Patrik Luca Ad Ultima Group Solution Architect

In Dynamics AX 2012 and before, as functional consultant or user, you could get easy access to the system name of fields and table by right clicking in the field and choose Personalize. This way it was easy to communicate with technical consultant how to customize some things or to get insight in the data structure. In Dynamics 365 FO however, this info is not easy to find anymore, and with having more limited access to AOT, it is getting hard to understand sometimes data structure.

Business context: In construction & real estate development business it is common to have purchase orders with subcontractors which last for several months, during the service to be delivered by the subcontractor on the construction site (putting in place electricity network, building concrete foundations or even a contract to act as general contractor including all works related to give few examples). This is typically captured by a subcontract between the general contractor or real estate developer with each of its subcontractors. The process is to receive a periodic invoice from the subcontractor (typically a month, but could be another periodicity too), where the progress of the work subcontracted is invoiced period after period. This way a cash flow occurs bit by bit from the general contractor or real estate developer towards its subcontractor. In some cases, which occur regularly, the progress of the previous month needs to be corrected the next month. Example: 1. Month 1: 10% progress invoiced 2. Month 2: additional 15% progress invoiced, coming to a cumulative figure of 25% 3. Month 3: progress is -5% (error previous months, work to be redone, …) ending in cumulative figure of 20% The progress is first entered as a product receipt on a purchase order line, and typically invoice from subcontractor comes in quite fast, as it concerns typically huge amounts in this business. Issuing a credit in month 3 is not an option, not at all, and completely uncommon in construction business, we have as well the case in Belgium as in Poland, to make clear this is not a regional habit or whatsoever. Why issuing credit note is not an option? In example above, I mention one line, but typically there are 10 to 100s of lines in such a purchase order/subcontract. On other lines there is in month 3 a positive progress and the invoice makes the total of the positive lines with that one particular line which is in negative. But we cannot post that negative line, as its initial sign on the purchase order/subcontract is positive. We believe strongly that the standard Microsoft solution should be in line with these requirement in construction industry. Which processes are affected? Product receipt process on purchase orders and hence the invoice process on purchase orders. As a consequence, also financial reporting, both in the legal aspect as in the controlling aspect. Business loss Right now, we have to correct the previous progress bill: extra manual administrative action. Next post the product receipt for this month: normal action. Next print out product receipt document: normal action. Next we have to modify the product receipt document manually outside the system to have the correct cumulative figures and store this document separately for legal and review purposes! Lots of extra administrative overhead and error sensitive. Customer cannot reprint this product receipt from Dynamics 365 FO neither, so should keep track in case it is needed, they should search for the stored modified document. Admin overhead + error sensitive. Needless to say that administrative cost is huge as is the error sensitiveness of all of this. Keep in mind these kind of subcontracts can easily cover multiple 10.000 of € till 250.000€ and beyond, so financial error free process is even more important when talking about such amounts.