Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Change Run Only Users For Child Flow

Power AutomateThis article is part of the Working with Power Automate Child Flows series and of the larger Working with Power Automate series I am writing on my experiences working with the Power Automate, which is part of the Power Platform from Microsoft. I also have a related series of articles on Power Automate with Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC.

After creating a child flow, there is one setting in the flow which needs to be set. This is to change the Run only users setting. Do this, by opening the flow to see the details and clicking the Edit button in the Run only users box in the lower right corner of the page:

Child flow detail page with Run only users section ringed

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New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Assign Salesperson to Customer Ship-to Addresses

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 25th of the new functionality in the Application section is assign salesperson to customer ship-to addresses.

Assign salespeople to the shipping location rather than the billing address to ensure accurate sales reports by reflecting the true geographical distribution of your sales. Assigning a salesperson to a customer’s ship-to address gives you more precise insights, optimizes resource allocation, and drives strategic growth in your business.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

You can assign a salesperson on the Customer card page by choosing Customer, and then Ship-To Addresses to open the Ship-to Addresses List page. Choose Manage, and then Edit to open the Ship-to Address card page. Enter or choose a Salesperson Code to select the salesperson who is responsible for the customer’s ship-to address.

Shows Ship-To Address page with Salesperson code field highlighted

Continue reading “New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Assign Salesperson to Customer Ship-to Addresses”

New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Inventory Package Numbers Work Like Item Tracking Dimensions

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 24th of the new functionality in the Application section is inventory package numbers work like item tracking dimensions.

This update addresses a gap that was present when the feature was originally introduced, and unlocks physical inventory orders for companies that use package-specific tracking.

Enabled for: Users by admins, makers, or analysts
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

To start using this feature, you must activate Feature Update: Enable use of package tracking in physical inventory orders on the Feature Management page. Existing physical inventory orders will be updated, however, Business Central can’t populate the Package no. field. You must recreate these lines using the Calculate Lines action on the Phys. Inventory Order page.

You can enter the package number for items where package tracking is needed on the Phys. Inventory Recording Lines page. Choose Finish to finalize recording.

After you choose Finish in the Physical Inventory Order, Business Central will calculate differences with respect to the package and other item tracking details, and will make positive or negative adjustments.

Physical Inventory - Item Tracking

Click to show/hide the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 Series Index

New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1
Use Virtual Tables to Expose More Business Central Data in Dataverse
Improve Approval Processes via Power Automate
Add Table and Field Mappings for Existing Integration Tables
Find a Matching Record in a Power Automate Flow
Archive Projects
Usability Improves for Service and Projects
Use Deferral Codes in Purchase and Sales Journals
Define a Service Invoice Posting Policy for Various Users
Define Default Location for Project or Project Phase
Block Item, Item Variant or Service Item from Use in Service Management transactions
Connect Business Central With Shopify B2B
Set Up Financial Consolidation Runs More Efficiently
Simpler Shopify Connection
Use General Ledger Account Revaluation for More Accurate Financial Statements
Get More Productive While Entering Time Sheets
Create Projects That You Can Invoice to Multiple Customers
Assemble to Project
Invoice a Customer for Multiple Projects
Use New Excel Layouts for 35 Selected Reports
Use Standard Terminology for Project Management
Use Currencies When Posting Employee Transactions
Manage Work Orders in Field Service, Invoice Them in Business Central
Manage Document Attachments in Service Items and Documents
Export and Import Multiline Text Using Configuration Packages
Correct Errors in Service Invoices
Prevent Editing Number Series on Service Documents and Cards
Be More Productive When Approving Time Sheets
Inventory Package Numbers Work Like Item Tracking Dimensions
Assign Salesperson to Customer Ship-to Addresses
Introduce Power Automate Copilot Integration with Business Central
Map e-Documents to Purchase Order Lines with Copilot
Create Sales Lines Easily with Copilot
Extend Copilot Using Richer Development Tools
Get to Insights Faster with Copilot-Generated Analysis Tabs
Complete Bank Account Reconciliation Faster With Copilot
Create Product Information Faster with Copilot
Learn More About Fields with Copilot
Automate IRS 1099 Form Submission in US
Enable Additional Countries and Regions
Install UK Localization as an App
Handle Multiple File Uploads and File Drop Zones
Debug the System Application
Remove Friction When Working with External App Dependencies
Use Linked Environment in Dataverse Integration
Audit Business Central Operations in Microsoft Purview
Encrypt Data At-Rest with Customer-Managed Encryption Key
Allow Customers to Consent to Microsoft Support Accessing Their Data
Link Business Central Environments to Power Platform Environments
See VAT Date in Posting Previews
Automate Country of Origin Listed for Item Tracking Code in Intrastat Reporting
Achieve Sustainable Compliance with Business Central
Discover Report and Data Analysis Content Easily
Use Drag and Drop to Attach Multiple Files
Use Actions to Navigate and Highlight or Fix Platform-Generated Errors
Share Error Details to Get Help from Another User

Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Create a Child Flow

Power AutomateThis article is part of the Working with Power Automate Child Flows series and of the larger Working with Power Automate series I am writing on my experiences working with the Power Automate, which is part of the Power Platform from Microsoft. I also have a related series of articles on Power Automate with Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC.

Child flows in Power Automate are quite easy to create and there is actually very little difference between creating a child flow and a normal flow; the main difference is actually in the final step of the child flow. In this example, I’m going to create a simple child flow, including a step to send an email, just to show a complete flow.

Child flows are created as instant cloud flows. To create a child flow, open your solution and click New » Automation » Cloud flow » Instant:

Power Automate Solution page with the menu open to create a new Instant cloud flow

Continue reading “Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Create a Child Flow”

New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Be More Productive When Approving Time Sheets

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 23rd of the new functionality in the Application section is be more productive when approving time sheets.

The ability to quickly and easily approve multiple time sheets at the same time makes the approval process more efficient for managers. Reducing the time and effort managers spend on reviewing and approving individual time sheets gives them more time to focus on their core business.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

You can now set up how Business Central will handle empty lines during submission for approval by choosing Time Submission Policy in the Resource Setup page:

  • Choose Empty Lines Not Submitted to skip lines that don’t contain hours to submit. This is the default setting.
  • Choose Stop and Show Empty Line Error to stop processing the time sheet if one or more lines are missing hours.
Shows Resource Setup with Time Submission Policy field highlighted

Continue reading “New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Be More Productive When Approving Time Sheets”

MADIC dynamics Knowledge Hub Webinar on Tuesday 19th March 2024: Extending Business Central with Power Automate

MADIC dynamicsHere at MADIC dynamics we will be presenting a Knowledge Hub Webinar at 1400 UK time on Tuesday.

Learn how Business Central can be extended with Power Automate, from approvals to process automation to document distribution and more.

The webinar is open to everyone who wants to sign up and join:

MADIC dynamics Knowledge Hub Webinar on Tuesday 19th March 2024: Extending Business Central with Power Automate

Extending Business Central with Power Automate

Tuesday, 19th March 2024 – 14:00-14:45

Learn how Business Central can be extended with Power Automate, from approvals to process automation to document distribution.

Register Here

Working with Power Automate Child Flows: What are Child Flows?

Power AutomateThis article is part of the Working with Power Automate Child Flows series and of the larger Working with Power Automate series I am writing on my experiences working with the Power Automate, which is part of the Power Platform from Microsoft. I also have a related series of articles on Power Automate with Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC.

As I mentioned in the article on managing large flows in Power Automate, there are two ways of managing large flows by breaking them down; the first is using scopes which allow you to segment a large flow into different sections, but this approach keeps the flow as one large flow and does retain some of the problems inherent in doing this.

The second approach is to break the large flow up into a number of child flows. This method forms part of a typical approach to ALM (application lifecycle management). As well as allowing you to break a flow down into multiple smaller flows, making them easier to understand and maintain, the child flowa approach means these smaller child flows become reusable, so you can use them again and again within different flows without needing to create the same set of steps within every flow. This can be very useful when creating a set of flows with similar purpose, such as a suite of approval workflows, where you need to check the users automatic reply settings on their mailbox to see if a delegation is required.

This re-usability is a key reason why child flows should be used wherever a set of steps would otherwise need to be replicated; by creating and calling the child flow each time, instead of replicating the steps, it is easier to maintain if changes are required in future, but also means there can be no variance in the logic which is applied to this set of repeatable steps.

There are some potential issues around using child flows, which it is probably worth mentioning:

  • Child flows are only available within a solution (technically there is a way to use them outside of a solution, but all your flows should be within a solution anyway as part of ALM and deployment to production via a managed solution.
  • Child flows are only accessible from within the solution they were created, so you can;t deploy two solutions and have them access the child flow.
  • Related to the above point, if you want to use the same child flow in a second solution, you need to manually recreate it as a new child flow within the second solution, as it likely won’t work correctly if you import it (the same is true of the parent flow calling the child).
  • Input variables can be passed from the parent flow to the child flow; if you need a lot of parameters passing in, then creating them as an array

As with much else around Power Automate flows, proper planning and design is required before you start building the flows.

Working with Power Automate

New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Prevent Editing Number Series on Service Documents and Cards

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 22nd of the new functionality in the section is Prevent editing number series on service documents and cards.

For each company where you set up service management, you must assign unique identification codes to things such as service items, invoices, and other documents. Numbering isn’t only important for identification purposes. A well-designed numbering system also makes the company more manageable and easier to analyze, and can reduce the number of errors that occur in data entry.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

Behavior of the No. field on documents and cards

On service documents and all cards, the No. field can be filled in automatically from a predefined number series, or you can add it manually. However, under certain circumstances, the No. field isn’t available so that you can’t edit its value.

Invisible No. field

Continue reading “New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Prevent Editing Number Series on Service Documents and Cards”

New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Correct Errors in Service Invoices

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 21st of the new functionality in the Application section is correct errors in service invoices.

Mistakes can happen, so it’s important to be able to quickly correct them. This update enhances your flexibility and efficiency in managing service contracts and invoices by making it easier to fix mistakes.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

You can delete service invoices that have service ledger entries associated with them. This means that you can correct errors or make changes to service invoices without getting stuck or losing data. For example, if you forget to assign a product posting group to a G/L account, you can add it later and recreate the service invoice.

Use the Delete action to delete a service invoice. A corrective service ledger entry will be posted, and the invoicing date and invoicing period will be restored in the service contract so you can create the invoice again. Note that you can revert several invoices, but you must do it sequentially starting from the very last invoice. Business Central won’t allow you to delete a service invoice if its details, such as the invoicing period or the prepaid toggle were changed in the related service contract. Make sure that you delete invoices before you make such changes.

My Opinion

this looks to be a useful enhancement for correcting errors. While we all want to avoid errors, sometimes they happen and an easy ay to correct them is welcome.

Click to show/hide the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 Series Index

New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1
Use Virtual Tables to Expose More Business Central Data in Dataverse
Improve Approval Processes via Power Automate
Add Table and Field Mappings for Existing Integration Tables
Find a Matching Record in a Power Automate Flow
Archive Projects
Usability Improves for Service and Projects
Use Deferral Codes in Purchase and Sales Journals
Define a Service Invoice Posting Policy for Various Users
Define Default Location for Project or Project Phase
Block Item, Item Variant or Service Item from Use in Service Management transactions
Connect Business Central With Shopify B2B
Set Up Financial Consolidation Runs More Efficiently
Simpler Shopify Connection
Use General Ledger Account Revaluation for More Accurate Financial Statements
Get More Productive While Entering Time Sheets
Create Projects That You Can Invoice to Multiple Customers
Assemble to Project
Invoice a Customer for Multiple Projects
Use New Excel Layouts for 35 Selected Reports
Use Standard Terminology for Project Management
Use Currencies When Posting Employee Transactions
Manage Work Orders in Field Service, Invoice Them in Business Central
Manage Document Attachments in Service Items and Documents
Export and Import Multiline Text Using Configuration Packages
Correct Errors in Service Invoices
Prevent Editing Number Series on Service Documents and Cards
Be More Productive When Approving Time Sheets
Inventory Package Numbers Work Like Item Tracking Dimensions
Assign Salesperson to Customer Ship-to Addresses
Introduce Power Automate Copilot Integration with Business Central
Map e-Documents to Purchase Order Lines with Copilot
Create Sales Lines Easily with Copilot
Extend Copilot Using Richer Development Tools
Get to Insights Faster with Copilot-Generated Analysis Tabs
Complete Bank Account Reconciliation Faster With Copilot
Create Product Information Faster with Copilot
Learn More About Fields with Copilot
Automate IRS 1099 Form Submission in US
Enable Additional Countries and Regions
Install UK Localization as an App
Handle Multiple File Uploads and File Drop Zones
Debug the System Application
Remove Friction When Working with External App Dependencies
Use Linked Environment in Dataverse Integration
Audit Business Central Operations in Microsoft Purview
Encrypt Data At-Rest with Customer-Managed Encryption Key
Allow Customers to Consent to Microsoft Support Accessing Their Data
Link Business Central Environments to Power Platform Environments
See VAT Date in Posting Previews
Automate Country of Origin Listed for Item Tracking Code in Intrastat Reporting
Achieve Sustainable Compliance with Business Central
Discover Report and Data Analysis Content Easily
Use Drag and Drop to Attach Multiple Files
Use Actions to Navigate and Highlight or Fix Platform-Generated Errors
Share Error Details to Get Help from Another User

Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Series Index

Power AutomateAs I have a number of articles to write on Power Automate child flows, I’ve decided to break these out into a sub-series of the main Working with Power Automate series; they will appear as posts within both series in the order written, so you can easily access and read them from within either.

The series index, below, will automatically update if you’re reading the original article on azurecurve | Ramblings of an IT Professional. If you’re reading elsewhere, the original article, which will update automatically is here.

Working with Power Automate Child Flows
What are Child Flows?
Create a Child Flow
Change Run Only Users For Child Flow