In this series of bi-monthly blogs, Western Computer shares our expertise with tips and tricks to help users work more efficiently in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Cloud. Based on our more than 30 years in business—with 1,250+ solution implementations, including more than 350 in the cloud—we share the expertise we have accumulated to enable users to work as proficiently as possible. You can also subscribe to these blogs in our LinkedIn newsletter.
I hope you benefitted from my last blog where I talked about a few of my favorite things in Dynamics 365 Business Central Cloud. These included tips for managing credit, eliminating duplicate customer and vendor cards, calculating the net balance of customers who are also vendors, and assigning transactions to multiple posting groups.
I’m not done!
I have a few more neat tricks to tell you about. Just like the first set, many customers I have trained for the past 18 years did not realize all that Business Central has to offer. By looking in the right place and with just a couple of clicks, you can tap into these favorite things in Business Central to help your accounting team work more efficiently when running reports and analyzing data.
See Journal Entry Totals in Analysis View
Microsoft changed the name and the location of this feature. It no longer says <Analyze> and it's no longer a slide button. It's now an icon that reads <Analysis View> on the line at the top of each Business Central page.
Microsoft has also extended this feature to <Journals>. This comes in handy because for many years, the only way to see the total of a journal entry was to run a report. Now you can run the <Analysis View> to get an immediate total for a <Journal>. This should save you a lot of time.
Projects Module Tracks Budget and Billable Status
A large portion of changes in 2024 for Business Central are related to the <Jobs> module, which Microsoft has renamed to <Projects>. One of the biggest changes is an enhancement to how users can track budgets and billing for assembly projects by classifying the planning lines within project tasks.
<Project Planning Lines> also now include the <Quantity to Assemble>, similar to how <Sales Orders> have this capability. You can also explode the Assembly BOM onto the <Project Planning Lines>. This allows for a kitting approach to the project lines.
Edit Real-Time Business Central Data in Excel
Many of our customers love this feature. They can create ad hoc reports in Excel using data from Business Central—without going into Business Central to export the data. The tight integration with Excel gives you a direct link to the Business Central database files.
That means you get real-time information that’s updated each time you refresh a report in Excel. This is a huge benefit compared to exporting a file that begins to age once it’s transferred. And it’s very handy for experienced Excel users.
Allocate $ Amounts to Statistical Accounts
Business Central allows you to allocate dollar amounts against statistical accounts, which track non-transactional data. The ability to create statistical accounts has long been needed in Business Central.
Recording static amounts along with being able to allocate financial amounts is a game-changer if, for example, you have a warehouse that stores multiple brands or product lines. You can divide utility bills and other overhead costs by the square footage each product takes up and allocate costs to each brand or product line.
To Learn More
Western Computer offers deep expertise across the Microsoft technology stack, particularly in Dynamics 365 solutions. Our thought leaders can help you ensure your critical ERP application meets your business needs for today and beyond. For more information on how to use these Business Central tips, or for help in designing, deploying and supporting Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions, contact Western Computer today.
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