Dynamics 365 BC integration – part 1 customer account integration

What is a customer account (debtor)?

A customer account is a person or company that owes money to another person or company, called a creditor. In other words, a debtor is the party that has an obligation to pay an amount.

Examples of debtors:

• A customer who has bought goods or services from a company and has not yet paid.
• A person who has borrowed money from a bank or another lender.
• A tenant who owes rent to a landlord.

Debtors and creditors are fundamental concepts in accounting and finance. In company accounts, debtors are typically shown on a customer list or in the accounts receivable ledger. It is important for companies to keep track of their customer accounts and make sure they get paid on time, since missing payments can have negative consequences for the company’s liquidity.

What is a customer account in Dynamics 365 Business Central?

In Dynamics 365 Business Central, a customer account is a person or company that owes money to your company. It is the same definition as in general accounting and finance.

In Business Central you can manage your customer accounts using the customer module. This module allows you to:

• Create and manage customer cards:
  Each customer card contains information about a customer account, e.g. name, address, contact information, creditworthiness and sales history.

• Post sales:
  When you sell goods or services to a customer, you can post the sale in Business Central. This updates the customer’s balance and creates an entry in the accounts receivable ledger.

• Send invoices:
  You can send invoices to your customers directly from Business Central. The invoices can be sent electronically or as paper mail.

• Apply customer payments:
  When a customer pays an invoice, you can apply it in Business Central. This updates the customer’s balance and removes the entry from the accounts receivable ledger.

• Monitor customer payments:
  You can use Business Central to monitor your customer payments and identify customers who are late with payment.

• Create customer reports:
  Business Central contains a number of standard reports you can use to get insight into your customer accounts. You can also create custom reports to get the specific information you need.

The customer module in Business Central is an effective tool for managing your customer accounts and making sure you get paid on time.

Here are some further resources on customer accounts in Business Central:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/

Integration between a webshop and Dynamics 365 Business Central

An integration between an eCommerce platform such as Shopify and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can bring a number of benefits, especially when it comes to customer account management (where “debtor” typically refers to a customer who owes the company money). Here are some benefits and potential business cases regarding integration of customer account management:

Benefits of integrating customer account management:

• Automation of work processes: When a customer places an order in Shopify, the customer details can automatically be created or updated in 365 Business Central, which reduces manual work and the possibility of human error.

• Consistent customer information: Integration ensures that customer information is consistent across systems. This is especially important for companies that operate both offline and online.

• Improved credit control: With integrated data, companies can easily monitor and manage customers’ credit limits and outstanding amounts, which can help improve cash flow.

• Faster invoicing:

• With automatic transfer of customer details, invoicing can be speeded up, which can result in faster payments.

• Better customer experience:

• Integration can make it possible to give customers access to real-time account information, such as order status, previous purchases and outstanding invoices.

Business cases for integrating customer account management:

• No manual actions:
  By eliminating the need for manual data entry, companies can save time and costs, which improves overall operations.

• **Sell more:
  **With a consistent customer base, companies can easily identify and exploit sales opportunities, for example by cross-selling or upselling based on previous purchases.

• **Fewer errors:
  **Automation reduces the risk of human errors, which can lead to expensive support hours, disputes or lost sales.

• Better cash flow:
  Faster and more accurate invoicing can improve cash flow by making sure that invoices are issued and paid on time.

• Understand customers better:
  With a more streamlined and integrated approach to customer account management, companies can improve the customer experience, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat purchases.

An integration between Shopify and 365 Business Central brings significant benefits for both the company and customers, especially when it comes to customer account management.

Which fields are relevant for a customer account?

When integrating customer account information between Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Shopify, you typically focus on the following fields:

• Customer details (customer account):
  • Customer name
  • Billing address
  • Delivery address
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Customer type or category (e.g. wholesale vs. retail)
  • Customer ID (unique identifier for the customer in both systems)
  • Credit limit (if used)
  • Outstanding amount
  • Payment history and terms

These are the basic fields you would consider integrating when it comes to customer accounts between the two systems. The depth and complexity of the integration will depend on the company’s specific needs and requirements.

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Do you have questions about customer account logic in ecommerce or ERP – do write to us.