Electronic Reporting has become a necessity to keep track of financial health, and we have Dynamics 365 to offer this feature. We might have some things to consider and learn about its configuration. Some might think they need to write the code, but we can tell you that it is possible without a single line of code.
For example, you can comply with new regulatory standards and create business documents in the proper format to electronically transmit information to government agencies, banks, and other parties. In this article and part 1 of Electronic Reporting for Finance and supply chain using Dynamics 365, we will discuss everything you need.
What is ER?
ER is a customizable solution for creating and managing regulatory electronic reporting and payments. ER allows you to build electronic format structures and then specify how they should be populated with data and algorithms. You may alter data using a formula language similar to Excel.
An intermediate data model concept is introduced to improve the database-to-format mapping by making it more manageable, reusable, and format-independent. This notion allows implementation details to be hidden from the format mapping while also allowing a single data model to be reused for numerous formats.
ER includes customized formats for both incoming and outgoing electronic documents based on the regulatory requirements of different nations and regions. ER helps you to handle these formats throughout their existence.
For example, you can comply with new regulatory standards and create business documents in the proper format to transmit information electronically to government agencies, banks, and other parties.
Capabilities of Electronic Reporting in Dynamics 365
The basic tasks you can perform using Dynamics 365 for electronic reporting are:
- This tool can be used for financial data loads, internal reporting, and external reporting (e.g., compliance with different national and regional laws).
- There are many ways to apply it, such as adopting new regulatory standards and creating business documentation in line with them.
- These documents can be electronically shared with banks, government agencies, and business associates (such as suppliers and clients).
- Several formats can be handled at different stages of their lives through the financial account. The process of generating and modifying custom formats for electronic documents is simple and rapid with ER because the main focus is on format configuration rather than coding.
- TEXT, XML, Microsoft Word / Excel documents, and OPENXML worksheet formats are now supported by ER.
- Customers and partners can receive formats via Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS).
How to Configure Financial Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance?
If you are confused about where to start and how to process it, let us help from the start.
Getting Started
You can use the search option, the menu, or the main Dynamics 365 dashboard to reach the electronic reporting workspace.
The following form will appear when the electronic reporting workspace is opened and when you select the report.
You must confirm that you have generated a configuration provider record and designated it as active before we can make any modifications to the electronic reporting system. The “Configuration providers” link can be used to create a new configuration provider. Providing it with a name and a URL suffices (a real URL is not required).
The configuration provider must be created in each environment with the same name and URL if you plan to copy configurations between environments.
After the configuration provider has been created, go back to the previous screen and indicate that it is now active.
The electronic reporting configurations form can then be accessed by clicking on the “Reporting Configurations” tile. The configurations that have already been loaded will determine what you see, but here is an example with only a few entries.
The many formats that are accessible for this model will be seen if we expand the “Payment model” node. These may be recognizable to you as different EFT file types, which we can then connect to the necessary payment mechanism.
For the Australian formats supported by it, you can get to Microsoft Docs for a list.
Electronic Reporting Components
There are components to electronic reporting, and if you are just getting started, you need to be aware of them. When you select the Create Configuration button, you will only have the option “Root” if no configurations have been loaded.
You might notice additional options if you already have setups in place, like:
Root Nodes and Data Models
The top-level, or Root, nodes are visible when you look at the ER tree, which is the expandable set of nodes on the left. “Electronic ledger accounting model MX” and “Payment model” are two examples of Root nodes in the following example.
A data model is always represented by root nodes. The user-defined logical representation of the data you want to interact with is called a data model. It is not required to be in any particular file format or to match any particular Dynamics 365 tables. All you have to do is outline the data you want to work with and give it a logical framework.
To export invoice details, for example, you must first consider what an invoice consists of and then define the data that is contained in it.
Bottom Line
Finally, companies operating in financial reporting, need a quick analysis and report design for it. This is when Dynamics 365 finance and supply chain offers you a plethora of features to process.
You can configure as shown above and use the components as needed. We will discuss more components in part 2 to help you understand other components of Electronic financial reporting in dynamics 365 finance, including statements of cash flows for the annual report.
