As businesses grow, the need for a solid, scalable ERP system becomes clear. Two popular names  frequently pop up in these  exchanges Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Odoo. Both have their strengths, and both  pledge to streamline operations but the real question is which one’s the better fit for your business? Let’s break it down — not in tech slang, but in real- world, business- leader language. The Core Philosophy Business Central is a Microsoft product built for businesses that want a solid, all-inclusive ERP solution with advanced financial capabilities and seamless Microsoft 365 integration. Odoo, on the flip side, is modular and open-source. It appeals to businesses that need a flexible system they can customize heavily to match specific processes. What Business Leaders Need to Know  Business Central feels familiar to anyone who is worked with Excel, Outlook, or brigades. It’s designed to “just work” within the Microsoft ecosystem, which lowers the learning curve. Odoo’s interface is clean and ultramodern, but it can take a bit further trouble to set up and learn — especially if you’re customizing heavily.  Business Central offers rich out- of- the- box functionality, especially when it comes to finance, supply chain, and  force. utmost-sized businesses find that they do n’t need  important customization to get started. With Odoo, you get the basics and  also  make from there. It shines when you need  commodity  veritably specific, but this also means  further  outspoken work.  This is where Odoo really shines. You can tweak nearly every part of it. But with great inflexibility comes great responsibility — meaning further involvement from inventors. Business Central allows customization too, but within  rails. It’s more structured, which means smaller surprises  latterly on.  If your company already relies on Microsoft products, Business Central integrates effortlessly—Teams, Power BI, Excel, and more. Odoo integrates too, but you might need additional connectors or custom development to get everything working smoothly.  Business Central is  erected for businesses that are  spanning  presto. It’s used by companies with hundreds of  druggies and supports complex financials, global operations, and strict compliance  requirements. Odoo is great for startups and small businesses, and it can grow but there’s a point where scaling can come more complex, especially if heavy customization is involved. What About Cost? Odoo has a character for being more affordable  outspoken, especially the open- source  interpretation. But keep in mind customization, hosting, and ongoing support can add up. Business Central might look more  precious on paper, but it comes with stability, security, and  erected- in integrations that reduce the need for bolt- on  results.  So Which One’s Right for You?  Choose Business Central if you  Choose Odoo if you To conclude, there’s no universal “best ERP”—only the best one for your business. Business Central and Odoo both offer strong value, but suit different types of organizations. Still unsure? Let’s have a conversation. For more information on Microsoft products, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

In the pharmaceutical industry, quality doesn’t stop at the first inspection. Even after raw materials (RM) and finished goods (FG) pass initial testing, they may need to be retested over time to ensure they still meet quality standards. Retesting is done for various reasons—checking product stability, verifying shelf-life, or re-evaluating materials due to storage issues. If not managed properly, it can lead to delays, compliance risks, or even wasted inventory. With our GMP-compliant Quality module in Business Central, the retesting process becomes more structured and efficient. In this blog, we’ll look at how the system helps identify items due for retesting, track test results, and make informed inventory decisions. Items due for retesting Once the QA user completes the quality process and posts the inspection receipt, the system stores the retesting date on the item ledger entry. This ensures that retesting requirements are properly recorded and can be tracked throughout the product lifecycle. Retesting Worksheet The next step is to track and manage items due for retesting. Business Central simplifies this with the Retesting Worksheet, which allows QA teams to efficiently identify materials and products that need to be retested. With this approach, retesting becomes a structured and automated process, helping pharma companies stay compliant and maintain quality without operational bottlenecks. I Hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

In our previous posts, we covered the key stages of production—planning, creating orders, managing materials, and reviewing the final product. Now, let’s focus on an important next step: quality control of Finished product. Quality control is not something we just do at the end of the process; it’s crucial to making sure our products meet the high standards our customers expect. In this post, we’ll explain the essential steps involved in quality control, from inspections to ensuring everything follows the right rules, all to make sure only the best products are delivered. Let’s dive into how we keep our products up to standard and protect the reputation of our brand! Released production order System will automatically create Inspection datasheet with all the item details and list of specification. Inspection Datasheet Inspection Receipt Posted inspection receipt To conclude, our comprehensive quality control, driven by inspection datasheets and receipts, delivers excellent products, traceable records, and customer confidence through verifiable results and Certificates of Analysis. I Hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

Managing inventory in a systematic way is essential for any business. Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (D365F&O) provides reservation hierarchies to streamline how inventory is reserved and tracked across dimensions like site, warehouse, batch, or serial number. This guide explains the steps to enable reservation hierarchies and demonstrates their usage with practical examples. Reservation hierarchies are tools that determine the order in which inventory dimensions are used to allocate stock. For example, you might first reserve items by site and warehouse, followed by batch and serial numbers. This process helps ensure that inventory is allocated in a logical and efficient manner. Creating Reservation Hierarchies 2. Define the Hierarchy: 3. Select Dimensions: 4. Save and Finalize: Assigning Reservation Hierarchies to Products After creating the hierarchy, assign it to products to activate its functionality: Repeat these steps for all applicable products to standardize the process. Assigning Reservation Hierarchies to Products After creating the hierarchy, assign it to products to activate its functionality: Repeat these steps for all applicable products to standardize the process. Using Reservation Hierarchies in Transactions Sales Orders: When processing a sales order, the system automatically reserves inventory based on the hierarchy. It allocates stock step-by-step through the defined dimensions. Production Orders: For production, reservation hierarchies ensure materials are reserved systematically, avoiding stock conflicts. Transfer Orders: While transferring stock, the hierarchy helps select inventory from the correct dimensions, improving accuracy. Benefits of Reservation Hierarchies To conclude, reservation hierarchies are a simple yet powerful feature in D365F&O. They allow businesses to control how inventory is reserved, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in every transaction. By configuring them properly, you can streamline your operations and reduce errors. Take the time to test these features in a sandbox environment before using them in your live setup. This will help you understand how they work and ensure they fit your business needs. With reservation hierarchies in place, managing inventory becomes easier and more reliable, helping your business stay organized and efficient. That’s it for this blog! Hope this helps! Keep Sharing!! We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

Welcome back to our series on navigating the GMP-compliant quality control module in Business Central! In our previous blog, we took you through the process up to the Goods Receipt Note (GRN), laying the foundation for efficient and compliant quality management. In this blog, we’ll dive deeper into an equally important aspect of the process: the quality control of raw materials and packing materials. Ensuring that your raw materials meet the necessary standards is crucial for maintaining product integrity and compliance with regulatory requirements. Let’s explore how Business Central helps streamline this critical step in the manufacturing process. Previously, we discussed the process of posting a purchase order in Business Central, which triggers several behind-the-scenes actions. When the purchase order is posted, the system generates a posted purchase receipt along with an inspection datasheet document. This seamless integration ensures that both the material tracking and quality control processes are aligned. In the background, the system also handles the transfer of items between locations. For instance, the raw material (RM) item gets posted to the location specified in the purchase order. If the item is Quality Control (QC) enabled, an inspection datasheet is automatically created upon posting. The system then transfers the item from the purchase order location to an “undertest” location, where the quality control checks are carried out before the materials are accepted into stock. Inspection Datasheet When a Goods Receipt Note (GRN) is created, an inspection datasheet is automatically generated. This datasheet pulls details from the posted purchase order, such as product information, quantities, and other relevant data.  The document type for this datasheet is classified as “Purchase” to indicate that it pertains to a purchased item from a vendor.    Users have the ability to edit the sample quantity on the inspection datasheet. This allows for flexibility in determining how much of the received goods will be inspected or tested When an inspection datasheet is generated from the Goods Receipt Note (GRN), the Specification ID specified on the Purchase Order (PO) for each item is automatically transferred to the datasheet. The Specification ID links to a detailed set of standards or criteria that are predefined for the item (e.g., testing methods, acceptable ranges for quality attributes). The user performs the required testing on the received goods, and after testing, the user records the test results (e.g., pass/fail, measured values) in the specification table on the inspection datasheet. After all the data is filled and verified, the user posts the inspection datasheet. Posting the datasheet signifies that the inspection process is complete, and the items are ready for further processing or acceptance.  Once posted, the system creates a final, official version of the inspection datasheet, capturing all test results and any other relevant data entered during the QC process. Along with the posted datasheet, the system generates an Inspection Receipt. This receipt serves as confirmation that the goods have passed or failed inspection, and it also indicate the status (e.g., approved or rejected) Inspection Receipt On the Inspection Receipt page, the user will review the test results and specifications from the inspection datasheet. a) Based on these results, the user decides whether to accept or reject the lot. Accept: If the results meet the required specifications. Reject: If the results fail to meet the specifications. b) After making the acceptance or rejection decision, the user will enter the location and bin information for the lot to be transferred. Undertest Location: Initially, the lot is in a holding or undertest location. Accepted Lot: If the lot is accepted, the user will move it to an appropriate approved location (e.g., RM-approve for raw materials). Rejected Lot: If the lot is rejected, the user will move it to a rejected location (e.g., RM-reject for raw materials). The bins will vary based on whether the lot is accepted or rejected and its type .Once posted, the system creates a final, posted inspection receipt. This document becomes part of the system’s records, confirming the final status of the lot. The lot is moved to its designated location (approved or rejected), and inventory records are updated accordingly. A transfer entry will be created in the Item Ledger to reflect that the material has been moved to an approved/Rejected location (e.g., RM-approve/reject). c) Posted inspection receipt On the posted inspection receipt page, the user can initiate the generation of the COA report. The Certificate of analysis(COA) report contains detailed test results, pass/fail statuses, specifications, and approval information, providing a formal certificate of compliance. Conclusion: In this blog, I’ve highlighted how a streamlined Quality Control (QC) process ensures that only materials meeting your standards are accepted into inventory. From automated inspection datasheets to real-time inventory updates and generating Certificates of Analysis (COA), you can be confident in the quality and compliance of every batch. Why It Matters for Your Business: a) Ensure Consistent Quality: Only accept materials that meet your standards. b) Save Time: Automation reduces manual work and errors. c) Stay Compliant: Easy access to COAs for audits and regulatory checks. d) Build Trust: Your customers will appreciate your commitment to quality. Ready to optimize your QC process and improve efficiency? We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.

Introduction Are You Quick Enough with Your Decision-Making? 73% of Businesses Say No. In today’s data-driven landscape, a whopping 73% of businesses confess they find it tough to make quick, informed decisions because their reporting tools are outdated or just not cutting it. Are you in the same boat? If yes, it might be time to rethink your strategy for gaining business insights. Meet Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central—a real game-changer for companies looking to turn their data into actionable insights. While many ERP systems come with basic reporting options, Business Central shines with its customizable reports that offer real-time data, greater flexibility, and predictive insights. In this blog, we’ll take a look at five standout reports in Business Central that not only provide essential insights but also empower your business to make quicker, smarter decisions. These reports are crafted to keep you ahead of the competition and help you hit your business targets—without the hassle of complicated customizations. Let’s jump in and see how these powerful reports can revolutionize your operations! 1. Dimension-Based Reporting: Custom Insights Without the Complexity Business Central makes that easy with dimension-based reporting. It allows you to slice and dice data across custom dimensions such as department, product line, project, or location. You don’t have to adjust your chart of accounts for every new need—you just define dimensions and filter reports accordingly. Imagine the insights: Want to know how profitable a particular product line is in a specific region? Or how a department is performing across multiple locations? With dimension-based reporting, you can quickly analyse performance across all these areas. 2. Account Schedules: Build Custom Financial Reports Without External Tools If financial reporting feels rigid or limited with your current system, then you’ll love Business Central’s Account Schedules. Picture this: You’re able to customize income statements, balance sheets, or cash flow reports to match your exact business needs. Whether you want to compare actuals vs. budgets by department or break down profitability by project, Account Schedules gives you the flexibility to design these reports yourself. 3. Seamless Integration with Power BI: Turn Data Into Visual Dashboards Are you tired of static reports that don’t tell the full story? Business Central’s seamless integration with Power BI allows you to transform raw data into rich, visual dashboards that offer deeper insights. You can create interactive, real-time dashboards that not only display your data but also allow you to drill down for detailed analysis. 4. Embedded Excel Integration: Collaborate and Update in Real-Time Do you find yourself constantly exporting data to Excel, only to struggle with re-importing it back into your system? Business Central solves that with its embedded Excel integration. Imagine this scenario: You export your financial data to Excel, update it with your team, and then push the updated data back into Business Central—with no data loss or formatting issues. The integration keeps all your financial and operational reports intact, so collaboration is seamless. 5. Cash Flow Forecasting with AI: Predict the Future of Your Finances How accurate are your cash flow forecasts? With Business Central, you get AI-driven cash flow forecasting that goes beyond simple historical analysis. The system uses machine learning to predict future cash flows based on past data, outstanding receivables, and planned expenses, giving you a clearer picture of your financial future. Ready to See These Reports in Action? These reports are just the beginning. With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you have a powerful tool that helps you make smarter, quicker decisions and stay ahead of the competition. Interested in learning how Business Central can transform your reporting? Reach out to us today for a personalized demo or consultation at transform@cloudfronts.com, and let’s explore how we can tailor these reports to fit your business’s unique needs.

Introduction In Dynamics 365 Business Central, processing a customer refund is a simple yet important task that ensures accurate financial management and customer satisfaction. Whether a customer has overpaid or requires a refund for another reason, Business Central provides a straightforward process to handle these transactions efficiently. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to issue a refund, including verifying customer details, applying the refund, and processing the payment. Steps to Process the Refund Issuing a refund in Dynamics 365 Business Central is straightforward, but it’s important to ensure you select the correct document type. 1. Verify the Customer: Start by confirming the customer who will receive the refund. Access the customer list and click on the balance amount to view the customer ledger, which displays only the open or outstanding items. Note the customer number and the amount to be refunded. 2. Navigate to the Payment Journal: Open the Payment Journal and select the appropriate batch to use. Add a line for the refund to the customer, ensuring that the Document Type is set to “Refund.” 3. Apply the Refund: To apply the refund to the outstanding payment, click on “Apply Entries” in the Action Bar. Select the line you want to apply the refund to, then click on “Set Applies-to ID” in the Action Bar. This will fill in the Applies-to ID field for the chosen line. Click OK to close the page. 4. Process the Payment: Finally, process the payment. Whether you’re using a computer check or an electronic payment, follow the same steps as you would for paying a vendor. Once everything is completed, post the payment. 5. Customer ledger entry for the refund showcased above Conclusion Processing customer refunds in Dynamics 365 Business Central is a straightforward process that enhances financial accuracy and customer satisfaction. By following the outlined steps—verifying customer details, applying the refund, and processing the payment—you can ensure that refunds are handled efficiently and correctly. We hope you found this article useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfronts.com

Introduction: The 2024 Wave 1 release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central introduces a new feature called Page Scripting. This tool is designed to enhance User Acceptance Testing (UAT) by allowing users to record and replay their actions within the Business Central. This capability streamlines the UAT process by automating repetitive tasks and ensuring consistency across tests. Capabilities and Usage: The Page Scripting tool, records user interactions such as opening pages, entering data, and navigating through the system. These interactions can be saved and replayed, making it easier to validate the system’s behavior under various conditions. The tool records actions in a YAML file format, which can be shared and reused, promoting collaboration and efficiency. Let’s get started with how page scripting works: – Setup: To use the Page Scripting tool, users must have specific permission sets assigned. – Once these permissions are in place, users can access the tool by navigating to Settings and selecting the Page Scripting (Preview) action. The tool pane appears on the right side of the screen, allowing users to start a new recording or open an existing one. – When the user clicks on Page Scripting action, following screen opens up: – In that, user have an option to start a new recording or open existing recording. – User can start a recording by clicking on “New recording” or “Start new” button. – When user clicks on ” Start New/New recording” following page displays: – When new recording is started it captures every user action and input, including interactions with custom or third-party extensions. Users can track their steps, such as opening the Customer List page, selecting a customer record, and entering new sales prices. During the recording, users can delete the last recorded step if needed and can stop and resume recording as necessary. For Example: – Once all the steps are completed, user can stop the recording and save the file in YML format. – If the user wants to replay the recording, then simply user can click on open recordings, select the saved file and all the recorded script will appear on the right screen. – A recording can then be played, and all the recorded actions are executed in the web client. User will see an indicator if an action is succeeded or not as shown below: – User can Click on “Play” action, the system will automatically run the whole script and indicate (a green tick) if successful as shown in above image. Conclusion: In brief, the Page Scripting tool in D365 Business Central enables advanced customization, allowing users to optimize workflows, enhance user experience, and drive efficiency within the system. This tool offers valuable flexibility for businesses to tailor their operations to their unique needs and goals. We hope you found this article useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfronts.com

Introduction:  Many Businesses supports buying and selling items with different unit of measures. How to configure this in Business Central without showcasing your inventory in decimals. Let’s take an example: We will be buying the goods always in dozen whereas we can sell the items in PCS or CARTONS. Steps to achieve the goal: 2. Once the base unit of measure is set to PCS. Go to the Item Unit of Measure page by click on Related-> Unit of Measure. 3. By default PCS line would be set to 1. Add new line enter DOZEN and next right 6 which means 1 dozen has 6 PCS. 4. Next line add CARTONS and enter the qty per unit of measure as 72. which means 1 Cartons has 72 PCS in it. 5. Once the above lines have been set. Let’s pass Item journal where will be increase the inventory by dozen and sell the items in PCS and CARTONS. Ideally the inventory would be shown without any decimal value. 6. Below is the explanation how system would calculate into PCS as when you buy and sell in different items. 7. Purchase 100 dozen which is 600 PCS. This would be converted by Business Central itself. As we have defined 1 dozen as 6 PCS. 8. Sales 7 Cartons which is 702 PCS. This would be calculated by Business Central itself as per the Item Unit of Measure configuration where 1 cartons is 72 PCS. 9.Once the above transaction is posted the inventory would be whole value without any decimal. Conclusion:    Thus, we saw how we can use alternative Unit of measure in Business Central. We hope you found this article useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfronts.com

Introduction: Creating a tenant in Microsoft Entra-ID or Azure Active Directory (AAD) is a simple process that can be accomplished through the Azure portal. The portal serves as a centralized hub for managing Azure Active Directory and executing various administrative tasks, including the creation of a new tenant. Additionally, this blog will cover how to create a user and grant them permissions. Pre-requisites: Steps: Sign in to Azure Portal. Navigate to Microsoft Entra ID tenants: Select “Create”: Choose the type of tenant: On the Basics tab, select the type of tenant you want to create: Click Next: Configuration to proceed. Provide the necessary information: Organization name: Type your desired organization name (e.g., “Cloudfronts”). Initial domain name: Choose an initial domain name (e.g., “cfblogs”). Country/Region: Select your desired country or leave it as the United States. Review and create: Your new tenant is created: Check your user account: User can change their User Principal Name (which is generated by the system) by clicking on user e.g. “Shubham Prajapati” Now Sign in to Business Central Business Central Sign In | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Now put the User principal name As password was not set during tenant creation. Go to > Forgot Password After setting up the password you can successfully login to your Business Central Now Go to Settings > Admin Center Now Click on Upper Left Corner > Admin Go to Active Users > Click on the user which you want to give permission to access central, then go to Licenses and apps and select Licenses > Save changes Once permission is provided Go to Users page in business central and click on Update users from Microsoft Now the user is being updated, to give environment permission click on the user whom you want to give permission To give environment permission to user click on New Line > Select appropriate permission to user Conclusion Thus, in this blog we saw how to create a tenant for business central and how to add users and give permissions to them. Thank you for reading hope this helps!