Unanet Integration with Microsoft Dynamics SL - SSi Consulting

Unanet is a best of breed Professional Services Automation solution designed to help organizations manage people and
projects for improved profitability. Integrated with Microsoft Dynamics SL superior Project Accounting & Core Financial
Accounting Package, the Unanet-
MS Dynamics SL combined solution
offers project-based organizations
unique capabilities in optimizing
project performance.
Unanet provides initial opportunity
planning and resource forecasting,
through detailed budget planning
and staff scheduling, time and
expense capture, and real-time
reporting. Microsoft Dynamics SL
provides project and financial
accounting capabilities including
revenue recognition, invoicing,
financial reports and business
analysis, while helping increase
efficiency, accuracy, and customer
satisfaction.
Example of a Unanet real-time project management dashboard delivered via a
web browser
A natural fit to Unanet’s extensive Professional Services Automation software, the integration with Microsoft Dynamics SL
empowers organizations to view project profitability, revenue, expenses and financials in one place, giving management
greater visibility into project and workforce performance. The integration ensures a single point of entry for data on
projects and people with no duplication of effort, with automatic replication between Unanet and MS Dynamics SL to
ensure data integrity between the systems.
In an April 2009 report titled Microsoft Moves Dynamics Forward With New Releases And Simplified Pricing Strategies,
Forrester Research writes, “A new partnership with Unanet Technologies provides resource forecasting and opportunity
planning capabilities that complements the project and financial accounting solution of Microsoft Dynamics SL.”

How does Unanet add value to Microsoft Dynamics?
1. Planning and Forecasting with Bottom-Up Budgeting
• Unanet offers comprehensive support for resource planning as a means of determining total anticipated labor
effort and cost on a project. Labor can be planned based on capacity, skills and existing commitments.
• Non-labor project expenses (ODCs for travel, materials etc) can also be planned on a periodic basis in Unanet at
the project or task level.
• Project-specific labor categories are supported with rate-effective dates.
2. Real-Time Project Management, Dashboards and Reporting
• Unanet provides a robust set of real-time graphical and tabular reports for project tracking, at summary and
detailed levels.
• Reports include data on unsubmitted timesheets and expense reports, Project Costing Reports and Earned Value
Management, and a range of tabular and graphical periodic reports.
• Project alerts to notify users when key performance metrics have been reached.
3. Resource Scheduling/Planning and Forecasting by Availability and Skills
• Plans, budgets and actuals are managed and can be compared with variances in a single system
• Real-time reporting on actual and forecast utilization is available.
• Reporting by project and by person organization is available.
• Robust controls are provided to manage access to data and functions based on roles and by hierarchical
organizations, ensuring that users and managers only see the information necessary.
4. Robust Time and Expense Tracking
• In addition to outstanding ease of use with minimal need for pop-up screens, Unanet provides extensive filtering
to show only data of relevance to the end user.
• Unanet supports all the time periods organizations may need such as weekly, 9/80, semi-monthly, or monthly.
• Unanet provides rules such as automatic reminders, and requiring comments and change reasons to enforce data
entry in compliance with DCAA timekeeping regulations.
• Unanet ensures streamlined and fast project approvals by providing consolidated timesheet views which allow
quick management review and decision-making. Alternate managers can be defined for time and expense entry
and approval.
• Expense reporting ensures correct Per Diem expenses are entered using Per Diem Rate Tables. Expense reports
also allow attachment of receipts to speed approvals.
• Other features include Pre-fill of holiday in timesheet, leave accruals, leave balance and leave liability, and
subcontractor interfaces.
Integration Overview
Dataflow from SL to Unanet is automatic
and is initiated by a suite of database
triggers that fire when information is
added, modified or deleted in the SL
database. These triggers capture and write
the information associated with the data
element to a series of database tables
created to support the interface. Database
views have been created that map the SL
data elements to the Unanet import file
formats.
Data flow from Unanet to SL is initiated by
running exports from Unanet once
timesheets and expense reports have
completed their approval processes by the
various project and line managers. SL
specific exports have been created for time
and expense. These exports are run from
the export option of the Unanet
Administration Menu.
Unanet Technologies, 45240 Business Court, Suite 300, Sterling VA 20166
Phone: 703 689 9440; sales@unanet.com; www.unanet.com