How to set up a new user in Dynamics GP
This post will outline the steps to setting up a new user in Microsoft Dynamics GP and includes a recommendation to make the process a little easier. Note that you might need to be logged into GP as the “sa” (system administrator) user to complete this task.
- Navigate to Microsoft Dynamics GP menu drop-down >> Tools >> Setup >> System >> User:
- In the above window enter the User ID and the User Name. The User Type defaults to Full, and the Status is Active.
- Enter a password in the Password field and then again in the Confirm Password field.
- Now you have the option to mark the Enforce Password Policy. Doing so will make it so the password entered must meet your domain requirements for passwords and their expiration. The Change Password Next Login option will allow the user to change their password the next time they log in, which is useful when setting up a new user. You can give them a temporary password, mark that option, and then they can change the password on their first login.
- Recommendation: Copy security from another user who has a similar role/position with Dynamics GP. This can save a lot of time for some customers. In the screenshot below I have circled and highlighted this option. This will copy reports, window access, company access and even home page layout if needed: Once you click the Copy Settings button at the top, the system will ask if you want to save this new user. Clicking “Yes” will bring up the following window: This window is where you select the User ID from which you wish to copy security access. You can also mark the checkboxes if you want to select the same home page role, content and pages or you can leave those blank and allow the user to select them on their first login. If you do not want to copy security from another user, simply ignore step 5 and continue with step 6.
- After setting up the new user ID and their password, you will want to give the user access to certain companies. To do this, navigate to the Microsoft Dynamics GP menu drop-down >> Tools >> Setup >> System >> User Access. The system will prompt you for the GP system password. This is not the “sa” password; it is a password set up at the time Dynamics GP was installed to access windows such as this: You can see I have selected the new user and marked the Fabrikam, Inc. company to which I want to give the new user access. Click the “OK” button to complete and exit.
- The next step is user security. Navigate to the Microsoft Dynamics GP menu drop-down >> Tools >> Setup >> System >> User Security: In the above window, select the new user (as I have). Then select a company to which the user has been given access. It will display a list of Roles. Here is the tricky part: Unless you drill down on each role (double click) and look at the tasks that are assigned to that role and then drill down again on a task to see what operations are assigned to the task, you won’t know what windows and processes access that role gives the user. This is just another example of why it is much easier to copy security rather than trying to use trial and error. You might give a user the Accounting Manager role only to find out they need access to a window that role doesn’t give them. It is easy to fix, however, by adding that window access to their security role or by creating a new role. Contact your Dynamics GP Partner for security questions as these situations can become complicated.
- In the above User Security Window, you also want to select an Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports ID for the user. The Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports ID determines which windows and reports are used (non-modified or modified) for a user in this company. For example, let’s say the Sales Order has been modified to show the company logo and you want this user to print the same modified Sales Order that other users are printing. Simply make sure they have the same Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports ID as the other users. Alternately, you can click the Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports link to go into that setup and choose if you want a specific report to print as the modified version or the canned version for this new user in this company.
As mentioned earlier, I would recommend getting your Dynamics GP Partner engaged if you are creating new security roles or altering security roles instead of copying user security from another user. GP security can get complicated and changes can have a system-wide effect since roles are assigned to several users in some cases.
That is the basics for user setup and will get most users up and running in Dynamics GP.