In a project-driven organization, time and expense tracking is not just about administrative accuracy—it’s essential for billing, cost control, compliance, and project profitability. Dynamics 365 Project Operations (D365 PO) offers a seamless and integrated module to manage employee time entries, expense submissions, and approval workflows with real-time visibility into project performance. This article explains the complete lifecycle of time and expense management in D365 PO, from entry to approval, validation, and integration with billing and costing. 1. Time Tracking in D365 PO D365 PO allows team members to enter time against project tasks directly. Time Entry Workflow: Time can be entered daily or weekly, based on organizational preference. Integration with Project Plan:  Time Entry Validation: 2. Approval Process Time entries follow a configurable approval workflow: Approver Typical Role Project Manager Reviews accuracy and relevance of effort Resource Manager Optional; verifies allocation validity Finance Team Optional; validates for billing cycle Approval settings can be defined per project, customer, or legal entity. Approved entries become part of:  3. Expense Management D365 PO supports tracking billable and non-billable expenses incurred during project delivery.  Expense Entry Steps:  Expense Policies: Administrators can define Expense Policies to control spending: Policy Area Examples Limits Max per diem, lodging cap, airfare budget Category Rules Travel allowed only if project is > X days Receipt Requirements Mandatory for amounts above X Currency Controls Only specified currencies allowed Violations can trigger warnings, hard stops, or workflow escalations.  Integration & Automation Post Approval: Time/Expense on the Go:  Reporting & Compliance Auditors and finance teams can rely on historical logs, comments, and attachments for audit trails and regulatory compliance. To conclude, Effective Time and Expense Management in Dynamics 365 Project Operations enables accurate billing, real-time cost tracking, and employee accountability. With intuitive entry interfaces, approval workflows, and policy enforcement, D365 PO ensures both operational efficiency and financial compliance. 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

In today’s data-driven business landscape, organizations strive to enhance visibility into their project operations to make informed decisions. Microsoft’s Project Operations (PO) provides a robust solution for managing projects, finances, and resources. However, to unlock its full potential, integrating PO with Power BI allows businesses to gain deeper insights through real-time analytics and visualization. This blog is specifically designed for Team Leads, CTOs, and CEOs who need to streamline project tracking, financial oversight, and resource allocation. By integrating PO with Power BI, decision-makers can reduce manual reporting efforts, gain actionable insights, and drive operational efficiency. Why Integration Matters Project Operations (PO) enables organizations to streamline project management, resource planning, and financial tracking. However, without effective reporting, extracting meaningful insights from this data can be challenging. Power BI bridges this gap by offering advanced visualization tools, predictive analytics, and customizable dashboards. Benefits of Integrating PO with Power BI Steps to Integrate PO with Power BI Use Cases of PO & Power BI Integration What’s Next? This blog is the first in a series on leveraging data for business growth. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs on: To conclude, Integrating Project Operations with Power BI empowers businesses with real-time, data-driven insights that enhance decision-making and operational efficiency. By leveraging advanced analytics and visualization, organizations can proactively manage projects, optimize resource allocation, and drive profitability. By embracing this integration, businesses can unlock the full potential of their project data and stay competitive in today’s digital economy. Stay tuned for the next blog in this series! 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

Project Operations and Business Central together make a great ‘Better-Together’ pair for Services Automation which connects all the way from Sales to Billing.  However, from an implementation standpoint, doesn’t it look like a long-shot since there’s no out-of-the-box integration capability available?  Well, that’s where our PO-BC connector comes in and this Quick Start offer makes it a no-brainer for connecting getting up and running on Project Operations connected with Business Central end-to-end.  Let’s see how to do it and what gets configured.   What is the offer about?  First, you can familiarize yourself with the PO-BC Integration module by CloudFronts which connects Project Operations to Business Central for the business transactions between the two systems.  We have mentioned the pricing on the page, however, let me walk you through what’s get setup in this Quick Start –     PO Setup – No Customization  BC Setup – No Customization  PO-BC Integration Setup with Master Data Sync  Custom Reports – Project Profitability, Resource Allocation, AR Report & Invoice Schedule Report  To conclude, given that the above gets setup, you now have an end-to-end Project Operations to Business Central connected environment with our PO-BC connector setup. This helps you not miss another billing and ensures billing excellence.   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.

For organizations, cashflow issues can be mitigated if billing happens on time. Having Project Operations and Business Central gets you covered from a Sales/Project standpoint and BC handles the accounting side, which is great. But when these systems are not connected end to end, it creates problems.  Let’s look at some of the issues and the need to have PO-BC integrated so that business transactions need not be left to manual dependency.  Disconnected Systems  Organizations like Professional Services or Project-based organizations in the SMB/SMC sector use Project Operations to handle Sales and Project Management and use Business Central as their backend Accounting.  Out-of-the-box, Project Operations and Business Central are not integrated from a transaction perspective. This leaves a gap for the organization to be filled manually and dependent on accounting/project management to ensure everything is accounted for in Business Central.  This adds human dependency to keep both the systems in sync and make sure everything gets billed on time.  But this is only the scenario, let’s talk about some problems with this scenario in the below section.  Why PO and BC Integration Matters  When we don’t have the systems connected all the way from Sales to Billing, the following issues start to add up resulting bigger cashflow issues –   These things add up causing loss in revenue and hence, causing cashflow issues. Profit and Loss statement might look great, but cash-in-hand makes organizations suffer and causes hindrance in growth.  Hence, the systems should be reliably integrated to eradicate the issues discussed above.  To give perspective of what all needs to be integrated to ensure that all transaction data between Project Operations and Business Central is taken care of, refer to the below architecture which we’ve incorporated in our PO-BC Integration Module –  To conclude that, when Organizations have their business systems connected to accounting and the financial transactions are taken care of, cashflow issues are eradicated so that organizations can bill on time and get paid on time.  Without this, cashflow chaos is difficult to overcome and fixing billing issues is of prime importance.  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.

Let’s delve into the concept of Resource Roles and how to incorporate them into your Price Lists. Understanding Resource Roles Resource Roles represent the specific functions or responsibilities assigned to individuals within a project. For example, “Project Manager,” “Software Engineer,” “Consultant,” “Marketing Specialist,” etc. These roles provide a structured framework for managing resources and defining their contributions to project deliverables. Accessing Resource Roles Let’s see how we can add Resource Roles – Add Role in Cost Price List Now, we want to assign a Cost Price to the Consulting Lead role (which is of type Chargeable). Let’s see below on how we can do this – Add Role in Sales Price List Let’s also add the same Consulting Lead role to the Sales Price List as well – 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.

Are you an organization who has sophisticated Project needs, however your financial requirements are simple?  You may be in a position where you are having Project Operations and Business Central deployed or you are considering going with Project Operations for your sophisticated Project needs, and Business Central because your finances are simple, and you feel D365 Finance & Operations would be an over kill for your requirements.  Once you get into this position, you realise that Project operations and Business Central are two disintegrated systems. Microsoft does not provide this integration out of the box. While it does for Finance & Operations, it has left PO and BC integration for the partners to figure out.  Why a Single Source of Truth Matters  For businesses managing complex projects, real-time, accurate insights into both project progress and financials aren’t a luxury—they’re essential. Without an integrated approach, processes slow down, errors multiply, and operational agility takes a hit.  Our Perspective:  By integrating D365 Project Operations with Business Central, companies can seamlessly connect project and financial data. This integration reduces errors, unifies workflows, and enables decision-makers to act with confidence.  Why Integrated Systems Are Essential  As projects scale, cost tracking, billing, and resource management become harder to manage. An integration of D365 Project Operations and Business Central creates a cohesive environment where data flows naturally, helping teams move past the blockers of siloed systems.  Here’s How Integration Changes the Game  – Unified, Real-Time Data Visibility Imagine having access to all of your financial and project data in one location. Team leads and finance managers can save time, no longer needing to cross-check numbers across systems. Data flows seamlessly between Project Operations and Business Central, enabling accurate budgeting and invoicing.  – Automation Cuts Out Tedious Processes Say goodbye to manual reconciliation. Updates made in Project Operations sync directly with Business Central—eliminating double entries and minimizing errors. This enhances accuracy and efficiency, freeing your team members to focus on other things rather than data entry.  – End-to-End Project Lifecycle Management This integration supports each project phase, from budgeting and invoicing to reporting. Full visibility means greater accountability, and everyone—from managers to teams—has the insights needed to make informed, timely decisions.  – Insights That Drive Better Planning and Execution With integrated analytics and Power BI, you’re not just gathering data; you’re transforming it into actionable insights. View project profitability and resource utilization in one place, enabling better project planning and seamless operations.  – Stock scenarios are covered  If you are an engineering company running heavy, long term deployment projects, you are probably worried how will Project operations cover the scenarios where I need to have stock consumption on my project tasks.  We have you covered here, too, so don’t worry. With the Project operations and Business Central integration we have also figured out how the stocks entries need to flow from Project Operations to Business Central because your stock movements happen in Business Central  This will ensure accurate stock consumption against the projects without worrying about what goes on in the background.  – WIP tracking  With the actuals being passed onto Business Central, your Finance team will have WIP postings in place to give an accurate picture of the progress on the Project. Why Partner with Us?  Having guided numerous businesses through D365 implementations, we know how to bridge gaps between project and financial management to unlock greater flexibility and efficiency. Our team is here to tailor this integration to your unique business needs.  Ready to See the Difference?  Think about your current project and financial workflows. Imagine the time saved and clarity gained by integrating them. Ready to explore what D365 integration can do for your business? Reach out to us at transform@cloudfronts.com for a free consultation, and let’s work toward operational excellence together.