Microsoft Dynamics SL is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for small to midsize businesses (SMBs). Microsoft Dynamics SL was first known as Solomon software, and many businesses with prior Solomon exposure recognize the platform as both Solomon and Dynamics SL.
Dynamics SL sets itself apart from many enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions by connecting project management and accounting software capabilities and giving businesses greater control over their profitability information, operational efficiency, and overall workflow.
Like Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool that offers advanced business management tools to assist companies in managing client needs, adhering to compliance standards, and providing services on time and within budget.
Microsoft Dynamics Solomon (SL) helps its users in different industries such as:
Finance
Project management
Project accounting
Manufacturing
Supply chain management
Field services
Analytics
E-commerce
Microsoft Dynamics SL, an ERP system, provides the functionality needed to support project management by delivering sophisticated capabilities and integrations with other modules, which include as follows:
The capabilities delivered in the Dynamics SL solution are customizable to meet the unique needs of project-based businesses, such as:
Construction Agencies: Dynamics SL improves your sales, project management, job costing, materials management, and more—all integrated with your existing financial management system.
Engineering Companies: The ERP solution enables you to make better business data-driven decisions, manages your people and finances more efficiently, and maintains profitability for client services and projects.
Government Contractors: With MS Dynamics SL, you can complete projects on time, on budget, and to specification—while collecting and retaining detailed information needed to address and comply with company and industry regulations.
Other Project-based Businesses: MS Dynamics SL is flexible and versatile software, offering all key project management elements and several other business-critical functionalities, like accounting, finance, access to a unified data repository, and much more. Users have full control over their platform’s ability to instantly set up, store, sort, and access all their project-related data.
Here are a few of the main advantages of the Dynamics SL solution for business users:
Microsoft Dynamics SL works with the Microsoft Office apps you already own and use, so no time is wasted trying to get new solutions up and running. Implementation and integration of the SL module also require less user training and cause fewer disruptions to your existing business processes.
MS Dynamics SL helps you to access job-specific information and carry out data-entry tasks like expense entry and project time, project management, setup and approvals, and analysis — all from your laptop, desktop, or mobile devices.
Dynamics SL makes it easier for companies to get started with the Dynamics SL solution according to their current needs and adapt and grow as their needs do over time.
The Dynamics SL module is a solution built for professional service providers, specialty contractors, and other project and service-based companies.
It is especially suitable for project-based companies that need additional support managing analysis and reporting functions and mid-sized companies with complex payroll needs or an offsite workforce. The Dynamics SL platform offers many advanced and integrated functions that allow organizations to increase their productivity, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.
With integrated and automated Microsoft SL solutions, project-based companies, like professional services agencies, government contractors, finance, and operations, can rest easy knowing they can complete projects on time and meet all the company and industry requirements.
By leveraging Dynamics SL, users can manage customer-driven projects more effectively, follow compliance guidelines, and provide high-caliber services for clients across the organization.
Like many of the modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions available in the market, Dynamics SL uses its automated capabilities to assist businesses in streamlining operations across many departments, regardless of location.
The SL platform helps managers and corporate leaders to manage staff effectively, boost productivity, and increase team profitability.
Microsoft Dynamics SL and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are both similar in several ways, allowing users to create new features, adapt existing ones, and integrate Microsoft add-ons, apps, and ISV solutions.
Despite having many similarities, both are different from each other in terms of infrastructure, customization, cost and much more.
Let’s discuss this difference below:
Microsoft Dynamics SL and Microsoft Dynamics 365 both are highly customizable. It allows users to create new features, adapt existing ones, and integrate Microsoft add-ons, apps, and ISV solutions. Despite having similarities, they both perform customizations in different ways; unlike other Dynamics on-premises products like NAV, GP, and AX, Dynamics SL data is stored in a SQL Server database.
With the help of the built-in Customization Manager, SL users can customize existing programs. They can use several pre-built “screens”, including maintenance, entry, procedure, and inquiry, to develop adaptations for their existing solutions. Screens make programming easier, but users must define the tables in SQL Server before moving forward.
Dynamics 365 adjusts the customization process, simplifying the adaptation process for core applications and functionality over time with the help of its no-code extensions.
Dynamics SL is hosted on-site, while Dynamics 365 is cloud-based. Dynamics SL integrates with a wide range of cloud-based solutions–including Microsoft Office, the Power Suite, and countless ISV and third-party solutions.
So, users can generate Power BI reports from hundreds of connected data sources or build automated workflows in Microsoft Flow–but they’re missing out on the most transformative benefits only made possible when you’re working with an all-in-one, cloud ERP.
Cost Savings is only possible if organizations take a measured, strategic approach with their cloud ERP investments. Microsoft Dynamics SL users may need to make some adjustments to their budget–particularly if they’re used to paying for maintenance, upgrades, and physical equipment and on top of all that, an IT team to keep the whole thing going.
Before the migration, you need to come up with a plan for phasing out legacy infrastructure, investing in IT equipment that can support the new system, and deciding how to best utilize existing IT talent.
Dynamics 365 also follows a different licensing structure than SL. Plans are charged on a per user, per month basis and there are different account types offering different access permissions. So, things like who needs access–and to what extent. Or whether you have to pay for add-ons or ISV solutions to cover all business needs, you’re not paying for more than you need.
Managing your business is hard enough, but trying to manage it with unsupported software brings potential challenges and risks. As Microsoft Dynamics SL 2018 is the last major release, we want you to be aware of the risks this poses to your business as Microsoft phases out support for the product.
