Dynamics Gp Great Plains And Sap Business One Data Migration From One To Another

These two small to midmarket ERP accounting packages are direct competitors and data

migration is in high demand especially from old versions of Great Plains 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0 and even GP DOS 9.5 and earlier. SAP B1 has been also popular since around 2005 but the number of existing installations seems to be lower comparing to GP. We do not have exact numbers but we can estimate statistics based on the number of data migration requests. In this publication we would like to give you directions on data migration to or from one of these two applications:

1.You are walking away from Great Plains to SAP Business One. Here it depends on the database platform of GP. Most popular scenarios are leaving outdated version of GP on Pervasive SQL Server/Btrieve or even GPA DOS. Some customers might be on Small Business Financials or Dynamics GP Business Ready on Microsoft SQL Server. Table structure is applicable to both platforms and it is available in client interface menu Tools -> Resource Description -> Tables. If you are lucky one on SQL Server platform then data export from GP is simple and all you need to do is save select statement results into text (CSV) file. We will talk about SB1 Data Transfer Workbench data import below. OK if you are still here then lets talk about ODBC connection to Btrieve files. You need to produce DDF files in order to connect (file.ddf, field.ddf and index.ddf). In the past we used Microsoft Access linked tables to do data repair and export. However currently we prefer Pervasive SQL 2000 Control Center where you can do data export query. We would like to make separate paragraph about Great Plains Accounting for DOS and Windows 9.5, 9.2 and earlier versions

2.GPA DOS was Btrieve based application. As we already mentioned above you need DDF files (Data Definition). However data export is even more challenging as several tables may be hosted in the same file and Select statement might be producing results from all the cluster of relative tables. So you need to appeal to where clause. Producing DDF files might be also complicated. You can read the instructions in ODBC manual available on 9.5 installation CD. The challenge is in the fact that you have to have old fashioned diskettes and floppy drive. You might be lucky if in the past somebody designed Crystal Reports for your company and DDF files were produced. In our experience the most difficult is to extract historical sales and purchase orders. It is possible to upgrade all the way to Dynamics GP 2010 (we are writing this paper in August of 2012 so make your judgment about the time)

3.Moving data to SAP BO. In initial data import it is probably good idea to use Data Transfer Workbench. This tool is reasonably simple and ready for end user. There are CSV template files for each document type. There is data cleansing phase where you have to convert exported tables into the format dictated by CSV templates

4.If you are walking away from SAP Business One to Dynamics GP. You case could not be categorized as exotic but it is really rare. If you dont mind we would like to hear your story so feel free to call us. Business One is hosted in Microsoft SQL Server and here is how you learn table structure. In client interface switch in menu Edit -> Show System Information. Then you open one of the documents and read table and field name in the bottom left corner. Migration to Dynamics GP should be done in Integration Manager

OK. At this point lets answer one question from our internet seminar attendee:

Q. It looks like we need something close to what you are describing above. We are switching from Great Plains Accounting 9.5 for Windows to SAP B1. Data conversion is required including historical sales orders. We were able to produce DDF files and establish ODBC connection. However when we are exporting table CSV file is corrupt with shifted columns and we cannot read and cleanse it

A. This is known issue. Our recommendation is to use precise SQL Select statement where you are only specifying required fields. If you are still getting garbage lines try to use Where clause to weed them out

For additional information please call us: 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918 or email us: help@albaspectrum.com

by: Andrew Karasev

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