Transaction vs. Batch Posting

I was working with a new Dynamics GP user recently, and one of the issues that they asked me about was an error they received when they tried to post a cash receipt transaction. The error was:

“You cannot post. The transaction is assigned to a batch.”

Many of you have seen this before and know immediately what the issue is: the user was clicking on the Post button in a transaction window; however, the transaction had a batch ID assigned to it, therefore you cannot post it from the transaction window.

Every time you train a new person to use a module or product, it’s interesting what questions they ask. How often you are asked something that never occurred to you before, because you already know how it works and don’t even think twice about it. Today was, in a nutshell, “then, what is the Post button in the window there for?”. I had an “aha” moment today, in explaining the reason behind the error message and how to remember where to post the batch next time. As a consultant, training is part of our role and I’m always looking for better ways to explain things so people can understand better the concept I’m teaching.

Why is there a post button if you can’t use it?

Great question, and thinking about it gives me ideas for a series on posting options. The gist of this conversation was around batches, why we need them, etc. The short story is, Dynamics GP has both batch and transaction posting options and the post button is there for companies that choose to allow posting by transaction. If you use batches, ignore the post button on the transaction windows!

My analogy is simply this: a batch is like a file folder of invoices (or payments or whatever you’re working on). You’re entering invoices or payments one at a time but you don’t get up from your chair and go put the invoice in the filing cabinet when you’re done, and then go back to your desk, and enter the next one. You enter a bunch, then file them in a cabinet or file folder as a group. A batch is similar in that you are saving invoices or payments as a group, and then processing them as a group, to be more efficient.

Some argue that batches take more time because you have to create the batch, then post the batch after you’re done. I’d say the chance to review prior to posting saves more time in the long run (catching mistakes) than the extra seconds dealing with batches take up!