Introduction: In this blog I will demonstrate the set ups for opportunities. The sequence for setting up opportunity to sales cycle is as follows: Opportunities: Any inbound lead could be viewed as a potential sales opportunity. You can make opportunities and link them to certain salespeople to keep track of possible sales. You must first build up sales cycles and sales cycle stages before you start working with opportunity management. When creating opportunities, you should include details such as the contact, salesperson, sales cycle, and dates as well as your estimates of the opportunity’s sales value and success odds. Set up Opportunity Sales cycle Codes: Set up Opportunity Sales cycle Stages: On the Sales Cycles page, select the line for which you want to set up stages, and then choose the Stages action. The Sales Cycle Stages page opens. Stage: Specify the stage number. Description: A description for particular stage Completed %: Specifies the percentage of the sales cycle that has been completed when the opportunity reaches this stage. Chances of Success %: Specifies the percentage of success that has been achieved when the opportunity reaches this stage. Activity Code: User can select the activity Code for particular stages. (Activities have to be created separately) Quote Request: this check box puts a validation on that particular stage to request quote. Allow Skip:  this check allows user to skip that stage. Date Formula: Specifies how dates for planned activities are calculated when you run the Opportunity – Details report. Comment: Specifies if comments exist for the selected stage. (To add comment on any stage, navigate to Related –> Sales cycle –> Comments) Set up activities with task: You can combine multiple task, in an activity. A task represents a step in the activity. You can assign activities to opportunities, salespeople, or contacts. Assign tasks or activities of tasks to opportunities. The following procedure describes how to assign activity tasks to opportunities. The steps are similar when you assign tasks to salespeople and contacts. I will be demonstrating how to create Opportunity and Process sales Opportunities in part 2. Hope this helps!

In every organization, all kinds of expenses and revenues are tracked under dimensions like cost centers, departments, employees, etc. It is often a business requirement to split expenses or incomes in fixed proportions between two or more dimensions for accurate reporting.  On the other hand, it may be required to assign a dimension only on one GL account, restricting it from others. D365 Finance offers a smooth, flexible and a very easy process to fulfill both kinds of requirements to achieve accurate reporting of the organization’s P&L from a dimension standpoint. The blog assumes the reader is already aware about setting up financial dimensions and using them for regular transactions so the point of focus will be on the advanced features only. The procedures for both requirements are as follows: – Let’s assume that an organization tracks all kinds of office expenses in two dimensions – department and cost center. The organization wants to split the cost in a 70:30 proportion between both. In order to do that, we will use Ledger Allocation Journals. Path – General Ledger -> Allocations -> Ledger Allocation Rules The source defines the main account that will be used to split the amount. The Destination defines the dimensions and the proportion in which the amount will be split between them. In the General tab, we define the validity date for which the rule will be active. The allocation method defines the various methods in which the GL amount can be distributed. Most often, the splitting is in fixed percentages. Turn the Active checkbox to activate the rule. In the source, define the main account. In Destination, define the percentages of distribution. From the above image, we are using a 70:30 distribution ratio between Cost Center and Department.  Here, we have defined a default dimension so that the system will know how to distribute the amount between the cost center and the department only. It will ignore any other dimension. If the default field is left blank, then the user will have to manually select the dimensions at the time of the transaction. In the first distribution, a fixed percentage of 30% is applied to the Cost Center. Create a new distribution again and allocate the remaining 70% to a department dimension. In this example, we are using only 2 dimensions, but the user may define as many distributions between multiple dimensions as required as long as the percentages add up to 100%. Save the rule and close it. Now, create any regular transaction with the GL account, like a general journal. Select the dimensions for the cost center and the department as shown above and post the document. Once posted, go to General ledger -> Ledger Allocations -> Process Allocation Request. Select the allocation rule. In the field Proposal Options, there are two options: – The first option will directly post the entry and allocate it to the dimensions. The second option will keep the entry unposted so that the user may verify the dimensions or make changes to them manually if required. It is always preferable to select the second option. Upon clicking Okay, the system will create an allocation journal as shown below: – Upon clicking open the allocation journal, the accounting impact is shown as below: – The accounting impact can be summarized below as follows: – GL Account/Dimension Description Dr Cr 5103-007 Office Expense – Cost Center 700   5103-257 Office Expense – Department 300   5103 Office Expenses   1000 From the above ledger impact, the GL balance stays the same, but the amount gets distributed between the 2 dimensions in the exact proportion. II. Using advanced rules to assign an additional dimension to a particular GL account only. To understand this requirement, let’s take the example of an organization that has a mandatory Department dimension assigned on all expense accounts. But there may be an exceptional case where one expense GL account requires one more dimension apart from Department.   In this case, if we add a dimension in the account structure, then that dimension will be needlessly assigned to all GL accounts. We must ensure that it should be applicable to the one account only. For this, we use the concept of Advanced Rules. With the help of Advanced Rules, we can configure the Account Structures to accommodate any additional dimension for one particular GL account only. The steps to configure it are as follows: – Go to: General ledger -> Chart of Accounts -> Structures -> Advanced Rule Structures The screen displays all the Advanced Rule Structures present. Create a new one. Select the dimension that is required. In this example, we have selected the dimension of ‘Worker’ and kept it as mandatory. Activate the Advanced Rule Structure and close it. Open Account Structures. From the above image, all the GL accounts here will have a mandatory Department dimension. But let’s assume that one GL account – 4101 will require the dimension for Worker along with Department. For that, open Advanced Rules on top. Create a new rule. Select the Main Account where you want to apply the dimension as shown above. Then in the below section, add the Advanced Rule Structure that was created earlier. The rule works like this: – If Main Account = 4101, then apply Advanced Rule Structure where dimension = Employee. Therefore, in any transaction with the account 4101, it will assign the Worker dimension on it. Let’s take an example where a GL account other than 4101 is used here. In this transaction, for the account 4102, the system is prompting us to select the Department dimension only, as required. Now let’s select the account 4101. As observed from the above image, the system is now prompting us to select the Worker dimension also. Thus, this ensures that only some GL accounts may be configured to enter an additional dimension. We can also configure the rules such that there are combinations of Main Accounts and Dimensions to add any additional dimension. … Continue reading Distributing GL amounts between financial dimensions and using advanced rules to link a dimension to only one particular account →

While electronic methods of payment are becoming increasingly popular everywhere for quick payments, check payments are still popular across the world, especially post dated checks, which can be cashed out only after a specified date, giving them an edge over electronic payment methods. D365 Finance has a very simple process to create post dated checks and account their entries.  Since post dated checks are cleared after a certain date, known as the maturity date, the amount is not directly accounted in the bank account, but to a bridging account instead. A bridging account serves as a ‘bridge’, for the transaction amount between the bank account and the vendor/customer account till the maturity date of the PDC. When a payment entry with a PDC is made, the system will store the amount temporarily in the bridging account till the maturity date. On the maturity date, the system will transfer the amount from the bridging account in the bank account. The accounting process of the PDC is summarized below: – For Vendor:- PDC (Before Maturity) Dr Cr Vendor XX   Bridging Account   XX PDC (After maturity) Dr Cr Bridging Account XX   Bank   XX For Customer: PDC (Before Maturity) Dr Cr Customer   XX Bridging Account XX   PDC (After maturity) Dr Cr Bridging Account   XX Bank XX   The steps to set up and use PDC are as follows: – 7. Select the Account type as Bank. 8. Enable the parameters for Bridging posting and Post Dated check clearing posting. 9. The bridge account gets selected automatically by default based on the one defined in the Cash & Bank management parameters defined earlier. 10. Do the exactly same setup in AR module -> Methods of payment as well. This concludes the setup part. Now we can proceed with the transactions. Process: – Go to Postdated Checks tab and enter the maturity date for the PDC. Until the maturity date is reached, we cannot settle the PDC. So either we can wait till that date or for the sake of testing purposes, we can set the system clock to a future date. This concludes the configuration and process for PDC in D365 Finance.

Personalization stands as a robust feature within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, significantly enhancing consultants’ and users’ experiences while interacting with the platform. Among these personalization options, the workspace stands out as a feature I routinely recommend to end-users. Its advantages span from streamlining daily business activities, time-saving capabilities, and improved visibility into work items that require attention, to the crucial benefit of reducing clicks and navigation across multiple screens. In this blog, I aim to demonstrate the process of creating a new workspace and sharing it with the necessary users. Creating a Workspace To initiate the personalization of your Dynamics 365 experience, follow these steps to craft a new workspace tailored to your specific requirements: Right-click on the right side blank screen and select “Personalize TitlepageContainer.” Your newly created workspace will now appear on the dashboard. After completing the initial steps, it’s time to fine-tune the configuration to suit your operational needs: Navigate to the required form or list page that you wish to include in the workspace. Select the presentation type: Tile, List, or Link. Additionally, you can create a saved view on the required form by applying filters and then add that saved view to the workspace. For instance, from the “All Sales Order” page, applying a filter for invoiced orders and saving that view to be added to the workspace. For this blog’s demonstration, I’ll illustrate adding the “Sales Order Invoice” to the new workspace. Navigate to the “Open Invoice” page. Click on the “Options” tab within the action tab. Select “Add to Workspace.” Choose the workspace created in the first part of the blog. This showcases the output when you click on the Custom workspace in Dashboard Configure Workspace Post workspace creation and configuration, the subsequent crucial step is sharing it with the relevant user groups: Identify User Groups: Determine the teams or individuals who would benefit from accessing this customized workspace. In conclusion, creating and sharing personalized workspaces in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations empowers users with tailored interfaces, offering enhanced efficiency, streamlined workflows, and a more intuitive user experience. I hope these steps will guide you in optimizing your Dynamics 365 experience, boosting productivity, and attaining better outcomes for your business operations.

In any ERP, any accounting user might want to set up periodic journals on a monthly/quarterly/year basis for recording the costs of any services, like AMC charges, rents, subscription fees, etc. It can get tedious to manually create such entries every single time indefinitely. This can lead to errors and unnecessary time consumption if the entries are very long and made to multiple business partners. Dynamic 365 Finance offers an easy way out through the use of periodic journals. Periodic journals help the user create entries periodically in the system. With periodic journals, users can: The process of configuring and using periodic entries is very simple. Setup 1. First, configure a journal name with the Journal type as ‘Periodic’ as shown below: 2. Then go to General Journal -> Journal Entries -> Periodic Journals Here, we define the template for the periodic journal entry to be created in future. Create a new entry. 3. Select the date on which you want the periodic journal entry to be created. 4. Select the GL accounts and their amounts. You can create a single line journal entry with an offset account or you can create a multi-line entry with as many GL accounts as required. 5. Select the Unit. Unit stands for the period of the journal entry – days, months or years. 6. Enter the number of units. This is the frequency of recurrence of the journal entry. For e.g., if you select Unit as months and enter the number of units as 3, then the periodic journal entry will be set to repeat every 3 months from the beginning date. Working 1. Open a General Journal entry. 2. Create a new entry. 3. On the top, click on Period Journal. 4. There are 2 options – Retrieve Journal and Save Journal. Retrieve journal is used for retrieving a periodic journal that we have just setup. Save journal is used if you want to save any existing journal entry as a template for a future periodic journal entry. 5. We use Retrieve Journal to retrieve the template we have created above. 6. In the ‘To Date’, enter the date of recurrence, i.e., the date for which the entry repeats for the period. In the Periodic Journal number, select the Periodic Journal which was created earlier. In the last field, there are 2 options – Copy or Move. Copy will fetch the periodic journal data into the journal entry and update it for use in the next period. Move will also fetch the journal data but will block the periodic journal from being used in future. Use the move option if you know that the periodic journal is not going to be used anymore. 7. The system will load the data as shown below:- 8. As you may notice, the date field is as per the date selected in the Retrieve Periodic Journal, while all the other details like the GL account and amounts are fetched exactly as per the template. 9. Once you post this journal entry, the journal date in the periodic journal template will be updated to the next period, in this case, to 1st of December. 10. In order to check if the date has been updated or not, simply go to the Periodic Journal once more and check the date. As you may have noticed, the date got updated to the next period of recurrence. So when you retrieve this journal for the next time, it will fetch the journal based on this date. This can go on as many times until you select the option to Move instead of Copy. After that, the periodic journal will stop updating and won’t be able to be used again. Through this process, the user can fetch the journal entries periodically instead of creating them manually every time. While the fetching of the data is automatic, the user will have to make sure to run the periodic journals as per their dates. There is an option to automatically generate the entries in the system through Power Automate but that is a separate Add-on to be setup and configured. The standard process is just as good enough to reduce the hassle for making entries manually every period.

Introduction In any accounting software, it is always important to keep track of all real-time bank transactions and record them in the ERP. Since bank transactions are booked manually in the ERP, it is necessary to ensure that the bank statements and ERP records are matched on any given date. This is where bank reconciliation comes into play. Bank Reconciliation Bank reconciliation is an activity done by any finance user for the purpose of reconciling book transactions w.r.t bank statements and ensuring that both are as closely matched as possible. D365 Finance offers two ways of performing bank reconciliations. One is by entering the bank statement amount manually and reconciling the ERP statements for each record against the amount. The other is by importing the bank statement into the system and letting the system match the records of the statement against the ERP based on a certain criteria. The blog is made with the assumption that the reader is already aware of the manual bank reconciliation process in D365 Finance. The second method is undoubtedly easier, flexible, and time-saving for any user. While there are several widely used bank statement format types which can be processed in D365 Finance like MT490, CAMT.054, BAI2 and others, this blog post will be focused on the MT490 format only. Moreover, D365 Finance also enables the user to reconcile not only payments/receipts, but also transactions from the bank’s side, like bank charges, interest fees or reversals and post those entries into the ledger automatically. There is also a flexibility to create a set of rules that can allow for minor amount/date variations of the system w.r.t the bank statement. Steps to perform the bank reconciliation in an automated manner Setup We have to enable the system to accept bank statements in MT940 statement first. In order to do that, navigate to, Organization Administration > Workspaces > Electronic Reporting Click on Repositories. Select Global and click Open on top. Filter the Configuration name by searching for ‘MT940’. The above list of formats will be displayed. Select them all and click on Import. The system will import the bank formats in D365 Finance. Next, we have to map the format in a setup. Go to Cash & Bank Management > Advanced Bank Reconciliation Setup > Bank Statement Format Create a new record and specify the Statement Code, Name and map the Import format which was imported in the previous step. Now this is done, the only part left is to configure the Bank master to enable advanced bank reconciliations for any transactions. Open the Bank Account Master. Turn on ‘Advanced Bank Reconciliation’ and select MT940 in the field Statement format. Once this is done, we are ready to use Advanced Bank Reconciliation. Working To start with advanced reconciliation, we will take a scenario of a bank where the following transactions have occurred: The above 3 transactions are created in the system and will be reconciled with the use of a bank statement. The bank statement will be a notepad file that will be imported in the system. While the bank statement is always provided by the bank, it is important to know the bank statement format so we can setup and test any scenario with dummy records. The above screenshot specifies the structure in which the bank statement is accepted by the system. We will be using this format to import bank records and reconcile them with the system records. From the above image, 3 types of bank transactions have been made in the system with the respective amounts and dates. Now the bank statement file for the above transactions is as follows: As you may observe, all three transactions are recorded one below the other, and the opening and closing figures are manually entered here. In real-time scenarios, this is provided by the bank and the user does not open or make any changes to the file. In order to import the file, go to Bank Account > Bank Statements > Import Statement In the parameters, select the bank account, browse the text file from your PC and click on upload, then click on OK. The bank statement is imported with the above transactions. Select the transactions and click on Validate on top. Now we proceed with the reconciliation. Go back and click on Bank Reconciliation in the Bank Account screen. Create a new reconciliation. Then click on Worksheet at the top. The reconciliation screen is opened. Here, the user is presented with the option to manually match any record to reconcile or let the system match the records based on a certain matching rule. While any variation of rules can be defined, the most commonly used rules are: Based on the above, we will define a matching rule based on date and amount difference and re-import the statement. To define a matching rule, navigate to Cash & Bank Management > Advanced Bank Reconciliation Setup > Reconciliation Matching Rules Based on the above image, the criteria for the match amount and match date is defined where a variation of 2 INR and 3 days will be allowed in reconciliation. Once it is saved, click on Activate. Next, navigate to Cash & Bank Management > Advanced Bank Reconciliation Setup > Reconciliation Matching Rule Sets Create a new rule set and link the matching rule that was created earlier. As you may observe, we can link multiple rules here. This is useful when it is necessary to reconcile statements with a variety of rules instead of a single rule. Next, go to Bank Account > Scroll down to Reconcilation section and link the matching rule set in the Default Matching Rule Set Now we are ready to run the reconciliation once more with some variations of amounts and days in the bank statement. Import the statement once more and validate it. The bank statement is imported as follows: Now create a reconciliation worksheet. On the top, select the option ‘Run Matching Rules’. Once the matching rules … Continue reading Advanced & Auto Bank Reconciliation in Dynamics 365 Finance →

Introduction Activities are tasks or sorts of homework that we as a team perform when contacting a customer for example making a phone call, making an appointment or calls, and so on. You can set the status of this activity to complete pending or in progress. For more details, please follow the link: Activity entities (Developer Guide for Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement … Steps to create and add/attach a custom activity entity in D365 CRM Step 1: Log in to the required D365 CRM environment using the URL https://home.dynamics.com. by providing a username and password and selecting your environment accordingly. Step 2: Once logging into your Dynamics 365 CRM, select the model-driven app you are currently working on. In my case, it’s Sales Team Member. Step 3: Once you are in your app, Click on the Settings icon and select [Advanced Settings]. Step 4: Click on Solutions. Create a solution or go to an existing solution. Click on Entities once inside the solution and Click on New. Once you name your entity don’t forget to tick on the [Define as an activity entity] checkbox. You can also check boxes on other options according to your need. Step 5: You can also notice the other checkboxes in Communication & Collaboration column, most of the options are non-editable.It’s because we are enabling it as an activity entity. Hence, all the checkboxes related to the Custom Activity Entity get non-editable. Step 6: Now we have to add the custom activity which we created. Click on the entity with which you are working. Then go onto the Forms inside that Entity in which you are working. Step 7: In Forms, once you have done your customizations, Add the activity timeline by enabling it during the entity creation on which you are currently working (checkbox those 2 columns and that’s how you can view the activities timeline in Form). Step 8: Once done with the above step, click on Activities & Notes and you can view the Activities & Notes Timeline. Step 9: Double tap on the Notes timeline and go to Activities. Step 10: Select the custom activity which you created. In my case, it was Order Review. Step 11: Click Ok. Save and Close and don’t forget to Publish the Customizations. Once this is done navigate to the Dynamics 365 CRM Main Form. As you Can the custom entity which we created has been added. Step 12: Click on ‘Order Review’ and add the details. Also, remember you can add many fields to this custom entity as per your requirements. How to do that is by going back to the Solution and navigating to this entity(Order Review). Create or add a new field and then add the Field to the Form. Save and Publish the Customizations. Hope this Helps.!!!

Introduction Global Search for Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a custom module, which allows you to search across all CRM entities at the same time, providing results in a single-view convenient layout. For more details please follow the link: Global Search for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online User Manual Adding an Entity and fields in Global Search On Dynamics 365 CRM Step 1: Log in to the required Power Apps environment using the URL https://home.dynamics.com. by providing a username and password and select your environment accordingly. Step 2: Once you have logged into your environment, click on the Settings Icon and select Advanced Settings. Step 3: Drop down Settings and then click on Administration. Step 4: After clicking on Administration, select System Settings. Step 5: Go onto the option Set up Search and then click on Select. Step 6: For FYI, you can select 10 Entities at a time for Global Search. So Select the 10 Entities according to your requirements. We can even sort the Entities using the options Move up and Move down. Step 7: As I have said in Step 5, the maximum number of entities that can be added is 10. Step 8: Once the above steps are done, Return to the below page and click on [Solutions]. Create a solution and add the required table which you wanted to show in Global Search. In my case, the table name is Order Fulfillment. So accordingly add your Entity/Tables. Step 9: Click on the Entity in which you are working inside the solution and click on Views. Step 10: Typically, the global search option in D365 CRM is associated with Quick Find View. Select the Quick Find Active Order Fulfilments view. Step 11: Add the Fields which are needed for View and Find Columns. FYI, in the main D365 CRM Form, the global search has the feature of displaying only the first 3 fields of that view. So insert the important 3 fields in the view first. Step 12: Once all the customizations are done, Save and publish the solution. Step 13: Return to the D365 CRM Main page of our Model Driven App and as highlighted below, click on that icon and try searching for the value of the field. For example, If you have added a field named ‘Order Number’, Try searching the value of that field. Step 14: Once I type the value, the entity in which the value has been present has shown up. For your information, only three fields will be visible once you do the global search and 10 Entities can be visible during the global search. Hope this Helps!!!

What is a SharePoint site? Sharepoint site is an application which is provided by Microsoft which can be used to store information and content. This may include documents, images videos, tasks, and so many things. For more details please follow the link Steps to create a site and integrate your SharePoint with D365 CRM Step 1: Log in to Office 365 login and open SharePoint. Step 2: Once you click on Sharepoint, go onto the Home icon and click on +Create site. Step 3: Click on Team site. My requirement is to track my project status and to share team resources and co-author content. So that’s why I select the Team site. Step 4: Enter your details for your new site and once done, click on Next. Step 5: You can also add specific members for your site(not necessary). Once done click on Finish. Step 6: Once you click on Finish, it will redirect it to your site which you created. Just copy the above link of your site which I highlighted. Just copy the link to your site. It will be used later. Step 7: Go into Dynamics 365 CRM and login in with your credentials OR mention your URL for e.g. abcde.crm.dynamics.com and then login. Once done, click on the ellipses(3 dots) and select Advanced Settings. Step 8: Drop down the Settings icon and click on Document Management. Step 9: Click on Enable Server-Based Sharepoint Integration. Step 10: In simple terms, what we are doing is integrating and validating the configuration of SharePoint. Click on Next. Step 11:  Select Online and then click on Next. Step 12: Enter the URL I previously asked to copy and paste(In Step 6). Paste that link here and click on Next. In the Next Step, it will validate that site. After that click on Finish and wait for 3-4 mins. Step 13: After Refreshing you will observe that Enable Server-Based Sharepoint Integration section has changed to One Note Integration. This means that your SharePoint has been enabled and what’s remaining is to add the entities which need to be stored in Sharepoint. Step 14: In Order to do that, click on Document Management Settings. Step 15: Select the entities which you want to enable for the Document Management System. Step 16: If you want a folder structure based on a certain entity you can check the option Based on entity and select the entity you want. Step 17: Click OK to continue. Step 18: FYI the status is showing me cancelled since I have already created the document management system for these selected entities previously. In your case, the status will show completed if you are doing it for the first time. Step 19: Go onto your SharePoint site and click on Site contents Step 20: Here you can view all the entities which were selected for the Document Management System. Hope this Helps!!!

Introduction Invoices and shipments are frequently handled differently by different businesses. Processes, for example, can range from one person posting everything on a purchase order to numerous employees working on their own sites. On the User Setup page, you can now select how each user can handle invoices. Steps to achieve the goal 1. Go to User Setup select the users you want to give this restriction and then there are two columns Sales Invoice publishing Policy and Purch. Invoice Posting Policy 2. There are three values in these options Below is the impact of the above three options in different documents of purchase and Sales transactions. Document Option 1: Allow Option 2: Prohibited Option 3: Mandatory   Displays a series of options Confirmation dialog Confirmation dialog Sales Order Ship Do you want to post the shipment? Do you want to post the shipment and invoice?   Invoice       Ship and Invoice     Sales Return Order Receive Do you want to post the receipt? Do you want to post the receipt and invoice?   Invoice       Receive and Invoice     Inventory Pick Ship Do you want to post the shipment? Do you want to post the shipment and invoice?   Ship and Invoice     Purchase Order Receive Do you want to post the receipt? Do you want to post the receipt and invoice?   Invoice       Receive and Invoice     Purchase Return Order Ship Do you want to post the shipment? Do you want to post the shipment and invoice?   Invoice       Ship and Invoice     Inventory Put-away Receive Do you want to post the receipt? Do you want to post the receipt and invoice?   Receive and Invoice     Warehouse Shipment Ship Do you want to post the shipment? Do you want to post the shipment and invoice?   Ship and Invoice     Note: If you are trying to post invoice transactions from the general journal the above restriction would not be used in the General journal table. Conclusion Thus we saw how we can restrict the users to post the purchase and sales transactions. Thank you very much for reading my work. I hope this helps!