Microsoft is committed to delivering predictable service updates. These service updates will be made generally available for self-deployment approximately 2 weeks before Microsoft automatically applying the update. Some of these updates can have a lot of changes in it and this can impact any customization done on the client’s environment. Thus it becomes very important for a partner to do complete testing before any update is applied. CloudFronts is dedicated to ensuring business continuity of the client and thus have protocols set up to ensure nothing gets impacted on the client’s production environment. Following are the protocols for the same : Service Update Availability – Key points:  Each service is released by the Microsoft which has following dates criteria: Preview availability date:  When the update is in preview by Microsoft. Generally available (self-update) date: This update will be made generally available for self-deployment approximately 2 weeks before Microsoft automatically applying the update. Auto-update schedule (via LCS update settings) production start date: A date for applying the service update in the production environment. End of service date: Date from when service update is over. Referenced image: For checking the release dates for the above criteria, link as: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/fin-ops-core/fin-ops/get-started/public-preview-releases How Long it can be delayed for Next Service Update? The customer can pause, delay, or opt-out of an update via Update Settings in the Lifecycle Services projects. A customer can choose to pause up to 3 consecutive updates. The following is an example of a delayed update: The customer is currently on version 10.0.2. The customer can pause updates 10.0.3, 10.0.4, and 10.0.5. The customer must take the 10.0.6 update when it is available. Upcoming Schedule of Update The customer has the option to apply the update when it is convenient, or let Microsoft auto-apply the service updates based on the selected maintenance window. Customer must require to have an update no older than 4 months Critical Issues Critical issues should always be submitted to the support team via Lifecycle Services as soon as they are identified. The support staff will work with you on the resolution to the critical issue. Path for Early Service Update Scheduling Go to LCS -> Project settings Update settings Pausing the service update temporarily.  As shown in the below image, when updates resume, the designated sandbox and production environment will be updated to the latest service update before it can be paused again. HOW TO CHECK UPCOMING UPDATES FROM LCS? In update setting -> click on view the update calendar It looks like: This will help us to plan the next scheduling for service updates. According to this, we can plan the next calendar for upcoming service update CLOUDFRONTS PROTOCOL FOR TRACKING DOWN THE ENVIRONMENT DETAILS We have added the field ERP version in D365 PSA where the project lead will update the version of the production environment. After every update, it is the Project Lead’s responsibility to update this field. Every Monday we have a scheduled recurring management meeting where the CEO, Delivery Head and Practice Lead discuss the status of each project by opening a Project Overview Report developed in Power BI. The same report has the column of ERP version so that the management is aware of the client’s D365 Finance & Operations version.   CLOUDFRONTS STEPS FOR KEEPING THE ENVIRONMENT UP TO DATE For each client our support system would have one case created specifically for the updates and it will be assigned to the Project Lead. The Details of the case is as follows: Case name:  Environment update – Client name Notes:  ERP Environment version details and the next path for service update Follow-up date:  Follow-up date would be one month from the current date and till then the case will be on hold. Based on the follow up date system will automatically send the email to the assigned person so that he is intimated to work on the case. Based on this the user needs to check for updates on the LCS and follow the steps based on this document. STEPS FOR APPLYING SERVICE UPDATE – DEV / CLOUD HOSTED Key points:  Before applying the service update on UAT, service update must be applied successfully on the Build and Test Environment or Cloud-hosted environment Sequence for applying update on the environment  Build and Test Environment / Cloud-hosted environment UAT / Sandbox Production Before applying the service update, all the models should be a build-up The database must be synchronized Check if any AOT (Application Object Tree) objects are under pending changes in VSTS / TFS All the AOT objects should be checked in to VSTS Steps for applying the service update on the development environment are the same as applying to the UAT environment. Hence steps are listed on the next page. STEPS FOR APPLYING SERVICE UPDATE – UAT Go to the LCS -> Select the appropriate projectof the environment Select the UAT appropriate environment-> Click on full details Scroll down to check the latest update. In this part, we will able to see all the latest service updates. Select the appropriate service update on which we have planned to do. Click on View update. Here, we’re taking an example of moving the environment on 10.0.12 Go to Savepackage Click on Select all. Make sure all the packages are selected. Click on Save packageand then give the appropriate Service update name and then click on save the package. It will save all the hotfixes. Wait for a few moments (It can take 5-10 minutes depends on the number of packages are being loaded). After successfully saved the packages, click on Done button Go back to the environment page and then click on Maintain-> Apply updates We had given the name Service Update 10.0.12which should be shown here to apply the update In some cases, the package will not appear suddenly. What to do in such a case? Let’s see the next step on how to verify that. Go to Asset library Click on Software deployable packageand then navigate to our service package Have a look on the column – Valid. If it is not signed with the right symbol then keep patience until it is done. Once the package is validated successfully, we will able to deploy the service update to the environment. After validating the deployable package, we can see the package and just one step away for applying the service update. Click on the Apply button. TESTING – RSAT … Continue reading CloudFronts Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Update Steps & Protocol →

With Supply Chain Management based on Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV), mapping processes along the entire supply chain is highly efficient. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ensures smooth processes in purchasing, sales, manu­facturing, logistics and warehouse. You can use Supply Chain Manage­ment (SCM) to adjust and control the work­flows customized to specific requirements. Supply Chain Manage­ment in Dynamics 365 Business Central can be configured flexibly and helps you integrate all business partners in the best possible way. For example, procure­ment, processing and delivery times can be reduced and optimized.   SCM functions in Dynamics 365 Business Central: Optimize inventory levels: Use built-in intelligence to predict when and what to replenish. Purchase only what you need with dynamically updated inventory levels.   Avoid lost sales and reduce shortages: Maintain the right amount of inventory by automatically calculating stock levels, lead times, and reorder points. Suggest substitutes when requested items are out of stock.   Maximize profitability: Get recommendations on when to pay vendors to use vendor discounts or avoid overdue penalties. Prevent unnecessary or fraudulent purchases through approval workflows.   Sales order management: Manage sales orders, blanket sales orders, and sales order processes.   Purchase order management: Manage purchases, blanket orders, and purchase order processes.   Warehouse management (Basic and Advanced): Warehouse functionality in Business Central can be implemented in different complexity levels, depending on a company’s processes and order volume. The main difference is that activities are performed order-by-order in basic warehousing when they are consolidated for multiple orders in advanced warehousing.   Item transfers: Track inventory as it’s moved from one location to another and account for the value of inventory in transit at various locations.   Locations: Manage inventory in multiple locations that may represent a production plant, distribution centre, warehouse, showroom, retail outlet, or service car.   Assembly Management: To support companies that supply products to their customers by combining components in simple processes without the need of manufacturing functionality, Business Central includes features to assemble items that integrate with existing features, such as sales, planning, reservations, and warehousing.

Maximize efficiency of your customer service Gain a complete overview of the tasks and workloads in your service department to efficiently allocate resources and accelerate the answer of requests. With an increasing number of different business contacts, it is necessary to handle them professionally in order to generate extensive customer trust through constructive communication and reliable processing of service cases. Service Management functions in D365 Business Central: Manage forecasting to fulfilment: Use sales forecasts and expected stock-outs to automatically generate production plans and create purchase orders.   Run your warehousing efficiently: Get a holistic view of inventory for efficient order fulfilment. Track every item transaction and movement by setting up bins based on warehouse layout and storage unit dimensions.   Reach optimal output levels: Calculate and optimize manufacturing capacity and resources to improve production schedules and meet customer demands.   Service orders: Register your after-sales issues including service requests, services due, service orders, and repair requests.   Service item management: Record and keep track of all your service items, including contract information, component management, and BOM reference and warranty information.   Service contract management: Record details on service levels, response times, and discount levels, as well as on the service history of each contract, including used service items and parts and labour hours.   Planning: Assign personnel to work orders and log details such as work order handling and work order status.   Dispatching: Manage service personnel and field technician information, and filter according to availability, skills, and stock items.   Service price management: Set up, maintain, and monitor your service prices.  

The project management module in Dynamics 365 Business Central provides options for planning and creating project-relevant activities (project planning) and enables project budgeting and automated project invoicing. You can use the project management in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to completely map and control your project-relevant activities: Stay on budget: Create, manage, and track customer projects using timesheets along with advanced job costing and reporting capabilities. Develop, modify, and control budgets to ensure project profitability.   Plan with precision: Manage resource levels by planning capacity and sales. Track invoicing for customers against planned costs on orders and quotes.   Analyse project performance: Make effective decisions with real-time insight on project status, profitability, and resource-usage metrics.   Resources: Register and sell resources, combine related resources into one resource group or track individual resources.   Estimates: Monitor resource usage and get a complete overview of your capacity for each resource with information about availability and planned costs on orders and quotes.   Jobs: Keep track of usage on jobs and data for invoicing the customer. Manage both fixed-price jobs and time-and-materials jobs.   Timesheets: Timesheets are a simple and flexible solution for time registration with manager approval and integrate with Service, Jobs, and Basic Resources.   Multiple languages: Switch languages on the client in real time provided that the desired language is available.   Reason codes: Define a set of reason codes that can be assigned to individual transactions throughout the system, providing user-defined audit trails.   Extended text: Set up an unlimited number of lines to describe inventory items, resources, and general ledger accounts.   Intrastat reporting: Automatically retrieve the necessary data to report Intrastat information to statistics authorities. Local customs authorities can inform you whether your company is obligated to file such a report.   Outlook integration: Synchronize your to-do items and your contacts with your meetings, tasks, and contacts in Outlook.

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP software has an integrated suite for the production area (PPC: production planning and control) with comprehensive functions to plan and control efficient production and manufacturing processes: The manufacturing module can map and efficiently manage all areas from material requirements and product configuration to workstation and machine utilisation. Production functions in D365 Business Central: Resources: Register and sell resources, combine related resources into one resource group or track individual resources.   Estimates: Monitor resource usage and get a complete overview of your capacity for each resource with information about availability and planned costs on orders and quotes.   Jobs: Keep track of usage on jobs and data for invoicing the customer. Manage both fixed-price jobs and time-and-materials jobs.   Timesheets: Timesheets are a simple and flexible solution for time registration with manager approval and integrate with Service, Jobs, and Basic Resources.   Multiple languages: Switch languages on the client in real time provided that the desired language is available.   Reason codes: Define a set of reason codes that can be assigned to individual transactions throughout the system, providing user-defined audit trails.   Extended text: Set up an unlimited number of lines to describe inventory items, resources, and general ledger accounts.   Intrastat reporting: Automatically retrieve the necessary data to report Intrastat information to statistics authorities. Local customs authorities can inform you whether your company is obligated to file such a report.   Outlook integration: Synchronize your to-do items and your contacts with your meetings, tasks, and contacts in Outlook.   Subcontracting: Allows companies to send raw materials, unfinished goods, or partially finished goods for further processing elsewhere.  

Get an overview of your business data using power­ful Business Intelligence (BI) functions and improve your customer management. Business Intelligence for an informed decision base With the analysis tools integrated into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV), you can use graphical views and digital reports to analyse your busi­ness data in detail. By combining Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and other applications such as the Microsoft SQL Server with its reporting and analysis services your company can meet the requirements of comprehensive analyses and reporting. With access to real-time data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central statistics and additional analysis and reporting tools, your employees can analyse performance and make informed decisions based on meaningful data.

The financial management feature of the ERP soft­ware Dynamics 365 Business Central does not just include financial accounting func­tions, but also combines various aspects of finance, cost and activity ac­counting, as well as internal and external reporting. The current data of all company areas such as purchasing, sales, ware­house and wages/salaries are merged in financial manage­ment of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV). You can access the core data at the push of a button to deter­mine and analyse sources and corre­lations at any time. Accounting & Finance Financial accounting is the central element in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV). All data regarding financial accounting are processed, evaluated and saved here. The daily processes in financial accounting (general ledger and sub-ledger) are supported effectively by various features: Make informed decisions: Connect data across accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, and customer interactions to get an end-to-end view of your business. Chart financial performance in real time with built-in Power BI dashboards.   Accelerate financial close and reporting: Streamline accounts receivables and payables, and automatically reconcile accounts to close and report on financials quickly and accurately, while maintaining compliance.   Improve forecast accuracy: Refine financial forecasts by modelling and analysing data across multiple dimensions. Customize reports using seamless Microsoft Excel integration.   Basic General Ledger: Set up a company and start posting to the general ledger, chart of accounts, general journals, VAT facilities, recurring journals, and source codes.   Budgets: Work with budgets in general ledger accounts.   Deferrals: Set up deferral templates that automate the process of deferring revenues and expenses over a pre-defined schedule.   Basic fixed assets: Keep track of fixed assets and related transactions such as acquisitions, depreciations, write-downs, appreciations, and disposals.   Basic receivables: Post sales transactions in journals and manage receivables; register customers and manage receivables using general journals.   Dimensions: Add unlimited dimensions to any ledger for advanced transaction analyses.   Audit trails: The system automatically assigns audit trails and posting descriptions to every transaction. In addition, users can define reason codes to create complementary audit trails.   Bank account management: Create, operate, and manage multiple bank accounts for catering to your diverse business needs and across different currencies.   Reconciliation: Reconcile your bank statement data automatically to open bank account ledger entries end to keep track of all your bank statements.   Currencies: Manage multiple currencies throughout the system, including payables and receivables, general ledger reports, resource and inventory items, and bank accounts.

The CRM system (Customer Relationship Management) in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV) ERP software assists you to automate numerous tasks in the sales and marketing sectors. You can use this CRM solution to manage your customer re­cords and sales histories, control your sales oppor­tunities, create marketing campaigns and track customer activity. The CRM system helps you to make informed deci­sions for a professional customer manage­ment. The close inte­gration with Microsoft Outlook is a great benefit here. The features of the product are as follows: Deliver value at every touch point: Prioritize sales leads based on revenue potential. Keep track of all customer interactions and get guidance on best to upsell, cross-sell, and renewal opportunities throughout your sales cycle. Boost sales productivity: Accelerate the quote to cash process. Act quickly on sales-related inquiries, manage service requests, and process payments—all from within Outlook. Maximize profitability: Gain a comprehensive overview of your service tasks, workloads, and employee skills to effectively assign resources and accelerate case resolution. Contacts: Maintain an overview of your contacts and record your contact information for all business relationships. Campaigns: Organize campaigns based on segments of your contacts that you define. Opportunity Management: Keep track of sales opportunities, section your sales processes into different stages, and use this information to manage your sales opportunities. Dynamics 365 for Sales integration: Integrate with Dynamics 365 for Sales in a few easy steps to synchronize your data, including sales orders, item availability, units of measure, and currencies  

Sales is the important part of any business. For doing the sales a company required Customers. Following is the process as how to create customers in D365 BC. To create a new customer card In the Global Search , search for Customers. On the Customers page, choose the New If only one customer template exists, then a new customer card opens with some fields filled with information from the template. If more than one customer template exists, then a page opens from which you can select a customer template. In that case, follow the next two steps. 3. On the Select a template for a new customerpage, choose the template that you want to use for the new customer card. 4. Choose the OK A new customer card opens with some fields filled with information from the template. 5. Proceed to fill or change fields on the customer card as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description. The customer is now registered, and the customer card is ready to be used on sales documents. If you want to use this customer card as a template when you create new customer cards, you can save it as a template. To save the customer card as a template On the Customer Cardpage, choose the Save as Template The Customer Template page opens showing the customer card as a template. Fill in the fields as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description. To reuse dimensions in templates, choose the Dimensions The Dimension Templatespage opens showing any dimension codes that are set up for the customer. Edit or enter dimension codes that will apply to new customer cards created by using the template. When you have completed the new customer template, choose the OK The customer template is added to the list of customer templates, so that you can use it to create new customer cards.  

D365 BC product is being improved continuously and following is the expected improvement coming in April Updates. Improvements to Scrolling in Lists When scrolling in a list page today, your scrolling is periodically interrupted with a “fetching more rows” indicator. Scrolling pauses while Business Central fetches and loads more rows into the page. See below for an example of this: Microsoft’s latest enhancements aim to improve scrolling experience. You will be able to scroll to any position on a list without pause. We’ve been able to see the improved experience in our preview environments and believe this will be a simple but highly valued feature for frequent Business Central users!