Dynamics 365 F&O/AX Dynamics 365 CE / CRM Dynamics GP Business Central / NAV UG Dynamics SL Power Platform Fabric UG MS Copilot UG

[Kimberly Smith]

We are in the process of implementing GP and are considering the option of a 3 segment GL account structure and using Analytical Accounting codes (for certain types of costing on the P & L) versus a 7 segment GL account structure. After asking about Analytical Accounting and the reporting options for it at the GP Summit this year, I am a bit hesitant to use it.  It was suggested to me that I pose the question on the user group forum.

What is your opinion of Analytical Accounting, it’s reporting capabilities and future continuation in GP?

Thanks in advance for your response!

——————————
Kimberly Smith
TSA Consulting Group, Inc
Fort Walton Beach FL
——————————

[Shari Bruno]

Hi Kimberly,

We use Analytical Accounting to track certain program/project expenses.  The reporting is unique and we had to create Smart List Builder reports to see the information we wanted.  As far as what these reports can tell us as to how this budget money is spent, that works wonderfully.  There are some additional considerations with closing the year when using Analytical Accounting, which our partner takes care of so unfortunately I can’t speak into what those considerations are.  I also cannot speak into the continuation of the product.  But I do like the capabilities of Analytical Accounting, and the fact that we didn’t need to lengthen our GL codes (which have 4 segments) in order to track the spending of these program/project funds.

——————————
Shari Bruno
Accounts Payable Specialist
Bible League International
Crete, IL
————————————————————————-

[Michael Hoffman]

Hi Kimberly, 

Jet Express can help you with this. It is an Excel based free reporting option for GP users. 

We recommend having your partner help with building a view to use AA Tables for reporting purposes, but Jet can read every single table field and view within GP. This includes AA Tables, NDA Tables and Consignment Accounting. 

From what I have heard this is not typical and a somewhat new option for GP users. We can discuss further and I can provide details if you would like. Here is a link to a Press Release speaking on the topic of Jet Express being ‘re-vamped’ and released as the reporting tool of the future for GP, especially as MS moves to the cloud and both MR and FRx in ‘maintenance mode’. 

Microsoft and Jet Reports Unveil New Excel-Based Reporting Product for Microsoft Dynamics GP Users

PRWeb		remove preview
Microsoft and Jet Reports Unveil New Excel-Based Reporting Product for Microsoft Dynamics GP Users Portland, Ore. (PRWEB) May 17, 2016 — http://jetreports.com [Jet Reports __title__ Jet Reports] announced today it has partnered with Microsoft to create a new Excel-based tool for business analysis. Jet Express for Excel will be included for all users in the global Microsoft Dynamics GP marketplace starting in June. View this on PRWeb >

——————————
Mike Hoffman
Jet Reports
Portland OR
————————————————————————-

[Tracy Yaklyvich, MBA]

We chose not to use Analytical Accounting (AA) and to go with a larger number of segments.  The main reason was accounts payable.  There was an extra step involved whenever you used AA.  This was a few years ago so perhaps this has changed but you might want to find out. 

——————————
Tracy Yaklyvich, MBA
Assistant Controller
ASHP
Bethesda MD
————————————————————————-

[Lou Spevack]

Another good option for using additional reporting dimensions is the Project Tracking With Advanced Analytics component from Encore Business Solutions.  It’s worth a look if you are considering AA.

——————————
Lou Spevack
Systems Accountant | Dynamics Credentialed Professional
American Council on Education
Washington DC
————————————————————————-

[Kerry Hataley]

Another option is to use Project Accounting for ALL transactions. (Capital and O&M)

There are pros and cons to this approach, I have seen it used by many heavy project based companies (Utilities specifically) and it works very well with an unlimited amount of reporting options while maintaining a reasonable amount of GL accounts. This approach breaks apart the reporting functions of the company – GL is used to report company as a whole, while Project Accounting becomes the Management Reporting defaults.

But it can be overboard for smaller / simpler companies.

The added GL segment / AA discussion has been around, well since I can remember. The best advise I have for new system deployment is to consider not only the finance / AP functions but more importantly the staff that need to code the transactions. What is easier to understand so you have less coding mistakes.

The finance and AP staff do this all day long, so they will adjust, but the end user that needs to get the data coded correctly needs to have a schema they understand – so simpler / easy to understand is better.

——————————
================================================
Kerry Hataley
Nanook Software
Microsoft Dynamics GP Consultant
================================================
————————————————————————-

[Shari Bruno]

As Tracy mentions, there is an additional step in the AP basic invoice entry to account for the Analytical Accounting codes.  On the PO side, the codes are entered at the time the PO is set up so there isn’t an extra step to processing shipments and invoices. 

One other consideration, if you close your periods monthly, and need to make a change or add AA coding to a transaction that is in a closed month, the period has to be reopened in order to do that.  There is no back posting for this module.

——————————
Shari Bruno
Accounts Payable Specialist
Bible League International
Crete, IL
————————————————————————-

[Don Pugh]

I would suggest clearly defining the business requirement and needs before selecting a technology. I have used AA for more simple reporting and it is works ok.  A client that I recently helped needed to track costs for projects, and chose AA, and it was a complex issue.  AA tables can be really challenging to create reporting from.  Choosing AA was a bad decision that was made several years before I got involved. 

If you need to track costs on projects, then use Project Accounting.  If the projects cross fiscal years, then PA is the way to go.  If you need budget to actual reporting then PA is it.  If you need true financial accounting for projects, the PA is whe way.

This a critical business decision that you will have to live with, so carefully evaluate the issues.

——————————
Don Pugh
GP Consultant
Sandon Associates
Woodside CA
————————————————————————-

[Steve Authement]

Analytical Accounting at the surface may seem like a viable alternative, but you will regret implementing to cut down on GL Segments.  It is not a robust solution and should only be used for simple analytics, like how much you spent for the company Christmas Party.

As someone else stated, you can implement GP Project Accounting for Cost Tracking Purposed that can eliminate the need for some of your segments and get much better reporting, as well as the ability to budget cost. 

Steve A.

——————————
Stephen Authement
President & Principal Consultant
SteveA Consulting, LLC
Slidell LA
————————————————————————-

[Hila Galapo]

We’ve had several issues with Analytical Accounting, that I regret (!) the fact that we chose to implement it.

Issues were:

1. Since we have to import credit card statement every month, the import process was FAR more complicated and way different then the simple import without AA.It took us couple of weeks (3 weeks!) to implement the import process correctly, and now it works for one AA code but not if we were to label a transaction under 2 AA codes (Locations + Employee Type)

2. Every now and then we have issues with a glitch resulting in MR not reporting correctly, and we need to run a fix script which we managed to steal from our Partner. Because MR reports on both AA tables and the GL tables (if you use AA) if there’s a discrepancy then it doesn’t read the data correctly, and your reports are good for nothing.

3. There’s not a lot of information out there for AA. 

So I wouldn’t recommend it to the least.

And if you do choose to use it, limit the AA tree as much as you can.

——————————
Hila Galapo
Lumina
————————————————————————-