As we settle in with the quarter and the initial rush to plan is over, the reality of the daily grind has set in. For finance and operations teams using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC), this is the perfect time to pause and ask a critical question: Are we working for the system, or is the system working for us?
If your team still does any manual data crunching, copies and pastes invoices, or sends approvals around via email, then you’re leaving efficiency on the table.
Automation in Business Central is not about replacing the humans; it’s about freeing your team from repetitive administrative tasks and granting them time for strategy and growth. Here are the top-priority, high-impact automation workflows you should set up this quarter.
1. Finance: Automated Payment Reminders & Collections
Cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. But most accounting teams spend a considerable amount of time every week going over aging reports and composing emails to follow up on late payments.
The Workflow:
Establish in BC the “Reminder Levels” feature to automatically draft and send customers emails for reminders, based on due dates. How it works: You define the terms, such as sending a polite nudge at 7 days past due, a firm notice 14 days past due, and final demand at 30 days past due. BC calculates the interest/fees if applicable and sends the email out under the standard email logging setup.
2. Sales: The “Quote-to-Order” Conversion
Sales reps live in their inboxes or CRMs. When a client approves a quote, the last thing they want to do is log into BC and key up the data again to make an order.
The Workflow:
Use the “Make Order” functionality or integrate it with Power Automate to enable conversion. How it works: Once a quote status has been updated to “Accepted” within Business Central the quote will automatically be converted into a Sales Order. It can then trigger immediately a warehouse pick instruction.
3. Inventory: Smart Reorder Point Triggers
Stock-outs kill the sale; overstock kills cash flow. Finding this “Goldilocks” zone is usually a manual guessing game for purchasing managers.
The Workflow:
Deploy Replenishment Worksheets based on defined Reorder Points. How it works: You put in a “Reorder Point” for each SKU. When the inventory falls below that number, BC flags it automatically. Going a step further, you can create a Job Queue that will automatically create a Purchase Order suggestion by approval, per vendors’ lead times.
The ROI: You move from a reactive purchasing model-buy only when you run out-to a predictive one. This prevents stockout during peak demand and reduces excess inventory capital.
4. Operations: Bank Reconciliation using Feeds
Reconciliation of bank statements is usually the biggest time killer in finance. Matching items on your bank statement to items in your ERP system by hand is time-consuming and prone to errors. Establish the connection for Bank Feeds.
How it works:
Bank transactions are automatically fetched to BC every day. The system enables “Application Rules” for auto allocation of received payments to customer invoices and for outgoing payments to vendor bills.
5. Administration: Automated Approval Workflows
Is a purchase order above $5,000 signed off by the CFO or is a sales discount above 10% signed off by the VP? These signatures need to stop being recorded in Slack threads.
The Workflow:
Set up Approval Workflows in BC. “How it works: You set up a logic chain, like “If Document Type = Purchase Order and Amount > $5,000, Then Notify User = ‘CFO.’” The approver will receive a push notification within BC, which they can accept through the mobile app. The document will be “locked until approval is granted.””
Bonus – The Power Platform Integration
Although BC has native automation power in abundance, it reaches its true potential when integrated with Power Automate. For the current quarter, pick one “power user” workflow.
The Workflow:
Trigger: “CREATE: A new vendor is inserted into table ‘Vendors’.
Action Type: Automatically add the vendor to the “Vendor Onboarding” SharePoint List and place a message inside the Microsoft Teams channel alerting the procurement team to obtain insurance information.
Outlining a Business Plan
Rather than trying to automate all of it at once, you will inevitably overload your team and IT infrastructure. This quarter, pick one of the workflows from the above list where your business feels the most pain.
Map Process: List in detail how it is done currently.
Bottleneck: Identifying Where the Human Component Slows Things Down
Configure: You can make use of BC’s assistant guides or involve your partner to configure the workflow.
The Bottom Line:
Automation in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is NOT an “future” project; it is something you NEED to do each quarter. By doing these tasks today, you are not just saving time; you are laying the groundwork for the rest of the year.
