What Do You Do If You Become an "Accidental" Microsoft Dynamics GP Administrator?

It's not unusual for someone to accidentally end up as a Dynamics GP administrator. Often this happens when an administrator leaves and the company chooses not to replace this individual, instead simply appointing an existing techie as the new GP administrator.

Another way that accidental GP administrators are created is during implementation. If a champion doesn't emerge, a database administrator may suddenly find himself or herself in the role. So how should an accidental administrator make things work? Here are eight key first steps:

1) Make sure everything is being backed up.

This is critical, because this step buys time to learn even if something goes wrong. It's not enough to just back up the database. The FRx Sysdata file, custom forms, custom reports, Integration Manager databases, and even the notes share should be regularly backed up.

2) Figure out what components the company has.

Administrators can't support what they don't know they have, so an accidental Dynamics GP administrator will need to use the functionality found in the Help->About menu in Dynamics GP as a starting point to figure out what products are installed. A new administrator will also want to ask users about related products like FRx, Business Portal and SQL Server Reporting Services to see if they are in use in the environment. Identifying customizations is also important. A company's Dynamics GP partner can play a key role in this step.

3) Enlist the help of the company's Dynamics partner.

A company's Dynamics partner is an important source of information on a firm's Dynamics GP environment. This resource will be a huge help in identifying products installed and customizations. The partner is also a great training resource. ...