How to Add PlanAutomate to an Existing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance Solution

Project-based companies, aka Project Businesses, tend to manage their project financials, operations, and analytics data in a siloed environment with multiple point solutions that fail to integrate with one another. Oftentimes, executives of Project Businesses are making important decisions based on data that is unreliable and outdated.

To effectively manage the business side of the projects they deliver, it’s critical to implement a solution that automatically integrates project financials, operations and analytics on one platform.

First, let’s evaluate some of the native support for Project Financials, Project Operations, and Project Analytics in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and how that compares to PlanAutomate.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance

Project Businesses using D365F often find the project management and accounting module in D365F wholly inadequate to support their business and end up utilizing disparate applications and tools to meet their needs. While D365F may seem at first glance to include features to support many critical processes in a typical project-based organization, the truth is that these capabilities are very basic, and provide insufficient sophistication and substance to effectively manage a Project Business.

That assessment is not surprising since D365F was originally developed for manufacturers and supply chain centric organizations. Although D365F offers some project accounting and billing functionality, it provides little support for financial and operational project management for Project Businesses.

PlanAutomate

Project-based companies are not like traditional business in retail, manufacturing or distribution. Project Businesses have unique system requirements to support their business processes. That said, they need more than what D365F offers.

PlanAutomate brings the primary project functions of a Project Business inside the Dynamics ERP. What does that mean? Project Automation unifies and fully integrates all business processes on one platform to specifically meet the needs of project-driven companies. Instead of operating in D365F ERP and other point solutions to meet your needs, Project Automation allows you to get rid of different applications and operate within an all-in-one solution that allows you to instantly connect business processes across the company, resulting in real-time insight, lower risk and better outcomes.

Download the Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O vs. PlanAutomate Whitepaper

Already Using D365F?

If you’re already using D365F, no worries. PlanAutomate can be added to an existing D365F solution without much disruption.

If you have already implemented the standard D365F project accounting module, you can still take advantage of PlanAutomate and we will help with the transition. We will have to close off existing projects and re-create the projects including opening balances within the PlanAutomate data model. A modest level of re-implementation will be required as many of the processes you’ve attempted to implement within the standard accounting module will be replaced by PlanAutomate capabilities. However, the process is straightforward.

That said, if you have not already implemented D365F, it’s advisable that you acquire and implement PlanAutomate at the same time as Dynamics and create that comprehensive business system from the outset.