Introduction

In this blog, we will talk about Business Central State Field Customizations. As mentioned in the last article, we are trying to control the value in the state field so that more validations can run on them..

We have created a lookup table which is updated based on the specific country in the configuration. The user can select the state based on a lookup table.

There are some more checks and balances we could add. For example:

1. Allow only specific users to update states.
2. Admin user should only be able to edit the state values in the vlookup table.
3. Restrict editing state field on the UI and user should only be selecting the state from the lookup table. We can also make state field mandatory for specific countries, if needed.

We created custom roles and permissions and assigned the user profiles; whoever has the right role will be able to update the State lookup table.

Here, we update the value of the table from which state lookup table is valid. We specified the country as US, so the checks will run only for the US.

Here is a screenshot of- How I am able to add any state in the sales order field before my change.

And now, after my change this is how the sales order screen looks like:

1. State field, Country is disabled
2. It can be selected when clicking on the pop up of Zipcode.

To see the available option of state field click on the 3 dots.

Now the user would see the 3 dots to open the table for State

Conclusion- Business Central State Field Customizations

With this change we are now able to restrict user to only select the state values from the available options. This would then prevent the user from randomly entering an incorrect value. Hence, giving lesser issues when trying to collate the data state wise for reporting, taxation or compliance purposes.

For more information:https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/ui-customizing-overview

Introduction- Business Central Web Service APIs 

Business Central supports multiple web services like API, SOAP, and OData. These are extremely lightweight and easy to use. Because of these services, industry-standard application functionality is available to various external systems and users. We have used these web services to create custom report for clients, handle data in excel or use data in a reporting tool like Power BI.

When Business Central objects are published as web services, they’re immediately available on the network.

In this blog, we will be covering the following topics

• Understand the existing web services and their use in excel
• Create any new web service if not available on the list

Finding the right Business Central Web Service APIs

In order to use the web services, navigate to the list of web services available in the system.

Now copy paste the URL as it will include all the details including the company name and allow you to read data from the Business Central System. Note that the web service will be company specific.

In this case, I need to extract the Purchase order line items. So here is the highlighted odata URL for page 54 API.

• Open excel > Go to Data > Get Data > Online Services > Dynamics 365 online
• Or, Data > Other Sources > OData Feed

• Update the API link in the pop up which opens up as below

It might give you an error as below:

“OData Version: 3 and 4, Error: The remote server returned an error: (400) Bad Request. (Bad Request)”

Sometimes, the API either has an issue or it is not published or is not the right API to use. So look for another one.

I found another API page 138 API as below where I am able to get the data loaded after I pasted the API and pressed on “Ok”.

• https://api.businesscentral.dynamics.com/v2.0/c5d57731-4376-4704-9a84-ad8bc4f3b7b3/Production/ODataV4/Company(‘CRONUS%20USA%2C%20Inc.’)/Posted_Purchase_Invoice_Excel

Now, do the same thing in calling these APIs via Power BI Report. To create power BI Report call the Odata service,

It would list down all the companies.

• Select from the standard set of APis the data needed and click on data to start building the report

• Select the right table visual and see the data on the dashboard page.

Conclusion- Business Central Web Service APIs

It is always useful to be able to create custom reports for the client even though there are a lot of standard reports available, and I find this feature very handy as I don’t have to keep downloading excel to do my comparison as I connect via APIs and just refresh the data for any new changes.

Business Central comes with an extensive list of built-in APIs that requires no code and minimal setup to use. When using the built-in APIs, please choose the highest API version available. 

You can also develop your own custom APIs using the AL object types API pages and API queries.

 

Introduction-Business Central Top 8 Unique Features

Business Central is a business management solution for small and mid-sized organizations that automates and streamlines business processes and helps you manage your business. In this blog, we discuss how Business Central and some of its unique features can encourage you to migrate to Microsoft for a new and easy way of business. With Business Central, you can streamline business processes and use its inbuilt features to help you manage your ERP system effectively.

Business Central- Top 8 Unique Features

Let’s have a look at some of the features that are only available in Business Central: 1. Fast to implement: Based on our past experiences, clients can migrate to Business Central within just 8-12 weeks. The weeks differ depending on the number of modules you want to implement and the amount of business processes you want to customize. Download our checklist which would help you to understand the same in a better way.   2. If you do not find what you are looking for just search (Type the name and the options appears) along with a strong documentation links associated with each search option. For example, if you want to receive customer payment, you will have to search for it.

• Type in the search box
• Enter the text to search
• Get the link to the relevant page
• Get some documentation and help links associated with it
• Get some partner app source links to match your search criteria

  3. Each field includes tooltips and a link to follow so you are never really lost. For example, I wanted to know about the Register Customer Payment and what does the field Payment Made do, so it diverted me to the help documentation page when I clicked on “Learn More”.     4. Everything is excel based, but it does not mean that you have to do all the tasks in excel. However, everyone knows that no matter how robust your ERP system is, you still always download the data on an excel for further analysis.    Here, you have multiple options:

• Download data in excel by selecting all records and click on Edit in excel option.

   

• Upload masters and other data via excel as seen on the right. Then, a panel box opens up which lets you enter your User ID and Password.

   

• Edit in excel and upload directly just via clicking on refresh , publish, filter and design

   

• Copy and paste from excel onto the system like you would add to another excel file. On the screen, select the line item and Ctrl + C to copy and paste to excel, or copy it over from excel, depending if the page accepts new entries or not.

  5. Integration with outlook is beyond amazing as it offers some salient features.

• If the same customer replies back to you, it is easy to get customer insights
• Create sales quote, orders, purchase orders etc., without logging into Business Central just via the Outlook Add-on

Check the customer insights on the right panel to see what are the ongoing Quotes/ Sales Order etc. with the customer. Also, if you hover on an email from a client who is not added to Business Central, you can add him/her in the system easily.  

• Create documents like sales order, invoices etc. without even leaving Outlook.

    6. Personalization: There are fields which are not visible on the UI, but behind sits a whole lot of customizations and features which can be added to make the screen your own or publish the same for all users of the organization.   7. Flow, previously known as Power Automate: Integration with Power automate is possible with a whole bunch of predefined templates here supported by Microsoft. These are AI and ML based integrations along with Integration of Power BI. Refer how you could find the templates on the flow site. Look at more than 3k+ scenarios per flow that pre-exists and are ready to be used.  

• Just by activating the power flow on the Business Central, navigate to the corresponding transaction and open Actions > Request Approval > Power Automate >Create and see flows.

Remember that similar kind of flows exists for other scenarios as well.   8. Mobile app: This is one of the features which becomes a deciding factor specifically for the busy stakeholders who want to have a quick view to approve requests. It is easy for a sales rep to show some company dashboards to the perspective client just at the click of few buttons. The below screens show how you could review the home page on the app as well as create the document page. It mimics most of the functionality that helps you manage the day-to-day transaction.  

Conclusion- Business Central Top 8 Unique Features

If you are using Business Central cloud version, you do not have to worry about implementing the new features or upgrades from the customer or partner side as these are managed by Microsoft directly and are automatically added every time there is a release rolled out by Microsoft. Hope this helps you to understand a bit more on how Business Central works and what it offers. If you’d like to understand more, or get a free demonstration – please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Introduction: Business Central- Getting Started

Business Central is a business management solution for small and mid-sized companies that streamlines business processes and helps you to manage it. This blog talks about some of the unique features of Business Central and highlights the advantages of migrating to it.

If you are considering to shift to Business Central for your ERP, then we would like to congratulate you as you are taking a step ahead in the right direction. We have migrated multiple customers to Business Central because of its unique and easy to use features. 

 Let’s see how Business Central can help you manage your business and time in a better way.   This blog talks about:

• Core modules of Business Central.
• How to get started?
• How to get discounted license prices from a partner?

Core and advanced modules: Business Central Getting Started

Business Central provides functionality for a common business processes for all types of industries mainly within wholesale and professional services. It even supports more complex processes such as assembly, manufacturing, service, and directed warehouse management.

You can opt for their standard configuration and best practice solutions, or you could customize it to suit your needs.

The core modules are:

• Sales
• Purchasing
• Inventory
• Finance
• Assembly management

These can be used in conjunction with advanced modules like:

• Warehouse management
• Project Management
• Fixed assets
• Relationship management
• Human resources
• Planning
• Service management
• Manufacturing
• Company Hub: For Intracompany Dealings

In addition to this, Business Central offers country-specific localizations that can be activated including partner-led and Microsoft-led features, which can further help you meet the regulatory and legal compliance needed.

 

• Read about the localizations offered here:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/about-localization

 

• Read about the Partner-led Apps in the app source here:

https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-US/marketplace?product=dynamics-365-business-central&showprivateapps=false

How to Get Discounted License Price From an Authorized Partner?

So, once you have decided to migrate to Business Central and narrowed down Modules to select from, Microsoft provides a free trial version of the system to try its full capabilities.

To get the free trial, click on the Get Started link if you have an existing O365 License. If you don’t, then get a free license for one month.

https://dynamics.microsoft.com/business-central/overview/

A demo company called CRONUS is pre-implemented with all the functions and capabilities for your free trial. You could use this as a playground to add, delete and modify data by managing all the available functions.

The scenarios that can be used are unlimited for doing an internal demo. You can keep using the data even after you have gone live for development purposes.

To start, create a new company from scratch or copy the existing one.

Read this link to understand how you could create your own company from scratch.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/trial-dynamics-365-business-central/4-trial

How to Keep Working on the Trial Version?

There are 3 options that let you work on the trial version for a longer period of time.

• Get a 30-day trial free just by registering.
• Get another 30 days by extending your trial. You will receive a notification on the top bar to extend you trial version.
• An additional 30 days by requesting a partner to extend your trial.

 

Note that none of these options require any credit card payments.

 

If you are looking for ongoing cost reduction in your license, please talk to us as we are a Microsoft Gold partner. We offer 5% ongoing discount if you make us a support partner by committing to a min of 20 hours/month of support

How to cancel your subscription?

If you signed up for Business Central by using a non-Microsoft 365 Business Premium account, you will not have a Microsoft 365 administrator. So, you will have to unsubscribe by contacting the Business Central Cancellation team by sending an email message to: cancelbusinesscentral@microsoft.com

Conclusion- Business Central Getting Started

As first steps, you have to identify the core modules for your business and understand each of its detailed features. Only then you will be able to decide if you can go for their standard configuration or if you need to customize the modules to suit your business needs. Business Central is extremely user-friendly, and so you will quickly learn to operate the system. We are sure that your migration will be smooth and pleasant when getting started with Business Central.  

Introduction- Business Central 1099 Forms Setup

Every business has to process 1099 statements annually. To make the processing simpler for your accounts team, you should opt for Business Central 1099 Forms Setup. It is extremely user-friendly and it continues to update your vendor amounts all round the year.

 

1099 Forms Setup In D365 Business Central

Business Central 1099 Forms Setup Boxes are automatically present in the system and they are updated through Job Queue Entries. (NOTE: The 1099 reports will only be generated for all vendors above the minimum reportable amount for the assigned 1099 code, and the payments must be applied to the purchase invoices within the same calendar year.) To review the minimum amounts of each 1099 IRS Code:

• Open the global search and look for “1099 form boxes”. In the 1099 Form Boxes window, you will find the 1099 codes and their minimum reportable amounts.
• Click on the “Edit List” option to modify any of the amounts and these changes will be saved once you close the window.

 

Introduction: Business Central Bank Reco page does not open up

In this article, we will talk about the Business Central Bank Reco page does not open up. Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you search for bank reco, Business Central does not open the bank reco screen but instead opens the Bank Rec Worksheet? This issue is faced by a lot of users and so, this article talks about resolving it. This issue majorly happens after an upgrade when you setup a new environment. Sometimes, the issue also arises randomly. Then Microsoft rolls out new updates and features and as an administrator, you can turn on the new features using the Feature Management page.   Note that the features may be switched off by default, but can be enabled/disabled as required by the business.

What to do when Business Central Bank Reco does not open up?

To resolve the issue then follow the steps below:

• Sometimes, when you search for bank reconciliation by clicking on the search option

Introduction –  Business Central Purchase & Sales Reports

This article talks about Business Central Purchase & Sales Reports that are available out of the box  on cloud version. In this Article we list down some of the most asked Business Central Purchase & Sales Reports

1. Purchase reports
2. Sales reports

And also included a link to the standard documentation for more details on the reports available. Please read more to find out

Purchasing – Business Central Purchase & Sales Reports

Read more on the different purchasing reports available on Business central and how to run and get the information from the system for Purchasing and vendor management. 

Aged Accounts Payable Report

This report shows overdue balances for vendors in overdue time intervals. You can show the overdue amount by the due date,posting date or by document date as per need. You can choose to show the amounts in local currency (LCY) and print details of the overdue documents. The time intervals can have headings with dates or with number of dates overdue, relative to the specified aging by type.

This report is the main report for reconciling vendor ledger to G/L. Assuming that you have not allowed direct posting to the accounts used in the vendor posting groups’ payables account, this report is a specification of the amounts you find in the general ledger.

Click on the search icon and enter Aged Accounts Payable report, and then choose the related link.

A new screen will be pop out like below

Select the options and click on Preview to see the report.

You can see the reports like below snippet.

Vendor – Balance to Date Report:

Shows the vendor balance by the ending date of the specified date range. You can choose to display the vendor balance in your local currency (LCY). Select the Include Unapplied Entries field to show entries that have been closed by the ending date but have been un-applied (opened) at a later date. Select the Show Entries with Zero Balance to show vendors with a balance of zero by the ending date of the date filter. The date filter applies to the detailed vendor ledger entries for the entries in the report. If you have payments later than the ending date that have been applied to invoices in within the date range, the invoices will appear in the report as they have not been closed as by the ending date.

Click on the search icon and enter Vendor – Balance to Date report, and then choose the related link.

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview.

Note: You need to provide a date filter else you will see below error.

Specify the date like below

Click on Preview.

A report will be generated like below snippet.

Vendor – Trial Balance Report:

Shows the net changes for vendors for the period specified in the date filter as well as the net change year-to-date for the fiscal year corresponding to the period selected. The report is grouped by vendor posting groups and will give a different view of the vendor ledger than the Aged Accounts Payable report. Note: If you haven’t set up any accounting period, the system will not know what fiscal year to use and will either show year-to-date from the most recent fiscal year defined or just select the period, which may or may not be from beginning of a year.

Click on the search icon and enter Vendor – Trial Balance (Vendor – Balance to Date) report, and then choose the related link.

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview.

Note: You need to provide a date filter else you will see below error.

Specify the date like below

Click on Preview.

A report will be generated like below snippet.

Vendor – Detail Trial Balance Report: 

Shows all the vendor ledger entries within the specified date filter. The report shows the vendor’s beginning balances relative to the date filter.

Click on the search icon and enter Vendor – Detail Trial Balance report, and then choose the related link. 

 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.  

 

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview. 

Click on Preview. 

 

A report will be generated like below snippet. 

  

Purchase Statistics Report

Shows purchase statistics for each vendor. This includes information for five periods, starting on the date that you specify.
The report includes the total purchases, payments, finance charges, and discount information including the payment discounts taken and lost. Statistics are calculated for purchases before the date entered, at three one-month intervals from the date entered, and for a period including all purchases made after the third one-month interval.
This report can also be used in accounts payable as it’s easier to do a quick look-up of posted payments, discounts, and other transactions for a given vendor.

Click on the search icon and enter Purchase Statistics report, and then choose the related link. 

 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.  

 

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview. 

Click on Preview. 

   

A report will be generated like below snippet. 

  

Vendor – List Report: 

Shows various kinds of basic information for vendors, such as vendor posting group, discount and payment information, priority level and the vendor’s default currency, and the vendor’s current balance (in LCY). The report can be used, for example, to maintain the information in the Vendor table.

Click on the search icon and enter Vendor-List report, and then choose the related link. 

 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.  

 

 Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview. 

Click on Preview. 

 A report will be generated like below snippet. 

  

Sales Module 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/receivables-reports

Aged Accounts Receivables Report:

Shows the amount outstanding with customers broken down into time intervals for the overdue time. The report also displays the part of the customers’ balance that is not due and can be shown with or without document details for each customer. This report is the main report for reconciling customer ledger to G/L. Assuming you have not allowed direct posting to the accounts used in the customer posting groups’ receivables account, this report is a specification of the amounts you find in G/L.

Click on the search icon and enter Aged Accounts Receivables report, and then choose the related link.

A new screen will be pop out like below

Select the options and click on Preview to see the report.

You can see the reports like below snippet.

Customer Statement Report:

Generates a customer statement for a specified time interval. It’s usually sent to the customers to give them an overview of outstanding amounts and also as a reminder to pay any overdue amounts. You can choose to show the overdue amounts in a separate section. You can include an aging band similar to the one used in the Aged Receivables report. For the aging band, you typically set 30D, which means 30 days intervals such as30, 60, 90, and 90+ days overdue, from the ending date, or 1M+CM, which will be the current month in a separate interval and then monthly intervals for the preceding months. Note: In the customer list, this report also has a separate action, Scheduled Statements. This option does not filter to the customer you have selected. It’s the same report but used when you want to send statement to all/more customers.

Click on the search icon and enter Customer Statement report, and then choose the related link.

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview.

Note: You need to provide a Start Date and End Date.

Click on Preview.

A PDF report will be generated like below snippet.

Customer – Balance to Date Report: 

Shows the open customer ledger entries until the ending date. This report shows similar content as the customer statement but with no indication if the entry is overdue. Note: The date filter will be applied to the detailed customer ledger entries. This means that if you have payments later than the ending date that have been applied to invoices in within the date range, the invoices will appear in the report as they have not been closed as per the ending date

Click on the search icon and enter Customer –Balance to date report, and then choose the related link. 

 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet. 

 

 Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview. 

Click on Preview. 

 

Customer Trial Balance Report: 

Shows the net changes for customers for the period specified in the date filter as well as the net change year-to-date for the fiscal year corresponding to the period selected. The report is grouped by customer posting groups and will give a different view of the customer ledger than the Aged Account Receivables report. Note: If you haven’t set up any accounting period, the system will not know what fiscal year to use and will either show year-to-date from the most recent fiscal year defined or just select the period, which may or may not be from beginning of a year.

Click on the search icon and enter Customer Trial Balance report, and then choose the related link. 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.  

 

 A report will be generated like below snippet. 

  

Reconcile Customer and Vendor Accounts Report: 

Shows the G/L entries resulting from posting customer and vendor entries split per G/L account and posting groups. This report is used for reconciling the balances on customer and vendor ledgers to general ledger balances.

Click on the search icon and enter Reconcile Customer and Vendor Accounts report, and then choose the related link. 

 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.  

 

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview. 

Click on Preview. 

 A report will be generated like below snippet. 

  

Sales Statistics Report: 

Shows amounts for sales, profit, invoice discount, and payment discount in LCY, and the profit percentage for each customer. The costs and profits are given as both the original and adjusted amounts. The original costs and profits are those values that were calculated at the time of posting, and the adjusted costs and profits reflect changes to the original costs of the items in the sales. The cost adjustment amount shown in the report is the difference between the original cost and the adjusted cost.
The figures are divided into three periods. You can select the length of the period, starting on a selected date. There are also columns for amounts before and after the three periods. Use the report to analyze earnings from an individual customer and earnings trends, for example.
This report can also be used in accounts receivable as it’s easier to do a quick look-up of posted payments, discounts, and sales for a given customer.

Click on the search icon and enter Sales Statistics report, and then choose the related link. 

 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.  

 

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview. 

Click on Preview. 

The system will generate a report resembling the following snippet.

  

Customer List Report: 

Shows various kinds of basic information for customers, such as customer posting group, discount group, finance charge and payment information, salesperson, the customer’s default currency and credit limit in your local currency (LCY), and the customer’s current balance (in LCY).You can use this report, for example, to maintain the information in the Customer table.

Click on the search icon and enter Customer List report, and then choose the related link. 

 

A new window will be pop out like below snippet.  

 

Select the required options and click on Preview to see the report preview. 

Click on Preview to generate the report.

Conclusion –  Business Central Purchase & Sales Reports

We have summarized different Business central sales and Purchasing reports available out of the box and explained how to run and use them for managing the system more effectively and providing stakeholders with the right visibility to improve business management. It helps to get insights and statistics about current and past sales & Purchase activities.

Reference 

If you are looking for more Business Central Reports & ledger entries to explore please read more reports here 
Sales Report 
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-nz/dynamics365/business-central/sales-reports

Budget Report

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/bi-how-analyze-actual-versus-budget:

Accounts payable

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/payables-report