Microsoft Dynamics SL is a business management solution specialized to help project-driven midsize organizations obtain reports and business analysis, while helping increase efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction. By enabling you to automate and streamline projects across company divisions and locations, Microsoft Dynamics SL helps you manage people, projects, and profitability. With powerful Microsoft Dynamics SL solutions for professional services, operations, field services, and construction management, you can be confident that projects are estimated correctly, completed on time, and meet your customer's requirements.

The newest version—Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.0—extends the reach of business information with Microsoft SQL Server business intelligence technology to improve collaboration, reporting, and analysis. Easier integration and extensibility of information has also been enabled by the technology upgrade to Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Many other new features have been added to increase the efficiency, flexibility, and security of everyday business operations.

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Modules to handle your business needs

Help people be more productive across your organization

Automate and streamline operations: Integrate project management and accounting

Collaborate better: Manage projects across company divisions and locations

Boost customer satisfaction

Fast facts

 

Modules to handle your business needs

Microsoft Dynamics SL consists of modules that integrate smoothly with one another. Each module delivers a different feature or application that is an essential component of the comprehensive business solution. See a list of Microsoft Dynamics SL modules and applications on the Microsoft Dynamics SL editions and features page.

When combined with Microsoft SQL Server technologies, Microsoft Dynamics SL consolidates data across applications and platforms. This data can then be extended into tools such as Microsoft Business Portal. With this feature, employees can access up-to-the-minute Web-based reports tailored to the specific information they need, no matter where they are.

Help people be more productive across your organization

Microsoft Dynamics SL enables your people to work more productively, regardless of their role. Some examples are shown in the table.

Role	Description
Employees	Employees can enter requests directly into the system and managers can approve or reject requests as they are submitted. Purchasing managers can use the data to obtain price breaks on approved purchases, saving your company both time and money. Item Request Entry and Item Request Approval are available through a Web browser using Business Portal.
Accounting staff	Manage accounts using a simplified bank statement reconciliation process that gives business decision-makers up-to-the-minute knowledge of their account balances.
Information technology (IT) staff	Schedule reports to run as frequently as needed with enhanced functionality in the Application Server module. Provide specific individuals in the organization with access to the Application Server computer without interrupting the production and completion of Application Server requests.
Employees, customers, and vendors	Simplify access to information in your Microsoft Dynamics SL database. You can enter and approve requests from any location; look up inventory item availability; and provide customers and vendors with the access they need to view specific information within your system—all from a Web browser.

Automate and streamline operations: Integrate project management and accounting

In addition to providing applications for financial management, customer relationship, field service, supply chain management, and payroll, Microsoft Dynamics SL helps your employees manage complex accounting jobs and work projects from a single interface. Microsoft Dynamics SL creates an efficient bridge between documents, spreadsheets, and project accounting transactions; automates time and material billing processes; and creates invoices automatically using predetermined business rules to calculate costs.

For example, you can create flexible tiered hierarchies to reflect different labor rates and billing structures on the project management side. You can then automatically allocate the appropriate charges and revenues to the general ledger.

The links and screenshots below provide more information on how Microsoft Dynamics SL can improve your project management and accounting.

 Demo: Project management and accounting: See an example of how a company secures a project using a Microsoft Dynamics SL solution and how the people in the company used the solution to manage the project. (Requires Windows Media Player, 11:23 min.)

•	Use a complete project management and accounting solution with Microsoft Office Project integration: See how Microsoft Dynamics SL and Microsoft Office Project work together to help increase staff utilization, capture costs more accurately, and strengthen company project portfolios.

Illustration: Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Office Project, and Microsoft Dynamics SL work together to give project members access to the information each needs, in the format they want.

Collaborate better: Manage projects across company divisions and locations

By integrating information from different companies or offices and enabling portal solutions that help you increase collaboration through a rich, browser-based interface, Microsoft Dynamics SL helps ensure projects run smoothly and increase customer satisfaction.

With Microsoft Business Portal, you can deliver user-specific access to information from a single Web-based portal. Business Portal in Microsoft Dynamics SL delivers applications, information, and processes to employees, customers, and partners across your organization. Deliver project financial status, task assignments, billing, invoices, timesheets, expense reports, and other documents through a Web browser, reducing the time required to manage these processes and eliminating paperwork and data re-entry.

 Download the Business Portal brochure (107 KB,Portable Document Format file) to learn more about how Business Portal can help people improve their productivity. Get Adobe Reader.

Illustration: Gain access to Microsoft Dynamics SL Project Maintenance through the Business Portal without logging in to Microsoft Dynamics SL.

Boost customer satisfaction

Using the integrated features of Microsoft Dynamics SL you can more efficiently obtain reports and business analysis, leading to greater customer satisfaction. Microsoft Dynamics SL industry-specific features also help you estimate more accurately, so you can meet your customer's requirements on time and within budget.

The Microsoft Dynamics SL Order Management core distribution module, for example, supports a range of industries. It can help distribution, service, and manufacturing industries—among others- improve efficiency and customer service—immediately and as the business grows.

 Download the Order Management brochure (107 KB,Portable Document Format file) to learn how order management employees can stay on task and on top of the entire sales order process. Get Adobe Reader.

Fast facts

Support	Support professionals and self-support options offer around-the-clock access to information. Evaluate support programs.
Integration	Microsoft Dynamics SL integrates with a number of Microsoft applications, including the Microsoft Office system and Microsoft Office Project. In addition, Microsoft Dynamics SL will work with a number of third-party applications. See how they work together.
Customization	Microsoft Dynamics SL can be customized to meet your business process needs.
Training	BI-Design provides a wealth of training opportunities designed to increase your knowledge and productivity. Review training options.
Compare editions of Microsoft Dynamics SL	Microsoft Dynamics SL comes in two editions—Business Essentials and Advanced Management. Compare editions and the features and modules offered in each to see what's right for your business.