Overwhelmed by all the D365FO functionalities?

Working with D365FO and struggling with the amount of functionalities D365FO offers? When I started working with the current D365FO application, it was called Axapta (later the abbreviation AX came in). Below you can find all modules of Axapta 1.5:

Do you see it? Just 14 modules... Also you can see all the options for the Accounts payable module from that moment. If you work with the same module in D365FO you will be surprised I think. What a new options came in when you look at the current module in D365FO!

So the application has a lot more functionalities since then. Also for business processes there can even be multiple ways now in D365FO to manage it combined with a lot of parameters that effect these variants. By each new update new functionalities comes in. So how can you keep up, knowing that also the scope will be bigger now PowerPlatform is linked more and more to D365FO?

How to deal with this?

I speak to a lot of people (consultants, key-users) that say to me it is quite hard for them to get a good understanding of all these options, especially when you just started in this working area. Sometimes people even feel overwhelmed with all these options and I can understand this feeling. How are they able to manage this?

Therefore in this article I share four advices that helped me a lot to get a stabile fundamental knowledge where I still build on. Because also for me there was a time that a lot new stuff needed be learned and I have felt overwhelmed as well. But getting a good fundamental knowledge comes with time if you take the rights steps.

Summarized I call my advices ‘Concepts, Fundamentals, Focus and Documentation’.

These advices are really related to the application (D365FO). Always keep the following things in mind:

1. The application is 'just' a tool. Never forget the purpose of the tool.
2. As consultant you need to focus on more areas then only the tooling of D365FO.

These both topics I have already worked out in another article about the 'Triangle of the ERP-consultant'. So in this article I focus on the application part only and I work out the previous mentioned four advices regarding the application part:

Concepts:

First make sure you understand the concepts behind the functionalities. D365FO functionalities are not created without a purpose.

Mostly functionalities are created because a business process (variant) needs to be supported. So if you understand the concept of the business process behind it, it is also more easy to understand how the functionalities work in D365FO and why. Also you will separate more easy what functionalities are related to the basic process and what functionalities are related to a specific branches or country / regions.

So my first advice is to really get to know the business processes of the domains you have to support. Personally I can immediately see the differences between consultants in ‘my’ Finance domain with or without finance knowledge. And consultants without finance knowledge supporting finance functionalities are mostly lost soon in conversations. Because they know some D365FO buttons, but don’t know the context from the business process sometimes so they have to search without knowing the foundation of the background. For example:

Why does a posting in D365FO need to be in balance for debit and credit? For a financial very obvious, but if you don't know about this bookkeeping principle you can get lost in postings if there are balance differences.

I really advice you to learn the business processes behind the functionalities you are going to support. Maybe even start with 'Bookkeeping for dummies' when it comes to Finance. But make sure you become familiar with the business processes behind the D365FO functionalities, in my opinion this is a must to become a good consultant and get good knowledge of the application. If you understand the concepts of business processes behind the functionalities, you have a secured starting point of knowledge where you can relate all functionalities to.

Fundamentals:

When it comes to functionalities in D365FO there are fundamentals which always or usually come back in all the supported processes. Think about for example:

The place of D365FO in the Microsoft Application Landscape / ecosystem.

(Source: https://microsoft.argano.com/microsoft-blogs/understanding-the-microsoft-ecosystem-and-its-advantages-part-2/)

Why do you have options in D365FO linked to for example PowerBI, PowerApps, Microsoft Office? When understanding the Microsoft Landscape you also can place D365FO in it. Also it clarifies why D365FO will not have (and get) options sometimes because other Microsoft applications are created for that. You can find the Microsoft Learning module about this landscape here.

(multi) companies / legal entities and (multi) sites.

One of the most fundamental settings for legal and finance perspective and inventory movements. For legal entities you can find more info here.

The relation between sub ledgers and general ledger.

After almost every posting in the sub ledger, the general ledger will be involved. Even if this is not your main scope, you need to be aware of it. I have written an article about this relationship earlier.

Inventory transactions and inventory valuation.

A lot of companies have inventory transactions. But inventory can have several statuses and valuation methods. It is important to understand at least the basics of it. For especially this topic my experience is that a lot of consultants or key-users don't understand the basic enough, but the choices made here are effecting a lot. You can find the Microsoft Learning module here (including explanations of sites). Also I have written an article about a very important concept of inventory valuation in D365FO (or AX) about the running average cost price.

The relation between master data, transaction data and documents.

Every transactions will get predefined data based on master data. What is the level where you have to change things when settings are different? How to make the support of the processes as easy as possible by using correct master data? If you know the relationships between master data, transaction data and documents, it really can help you.

If you know well how these fundamentals are managed in D365FO, it can help to understand the functionalities in relation to them. Because if you understand the concept of the general ledger, you also understand how to support when it comes to sub ledger and general ledger links and you also know that this will always come back.

So make sure you will understand the fundamental concepts of D365FO so you can build further on that when investigating the D365FO support of specific business processes. In the Netherlands we have the proverb of the 'coat rack' to hang on which you hang everything:

You can throw all jackets and bags in a heap, but it will become a mess and you can't find things easy. The coat rack is giving a structure and neat overall picture. Make sure you will create a 'D365FO coat rack' to hang on all the functionalities on the right place and keep seeing the connections between them, to avoid a mess of your D365FO knowledge.

Focus:

In a big ERP application like D365FO you will not be able to understand all the functionalities in once (or at all). The risk I have seen by many consultants or key-users is to start working on a lot different functionalities and get completely lost because they don't see the link between them. For me this is a conclusion and not a shame, it happened me in the past as well.

But at this moment I really choose my focus in developing my knowledge: sometimes I focus on new features, sometimes I focus on new modules, sometimes I focus on a specific situation I want to figure out. If you are (quite) new in working with D365FO, my advice is to focus from module to module. My experience is that it is much better to understand the functionalities of one module first instead of investigating all separate options in different modules. Think about the 'coat rack' I wrote earlier about.

Because also here the focus on a complete module will (just as with the fundamentals I wrote above) make it possible to connect the dots and understand the relations between the functionalities in that specific modules.

Documentation:

I see too many consultants and users working without making documentation. And then I think: 'you really think you will remember everything?' Still I am always surprised because I make notes of almost everything. By the way: also organizations fall into the trap to not document enough which is giving risk (see my article about this topic).

You will see so many functionalities in D365FO that in my eyes it is impossible to remember everything what you have ever seen. Also if you are a bit more experienced you will know that each (parameter) field can change the behavior of a functionality, so each detail can matter. In my eyes it should be obligated for each consultants to make documentation.

Yes, this will cost more time when investigating a new functionality, but at the end it saves a lot of time when you work again with these functionalities and you have proper documentation to fall back on.

Don’t forget to make print-screens, because with them it is much easier to understand the notes you made when you can related it to pictures of the functionality. Also in my LinkedIn articles about D365FO functionalities I always make a lot of print screens, it helps to related the explanation to the correct forms and fields.

Do it

I hope these advices can help you if you are looking for yourself as well how to deal with all the options in D365FO. Make a plan to create a 'D365FO coat rack' for yourself and see how these four advices can fit in. Decide what you can do by your own or where you need external help like coaching from a colleague or following proper trainings.

Of course following the advices will cost you time. See this as an investment. Because how bigger your fundamental knowledge will be, how more easy it will become to understand new processes or features. Working without a proper fundament at the end cost a lot more time. D365FO is too big to just ‘start and see’. And the scope will only become bigger with the link between D365FO and the PowerPlatform.

But with following a proper plan with focus on the right things, you can grow step by step and after some time you will see that it will really make a difference.

I wish you all the best for that and please let me know if I can help at something in a new article by leaving a comment.?