Thursday, June 3, 2010

Multiple companies, multiple databases? Maybe?

It seems like an obvious question. If a customer has two companies, then they will need two company databases in Dynamics GP, right? Well, in a lot of cases, yes. But in some cases, no. And the trick is to know which case applies to your situation.

I break it down to a variety of "tests" or points to consider when analyzing whether to have a database for each company or to combine several companies in to one database. Of course, combining companies in to one database is not incredibly common...but for a select set of customers, it really is the best solution.

Here is a cheat sheet I have put together that I use as a guide to the pros/cons and tests that I apply when helping a customer make a decision regarding the structure of their companies/databases.

Please feel free to share your own questions/tests that you apply to this decision as well! As always, thanks for reading :)

7 comments:

David Musgrave said...

For Australian companies, it is possible to have more than one tax entity in a single GP Company. The Business Activity Statement (BAS) and Pay As You Go (PAYG) Withholding reporting tool has the ability to separate the tax reporting (based on Tax Detail IDs) and PAYG Withholding (based on Creditor Classes).

Just an extra consideration to think about.

David
http://blogs.msdn.com/DevelopingForDynamicsGP/

Christina Phillips said...

Thanks, David. I will admit I learn about the Australian capabilities as I go :)

Darien said...

I am not sure if you have seen this product by Binary Stream called 'Multi-Facility Processing'. It is an enterprise product designed to combine several facilities or companies to run in a single database with the same security features that you would have with separate databases. Great for any company with 2 or more databases. Fills the gap in GP perfectly for the the Low Tier 1 - High Tier 2 ERP market. Also manages all the intercompany transaactions within the single database environment right at the subleger level and reviewable even before posting in most transactions screens. Want a system that can sell from one company and pull stock from another company? With Multi-Facility Processing no problem! Look here for more information http://www.binarystream.com/multifacility_processing.asp or contact myself at darien@binarystream.com

Darien said...

Just to answer David's Post here: Multi-Facility Processing from Binary Stream Software can also manage multiple facilities or companies for the BAS report in a single database. So you can run the BAS report for Companies A, B and C on their own or run them altogether or any combination in between.

Darien: darien@binarystream.com
http://www.binarystream.com/multifacility_processing.asp

Christina Phillips said...

Thanks, Darien. I was approaching it without additional third party products...but excellent option if needed :)

Unknown said...

Actually i am trying to install microsoft dynamics 10.0 to client server. I installed gp10.0. but i have no idea how to link my existing old database to client server database.

i am new for the Microsoft Dynamics 10.0 Installation. I installed Microsoft dynamics 10.0 in my client server. I got two databases "DYNAMICS and TWO" by creating new test company. Now i am struggling to link my existing database(The database got from my live server which is in active) to "TWO" database.

If i do restore my existing database to "TWO" database, i am getting List of errors in GP screen.

i am getting below errors.

1. An error occurred executing the SQL statements.

2. GPS Error: 56
3. SQL Error: 208 [Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0][SQL Server]Invalid object name 'MOP1200'
4. ODBC Error: S0002

Can anyone please help me to rectify this?

Unknown said...

Christina - this looks like great information; however, I'm having a hard time reading the table it's blurry on my screen. Is there a PDF or Word Doc you could send me with this information? You could send it to rrobinson@freshwatersystems.com. Thanks for your help!