What Embedded Reporting Reveals About Life After Great Plains 

When Microsoft announced the end-of-life timeline for Dynamics Great Plains, most organizations focused on the final date. December 31, 2029 became the point of reference. That’s when support ends. That’s when action becomes unavoidable. 

This article was inspired by our recent webinar, Great Plains Migration Roadmap for Nonprofits, where we discussed the growing security and compliance risks of staying on end-of-life ERP systems. 

Most reporting problems don’t show up all at once. 

Earlier this year, we hosted a thought leadership webinar called Dimensions in Practice: A Conversation for Finance Leaders. It was a candid conversation led by Meg Wilson, Jennifer Hume, and Kinley Graham; three people who…

Most finance teams understand dimensions. They’ve implemented them. They use them. They rely on them for reporting, budgeting, and oversight. 

If you’ve ever inherited a chart of accounts with five segments, 14 digits, and thousands of near-identical combinations, you already know how this story starts. 

Walk into almost any school board office and ask how school-generated funds are tracked, and you might hear something like: 

Before joining Sparkrock, I worked for years as a CIO at a nonprofit supporting people with developmental disabilities. Our team ran 24/7 residential programs, day supports, and respite care while juggling funding from multiple…