By integrating Dynamics 365 Field Service with Finance & Operations, businesses can seamlessly connect their front and back office, significantly reducing the need for manual data entry. This automation not only accelerates business processes but also minimizes the risk of errors.
A key advantage of this integration is the ability to track field service operations alongside financial performance. Customers gain real-time insights into how their field service activities impact financial and inventory data within their system of record. This level of visibility ensures both the operations and finance teams remain informed, empowering them to make timely, data-driven decisions.
From a customer experience perspective, integrating these systems reduces the likelihood of data entry errors, ensuring more accurate financial records. This is critical for maintaining compliance and ensuring the overall health of the business. In the end, these improvements lead to greater customer satisfaction.
Microsoft is focused on enhancing the power of the combined Dynamics 365 brand, offering a cost-effective solution for customers who use both Field Service and Finance & Operations in a way that is both practical and valuable. The priority is to deliver a seamless connection between front and back office operations, while reducing implementation timelines and mitigating risks during deployment.
One of the standout aspects of this feature is that it doesn’t require any complex or unnecessary licensing. If you’re using Dynamics 365 Field Service, you simply need a Field Service license—even if the data flows into Finance & Operations. Similarly, if you’re leveraging Finance & Operations, the relevant F&O license is all that’s needed, regardless of whether the data originates from Field Service.
This streamlined integration significantly reduces implementation risks, speeds up time to value, and boosts ROI by simplifying the process. By eliminating the need to build everything from scratch, businesses can implement the solution faster and with greater confidence.
Moreover, this integration strengthens the connection between the front and back office. As demonstrated in the webinar, your data ends up exactly where it needs to be, fulfilling the core purpose of this feature.
Integration: Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
Let’s explore some key principles of integration between Dynamics 365 Field Service and Finance & Operations:
- Transactional Reliability
Reliability is paramount when it comes to transactions. Losing or generating false transactions within Finance & Operations is one of the worst outcomes a business can face. The integration is designed to ensure accuracy across both platforms. A flexible, robust mechanism is in place that doesn’t depend on sequential, discrete updates. If a transaction fails—whether due to a valid reason or an unexpected issue—that error is captured, and the transaction state is preserved. This allows for an automatic retry, ensuring no data is lost. - Let Field Service be Field Service, and F&O be F&O
Each application should retain ownership of its respective processes. Finance & Operations handles inventory and financials, while Field Service manages work orders. This approach enables each system to focus on its core strengths, leading to a synergy that creates even greater value—essentially, the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts. - Use Virtual Tables Instead of Syncing Data
Whenever possible, data exposure should be done through virtual tables rather than by syncing. Keeping highly transactional data, such as inventory and warehouse counts, in a continuous record-for-record sync between systems is not a sustainable approach. Instead, utilizing virtual tables provides a more efficient and reliable method for data handling. - Leverage Dual-Write for Primary Tables
Dual-write is ideal for keeping primary tables in sync, such as accounts, products, and warehouses—data essential for the operation of both systems. Dual-write ensures that Field Service and Finance & Operations “speak the same language,” enabling a consistent and streamlined integration across the board.
In terms of architecture, several tables are kept in sync through dual-write to maintain alignment and accuracy between the systems, making integration smooth and efficient.
As a result of this seamless integration between Dynamics 365 Field Service and Finance & Operations, businesses benefit from the following:
- Transactions with Status and Retry
Transactions are assigned statuses with the ability to automatically or manually retry if they fail, ensuring reliability and data integrity. - Dual-Written Primary Tables
Primary tables, such as accounts and products, are synchronized between both systems using dual-write, ensuring consistency and accuracy across the board. - Financial Transactions in F&O
Financial transactions generated in Field Service are automatically reflected in the Finance & Operations General Ledger, streamlining financial processes. - Work Order Alignment with Projects
Work Orders in Field Service are aligned with Projects in Finance & Operations, unlocking the full financial and inventory management capabilities of F&O. - Automatic Inventory Updates
Inventory transactions from Field Service are automatically recorded in Finance & Operations, with real-time updates available in Field Service through virtual tables, providing visibility across both systems.
WO Transactions to Journals
Let’s dive into how work order (WO) transactions are aligned between Dynamics 365 Field Service and Finance & Operations.
When you create a work order product, it can be recorded in one of two ways:
- Item Journal: If the work order product is classified as inventory in Field Service, it will be recorded as an item journal in Finance & Operations, along with the associated line item.
- Expense Journal: If the work order product is of type non-inventory, it will be logged as an expense journal, with the relevant line item.
Additionally, work order services are recorded as hours journals within the project module of Finance & Operations, aligning service hours with financial tracking.
Existing Integrations
Several integration patterns exist today, and it’s important to clarify which ones should be used for specific scenarios.
The first integration we’re focusing on is the new pattern that aligns Dynamics 365 Field Service with Finance & Operations applications. In this model, work orders are aligned with projects, creating a robust connection between field service activities and financial operations. While this new pattern leverages dual-write, it’s not solely dependent on it.
There are two other established integration patterns to be aware of:
- Dual-Write Based Integration
This pattern has been in place for a couple of years and uses dual-write to connect key elements of Field Service, such as assets, purchase orders, and various relevant tables. This integration complements the new pattern we’re discussing here, offering flexibility for different use cases. - Data Integrator-Based Integration
This older integration pattern, built on the Data Integrator, connects work orders and sales orders between Field Service and Finance & Operations. It’s been in use for several years and includes a “prospect-to-cash” solution, also based on the Data Integrator. However, it’s important to note that the Data Integrator is not compatible with dual-write. While the older solution remains effective, it operates independently from dual-write-based integrations.
Understanding these existing integration patterns ensures you choose the right approach for your specific needs, whether it’s leveraging the new pattern with project-aligned work orders, or using the older integrations for specific workflows.