Adding new users to Dynamics GP isn’t all that complicated. However, without a basic understanding of how GP security works, it can seem a bit confusing at first. Aside from just creating the user’s account, you also need to configure their company access as well as the various security roles and tasks that they are going to be assigned.

In most cases, if you’re adding a new user, the security roles and tasks should already be configured. I will not go into much detail on configuring new roles and tasks, as the options here would be unique to each individual company and require a bit more explanation and a thorough understanding of all the modules within GP.

For now, I will outline the steps necessary to add a new user to Dynamics GP and configure their security based on existing security roles. Though each version of GP (2010/2013/2015/2016) has a slightly different interface, the basic concepts for creating new user accounts is the same.

The first step to adding a new user is to open the New User Setup Window. This can be found by clicking the Dynamics GP icon then selecting Tools>> Setup>> System>> User.

Note the other options available here as well. You will later need to use this same path to select User Access and User Security. Though I will not go into it in detail, I will also discuss the Security Tasks and Security Roles options as well.

When you select User, you will need to enter the GP system password before the User Setup Window will be displayed. This will be necessary each time you select an item from the System Setup menu.

Once the window is displayed enter the new User ID along with the Users Name, Class ID and Company (if applicable). The Class ID is a set of predefined classes that represent Security Roles that the user will be included in. In this case I am setting up a test user with the UserID of JohnSmith and making them a MGR 1 PR SU. This is a custom class that exist only in the environment I am working in. I’ve seen cases where the Class ID is not used, but in most cases it should be.

Once all the necessary information has been provided, enter a default password for the user. It is best to make sure that all options under Advanced SQL Server options are checked. This will allow GP user accounts to inherit the server’s security policy. Since you are also creating a default password here that will need to be given to the user once their account is created, you want to make sure they can create their own custom password. Checking the Change Password Next Login box will prompt them to do so the first time they log into GP.

To create the new account click the Save button.

Now that the user’s account has been created, the next step is to grant them Company access. Depending on your organization, you may have one or more companies created within a single installation of Dynamics GP. Based on the access required for the user, you will need to grant them permissions to at least one of these companies.

To access the User Access Setup window, click the Dynamics GP button and then select Tools>> Setup>> System>> User Access. You will once again need to provide the GP system password before the window is displayed.

In the above example I only have the newly created user and a single company, Management Corp. Click the check box next to any company or companies that the user should have access to and then click OK.

The final step, assuming that you already have Security Roles and Tasks created in GP, is to configure the user’s Security.

Click the Dynamics GP button and select Tools>> Setup>> System>> User Security and then enter the GP system password.

Once the User Security Setup window is displayed enter the newly created User ID and select the Company you want to configure. When dealing with multiple companies, you will need to configure the security for each one individually.

In the example below, I am configuring a payroll manager user and granting them access to three Security Roles that are already configured within my instance of GP. I am also assigning them a set of Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports named DEFAULTUSER. In my case, this is the standard selection of forms and reports for all users. This could be different if you have a custom set of forms and reports.

Once all the necessary security roles have been configured for all applicable companies and the Alternate/Modified Forms and Reports option has been set, click Save.

The user is now fully configured and should be able to log into the system.

As previously mentioned, configuring the individual security roles and tasks requires a much deeper understanding of all the features within the modules of GP. In most cases, these are configured when working with an Implementation Specialist when initially deploying Dynamics GP as your primary ERP system. However, the following screenshot may give you some insight as to how Roles and Tasks are assigned.

In this example I will use one of the Roles that was previously assigned to the new user that was created. If you look back at the screenshot of the User Security Setup window you will see that a role named PAYROLL ADMIN-HRP SUITE* was assigned to the user. If you open the Security Roles Setup window (Dynamics GP>>Tools>> Setup>> System>>Security Roles) and select the corresponding Role ID you will see the individual Tasks assigned to that specific role.

It may help to click the option to Display Selected Tasks as there are likely to be quite a few tasks in the list that are unassigned.

To further dig into the individual tasks assigned to each role open the Security Task Setup window (Dynamics GP>>Tools>> Setup>> System>>Security Tasks). In this example I am referencing the ADMIN_ADV_PR* security task that was assigned on the Security Roles Setup window. Each task can be configured to a granular level to restrict or provide access to various features within GP.

The best way to become more familiar with the security roles and tasks within GP is to just dig in and review all the settings. Reviewing existing roles and tasks and making small changes in a lab environment and then testing the access is the best method for understanding how the tasks control the roles and the roles control the users overall access to the modules within Dynamics GP.