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The Power of Reporting and Analytics in D365 BC

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In today’s data-driven world, businesses need to be able to quickly and easily access and analyze information to make informed decisions. Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC) offers a robust suite of reporting and analytics tools to empower businesses with valuable insights into their operations, finances, and customer interactions.

Built-in Reports and Dashboards

D365 BC provides a wide array of pre-built reports and dashboards that offer immediate access to key performance indicators (KPIs) across various business areas.

Financial Reports

Gain insights into your financial health with reports on income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, and more.

  • Analyze revenue trends, profitability, and financial ratios.
  • Identify areas for cost optimization and financial improvement.
Sales Reports

Track sales performance with reports on sales orders, invoices, customer activity, and sales trends.

  • Monitor sales by product, customer, region, and salesperson.
  • Identify top-performing products and sales channels.
Inventory Reports

Analyze inventory levels, turnover rates, and stock valuations.

  • Optimize inventory management and minimize stockouts or excess inventory.
  • Track inventory costs and identify potential areas for improvement.
Customer Reports

Gain insights into customer behavior, demographics, and purchase history.

  • Segment customers based on various criteria for targeted marketing campaigns.
  • Analyze customer lifetime value and identify high-value customers.
Operational Reports

Monitor operational efficiency with reports on production output, resource utilization, and project progress.

  • Identify bottlenecks and areas for process improvement.
  • Track project timelines, budgets, and resource allocation.
Example

A sales manager uses the Sales Order by Salesperson report to track the performance of individual sales team members. They identify that one salesperson is consistently exceeding their targets, while another is falling behind. This insight allows the manager to provide targeted coaching and support to improve overall team performance.

A production manager uses the Inventory - Available to Promise report to check the availability of raw materials for upcoming production orders. They identify a potential shortage of a key component and proactively place a purchase order to avoid production delays.

Custom Report Creation

D365 BC allows you to create custom reports tailored to your specific business needs using its intuitive report design tools.

Report Builder

Utilize the Report Builder to design and generate custom reports with drag-and-drop functionality.

  • Select data sources, define filters, and add visualizations.
  • Create reports that combine data from multiple modules.
Account Schedules

Create financial reports with flexible layouts and calculations using Account Schedules.

  • Define row and column formats to present financial data in a meaningful way.
  • Create comparative reports to analyze financial performance over time.
Example

A finance manager creates a custom report that combines data from the General Ledger and Sales modules to analyze profitability by product category. This report reveals that one product category is generating significantly lower margins than others, prompting the manager to investigate pricing strategies and cost structures.

A project manager creates a custom report that tracks project budgets, actual costs, and remaining work. This report provides a clear overview of project financial health and helps identify potential cost overruns early on.

Data Analysis with Microsoft Excel

D365 BC integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Excel, enabling you to leverage Excel’s powerful data analysis capabilities.

Export Data to Excel

Export data from D365 BC to Excel for further analysis and manipulation.

  • Create pivot tables, charts, and graphs to visualize data.
  • Perform advanced calculations and statistical analysis.
Edit Data in Excel

Edit data directly in Excel and update D365 BC with the changes.

  • Streamline data entry and update processes.
  • Ensure data accuracy and consistency across systems.
Example

A marketing manager exports customer data to Excel to perform segmentation analysis. They use pivot tables and charts to identify customer groups based on demographics, purchase history, and engagement levels. This segmentation allows for more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.

A warehouse manager exports inventory data to Excel to analyze inventory turnover rates. They use formulas and conditional formatting to identify slow-moving items and adjust inventory levels accordingly to minimize carrying costs.

Power BI Integration

Integrate D365 BC with Power BI to unlock advanced analytics and visualization capabilities.

Interactive Dashboards

Create interactive dashboards to visualize key business metrics and trends.

  • Combine data from multiple sources, including D365 BC and other business systems.
  • Drill down into data to explore details and uncover insights.
Data Modeling and Transformation

Transform and model data to prepare it for analysis and visualization.

  • Cleanse and aggregate data from various sources.
  • Create relationships between data tables to enable deeper analysis.
Advanced Analytics

Utilize Power BI’s advanced analytics features, such as predictive modeling and machine learning.

  • Forecast future trends and identify potential risks and opportunities.
  • Gain deeper insights into customer behavior and market dynamics.
Example

A CEO creates an interactive dashboard in Power BI that combines data from D365 BC and other business systems, such as CRM and marketing automation platforms. This dashboard provides a holistic view of business performance, including sales, marketing, and financial KPIs.

A supply chain manager uses Power BI to analyze historical sales data and predict future demand. They create a forecasting model that helps optimize inventory levels and minimize stockouts or excess inventory.

Account Schedules and Analysis by Dimensions

D365 BC allows you to define and utilize dimensions to analyze data across various perspectives.

Chart of Accounts

Define your chart of accounts with relevant dimensions, such as department, project, or location.

  • Track financial performance by dimension to identify areas for improvement.
  • Analyze profitability by product, customer, or region.
Analysis Views

Create analysis views to define specific data sets and dimensions for analysis.

  • Filter and aggregate data based on selected dimensions.
  • Generate reports and visualizations based on analysis views.
Example

A CFO uses Account Schedules to create a comparative income statement that analyzes profitability by department. This analysis reveals that one department is consistently underperforming, prompting further investigation into operational efficiency and cost control measures.

A retail manager uses dimensions to analyze sales performance by store location. They identify that one store is consistently exceeding sales targets, while another is lagging behind. This insight allows for targeted marketing campaigns and operational adjustments to improve overall performance.

By harnessing the power of reporting and analytics in Dynamics 365 Business Central, businesses can gain valuable insights into their operations, finances, and customer interactions. From pre-built reports and dashboards to custom report creation and Power BI integration, D365 BC provides a comprehensive toolkit for data analysis and informed decision-making.

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