Update from January 2020 Post: No Better Way to Collaborate Other than Chat Microsoft is eliminating the ability to initiate a chat directly with a co-author of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint document. This change will take affect mid-April (across the web, Windows, and Mac versions of Microsoft Office). Moving forward, users can communicate with others … Read more
Now that “shelter in place” has swept the nation to curve the spread of the Covid-19 virus, most companies are adapting the Work from Home (WFH) model, allowing their employees to continue to work during the shutdown. Working from home is nothing new for Crestwood employees. This model was adapted almost a decade ago. I … Read more
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 – 11:00 AM – Noon (CST) Register here! Get MORE from your Dynamics GP reports. This webinar is great for people new to MR or who want to start creating their own reports. Later in the year, we’ll host an Advanced MR Training webinar to follow up on themes from this … Read more
Tuesday, March 31, 2020 – 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (CST) Register here! Our first monthly cloud workshop! You’ve heard all the benefits of Office 365 (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Teams, etc.). In our first monthly cloud workshop, Ben Borger will walk you through what transitioning to O365 looks like and … Read more
Most don’t know this about me, but prior to joining Crestwood Associates, I was the Mail Merge Queen of the world. 😊 I’ve supported both sales and marketing departments for over 20 years, serving law firms, transportation, and the manufacturing industry. While in each of those positions, I’ve created hundreds of mail merges, from form … Read more
Have you ever used Track Changes in Microsoft Word, or received comments on your spreadsheets in Excel, or even PowerPoint, then questioned why a certain change was made? You try to contact the person who made the edit, but can’t locate them, they’re either in a meeting, or on vacation. So, now you’re stuck until … Read more
I was asked to write a blog on new features of the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2019 release. Since I’m not an expert, I turned to someone who is: Crestwood’s Mary Lenehan. Mary has been working with Dynamics GP for over 20 years, conducts all our year-end training seminars, and presents at GPUG conferences every year. … Read more
2019 is coming to an end. However, leading up to the end of the year, there’s a holiday coming up, one that your employees may be heading home for. “Home” means different things to different people. For some, this may mean a few miles down the road, for others, it’s a cross-country flight away. Unfortunately … Read more
Hopefully by now, you’ve upgraded to Acumatica 2019 R2! Acumatica is routinely adding new features and improving on current functions. Below are three quick how-to videos for previously added functions; one is exporting Generic Inquiry Parameters to Excel and Pivot Tables, another is Landed Costs and finally GDPR Compliance for Acumatica. Stay tuned for more short … Read more
Microsoft is set to update Tasks in Outlook on the web at the end of October, with the full rollout be completed by December 2019. What does this mean to you? Nothing really, just a new name, from “Tasks” to “To Do.” Personally, I’ve never used the Tasks feature to its fullest potential. I’ve added … Read more
It’s been a long time since I’ve found something this cool in Microsoft PowerPoint, so I had to share! Motion paths for animating objects in PowerPoint. Here’s the scenario: My manager came to me one morning with this slide and said: “I need ‘Member 1’ to be grouped and animated with 4 random ‘Subs’ and … Read more
As your business grows, you may find your organization struggling with the limitations of software designed for smaller concerns. Everyone has to start somewhere, so it’s only natural that you will eventually outgrow the systems you had at the beginning. This is particularly true of accounting packages. QuickBooks, for example, is a fantastic resource for … Read more
When you’re just starting out, QuickBooks is the default option. Easy to set up, familiar, and easy to use, the decision to use the product is usually an easy one. You made the decision years ago, and the software did its job. However, as your company grew, the software began to show its shortcomings. While … Read more
As I was searching for a new topic for our Productivity Tips & Tricks, I came across this nifty tool called Dictate. Similar to voice to text on your mobile phone, this feature allows you (actually your fingers) to take a break from typing. What’s not to love about that? First thing, Dictate is only … Read more
Before you make any important business decisions, it is necessary to check the books. Can you afford to take on this project at this price, or will it strain the profit margin? Can we invest in new equipment this year, or do we need to put it off? Are the efforts we’ve been dedicating to … Read more
If you’re a visual person like I am, and you like things color coordinated, then you need to check out Color Categories in Microsoft Outlook. This feature has been around since 2010 and it’s a great way to get organized, and keep track of your emails. It helps me to sort and find my messages … Read more
When you notice that numbers in the books have mysteriously changed, it is likely not a glitch; it’s probably a manual entry that was rewritten. Many basic accounting software programs, QuickBooks included, allow any user to login and edit data at will, without any restrictions or an audit trail. Unless you keep a close eye … Read more
A QuickBooks History Lesson It wasn’t too long ago that general ledgers and other financial data were kept by hand in notebooks or in rudimentary spreadsheets on the computer. Basic accounting software like QuickBooks soon followed (much to the pleasure of accounting departments everywhere), and it remains a great entry-level tool. But it hasn’t evolved … Read more
If not making a decision to implement or upgrade to a modern-day, cloud ERP is the decision you choose to make, your business isn’t going to grow. Learn about the financial effects of your non-decision in the new Aberdeen Group whitepaper “The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why You Can’t Afford to Sit on an ERP … Read more
Our Marketing department here at Crestwood decided to try out Microsoft Teams. I was leery at first, but I have to say, overall, it’s AWESOME! The more I use Teams, the less time I spend searching for emails, files, or switching between screens. Microsoft Teams has brought almost everything into one window. It truly is … Read more
If you’ve built your business on QuickBooks, you know it’s a great entry-level accounting solution. As your business flourishes, however, QuickBooks may not be able to keep up. There are telltale signs that you’ve hit your limits with your current systems and when those start to occur, your future growth will be stifled until you step … Read more
It’s that time of the year again, we are all scrambling to close out 2018 while planning for 2019. There’s a lot of new technology and tools to help, but most of us still resort to the tried and true – Microsoft Excel. If you’re not a pro with formulas, and auto fill – then … Read more
One of my favorite new features of Office 365 – 2016 is the get started quickly with the Start screen. This feature runs across the board with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. The Start screen gives you quick access to the most recently used documents, or open other documents from local or cloud storage … Read more
Processing vendor payments in Dynamics 365 Business Central functions slightly differently than the other Microsoft Dynamics platforms. This video provides a quick walk-through of cutting checks in Dynamics 365 Business Central (and keeping your vendors happy!) Watch this short video, and see how it’s done!