Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) offers a wealth of features that can revolutionize the way businesses manage customer relationships. While the platform is renowned for its core capabilities, there are several highly effective out-of-the-box tools that can significantly enhance data accuracy and integrity. In this post, we will explore three tools that every Dynamics 365 CE system admin should consider incorporating into their workflow to unlock the full potential of the platform:
- Business Rules
- Formula Columns
- Field Mapping on Table Relationships
Business Rules
Business rules in Dynamics 365 CE offer a powerful way to streamline and automate business processes without the need for custom code. By automating processes and enforcing business logic across forms, business rules improve data consistency, reduce errors, and enhance user productivity. This not only saves time but also ensures compliance with organizational policies, providing a more efficient and reliable way to manage customer data.
Business rules offer seven powerful actions you can configure:
- Recommendation
- Lock/Unlock
- Show Error Message
- Set Field Value
- Set Default Value
- Set Business Required
- Set Visibility
These actions allow for significant time and efficiency savings for your users. Some real-world examples of business rules created include:
- Add Recommendation: If Account Country = USA, add recommendation to set shipping method as UPS.
- Lock/Unlock: When a condition is met, unlock pipeline phase field.
- Show Error Message: If Opportunity Probability is greater than or equal to 75%, Est Close Date has a value, but Est Revenue is blank, show an error message.
- Set Field Value: When an Opportunity is put on hold, clear the Est. Close Date value.
- Set Required: If a Lead is Commercial, set SIC Code and Business Phone to required. If a Lead is Residential, SIC Code and Business Phone are not needed.
- Set Visibility: If a Lead is Residential, hide SIC Code, Industry, No. of Employees, Company Name and Business Phone fields.
Formula Columns
Formula columns in Dataverse leverage the power of Power Fx, a flexible and intuitive formula language to perform calculations and manipulate data directly within the database. This column type allows system admins to create complex expressions that can automatically calculate values based on other fields, dates, and conditions. By using formula columns, businesses can enhance the accuracy of their data, streamline reporting, and reduce the need for manual data entry, ultimately leading to more informed decision-making and improved operational efficiency.
If unfamiliar with the Power Fx language, you can leverage AI tools like Copilot or ChatGPT to use natural language and put it into Power Fx.
Field Mapping on Table Relationships
Mapping columns (fields) on table relationships in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement significantly enhances data consistency and simplifies data entry processes by ensuring that related fields are automatically populated across different entities. This not only reduces the potential for errors but also saves time for users, improving overall productivity and user experience.
Let’s provide an example to illustrate how this could work. Today, your organization is capturing Lead Type on the lead form and also asking for users to select Opportunity Type on the opportunity form. Even though it uses the same values (Commercial/Industrial or Residential), it is two separate fields that users have to enter.
To simplify the user experience, you can edit the relationship between Lead and Opportunity, apply field level mapping and have the Lead Type value automatically move over to Opportunity Type when the lead is qualified.
Mapping fields between table relationships is applied in the Classic experience on the relationship: 
Once you click the Mappings area in the image above, you can then select the fields to map: 
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the use of business rules, formula columns and field mapping in Dynamics 365 greatly enhances data quality and integrity. Using business rules eliminates potential error by users and can help automate manual processes. By leveraging Power Fx for formula columns, organizations can automate complex calculations and ensure accurate data. Similarly, mapping fields across table relationships ensures consistency and reduces manual data entry, thereby minimizing errors and increasing productivity.
Together, these out-of-the-box tools empower businesses to maintain high standards of data accuracy, streamline operations, and make more informed decisions, ultimately driving success and operational excellence.
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