Business Central Insights

 The "Item Age Composition - Value" report provides insights into the age of inventory items in terms of their value. This type of report is useful for managing inventory by tracking how long items have been in stock and ensuring that older items are identified for potential action (such as promotion or markdown). Here’s how to interpret and use this report: Understanding the Report Columns Item No.: The unique identifier for each inventory item. Description: The description of each inventory item. ...Before: The value of the inventory item before the specified date range. 01/30/24 - 02/29/24: The value of the inventory item within this date range. 03/01/24 - 03/30/24: The value of the inventory item within this date range. 03/31/24 - 04/30/24: The value of the inventory item within this date range. After...: The value of the inventory item after the specified date range. Inventory Value: The total value of the inventory item. How to Use the Report Identify Aging Inve...

Understanding the Consolidated Calendar in the Work Center of Business Central Effective capacity planning is crucial for managing production operations efficiently. In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the Consolidated Calendar feature within the Work Center module is designed to optimize capacity management by aggregating the capacities of machine centers. This blog post will explain what the Consolidated Calendar is, how it works, and the best practices for using it. What is the Consolidated Calendar? The Consolidated Calendar in Business Central allows a work center to derive its capacity from the sum of the capacities of all the machine centers assigned to it. When the Consolidated Calendar field is selected, the work center itself does not have independent capacity. Instead, its capacity is a reflection of the combined capacities of its machine centers. How Does the Consolidated Calendar Work? Efficiency and Capacity Calculation: •     ...

  Understanding the Difference Between On-Hand Inventory and Available Quantity to Take in Business Central Managing inventory effectively is critical for any business to ensure smooth operations, minimize costs, and meet customer demands. In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC), two key terms often come up in inventory management: "On-Hand Inventory" and "Available Quantity to Take." While these terms may seem similar, they represent different aspects of inventory status. Understanding the distinction between them is crucial for accurate inventory management and planning. On-Hand Inventory Definition: On-hand inventory refers to the total quantity of an item that is physically present in your warehouse or storage locations. This includes all units that have been received and are stored, regardless of their allocation status. Key Points: Total Stock : This is the actual count of items in your inventory. Includes All Items : On-hand inventory includes items ...

    In Business Central, the "Due Date" and "Required Due Date" fields in a Released Production Order have distinct meanings and roles in the production planning and scheduling process. Let's break down the differences and purposes of these fields:   Due Date: Used by the system to schedule production activities. Required Due Date: Used by customer service/production planning people to prioritize production orders to meet customer commitments.   Due Date Definition: The Due Date is the date by which the production order is expected to be completed. Purpose: This date is often used for scheduling and planning purposes within the production facility. It indicates when the final product should be finished and ready, whether for shipping, further processing, or stock replenishment. Impact: The Due Date helps in aligning production schedules with demand forecasts, ensuring timely completion of production tasks. Required Due Date Definition: The ...

  Managing Transfer Orders within the Same Company in Different Locations Using Business Central When processing transfer shipments and transfer receipts in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the system automatically updates inventory records to reflect item movement between locations. Here's an overview of how this process works and what records are created to ensure accurate inventory management. Understanding Transfer Orders A transfer order in Business Central is used to move inventory items from one location to another within the same entity. This is particularly useful for businesses with multiple warehouses or storage locations. Example Scenario: Transferring Items Between Locations Let's consider a scenario where we need to transfer item XYZ from Location A to Location B. Step-by-Step Process: Initial Inventory at Location A: Location A has 10 items of XYZ. Posting the Transfer Shipment: When you post the transfer shipment, Business Central reduces the inventory a...

    Managing Posting Dates for Partially Shipped Sales Orders in Business Central When handling sales orders in Business Central, paying close attention to posting dates is crucial, especially for partially shipped orders. Mismanagement of these dates can lead to inaccuracies in financial records and inventory management. Here’s what you need to know to ensure your posting dates are accurate. The Challenge with Partially Shipped Sales Orders When a sales order is partially shipped, Business Central uses the workday as the default posting date for the first shipment if the default posting date is set up as workday on the Sales & Receivable setup page. However, if subsequent shipments occur on different days, the posting date does not automatically update to reflect the actual shipment dates. This can result in discrepancies if not managed correctly. Manual Update Required: Users need to manually update the posting date for each subsequent shipment to ensure it ref...

  Resolving posted sales invoices Not Showing in Register Customer Payments in Business Central In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, ensuring that all sales invoices are correctly reflected in register customer payments is crucial for maintaining accurate financial records and efficient cash flow management. However, some users encounter issues where posted sales invoices do not appear in the register Customer Payments page. This blog post will guide you through resolving this issue.   Suggested Solution The key to resolving this issue lies in ensuring that the necessary fields are displayed on the register Customer Payments page. Often, the problem arises because the related fields have not been added via personalization. Here’s a step-by-step guide to resolve this:   Personalize the Customer Payments Page:   Navigate to the register Customer Payments page in Business Central. Click on the Personalize option. Add the Required Fields: ...

  Managing Net Weight on Sales Documents in Business Central Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers robust features for managing sales documents, including the ability to track the net weight of items. For businesses operating in the US localization, understanding how to utilize the net weight fields effectively can streamline operations, ensure consistency, and improve accuracy in reporting and compliance. Setting Up Net Weight in Business Central In Business Central, you can set up net weight on the item card, and this information can be included in sales documents such as sales order. Set Up Net Weight on the Item Card: Consistency in UOM: o            It is crucial to be consistent in the unit of measure used for net weight. Business Central does not inherently specify whether the net weight is in kilograms, pounds, or another unit. o            ...

  Auditing the Last Modified By Field in Business Central In any financial or operational system, tracking changes and understanding who made those changes is crucial for maintaining data integrity and accountability. Business Central (BC) provides robust features to audit and track modifications to records. One such feature is the "Last Modified By" field, which can be invaluable for auditing purposes. Example: Auditing a Purchase Invoice Let's take a look at an example audit on a purchase invoice for "Progressive Home Furnishings". Open the Purchase Invoice: Initiate Page Inspection: Open the Page Inspection panel using the gear icon or Ctrl + Alt + F1 . Inspect the Purchase Header Table: In the Page Inspection panel, select the Purchase Header (38) table. Search for "modi" to locate the modification fields. Review the Modification Details: You will see the fields: SystemModifiedAt ...

    Correcting Posting Dates in Business Central   User encountered an issue in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central where the dates on "Posted Sales Shipments" were not updating correctly. This discrepancy arises when user creates a sales order and later ship the products. For example, if a sales order is created on January 5th but shipped on March 1st, the "Posting Date" and "Document Date" of the "Posted Sales Shipment" remain as January 5th.   This misalignment results in incorrect "Posting Dates" in the "Item Ledger Entries" as well, which can lead to significant reporting inaccuracies. However, after further investigation, it has been discovered that this is a setup issue within Business Central.   The root of this issue lies in the "Sales and Receivable Setup" settings, specifically the "Default Posting Date" field. This field has two options: - Work Date - No Date   When ...

Simplifying Unit of Measure Changes in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central In the dynamic world of inventory management, having the flexibility to adjust Units of Measure (UOM) is essential. Recently, a user wanted to stop using a specific UOM, which was not the base UOM, and introduce a new default UOM for both purchasing and sales. Here’s how we tackled this requirement efficiently in Business Central.   The user’s goal was twofold: Discontinue the use of a non-base UOM. Establish a new UOM as the default for purchases and sales. This might seem like a daunting task. However, we discovered a straightforward solution within Business Central.   The Solution: Renaming the UOM We tested renaming the UOM directly from the Unit of Measure page in Business Central, and it worked seamlessly. Here's a step-by-step guide:   Navigate to the Unit of Measure Page: Select the UOM to be Renamed: Change the code to the new UOM that you want to use. Busin...

    Order Tracking for Finished Production Orders in Business Central In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, production orders play a crucial role in the manufacturing process, guiding the transformation of raw materials into finished products. However, users often encounter a challenge once a production order is finished: the "Order Tracking" button at the line level, used for tracking the link between the production order and the source of demand disappears.   Understanding Order Tracking The "Order Tracking" feature in Business Central is designed to track the source demand of the items being produced. Once a production order is finished, the situation changes. The "Order Tracking" button is no longer available at the line level for the completed production order. This change can be confusing, but it happens because the order tracking data (also known as reservation entries) is transferred from the production order to the Item Ledger Entr...

  Streamlining Your Bulk Orders: Blanket Purchase Orders and Recurring Purchase Lines in Business Central When your company needs to order 100 truckloads of product from the same vendor, managing the paperwork and processes can quickly become overwhelming. Especially when each truckload requires its own purchase order (PO). Manually creating 100 copies of a PO is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. Fortunately, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers several features to make this process more efficient and manageable. Blanket Purchase Orders: Simplifying Large Quantity Orders A Blanket Purchase Order is an ideal solution for ordering large quantities of items over a period. Instead of creating multiple individual POs, a BPO allows you to manage multiple releases against a single purchase order. Here’s how it can help: Single Point of Control: With a BPO, you can set up a single order for the entire 100 truckloads, specifying the total quantity and terms with y...

  Allocating Lot Numbers from the Oldest Available Using FEFO in Business Central In industries where managing inventory with expiration dates is critical, such as food and pharmaceuticals, ensuring that items are used in the correct order is essential. Microsoft Dynamics Business Central supports this through the First-Expired-First-Out (FEFO) functionality. This feature helps businesses manage inventory more effectively by ensuring that the oldest products are used first. Here's how to set up and use the FEFO feature to allocate lot numbers from the oldest available stock. Understanding FEFO FEFO ensures that items nearing their expiration are sold or used before fresher stock. This approach minimizes waste and enhances product safety. For FEFO to function, specific settings and conditions must be met within Business Central. Prerequisites for Using FEFO Item Tracking : Each item must have a serial or lot number to track its movement and expiration. Item Tracki...

    How to Adjust Prepayment Amounts After Invoice Posting in Business Central When managing finances in Business Central, adjusting prepayment amounts on sales or purchase orders can sometimes be necessary after an invoice has been posted. This can be a bit tricky, especially when it comes to decreasing a prepayment amount. In this blog, we will explore how to both increase and properly decrease prepayment amounts after the invoice has been posted.   Increasing the Prepayment Amount If you find that you need to increase the prepayment amount after the invoice has been posted, follow these steps:   Open the Sales or Purchase Order and then open the Statistics page. Locate the prepayment amount and adjust by entering a higher value than what was originally posted. Post the Adjustment: After adjusting the amount, you must post this change. Decreasing the Prepayment Amount Decreasing the prepayment amount is more complex because Business Central ...

    How to Handle Destruction of Expired or Damaged Goods in Business Central Managing expired or damaged goods is a critical task in inventory management. Ensuring proper accounting and inventory adjustments for such items is essential for accurate financial reporting and maintaining inventory accuracy. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides an efficient way to handle the destruction of expired or damaged goods through the use of reason codes. Here’s a guide on how to set up and use these codes effectively.   Step 1: Setting Up Reason Codes Reason codes in Business Central help track why inventory adjustments are made. Setting up specific codes for the destruction of goods allows for clear and consistent documentation.   Navigate to Reason Codes:   Use the search bar to find Reason Codes and select it. Create a New Reason Code:   Click on New to add a new reason code. Enter a unique Code for the reason, such as DESTROY. ...

    How to Track Inventory Value of an Item at Bin Level by Costing Method in Business Central Tracking inventory value at the bin level by costing method is a crucial aspect of inventory management, ensuring precise valuation and reporting. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers robust features to accomplish this. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you track the inventory value of an item at the bin level, filtered by costing method.   Step 1: Navigate to Inventory Valuation Open Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Step 2: Set Up the Inventory Valuation Report   Options Section As Of Date: Specify the date for the inventory valuation. For example, 6/3/2024. Filter: Item Section No.: Enter the item number you wish to evaluate. For example, 04350000. Costing Method: Choose the costing method for valuation. Here, we select Average. Filter Totals By Section Location Filter: Specify the location code. In this example, it is WHITE...

  Selling Below Inventory Levels in Business Central: Challenges and Workarounds Introduction In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, managing inventory accurately is crucial for operational efficiency. However, businesses often face situations where sales need to be made even when stock levels are below what is available, especially in scenarios where products are expected but have not yet been received. This can become particularly complex when dealing with items that require lot number tracking.   The Challenge When tracking is not enabled, Business Central allows the posting of sales invoices for items that are below inventory levels, accommodating the anticipation of incoming products. However, this flexibility vanishes when dealing with tracked items. For such items, Business Central mandates the specification of a lot number, which becomes a problem if the items haven't been received yet, as there are no lot numbers to specify. Trying to manually input a l...

    Updating Standard Costs in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central   Introduction Maintaining accurate standard costs in inventory management systems is crucial for reflecting true material costs and ensuring financial accuracy. In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, updating standard costs involves a systematic approach that ensures all costs are current and properly rolled up from the component level to the finished products. This blog outlines the process of updating standard costs in Business Central.   Step-by-Step Guide to Update Standard Costs Step 1: Update Costs at Component and Capacity Levels The first step in updating standard costs is to adjust the costs at the component and capacity levels. This can be achieved using the "Suggest Item Standard Cost" batch job, which helps identify and suggest adjustments based on recent purchase prices or production costs. This job is critical for capturing all relevant cost changes that have oc...