Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business Edition - Review 2022

Launched in November 2022, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business Edition (Dynamics 365) joins other Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, including Dynamics GP and Dynamics NAV. Dynamics 365 is focused on small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) and is offered on a cloud-only deployment model. Prices brainstorm at $40 per user per month, though each team fellow member (which are defined as users that only need to observe but not enter or change information) pays only $five per calendar month. As with most SME-focused accounting and ERP systems, you'll demand to deal with a Microsoft Partner to obtain the app. Because of this, you'll only know your final cost afterward that partner has added its charges. While Dynamics 365 is a solid product, its electric current lack of payroll, client relationship management (CRM), and project management (PM) features go on information technology backside our Editors' Pick winners Oracle NetSuite OneWorld and Syspro in our ERP review roundup.

Overnice Landing At that place

Microsoft provided me with a full, democratic test instance of Dynamics 365, hosted in Microsoft'south cloud like whatever other customer would have. The organisation initiated a landing folio with tiles for a wide variety of integrated Microsoft deject apps, including Microsoft Office 365 and several others. Clicking the "Dynamics 365" tile launches the app.

As with a number of other SME accounting systems I reviewed, the landing page has tiles that represent open items and cardinal performance indicators (KPIs). Microsoft calls these "cues." In that location's as well a chart on the correct-hand side of the window where y'all can specify which KPIs, reminder cues, and chart data y'all want displayed. With the pie chart graphic in my test organization, hovering over a slice brings upwardly the financial data associated with that slice. Clicking the segment brings up the customer, vendor, or other record associated with the part of the graphic. Equally with other items on the landing page, y'all can choose what items you want graphed and resize whatsoever or all items displayed. Also located on the landing folio is a short summary trial rest, a useful feature that I appreciated. The customization capabilities mean that users can essentially design their own initial landing portals without much or fifty-fifty any assistance from IT.

Your principal navigation machinery is a card on the left-hand side of the landing window. What's displayed there depends on the role assigned to that particular user. Available roles include Accountant, Administrator, Business Director, Project Manager, Sales Activities, Sales and Relationship Managing director, Sales Social club Processor, and Team Member. As mentioned before, a Team Member tin but view information, not enter or edit it.

I performed this review in the function of Accountant. In this part, the initial left-hand side carte consisted of icons for Advanced Finance, Approvals, Finance, Home, Purchasing, and Sales. Each icon is accompanied past a curt description of available functions. For example, clicking the Finance icon brings you to a window that lets you collect and make payments, prepare statements, and reconcile bank accounts. The Avant-garde Financials icon brings you lot to the window where you can manage budgets, analyze cash flows, perform fixed asset functions, and handle sales analysis.

These menus are enhanced by ribbon menus at the tiptop of each screen that present dissimilar sub-tasks you tin can perform depending on which menu window you're currently in. Different some of the other ERP and accounting programs I accept reviewed, such as QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions and Sage 300, Dynamics 365 doesn't provide a process flowchart navigation selection. Even so, information technology's laid out intuitively enough that I quickly became familiar with the app's navigation process. If you need to get to a specific function and aren't certain where information technology's located, then entering the desired function or study in the Search box immediately brings up various options, one of which is volition bring you to the desired location.

Dynamics 365 has corresponding mobile apps bachelor for Android and iOS, and I tested them on an iPad Air and Lenovo Yoga tablet. The screens announced to be identical with the PC version, though somewhat truncated due to the smaller screen size of the tablet's brandish, but still nicely designed inside those constraints.

Dynamics 365's robust Chart of Accounts structure tin have upwardly to 35 characters in full, twenty as the bodily account number, and the residue equally something Microsoft calls "dimensions." These dimensions can be used to delineate things such as departments and function, somewhat similar to custom fields in other vendors' accounting systems.

Reports are plentiful and easy to admission. Dynamics 365 has the standard financial reports, including summary and detail full general ledgers, trial balances, a Working Trial Balance and the standard fiscal statements of Balance Sail, Income Statement, and Cash Flows. A prissy side effect of the tight integration with the rest of the Microsoft Office and Part 365 suite is that creating custom reports is fairly easy using tools you likely already know.

Dynamics 365 also has excellent graphics and charting capabilities. These are greatly enhanced by letting you lot easily contain additional charts and graphics from Microsoft Excel and even more than complex information visualizations from Microsoft Power BI. Notwithstanding, Microsoft Power BI wasn't active on my review arrangement so I didn't straight test this capability, though the "Import from Microsoft Excel" feature worked well.

Solid Sales and Purchases

The Sales and Purchases capabilities of Dynamics 365 are fairly standard except for i standout. On the basic functionality side, you lot can create quotes and estimates and turn them into invoices. You can besides easily create purchase orders. Both sales and purchases are closely tied to inventory so it'southward easy to tell if you have sufficient stock to fill up an guild, or whether y'all have to backorder some or all of an order and issue a buy order to restock your inventory. However, Dynamics 365 isn't quite an inventory direction arrangement on its ain as it doesn't currently back up multiple warehouses, bar coding, or like features yous'd expect in that category.

The standout features is Microsoft Dynamic 365 for Financials' ability to create sales quotes and even invoices direct inside of a Microsoft Outlook email and accept the quote or invoice immediately reflected in Dynamics 365. This is a result of the very tight integration with Microsoft Office 365, and easily justifies obtaining Microsoft Office 365 if you don't already subscribe. When in Microsoft Outlook 365, there's a push with the Financials icon. Clicking this icon opens the client's record, and you lot can create the estimate or invoice directly in Dynamics 365; it attaches to an email reply sent to the customer. With well-nigh other accounting systems, y'all'd have to create the document inside of the accounting system, salvage it as a document of some kind, and so attach it to an email.

Not Quite PM

In addition to sales, purchases, and inventory, Dynamics 365 offers what Microsoft is calling projection management. But if you're expecting a true PM tool that supports features such as Critical Path Method (CPM), Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) charts, min/max resource allocation, or Gantt charts, then you lot'll be disappointed. This feature might more accurately be called job management or task costing. To use information technology, you create Job Cards, and and then create tasks and rates for these every bit well as planning times and a upkeep. Once that'due south done, yous tin utilize resource to the job.

While Dynamics 365's PM capabilities don't include Gantt charts, you can notwithstanding set milestones and determine how well the job is meeting them. You lot can also enter fourth dimension cards and allocate these time card expenses to the projection or job. For many small and midsize businesses (SMBs), this arroyo will piece of work well enough. Merely if y'all need more depth, you'll take to jump for Microsoft Project (the company does offer a cloud version) or some third-party PM tool.

Stock-still Avails Is a Overnice Addition

It'southward not all that usual to find Fixed Asset capability in an ERP or accounting system that'southward targeted to the SME market strata. However, fifty-fifty when one is available, it's often an extra cost, optional module. Dynamics 365 includes Fixed Nugget adequacy as function of its Bones bundle, which is a nice affect. Assets are entered into the system on Asset Cards that comprise a description of the asset, acquisition cost and date, and the desired depreciation method.

Dynamics 365 has the standard depreciation methods including Direct Line, Declining Balance, and Depreciation, calculated by using the Half-Year Convention. You can also specify your own depreciation method. While Fixed Assets in Dynamics 365 isn't quite as comprehensive as those in many of the standalone Stock-still Asset modules bachelor for modular ERP systems, such as SAP Concern I Professional, it should be satisfactory for near of Dynamics 365's intended customer base.

Inventory Is Slightly Express

Dynamics 365's Inventory menu represents a adequately generic inventory management sub-system. However, information technology looks good; in the test system I reviewed, each inventory particular was paired with a photo of that item. That'due south a nice bear upon and it makes it easy to visually verify that you are working with the correct detail.

On the downside, Dynamics 365 has simply a unmarried inventory costing method, namely, Start-In First-Out (FIFO). That's probably not going to be a bargain billow for many potential users, and a Microsoft rep confirmed to me that the company thinks FIFO is plenty for its intended customers. But I would accept liked to have seen at least the Weighted Boilerplate Cost method included as well. Microsoft is in the process of calculation Kitting (creating sub-assemblies), though this is not yet a characteristic in the version of the software I reviewed.

Overall, afterwards testing this initial release of Dynamics 365, I think that what's available was nicely done. However, the app is very much a work in progress. At the time I tested the software, it was only available in the US and Canada and then, if y'all deport a business in other areas of the earth, then yous should check with Microsoft beginning. Still, Dynamics 365 seems like a adept fit for companies looking to move up from a more than entry-level accounting system, such as FreshBooks. It's highly scalable and will hopefully gain some of the additional capabilities that many of its midmarket competitors offering, especially payroll and a more comprehensive inventory management capability.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/microsoft-dynamics-365-for-finance-and-operations-business-e/16548/microsoft-dynamics-365-for-finance-and-operations-business-edition

Posted by: jenningsthassences.blogspot.com

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