Ali Raza Zaidi

A practitioner’s musings on Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations

Dynamics 365 for finance and operations

Json deserialize issue in service class An exception occured when invoking the operation – Type ‘Class’ is not supported by serializer. D365 Finance and operations

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Yesterday, I was working on integration, and everything was going fine. However, when I tried to retrieve a string from the DataContract, it threw an error: “Type ‘Class’ is not supported by the serializer.” The issue persisted even when I used Newtonsoft. The rest of the logic was functioning correctly.

Eventually, I discovered that the issue was due to missing AX 2012 attributes on the list’s getter/setter or parameter. Once I added those attributes, the actual getter/setter started working as expected.

 [
    DataMemberAttribute('transactions'),  
    DataCollectionAttribute(Types::Class, classStr(DSTTransactionDC))  
  ]  
  public List Parmtransactions(List _transactions = transactions)  
  {  
    transactions = _transactions;  
return transactions;
  }

I have to add following 

  AifCollectionTypeAttribute('_transactions', Types::Class, classStr(DSTTransactionDC)),
  AifCollectionTypeAttribute('return', Types::Class, classStr(DSTTransactionDC))

After that getter setter become something similar

 [
    DataMemberAttribute('transactions'),  
    DataCollectionAttribute(Types::Class, classStr(DSTTransactionDC)),  
    AifCollectionTypeAttribute('_transactions', Types::Class, classStr(DSTTransactionDC)),  
    AifCollectionTypeAttribute('return', Types::Class, classStr(DSTTransactionDC))  
  ]  
  public List Parmtransactions(List _transactions = transactions)  
  {  
    transactions = _transactions;  
 return transactions;
  }

after this change, datacontract easily serialise. 
Also change attribute at class header from datacontracattribute to dataContract.

Hope you like this post.

How to apply updates on Cloud Hosted Environment D365 Finance and Operations

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I recently encountered a small functionality difference in the cloud-hosted environment.

Upon investigation, I found that the Dev machine is on 10.0.40, while the UAT environment is on 10.0.42.

This minor difference seems to be due to a Microsoft quality update. My next question is: How can I update it?

Essentially, the UAT and production environments are available on the project’s main page.

Dev machines are also cloud-hosted and can be found in the menu in LCS

After selecting the machine you need to click on Full details button

from top menu you can select and apply update.

Hope you like this small post

A Model with the same name already exists in the Metadata Store

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I learned a tough life lesson—greatness isn’t about doing big things. True greatness lies in doing small things with excellence.

Haha, this sounds familiar! I remember reading a quote from Napoleon Hill:

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”

So here is small tip from my Personal Knowledge Management

I was importing a model to dev environment to built a common package for deployment. I found following error,

A Model with the same name already exists in the Metadata Store. Please delete the existing model if you want to install this model.

So I need to delete existing one and then import it again through command line

k:\AOSService\PackagesLocalDirectory\bin\ModelUtil.exe -delete -metadatastorepath=k:\AOSService\PackagesLocalDirectory -modelname="RanjahJogi"

After you can import model in some temp table in c drive.

k:\AOSService\PackagesLocalDirectory\bin\ModelUtil.exe -import -metadatastorepath=k:\aosservice\packageslocaldirectory -file=c:\temp\RanjahJogi.axmodel

Service Item with Stocked Item Model

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I conducted an experiment to see what happens when we create a service item but select the item group as stocked.

To test this, I created an item called “Service 101” using the FIFO model, which is typically used for stocked items.

Next, I purchased it as a normal item.

When I checked the inventory transactions, I noticed that transactions were recorded—this happened because the FIFO item model treats it as a stocked item.

Inventory transactions

Why would we need such an item?

If we define an item as a service and assign it to a non-stocked item group, it means we can use it as a service charge—either as a service received or provided to a customer. In this case, no inventory transactions would be recorded.

However, in production orders, when defining the Bill of Materials (BOM), there are certain non-physical costs (such as floor charges) that need to be accounted for. The problem is that BOM does not support service items.

To work around this, we need to create a service item using a stocked item model, ensuring that it can be included in BOM calculations while still serving its intended purpose as a service-related charge.

BRD, Requirement Register, Fit GAP, FDD, TDD

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1. BRD (Business Requirements Document):

  • Purpose: Captures high-level business requirements and objectives. It focuses on what the business needs, not how to implement it.
  • Key Components:
    • Project objectives and scope
    • Business processes to be supported by the ERP
    • Functional requirements (features and capabilities needed)
    • Non-functional requirements (performance, security, compliance)
    • Stakeholder roles and responsibilities
  • Audience: Business stakeholders, project sponsors, and the implementation team.

2. Requirement Register:

  • Purpose: A detailed log of all requirements gathered during the project. Acts as a central repository for tracking requirements throughout the ERP lifecycle.
  • Key Components:
    • Unique ID for each requirement
    • Description and category (functional, non-functional, technical)
    • Priority (high, medium, low)
    • Status (proposed, approved, implemented, tested, etc.)
    • Ownership (who requested and who is responsible)
  • Audience: Project managers, business analysts, and the implementation team.

3. Fit-GAP Analysis:

  • Purpose: Assesses how well the ERP system’s out-of-the-box features match the business requirements. Identifies gaps that need customization or process changes.
  • Key Components:
    • Fit: Requirements that the ERP system meets without modification.
    • GAP: Requirements that need customization, integration with other systems, or process adjustments.
    • Recommendations for handling gaps (customization, workaround, process change).
  • Audience: Functional consultants, business analysts, and decision-makers.

4. FDD (Functional Design Document):

  • Purpose: Provides a detailed description of how the business requirements will be implemented functionally in the ERP system.
  • Key Components:
    • Functional workflows and use cases
    • Screen layouts, fields, and user interactions
    • Business rules and validations
    • Integration points with other systems
  • Audience: Functional consultants, developers, and QA teams.

5. TDD (Technical Design Document):

  • Purpose: Describes the technical implementation details for the requirements specified in the FDD. Focuses on how to build the solution technically.
  • Key Components:
    • System architecture and data models
    • Detailed specifications for customizations (code, scripts, reports)
    • Database schemas and API details
    • Security and compliance considerations
  • Audience: Technical consultants, developers, and system architects.

Summary:

  • BRD: What the business needs.
  • Requirement Register: Tracks all requirements.
  • Fit-GAP: Matches requirements with ERP capabilities.
  • FDD: Functional solution design.
  • TDD: Technical implementation plan.

How to fetch un-Invoiced Delivery notes for sales order – D365 Finance and Operations

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So here is another code snippet, that I develop after two hours of testing and understanding the D365 F&O that get all non invoiced , delivery notes or packingslip. I want to restrict the code to invoice against Delivery note, If no non posted delivery note exists, Code will not generate the invoice.

 public static str getUninvoicedPackingSlipsBySalesId(SalesId _salesId)
 {
     CustPackingSlipJour custPackingSlipJour;    // Packing slip journal
     InventTrans         inventTrans;            // Inventory transaction

     str packingSlipIds = "";
     container distinctPackingSlips;             // Container to store unique Packing Slip IDs
     int i = 0;

     // Fetch only un-invoiced Packing Slips based on Sales ID
     while select inventTrans
     where inventTrans.InvoiceId == ""
     
     join custPackingSlipJour
     where custPackingSlipJour.PackingSlipId == inventTrans.PackingSlipId
       && custPackingSlipJour.SalesId == _salesId
     {
         // Check if the Packing Slip ID is already in the container
         if (conFind(distinctPackingSlips, custPackingSlipJour.PackingSlipId) == 0)
         {
             distinctPackingSlips += custPackingSlipJour.PackingSlipId;  // Add to container if unique
                          
         }
     }

     return con2Str(distinctPackingSlips);  // Return the comma-separated string or empty if none found
 }

How to Import Data into D365 Finance and Operations

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Hello friends, welcome to today’s video/blog post!

In this guide, we will walk through the process of loading data into Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (D365 F&O). This step is typically performed twice:

  1. During initial environment configuration – before starting the User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
  2. Before going live – to ensure all required business data is in place.

Data Collection and Preparation

After analyzing business requirements, the Functional Consultant collects data from Business Users. There are two common approaches for preparing data:

  1. Business Users Provide Data in Excel
    • The business users share their data in Excel files.
    • The functional consultant then transforms it into the required D365 template for import.
  2. Predefined D365 Templates
    • The functional consultant exports predefined Excel templates from D365 F&O.
    • These templates are shared with business users for data entry.
    • Once completed, the business users upload the data into the system.
Excel Expertise is Essential

From my experience, strong Excel skills are crucial when handling data imports. You’ll often need to:

  • Remove duplicates.
  • Replace lookup values with valid data.
  • Ensure data is formatted correctly before uploading.

However, delays can occur due to confusion over responsibility. Business users may not provide data in the required format, while functional consultants may hesitate to modify it. This can result in delays of two weeks to a month in some cases.

Data Import Methods in D365

Microsoft provides two ways to import data into D365 Finance and Operations, both based on the D365 Data Entity Framework:

  1. Data Entity Framework – Used to import/export structured data.
  2. Excel Add-in – Allows direct data updates from Excel into D365.

Step-by-Step Guide to Import Data

In this walkthrough, we will use both methods to import data into D365 F&O.

Step 1: Exporting a Data Template
To get started, we first need to export a data template from D365. Here’s how:

  1. Navigate to the Dashboard.
  2. Click on Data Management.

Second way to go System administrator and there you can go Data Management
System Administration > Workspaces > Data management.

From Title Click and select Export

Create a new group and add vendor Info. and then click on Add entity

Search and select Vendors v2 in entity name and then select Excel in Target data format

Click on Export now

download excel by click on download excel file. Our excel template is ready.

We can remove unnessary fields from here and remove existing data and add new vendor information in excel sheet.

When excel sheet is prepared click again on Data management workspace on import Title

Create a new group with Vendor Import v2

click on add file and select Excel

and then search and select vendor V2 from form entity Name.

select the file and upload

Load and upload modified excel sheet and click on close button.

Before going to import go to vendor number sequence and set it manual and allow to a higher number.

And click on import

It is successful. If there are issue, then we try to resolve any validation issue. and try to import again.

![[Pasted image 20250223162113.png]]

Excel Addin

Using the Excel Add-in to Load Data into D365 F&O

Another efficient way to load data into D365 Finance and Operations (D365 F&O) is by using the Excel Add-in. This method allows users to import and update records directly from Excel, streamlining the data entry process.

Steps to Load Vendor Data Using the Excel Add-in

  1. Navigate to the Vendor List Page
    • Go to Accounts Payable > Vendors > All Vendors.
    • This page displays the list of all vendors in the system.
  2. Open the Excel Add-in
    • Click on the Microsoft Office icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
    • Select Vendor V2 under Open in Excel.

Work with the Excel Template

  • The system will download an excel file with all required fields.
  • Need to enable the Microsoft Dynamics Add-in if prompted.

Add new vendor and drag table boarder to new line save it
Publish the Data to D365

  • Once the data is entered, click the Publish button in the Excel Add-in.
  • The data will be validated and imported directly into D365 F&O.

click on publish

You can see the uploaded data into D365 F&O

How to convert utcdate time to ISO 8601 Formats D365 Finance and Operations

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Hi friends, recently I got chance to write a code to convert Utc date time to iso 8601. I wrote following code snippet you can modify as per your need

public static str GetEPochTime(utcdatetime _DateTimeValue)
{
    utcDateTime utcDateTimeValue;
    str formattedDateTime;
  
    date datepart;
    int milliseconds;
    TimeOfDay _time;
    // _DateTimeValue = DateTimeUtil::applyTimeZoneOffset(_DateTimeValue, Timezone::GMTPLUS0300KUWAIT_RIYADH); // Adjust for specific timezone if needed
    int _year= DateTimeUtil::year(_DateTimeValue);
    int _day = DateTimeUtil::day(_DateTimeValue);
    int _Month = DateTimeUtil::month(_DateTimeValue);
    int _Hour = DateTimeUtil::hour(_DateTimeValue);
    int _second = DateTimeUtil::second(_DateTimeValue);
    int _minute = DateTimeUtil::minute(_DateTimeValue);
    int _timetomilliSecond = 0;
    var localTime =  new System.DateTime(_year, _Month, _day, _Hour, _minute, _second,_timetomilliSecond, System.DateTimeKind::Utc);
    localTime =System.TimeZoneInfo::ConvertTime(localTime,System.TimeZoneInfo::FindSystemTimeZoneById("Arabic Standard Time"));
    // Example UTC DateTime
    // utcDateTimeValue = _DateTimeValue;
    formattedDateTime = localTime.ToString("o");
    // formattedDateTime =DateTimeUtil::toStr(_DateTimeValue);
    formattedDateTime =strReplace(formattedDateTime,".0000000",".00+03:00");
    return formattedDateTime;

Sales order cancellation validation through event handler X++

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Hi friends, small tip, I got chancel to add validation in Cancel functionality of D365 Finance and operations.Interestingly the menu button called the class. So I have to write the pre event handler for main method.

Following is the [[Code Snippet]]

public static void SalesCancelOrder_Pre_main(XppPrePostArgs _args)
    {
     

        Args args =_args.getArg("args");
        SalesTable salesTable = args.record();
        CustmTable _Response;

        select * from _Response where _Response.PrimaryKey == salesTable.SalesId && _Response.TransType == CustmTransType::SalesOrder;
         
        if (_Response.RecId !=0)
        {
           // validateEventArgs.parmValidateResult(false);
           Error("This sales order is integrationed with wms, Cancellation is not recommended, use the cancellation dailog for Cancel in wms.");
            if (Box::yesNo("Sales order is integrated with WMS, Do you really want to cancel it.", DialogButton::No) == DialogButton::No)
            {
                throw Exception::Error;
            }
        }

       
    }