You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
Hi,
Has anyone tested Business Portal against GP 2015? I realize it is not supported but I would love to have a little transition time between Business Portal and the new Web Client Employee Self Service features only available in GP 2015.
*This post is locked for comments
We have moved one instance to GP2016 but the users who need BP/PDK functionality are stuck on the GP2013R2 instance.
There is no current GP solution to provide equivalent functionality to BP/PDK. We process about 1,000 timesheets per week with BP to PDK on GP2013R2 with 50-60 approving managers from multiple entities requiring multiple users and multiple batch posting to Payroll. PTE is just too simplistic.
We are now evaluating:
http://sierraws.com/time-attendance/integration-solutions/microsoft-erp-solutions/
They have not fully completed their Expense side integrations for PA at last look or their professional service type time entries vs punch in/out but it is promising particularly has it has rules based overtime a big weakness in GP for many years with no expectation that configurable OT rules will ever be delivered.
Hi Thad,
I've spent a couple of hours setting up a TEST environment with BP 5.x and GP 2016R2 (as a few other already did).. As you already figured out, the problem is not BP as such, which has no problem writing the data into the existing PDK tables.. but really PDK that is not able to cope with the newer release of GP 2016 (RTM & R2), since it looks like several tables have gotten changes. Not only does it throw an error about the PDKxxx.DIC files that contains the forms & reports not being at the proper version, but also a fatal error about the company master table (SY01500) which got new columns added since 2013:
Attempts of upgrading the .DIC files failed too and I don't think there is any chances someone will ever fix this...
So the only option left is to move on to the new PTE entry forms, but I agree with you, the web portion is totally un-usable from an end-user perspective, once they used to a GUI like Business Portal.. it's a huge step backwards.
We have 9,995 licenses for BP that converted to Web Clients when BP was EOL'd and have thousands of timesheets coming in with Manager and Supervisor approvals on GP2013R2.
We unit tested the WF2 in GP2013R2 and GP2015R2 for PTE and abandoned it as unworkable from a feature standpoint and unscable in production to hundreds and thousands.
Microsoft told us by email that we could submit a "feature request" to development for the missing functionality in WF2 PTE versus BP PDK....... Do we get 9,995 votes? One per license?
Our approach is now wait for GP2016 WF and the HTML Web Client and see if GP2016 provides an upgrade path from BP PDK that allows us to move from GP2013 to GP2016.
Our MS software license w enhancement/support which are fully paid for BP PDK and now Web 2016 do not indicate that critical business functionality/features can be removed and the customer left stranded. With our volumes, it may be nearly time for the lawyers.
We don't even want a refund of the software, we just want the existing feature set or equivalent.
Hi Thad,
I fully agree and support your points... I've been testing several months GP 2015 last year and was eagerly waiting the release of R2 in the mid-year releases, but it was a big disappointment.. mostly for the same reasons you mention.
We ended up upgrading from GP2010R2 _only_ to GP2013R2, because of the lack of functionalities and features in the PTE module of GP2015R2, not to speak about the new WF 2.0 which is way too limiting and complex for nothing IMHO.
BP/PDK have been working for several years and functions that customers had for granted over all those years are now just gone because Microsoft thought we could simply live without out... Uh.. Tell me a story about this. I've the feeling that pushed by the new short release cycles, they had to wrap and put out the replacement of BP/PDK without having the time to really think about all what the customers were really using (and most important, needed to have). Despite focus groups and PGIs, Microsoft went on with a stripped version of the new application, hoping customer would not mind too much or would simply turn towards 3rd party ISV products. Even at some point Microsoft officially stated that the companion app that was created for the Time Entry & Vacations in the windows app store would finally never get the support for Project Accounting, which was a highly wanted option, sending the customers to 3rd-party products instead.
You mentioned the absence of reports in PTE, and this was also our show-stopper for the upgrade to GP2015R2. When I talked to Microsoft's project team at the GPUG Summit in Reno, I was told that 2016 will come with an electronic document attachment option... doh.. that's not what I need ! I need some reports.. that have been there for years and now they're just gone. Microsoft wants you to develop your own... what a step back!
As a user/customer, I felt that we've been cheated over all the years were we kept hoping for a better evolution of BP, but turns out that this never came or will ever happen.
There is no value of spending efforts and time in order to integrate the business portal; which is officially retired not supported, with Dynamics GP 2015.
At least this is my own point of view.
Has anyone resolved continuing using PDK and BP with GP2015R2. Right now the PDK dex throws an error related to the new workflow columns.
Why do I ask you say?
We have nearly 1000 employees and over 65 managers and supervisors entering, submitting and approving time and expenses weekly in GP2013R2 w PDK and BP
We have GP2015R2 and the We Cliebnt up in Test with Workflow 2.0 but have now abanadoned it for the following reasons:
1. Performance is unworkable in the WebClient and MS Silverlight for 100s of concurrent users. It would require a farm of web servers.
2. Workfow fails in that only one active workflow can be made that must hold hundreds of employIDs assigned to over 65 managers. It is massive and as created it is impossible to report via Smartlist or SSRS who is assigned to who or to move/edit employees as they move around the company
3. New workflow steps for new managers cannot be added to the workflow as it is active and at any given time there are 100s of timesheets in some form or workflow process.
4. Workflow is not multiuser capable and we have six employees in HR/Payroll who must be able to manage employees, managers and supervisors and set their approval permissions for over 1000 employees.
5. Managers cannot see/report on missing timesheets for their employees.
While these basic features were taken for granted in PDK and BP for over eight years, the new Workflow is amateurish at best and would not not implementable for approvals for more than a handful of employees much less hundreds or a thousand of timesheets per week.
At this point we are rev locked at GP2013R2 with no upgrade path and must wait now for GP2016 bypassing GP2015R2 entirely or get BP/PDK to work with GP2015, or go out and buy something that works like Paramount or ReqLogics when GP2016 comes out if workflow is still cheesy.
Ideas?
Just a fun update for you - I spent the better part of the weekend battling and over battling the installation and configuration of GP2015 and Web Client and Workflow.
In the end and trying not to do what I 'think' I know has to be done, I got to the end of the process and am pretty happy with what I see (so far)
Fun part was / is that No SharePoint, No Business Portal and you only have to follow the bouncing Wizard Ball to get all the installation done.
I tried to do to much - ie: "I KNOW you have to ......" rather than reading and only doing what I was told was what took most of my time.
I did the installation on a single workstation - running Windows 8.1 and then created a HyperV plateform for Windows Server 12, SQL Server 14 and then GP2015, Web Client and Workflow.
Looks like I am almost ready to migrate the last of the GPA 9.0 DOS for Windows clients - what do you think? Might they be ready ;>)
I understand Business Portal is going away that is why I asked. We are already using GP 2014 R2 with the web client for PTE but the ESS features are not available in R2 such as pay stubs, W4...... I do not want to force hundreds of users to a new untested platform all on the same day :) Logically you would want to migrate them in groups over time. That is impossible because ESS features do not exist in both Web Client and Business Portal.
Stay up to date on forum activity by subscribing. You can also customize your in-app and email Notification settings across all subscriptions.
#1
André Arnaud de Cal...
291,240
Super User 2024 Season 2
#2
Martin Dráb
230,149
Most Valuable Professional
#3
nmaenpaa
101,156
Share
Report
All responses (
Answers (