In the previous step, you learned about installing app upgrades. In this step, you will learn about customisation options. Dynamics 365 for Sales has full functionality right out of the box.

The application gives you everything you need to build and track relationships with customers and to manage the sales process from lead to order.

Each business is unique in the data they track and the processes they follow. The first step to tailoring for your needs is to configure Dynamics 365 for Sales.

In this topic, we are looking at how to begin to customise the app by tracking more data, changing or adding business processes, and tailoring forms and views to meet your specific requirements.

It’s essential that before you start customising, you have a good grasp of the out of box functionality, so you don’t re-create something the app already does.

Sales Hub App or Custom App

Dynamics 365 for Sales ships with a Sales Hub app. This app is configured for users to use all the primary sales features. The app’s navigation and contents are customisable.

As Microsoft updates Dynamics 365 for Sales, this app automatically reflects the changes they ship, unless you make modifications that would prevent that from happening.

For example, if they added a new entity to the app navigation, your users would see it automatically after the upgrade. The same is true for entity forms and views. By default, if you don’t change those to your forms and your views on an upgrade you will see any changes Microsoft makes.

Alternatively, if you create any of your own forms or views and change the Sales Hub app to reference them, they are not automatically upgraded.

Another common decision to make around apps is whether you should use the Sales Hub app or create a custom app that includes a subset of the same assets.

Remember: the app is how you can compose what your users see and interact with and how you define the user experience. A custom app gives you complete control of the contents but does not have the benefit of automatically upgrading the app when Microsoft ships an update.

If your custom app references the same forms and views as Sales Hub, it will still automatically reflect the changes Microsoft ships in an upgrade even if the app is custom.

There is no single right choice here – it is important to evaluate your need for control and customisation with the approach you take.

Security Roles

The out of the box security roles provide an example set of roles for Sales, such as Salesperson and Sales Manager. You can choose to use these roles and modify them, or often teams will copy these roles and tailor them for their own needs.

For example, you might share data with all sales staff in an office or a division or you might require all sales staff to only see their own data. Review how your specific requirements match with the current out of the box roles and decide what customisation is required.

Customising security roles is also another way you can tailor what your users have access to in an app.

Entity Forms and Views

Entity forms are one of the primary ways for users to use the application to create, read, edit and otherwise interact with data. The application comes with several forms for each entity already. It is possible to edit these system forms, and also to create your own.

If you edit the existing forms and views, then as Microsoft changes the application, you will see most of those changes automatically on the upgrade of Dynamic 365 for Sales. If you create your own or a copy of these, you will be responsible for making the changes after each release.

One of the most common customisations for forms and views is removing any field that you don’t need. The default forms come loaded up to make a good general sales app, but no one usually uses all the fields.

For example, on Account, if you don’t ship to your customers, removing the Shipping section which includes Shipping Method and Freight Terms makes a lot of sense. Removing what is not used reduces clutter and allows users to focus on the data they need to provide.

Reviewing views for essential fields is useful, as well as creating views that filter on common needs. Good views can help your users quickly find the data they are looking for.

Note: Removing fields from forms and views is not the same as removing them from the app itself. There are relatively few consequences of removing system fields from forms and views.

Join the discussion

Remember to engage with peers – share an experience or ask a question in the comment section.

Use the discussion section below and let us know your thoughts. Try to respond to at least one other post and once you’re happy with your contribution, click the Mark as complete button to check the step off, then you can move to the next step, customisation options.