What is the single most important aspect of running a business in today’s day and age? Is it ensuring the customer is always satisfied? Does it have to do with supply chain management and its ongoing success? Or should it be related to efficiency and ensuring that productivity is maximized?   Enterprise resource planning helps organizati ...

  The coronavirus crisis has forced businesses of all sizes and all types to make some extremely difficult decisions. Because of the economic shutdowns and resulting economic slowdowns many of these hard choices have been financial in nature, as conglomerates, corporations and small-business owners have slashed budgets and dramatically cut the ...

Owning a business is a series of decisions. Some are fairly simple and straightforward; others require more thought and introspection. No matter how big or small, every choice is made to keep your company moving forward. If you’re a Microsoft Dynamics GP user, a couple notable questions have likely crossed your mind: Should I move to the clou ...

It’s pretty incredible to think that there are at least 5 million businesses in the U.S. alone, yet virtually every one of them is unique in its own way. However, there are a few things that organizations have in common. One of those shared goals is the genuine desire to succeed, in whatever form that may present itself, whether it’s profit ...

The events surrounding COVID-19 have tested everyone’s resolve, as professionals and industries have had to adapt and strategize to stay safe and be a part of the solution to the contagion through great sacrifice.   The virus has taken a particularly harsh toll on health care, as the industry is pulling out all the stops to stay ahead of ...

For the millions of Americans, working from home was something of a luxury. Fast forward to today: Working from home has become a necessity due to COVID-19. This contagious virus has upended life for virtually everyone in the world. According to recent Gallup poll, 62% of employees have reported that they have worked from home during the current cr ...

From multiple soft drinks to a plethora of potato chip  brands, consumer society is chock full of options. The way people pay for various products and services also runs the proverbial gamut. Cash, credit card, debit card, mobile wallet and more; the mode and means of spending are numerous.   According to a recent poll conducted by Blackhawk ...

Over the past several years, ERP technology has taken the world by storm and moved from large enterprise systems to main stream. Cloud based enterprise resource planning software like Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle NetSutie and Sage Intacct have become popular with small to medium sized businesses, allowing businesses of all sizes and types to be ...

In addition to creating a host of different applications and cloud offerings such as Office 365, Power BI, and Azure, Microsoft has released Dynamics 365 Business Central which enables small-to-midsize businesses (SMB) to get a better handle on their financials, jobs, service and supply chains as well as overall customer relationship management. If ...

Surges in orders, disruptions in supply chains, customer behavior changes, store closures and more: as the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to evolve, it will undoubtedly have an effect on your B2B business. And e-commerce, in particular, is seeing a significant impact. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, online sales have increased by ...

If small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, customers serve as SMBs’ sustenance: without them, survival is virtually impossible.   The sales process these days is about so much more than dollars and cents. It’s also about providing comprehensive customer support, engrossing customer engagements ...

When it comes to choices for consumers and business owners alike, this is the golden age. Thanks in large measure to technological improvements, the ever-expanding internet and healthy competition, people have plenty to pick – from their side dishes at restaurants, to channels and stations with cable and streaming entertainment providers. In ...

From providing superior customer service to staying on top of operational costs, running a business is a contact sport. The decisions made, which inform your management style, ultimately determine whether you win or lose. But what if you had the business data that could enable you to make smarter, more well-informed decisions? With Microso ...

Christmas time is here once again – the season of perpetual hope, merriment, good tidings of great joy and gifts galore. What do you hope to find waiting for you under the tree this year? As a business owner, one of the very best presents you could possibly receive is Microsoft Power. Business Intelligence. Why? Because it’s the gift t ...

Farmington Hills, MI — December 1, 2019  The TM Group, Inc. recently opened a South Bend office and acquired the Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement and Dynamics 365 Business Central practice formerly managed by Pinnacle of Indiana, an Advanced Imaging Solutions company.   This acquisition does not affect Pinna ...

It is said that if you come into any experience with low expectations, you’ll never be disappointed. But in an era of instant gratification, such a stance is unrealistic. If customers don’t receive the kind of service to which they’re entitled, many have no compunction about taking their business elsewhere. Whether in retail, ho ...

Americans have a love-hate relationship with automation. On the one hand, they readily recognize the tremendous amount of convenience it offers them in their personal and professional lives. But on the other, some fear the frequency with which it is utilized poses a threat to their livelihood. In a poll conducted by Gallup, nearly 60% of respon ...

Did you ever read “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley in high school? If you did, you know the legendary tale has a multidimensional plot about a complex creature – who was largely misunderstood. In many ways, the conclusions drawn by those who initially interacted with Victor Frankenstein’s monster are similar to what can happ ...

VISTATECH CENTER, SCHOOLCRAFT COLLEGE LIVONIA, MI TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH, 2019 Join The TM Group, Michigan’s leading ERP & CRM provider in Embracing the Cloud at Vision! Vision is a FREE full-day event focused on Microsoft Dynamics GP, SL, 365 Business Central (NAV) & 365 Customer Engagement (CRM). At this conference, you can e ...

The Client Headquartered in central Michigan, this company creates custom measurement gauging equipment for many different industries and consumers, including digital transmitters, non-contact laser sensors, fully automated gauging systems and door-closing-effort sensors. The Challenge In an increasingly competitive workspace ...

It’s that time of year again. Summer, the season that yields peaches, picnics and picture-perfect sunsets, is nearing its conclusion. You knew it was coming and it still doesn’t make it any easier to see it go. However, fall – filled with fairs, foliage and football – brings its own set of perks. Here’s the sp ...

If you’re looking to take your internal accounting processes to the next level, look no further than Microsoft Power Business Intelligence. More than anything else about your company, numbers tell the true story as to how sales are going and whether you’re on track to reaching your revenue goals. But it’s not always easy to make ...

As important as accounting processes may be to virtually every industry, the workflows can be highly tedious. These tasks involve compiling, analyzing, quantifying and qualifying massive amounts of data so it can be better understood and put to use. Data preparation alone, according to Gartner, can take up the majority of the time and costs devot ...

The TM Group has been named to the Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs for 2019. The Top 100 resellers are chosen from organizations specializing in the sale and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting software. “We want to congratulate this year’s class of Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs,” said Bob Scott, executive ...

The Client A surface processing machine manufacturer headquartered in Germany but with satellite offices in Southwest Michigan. The Challenge This client presented an interesting implementation challenge. The company had recently transformed the Southwest Michigan location into an independent limited liability corporation res ...

The Client A data collection hardware provider based in Southwest Michigan. The Challenge The client connected with The TM Group with the intention of swapping its existing customer-relationship management solution, called SugarCRM, for an easier-to-use alternative. The organization had been struggling to track their marketin ...

The Client A heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing distributor headquartered in Southeast Michigan. The Challenge The company contacted The TM Group with the intention of implementing an all-encompassing application that would support and streamline project management operations for multiple functions, including ...

The Client A German plastics manufacturing systems provider with independent satellite offices in Southwest Michigan. The Challenge Personnel from the client’s American outpost in Michigan contacted The TM Group in hopes of implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The satellite location, which manages North ...

The Client: An airport concession company based in Southeast Michigan. The organization maintains approximately 50 casual dining restaurants spread across eight major American airports. The Challenge: The client connected with The TM Group intent on upgrading its existing version of Microsoft Dynamics GP and consolidating its data storage ...

The Client An international consulting firm that serves Fortune 1000 organizations within the engineering, finance, health care and information technology industries. The Challenge On the advice of its accounting partner, UHY international, the client contacted The TM Group with the intention of swapping its existing Quickbooks insta ...

The Client A reverse mortgage servicing company based in southwest Michigan. The Challenge The business’ vice president of financial systems contacted The TM Group, which she had partnered with at a previous organization, with the intention of accelerating and streamlining its nontraditional accounting workflows. The client had lon ...

Enterprise cloud computing technology is nearing ubiquity – and for good reason. The estimated 96 percent of organizations worldwide that leverage the cloud, per research from RightScale, maintain more streamlined internal processes that mitigate costly inefficiencies and bolster employee activity. Some even use the cloud to enrich their cu ...

The Client A fleet vehicle service and repair company headquartered in Western Michigan. The organization has been serving commercial customers throughout Southwestern Michigan for more almost three decades and now maintains six separate business divisions. It offers both onsite and mobile fleet repair options.   The Challenge The client conta ...

The Client A family-owned packaging service provider. Founded in the 1970’s, the organization maintains six separate entities distributed across four states within the midwestern United States. The Challenge The client had been using an outdated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with a built-in payroll module. However, the payroll solutio ...

The Client A public water management authority. Founded in the 1950s and headquartered in southeast Michigan, the organization manages a water system that measures more than 50 square miles. The authority also provides recycling and waste services via an entirely separate legal entity. The Challenge The client had been using an old on-premises vers ...

Unpacking the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Pricing Equation eBook is extremely helpful for small to medium sized organizations trying to figure out the cost associated Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement. Microsoft recently rolled out a redesigned version of their accounting, ERP and CRM software centere ...

The Client A single family office accounting department managing a real estate and investment firm based in western Michigan with eight legal entities. The organization maintains many investments across multiple sectors including dining, lodging, retail, commercial and a big-game hunting ranch and needed a more modern accounting solution. The Chall ...

Microsoft has released details for its forthcoming new release of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform for small- and medium-sized organizations. The solution, called Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, features customer service, finance, operations and sales modules designed to streamline business activities and allow companies of all sizes to ...

Organizations across myriad industries have embraced cloud computing. In fact, an estimated 95 percent of businesses are currently running applications in the cloud or experimenting with the Infrastructure-as-a-Service approach, according to research from RightScale. Of course, swapping on-premise servers for cloud-based alternatives is no easy tas ...

Microsoft announced the forthcoming release of an updated offering for small businesses this past September during Directions North America. The software package, which was released in December under the moniker Dynamics 365, combines Dynamics CRM, Dynamics AX and the redesigned version Dynamics NAV into an all-in-one digital solution for burgeonin ...

Microsoft labored over the redesign and relaunch of Dynamics NAV for more than one year before announcing a finalized offering at the Directions North America conference this past September, ZDNet reported. The Redmond, Washington-based technology firm released the software fewer than three months later, surprising both vendors and loyal users who ...

Bob Scott’s Insights, an enterprise resource planning publication specializing in coverage of the resale market, has included The TM Group in the latest edition of the VAR Stars, an annual assemblage of the top 100 high-performing midmarket ERP firms. Financial services software influencer Bob Scott edits the online magazine, which put the Farmin ...

Software Is Changing Business And The World In 2011, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen stated that software was eating the world. Society, Andreessen said in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal, was not only being consumed by software, but also traditional business models and industries were being revamped to take advantage of this brave ...

Analysts for Deloitte recently asked chief information officers from across the country to cite the biggest barriers for a successful ERP implementation. More than 80 percent said internal resistance to change. For professionals who have ever participated in an ERP roll out, this answer should come as no surprise. Employee pushback is often a serio ...

The enterprise cloud computing movement continues to mature. Now, an estimated 95 percent of organizations worldwide are running applications in the cloud or performing preliminary tests with possible cloud service partners, according to recent research from RightScale. As the technology improves and best practices crystallize, adoption rates are l ...

5 Signs Your Company Needs Accounting Software Many companies are still using Excel spreadsheets for their much of their accounting functions, but is this the best way to function? The accounts stay balanced. Vendors get paid. Checks go out. However, when the CEO asks for special reports related to specific revenue or expenses, or wants to know wha ...

The TM Group has again been named to the Bob Scott’s Insights Top 100 VARs for 2017. The Top 100 resellers are chosen from organizations specializing in the sale and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting software.   “We want to congratulate this year’s class of Bob Scott’s Top 100 VARs,” said Bob Sc ...

About the organization A Michigan school district wanted to make a number of improvements in operations and efficiencies, especially in relation to grant and budget management. The district serves about 10,000 students and has 11 total schools, providing education to students from pre-kindergarten programs through 12th grade. Specifically, the ed ...

About the company A Michigan-based leading life sciences company focused on live cell imaging, behaviors, functions and experiments and associated hardware production had an issue with its ERP software. The implementation of Microsoft Dynamics GP led by a different business left the life sciences organization worried about some areas, especially th ...

About the company The business has operated since 1946 in the centralized lubrication systems and components industry. Based in Europe, the organization was the first lubrication company in its country to earn ISO 9001 accreditation. It prides itself on continual reinvestment into company growth and development. Its U.S. subsidiary, which assembles ...

About the business A theater company sought out a new ERP solution for its chain of luxury movie theaters and associated operations, including bowling alleys, catering services and restaurants. It recently expanded by purchasing a new theater located outside its historical territory. The organization has a history of striving for technological adva ...

About the company A leading stocking distributor of specialty resins for many different manufacturing plants based in the Midwest needed to update their custom application for sales quoting and inventory system. They had a distributed sales network with staff located across the country, near major manufacturing markets. The organization relies on l ...

Vision is focused on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, GP, NAV, and SL users, management, and prospective users. It’s free! We hope to see you there. If you are interested in attending a conference focused on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, GP, NAV, and SL users, management, and prospective users, then you should plan to attend The TM Group’s Vision Conferen ...

A family-owned printer required screen printing business software to better manage its sales and work orders. The company primarily provided large advertising materials like banners, signs and car wraps for a variety of industries. Each client had particular needs for products and the office still relied on a paper-based system to track the detail ...

A large specialty physician group wasted time with outdated systems and required a new accounting solution to provide their required data warehouse and customized dashboard functionality. The organization had more than 50 doctors in 20-plus locations and couldn’t maintain proper financial oversight. Data processes were more than frustrating. ...

A market research firm required better integration between its Microsoft Dynamics SL solution and a homegrown operational system. The company performs market research for a variety of industries. Its clients range from automotive manufacturers to businesses in food distribution. Due to the diverse nature of its operation, it worked with The TM Gro ...

A company that designs and distributes cloud-based software for nonprofits had grown beyond its financial system’s capabilities and required a new ERP solution. The company’s product helps organizations track their members and manage donors during fundraisers. This cloud-based software company was unable to quickly obtain visibility of ...

The Company An auto parts supplier experienced rapid growth and diversification of services. Its main office provided parts for major brands, while a new segment of its business started selling specialized equipment for smaller markets. Besides providing clients with parts, the company also works with customers as an inventory management advisor. ...

An investment company needed an ERP solution that would allow it to host numerous company databases in a single system. The business planned to acquire companies, turn them around and then sell them off. Company managers wanted an ERP solution that could easily incorporate new companies as they were acquired and remove companies once the businesse ...

A security company wanted a CRM solution to streamline communication between its divisions. The organization provides consumers with two main forms of service. It designs and implements security systems for business and healthcare facilities and it supplies companies with security personnel to guard premises, investigate problems and handle emerge ...

A landscaping specialty product manufacturer, distributor and retailer decided to reevaluate its infrastructure after acquiring a business that used Microsoft Dynamics GP manufacturing. The company sold products from its showroom, online and through its catalog. Its customers were a mixture of consumers and wholesale retailers. The organization pr ...

A family-owned machine shop wanted to improve its financial processes and data integration. The Michigan-based company, which had been supplying parts to customers for over 50 years, had primarily serviced the automotive industry, with Ford being one of its clients. Recently, the company had been looking to expand to new consumers who are in need ...

A medical device startup company selected Microsoft Dynamics GP software to get the business started on the right foot. The company offered UV light-based disinfectant equipment for companies that clean publicly used tools like keyboards. The products were mostly advertised to organizations and businesses with high risks of bacterial spread, s ...

A nonprofit organization was looking for a way to manage the information associated with its financial grants. The foundation was started by an area family to fund cultural and educational events in the local Jewish community. At the time of the new software acquisition, it was a relatively young nonprofit with a small staff but it dealt with very ...

A company that is a leading supplier of industrial robots and robotic automation systems discovered its current office infrastructure couldn’t keep up with its growing business. The business had several data streams that needed to be integrated. The main office handles customer service, ordering, sales and final distribution for its manufact ...

The company A professional management services company that focuses on operational and administrative solutions for disability and medical case management wanted to modernize its business software systems. The business, located in the Midwest, is relatively new. It has been open for about five years, but has already realized significant success in ...

A specialty rehabilitation hospital in the Midwest, one of the largest in its area, wanted to update its backoffice workflows and processes. The hospital, which has a current capacity of about 80 beds and focuses on various forms of physical rehabilitation, is made up of seven constituent businesses. These range from the hospital itself to a proper ...

Spring is a glorious time in Michigan and is the perfect time to host Vision 2015, The TM Group’s 15th annual all-day Microsoft Dynamics User Conference. This is the oldest conference event of its kind for Microsoft Dynamics clients in the entire Microsoft Dynamics partner community. Vision is designed to provide a forum of in-depth learning, sh ...

Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions offers a variety of solution choices that match any business’s requirements. With four ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions offered by Microsoft under the Dynamics brand, how do you know which one is the best fit for your business? Unfortunately, this isn’t an easy question to answer. First let me e ...

A pharmaceutical research firm based in Michigan and focused on cholesterol-lowering therapies went public in the summer of 2013. It realized that its outdated Peachtree accounting solution wasn’t going to stand up to the regulatory requirements that come with being a public company. The significantly increased volume of transactions that wou ...

The Michigan-based U.S. subsidiary of an Italian lubrication system and component builder, which also has an office in the U.K. and a sister company in Cincinnati, was looking to improve the state of its enterprise resource planning affairs. The business has a niche in the lubrication field, providing a variety of systems to keep machinery in many ...

If you are looking for a new ERP solution, now is a great time to buy. Microsoft just announced the return of the very popular “Give Me 5” promotion for purchase of Microsoft Dynamics GP and NAV by the end of December 2014. This year the Give Me 5 promotion has several different “flavors”. “Give Me 5 Starter” – With a ...

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a powerful tool for businesses that want to effectively manage all of their customer interactions. Here are five of the most important reasons why businesses should use Microsoft Dynamics CRM as their platform of choice for this purpose: Synchronizing different departments: Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides the ability for ...

A prominent Midwest distributor was looking for a strategic partner to implement an accounting, distribution, warehouse management, CRM and e-commerce solution. This growing distributor has been in business for more than 30 years, offering both wholesale and retail supplies, and is known for its fine customer service. Faced with a changing marketpl ...

A 30-year-old distributor that offered both wholesale and retail supplies and is known for its fine customer service was facing a changing marketplace. Company representatives knew they lacked the overall technology that would allow them to continue flourishing. They had an older (mainframe, character-based) system and were quickly outgrowing it. A ...

We recently completed a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online implementation for a company with numerous divisions that each had its own product lines but whose salespeople could sell all products across divisions into their accounts. The company had started an implementation of SalesForce.com but was really using only the Chatter feature for collaboration ...

An emerging biotechnology company focused on the development of biologics and pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases had been experiencing outstanding growth. As we all know, this is a great problem to have; but because of the company’s quick growth, it was in dire need of a more effective ERP solution. T ...

A highly respected and thriving retail media group that creates, manages, and operates online media programs for nationally recognized, leading retail e-commerce websites was quickly outgrowing its outsourced bookkeeping program provided by QuickBooks. This fast-paced organization, which delivers innovative, custom digital ad campaigns for national ...

A large international and professional organization, which is a skillfully facilitated and private advisory group for CEOs, other C-suite executives, and business owners, was rapidly outgrowing ACT, its current customer relationship management software. With “advisory board” peer group meetings, private one-to-one mentoring sessions, expert spe ...

One of our clients is a large, well-known Midwestern baking mix organization that is family owned and operated and has been in the flour milling business since the early 1800s. The organization, recognizing the need to implement a solution that would assist its sales team in further advancing company growth and revenue, selected Microsoft Dynamics ...

Through diversity of growth, successful management, and the acquisition of other companies, this logistics trucking company specializing in transportation management had vastly outgrown their QuickBooks accounting software. The company’s progress has been explosive, and they now fill both floors of the new facility that they moved into in 2010. A ...

A large, well-known, and highly respected family office and investment firm that manages over 270 individuals’ trusts and foundations was in dire need of upgrading their current software. They were operating on an older, crude DOS-based system that required a great deal of effort because of manual entries into spreadsheets necessary for their rep ...

The insurance industry continuously undergoes a lot of scrutiny when it comes to managing their financial records. As a leading Microsoft Dynamics Partner for ERP and CRM based out of Michigan, at the TM Group we work with many insurance companies. One of our insurance clients was using QuickBooks to manage their books and felt a number of growing ...

New parts for antique vehicles are in high demand, but collectors can be a tough market to crack. They are particular about what they purchase and are experts in the products they need. Collectors can also become very loyal to companies who have their best interests in mind. One of our clients has experience in this market, selling new tractor part ...

A client of ours is a staffing agency that manages 600-700 employees and can do so with an accounting department of just one person using Microsoft Dynamics GP. Even though their company also experiences high turnover and can add up to 50 employees a week while sometimes losing just as many, they can keep up with these changes because of the usabil ...

This multi-store retail grocer manages seven store locations in addition to a few holding companies and needed more timely information that could  be consolidated while kept separate so they could easily track inventory for each store. In addition to this, they also required more control internally so they could gain quick access to complete infor ...

Our client, a manufacturer in Michigan with multiple plants and multiple sales reps across the county, was living a spreadsheet nightmare.  To manage their sales pipeline, they relied on a single sales administrator’s spreadsheet.  This spreadsheet contained columns with all the key information management requested, but unfortunately not all sa ...

Our client, a consulting and professional services firm with offices across the US and all over the world, had a business development department that was buried in administrative responsibilities.  Their team was responsible for preparing proposals requested from management or individual associates in the firm.  They were also responsible for the ...

Keeping track of your financial investments is extremely critical, even on a personal level. So when wealth management companies handle large investments for multiple clients, the tracking is even more crucial. You need to track real estate, cash flow, bank reconciliation, fixed assets, allocations, and much more. Although Timberline is appropriate ...

It took just over a year of using Salesforce.com before managers at our client, an industrial services company that sells purification and fluid management services to the manufacturing sector, determined that a new and more robust CRM system was necessary. Recently, this company found success by replacing Salesforce.com with Microsoft Dynamics CRM ...

A Michigan restaurant chain and manufacturer who has been loved by generations of customers spanning several decades was looking to update their ERP system. They are renowned for their signature food items, clean and comfortable surroundings and a firm commitment to great customer service. The company is also a successful manufacturer, producing a ...