary changes to ZIP code areas, making them an unstable data source. Most importantly, tax jurisdictions do NOT correspond with ZIP code regions. That means basing sales tax rates on a ZIP code risks applying not only an incorrect sales tax rate, but remitting it to the incorrect jurisdiction.
Top Ten Criteria for Choosing an ERP System
One of the most critical decisions a growing company can make is the introduction of new technology into its business. There are so many things to think about when considering an ERP implementation that it can sometimes be overwhelming. Over my many years of seeing successes and (unfortunately) a few failures of ERP implementations, I have an approach that leads to a more successful outcome.
Using MSFT Dyn CRM to Automate RFP Responses
We have observed over the last few years that bidding on contracts with the Federal Government is becoming easier and harder; a contradiction yes, but true just the same.
It has become easier because of the standardization of the award vehicles and bid consolidators like INPUT. The task of finding the right contracts to bid on and the less complex responses required make it easier; but now that it is easier, there are many for firms competing, which makes winning contracts harder.
