Actually, that’s not the question at all; as a general rule of thumb, the sa user should not be used by anyone within Microsoft Dynamics GP. The sa user is the SQL System Administrator user whereas Dynamics GP has it’s own System Administrator user; dynsa.

So, what is the difference between these two system admins? Well, to start with, sa is the SQL Server database administator and, as such, has access too all databases, including non-Dynamics databases, on the SQL Server instance. Instead dynsa should be used as it is the GP database administrator and only has access to the GP databases.

While sa is needed for initial system instllation and configuration, and for some third party add-on administration, it should not be used for day-to-day administration of Dynamics GP. As dynsa is a database owner it can be used for most security and maintenance tasks within GP and, like sa, is granted the Poweruser role automatically.

I have to admit, this is more “do as I say, than as I do” because we have been slightly lax in getting this message out to clients. This is something I fully intend to put right this year as I travel around client sites doing upgrades to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010; in some cases this may lead to entertaining discussions with various Heads of Finance or Directors of Finance or Resources. However, I think in all cases the clinching argument is that using dynsa instead of sa minimises the possibility of tampering with non-GP databases should the password be accidentally leaked.

A couple of weeks ago, I explained how to fix a corrupt menu where a separator item could not be added.

One thing I forgot to mention in that post is that clearing down the Menu Master, which is then rebuilt when logging into Dynamics GP again, is that this cleardown will speed up the logging in process as GP will have fewer entries which it needs to check your user has access to. This is something we schedule in whenever we are doing an upgrade (or if users off off for a Reconcile or Check Links to be run).

The Dynamics Blogger has posted about the Microsoft Dynamics Knowledge Base being opened up to general access in the Microsoft Help And Support site.

Janakiram M.P.’s full post of how to access the previously restricted knowledge base articles can be viewed here.

SmartList is a fantastic module; easy to use and very flexible with great integration with Excel (and with the Letter Writing Assistant which I’ll cover in a week or two’s time).

However, it seems we get an inordinate amount of queries from our clients on how to use it. How to customise the lists to their needs or how to save them for future reference. Continue reading “Feature Explained: SmartList Favourites”

Again this is not a new feature but, in my experience, is one that is not commonly used. One of the options available on the Account Maintenance window (Cards » Financial » Account) is Allow Account Entry. Unchecked, account codes can only be defaulted in by the system but when checked this option allows users to select the account anywhere in the system. Continue reading “Feature Explained: Allow Account Entry”