MS Dynamics AX

COURSE 80164
WHATS NEW - APPLICATION IN MICROSOFT

DYNAMICS AX 2012 FOR FINANCE, PA, CASE
MGMT., HRM, AND PUBLIC SECTOR
Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Your use of this content is subject to your current services agreement
Last Revision: March 2011

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2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents
Introduction
0-1
Welcome ............................................................................................................ 0-1

Microsoft Dynamics Courseware Contents ........................................................ 0-2
Documentation Conventions .............................................................................. 0-3
Student Objectives ............................................................................................. 0-4
Chapter 1: Overview
1-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 1-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1-1
New User Interface Elements ............................................................................. 1-2
Organization Model ............................................................................................ 1-9
Help System ..................................................................................................... 1-12
Microsoft Office Add-Ins ................................................................................... 1-13
Work Items ....................................................................................................... 1-16
Document Handling .......................................................................................... 1-17
Interest Terms and Date Ranges ..................................................................... 1-17
Post-Dated Checks .......................................................................................... 1-18
Summary .......................................................................................................... 1-20
Test Your Knowledge ....................................................................................... 1-21
Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 1-23
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 1-24
Chapter 2: Compliance and Internal Controls
2-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 2-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2-1
Default Controls Library ...................................................................................... 2-1
Import and Mapping Wizard ............................................................................... 2-3
Summary ............................................................................................................ 2-4
Test Your Knowledge ......................................................................................... 2-5
Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................... 2-6
Solutions ............................................................................................................. 2-7
Chapter 3: Accounts Payable
3-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 3-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3-1
Prepaid Purchase Orders ................................................................................... 3-2
Lab 3.1 - Set Up a Prepayment .......................................................................... 3-6
Invoice Matching Task for Workflow ................................................................... 3-8
Vendor Invoice Processing Workflow ................................................................. 3-8
Invoice Matching Improvements ......................................................................... 3-9
Summary .......................................................................................................... 3-12
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 3-15
Chapter 4: Accounts Receivable
4-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 4-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4-1
Managing Collections and Collection Agents ..................................................... 4-2

What's New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

Case Mgmt., HRM and Public Sector
Lab 4.1 - Manage the collection process .......................................................... 4-12
Free Text Invoice Improvements ...................................................................... 4-13
Free Text Invoice Quantities and Unit Prices ................................................... 4-15
Summary .......................................................................................................... 4-17
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 4-20
Chapter 5: Budgeting
5-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 5-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 5-1
Workflows for Budget Register Entries ............................................................... 5-2
Dimensions for Budgets ..................................................................................... 5-2
Configuring Budget Control ................................................................................ 5-3
Using Budget Control ......................................................................................... 5-9
Lab 5.1 - Use Budget Control on a Purchase Order......................................... 5-12
Budget Amounts ............................................................................................... 5-15
Lab 5.2 - Create and Manage Budgets ............................................................ 5-19
Budget Reporting ............................................................................................. 5-21
Budget Transaction Web Services ................................................................... 5-21
Summary .......................................................................................................... 5-22
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 5-25
Chapter 6: Travel and Expense
6-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 6-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6-1
Expense Reports Improvements ........................................................................ 6-2
Lab 6.1 - Create and Process an Expense Report ............................................. 6-6
Budgetary Control .............................................................................................. 6-9
Travel and Expense Policies ............................................................................ 6-10
Credit Card Dispute Management .................................................................... 6-13
Summary .......................................................................................................... 6-14
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 6-17
Chapter 7: General Ledger
7-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 7-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7-1
Currencies and Exchange Rates Setup ............................................................. 7-2
Shared Fiscal Calendars .................................................................................... 7-5
Subledger Accounting ........................................................................................ 7-8
Accounting Distributions ................................................................................... 7-10
Financial Dimensions ....................................................................................... 7-12
Multiple Charts of Accounts .............................................................................. 7-14
Lab 7.1 - Create Financial Dimensions and Chart of Account Structures ........ 7-18
Advanced Rule Structures for Ledger Posting ................................................. 7-20
ii

Table of Contents
Commitment Accounting .................................................................................. 7-21
Summary .......................................................................................................... 7-29
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 7-33
Chapter 8: Project Management and Accounting
8-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 8-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 8-1
Project Timesheets ............................................................................................. 8-2
Allocate Project Revenue ................................................................................... 8-4
Project Budgeting ............................................................................................... 8-8
Lab 8.1 - Set Up Budget Controls .................................................................... 8-13
Manage Projects in Enterprise Portal ............................................................... 8-15
Project Funding ................................................................................................ 8-16
Project Beginning Balances.............................................................................. 8-19
Summary .......................................................................................................... 8-20
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 8-24
Chapter 9: Case Management
9-1
Objectives ........................................................................................................... 9-1

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 9-1
Case Management in the Rich Client ................................................................. 9-2
Lab 9.1 - Create a Case ..................................................................................... 9-6
Case Management in Enterprise Portal.............................................................. 9-7
Knowledge Articles ............................................................................................. 9-9
Lab 9.2 - Working with Knowledge Articles and Cases .................................... 9-13
Summary .......................................................................................................... 9-15
Solutions ........................................................................................................... 9-18
Chapter 10: Human Resources Management
10-1
Objectives ......................................................................................................... 10-1

Introduction ....................................................................................................... 10-1
Shared Worker Information .............................................................................. 10-2
Hiring Workers and Terminating Workers ........................................................ 10-4
Application and Recruiting Improvements ........................................................ 10-5
Department and Position Improvements .......................................................... 10-8
Injury and Illness ............................................................................................ 10-11
Summary ........................................................................................................ 10-16
Test Your Knowledge ..................................................................................... 10-17
Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ............................................................... 10-18
Solutions ......................................................................................................... 10-19
Chapter 11: Public Sector
11-1
Objectives ......................................................................................................... 11-1

Introduction ....................................................................................................... 11-1

iii

Public Sector Feature Overview ....................................................................... 11-2
Accounts Receivable Features ......................................................................... 11-3
Budgeting Features .......................................................................................... 11-6
General Ledger Features ................................................................................. 11-7
Procurement and Accounts Payable Features ................................................. 11-8
Public Sector Reports Overview ..................................................................... 11-10
Public Sector Role Center Overview .............................................................. 11-10
Summary ........................................................................................................ 11-12
Test Your Knowledge ..................................................................................... 11-13
Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ............................................................... 11-14
Solutions ......................................................................................................... 11-15
iv

Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Welcome
We know training is a vital component of retaining the value of your Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 investment. Our quality training from industry experts
keeps you up-to-date on your solution and helps you develop the skills necessary
for fully maximizing the value of your solution. Whether you choose Online
Training, Classroom Training, or Training Materials; there is a type of training to
meet everyone's needs. Choose the training type that best suits you so you can
stay ahead of the competition.
Online Training
Online Training delivers convenient, in-depth training to you in the comfort of
your own home or office. Online training provides immediate access to training
24 hours-a-day. It is perfect for the customer who does not have the time or
budget to travel. Our newest online training option, eCourses, combine the
efficiency of online training with the in-depth product coverage of classroom
training, with at least two weeks to complete each course.
Classroom Training
Classroom Training provides serious, in-depth learning through hands-on
interaction. From demonstrations to presentations to classroom activities, you
receive hands-on experience with instruction from our certified staff of experts.
Regularly scheduled throughout North America, you can be sure you will find a
class convenient for you.
Training Materials
Training Materials enable you to learn at your own pace, on your own time with
information-packed training manuals. Our wide variety of training manuals
feature an abundance of tips, tricks, and insights you can refer to again and again:
Microsoft Dynamics Courseware

The Microsoft Dynamics Courseware consists of detailed training manuals,
designed from a training perspective. These manuals include advanced topics as
well as training objectives, exercises, interactions and quizzes.
Look for a complete list of manuals available for purchase on the Microsoft
Dynamics website: www.microsoft.com/Dynamics.

0-1
Whats New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

CaSe Mgmt., HRM, and Public Sector
Microsoft Dynamics Courseware Contents

Test Your Skills
Within the Microsoft Dynamics Training Materials you find a variety of different
exercises. These exercises are offered in three levels to accommodate the variety
of knowledge and expertise of each student. We suggest you try the level three
exercises first, if you need help completing the task look to the information in the
level two exercises. If you need further assistance each step of the task is outlined
in the level one exercise.
Challenge Yourself!
Level 3 exercises are the most challenging. These exercises are designed for the
experienced student who requires little instruction to complete the required task.
Need a Little Help?

Level 2 exercises are designed to challenge students, while providing some
assistance. These exercises do not provide step by step instructions, however, do
provide you with helpful hints and more information to complete the exercise.
Step by Step
Level 1 exercises are geared towards new users who require detailed instructions
and explanations to complete the exercise. Level 1 exercises guide you through
the task, step by step, including navigation.
Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned

At the end of each chapter within the Microsoft Dynamics Training Material, you
find a Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned page. This interaction is designed to
provide the student with a moment to reflect on the material they have learned.
By outlining three key points from the chapter, the student is maximizing
knowledge retention, and providing themselves with an excellent resource for
reviewing key points after class.
0-2

Introduction
Documentation Conventions
The following conventions and icons are used throughout this documentation to
help you quickly and effectively navigate through the information.
CAUTION: Cautions are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by
the word CAUTION in bold. Cautions are used to remind you of a specific result of a
specific action which may be undesirable.
HINT: Hints are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by the word
HINT in bold. Hints are used to suggest time-saving features or alternative methods for
accomplishing a specific task.
NOTE: Notes are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by the word
NOTE in bold. Notes are used to provide information which, while not critical, may be
valuable to an end user.
BEYOND THE BASICS: Advanced information found throughout the training manual
is preceded by the words BEYOND THE BASICS in bold. Beyond the Basics provides
additional detail, outside of standard functionality, that may help you to more optimally
use the application.
EXAMPLE: Examples are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by
the word EXAMPLE in bold. Examples bring to light business scenarios that may better
explain how an application can be used to address a business problem.

0-3
Whats New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

CaSe Mgmt., HRM, and Public Sector
Student Objectives
What do you hope to learn by participating in this course?
List three main objectives below.
1.
2.
3.
0-4

Chapter 1: Overview
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW
Objectives
The objectives are:
Describe the new user interface elements in Microsoft Dynamics

AX 2012.
Describe changes to the organization model.
Use and update the help system.
Describe the Microsoft Office Add-Ins in Microsoft Dynamics AX.
View work items that are based on specific business documents in

one location.
Review improvements made to the document handling feature in

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
Describe various interest terms for different date ranges.
Describe and set up post-dated checks.
Introduction
Microsoft is committed to delivering a people-ready experience to medium-sized
organizations and divisions of larger enterprises that operate in the global
economy.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is an innovative version that brings users
improved and new functionality. The new features improve the way both users
and developers interact daily with the application and also how they customize,
set up and work with the application to fit their individual needs.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 value proposition includes the following:
Simplifying the complete application life cycle of Microsoft

Dynamics AX, from implementation, customization, integration,
usability, and maintenance to upgrade and performance, to help
reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Improving financial capabilities to support companies who operate in

the global economy.
Adding more industry-enabling functionality for target industries.

1-1

Providing best practices in areas such as supplier relationship

management (SRM), human resources management (HRM),
customer relationship management (CRM), expense management,
and compliance and environmental sustainability.
Supporting new online services, such as site services for case

management and vendor on boarding to improve collaborative
scenarios.
Part of the Role Tailored design strategy in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is to

increase productivity. The Role Tailored design is used so that people can deliver
just the information that they need, where and when they need it. It offers
perspective by providing an overview of the work ahead so that organizations can
plan and prioritize efforts. The Role Tailored design is a key component of
improving user productivity in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
The following sections introduce some key new and improved features of
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. The features are relevant for all audiences and
users of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Some of these features are discussed in
additional detail in one of the Whats New in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
titles; whereas other features are only presented at a high level in this chapter.
DISCLAIMER: During the writing stage of the Whats New training content,
functionalities in certain areas of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 were not fully
implemented. An example of this includes the changes that are still occurring to
the user interface. While the content was approved and developed with the best
knowledge, certain functionalities are still subject to change.
New User Interface Elements

Following the overall Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 theme of simplifying the
user and development experience, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces
multiple new user controls for a streamlined user experience. It also provides
several benefits to developers, administrators, and end-users through the
following client features and improvements.
Jewel Menu
The Jewel menu replaces the Microsoft Dynamics AX menu which was available
in earlier versions of the workspace. It also provides drop-down menus which in
earlier versions were at the top of each form.
1-2

Chapter 1: Overview
The menus are consolidated under a button similar to the Microsoft Windows 7
and Microsoft Office 2010 Jewel menu. To the right side of the Jewel is the
Command Bar. This hosts Action Panes, Windows (workspace only), View, and
Help buttons.
FIGURE 1.1 JEWEL MENU
Navigation Pane
The Navigation Pane is redesigned to provide navigation options that are more
visually appealing and usable. In earlier versions there were three panes which
displayed Favorites, Places, and Forms, and now they are condensed into a single
pane that flows and scrolls as one unit. This makes it easier to control and
customize. The footer area of the Navigation Pane now displays small module
buttons. This makes it possible to access more modules with one click.

1-3

The Navigation Pane cannot be controlled by developers, but can be personalized
by users through the View button in the command bar.
FIGURE 1.2 NAVIGATION PANE
Status Bar
The status bar provides access to actions and in earlier versions it was at the top
of each form in a toolbar. The status bar can be personalized by the user, by using
the User Options form (Tools > Options) and is still controlled for each form by
using the StatusBarStyle property within the form design.
FIGURE 1.3 STATUS BAR
Shared List Page Metadata

The Form.FormTemplate=ListPage restriction is added to enable developers to
model list page metadata that is shared between the client and Enterprise Portal.
When Form.FormTemplate is set to ListPage, the form is restricted to only
include the Action Pane, Custom Filter Group, and a grid. When the form
template is set to ListPage, the form cannot have code that is running on the
client. Use these restrictions so that the Shared ListPage Metadata is displayed in
both the client and Enterprise Portal.
1-4

Chapter 1: Overview
Action Pane Strip
The new Action Pane strip control provides an action presentation that resembles
the Microsoft Windows 7 Windows Explorer bar. The Action Pane strip control
can be used at the top of forms that do not have sufficient actions to justify the
use of a full action pane. They are also used within the form to position actions
close to their related records and data fields.
FIGURE 1.4 ACTION PANE STRIP
Preview Panes
The Preview pane component displays more information about the selected
record in a List Page.
FIGURE 1.5 PREVIEW PANE

1-5

Fast Tabs
A Fast Tab is a new vertical presentation style for the existing tab control. The
Fast Tabs figure displays an example of the Customer details form. It shows the
General fast tab expanded and the Address, Contact information, Details fast
tab, and so on are collapsed. To expand or collapse a Fast Tab you must click the
header or description of the Fast Tab.
FIGURE 1.6 FAST TABS
Fast Tabs are used in the Windows 7 and Microsoft Office when lots of data
must be displayed in a highly accessible way. Fast Tabs display tab pages in a
vertical sliding way to activate the options in the following list:
More than one tab page can be displayed at a time.
Longer, more explanatory tab page names are provided to the user.
The display of summary fields that give the user information from
the tab page without having to be expanded.
Fast Tabs are used extensively in Details forms and Simple List and Details form
patterns. Fast Tabs can be seen when the Tab.Style property is set to Fast Tabs.
Summary fields are displayed without labels. Therefore, the visual noise is
reduced but labels are available when you rest the mouse pointer over them.
1-6

Chapter 1: Overview
Document View
The concept of a document view is introduced into client forms to provide
developers and users the ability to have a read-only representation of data that
reduces the risk of accidental changes.
Users can switch the mode of the form between View and Edit by using the Edit
record button in the status bar, the Edit record option in the Jewel menu, or the
corresponding keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+E).
Users have personalization options to specify the mode that their forms open in.
They can use the User options (File > Tools > Options) form to specify a
default View or Edit mode for all forms. You can personalize individual forms to
specify the default View or Edit mode for that form.
Grid Check Boxes

In earlier versions, the gray box-shaped row labels were displayed on the left side
of each grid row. Now they are replaced with grid check boxes that resemble
those found in Windows Explorer in Windows 7. Grid check boxes are a visible
indication to users, that they can select multiple records and even select all
records, if it is necessary.
FIGURE 1.7 GRID CHECK BOXES

1-7

Enhanced Previews
When a user moved their mouse pointer over a field in earlier versions of
Microsoft Dynamics AX, a tooltip was displayed that provided the user a one- or
two-field preview of that record. Those previews are improved to make them
more visible, available on any grid row, and available, as specified by
developers, on other fields.
FIGURE 1.8 ENHANCED PREVIEW
Improved previews are displayed to the user when they rest the mouse pointer
over any foreign key field or over any control on which the developer has set the
properties.
Segmented Entry Control

Segmented entry control simplifies the task of entering complex account and
dimension combinations. The following list describes how account and
dimension data entry is improved.
1-8
A simple cheat sheet window shows the user-defined title for each
segment.
Recent values entered by the user for the current segment are
displayed.
A lookup window lets the user select from a list of valid values or all
values for the current segment.
Instance specific options for a control include the ability to turn off
the recent entries window.

Chapter 1: Overview
The ability to show only abbreviated values (six characters) for nonfocused segments.
To provide improved readability, both the cheat sheet and lookup

windows open up aligned to the currently focused segment.
FIGURE 1.9 DIMENSION ENTRY DISPLAY
Organization Model
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces new organizational modeling
capabilities. This helps make your organization structure easier to manage by
providing the following benefits.
More organization types
Security more independent of the organization structure
Addition of organization hierarchy
Data sharing between organizations
About Organizations and Organizational Hierarchies

An organization is a group of people who work together to perform a business
process or to achieve a goal. Organizational hierarchies represent the
relationships between the organizations that comprise your business. In Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012, you can define two types of organizations:
Legal entities
Operating units.
Legal Entities
A legal entity is an organization that is identified through a registration with a
legal authority. Legal entities can enter into contracts and are required to prepare
statements that report on their performance.
A company is a type of legal entity. Companies are the only type of legal entity
that you can create in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Every legal entity record is
associated with a company ID. This is because the data security for many tables
in Microsoft Dynamics AX is still based on company ID.

1-9

Operating Units
An operating unit is an organization that is used to divide the control of economic
resources and operational processes in a business. People in an operating unit
have a duty to maximize the use of scarce resources, to improve processes, and to
account for their performance.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX, operating unit types include cost center, business
unit, value stream, and department. For more information about each operating
unit type, refer to the table.
Operating Unit
Type
Description
Cost center
An operating unit whose managers are accountable for

budgeted and actual expenditures.
Business unit
A semi-autonomous operating unit that is created to meet

strategic business objectives.
Value stream
An operating unit that controls one or more production

flows.
Department
An operating unit that represents a category or functional

part of an organization that performs a specific task, such
as sales or accounting.
NOTE: In addition to legal entities and operating units, you can create teams as
a part of the organizational structure.
A team is an organization whose members share a common responsibility,
interest, or objective. For more information about teams, refer to the Human
Capital Management documentation. Teams cannot be used in organizational
hierarchies.
NOTE: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 supports the financial statement with
balance sheet only for a legal entity. For example, if you are using a new
operating unit type, such as business unit, or a custom operating unit type like
branch, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 does not support the creation of a balance
sheet by those types of organizations.
Organizational Hierarchies
You can set up organizational hierarchies to view and report on different
perspectives of your business. For example, you might set up a hierarchy of legal
entities for tax, legal, or statutory reporting.
1-10

Chapter 1: Overview
You can set up a hierarchy based on operating units to report financial
information that is not legally required, but is used for internal reporting. For
example, you might create a purchase hierarchy to control purchasing policies,
rules, and business processes.
Organizations in a hierarchy can share parameters, policies, and transactions. An
organization can inherit or override the parameters of its parent organization.
However, shared master datasuch as products, address books and currencies
is organization-wide, and cannot be overridden for individual organizations.
There are several steps that are involved with creating the organizational
hierarchy.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Create organizations including legal entities and operating units.

Create a new hierarchy.
Assign a purpose to the hierarchy.
Add organizations to the hierarchy.
The Organizational Hierarchy figure displays an example of an organization

chart for Contoso.
FIGURE 1.10 ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY

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Organizational Hierarchy Purposes
Before you add organizations to a hierarchy, you should select a purpose for the
hierarchy. The purpose that you select determines the types of organizations that
can be included in the hierarchy. The table shows the organization types that are
allowed by the default hierarchy purposes.
Hierarchy purposes
Organizational types allowed
Procurement internal control
All
Expenditure internal control
All
Organization chart
Departments
Signature authority internal control
Legal entities
Vendor payment internal control
All
Audit internal control
Legal entities
Security
All
Help System
A new Help system is used to supply Help documentation for the application and
development workspaces. You can add new help content by adding correctly
formatted HTML files to the help server. No compilation, rebuilding, or AOT
deployments are necessary to add Help documentation.
Help System Features

The following list describes the features of the new Help system.
1-12
New HTML-based help content is provided by a single deployment

to the help server.
AOT changes are not required to add or change content.
Modifications can be displayed side by side with existing content, or

you can replace content supplied by other publishers.
Updates to Microsoft Dynamics AX content will not affect content

published by an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) or a customer.
Feature parity in content enables any publisher to use label

replacement, integrated search, and other features of the Help
system.

Chapter 1: Overview
Microsoft Office Add-Ins

Now, business users who use Microsoft Office Add-ins in Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012 can interact with data in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. For example,
in earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX, users could only export data out
of Microsoft Dynamics AX. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the Microsoft
Office add-ins lets a user export and import data. The four main uses for the
Microsoft Add-ins are as follows:
Lightweight reporting: From any grid in the client or Enterprise

Portal, export data, extend and build upon it in Excel, then update as
conditions change.
Editing data in Excel: Update Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 data

by using the Excel add-ins.
Import data by using Excel: Excel can be used as a template to

collect reference and master data to be imported into Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012.
Templates and documents: Incorporate Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012 data in Word or Excel documents (for example: collection
letter, quotation, sales forecast, project forecast, aging report, and so
on.)
The following topics provide more information about each feature of the
Microsoft Office add-ins.
Lightweight Reporting
The Excel add-ins provide a lightweight reporting solution. Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012 users have an Export to Excel option in list pages from the client or
Enterprise Portal. When the data is in Excel additional columns can be added,
filters can be added, and data can be refreshed to populate those columns. With
the data in Excel it can be manipulated by using Excel options including: adding
calculated columns, creating pivot tables, adding conditional formatting, and so
on. The features of using the Microsoft Office Add-ins as a lightweight reporting
tool include the following:
Exports can be created from any list page or grid in the client or
Enterprise Portal.
Exports can be extended with additional data.

o
For example: Phyllis, the Accounting Manager, needs a list of all

customers and the customer group they are in. Customer group is
not included on the customer export to Excel, but can be added.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 style query filters can be added to

limit data being passed to Excel from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

1-13

Export can be refreshed as conditions change.
Columns not bound to data in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

(Unbound columns) can be added to the Excel spreadsheets.
Office integration can now export to the Terminal Services Client

computer.
Edit Data in Excel

Using the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Office Add-ins any data published as an
available service can be edited. To do this connect to an AOS, specify a
document service, drag the fields of interest onto the excel workbook, update
data to populate the workbook, edit the workbook, and then click Update data.
The features of editing data in Excel include the following:
Connection management is used to define the connection between

Excel, and the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 AOS.
Real time data integration from Microsoft Office.
Document services integration.

o
Information from any Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 service can

be read, updated, and sent to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 with
full security and business logic intact.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Office Add-ins uses lookups and

query infrastructure from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
Matrix fields can be defined to aggregate data.

o
When matrix fields are updated the value is incremented equally

among the records making up the aggregate.
Improved Export to Excel for Remote Desktop Services

Many implementations use hosting on a Remote Desktop Server (previously
known as Terminal Server).
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, when you exported grid data to Excel by using
the Export to Excel option in the Action Pane, the Excel data would be exported
to a copy of Microsoft Office Excel hosted alongside the Microsoft Dynamics
AX client. In that scenario, you could not manage the data on your local
computer, and would have to save the Excel worksheet and copy it to your local
computer.
By default in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the Export to Excel option will
export the Microsoft Office Excel data to your local computer. The option exists
to direct the export to the hosted copy of Microsoft Office Excel.
1-14

Chapter 1: Overview
Import Data By Using Excel
Data model changes in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 have made some imports
more complex, especially those that use the global address book. A list of how
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Office Add-ins simplifies these processes follows.
Imports to multiple related tables are simplified by using AIF

document services.
o
Data imports can be done either interactively or published to a folder

for an Integration port to detect.
o
For example: when you enter a customer, both the customer and
party information are in a single Excel list object, validation is
performed, default data is populated, and record ID "patching"
happens automatically.
Interactive data import allows for synchronous interaction with

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. This is a simpler mode of
operation, but can be slow for large imports.
Data import through publishing to a folder provides an
asynchronous import where AIF inbound ports can be used to
scale out performance. Additionally the Excel client will be
responsive as soon as it generates files telling Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 what to update, not when the update is
completed.
Data imports can be brought offline, and lookups can be performed

against local caches.
o
For example: if customer groups and customers are in the same

Excel template, and a new customer group is created, and it can
be referenced by the customer, and then both tables can be
imported/updated.
Templates and Documents

Office templates let you incorporate Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 data in Word
or Excel documents, and they are now extended in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012. They support a header line pattern, support drag-and-drop fields, previews,
and are easier to localize for different languages.
Header line pattern is supported.

o
o
Microsoft Office Add-ins are extended to use the Word table

construct so that elements can be repeated.
For example: A collection letter is authored by using a Word
table to show a list of overdue invoices that grows based on the
number of invoices in the notice.

1-15

Localization is simplified.
o
Document properties in Microsoft Office are used to locate the

correct document based on the user locale or programming
settings.
For example: A German collection letter is sent to a German
customer, and an English collection letter is sent to an English
customer.
Drag-and-drop designer enables the content controls to be visible on

a document surface.
Previews are available through Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Office

Add-ins to let the designer see what the final documents will
resemble without having to associate a document together with a
process then generate that document in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012.
Work Items
The concept of work item queues is introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
to provide an alternative assignment and management model for task elements in
workflows. Workflow tasks can now be managed by a team by using a shared
work list.
If you use either internal teams, or external partner organizations, to process
business transactions, such as purchase requisitions, purchase orders, or new
vendor justifications by using workflow, you might have to set up work item
queues to help these teams manage the flow of the transactions as they come in
from your company and as they are processed by the appropriate organization.
The work item queue provides the infrastructure needed to perform the following
tasks:
Users who belong to a queue can claim work items that are not
assigned to anyone else and take the available workflow actions on
the work items in the queue.
Users can reassign work items from one work item queue to another
work item queue within the same work item queue group.
Queue owners can reassign work items from one queue user to
another queue user within the same work item queue group.
Procedure: Create a Work Item Queue

To use work item queues, follow these steps:
1. Create a queue for a specific document type.
2. Assign the queue to a queue group.
3. Add users to the queue.
1-16

Chapter 1: Overview
4. Activate the queue.
5. Create a workflow and add a task element.
6. Set up the assignment to a specific queue. Then, when a record of
that document type is submitted to workflow, a work item will be
created and assigned to the queue.
Document Handling
Document handling is improved in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to include
support for URLs and a document file web service.
Document Type URL

The following improvements can ease the document handling process for
companies that are geographically dispersed and that want to maintain their
paper-based documents in one location:
A URL can be attached to a transaction and a workflow definition

can be configured to route paper-based document files for review.
A new document file web service is added that can be used to

retrieve document file metadata and route the data to the appropriate
parties by using workflow.
Document data can be entered, and the document file can be attached
to the new transaction. This creates an audit trail for the original
document.
Interest Terms and Date Ranges

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 does not support the use of multiple posting
profiles in a single interest calculation job for different invoices associated with a
single customer. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces a new option so that
interest calculation can use the posting profile associated with individual
transactions and derive the interest codes from them. Transactions that do not
have an associated customer record in the posting profile will use the posting
profile defined in Accounts receivable > Setup > Accounts receivable
parameters > Ledger and sales tax > Posting (Posting profile field).
This enables different transactions that belong to a customer to specify their own
interest codes for interest calculation. One interest note will continue to be
created for each customer who will be associated with the Accounts receivable
parameter Posting profile. Interest ledger accounts and corresponding offset or
summary accounts are also selected from the posting profile associated with the
interest note transactions when the interest note is posted.

1-17

Scenario: Apply Different Interest Profiles on Customer
Invoices
Contoso wants to charge different interest rates on customer sales orders and
project invoices. As an OEM, they want to charge a larger interest rate on sales
orders to cover the charges they pay to their suppliers.
They have set up two interest codes and associated them with different posting
profiles. They create sales orders and project invoices with these different posting
profiles with the intention of applying different interest rates on overdue invoices
based on invoice type.
Post-Dated Checks
The issuing and receipt of Post-Dated Checks (PDCs) is a common business
practice in many parts of the world. Many businesses use checks as the primary
way to make and receive payments.
The PDC functionality is available on both the Accounts receivable and
Accounts payable modules and fully integrates with dimensions, check printing,
centralized payments, settlements, and the standard banking functionality
available in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
Post-Dated Check Features

The following list is a high level overview of the features that are included with
the PDC functionality:
1-18
Independently activate or deactivate PDCs in Accounts receivable

and Accounts payable.
Independent clearing accounts for issued and received post-dated

checks.
Separate clearing accounts for withholding taxes.
Settlement of the PDC against one or more transactions. This

includes cross company transactions when centralized payments are
used.
Canceling a PDC.
Identifying PDCs maturing on or before a specified date.
Support for creating PDCs with installment schedules.

Chapter 1: Overview
Scenario: Create Post-Dated Checks
PDCs are enabled in Accounts Receivable. Contoso receives a PDC for 100.00
U.S. Dollars (USD) from customer ABC. Arnie, the Accounts Receivable
Administrator, must now enter and print the check.
NOTE: Post-dated checks can only be created if the General ledger > Postdated
checks configuration key is enabled.
Procedure: Set up the Process for Post-Dated Checks

There are several steps involved with setting up the system for PDCs.
1. Enable the Postdated checks configuration key.
2. Enable postdated checks functionality in the General ledger
parameters form, and then select the options for postdated checks.
3. Set up a method of payment in the Accounts receivable and/or
Accounts payable module and mark the Postdated check clearing
posting check box.
4. Create a Payment journal in the Accounts payable or Accounts
receivable module.
5. Enter the payment information, and select the method of payment set
up as the postdated check method of payment.
6. Enter additional information on the Postdated checks tab.
7. Optionally, use the Functions > Settlement button to mark invoices
for settlement against the payment.
8. Post the journal by using the Post > Post payment journal button.

1-19

Summary
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 helps mid-sized organizations and entities of large
enterprises address the challenges of operating in a fast changing global
economy.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 delivers functionality that is relevant and
necessary for organizations by adding functionality to help ensure they have
productive people, adaptable business processes, and a connected ecosystem.
The Overview module covered several high level improvements including the
following:
1-20
User Interface Elements
Organizational Model
Help System
Microsoft Office Add-Ins
Work Items
Document Handling
Interest Terms and Date Ranges
Post-Dated Checks

Chapter 1: Overview
Test Your Knowledge

Test your knowledge with the following questions.
1. Match the terms on the left with their purpose on the right:
_____ 1. Jewel
Menu
_____ 2.
Navigation Pane
_____ 3. Status
Bar
_____ 4. Action
Pane Strip
_____ 5. Fact
Boxes
_____ 6. Fast
Tabs
_____ 7. Grid
Check Boxes
a. Provides information related to the record displayed

by the host form or List Page.
b. Replaces the Microsoft Dynamics AX menu
c. A visible indication to users, that they can select
multiple records or even select all records.
d. Provides access to actions that were previously at
the top of each form in a toolbar.
e. Used at the top of the forms that do not have
sufficient actions to justify the use of a full action
pane.
f. A new vertical presentation style.
g. Displays Favorites, Places, and Forms in a single
pane that flows and scrolls as one unit.
2. TRUE or FALSE: You can attach a URL to a transaction and configure a

workflow definition to route paper-based document files for review.
( ) TRUE
( ) FALSE
3. The Post-Dated Check functionality fully integrates with which of the
following? (Select all that apply)
( ) Dimension
( ) Check Printing
( ) Centralized Payments
( ) Standard bank functionality
Fill in the blanks to test your knowledge of this section.
4. Replaces the companies that were used in earlier versions. _____
5. Used to divide the control of economic resources and operational processes
in a business. _____
6. A semi-autonomous operating unit that is created to meet strategic business
objectives. _____
7. Represents a category or functional part of an organization that performs a
specific task. _____

1-21

8. An operating unit whose managers are accountable for budgeted and actual
expenditures. _____
9. An operating unit that controls one or more production flows. _____
10. An organization whose members share a common responsibility, interest, or
objective. _____
11. Which of the following are benefits of the work item queue feature: (Select
all that apply)
( ) Users who belong to a queue can claim work items that are not
assigned to anyone else and take the configured workflow actions on
( ) Lets users reassign work items from one work item queue to another
( ) Queue owners can reassign work items from one queue user to
another work item queue.
12. TRUE or FALSE: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 does not support the use of
multiple posting profiles in a single interest calculation job for different
invoices associated with a single customer.
( ) TRUE
( ) FALSE
13. Which of the following is not a feature or benefit of the new Help system?
( ) HTML-based content is published by a single deployment to the help
server.
( ) AOT changes are required to add or modify content.
( ) Updates to Microsoft Dynamics AX content will not affect content
published by an ISV or a customer.
( ) Feature parity in content enables any publisher to use label
system.
14. Which of the following is not supported by the Microsoft Office Add-Ins?
(Select all that apply)
( ) Importing and exporting data by using Excel
( ) Importing and exporting data by using Word
( ) Use of templates with Excel
( ) Use of templates with Word
1-22

Chapter 1: Overview

Take a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this
chapter
1.
2.
3.

1-23

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Match the terms on the left with their purpose on the right:
b 1. Jewel
Menu
g 2.
Navigation Pane
d 3. Status
Bar
e 4. Action
Pane Strip
a 5. Fact
Boxes
f 6. Fast Tabs
c 7. Grid
Check Boxes
a. Provides information related to the record displayed

by the host form or List Page.
b. Replaces the Microsoft Dynamics AX menu
c. A visible indication to users, that they can select
multiple records or even select all records.
d. Provides access to actions that were previously at
the top of each form in a toolbar.
e. Used at the top of the forms that do not have
sufficient actions to justify the use of a full action
pane.
f. A new vertical presentation style.
g. Displays Favorites, Places, and Forms in a single
pane that flows and scrolls as one unit.
2. TRUE or FALSE: You can attach a URL to a transaction and configure a

workflow definition to route paper-based document files for review.
() TRUE
( ) FALSE
3. The Post-Dated Check functionality fully integrates with which of the
following? (Select all that apply)
() Dimension
() Check Printing
() Centralized Payments
() Standard bank functionality
4. Replaces the companies that were used in earlier versions.
Legal Entity
5. Used to divide the control of economic resources and operational processes

in a business. Operating Unit
6. A semi-autonomous operating unit that is created to meet strategic business
objectives. Business Unit
7. Represents a category or functional part of an organization that performs a
specific task. Department
1-24

Chapter 1: Overview
8. An operating unit whose managers are accountable for budgeted and actual
expenditures. Cost Center
9. An operating unit that controls one or more production flows.
Stream
Value
10. An organization whose members share a common responsibility, interest, or

objective. Team
11. Which of the following are benefits of the work item queue feature: (Select
all that apply)
() Users who belong to a queue can claim work items that are not
assigned to anyone else and take the configured workflow actions on
() Lets users reassign work items from one work item queue to another
another work item queue.
() Queue owners can reassign work items from one queue user to
12. TRUE or FALSE: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 does not support the use of
multiple posting profiles in a single interest calculation job for different
invoices associated with a single customer.
( ) TRUE
() FALSE
13. Which of the following is not a feature or benefit of the new Help system?
( ) HTML-based content is published by a single deployment to the help
server.
() AOT changes are required to add or modify content.
( ) Updates to Microsoft Dynamics AX content will not affect content
published by an ISV or a customer.
( ) Feature parity in content enables any publisher to use label
system.
14. Which of the following is not supported by the Microsoft Office Add-Ins?
( ) Importing and exporting data by using Excel
() Importing and exporting data by using Word
( ) Use of templates with Excel
( ) Use of templates with Word

1-25

1-26

CHAPTER 2: COMPLIANCE AND INTERNAL

CONTROLS
Objectives
The objectives are:
View the control library and manually create new controls.
Map and import controls from the default library.
Introduction
One challenge that customers face today is identifying which controls to use to
make sure that their business complies with laws, business rules, policies and
regulations. The Default controls library, introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012, contains many of the most frequently used controls. This library provides a
resource for customers who are searching for various types of controls that will
help meet their needs.
Customers who have their own control matrix can use the Default controls library
to supplement their control matrix by adding controls in the Compliance Center.
For customers who do not have a control matrix, the Default controls library can
be repurposed and used as a control matrix from which to select the controls to
add to their Compliance Center.
Entries in the Default controls library can be used as a guide for customers who
decide to manually enter controls to the Compliance Center. Customers can also
use the Import and mapping wizard in Compliance Controls to automate the
addition of some or all of the Default controls library controls on the Compliance
Center.
Default Controls Library

A workbook that contains many common compliance controls is now available
on the Compliance site in Enterprise Portal. You can refer to this library when
you manually enter controls on the Compliance site; or, you can use the library as
the source file to import controls to the Compliance site.

2-1

Terminology
The new compliance and internal controls process involves several new terms
and concepts. The following table introduces these new terms and concepts.
Term
Definition
Control
matrix
Refers to a file, almost universally a Microsoft Office Excel

spreadsheet, that customers use to list, manage, and keep track
of their controls. This file can be used as the source file for
importing and mapping a compliance environment and
importing activities into the Compliance Center.
Control
A means by which users manage identified elements of their

business to make sure that the policy, regulation, tenet, or
other requirement is followed during business operations.
Control
environme
nt
The environment that is set up within the Compliance Center

to which controls are associated. Environments are typically a
hierarchical node structure.
The Default Controls Library contains various controls for users to select from.
The Default Controls Library Excel spreadsheet is installed and stored in the
Compliance Center Compliance Resources document library.
Scenario: Manually Add Controls

Contoso has some, but not all, of the controls they need added to the Compliance
Center. Sara, the CFO, has asked Ken, the Controller, to create the additional
required controls.
Procedure: Manually Add Controls

To manually add new controls types to the Default Controls Library in the
Compliance center, follow these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
2-2
Open the Enterprise Portal website through your web browser.

Click Compliance.
Click Compliance resources on the left pane.
Click the Default Controls Library file and then click Download a
copy on the Action pane.
Enter a Name for the file such as "Default Controls Library".
Select a location for the file to be saved to and then click Save.
Browse to the location where the file was saved, and then doubleclick to open it in Microsoft Office Excel.
Create a new line in the spreadsheet.
Save the file.

Import and Mapping Wizard

The Import and mapping wizard lets you import your internal controls into the
Compliance Center from an existing, preformatted control matrix spreadsheet
that your company uses. Before you use the Import and mapping wizard you
must set up the following:
Establish the document templates
Create the control environment
When the control environment is set up, users will open the Import and Mapping
wizard, open their control matrix, and for every entry they want to import, select
two settings.
1. Select the compliance environment(s) node that the control should
fall under.
2. Select the document template that the control will use when it is
loaded onto the system. This includes mapping template properties to
corresponding data in the matrix.
Scenario: Importing Controls

Contoso has an Excel spreadsheet that contains all the current controls. Sara, the
CFO, has asked Ken, the Controller, to import the spreadsheet into the
compliance center.
Procedure: Importing Controls

To import controls into the Compliance Center, follow these steps:
1. Open the Enterprise Portal website through your web browser.
2. Click Compliance.
3. Click Import on the left pane, and then click Next.
NOTE: The wizard cannot be completed unless at least one environment is
configured and at least one template exists.
4. Select the file to be imported, and then click Next.
NOTE: The file selected must be in the correct format to import. Use the
Formatting guidelines link on the first page of the wizard for more information
about allowed formats. Use the Back button to return to the first page of the
wizard.

2-3

5. Review the data that is displayed from the selected file, and then
click Next.
6. Select the column that will be used to map the control matrix
environment data to the Compliance Center environment, and then
click Next.
FIGURE 2.1 IMPORT CONTROLS
7. Continue mapping each column from the spreadsheet to the

corresponding Compliance Center control, and then click Next.
8. Select the document template and the template properties (one at a
time), and then select the corresponding control matrix. When you
are finished, click Next.
9. Click Import to process the import.
10. When the import is complete, the system will display a message;
click Finish.
Summary
The Compliance Center was introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 as a
new page inside Enterprise Portal. Several usability improvements are made in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Compliance Center to make sure customers can
complete the tasks that are required to meet their compliance objectives.
This feature focuses specifically on the following:
2-4
Improvements to the Internal Controls feature in Compliance Center
Introduction of the Default controls library
Introduction of the Import and mapping wizard

Test Your Knowledge

1. Approximately how many controls are provided in the Default controls
library?
( ) 300
( ) 400
( ) 800
( ) 1000
2. Put the following steps in order:
Step:
_____: Click the Next button, and then select a file to be imported.
_____: Click the Next button, and then select the column that will be used to
map. the control matrix environment data to the Compliance Center
environment
_____: Open the Enterprise Portal website through your web browser. Open
the Enterprise Portal web site through your web browser
_____: Click the Next button, and then click the Import button to process the
import.
_____: Select the document template and the template properties, and then
select the corresponding control matrix.
_____: Click the Next button, and then review the data from the file.
_____: Click the Next button, and then map additional columns by clicking
the Next button after each column.
_____: Click Compliance > Import Controls on the navigation pane.
3. Which of the following are valid techniques for creating controls in the
Compliance Center? (Select all that apply)
( ) Manually add controls from the Microsoft Dynamics AX client
( ) Manually add controls from Enterprise Portal
( ) Activate Controls in the Default Control Library
( ) Import controls by using the Import and Mapping Wizard

2-5


chapter
1.
2.
3.
2-6

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Approximately how many controls are provided in the Default controls
library?
( ) 300
() 400
( ) 800
( ) 1000
2. Put the following steps in order:
Step:
3
: Click the Next button, and then select a file to be imported.
5 : Click the Next button, and then select the column that will be used to
map. the control matrix environment data to the Compliance Center
environment
1 : Open the Enterprise Portal website through your web browser. Open
the Enterprise Portal web site through your web browser
8 : Click the Next button, and then click the Import button to process the
import.
7 : Select the document template and the template properties, and then
select the corresponding control matrix.
4
: Click the Next button, and then review the data from the file.
6 : Click the Next button, and then map additional columns by clicking
the Next button after each column.
2
: Click Compliance > Import Controls on the navigation pane.
3. Which of the following are valid techniques for creating controls in the
Compliance Center? (Select all that apply)
( ) Manually add controls from the Microsoft Dynamics AX client
() Manually add controls from Enterprise Portal
( ) Activate Controls in the Default Control Library
() Import controls by using the Import and Mapping Wizard

2-7

2-8

CHAPTER 3: ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

Objectives
The objectives are:
Set up a prepayment, post a prepayment, make a payment, and settle

it against the final invoice for a purchase order.
Review the workflow process for purchase order invoice matching.
Review the setup procedure and workflow process for vendor

invoice processing.
Set up tolerances and explain how the settings affect the purchase
order invoice process.
Introduction
The Accounts Payable module in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is updated
significantly to help improve several purchasing processes:
Ability to add lines to invoices that are not related to purchase orders
New invoice matching methodologies
Miscellaneous charge allocation improvements
Vendor remittance address improvements
Ability to process and track prepayments for purchase orders
The goal is to organize the data, improve efficiency, and enable users to take
actions.

3-1

Prepaid Purchase Orders

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, a manual process was required for making a
prepayment that was related to a purchase order. Additionally, there was no link
between the prepayment and the purchase order.
A new feature is introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 that helps automate
a process for making a prepayment for a purchase order. This feature allows for
the prepayment to be settled against the purchase order to help prevent over or
double payment.
In addition, parameters allow for the posting of prepayments to be directed to a
different posting profile.
Prepayment Process
Five basic steps involved with processing a prepayment for a purchase order
include the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Create the purchase order.

Set up the prepayment.
Post the prepayment.
Make a payment.
Settle the payment against the final invoice.
Scenario: Prepaid Purchase Order

Alicia, the Purchasing Agent, has created a purchase order for 100 televisions
from a local television supplier. The sales representative at the vendor has
communicated to Alicia that a 10 percent prepayment is required before the order
can be processed.
Alicia must create the purchase order and submit a request to April, the Accounts
Payable Coordinator, to process the prepayment. When April has received the
request, she must post the prepayment and print the check to the vendor.
When the televisions are delivered, April receives the invoice for the goods. She
must now settle the invoice from the purchase order against the prepayment that
was made previously.
Procedure: Set Up the Prepayment

To create a purchase order with a request for a prepayment, follow these steps:
1. Open Accounts payable > Common > Purchase orders > All
purchase orders.
2. Click New > Purchase order to create a new purchase order.
3. Select the Vendor account.
3-2


4. If it is required, click Yes to transfer the vendor information to the
purchase order.
5. Click OK to create the order.
6. In the Lines tab, select the desired Item number.
7. Type the Quantity and Unit price.
8. Click the Purchase tab on the action pane.
9. Click Prepay > Prepayment to open the Create or edit a
prepayment form.
FIGURE 3.1 CREATE OR EDIT A PREPAYMENT FORM
10. Optionally, type a Description for the prepayment.

11. Select an option for Fixed or Percent based prepayment.
12. In the Value field type the amount.
a. If Fixed is selected for the type, the Value field represents a flat
amount in the currency of the purchase order.
b. If Percent is selected for the type, the Value field represents a
percentage of the purchase order total.
13. Select the desired Prepayment category ID.
14. Click Save.
15. Click Generate > Confirm on the Purchase tab to confirm the
purchase order.
16. Close the Purchase order form.

3-3

Procedure: Post the Prepayment Invoice
To post a prepayment invoice, follow these steps:
1. Open Accounts payable > Common > Purchase order > All
purchase orders.
2. Search for the desired purchase order.
3. Click the Invoice tab.
4. Click Invoice to create an invoice.
5. A message box will appear and prompt the user, that an unposted
prepayment exists for the order. Click Yes to continue and post the
prepayment.
6. Enter a unique invoice number into Number field.
7. Verify the invoice information, to make sure that the Prepayment
check box is selected.
8. Click Post to post the transaction and then click Post again to
confirm.
9. Close the Purchase order details form.
A new transaction is posted to the vendor account for the value of the
prepayment.
NOTE: This procedure cannot be completed in the Virtual Machine image for
this course because of an error in the prerelease build.
Procedure: Make a Payment

To make a payment for the prepayment invoice, follow these steps:
1. Open Accounts payable > Journals > Payment > Payment
journal.
2. Press New > Payment journal on the Action pane to create a new
journal header.
3. Click New on the Journal form and then select a journal name from
the Name field.
4. Enter a brief Description.
5. Click Lines.
6. Select the desired vendor in the Account field.
7. Click Functions > Settlement.
8. Select the desired prepayment invoice to be paid.
9. Close the Open transaction editing form.
10. Click Post > Post the vendor payment journal.
11. Close the Journal voucher form.
12. Close the Payment journal form.
3-4


Procedure: Settle the Payment

To settle the payment, follow these steps:
1. Open Accounts payable > Common > Vendor invoices > Open
vendor invoices.
2. Click New > Invoice > Vendor invoice in the Action pane.
3. Select a vendor account in the Invoice account field.
4. Enter a unique invoice number into the Number field.
5. Enter additional invoice information as necessary.
6. Click Apply prepayment on the Action pane.
7. In the Apply prepayment form, select each purchase order invoice
to settle against the current invoice.
8. Click OK to apply the prepayment invoices against the current
invoice.
9. Click Post to post the transaction and then click Post again to
confirm.

3-5

Lab 3.1 - Set Up a Prepayment

This lab provides practice for creating a vendor prepayment.
Scenario
Alicia, the Purchasing Agent, must create a purchase order for 100 LCD
Monitors, item number 10003, for a unit price of 2,565.00 U.S. Dollars (USD).
The sales representative at the vendor has communicated to Alicia that a 10
percent prepayment is required before the order can be processed.
Alicia must create the purchase order and submit a request to April, the Accounts
Payable Coordinator to process the prepayment. When April has received the
request, she must post the prepayment and print the check to the vendor.
When the televisions are delivered, April receives the invoice for the goods. She
must now settle the invoice from the purchase order against the prepayment that
was made previously.
Challenge Yourself!
Using the information that is provided, create a new purchase order and set up a
prepayment for 10 percent of the purchase order total.
Need a Little Help?

1. Create a new purchase order for Vendor 1003.
2. Add Item 10003 to the order.
3. Set up a prepayment for 10 percent of the purchase order total.
Step by Step
To create a purchase order with a request for a prepayment, follow these steps:
purchase orders.
2. Click New > Purchase order to create a new purchase order.
3. Select 1003 in the Vendor account field.
4. Click Yes to transfer the vendor information to the purchase order.
5. Click OK to create the order.
6. In the Lines tab, select 10003 in the Item number field.
7. Enter "100" into the Quantity field and "2,565.00" into the Unit
price field.
3-6


8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Click the Purchase tab on the action pane.

Click Prepayment to open the Create or edit a prepayment form.
Type a Description for the prepayment.
Select Percent based prepayment.
In the Value field enter "10.00".
Select the desired Prepayment category ID.
Click Save.
Click Generate > Confirm to confirm the purchase order.
Close the Purchase order form.

3-7

Invoice Matching Task for Workflow

Invoice matching is now available as a workflow task that can be performed
without user interaction. The workflow can be started, based on a Microsoft
Dynamics AX business event, such as when new records are created by using the
vendor invoice service.
Vendor portal scenarios and import scenarios in which vendor invoices are
processed without requiring user intervention are supported.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, invoice matching was performed automatically
through the user interface when an invoice was created, modified, or retrieved.
The new tasks in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 use the same underlying logic
that is used in the user interface to do invoice matching.
Scenario: Invoice Matching Task for Workflow

Phyllis, the Accounting Manager, has decided that all purchase orders will
require a three-way match before posting.
The workflow configuration will let users model the steps of the approval process
and Phyllis will leverage the predefined information in the template of the
workflow provided with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
Vendor Invoice Processing Workflow

Two new workflow types, Vendor invoice and Vendor invoice line, let users
create user-defined workflows for vendor invoices that are typically entered in
the Posting invoice form and other forms that have the VendInvoiceInfo tables
as the data source. The workflow process operates on data that is imported into
the VendInvoiceInfo tables and can be used to model the processing steps for the
vendor invoices.
The workflow type contains the following elements:
3-8
Approval elements for creating approval tasks.
A task element for use in completing and correcting vendor invoices.
Automated tasks that can be run programmatically without requiring

user intervention, to perform selected validations, and to post the
vendor invoices.


Overview
Vendor invoice validations that include matching, are performed
programmatically when the workflow is run. The validations use relevant
Accounts payable parameter settings for these functions.
Security is used to determine the behavior that is supported while the vendor
invoice has an active workflow instance associated with it. The standard
Microsoft Dynamics AX workflow infrastructure for the creation of workflows
by users, the run-time behavior of the associated workflow instances, and the
creation of workflow history are used.
Scenario: Vendor Invoice Processing Workflow

Phyllis, the Accounting Manager, has decided that an approval process will be
required for vendor invoices. The workflow configuration will let users model
the steps of the approval process and Phyllis will take advantage of the
predefined information in the template of the workflow provided with Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012.
It is determined by company policy that some invoices for purchase orders will
require approval at the purchase order level line level and some at the purchase
order header level.
Invoice Matching Improvements

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the Invoice Matching framework is extended
to support several new matching scenarios. The new types of invoice matching
include the following:
Extended price matching
Invoice total matching
Line matching
o
o
Two-way matching
Three-way matching
Miscellaneous charge matching
Invoice Matching: Extended Price Matching

If the parameter to use extended price matching in the Accounts payable
parameters form is selected, the net amount of an invoice line plus the net
amount of any pending invoice lines and previously posted invoice lines is
compared with the purchase order line.
If the variance amount, in the company currency, exceeds the tolerance
percentage, the amount, or the percentage and amount for extended price
matching, a matching discrepancy warning is displayed.

3-9

This type of variance might occur when partial invoices meet quantity and price
tolerances individually, but when they are combined, they exceed a specified
percentage or currency value as defined by the company. Extended price
matching tolerances can be set up for each company.
Invoice Matching: Invoice Totals Matching

Invoice totals on a purchase order invoice are compared with the expected totals,
based on the purchase order information. If the variance exceeds the tolerance
percentage for invoice totals matching, a matching discrepancy indicator is
shown.
Invoice totals matching tolerances can be set up for each company or for
individual vendors.
Invoice Matching: Line Matching Policy

The line matching policy can be set to three-way (matching compares the
invoice, purchase order, and product receipt), two-way (matching compares the
invoice and purchase order), or not required (unit price matching and extended
price matching is not performed).
The line matching policy can be set up for each company and for items, vendors,
or item and vendor combinations.
Invoice Matching: Miscellaneous Charges Matching

If the parameter to use miscellaneous charges matching is selected in the
Accounts payable parameters form, miscellaneous charges on a purchase order
invoice can be compared with the expected miscellaneous charges from the
purchase order. If the variance exceeds the tolerance percentage for
miscellaneous charges, a matching discrepancy indicator is displayed.
Miscellaneous charges tolerances can be set up for each company or for
individual miscellaneous charges codes.
Scenario: Extended Price Matching

April, the Accounting Manager, has decided to enable extended price matching
for Contoso. April wants to make sure that an extended price tolerance of 500
USD is set up.
This means that the system will validate that the total of the each invoice line
does not exceed 500 USD from the original purchase order line total. If more
than one invoice is posted for the same purchase order line, the 500 USD
variance will be calculated in combination with each invoice.
3-10


Example
A purchase order has two previous invoices posted. The first invoice had no
variance, and the second invoice had a variance of 250 USD on the line total. The
variance from the second invoice was not enough to trigger the invoice matching
violation.
Now, you are posting the third invoice and it has a variance of 300 USD on the
line total. The third invoice by itself is not enough to trigger the invoice matching
violation. However, the system combines the 300 USD variance with the 250
USD variance from the second invoice for a total variance of 550 USD.
Because 550 USD is greater than the allowed tolerance of 500 USD, the system
will trigger the price match violation by displaying the price match icon, and
depending on the system setup, an approval may be required.
Procedure: Set Up Extended Price Matching

To set up extended price matching parameters for a selected company, follow
these steps:
1. Open Accounts payable > Setup > Accounts payable parameters.
2. Click Invoice validation.
FIGURE 3.2 INVOICE VALIDATION PARAMETERS
3. Make sure that the Use invoice matching validation field is

selected.

3-11

4. In the Use extended price matching field, select an option:
a. None - extended price matching will not be used.
b. Percentage - the system will validate each purchase order
invoice based on the percentage amount entered into the
Extended price tolerance percentage field.
c. Amount - the system will validate each purchase order invoice
based on the flat amount entered into the Extended price
tolerance amount field.
d. Percentage and amount - the system will validate each purchase
order invoice based on the percentage amount entered into the
Extended price tolerance percentage field but not to exceed
the flat amount entered into the Extended price tolerance
amount field.
5. If it is required, enter the Extended price tolerance percentage.
6. If it is required, enter the Extended price tolerance amount.
Summary
Although many functions in the Accounts payable module are improved in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the basis and main principle of the module
remains the same. The greatest changes are in the following areas:
The ability to create and track prepayments for a purchase order
Improvements to workflow
Improvements to invoice matching
Most of the changes are based on efforts to simplify and streamline work, and to
make the processes more understandable.
3-12

Test Your Knowledge

1. Which of the following are valid workflow elements for vendor invoice
processing? (Select all that apply)
( ) Approval elements
( ) Task for completing and correcting vendor invoices
( ) Task for automatically posting the vendor invoices
( ) Task for automatically updating accounting distributions on vendor
invoices
2. Put the following steps in sequence for the Prepayment process:
Step:
_____: Create the purchase order.
_____: Set up the prepayment.
_____: Post the prepayment.
_____: Settle the payment against the final invoice.
_____: Make a payment.
3. Categorize the following items:
_____ 1. Extended
price matching
_____ 2. Invoice
totals matching
_____ 3. Line
matching
_____ 4.
Miscellaneous
charges matching
a. Invoice totals on a purchase order invoice are

compared with the expected totals, based on the
purchase order information.
b. Miscellaneous charges on a purchase order
invoice can be compared with the expected
miscellaneous charges from the purchase order.
c. The net amount of an invoice line plus the net
amount of any pending invoice lines and
previously posted invoice lines is compared with
the purchase order line.
d. Can be set up with two-way matching, three-way
matching, or no matching.

3-13


chapter
1.
2.
3.
3-14

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Which of the following are valid workflow elements for vendor invoice
processing? (Select all that apply)
() Approval elements
() Task for completing and correcting vendor invoices
() Task for automatically posting the vendor invoices
( ) Task for automatically updating accounting distributions on vendor
invoices
2. Put the following steps in sequence for the Prepayment process:
Step:
1
: Create the purchase order.
: Set up the prepayment.
: Post the prepayment.
: Settle the payment against the final invoice.
: Make a payment.

c 1. Extended
price matching
a 2. Invoice
totals matching
d 3. Line
matching
b 4.
Miscellaneous
charges matching
a. Invoice totals on a purchase order invoice are

compared with the expected totals, based on the
purchase order information.
b. Miscellaneous charges on a purchase order
invoice can be compared with the expected
miscellaneous charges from the purchase order.
c. The net amount of an invoice line plus the net
amount of any pending invoice lines and
previously posted invoice lines is compared with
the purchase order line.
d. Can be set up with two-way matching, three-way
matching, or no matching.

3-15

3-16

CHAPTER 4: ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Objectives
The objectives are:
Explain how to organize work, document actions, communicate with

customers, and take actions for collections management
Review the improvements made to the Free text invoice form for
creating and posting free text invoices.
Discuss the Quantity and Unit price field in a free text invoice.
Introduction
The Accounts Receivable module in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is updated
significantly to help improve the collections management process. The goal is to
let the user organize the data, and enable the collection manager to take actions.
In addition, the free text invoice process is improved with several features such
as a new process for correcting free text invoices, the ability to create recurring
free text invoices, and the addition of Quantity and Unit price fields to the free
text invoice lines.

4-1

Managing Collections and Collection Agents

Managing and collecting for overdue transactions is a necessary function in many
organizations. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, most collections functionality is
centralized in the Collections form and on the following related list pages:
Collections
Collection cases
Collection activities
Sometimes one person handles a company's collections for all customers. In

other situations, a team of collection agents may work together to manage
collections.
If your business needs require it, you can set up collections agents. Each
collections agent can have one or more customer pools (a query that contains a
set of customers) assigned.
For example, a collections pool might consist of customers 4000 through 4500,
and several customer agents can be assigned to the pool. This enables each
customer agent in the customer pool to view customer 4000 through 4500.
The new collections management process involves several new terms and
concepts- These are introduced in the following table:
4-2
Term
Definition
Collection
agent
A person who works with customers to make sure that

payments are collected in a timely manner
Activity
Four types of activities represent action that a collections

agent will take; these activities are the same types of activities
that are used in the Sales and Marketing module
Task
An action that must be done in the future
Action
An action that was completed
Appointment
An appointment in the future that is not completed
Event
An event that has already occurred
Customer
pool
A query that defines a group of customers who will be

displayed and managed
Aging
snapshot
A calculation of the aged balances for a group of customers at

a point in time


Term
Definition
Aging period
definition
Open customer transactions are typically aged based on the

number of days that they are overdue. A range of aging days
represents a period. These were known as aging buckets in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. Several aging periods can be
used to better understand the distribution of overdue
transactions.
Scenario: Setting Up Collections Management

Connie, the Credit and Collections Manager, is responsible for setting up the new
collections management feature. She must create and assign each accounting user
to the collections agents so that they can be assigned to specific customers.
In addition, Connie must create some aging snapshots and aging periods to be
used by the collection agents for reviewing the customer balances based on
different criteria.
Customer Pools
You can set up customer pools to represent groups of customers. You can use
customer pools as filters for the customer information about collections in list
pages, in the Collections form, or when you create aging snapshots. The
following are examples that might be used for customer pools:
Customers who have balances over a specified amount
Customers in specific countries/regions or districts
Types of customers
Customers grouped by size, volume, or frequency of ordering
Procedure: Create Customer Pools

To create a customer pool, follow these steps:
1. Click Accounts receivable > Setup > Collections > Customer
pools.
2. Click New to create a new record.
3. Type a Pool ID and Description.
4. Select a Pool type.
5. Click Select pool criteria to open the query form and select the
query criteria, and then click OK.
6. Click Preview customer pool to preview the customers in the pool.

4-3

Creating and Assigning Collection Agents
Use the Collections agent form to set up employees and contractors as
collections agents and optionally assign customer pools to them. A collections
agent is a person who works with customers to make sure that payments are
collected in a timely manner. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, collections agents are
employees and contractors that have a user relationship with a Microsoft
Dynamics AX user.
NOTE: The user must also belong to a collections team in the Human resources
module.
You can assign a customer pool to a collection agent. Customer pools are used to
filter the customers who each collection agent is responsible for. If you do not
assign any customer pools to a collections agent, the collections agent has access
to all customer information on the collections list pages.
Procedure: Create a Collection Agent

To create a collection agent, follow these steps:
1. Click Accounts receivable > Setup > Collections > Collections
agents.
2. Use Add team members to create a new collection agent.
3. On the right pane of the form, you can select the Allow agent to
view all customer pools check box.
4. Use the Add button to create a list of customer pools that the
selected agent is responsible for.
Aging Period Definitions

You can use the Aging period definitions form to analyze the maturity of
customer accounts and vendor accounts, based on a date that you enter.
To open the form, click Accounts receivable > Setup > Collections > Aging
period definition.
The date entered, together with the Unit and Interval information that you enter
on the Periods tab in this form, is used to calculate a date interval for each Aging
period (column header) in the Aging period definition form.
Each aging period that you set up for the aging period definition corresponds to a
column on the list page or in the form or report when the analysis is performed.
The aging periods are shown on the list page or in the form or report in the order
in which you set them up in this form. You must use aging period definitions to
create customer aging snapshots. The aging snapshots are used to display
information in the Collections form and in related list pages.
4-4


Aging Snapshots
An aging snapshot form contains the calculated aged balances for a group of
customers at one point in time.
To open the form click, Accounts receivable > Periodic > Collections >
Customer aging snapshot.
Aging snapshots provide quick access to aging information for collections
personnel by using the Collections form and related list pages.
For each customer, an aging snapshot contains the following elements:
An aging snapshot header
One or more company aging snapshot headers
Detail records for each aging period in the aging period definition
The calculations for the company aging snapshot headers include all customer
transactions for the companies that are selected. The calculation for the aging
snapshot detail records contains only transactions with dates that are in the aging
period.
View and Manage Collections Information

Use the Collections form to manage collections information, activities, and cases
for a customer.
You can double-click a transaction in the top pane to view more information
about the transaction in the Customer transactions form. You can double-click
an activity in the bottom pane to view more information about the activity in the
Activities form.
Use the Contacts Fact Box to view collections contact information

for the customer. You can click the email icon next to the E-mail or
Salesperson fields in the Fact Box to create an email message for the
contact or the salesperson. The default contact is the collections
contact for the customer.
Use the Aged balances Fact Box to view aged balances for the
customer, based on the selected aging period definition. The default
aging period definition is taken from the customer pool that is
selected on the list page from which you opened this form, for the
aging period definition specified on the pool query.
Use the Credit information Fact Box to view the credit limit and
current balance information for the customer. By default, amounts
are shown in the company currency of the company that you are
logged on to. You can change the currency by using the Currency
button in Select group on the Action Pane.

4-5

Accounts receivable > Places > Collections
FIGURE 4.1 COLLECTION DETAILS
NOTE: You must double-click a record in the Collections list page to open the
details form.
The Collections form can be used to perform many tasks, for example:
Create and track activities
Create cases and group transactions and activities
Mark transactions for dispute or follow-up
Write off transactions
Process Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) documents
Send email messages
View customer transactions
View customer balances
Print relevant customer documents
Drill down into details for:

o
o
o
4-6
Transactions
Cases
Activities


The Change status button lets users update the status of each transaction to track
the state of the transaction. The following statuses are available:
Not disputed - No collections action has occurred for the

transaction.
Disputed - The customer has notified you that there is a problem

with the transaction.
Promised to pay - The customer has agreed to pay the transaction.
Resolved - All problems with the transaction are solved and no

additional collections action is necessary.
Procedure: Create a New Action, Task, Appointment, or

Event
You can manage and organize collections information for a customer in the
Collections form. To create a new activity, follow the steps:
1. Click Accounts receivable > Common > Collections > Collections.
2. Double-click a customer.
3. You can create actions, tasks, appointments, and events to represent
the work that you do as a collections agent.
a. To create an action, click Action. An action is a unit of work that
is completed.
b. To create a task, click Task. A task is a unit of work that is to be
done in the future.
c. To create an appointment, click Appointment. An appointment
is a scheduled meeting.
d. To create an event, click Event. An event is something that has
already occurred.
4. Type the Purpose of the activity. This is how the activity will be
identified in lists and in the subject line if the activity is
synchronized with Microsoft Office Outlook. Only tasks and
appointments can be synchronized with Office Outlook.
5. Enter additional information, and then click Create.
The activity is created and displayed in the Activities list in the lower-left pane
of the form.

4-7

Working with Cases and Activities
Use cases to organize collections activities and transactions. For example, if you
have to collect for three transactions, you can add them to a case, and then
manage activities that are related to your collections work on those three
transactions together.
When transactions or activities are grouped into a case, use the Case ID filter on
the top pane to filter the list to only transactions and activities for a specified
case. In addition, you can use the Collections cases list page to view a list of all
cases. Drill down into the details by double-clicking a case in the list page.
Procedure: Add Transactions and Activities to a Case

To add transactions or activities to a case, follow these steps:
1. Click Accounts receivable > Collections > Collections.
3. To add transactions to a case, select the check box next to the
transaction on the top pane, and then click Assign to case.
a. Select New case, or select Existing case and then select a case
ID.
b. If you specified a new case in the previous step, enter a
Description and select a case Category. A Case ID will be
assigned automatically.
c. Click Assign to case.
4. To add activities to a case, select the check box next to the Activity
on the bottom pane, and then click Assign to case.
a. Select New case, or select Existing case, and then select a case
ID.
b. If you specified a new case in the previous step, enter a
description, select a case category, and select whether to create
an activity. A Case ID will be assigned automatically.
c. Click Assign to case.
Send an Email Message

From the Collections form, you can send an email message through Office
Outlook. You can also automatically attach information about selected
transactions or customer statements as a Microsoft Office Excel attachment.
4-8


Procedure: Send an Email Message to a Customer
Contact or Salesperson
To send an email message to a customer contact or salesperson, follow these
steps:
a. To send an email message to the contact for the customer, click
the icon next to the E-mail field in the Contact fact box. If no
icon appears, the contact record does not have an email address.
a. To send an email message to the salesperson for the sales group
that is associated with the customer, click the icon next to the
Salesperson field. If no icon appears, the salesperson's contact
record does not have an email address.
FIGURE 4.2 COLLECTIONS FORM
3. A new email message is created in Office Outlook.

4. Compose the message, and then click Send.
Procedure: Send an Email Message that has Selected

Transactions
To send an email with an attachment including selected transactions to a
customer contact or salesperson, follow these steps:
3. Select one or more transactions by selecting the check box to the left
of each desired gridline.

4-9

4. On the Action Pane, click the Communicate tab.
a. To send an email message to the contact for the customer, click
Transactions to contact.
b. To send an email message to the salesperson that is associated
with the sales group for the customer, click Transactions to
salesperson.
NOTE: These buttons are available only if a contact is set up for the customer
who has an email address.
5. A new email message is created in Office Outlook. Information
about the transactions is included in an attachment in Office Excel
format.
Procedure: Send an Email Message that has an Attached

Statement
To send an account statement to a customer contact or salesperson, follow these
steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Click Accounts receivable > Collections > Collections.

Double-click a customer.
On the Action Pane, click the Communicate tab.
Click Statements to contact.
Select criteria and type the Aging date for the range of transactions
to include on the statement.
6. Optionally, select the Include settled transactions check box to
include both open and settled transactions, and then enter a starting
date for the settled transactions.
7. Click OK. A new email message is created in Office Outlook.
Information about the transactions is included in an attachment in
Office Excel format. The statement includes transactions for the
same set of companies that are displayed in the Collections form.
The statement address is used, if one is specified for the customer.
Perform Write-Offs
You can write off bad debts by clicking Write off in the Collections form, and
on the Collections, All customers, and Open customer invoices list pages.
When you write off transactions for a customer, all transactions for the customer
are automatically selected for settlement. The amount that is written off depends
on the net amount of the selected transactions. The write-off transaction is
created in a general journal and can contain up to three types of journal lines.
4-10


The first type of journal line contains the customer write-off entry. If the selected
transactions contain multiple combinations of currency code, dimension, and
posting profile, a separate journal line is created for each combination.
The second type of journal line contains the general ledger write-off entry. If the
selected transactions contain multiple combinations of currency code, dimension,
and posting profile, a separate journal line is created for each combination.
The third type of journal line contains the general ledger write-off information
for sales taxes. This journal line is created only if the Separate sales tax check
box is selected in the Accounts receivable parameters form. If the selected
transactions contain multiple combinations of sales tax payable account,
dimension, and sales tax code, a separate journal line is created for each
combination.
Procedure: Write Off a Customer Transaction

To write-off a customer transaction, follow these steps:
3. Select one or more transactions by selecting the check box to the left
of each desired line in the grid, and then click Write off.
4. Enter the Write-off date.
5. Optionally, select a Reason code and Comment.
6. Click OK.
7. An Infolog form will open and display the General journal number
that was created by the process. Click Close to exit the Infolog form.
8. Close the Collections form.
9. Click General ledger > Journals > General journal.
10. Select the journal created by the process. A user who is authorized to
post transactions can post the journal by clicking Post > Post the
general journal. After the write-off transaction is posted, you can
settle the transaction.

4-11

Lab 4.1 - Manage the collection process

This lab provides practice for managing collections.
Scenario
Connie, the Credit and Collections Manager, has set up an aging period definition
based on the Contoso's standard collections terms of 0, 90, and 180 days. Earlier
this week, Connie had a telephone call with the Accounting manager at Desert
Wholesales about the invoices on their account that are overdue.During the call,
Tim Kim, the accounting manager at Desert Wholesales, promised to pay
customer invoice 100972 for 7,100 U.S,Dollars (USD).
Your task is to help Connie by updating the aging snapshot, and then marking the
customer invoice as Promise to pay.
When you are finished, send an email including the customer statement to Tim
Kim and confirm the telephone call that he has promised to pay customer invoice
100972.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided to update the aging snapshot. Next, update
the status on the customer invoice. When you are finished, send an email
message to the customer including the customer statement.
Need a Little Help?

1. Update the aging snapshot.
2. Update the status for customer invoice 100972.
3. Send an email including the customer statement.
Step by Step
To update the customer aging snapshot, follow these steps:
1. Click Accounts receivable > Periodic > Collections > Customer
aging snapshot.
2. Select 0_90_180 from the Aging period definition field.
3. Accept the other default values, and then click OK.
4. Click Close to close the information log when the process is
completed.
To update the status for invoice 100972, follow these steps:
2. Highlight Desert Wholesales in the list, and then double-click to
open the Collection details form.
4-12


3.
4.
5.
6.
Highlight customer Invoice 100972 in the list.

Click Change status.
Set the Collection status to Promised to pay.
Optionally, select a Reason code, and type a description in the
Reason comment field.
7. Click Change status.
To send an email including the customer statement, follow these steps:
1. From the Collections details form, click the Communicate tab on
the Action Pane.
2. Click the Statement to contact button.
3. Accept the default values and then click Open.
4. Draft the email including information about the invoice that Tim
Kim promised to pay. For example your email might read:
"Dear Tim,
According to our telephone conversation, you have agreed to pay invoice
number 100972 for 7,100.00 USD. I have also attached a copy of your
account statement for your reference. We look forward to seeing your
payment.
Contoso Collections Dept."
5. Click Send to complete the email.
6. Close the Collections detail form.
Free Text Invoice Improvements

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 includes many improvements to free text invoices,
and introduces the following:
Customer invoice correction process
Recurring free text invoices
Ability to enter quantities and unit prices on free text invoice lines
Addition of a review (workflow) process for free text invoices
Customer Invoice Correction Process

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, correcting a free text invoice involved issuing
a credit note against the incorrect customer invoice and creating a new customer
invoice. In addition, you could not link the new customer invoice, corrected
customer invoice, and customer credit note to one another.

4-13

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, a new Correct Invoice button is added to the
Free text invoice details form and the Free text invoice list page. A new form
will open where the user can adjust the necessary information and then post the
correction.
NOTE: The invoice correction feature is not enabled by default. You must enable
the General ledger > Free text invoice correction configuration key in the
License configuration form under System administration.
Procedure: Correct a Free Text Invoice

The process for correcting a free text invoice involves the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The user clicks Correct on the Free text invoice form.

The system creates a copy of the original free text invoice.
The user makes changes to the copied free text invoice.
The user posts the changes.
The system creates a credit note and all the original settlements are
reversed and reapplied to the new credit note.
6. The system creates a link between the Corrected, Credited
(Canceling), and Original customer invoice for a clear audit trail.
NOTE: You can also use the new free text invoice workflow configuration to
approve the change.
Recurring Free Text Invoice Process

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, a new feature is introduced to let you set up a
customer to be billed on a recurring basis. The new feature involves a three step
process for enrolling a customer for a recurring free text invoice.
1. Create a Free text invoice template
a. One template can be used for multiple customers
b. Accounts receivable > Setup > Free text invoice templates
2. Assign the template to a customer
a. This step enrolls the customer
b. Each customer can have multiple templates
c. Accounts receivable > Common > Customers >
All customers > Invoice tab > Post recurring invoices button
4-14


3. Generate and post the recurring invoice
a. Periodically generate an invoice based on the recurrence
assigned at the customer level
b. The process can be set up as a batch process
c. Accounts receivable > Periodic > Recurring invoices >
Generate recurring invoices
When the free text invoices are generated, they can be viewed, modified, or
posted from the Free text invoice details form.
A new Recurring invoices form can also be used to manage the recurring free
text invoices under Accounts receivable > Periodic > Recurring invoices >
Post recurring invoices. Groups of recurring invoices are grouped in this form.
Use the Lines button to view each invoice for a selected batch.
Workflow for Free Text Invoices

The standard Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 workflow framework is extended to
work for free text invoices. This framework enables users to decide whether a
review process should be required on free text invoices.
When a workflow configuration is enabled for free text invoices, the following
tasks are possible:
Designate who the approver(s) of the invoice will be
All free text invoices must be submitted by using the Submit button
Users can approve the invoice, request a change from the submitter,
recall and resubmit the invoice, or reject the invoice
After the invoice is approved, the Post button becomes available
Optionally, user-defined tasks can be added to the workflow

configuration.
Free Text Invoice Quantities and Unit Prices

Frequently, a free text invoice line can be used to sell a quantity of a kind of
goods, services, or rights. Providing this information to the user and a basic
amount calculation in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 will help better identify and
explain charges to customers.

4-15

Scenario: Adding Quantities and Amounts to a Free Text
Invoice Line
Contoso Entertainment is selling surplus widgets left over from a large project
recently completed. The widgets were not purchased through the inventory
system. Therefore, they cannot be sold through a sales order.
Instead, they must be sold through a simple free text invoice transaction. A
subcontractor has requested to purchase 15 pieces and Contoso Entertainment
agreed to sell all 15 for 50 USD.
Arnie, the Accounts Receivable Administrator, must now quickly create a
customer invoice for surplus material by using the total amount.
Procedure: Create a Free Text Invoice with Quantities and

Amounts
To create a free text invoice with quantities and amounts, follow these steps:
1. Click Accounts receivable > Common > Free text invoice > All
free text invoices.
2. Click New > Free text invoice to create a new free text invoice.
3. Select a customer in the Customer field, and enter any additional
information.
4. Click Add lines in the Invoice lines grid.
FIGURE 4.3 FREE TEXT INVOICE DETAIL LINES
5. In the Description field, type a description for the invoice line.

4-16


6. In the Main account field, select the ledger account to be used for
posting.
7. In the Quantity field, type a number for the quantity.
8. In the Unit price field, type an amount for each quantity in the
invoice line. Notice the Amount field is updated with the extended
amount.
9. Click Close when you are finished.
Free Text Invoices Without Quantities

When a quantity or unit price is not available for the free text invoice line, the
fields can be left blank.
For example, Arnie does not have a unit price and quantity for the line, only a
total amount for the line. Arnie can ignore the Unit price and Quantity fields,
and then enter an amount for the line. The system will display the amount
entered, and the Unit price, and Quantity fields will remain blank.
You can also enter a Quantity and enter an Amount, leaving the Unit price field
blank.
Summary
Although many functions in the Accounts receivable module are improved in
remains the same. The greatest changes are in the areas of:
Free text invoices

o
o
o
Recurring free text invoices

Added workflow for free text invoices
The addition of quantity and unit price
Collections management
o
o
o
o
o
o
Addition of collection agents

Addition of customer pools
Addition of aging period definitions and aging snapshots
New forms for managing collections
Integration with Sales and Marketing for tracking activities
Ability to write off transactions and process Non-Sufficient Fund
(NSF) checks

4-17

Test Your Knowledge

1. Match the Collections details Fact Boxes on the left, with the matching
description of the purpose on the right:
_____ 1. Contacts Fact
Box
_____ 2. Aged Balances
Fact Box
_____ 3. Credit
Information Fact Box
a. View the credit limit and current balance

information for the customer.
b. View collections contact information for the
customer.
c. View balances for the customer, based on the
selected aging period definition.
2. Which of the following is not a step in setting up and processing a recurring

free text invoice?
( ) Assign a free text invoice template to customer
( ) Set up a customer template for free text invoices
( ) Set up a free text invoice template
( ) Run the generate free text invoice process
3. True or false, the Quantity and Unit price fields are mandatory on free text
invoices.
( ) TRUE
( ) FALSE
4. List the four types of activities that can be added to a collection and their
purpose.
4-18


chapter
1.
2.
3.

4-19

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Match the Collections details Fact Boxes on the left, with the matching
description of the purpose on the right:
b 1. Contacts Fact
Box
c 2. Aged Balances
Fact Box
a 3. Credit
Information Fact Box
a. View the credit limit and current balance

information for the customer.
b. View collections contact information for the
customer.
c. View balances for the customer, based on the
selected aging period definition.
2. Which of the following is not a step in setting up and processing a recurring

free text invoice?
( ) Assign a free text invoice template to customer
() Set up a customer template for free text invoices
( ) Set up a free text invoice template
( ) Run the generate free text invoice process
3. True or false, the Quantity and Unit price fields are mandatory on free text
invoices.
( ) TRUE
() FALSE
4. List the four types of activities that can be added to a collection and their
purpose.
MODEL ANSWER:
1. Action - is used to document a unit of work that is completed
2. Task - is used to log a unit of work that is to be done in the future
3. Appointment - is used to schedule a meeting
4. Event - is used to record something that has already occurred
4-20

CHAPTER 5: BUDGETING
Objectives
The objectives are:
Describe the use of workflows for budget register entries.
Enable dimensions in an account structure for budget usage.
Explain how to define rules and specify attributes for budget control.
Describe how to use budget control on a purchase order.
Describe how to enter budget data.
Review and run new key reports used for budgets.
Describe the features supported by the system for transferring budget

data from a third-party application or by using the Microsoft Office
Excel add-in.
Introduction
Every business entity, whether it is private or public, sets some financial and
operational goals by creating budgets. When the budget is established, the
management or responsible person monitors the activities within the budget
framework.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 the Budget module is redesigned emphasizing
new methods for entering budget amounts and introducing budgetary controls.
Workflows are also introduced for Budget register entries.
For example, if an approval is required for transferring a budget amount from one
department to another, then workflow functionality is introduced to create an
approval workflow.

5-1

Workflows for Budget Register Entries

When you create budget register entries, you can set up workflows so that a
budget manager can approve the budget register entry. You can define an
approval workflow for the budget account entries; which would require all
account entries of a budget register entry to be approved before you update the
budget balance.
Or, you can create a workflow for the budget register entry which indicates that
the whole entry is approved, instead of each account entry requiring approval.
Independent of any review processes, you can also set up budget transfer rules to
enable, for example, transfers of budget funds among only a subset of
departments. If you use workflow, when transfer rules are violated, the budget
register entry can be assigned to a specific person for approval.
Scenario: Workflow for Budget Register Entries

The manager of the sales department at Contoso is requesting additional budget
for a new sales convention that is occurring in a few months. Because the
convention is new this year budget funds were not allocated during the usual
budget planning phase. The Sales department manager can request the budget
adjustment which is subject to approval by the Budget manager.
You can define an approval workflow for the budget account entries or you can
create a workflow for the budget register entry which indicates that the whole
register entry is approved versus each account entry requiring approval.
NOTE: Workflow on budget account entries will only be invoked for budget
account entry codes that contain a workflow.
Dimensions for Budgets

The process of defining dimensions for budgets enables an organization to
determine which dimensions within the account structures associated with the
chart of accounts are available for budgeting.
Some organizations may select not to include specific dimensions (including the
main account) for budget purposes. This allows for flexibility in determining how
budgets are established.
For example, you could enable budgeting for just the Department and Cost center
dimensions within the chart of accounts. This means that combinations of
departments with cost centers can hold budget amounts without regard to the
specific usage (main account).
5-2

Procedure: Define Dimensions for Budgeting
To define dimensions for budgets, follow these steps:
1. Open Budgeting > Setup > Dimensions for budgeting.
FIGURE 5.1 BUDGETING DIMENSIONS
2. Select the dimension(s) from the Chart of accounts dimension

panel on the right side for which you want to enter budget amounts
against.
3. Click the Left arrow to move the selected dimensions to the Budget
dimension panel on the left.
4. Click Close
Configuring Budget Control

The budget control configuration allows for both an active version and a draft
version which provides additional flexibility to change the configuration. Upon
initial setup, no active configuration exists. The process of configuring budget
control involves the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Define budget control parameters.

Define over budget permissions.
Define budget funds.
Define documents and business transactions that require budget
checking.
Define budget models.
Define budget control rules.
Define user permissions.
Define other settings.

5-3

NOTE: The Budget control configuration key must be enabled under the General
ledger - advanced II key in order to use this functionality.
Scenario: Configure Budget Control

Ken, the Controller, has decided to implement budget control within the
company. Ken decides which source documents and journals should use the
budget control, the definition of the budget funds available calculation, and the
financial dimensions that are subject to a budget check. He must also decide
which users, if any, can exceed the budget.
Procedure: Define Budget Control Parameters

To define budget control parameters, follow these steps:
1. Open Budgeting > Setup > Budget control configuration.
FIGURE 5.2 BUDGET CONTROL CONFIGURATION
2. Select an Account structure. After you select the account structure,

you can see all the dimensions within the selected account structure
that are enabled for budget entry populated on the right side panel.
3. Select the Budget dimensions that will be subject to a budget check
by moving them to the left panel.
4. Select the default Budget control interval, Budget cycle time span,
Budget manager, and Budget threshold. These settings are
defaults, and can be changed for specific budget control rules and
budget groups.
5-4

Budget Control Terminology
The primary budget control parameters are described in the following table:
Field
Description
Budget
control
interval
Determines how amounts will be aggregated for a budget

check. The budget control interval works together with the
budget cycle. Options include Fiscal year, Fiscal period, Fiscal
year to date, month, quarter, total budget (spreads across the
budget cycle), Budget to date, months to date, quarters to date.
The to date is determined by mapping the accounting date of
the source document or accounting journal being checked for
budget funds available to the associated fiscal period.
Budget
cycle time
span
A time period specified as a number of fiscal calendar periods.

The budget period can differ from the accounting period.
Budget
manager
Determines which user can approve a register entry, for

optional use when you configure a workflow.
Budget
threshold
Determines whether a budget threshold should be in place. The

threshold can be used to provide warning messages to user or to
define budget permissions for users to prevent specific users
from exceeding the budget threshold. This field is optional.
NOTE: The budget threshold can be set for a percentage that exceeds 100
percent. This allows for scenarios where an organization could allow for
exceeding the budget by a specific percentage. For example, if you want to allow
for exceeding budget by 5 percent, you set the threshold value to 105.00.
Procedure: Defining Over Budget Permissions

Over budget permissions are used to determine whether specific user groups can
exceed budget funds available, or if they are restricted from exceeding budget
funds available or budget thresholds. By default, if a user is not in a user group,
the default setting of "prevent over budget processing" is applied. The available
selections for over budget options are as follows:
Prevent over budget processing
Allow for over budget processing
Prevent processing at over budget threshold
To define over budget permissions, follow these steps:

1. Open Budgeting > Setup > Budget control configuration.
2. If the current budget control configuration is active, a message will
appear at the top of the form. Click Edit to modify the configuration.
3. Click the Over budget permissions tab.

5-5

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Click Add to create a new rule.

Select the desired User group.
Select the Over budget option.
Click the Activate budget control tab.
Click Activate, and if the Budget control configuration is not
turned on, click Turn on.
9. Click Close to exit the Budget control configuration form.
Define Budget Funds Available Calculation

The Budget funds available tab on the Budget control configuration form is
used to define the budget funds available calculation. By default both Original
budget and Actual expenditures are selected.
A description of each option is provided in the following table:
5-6
Field
Description
Include carry
forward amounts
Includes amounts that were carried forward as part of the

Purchase order fiscal year close process, or budget register
entries that use a budget type of carry forward.
Original budget
Includes budget register entries that have the budget types

of Original budget, Fixed asset, Project, Demand, and
Supply and have a document status as Completed.
Budget
amendments
Includes budget register entries with the type of

Amendment and that have a document status Completed.
Draft budget
amendments
Includes budget register entries with the type Amendment

and that have a document status Draft.
Budget transfers
Includes budget register entries with the type Transfer and

that have a document status Completed.
Draft budget
transfers in
Includes budget register entries with the type Transfer,

have a document status Draft, and the effect to budget is an
increase.
Draft budget
transfers out
Includes budget register entries with the type Transfer,

have a document status Draft, and the effect to budget is a
decrease.
Actual
expenditures
Includes actual expenditures because of expense reports,

vendor invoices, or accounting journals that are subject to
a budget check.
Unposted actual
expenditures
Includes vendor invoices and expense reports that are

entered, but not yet recorded in the sub-ledger journal, and
accounting journals they are entered, but not yet posted to
ledger.

Field
Description
Budget
reservations for
encumbrances
Includes budget reservations that are created for

Confirmed purchase orders or travel requests in addition to
budget register entries that are in a status of Completed
that use the transaction type of Encumbrance.
Budget
reservations for
unconfirmed
encumbrances
Includes budget reservations that are created for

Unconfirmed purchase orders or travel requests in addition
to budget register entries that are in a status of Draft that
use the transaction type of Encumbrance.
Reductions to
budget
reservations for
unconfirmed
encumbrances
Select this option to prevent a reduction in budget

reservation caused by a purchase order correction until the
correction is confirmed.
Budget
reservations for
pre-encumbrances
Includes budget reservations that are created for Approved

or Confirmed purchase requisitions in addition to budget
register entries that are in a status of completed with the
transaction type of Pre-encumbrance.
Budget
reservations for
unconfirmed preencumbrances
Include budget reservations that are created for

Unconfirmed or Unapproved purchase requisitions in
addition to budget register entries that are in a status of
Draft with the transaction type of Pre-encumbrance.
Define Budget Checking Rules

The Source documents tab on the Budget control configuration form is used to
define which business documents should validate against the budget control
configuration.
NOTE: If purchase requisitions are enabled for budget control, all documents
downstream (purchase orders and vendor invoices) are also enabled. This is to
make sure that the budget reservations are relieved appropriately throughout the
procure to pay cycle.
Additionally if purchase orders are enabled for budget control, Vendor invoices
are enabled by default for the same reasons.
Use the Accounting journals tab to select the accounting journal types that
should be subject to a budget control check.
Define Budget Cycles

Budget cycle time spans define the length of a budget cycle. Budget cycles are
associated with the periods in a fiscal calendar and can be shared across legal
entities. Budget cycles determine the starting and ending periods for budget
control.

5-7

You can map a budget cycle time span to a fiscal year, or you can specify the
number of periods for part of a fiscal year or to span fiscal years.
To implement a budget cycle time span for budget control, assign a budget model
to the budget cycle time span. Use the Budgeting > Setup > Budget cycles form
to specify the fiscal year or the number of periods in a budget cycle and to
associate budget cycles with fiscal calendars.
Define Budget Models and Control Rules

Within the Budget model tab, on the Budget control configuration form, create
an association between a Budget cycle and the Budget model. Budget models
are an identifier of a budget. The budget model that is associated to a budget
cycle will be the budget that is used when you perform the budget funds available
check for source documents and accounting journals that contain an accounting
date that falls within that budget cycle.
NOTE: Budget cycles must be defined before you set up the association between
the budget cycle and the budget model.
To define budget control rules, click the Define budget control rules tab.
Budget control rules determine the combinations of dimension values for the
dimensions that are selected for budget control and are subject to a budget check.
For example, if you define a budget control rule in which all combinations of
department and cost centers are subject to the budget check, then the check will
be performed on all valid combinations. The default user group permissions can
be overridden for specific budget control rules. This allows for different settings
based on the financial dimension combinations being checked for the budget.
HINT: Another way to define a rule covering all combinations is by using
wildcard characters.
NOTE: If the organization wants to assign a different budget threshold to one
department versus all other departments, this can be defined by creating two
budget control rules; one covering the department that has a different budget
threshold and then another covering all other departments.
Define Other Settings

When the main account is not included as a budget control dimension on the
Define parameters tab, you must select the main accounts for which the budget
control rules should be applied on the Select main accounts tab. If the main
account is already included as a budget control dimension, then this step is not
necessary.
5-8

NOTE: Only main account types of Total, Profit and Loss, and Expense are
available for selection because these are the accounts typically used in recording
actual expenditures. Total accounts are included for the purposes of budget
register entries because you can create budget against main accounts that are
marked as total.
Use the Define budget groups tab to create a budget pool or collection of
dimension values whose budget amounts will be pooled for a secondary budget
check. Budgets will always be checked against the dimension combinations that
are found in the budget control rule. If that dimension combination is also found
in a budget group, a secondary budget check will be performed at the budget
group level.
Activate Budget Control and Configurations

When you are finished making changes or setting up the budget control
configuration, you must activate it. In addition, budget control must be enabled
so that you can start using the settings. Use the Activate budget control tab to
activate the configuration or to start or stop by using budget control.
NOTE: When the budget control configuration is active, the Edit button must be
used to make modifications. The active budget control configuration continues to
be used until the draft version is activated.
Using Budget Control

When budget control is configured, source documents and accounting journals
can be checked for budget funds availability. By configuring budget control, an
organization can decide which source documents and accounting journals the
budget check should be applied.
You can enable budget control for a specific dimension or a set of dimensions
that are subject to budget check. By applying budget check, you can prevent the
source documents-such as Purchase requisitions, Purchase orders, or Vendor
invoices-from additional processing if they exceed the budget funds available.
Scenario: Using Budget Control

Recently, expenses are larger than previous years because of growth. Ken, the
Controller, has decided that the budget available for the combination of
Department 010 and Cost center 0101 should be increased. He must first
establish the budget amounts, and then users can start to enter the expenses.

5-9

Procedure: Create Budget Register Entries
To enter and view budget register entries, follow these steps:
1. Open Budgeting > Common > Budget register entry.
2. Click Budget register entry in the New group of the Action pane.
3. Select the Budget model and Budget code.
NOTE: Budget codes must be set up before you create budget register entries.
4. Optionally, select a Reason code and enter a Reason comment.
5. Save the record.
6. Click Add line in the Budget account entry fast tab.
FIGURE 5.3 BUDGET REGISTER ENTRIES
7. Select the Account structure and enter the Dimension values.

8. Enter the budget amount into the Amount field.
9. Click Update budget balances to update the budget amounts for the
budget enabled dimensions.
10. Click OK to complete the update.
11. When the process is completed, click Close on the Info log form,
and then close the Budget register entry form.
5-10

Procedure: Use Budget Control on a Purchase Order
To use budget control on a purchase order and follow the reservation through to
vendor invoice, follow these steps:
purchase orders.
2. Click Purchase order in the New group of the Action pane and then
select a vendor.
3. Click Yes to transfer the address, and then click OK to create the
purchase order.
4. In the Purchase lines tab, select the Item number.
5. Enter a Quantity of 1 and Unit price of 200.00.
6. Enter the accounting distributions by clicking Financials tab >
Distribute amounts
7. Enter ledger account: "606300 OU_2311 OU_4595".
8. If the user selected the Perform the budget check on line entry for
purchase order setting in the Budget control configuration form,
then when you close the Accounting distribution form that you will
notice the budget check result displaying on the purchase order line.
In this example, the budget check is successful.
9. Review the budget control statistics by opening Budgeting >
Inquiries > Budget control statistics from the breadcrumb bar.
10. Select Budget cycle "FY2011" and Dimension values "606300".
The system will display a 200.00 USD reservation for encumbrance.
11. Drill down by using the encumbrance's Action Pane to see the
transaction making up that balance. The purchase order is shown and
the status of the budget reservation is Draft.
12. Confirm the purchase order by going to the Purchases tab on Action
Pane and clicking Confirm.

5-11

Lab 5.1 - Use Budget Control on a Purchase Order

This lab will provide practice in using budget control on a purchase order.
Scenario
Recently, administrative expenses are larger than previous years because of
additional shifts at the manufacturing plants. Ken, the Controller, has decided
that the budget available for the Administrative Expense account (606300)
should be increased.
He must first establish the budget amounts, and then users can start to enter the
expenses.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided in the scenario to set up the budget register
entries. Use the information in the following table to guide you.
Field
Value
Budget model
SUB1
Budget code
Budget
Account structure
Account Structure - P&L
Dimension values
606300
Budget amount
10,000 USD
Create a new purchase order for Topaz Electronics for 1000 pieces in the
procurement category Audio > Receivers > 2.1. Perform a budget check on that
order and review the budget check errors and warnings.
Next, decrease the quantity on the purchase order to 19 and perform another
budget check. When you are finished, confirm the purchase order. Use the
information in the following table to guide you.
5-12
Field
Value
Dimension values
606300 - OU_1 - OU_4571 - Conference/Seminar
Vendor
1201: Topaz Electronics
Procurement category
Audio > Receivers > 2.1
Quantity
1000 ea/19 ea
Unit price
199.95

Need a Little Help?
Create a new Budget register entry.
Update budget balances.
Open Accounts payable > Common > Purchase orders > All
purchase orders, and then click Purchase order in the New group
of the Action pane.
Select vendor 1201: Topaz Electronics and then add a new line to the
purchase order.
Select the Financials tab and select Distribute amounts.
Enter the ledger account.
Click Financials > Perform budget check, and then click to review
the errors. Financials > Budget check errors and warnings
Decrease the quantity on the purchase order.
Click Financials > Perform budget check.
Confirm the Purchase order.
Step by Step
To create budget register entries, follow these steps:
1. Open Budgeting > Common > Budget Register Entries.
2. Click Budget register entry in the New group of the Action pane.
3. Select "SUB1" in the Budget model field, and then select "Budget"
in the Budget code field.
4. Save the record.
5. Click Add line in the Budget account entries fast tab.
6. Select "Account structure - P&L" in the Account structure.
7. Enter "606300: Administrative Expenses" in the Dimension values
field.
8. Enter "10,000" into the Amount field.
9. Save the record and then click Update budget balances to update
the budget amounts for the budget enabled dimensions.
10. Click OK to complete the update.
11. When the process is completed, click Close on the Infolog form, and
then close the Budget register entry form.

5-13

To use budget control on a purchase order and follow the reservation through to
confirmation, follow these steps:
purchase orders.
2. Click Purchase order in the New group of the action pane, and then
select vendor 1201: Topaz Electronics, and then click Yes to transfer
the address.
3. Click OK to create the purchase order, and then a new line will be
added to the Purchase order automatically.
4. Select the Procurement category Audio > Receivers > 2.1.
5. Enter "1000" in the Quantity field, enter "ea: each" in the Unit field,
and then enter "199.95" in the Unit price field.
6. Enter the accounting distributions by clicking Financials >
Distribute amounts.
7. Enter Ledger account: "606300", and then close the Accounting
distributions form.
8. Click Financials > Perform budget checking.
9. An error message is received warning the user that the budget is
exceeded. Close the Infolog form, and then click Financials >
Budget check errors or warnings.
10. Review the errors or warnings in the Budget check errors or
warnings form, and then close the form when you are finished.
11. Change the Quantity on the purchase line to 19, and then click
Financials > Perform budget checking.
12. Notice the green validation check box on the left side of the purchase
line grid row. Confirm the purchase order by clicking the Purchases
tab on the Action pane and then click Confirm.
13. Close the Purchase order form.
5-14

Budget Amounts
The budget data is entered through the Budget register entry form which
consists of a header and lines. The header information is applied to the whole
budget register entry and the lines (account entries) are where budget amounts for
specific dimension combinations are entered.
NOTE: If you intend to use budget control, you should configure budget control
before you enter budget amounts. Budget control must be configured for the
budget amounts to be included in the budget control system. Refer to the
Configuring Budget Control lesson for more information.
Procedure: Entering Budgets

To create budget registry entries, follow these steps:
1. Open Budgeting > Common forms > Budget register entry.
2. Click Budget register entry in the New group of the Action Pane.
3. Select the Budget model (identifier of budget) whose budget balance
will be affected by the processing of this transaction.
4. Select the Budget transaction code to classify the budget register
entry.
5. Optionally, specify a Reason code for the budget register entry.
6. Set the focus in the lines grid. The Date for the budget register entry
line determines the period that the budget will be recorded to.
7. Select an Account structure.
NOTE: The step of assigning an account structure to a budget account entry is
required because not all dimensions in an account structure may be enabled and
the same budget enabled dimension may be in use within multiple account
structures for the chart of accounts.
8. Enter the Dimension values for the budget enabled dimensions. The
order in which the dimensions are entered is based on the order in
which the dimensions appear within the account structure.
9. Enter the budget Amount and the budget Amount type. The budget
amount type will default to expense, but can be changed. The
amount type is needed because the main account is not a required
element for budgeting.
10. Specify the transaction Currency.
11. Click Update the budget balances. By taking this action, the budget
balance for the budget model and dimension combination will be
updated based on the amount for the period in which the line date
falls.

5-15

Create Recurring Budget Register Entries
For some expenses, such as rent or lease, the amount that was budgeted will
typically be the same amount for each period. You can replicate a budget account
entry to accommodate this need.
For example, you decide to create a budget account entry every month until
12/31/2010. You are performing this function on 6/22/2010. Therefore, after you
apply this function, you will have budget transaction line for every month
through the end of the year.
To perform this action;
1. Select the budget account entry.
2. Click Enter recurrence from the budget account entry action strip.
3. Select the Interval type, Interval, and Expiration date on the
Create recurrence form.
Procedure: Allocate a Budget Amount Across Dimension

Values
Budget allocation terms can be used to define a pre-determined allocation to
dimension values by percentage.
As an example, if specific budgeted amounts for travel are allocated based on a
percentage by department; that allocation can be defined by using an allocation
term that is later used when you creating budget amounts. The use of an
allocation term provides an automated way to create the breakdown of a budget
amounts across dimension values or combinations of dimension values.
To perform this function, the set up of budget allocation terms is required.
Follow these steps:
1. Open Budgeting > Common > Budget register entry.
2. Follow the steps outlined in Procedure: Entering Budgets to create a
budget account entry and save it.
5-16

3. Select the line just created.
4. Click Allocate to dimensions. This opens the dialog box where you
can select the budget allocation term to apply.
FIGURE 5.4 ALLOCATE TO DIMENSIONS FORM
5. Select the Allocation term and then click Allocate. Notice that the
original budget account entry is reversed and new budget account
entries are created based on the definition of the budget allocation
term.
Procedure: Allocate Budget Amounts Using a Period

Allocation Key
Period allocation keys let you define allocations by percent to specific periods.
The period allocation key functionality is not new to Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012 and can be defined from General ledger > Setup > Periods > Period
allocation key.
1. Define the Period allocation key and give it a name on the Period
allocation key form.
2. Click Lines and create lines. You can allocate percentages by month.
You can also specify the dimension values that should be allocated
the defined percentage.
3. Click the Financial dimensions tab and enter the dimensions values.

5-17

4. To apply the period allocation key to a budget account entry click
Allocate across periods from the Budget register entry form. After
you apply the period allocation key, a reversal is created for the
budget account entry entered together with new budget account entry
based on the percent allocation by month that was defined in the
period allocation key.
FIGURE 5.5 ALLOCATE ACROSS PERIODS FORM
5-18

Lab 5.2 - Create and Manage Budgets

This lab provides practice for creating and allocating budget register entries.
Scenario
Contoso has recently expanded their business and has decided to create a contract
with a local distributor to purchase car audio equipment in bulk over the course
of the next year. The quantities of the equipment to be shipped will vary from
month to month based on the projected sales for a given month.
Brad, the Budget Manager, must update the budget to account for the additional
expenses. He will use a period key to allocate the amounts over each month
based on the projected sales curve.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided in the scenario to create a new budget
register entry, and allocate the amounts over the 12 month period by using the
Sales curve period allocation key.
The following table provides additional details.
Field
Value
Budget model
SUB1
Budget code
Budget
Account structure
Account structure
Dimension values
140120: Car Audio Receipts
Amount
65,000.00 USD
Need a Little Help?

1. Create a new budget register entry.
2. Add an account entry to the budget register entry.
3. Allocate the amount across periods by using the sales curve period
allocation key.
Step by Step
To create and manage budgets, follow these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Open Budgeting > Common > Budget register entry.

Click Budget register entry in the New group of the Action Pane.
Select "SUB1" for the Budget model.
Select "Budget" for the Budget code to classify the budget register
entry.

5-19

5. Save the record by clicking in the lines.
6. Click the Budget account entries tab and then click Add line.
7. Type the Date for the budget account entry that determines the
period that the amount will be recorded to.
8. Select "Account structure" in the Account structure field.
9. Enter the Dimension values "140120".
10. Enter "65,000.00" in the Amount field.
11. Specify the transaction Currency as "USD".
12. Save the record by pressing Ctrl+S.
13. Click Allocate across periods.
14. Select "20: Sales curve" from the list, and then click Allocate. The
system will automatically reverse the original budget account entry
and create new budget account entries for each period.
15. Click Update budget balances.
16. Click OK to process the budget register entries. When the process is
completed, the Infolog form will open. Click Close to exit the
Infolog form.
17. Close the Budget register entry form.
5-20

Budget Reporting
The following new budget reports are included in the Budgeting module in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for a better and transparent reporting:
Actual versus budget report
Budget funds available report
Budget detail report
Procedure: Generating a Budget Report

To run a budget report, follow these steps:
1. Open Budgeting > Reports > Budgets, and then click the desired
report from the folder.
2. Enter any report parameters required.
3. Click Select to enter additional filtering criteria
4. Click OK to start the report.
Budget Transaction Web Services

Budgets are frequently created outside Microsoft Dynamics AX by using varous
budget formulation tools and software. If you are using Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012 budget control functionality, you may have to bring this information into
Microsoft Dynamics AX. In addition, you may want to create, update, delete, and
read existing budget register entries from a third-party product.
This feature provides a web service for budget register entries to communicate
with the third-party applications and enables organizations to Create, Read,
Update, and Delete budget register entries.
Scenario: Importing Budget Register Entries

Brad, the Budget manager, has developed an annual budget for Contoso by using
a Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet to create the budget amounts. Now, he
wants bring the data into Dynamics AX. He starts the budget transaction service
and the budget register entries are created or updated in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012.

5-21

Summary
Budgeting has provided an overview of the new budgetary control features that
are introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.The key areas of improvement
are as follows:
Budget Control Configuration steps
Introduction of Workflow for certain types of budget register entries
Budget Transaction Web Services to interface with external

budgeting tools
Dimensions for Budgets to determine which dimensions within the

account structure(s) associated with the chart of accounts are
available for budgeting.
These new features will help organizations enforce tighter budgetary control and
improve their efficiency, as far as financial goals are concerned.
5-22

Test Your Knowledge

1. Budget control rules can be defined for which of the following?
( ) One dimension value
( ) Any combination of dimension values
( ) All dimension values for a specified dimension
2. Match the terms on the left with their definitions on the right side:
_____ 1. Budget
checking rules
_____ 2.
Allocation terms
_____ 3. Period
allocation keys
_____ 4. Budget
cycle time spans
_____ 5. Budget
threshold
_____ 6.
Commitment
accounting
a. Used to provide warning messages to user or to

define limits for users to prevent them from
exceeding the budget.
b. Lets you define allocations by percent to specific
periods.
c. Enables the posting of expenses before the creation
or collection of the underlying documents and
before those committed funds are paid out.
d. Used to define a pre-determined allocation to
e. Used to define which source documents should
validate against the budget control configuration.
f. Determines the length of a given budget.
3. The main account must be included as one of the dimensions on the budget
control configuration.
( ) True
( ) False
4. Which of the following business documents can have budget control
enabled? (Select all that apply)
( ) Purchase requisitions
( ) Request for quotes
( ) Purchase orders
( ) Vendor invoices

5-23


chapter
1.
2.
3.
5-24

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Budget control rules can be defined for which of the following?
( ) One dimension value
() Any combination of dimension values
( ) All dimension values for a specified dimension
2. Match the terms on the left with their definitions on the right side:
e 1. Budget
checking rules
d 2. Allocation
terms
b 3. Period
allocation keys
f 4. Budget
cycle time spans
a 5. Budget
threshold
c 6.
Commitment
accounting
a. Used to provide warning messages to user or to

define limits for users to prevent them from
exceeding the budget.
b. Lets you define allocations by percent to specific
periods.
c. Enables the posting of expenses before the creation
or collection of the underlying documents and
before those committed funds are paid out.
d. Used to define a pre-determined allocation to
e. Used to define which source documents should
validate against the budget control configuration.
f. Determines the length of a given budget.
3. The main account must be included as one of the dimensions on the budget
control configuration.
( ) True
() False
4. Which of the following business documents can have budget control
enabled? (Select all that apply)
() Purchase requisitions
( ) Request for quotes
() Purchase orders
() Vendor invoices

5-25

5-26

CHAPTER 6: TRAVEL AND EXPENSE

Objectives
The objectives are:
Define different travel requisitions, expense reports, and other

expense related workflow approvals.
Define budgets to be applied on travel requisitions and expense

reports.
Explain how to define travel and expense policies.
Describe the process for importing credit card transactions.
Introduction
Improvements are made to the existing expense management functionality in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 with additional features to help companies
increase employee productivity and decrease expense processing costs.
The following are key areas of improvements:
Improvements to the user experience in the Client and the Enterprise

Portal
Ability to maintain and manage receipts
Automation of the expense management process with improved

credit card import and dispute handling
Preventive compliance and enforcement with company travel

policies
Support of policies that span multiple companies and operating units
Ability to apply budgetary control
Ability to enter cross-company expense reports
Improvements to the expense management workflow
Tighter integration with the Project management and accounting

module
Support for Value-Added Tax (VAT) recovery

6-1

Expense Reports Improvements

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the Expense Management application for the
Enterprise Portal is improved in many areas to help streamline processes and
improve productivity. This includes the expense entry, cash advance request,
credit card dispute, travel requisition, and expense report delegation.
In addition, the approval experience for expense reports, travel requisitions, and
cash advances are improved or introduced.
Enterprise Portal Improvements

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, all employee related tasks were included in a
drop-down menu from the Employee Services menu in Enterprise Portal.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, there are several new employee related tasks,
so a more scalable solution is now available.
The new Employee Services page on Enterprise Portal provides a centralized
location for all employees to complete their daily tasks.
FIGURE 6.1 EMPLOYEE SERVICES PAGE
Scenario: Expense Management on Enterprise Portal

Nancy, an employee with Contoso, is planning an upcoming business trip to
Chicago and is submitting a travel requisition on Enterprise Portal.
6-2


Some weeks after the trip, Nancy must create her expense report by using the
actual amounts incurred from her trip. She links her travel requisition to the new
expense report so her manager can quickly review and approve the expense
report.
Procedure: Create a Travel Requisition

To create a travel requisition, follow these steps:
1. Open the Employee services webpage in your Internet browser.
2. Click the Travel requisitions link under the Expenses section.
3. Click New > Travel request to create a new record.
FIGURE 6.2 NEW TRAVEL REQUISITION FORM
4. Select a Business purpose and Destination, and then enter a brief

Travel description for the requisition.
5. In the Estimated expenses tab, click Add new expense.
6. Select the Expense category.
7. Optionally, select the Project.
8. Enter the Estimated date, Estimated amount, and Currency for
the requisition.
9. Enter any additional information available into the Expense line
details tab.
10. Click Save and repeat steps 5-10 for each expense.
11. If workflow is enabled for travel requisitions, click Submit.
Otherwise, click Save and close.

6-3

Procedure: Create an Expense Report
To create an expense report, follow these steps:
2. Click the New expense report icon under the Manage Expense
section.
3. Optionally, select the Travel requisition to relate a travel requisition
to the new expense report.
NOTE: If you do this additional fields on the expense lines must be mapped to
the specific lines in the Expense Report.
4. Click Create, and the New expense report - Step 2 of 2 form will
open.
5. Click Add new expense to create a new line.
6. Select the Expense category.
7. Optionally, select the Project.
8. Enter the Transaction date, Transaction amount, and Currency
for the requisition.
9. Enter any additional information available into the Expense line
details tab.
10. Click Save and repeat steps 5-10 for each expense.
11. Click Attach receipts to add a copy of the receipts.
12. Click Print expense report to print a copy of the expense report
details.
13. If workflow is enabled for expense reports, click Submit. Otherwise,
click Save and close.
Workflow for Travel and Expense Management

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, posting of expense reports was a manual task
that is typically performed by the Accounts Payable Clerk after the expense
report was approved by the manager. They could be posted at both document
level and at line level. This gives all the flexibility to the Accounts Payable Clerk
while he or she is posting.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides an option to automate the process of
posting by making posting a part of the expense work flow itself. You can select
to include this automated task in the workflow configurations if it is required.
6-4


In addition, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 enables queuing for two of the
expense workflow types (templates):
1. Expense Reports
2. VAT Recovery
Queue enabling these workflows enables scenarios where expense reports are
routed to shared service centers where a queue of users can take actions on the
expense reports after they are approved to verify such things as original receipts
having been received.

6-5

Lab 6.1 - Create and Process an Expense Report

This lab provides practice to creating a travel requisition and an expense report.
Scenario
You are an employee with Contoso, and are planning an upcoming business trip
to Los Angeles, CA in two weeks. As part of Contoso's policy, you must submit
a travel requisition for approval before booking the travel.
You also returned from a similar trip to Los Angeles, CA yesterday. You must
create an expense report for the actual amounts incurred.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided to create the travel requisition for the
estimated amounts expected for the trip to Los Angeles, CA in two weeks:
Line
Category
Amount
Currency
Flight
357.00
USD
Hotel
445.00
USD
Meals
200.00
USD
Use the information that is provided to create the expense report for the trip to
Los Angeles, CA that you returned from Yesterday.
Line
Category
Amount
Currency
Flight
424.87
USD
Hotel
467.34
USD
Meals
189.78
USD
Need a Little Help?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6-6
Open the Enterprise Portal.

Create a new Travel requisition.
Add three lines to the travel requisition and then submit it.
Create a new Expense report.
Add three lines to the expense report and then submit it.


Step by Step
To create a travel requisition, follow these steps:
2. Click the Travel requisitions link under the Manage Expense
section.
3. Click New > Travel request to create a new record.
4. Select "Customer Visit" in the Business purpose field.
5. Select "US" in the Destination field.
6. Enter a brief Travel description for the requisition such as
"Quarterly Client Site Visit".
7. In the Estimated expenses tab, click Add new expense.
8. Select "Flight" in the Expense category field.
9. Enter the Estimated date (two weeks from today)
10. Enter "357.00" into the Estimated amount field.
11. Click Add new expense.
12. Select "Hotel" in the Expense category field.
13. Enter the Estimated date (two weeks from today)
16. Select "Meal" in the Expense category field.
17. Enter the Estimated date (two weeks from today).
20. Click Save and close.
To create an expense report, follow these steps:
2. Click the New expense report icon under the Manage Expense
section.
3. Select "Customer Visit" in the Expense purpose field.
4. Select "US" in the Location field.
5. Click Create.
7. Select "Flight" in the Expense category field.
8. Enter the Transaction date (yesterday).
9. Enter "424.87" into the Transaction amount field.

6-7

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
6-8
Select "Hotel" in the Expense category field.

Enter the Transaction date (yesterday).
Enter "467.34" into the Transaction amount field.
Click Add new expense to create a new line.
Select "Meals" in the Expense category field.
Enter the Transaction date (yesterday).
Enter "189.78" into the Transaction amount field.
Click Add new expense to create a new line.
Click Save and close.

Budgetary Control
Generally, the success of a budget is limited to an organizations ability to
monitor actual spending and the tools and policies that are enforced to control in
the following lists:
Pre-Trip
o
o
Creation of pre-trip requisitions

Approval of pre-trip requisitions
Post-Trip
o
o
o
Submission of expense report that has all the expense

transactions from the trip.
Approval of expense report.
Posting of expense reports.
Budgets within the public sector are more than just an expected spending
amount. They are enacted to law and cannot be exceeded or revised without
multiple levels of approval. It is necessary for all governments to make sure they
do not incur expenses that will allow overspending.
A sound budgeting program for travel and expenses typically involve various
tasks as part of the end-to-end process.
Budgetary Control Setup

Budgetary control is an optional feature that can be turned on or off based on
your business requirements. There are options to check budget settings at the
header and line level of travel and expense transactions. Use the parameters on
the Budget parameters form to enable or disable the feature.
Individual budget transactions are entered on the Budget transactions form.
Budgets can be defined for individual ledger accounts, dimensions, or
combinations of the two.
For more information about how to set up budgets, please refer to the Budgeting
module in the What's New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for
Finance, PA, Case Mgmt., HRM and Public Sector course.
Scenario: Travel Requisition with Budgetary Control

Enabled
Contoso requires that all employees must submit a travel requisition, and it must
be approved before any business travel. They have also enabled budgetary
control on travel requisitions and expense reports. Nancy, an employee with
Contoso, is planning an upcoming business trip to Chicago and is in the process
of submitting a travel requisition.

6-9

From the Enterprise Portal, Nancy creates the travel requisition and fills in the
required fields. Nancy creates several lines on the requisition for airline, hotel,
and meal expenses, entering the estimated amounts for each. Because budget
control is enabled on the lines, the system validates each line as they are entered
and saved.
The amounts entered for the airline and meals pass the budget check. However,
the hotel amount entered exceeds the budget. Nancy receives a warning message
and is still able to submit the requisition. Because approval is required, the
requisition is assigned to Kevin, Nancy's manager, to review and approve or
deny.
Scenario: Travel Requisition Approval

Kevin is currently logged in to the Enterprise Portal reviewing travel requisitions.
He notices that a requisition from Nancy has a budgetary control warning. This
indicates that one of the lines is over budget. Kevin understands the need for
Nancy's business trip. Kevin is authorized to overrun budgets. However, he
decides to make an adjustment before approving.
Kevin browses to the budget transactions and completes a budget transfer to
suffice the budget overrun. When Kevin is finished he returns to the travel
requisition form and clicks Check budget to refresh the budget control check.
The check is now successful and he approves the requisition.
Travel and Expense Policies

Organizations have different ways to exercise control over any travel and
expense costs. Travel and Expense (T&E) policy is usually formed on an
enterprise basis, with some provision for adaption at the legal entity level,
operational unit level, or even a more detailed level to accommodate various
conditions. The policy violations framework is extended in Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012.
The key areas of focus are as follows:
Ability to define more policies than are available in earlier versions

by adding more attributes on which policies can be defined such as
Level II and III credit card data attributes
Removing attributes that do not make sense for defining policies
Adding the capability to create policies for Travel Requisitions. This

is in addition to the expense policies that are currently available in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009.
Moving the Policy violation functionality onto the new Policy

Framework. This framework is useful for the following reasons:
o
o
o
6-10
Helps ensure a consistent user experience across applications

Provides support for the enterprise organization model
Provides date affectivity support


Scenario: Expense Policy Setup
April, the Accounts Payable Administrator, is responsible for setting up expense
policies for Contoso. This process involves several steps, as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Plan how the policies should be organized

Create expense policies
Create travel policies
Begin the travel and expense reporting process
Procedure: Set up Expense Policies

To set up an expense policy, follow these steps:
1. Open Travel and Expense > Setup > Policies > Expense.
2. Click Policy in the New group of the Action pane.
3. Enter a Name for the policy, and optionally enter a detailed
Description.
4. In the Policy organization tab, select the Select Organization
hierarchy.

6-11

5. Select the desired organization entity from the Available
organizations node, and then click Add >>. The entity will move to
the Selected organizations node.
6. Click Create policy rule in the Policy rules tab.
7. Use the Condition editor to create the rule.
FIGURE 6.3 EXPENSE MEALS RULE DETAILS
8. Select an action in the Do the following field. Available options are

as follows:
a. Allow users to submit and approve but display a warning
message
b. Do not allow users to submit or approve and display a warning
message
c. Do not allow users to submit until they enter a justification
d. Do not allow users to approve until they enter a justification
e. Do not allow user to submit or approve until they enter a
justification
6-12

Credit Card Dispute Management

Disputes and chargebacks are an unavoidable part of credit card processing.
Managing the whole dispute process until it is completed has traditionally been a
manual process that could end up being a complex, labor-intenstive and paperintensive task. This usually results in high processing costs in terms of human
resources spent and could also result in losses to the enterprises if they do not
keep an audit trail of potential transactions that might be disputed and make sure
chargeback occurred for the ones that were actually disputed, as applicable.
Credit card dispute management provides a framework that will help enterprises
automate their credit card transaction dispute process independent of the card
provider for dispute management.
Ability to identify corporate credit card transactions for dispute and

start the dispute process.
Ability to generate the dispute cover letter.
Workflow based dispute management process.
Automatic notification of deadlines throughout the dispute process.
Status tracking of disputed transactions.
Electronic documentation support.
Ability to record additional case details.
Ability to reconcile temporary credit to the dispute.
Audit trail.
Scenario: Credit Card Transaction Dispute

Nancy, an employee at Contoso, just returned from a sales event where she used
her corporate credit card for all expenses. She is now in the process of filing her
expenses when she identifies an error in the credit card transactions.
Nancy identifies one transaction with an incorrect amount. It should have been
50.52 U.S. dollars (USD). However, it was 56.52 USD instead. After posting the
expense report, Nancy must dispute the error on her credit card.
Procedure: Submit a Dispute

To submit a dispute on a corporate credit card transaction related to an expense
report, follow these steps:
2. Click the Credit card disputes link under the Manage Expense
section.
3. Click New > Submit a dispute to start a new dispute.
4. The Credit card transaction dispute wizard will open; click Next
to begin the dispute.

6-13

5. Select or verify the Employee, Credit card number, and
Transaction dates, and then click Next.
6. A list of available transactions will be displayed. Select the
transactions that will be disputed and then click Next.
7. Select the Dispute reason.
8. Enter the Expected amount and Expected amount currency.
9. Use the Attach document button to attach any evidence or proof for
the dispute.
10. Click Next and verify the information on the Dispute summary
screen.
11. Click Submit to finalize the dispute.
12. The system displays the Dispute submitted successfully page. Use
the Print button to print a copy of a dispute letter, and then click
Finish to exit the wizard.
Summary
The Expense management functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is
improved significantly.
The key areas of improvements are as follows:
6-14
Ability to maintain and manage receipts
Automation of the expense management process with improved

credit card import and dispute handling
Preventive compliance and enforcement with company travel

policies
Support of policies that span multiple companies and operating units
Ability to enter cross-company expense reports
Improvements to the expense management workflow

Test Your Knowledge

1. Which of the following allow for queuing within the workflow framework?
( ) Travel Requisitions
( ) Expense Report
( ) VAT Recovery
( ) Policy Violations
2. Budgetary control allows for which of the following? (Select all that apply)
( ) Enables options for preventing users from exceeding the budget.
( ) Enables options for checking budgets at the header or line level.
( ) Prevents users from submitting an expense report or travel requisition
when the budget is exceeded.
( ) Prevents users from posting an expense report or travel requisition
3. Put the following steps in sequence for the expense policy procedure:
Step:
_____: Begin the travel expense reporting process.
_____: Create travel and expense policies.
_____: Setup travel and expense policy parameters.
_____: Plan how the policies should be organized.
4. Credit card dispute management provides a framework that automates the
credit card transaction dispute process with the card provider.
( ) True
( ) False

6-15


chapter
1.
2.
3.
6-16

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Which of the following allow for queuing within the workflow framework?
( ) Travel Requisitions
() Expense Report
() VAT Recovery
( ) Policy Violations
2. Budgetary control allows for which of the following? (Select all that apply)
() Enables options for preventing users from exceeding the budget.
() Enables options for checking budgets at the header or line level.
() Prevents users from submitting an expense report or travel requisition
( ) Prevents users from posting an expense report or travel requisition
3. Put the following steps in sequence for the expense policy procedure:
Step:
4
: Begin the travel expense reporting process.
: Create travel and expense policies.
: Setup travel and expense policy parameters.
: Plan how the policies should be organized.
4. Credit card dispute management provides a framework that automates the

credit card transaction dispute process with the card provider.
( ) True
() False

6-17

6-18

CHAPTER 7: GENERAL LEDGER

Objectives
The objectives are:
Explain how to create a new currency, and set up exchange rates.
Create shared fiscal calendars for use by different entities.
Describe how to set up, view, and transfer subledger journal entry
balances to the General ledger.
Review the documents that support accounting distributions and

modify an accounting distribution.
Create financial dimensions from custom lists and existing sources.
Explain how to create chart of account structures and link them to

the chart of accounts.
Create posting rules for the chart of account structures.
Learn about changes in commitment accounting.
View the various amounts related to a purchase order when the

encumbrance process is enabled.
Review the process for posting encumbrances to the general ledger

to track liabilities related to confirmed purchase orders.
Describe how to transfer budget reserves for purchase order

encumbrances at the fiscal year end.
Review how to create a reconciliation report that is grouped by the

general ledger chart of account dimensions.
Introduction
To make the General ledger functional, you must set up the chart of accounts,
fiscal calendars, and currencies. The chart of accounts is a list of main accounts
and financial dimensions that are defined by the account structures that are used
by the chart.
Fiscal calendars specify what time period financial data is posted in, and
currency setup determines which currencies are available for business
transactions.
These settings have always been available in earlier versions of Microsoft
Dynamics AX. However, in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 significant changes
are made to help improve the daily procedures in the General ledger.

7-1

Currencies and Exchange Rates Setup

Currency setup is a mandatory step in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to record
financial transactions. Multicurrency functionality is also provided if your
company does business in more than one currency.
If your organization has multiple legal entities and transacts in multiple
currencies, then maintaining currencies and their corresponding exchange rate in
each legal entity can be a cumbersome task.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, currencies and exchange rates can be shared
across all legal entities. This means that you can set up or maintain currencies
that are available for use in all legal entities that make up the organization.
Currencies Overview
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, all currencies are provided by default. The
currencies are loaded the first time that a user opens the General ledger
parameters form.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 only one currency can represent the Euro
(EUR). By default, the EUR currency is selected as the Euro currency. To change
the Euro currency, you must first clear the Represents the Euro currency check
box on the EUR record in the Currencies form. Then, you can select the
Represents the euro currency on the desired currency.
Because exchange rates types are shared data across the system, they only have
to be set up one time.
7-2


Procedure: Share Exchange Rates Globally
To set up exchange rate types and exchange rates available to all legal entities,
follow these steps:
1. Open General ledger > Setup > Currency > Currencies >
Exchange rate types.
FIGURE 7.1 CURRENCIES FORM
2. Press CTRL+N or click New to create a new record.

3. Enter the identification of the exchange rate type in the Exchange
rate type field and a description in the Name field.
4. Click the Exchange rates tab to enter exchange rates for the
exchange rate type.
5. Define the necessary exchange rates between a currency pair (from
and to currency).
6. Define the Exchange rate multiplier. Typically the system is based
on either one unit or one hundred units. If the field is set to one
hundred units, the exchange rate should specify the equivalent of one
hundred units of the foreign currency. For example, if the "from"
currency is U.S. dollars and the "to" currency is Euro, the exchange
rate should specify how many U.S. dollars equal one hundred Euros.
7. Save the record and close the form.

7-3

Procedure: Maintain Legal Entity Specific Data
When you run currency revaluation, exchange rate differences may occur
because of a change in the exchange rates. For each legal entity you must define
main accounts to appropriately account for the exchange rate loss or gain.
To set up legal entity specific exchange rate loss/gain accounts, follow these
steps:
1. Open General ledger > Setup > Currency > Currency revaluation
accounts.
2. Select the legal entity in the Legal entities field.
3. Select a Currency and define the main accounts that will be posted
to for any unrealized and realized gains/losses for the currency in
that legal entity.
4. Repeat the same steps for each legal entity/currency.
NOTE: This setup can also be completed from the General ledger > Setup >
Ledger form if different gain/loss accounts are not required for each currency.
Accounting and Reporting Currencies

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces the concept of an accounting currency
and a reporting currency.
Accounting Currency: the usual monetary unit of measure that is

used to record the converted monetary value of economic
transactions in ledger accounts. In earlier versions of Microsoft
Dynamics AX, this was called the Company currency.
Reporting Currency: the monetary unit of measure used to record

the converted monetary value of economic transactions in ledger
accounts for financial and management reporting.
An example of this would be if you have a subsidiary company in Canada, and

your primary company is in the United States. When you run reports, you want to
see the results of the business operations in Canadian dollars (CAD). You must
convert your U.S. dollars (USD) into CAD. The system uses the exchange rate
that is defined on the Exchange rates form to convert the amounts for reporting.
7-4


Procedure: Change the Display Currency
After a currency is enabled for currency conversion, you can display financial
information in a form or in a report by using a currency other than the ledger
accounting currency, by following these steps:
1. On the status bar, click the Currency field to open the Currency
converter form.
2. Select any of the currencies that are set up for conversion in the
Currency converter form.
3. Enter the date used for the conversion in the Date of rate field.
4. Click a currency to select the new currency.
The Currency converter form will automatically close, and the Currency field
on the status bar displays the new currency. All the forms, inquiries, and reports
that originally displayed amounts in the company's currency now display the
currency selected.
To return to the default company currency, follow these steps:
1. Open the Currency converter form.
2. Click the Reset button to return to the ledger accounting currency.
NOTE: When you change the display currency, the ledger accounting currency
of a legal entity does not change. Also, this is not a global change. It does not
affect any other users in the legal entity, nor does it change the original
transaction.
Shared Fiscal Calendars

Global organizations frequently operate as different legal entities in different
geographies. Each legal entity frequenty shares data such as Chart of Accounts,
Currencies, Exchange rates, and Calendars. Enabling these types of data to be
defined one time and shared across legal entities helps reduce the cost to
maintain such data for all organizations.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, fiscal calendars are now shared across multiple
legal entities.
The benefits of sharing fiscal calendars include the following:
Supporting multiple fiscal calendars for each legal entity.

For example, for fixed assets that you may require two calendars one
for auditing and one for tax. This lets you run parallel depreciations.
Sharing fiscal calendars across multiple legal entities. This reduces

how much setup is required for each legal entity.

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Scenario: Set Up Shared Fiscal Calendars
Phyllis, the Accounting Manager, wants to define calendars for different
purposes and share them across different ledgers without having to create them in
each legal entity.
Procedure: Create Shared Fiscal Calendars

When you create a new fiscal year, the system creates:
A number of periods with the status of Open
A closing period with the status of On hold
The opening period into the new fiscal year with the status of Closed
To create a new fiscal calendar, follow these steps:

1. Open General ledger > Setup > Fiscal Calendar.
FIGURE 7.2 FISCAL CALENDARS FORM
2. Click New fiscal calendar.

3. Enter fiscal calendar details such as Calendar, Description, Start
date, End date, Name, Length of the period, and Unit on this form.
4. Click Create to finalize the new calendar.
5. Click New fiscal year to create a new year copying the selected
years settings.
NOTE: There is no Period status control on the Fiscal Calendar form. This is
because, when you are sharing a calendar across multiple legal entities, all the
legal entities may not be ready to be closed at the same time. Therefore, you
control the period status on a per-legal entity basis, in their ledger.
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Procedure: View the Fiscal Calendar for the Ledger
To view the fiscal calendar for the Ledger, follow these steps:
1. Open General ledger > Setup > Ledger.
2. Select the calendar from the drop-down menu in the Fiscal
Calendar field.
3. Click Ledger calendar on the upper-left corner of the form and it
will open the desired calendar.
Procedure: Set the Period Status

To view and control the Period status, follow these steps:
1. Open General ledger > Setup > Ledger.
FIGURE 7.3 LEDGER CALENDAR FORM - MODULE ACCESS LEVEL

TAB
2. Select the calendar from the drop-down menu in the Fiscal

Calendar field.

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3. Click Ledger calendar on the upper-left corner of the form and it
will open the desired calendar.
4. Click the Periods tab.
5. Use the Period status field to set the period status.
a. Open
b. Closed
c. On hold (this was earlier named Stopped)
Subledger Accounting
Improvements are made for previewing and updating the accounting entries in
the subledger before journalizing a source document in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012. The subledger journal entries provide the preview of the accounting entry,
and the accounting distributions can be used to correct the subledger journal
entry to make sure that the correct ledger accounts are being updated.
Options are also now available for how the subledger journal entries will be
transferred to general ledger: synchronously or asynchronously, also whether in
detail or summary.
When the Asynchronous or Batch transfer option is selected, source documents
will not immediately transfer to General ledger. Instead, a periodic job must be
initiated to transfer the amounts-in detail or summary-from the subledger to the
General ledger.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the following source documents have
implemented the accounting distribution and subledger journal entry
functionality.
Free text invoice
Purchase requisition
Purchase order
Product receipt
Vendor invoice
Travel requisition
Expense report
Asynchronous Processing
Asynchronous processing is useful when you are processing a large volume of
source documents. It enables the processing to be scheduled and the user to
return to data entry more quickly.
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When you are transferring source documents asynchronously, the option is also
available to transfer in summary. When this option is selected and the
transactions are posted into the General ledger, users can drill down from a
summarized general ledger journal entry to the detailed source documents in the
subledger.
Accounting Distributions
Before you post a source document, you can view the full accounting entry of the
source document. This includes debits and credits. This lets you verify that the
source document is being posted to the correct accounts. This view of the full
accounting entry is named a subledger journal entry. You cannot edit subledger
journals entries directly. To edit subledger journal entries, you must correct the
accounting distributions, posting profile, or posting definition.
Accounting distributions are used to define how an amount is be accounted for,
such as what revenue or expense ledger account an amount will journalize to in
the General ledger. The primary information on an accounting distribution is the
amount on the source document line, and the ledger account for which to
distribute that amount.
The ledger account on the accounting distributions can be defaulted based on the
following:
The default main account on a posting profile or source document

line.
The template defined on the purchase order line.
The default financial dimension values on the purchase order line.
NOTE: If financial dimension values exist on the source document header, they
are copied to the source document lines by default. These values can be
overridden on a line-by-line basis.
Procedure: View Subledger Journals Entries for a Free

Text Invoice
You can use the Subledger journal form to view the debits and credits of
transactions for purchase orders.
To view the subledger journal entries for a free text invoice before posting,
follow these steps:
1. Click Accounts receivable > Common > Free text invoices > All
free text invoices.
2. Double-click the invoice that contains the line with the subledger
journal entry to view.

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3. Click the Invoice lines tab and select the invoice line with the
subledger journal entry to view.
4. In the Accounting group, click Subledger journal to open the
Subledger journal form.
Financial Dimensions Default Templates

When there are common patterns that you use to distribute source document
amounts, you can use a template. Use this form to create a template of percentage
and financial dimension value combinations. The information in the template will
be used to display default financial dimension values when you distribute source
document amounts.
General ledger > Setup > Financial dimensions > Financial dimensions
default templates
FIGURE 7.4 FINANCIAL DIMENSION DEFAULT TEMPLATES FORM
Accounting Distributions
When you define how to account for an amount on a source document line, the
accounting distribution may be split based on percentage, quantity, or amount.
Two versions of the Accounting distributions form can be accessed from any of
the supported source documents.
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The accounting distributions can be accessed from each source

document line by selecting the Distribute amounts button.
The accounting distributions can be accessed for the complete source

document by selecting the View distributions button.


This example uses a free text invoice to open the accounting distribution form.
free text invoices.
2. Double-click the invoice that contains the line for which to create an
accounting distribution.
3. Click the Invoice lines tab and select the invoice line for which to
view an accounting distribution.
4. On the Action Pane strip, click the Distribute amounts button.
FIGURE 7.5 ACCOUNTING DISTRIBUTIONS FORM
Procedure: Create Distributions

To create accounting distributions, follow these steps:
free text invoices.
2. Double-click the invoice that contains the line for which to create an
accounting distribution.
3. Click the Invoice lines tab and select the invoice line for which to
create an accounting distribution.
4. On the action pane strip, click the Distribute amounts button.
5. Select how to distribute by selecting Amount, Percent, or Quantity.

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6. You can create distributions in the following ways:
a. To create multiple distributions with the same quantity, percent,
or amount distribution, click New for each accounting
distribution to create, select a ledger account for each
distribution, and then click Distribute equally.
b. To create distributions one at a time, on the action pane strip,
click New. Select the ledger account to distribute the invoice line
to and enter the quantity, percent, or amount to distribute. For
example, if you selected Amount in the Distributed by field,
enter an amount in the Amount field. Information will be
displayed in the Quantity and Percent fields when you tab off
of the record.
7. Repeat until you are finished creating distributions.
8. Close the form.
Financial Dimensions
The main purpose of financial dimension is to provide more detail about the
activity in your chart of accounts. For example, you have ten departments in your
organization and you must create a salary expense account for the payroll.
Instead of creating ten separate payroll accounts for each department you can
assign the same payroll expense account to each department. By doing this, you
can keep your chart of accounts short and more manageable.
The following are the main features and changes that are made to financial
dimensions in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012:
The Financial dimension wizard is removed. The user can create

and rename financial dimension in a form, exactly like other base
data entities. It is no longer required to synchronize the database
when adding a new financial dimension.
Valid from and to dates on each financial dimension value.
The users can mask the financial dimension. The mask is used to
validate the financial dimension value.
Procedure: Create Financial Dimensions

To create a financial dimension and assign attributes to it, follow these steps:
1. Open General ledger > Setup > Financial dimensions >
Dimensions. Use this form to create financial dimensions that you
can use as account segments for your shared chart of accounts.
2. Press CTRL+N or click New to create a new record.
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3. In the Use values from field select an option:
a. To create a user-defined financial dimension, select <Custom
dimension>.
b. Select a system-defined entity upon which to base the financial
dimension. Financial dimension values will be created from this
selection. For example, to create dimension values for projects,
select Projects. A dimension value will be created for each
project name.
4. After you have created the financial dimension, use the Value
details form to assign additional properties to each financial
dimension.
5. Optionally, enter a format mask to use for creating new financial
dimension values. A format mask limits the amount and type of
information that you can enter for financial dimension values.
NOTE: Masking is available only when you select Custom list in the field.
Financial Dimension Sets

Financial dimension sets have several purposes in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
As in earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX, Financial dimension sets are
used to determine how reports and inquiries related to the general ledger are
rendered.
Financial dimension sets can now be used to calculate balances during the
posting process. Balances in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 are now only stored
based on the dimension set, and calculated based on whether the option to
calculate with posting or the batch schedule. Financial dimension sets also drive
the data displayed in the Trial balance list page.
Financial Dimension Sets Example

The sequence in which dimension focuses are considered in reporting effects
how transactions are sorted and fields are presented.
For example, the set Department and Cost center indicates that the
Department dimension type is first and Cost center second. Therefore, the
considered focus is the composite of Department and Cost center. Department
amounts are presented first and Cost center amounts are presented second.
The focuses defined can be used alone or in pairs when you inquire or report on
financial transactions. Select a main and secondary focus to be considered when
presenting the results. The secondary focus details the figures of the main focus.
The selection of a secondary focus is limited to focuses that do not share a
dimension type with a main focus. Therefore, if the main focus is the composite
of Ledger account and Department, you can only select Cost center and/or
Purpose as the secondary focus.

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General ledger > Setup > Financial dimensions > Financial dimension sets
FIGURE 7.6 FINANCIAL DIMENSION SET FORM
Multiple Charts of Accounts

It is common for large organizations to have the same chart of accounts that is
used across multiple legal entities. This feature is included in Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 and lets you define legal entity specific data, such as the
default sales tax code on the main account or the ability to inactivate a financial
dimension value for a specific legal entity.
The following entities/objects have legal entity specific data:
Main account
Dimension values
The following elements make up the shared chart of accounts.
7-14
Main account templates
Chart of accounts
Main accounts
Account structures
Advanced rules
Financial dimensions
Financial dimension values


Procedure: Set Up a Chart of Accounts
Use the Chart of accounts form to create, manage, and view the organizations
chart of accounts. The chart of accounts also provides the main account and
financial dimension value combination rules. The main accounts contain the
financial data about the activity of the legal entity.
To set up chart of accounts, follow these steps:
1. Click General ledger > Setup > Chart of accounts > Chart of
accounts.
2. Press Ctrl+N or click New.
3. Enter the name and description in the Chart of Accounts and
Description fields, respectively.
Chart of Accounts Form

The following tables provide the description of the tabs and buttons available in
the Chart of accounts form.
Tabs
Tab
Description
Main
accounts
View the main accounts that are included in the selected chart
of accounts.
Account
Structures
Add account structures to the selected chart of accounts or

remove account structures from the selected chart of accounts.
You must create at least one account structure before you can
enter transactions.
Buttons
Button
Description
New
Open the form, where you can create one or more account
structures, also known as a chart of accounts
Automatic
account type
selection
Open the Automatic account type selection form, where you

can set up the selection of the account type according to the
first character that you enter.
New from
template
Create a new main account based on a template that is set up in

the Main account templates form.

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Procedure: Create a Main Account
To create a new main account, follow these steps.
1. Click General ledger > Setup > Chart of accounts > Chart of
accounts.
2. Select a chart of accounts.
3. On the Main accounts tab, click New.
4. Click New to create a new line.
5. Enter an account number in the Main account field and enter an
account name.
6. Select the type of account in the Type field. Profit and loss will be
displayed as the default value unless you have defined automatic
selection of account type by prefix in the Automatic account type
selection form.
7. Enter or select an account category, if the account type is anything
other than Total.
8. Enter or select a reporting type, if the account type is Reporting.
9. Enter any available information in the additional fields.
10. In the Select the level of main account to display field, select Legal
entity to enter and view legal entity specific data for the main
account.
11. Use the Add legal entity and Remove legal entity buttons to select
which legal entities the main account is valid for.
NOTE: A message will display below the Legal entities form that displays for
which legal entity you are viewing the main account.
12. Enter any legal entity specific data into the General and Setup tabs.
13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 for each legal entity that the main account
should be valid for.
Account Structures Overview

Account structures consist of main accounts and can include financial dimension
segments. The account structures are used to define the valid combinations that,
together with the main accounts, form a chart of accounts. The account structures
allow you to define the sequence for the entry of the main account and financial
dimension.
NOTE: It is not required that the main account be the first segment in the
account structure.
7-16


Multiple account structures enable a company to track information for specific
accounts while not affecting other accounts.
For example, balance sheet accounts may not require as many dimensions as
profit and loss type accounts. For balance sheet accounts, you might only be
interested in Department. For profit and loss accounts, you might also want to
track Cost Center, Purpose, and Country/Region.
Procedure: Configuration of Account Structures

To configure account structures, follow these steps:
1. Open General ledger > Chart of accounts > Configure account
structure.
FIGURE 7.7 CHART OF ACCOUNT STRUCTURES FORM
2. Click New or press Ctrl + N to create a new record.

3. Click Add segment to add financial dimension to the structure from
the list.
4. Click Validate to check whether you created a valid combination of
financial dimensions.
5. Click Activate when the validation is completed.
NOTE: This form can also be accessed from the Chart of accounts form.

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Lab 7.1 - Create Financial Dimensions and Chart of Account

Structures
This lab provides practice for creating a financial dimension and chart of account
structure.
Scenario
Contoso has a holiday sale that runs from November 1 to December 31.
Phyllis, the Accounting Manager, wants all sales transactions entered during this
time to track "Fall" as the financial dimension attribute value for a new financial
dimension called "Holidays". Help Phyllis create a financial dimension and
assign values to it.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided to create a financial dimension and assign
attributes to it.
1. Ledger account 401190 - "Sales-Other".
2. Department OU_1 - "Internal Sales".
Need a Little Help?

1. Create a new financial dimension titled "Holiday".
2. Add a new Financial dimension value called "Fall" to the new
Holiday dimension.
3. Add a date range of 11/1/2011 to 12/31/2011 to the Fall dimension
value.
4. Create a new account structure including Main account, DimensionShared, and the new Holiday dimensions.
5. Set the Main account to ledger account 401190, and the DimensionShared to OU_1.
Step by Step
1. Open General ledger > Setup > Financial dimensions >
Dimensions.
2. Click New.
3. Select < Custom dimension > in the Use values from field.
4. Enter "Holiday" in the Dimension name field.
5. Click the Financial dimension values button.
6. Click New to create a new value.
7. Enter "Fall" into the Dimension value field and Description field.
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8. Enter "11/1/2011" in the Active from field on the General fast tab.
9. Enter "12/31/2011" in Active to field.
10. Close the form. You can see the Holiday financial dimension in the
Dimension name list.
11. Close the form.
12. Open General ledger > Setup > Chart of Accounts, and then click
Configure account structures.
13. Click New.
14. Enter Account structure ID "Holiday sales", enter a Description,
and then click OK.
15. Click Add Segment.
16. Select Main Account from the existing financial dimensions.
17. Enter account number 401190 - "Sales-Other".
18. Click Add Segment again.
19. Select Department-Shared from the existing financial dimensions.
20. Enter OU_1 - "Internal Sales".
21. Click Add Segment again.
22. Select Holiday from the existing financial dimensions.
23. Click Validate.
24. Close the Infolog form.
25. Click Activate.
26. Click Yes to continue and complete the activation, and then close the
Configure account structures form when the process is completed.

7-19

Advanced Rule Structures for Ledger Posting

You can use advanced rule structures to link a financial dimension or multiple
financial dimensions to an account number or range of account numbers so that
additional information can be collected for reporting and analysis.
For example, you want to track the travel expense account by the airlines. You
could set up 'Travel Expense" as the main account and create another financial
dimension called "Airlines" and set criteria for that financial dimension such as
"Airline 1", "Airline 2", and "Airline 3". Now, you can easily track travel
expense by each airline that is defined.
Scenario: Create Accounting Rules

Phyllis, the Accounting Manager, is setting up the charts of accounts for Contoso
Enterprise. For some accounts, the organization wants to track additional
information that is not captured in the account structures. She must make sure
that for the customer group (one of the financial dimensions)"80: Other
customers" only certain departments can be used.
Procedure: Create Accounting Rules

To create an accounting rule, follow these steps:
1. Open General ledger > Setup > Chart of accounts > Advanced
rule structures.
2. Click New to create a new record.
3. Enter a unique identifier for the Advanced rule structure, enter a
brief description, and then click OK.
4. Click Add segment to add financial dimension to the structure from.
5. Select the desired Financial dimension from the list and then click
Add segment.
6. Click the Filter icon under the selected segment to define which
values for the financial dimension are applicable for the selected
rule.
7. Select the Specify which values are allowed option.
8. Click in the Enter a value field and then enter the desired value.
9. Optionally, mark the Allow blanks check box to allow blank values
for the segment in the advanced rule that you are defining.
10. Click OK to save and close the form.
11. Click Add segment to add another financial dimension to the
structure.
12. Select the next desired financial dimension from the list and then
click Add segment.
13. Click the Filter icon under the new segment to define which values
for the financial dimension are applicable for the selected rule.
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14. Select the Specify which values are allowed option.
15. Click in the Enter a value field and then enter the desired value.
16. Optionally, select the Allow blanks check box to allow blank values
for the segment in the advanced rule that you are defining.
17. Click OK to save and close the form.
18. Click Activate to save the changes and make them effective in the
ledger.
Ledger Account Alias

You can set up ledger account number aliases to provide a shortcut to a complete
account number or a partial account number.
You can also define a date range on an account that will be used to determine
whether an account is valid for entry and posting and define an account mask to
dictate the format of account values (length, symbols, alpha-numeric values, and
so on). Regardless of the date range, the user can mark an account as closed
(inactive).
Commitment Accounting
Commitment accounting is also known as Encumbrance Accounting.
Commitment accounting enables the recording of a commitment in the general
ledger for future or planned expenses before the creation or collection of the
underlying documents, such as, invoices or purchase orders, before those
committed funds are paid out.
This enables the financial records to reflect the allocation of budgetary resources
when they are committed instead of when the actual expenditure is recorded.
This provides financial information earlier than budget to actual reports.
Examples of commitments might include internal purchases or monthly utility
payments.
Commitment accounting records the reservation of funds for future payment
obligations in the general ledger. In Commitment accounting the accounting
entries are made and the appropriation is charged when a contract is started or
when an order is placed for goods or services. The entries record the amount to
be reserved out of the unencumbered balance that is remaining in an
appropriation to honor the commitment.

7-21

About Purchase Order Encumbrances
An encumbrance is a reservation of budget funds that are set aside to make sure
that actual expenditures do not exceed the available budget. If the encumbrance
process is enabled, you can create purchase order encumbrances that are recorded
in the general ledger when a purchase order is confirmed. Encumbered amounts
can then be spent when vendor invoices that reference a purchase order are
confirmed. Encumbered amounts on a purchase order are relieved when a vendor
invoice is confirmed to spend all or part of the encumbered amount. Relieved
amounts are subtracted from the amount of the purchase order encumbrance.
NOTE: You must use budget control in order to perform budget funds
availability check and to create reservations of budget funds against the budget
balances. Commitment accounting only records the commitment of funds in the
form of a sub ledger journal entry and then in the general ledger.
A pre-encumbrance is a request to reserve budget funds for planned expenditures.
The funds arerequested, but have not yet been approved for a purchase order. If
the pre-encumbrance process is enabled, you can create purchase requisitions
with a pre-encumbered amount for the planned expenditure. The pre-encumbered
amounts are then recorded in the general ledger.
When purchase requisitions are approved, you can create purchase orders for the
requested amounts. When you create and confirm a purchase order for the preencumbered amount on a purchase requisition, a purchase order encumbrance is
created for that amount. The pre-encumbered amount is then automatically
relieved. This avoids having a budget reservation be counted two times in the
general ledger, as both a pre-encumbrance and an encumbrance.
Scenario: Purchase Order Encumbrances

A department manager in your organization creates a purchase requisition for
expected purchases for the department. One of the lines in the purchase
requisition is for 12,000.00 U.S. dollars (USD) for new office furniture.
The request is later approved and a purchase order is created that has a line to
cover the 12,000.00 USD cost.
The 12,000.00 USD pre-encumbrance on the purchase requisition is
automatically relieved when the new purchase order is confirmed. The relieved
amount on the purchase requisition line is then replaced by a 12,000.00 (USD)
encumbrance on the purchase order.
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Procedure: Enable Purchase Order Encumbrances
To enable encumbrances or pre-encumbrances for purchase orders, follow these
steps:
1. Open General ledger > Setup > General ledger parameters.
2. Click Ledger, and then click the Accounting rules fast tab.
3. Select the Use posting definitions check box. Click Yes if you are
asked to confirm the selection.
IMPORTANT: You should create and test all posting definitions before you
select the Use posting definitions check box. When you select that check box, all
posting definitions are active immediately. Posting definitions can be used only
for the transaction posting types that are shown in the Transaction posting
definitions form. Transaction posting types that are not shown in this form
always use posting profiles.
4. Select one or both of the following check boxes:
a. Select Enable encumbrance process to create encumbrances
only.
b. Select Enable pre-encumbrance process to create both preencumbrances and encumbrances. If you select this check box,
the Enable encumbrance process check box is automatically
selected.
5. Close the General ledger parameters form.
Posting Definitions
Posting definitions are used in addition to posting profiles to create sub ledger
journal lines for originating transactions that meet selected criteria. Posting
definitions contain the accounts or dimensions to generate when a posting
definition is used.
After you create posting definitions, you must assign them to transaction posting
types. Transaction posting definitions identify which posting definitions to use
with a specific posting type.
Procedure: Set Up Posting Definitions

To set up a posting definition, follow these steps:
1. Click General ledger > Setup > Posting > Posting definitions.
2. Press CTRL+N to create a new posting definition.
3. Enter a name and description for the posting definition. You may
enter a longer description on the Memo tab.
4. Select the module for which the posting definition applies.

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5. Under Match criteria, click Add, and then enter the account number
that must be in the originating entry.
6. Optional: If you have multiple match account numbers, in the
Priority field, select a number to indicate the order the transactions
should be processed. Accounts marked 1 are processed first.
7. Under Generated entries, click Add, and then enter the account
number where the system will generate a ledger line when a match
exists.
8. In the Generated debit/credit field, select the way to generate the
debit or credit.
9. Optional: To link to an existing posting definition, select the
definition on the Linked definitions tab. Linked posting definitions
must be associated with the same module. This tab is visible only if
the current posting definition is not linked to another posting
definition. If it is already linked to another definition, the Test tab is
visible.
10. Optional: To test the posting definition, click Test. A test lets you
enter sample transaction data and then view the system-generated
ledger lines that will result when the posting definition is used.
11. Close the form.
Procedure: View Encumbrances for Purchase Orders

You can view encumbrances by ledger account for a selected purchase order, and
view any amounts that are relieved. Encumbered amounts on a purchase order
are relieved when a vendor invoice is confirmed to spend all or part of the
encumbered amount. The relieved amount can include any invoice credits or
price adjustments to the encumbered amount. You can also view the remaining
amount of any encumbered amounts for a purchase order, if the whole
encumbered amount was not relieved.
To view encumbrances for a purchase order, follow these steps:
purchase orders.
7-24


2. Double-click a purchase order.
3. On the Action Pane, click the Purchase tab, and then click View
subledger journal.
FIGURE 7.8 SUBLEDGER JOURNAL FORM
Process Purchase Orders at Year-End Overview

If you record encumbrances for purchase orders in the general ledger or have
budget control enabled for recording reservation of budget funds, you can
generate closing transactions to the general ledger and against budget
reservations at the end of each fiscal year.
NOTE: This process can be used if you are using budget control only,
commitment accounting only, or both budget control and commitment
accounting. If budget control is not enabled, then this process does not affect
budget reservations. Instead it only creates general journal entries according to
the accounting rules (posting definitions) for commitment accounting.
At the start of the new fiscal year, you can create opening transactions to
correctly record the encumbrances and budget reservations. These transactions
help make sure that the reservations for purchase order encumbrances are
correctly recorded on the year-end financial statements and in budget control.
Closing purchase order encumbrances is a separate process from closing a fiscal
year, and is usually performed before a fiscal year is closed. There are two yearend processing options to close purchase order encumbrances in the fiscal year
that is ending and re-encumber them in the new fiscal year.

7-25

Year-End Close Options
7-26
If you select this

option...
The following closing and opening steps will occur for

purchase order encumbrances.
Process and do
not carry forward
budget
Closing steps:
1. The remaining encumbrances in the general ledger
and outstanding budget reservations for
encumbrances are reversed.
2. Year-end closing transactions are generated in the
general ledger.
Opening steps:
1. Closing transactions are reversed.
2. Encumbrances are reestablished in the general ledger.
3. Budget reservations for encumbrances are created for
the purchase orders that are being processed against
next year's budget.
Process and carry

forward budget
IMPORTANT: This option is available only if budget

control is enabled.
Closing steps:
1. The remaining encumbrances in the general ledger
and outstanding budget reservations for
encumbrances are reversed.
2. Year-end closing transactions are generated in the
general ledger.
3. Budget adjustments are created to reduce the budget
in the fiscal year that is being closed.
Opening steps:
1. Closing transactions are reversed.
2. Encumbrances are reestablished in the general ledger.
3. Budget reservations for encumbrances are created for
the purchase orders that are being processed and
classified as carry forward encumbrances.
4. Budget adjustments are created in the new fiscal year
to re-establish the budget register entries that were
carried forward from the previous fiscal year and
classified as carry forward budget.


Procedure: Run the Purchase Order Year-End Process
To select purchase orders and run the purchase order year-end process, follow
these steps:
1. Open General ledger > Periodic > Fiscal year close > Purchase
order year-end process.
2. Click Retrieve purchase orders in the bottom pane to select
purchase orders for the year-end process. This opens a query form
where you can select purchase orders by criteria such as date, date
range, vendor account, purchase order type, purchase order balance,
or financial dimensions.
3. Click OK in the Inquiry form.
4. The results of the query are displayed in the bottom pane of the
Purchase order year-end process form. Select the Include check
box for each purchase order to include in the year-end processing.
5. Encumbrances for those purchase orders will be reversed in the fiscal
year that is ending and the encumbered amounts will be made
available in the new fiscal year. You can click Include all to select
all the purchase orders in the list or click Exclude all to clear your
selections.
6. In the Year-end option field, select how to process purchase order
encumbrances.
7. Select an original budget code, if you selected the Process and
carry forward budget year-end option. This code will be used for
budget adjustments that are made in the closing fiscal year. The code
that you select must not have a workflow selected, because the yearend processing would stop for workflow approvals.
8. Select a carry forward budget code, if you selected the Process
and carry forward budget year-end option. This code will be used
for budget adjustments that are made in the new fiscal year. The code
that you select must not have a workflow selected, because the yearend processing would stop for workflow approvals.
9. Verify the default values in the Calendar and Fiscal year fields and
make any changes.
10. Verify the default values for the Closing parameters fields and
make any changes.
a. The default value for the Accounting date field is the last day of
the selected fiscal year.
b. The Type field is typically set to Operating for a period that can
be used to record accounting transactions. You can select
Closing if you are using a closing period to separate the closing
transactions.
c. If you selected a type of Closing, select the closing period that
you want to use.

7-27

11. Verify the default values for the Opening parameters fields and
make any changes.
a. The default value for the Accounting date field is the first day
of the opening fiscal year.
b. The default value for the Period field is the first period that has a
type of Operating in the opening fiscal year. This type of period
is used to record accounting transactions. You can select a
different period. However, it must have a type of Operating.
12. Click Process when you are ready to run the purchase order year-end
process.
13. If any messages are displayed, make the necessary corrections and
run the process again for the affected purchase orders.
Encumbrance Reconciliation Report

You can select general ledger parameters that let you record encumbrances in the
general ledger. An encumbrance is a reflection of a reservation of budget funds
recorded in the ledger to budgetary accounts. If the purchase order encumbrance
process is enabled, the encumbered amounts are recorded on the balance sheet.
A new form is introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to prepare a
reconciliation report that is grouped by the general ledger chart of accounts
dimension that you select. Open General ledger > Reports > Reconciliation >
Vendor > Encumbrance to access the report.
This report identifies imbalances between budget reservations for encumbrances
and the corresponding encumbrances that are tracked in the general ledger. You
can view a detailed version of the report, or view only the differences.
The detailed version shows totals by transaction or document number for all
encumbrances.
The differences-only version shows only instances where the budget reservation
for encumbrances does not balance with the corresponding encumbrance
accounts in the general ledger.
NOTE: The commitment accounting ledger accounts must be set up to use the
appropriate account category either pre-encumbrance or encumbrance for the
amounts to be reflected on the report.
7-28

Summary
This modulde reviewed the new features that are included in the General ledger
module of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
The key areas of improvement are as follows:
Shared currencies across multiple legal entities.
Subledger journals entries that let you preview the accounting entry
on a source document before you post it.
New functionality for accounting distributions on many source

document.
Ability to create structures of a main account and the financial

dimensions assigned to it.
Advanced rules that provide you additional information for a specific

general ledger account.
Shared fiscal calendars used by multiple legal entities.

7-29

Test Your Knowledge

1. Where can you change the period status?
( ) On the Fiscal calendar form when you create it.
( ) On the Fiscal calendar form when you open it from the Ledger form.
( ) On the Fiscal year form.
( ) On the Working days calendar.
_____ 1. Account
Structure
_____ 2.
Accounting
Distribution
_____ 3. Shared
Chart of Accounts
_____ 4.
Accounting
Currency
_____ 5.
Reporting
Currency
a. A process of splitting the source accounting

documents
b. The monetary unit of measure used to record the
converted monetary value of economic transactions
in ledger accounts for financial and management
reporting.
c. The same chart of accounts that are used by the
multiple legal entities
d. The usual monetary unit of measure that is used to
record the converted monetary value of economic
transactions in ledger accounts.
e. A configuration of the main account financial
dimension and other financial dimensions.
3. Define the steps that are required to enable a currency for conversion.
Step:
_____: On the General fast tab, select the Conversion check box to enable a
currency for conversion.
_____: Select a currency.
_____: Open General Ledger > Setup > Currencies.
4. What are the Account aliases used for?
( ) To create main account in the chart of accounts.
( ) To create an account template.
( ) To create a shortcut to a complete or partial account number.
( ) To configure the accounting rule.
7-30


5. When do you use Financial dimension default templates?

7-31


chapter
1.
2.
3.
7-32

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Where can you change the period status?
( ) On the Fiscal calendar form when you create it.
() On the Fiscal calendar form when you open it from the Ledger form.
( ) On the Fiscal year form.
( ) On the Working days calendar.
e 1. Account
Structure
a 2.
Accounting
Distribution
c 3. Shared
Chart of
Accounts
d 4.
Accounting
Currency
b 5. Reporting
Currency
a. A process of splitting the source accounting

documents
b. The monetary unit of measure used to record the
converted monetary value of economic transactions
in ledger accounts for financial and management
reporting.
c. The same chart of accounts that are used by the
multiple legal entities
d. The usual monetary unit of measure that is used to
record the converted monetary value of economic
transactions in ledger accounts.
e. A configuration of the main account financial
dimension and other financial dimensions.
3. Define the steps that are required to enable a currency for conversion.
Step:
3 : On the General fast tab, select the Conversion check box to enable a
currency for conversion.
2
: Select a currency.
: Open General Ledger > Setup > Currencies.

7-33

4. What are the Account aliases used for?
( ) To create main account in the chart of accounts.
( ) To create an account template.
() To create a shortcut to a complete or partial account number.
( ) To configure the accounting rule.
5. When do you use Financial dimension default templates?

MODEL ANSWER:
When there are common patterns that you use to distribute source document
amounts, you can use a template.
7-34

CHAPTER 8: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND

ACCOUNTING
Objectives
The objectives are:
Create a timesheet for a project.
Allocate fixed price revenue by resources.
Set up budget controls, and create and revise budgets.
Review the process for creating and managing projects on Enterprise

Portal.
Set up funding sources, limits, and rules.
Set initial balances for a project.
Introduction
The Project management and accounting module in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012 is improved to help simplify and streamline project-related processes. In
addition, many features from the Microsoft Dynamics client are extended to now
be available in Enterprise Portal.
Key areas of improvement include the following:
Improvements to timesheets in the client and the Enterprise Portal.
Additional methods for allocating revenue on fixed price projects are

introduced.
Budget control for projects is introduced.
Users can create projects in the Enterprise Portal.
Users can create and manage funding for project contracts including
funding sources, funding limits, and funding rules.
Ability to add beginning balances to projects that do not affect the

general ledger.

8-1

Project Timesheets
Improvements are made to the process for submitting project timesheets in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. This includes the following:
Users are now able to enter time for multiple projects.
Timesheet support in Enterprise Portal includes the ability to manage

favorites and to quickly create a new timesheet based on a previous
timesheet or based on favorites.
Instant access to hours already logged in a timesheet week from a

fact box. This also helps prevent users from entering duplicate hours.
Quick manual entry of timesheet lines by letting the user key in

partial activity/category IDs. The system will automatically resolve
to the first matching activity/category.
Improved readability of the timesheets by displaying both the ID and

names concatenated for project, activity and category fields.
The timesheet list page lets you preview the timesheet lines without
having the need to open the timesheet.
The timesheet line-level approvals now use support from the

workflow framework for lines to achieve consistency with other
tasks.
The timesheet review experience is improved by not displaying

timesheet lines with zero hours. The system now automatically
deletes such lines upon submission.
Scenario: Viewing Timesheets

Users of the project system play one or more roles in one or more projects.
Improvements in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 help you make sure that project
users can view only timesheets that they are allowed to view based on the role(s)
they play in one or more projects.
The following table displays an example of users and their roles in various
projects:
User
Role
Project
Prakash
Project Manager
Project 1 and Project 2
Kevin
Project Supervisor
All projects
Nancy*
Team Member
Project 1
Tricia
Team Member
Project 2
*Nancy is also set up as a delegate for Tricia from 7/1/2010 through 7/15/2010.
8-2


Based on the outlined roles, the users can view the following timesheets:
Prakash - can view all his own timesheets, and the timesheets for
which he is a project manager (Nancy and Tricia's timesheets).
Kevin - can view all his own timesheets, and the timesheets for
which he is a project supervisor (Prakash, Nancy, and Tricia's
timesheets).
Nancy - can view all her own timesheets, and Tricia's timesheets for
the delegated time period.
Tricia - can view all her own timesheets.
Procedure: Create a Timesheet

To create a new timesheet in Enterprise Portal, follow these steps:
1. Open the Employee Services page on Enterprise portal in your
Internet browser.
2. Click My timesheets under the Manage time section.
3. Click New > New timesheet to start a new timesheet.
FIGURE 8.1 NEW TIMESHEET FORM
4. Select the Date for the timesheet.

5. In the Lines tab, select an option to add a line:
a. Click New line to manually add a new timesheet line.
b. Click Copy from > My favorites to create lines from your
favorites.
c. Click Copy from > Timesheet to copy lines from a timesheet
that you are asked to select from.

8-3

6. Enter the Customer or Project and the Activity, Category, and
Line property.
7. Enter the number of daily working hours into each cell. There is one
column for each day in the period.
8. Click Save to update the lines on the timesheet.
Allocate Project Revenue

The revenue recognition system in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 for fixed
price projects can only allocate revenue for each project based, on a completion
percentage. This is usually sufficient for Construction and Engineer-to-order
(ETO) companies.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces the ability to allocate and post revenue
based on an internal sales price for each employee, category, and dimension. This
enables companies to monitor the profitability for each allocation area. This is a
necessity for professional services and consulting companies.
Fixed Rate Allocation Overview

The estimate system in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 can only post the revenue
through a fee transaction for the estimate period, whereas Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012 will allocate the revenue posting to each hour, expense and item
transactions. The earlier functionality is still available in Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012
There are two methods to allocate the revenue to each transaction:
by a fixed rate
by adjustable rates.
When fixed rate is selected, each transaction receives a fixed sales rate based on
the sales price setting. If there is a cost over/under run, the estimate would post a
fee transaction to adjust to the contract value.
When Adjustable internal sales rate is selected, each transaction receives a sales
rate based on the sales price setting. If there is a cost over/under run, the estimate
will adjust each hour, expense and item transactions based on the new profit
markup rate.
8-4


The Revenue Recognition for Fixed Price Flow figure shows how the postings
flow through the system for the various types of transactions.
FIGURE 8.2 REVENUE RECOGNITION FOR FIXED PRICE FLOW

8-5

The Behavior of Revenue Recognition figure shows the behavior of how the
revenue is posted and related to the various transactions types.
FIGURE 8.3 BEHAVIOR OF REVENUE RECOGNITION
Percent Based Overview

When you post revenue based on the completion percentage, the revenue is only
associated with the fee transaction posted by the estimate system. The revenue is
not allocated to the individual lines or transactions.
Instead, the cost is posted to a new fee transaction based on the percentage of the
project that is completed.
Fixed Rate Overview

When you use the Fixed rate revenue recognition option, each transaction is
allocated revenue based on the sales price posted in the journal.
The formula used for calculating the estimated revenue is as follows:
Contract value Sum of sales amount of transactions (Hours + Expense + Item)
8-6


Markup Percent Total Overview
By using the markup percent of the estimate to accrue the revenue, the hour,
expense, and item transactions will acheive the same profitability.
For example, all transactions have a 60 percent markup for the third and fourth
quarters in 2008. However, because cost of business increases over time, cost is
added to each of the cost estimate transactions in 2009. This causes the profit to
slip and the markup percent gradually decreases.
Every time the markup percent changes from the previous estimate, the system
uses the new percent for all new transactions found by the estimate. Then the
system adjusts the transactions from the previous estimate by creating
incremental sales amount posting to reduce the revenue from 60 percent to the
new markup percent.
The Estimates Revenue formula is as follows:
Transaction (Hour, Expense, and Item) cost * Contract value / Total estimated
cost
Markup Percent for Each Estimate Line Overview

By using the markup percent for each estimate line, a fixed price amount is
allocated to the sub fixed amount that is associated to each of the cost lines in the
estimate. In this manner, the individual transaction, such as hours, will live a life
of its own, and only cost overruns in hours will affect the profitability of the
hours. Other cost transactions will not be affected by the hours; instead they can
have their individual fixed amount associated.
The Estimates Revenue formula is as follows:
Transaction (Hour, Expense, and Item) cost * Sales amount of estimate line /
Cost amount of estimate line
Value Added Markup Percent

When you use the value added amount all profits are related to the hours.
For expense and item transactions, production revenue that is equal to the cost is
accrued; whereas for the hours, both production revenue plus the profit revenue
is posted to the individual hour transactions.
For example the value added rate of 225 (which can be assumed to be equal to
125 markup) is posted for the first two quarters. All employees have the same
markup percent. Therefore, an employee with a high cost rate is also associated
with a larger sales price.

8-7

Value Added Hour Rate
Using the value added hour rate means that all profits are related to the hours.
For expense and item costs, production revenue equal to the cost is accrued;
whereas for the hours, production revenue plus profit revenue is posted to the
individual hour transactions.
For example, the value added hour rate is 108.00 for all employees for the first
two quarters. All employees have the same sales price. Therefore, the
profitability will vary in percent, depending on the employee cost rate. A low
cost rate for an employee assumes a high profitability and vice versa.
Project Budgeting
When project managers create an original project budget, especially one with a
complex structure, they need a comprehensive view of the budget as it is being
defined. This gives the project managers ability to do the following:
See the overall budget in a summary presentation.
Compare the budget that is being entered to the agreed-on funding

(both internal and external).
Make corrections to the budget entries before to submission.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces new budget control functionality for

projects. This feature focuses on providing a comprehensive, and user-friendly
tool to manage a projects budget over the life of the project.
This feature has two primary components:
Creation of the projects original budget
Processing of project budget revisions
Original Project Budgets

The original project budget component of the project budgeting feature lets you
perform the following tasks:
8-8
Define the original project budget at various levels of the project

hierarchy
View the original project budget as it is being developed
Submit the original project budget for review and approval.


Throughout the life of a project, comparison of the project budget amounts to
actual and committed amounts at the project activity level is important. This
detail of comparison can help identify specifically where the project is on track
and where it is not. This visibility frequently allows for appropriate corrective
action to be taken at specific activity levels before the deviation becomes
significant.
Budget Revision and Tracking

The second component of the project budgeting feature lets you capture
individual requests to revise the project budget as uncommitted budget revisions,
and manage the project budget revision submit/review/approval process. This
ultimately results in an update to the overall project budget.
A key feature of this is the maintenance of an audit trail of all project budget
revisions, those awaiting approval, those approved, and those rejected.
Maintaining a comprehensive audit trail of project budget revisions also allows
for better estimation of future projects, because it is easier to see where projects
have lost or gained profitability. Additionally, the nature and degree of the
change requests that were made during the life cycle of these projects is also
useful.
Scenario: Implement Budget Control for Projects

Prakash, the Project Manager, must define an original project budget against the
projects activity structure (instead of at the project summary level). This lets
Prakash monitor budget versus actual amounts at a reduced level of detail. This
includes how much of the project budget is consumed.
Prakash can determine whether his team is on target for costs and revenue, or if
they will exceed the project budget and therefore need to change the project
activity structure or the project budget to adjust for any additional work needed.
Prakash has the following information available and must enter it into Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012.
Project Activity Structure
Amount at level
Total for level
Project: Condominium renovation
60.00
320.00
45.00
120.00
25.00
45.00
Activity: Sand cabinets
10.00
10.00
Activity: Refinish cabinets
10.00
10.00
Sub-project: Floor renovation
30.00
30.00
100.00
100.00
Sub-project: Kitchen renovation

Sub-project: Cabinets renovation
Sub-project: Bathroom renovation

8-9

Procedure: Set Up a Project for Budget Control
To enable budget control for a project, follow these steps
1. Open Project management and accounting > Common >
Projects > All projects.
2. Select the desired project and then click Edit.
3. Click the Budget and forecast tab.
FIGURE 8.4 PROJECT DETAILS - BUDGET AND FORECAST TAB
4. Select the Use budget control to enable budget control tracking for a
project.
5. Select an option for Transaction types controlled:
a. Revenues and Costs
b. Costs only
c. Revenues only
8-10


6. Select an option for Budget overrun default:
a. Allow overruns - users will be allowed to post transactions
against a project that exceed the budget.
b. Warn overruns - users will receive a warning message when
they post a transaction against a project that exceeds the budget.
c. Disallow overruns - users will be restricted from posting
transactions against a project that exceed the budget.
7. Use the Settings button next to User group override to create
specific settings for a group of users who differ from the Budget
overrun default value.
Procedure: Create Budget Amounts for Projects

To enter budget information for a project and its related sub-projects, follow
these steps:
2. Select the main project from the list.
3. Click the Plan tab on the action pane and then click Project budget.
FIGURE 8.5 PROJECT BUDGETS FORM

8-11

4. Click New in the Costs, Revenues, or On-account tab to create a
budget line for the related budget type.
5. Select the project or sub-project in the Project field.
6. Optionally, select an Activity the budget amount is for.
7. Select the Transaction type and select the Category.
8. Enter the Original budget amount.
9. Continue to enter each budget amount for each project and subproject.
10. If workflow is enabled for project budgets, click Submit. Otherwise,
save and close the form.
NOTE: Use the New revision or Edit revision button on the Project budgets
form to create or modify existing budgets.
8-12

Lab 8.1 - Set Up Budget Controls

Scenario
Prakash, the Project Manager, must enter budget information for the Contoso
Retail Los Angeles project number 10001. Prakash must enable budget control
for the project and enter the budget amounts.
According to Contoso's policy, the project should budget and track costs only,
and budget overruns are not allowed.
Challenge Yourself!
Enable budget control for the Contoso Retail Los Angeles project. Make sure that
only cost transactions are controlled and that overruns are not allowed.
Use the information in the following table to enter budget amounts for the
Contoso Retail Los Angeles project.
Project
Amount
Transaction type
Category
10001
4000.00
Hour
Internal
10001
6500.00
Expense
Flights
10001
3000.00
Expense
Car rental
10001
1500.00
Expense
Meals
10001-1
400.00
Hours
Internal
10001-2
800.00
Hours
Internal
Need a Little Help?

1. Enable budget control for the project on the Budget and forecast tab
of the Projects form.
2. Open the Project budget form for project 10001.
3. Enter the details into the Cost tab.
Step by Step
To enable budget control for a project, follow these steps:
2. Select the "10001: Contoso Retail Los Angeles" project and then
click Edit.
3. Click the Budget and forecast tab.

8-13

4. Select the Use budget control to enable budget control tracking for a
project. If transactions already exist for the project a warning
message will appear and you must click Yes to activate budget
control.
5. Select "Cost only" in the Transaction types controlled field.
6. You are prompted to Update subprojects. Select an All subprojects,
and then click OK.
7. Select "Disallow overruns" in the Budget overrun default field.
8. You are prompted to Update subprojects. Make sure All
subprojects is selected, and then click OK.
To enter budget amounts for a project, follow these steps:
1. From the Projects detail form for project 10001, click Plan on the
action pane and then click Budget > Project budget.
2. Click New in the Costs tab to create a budget line
a. Select "10001" in the Project field.
b. Select "Hour" in the Transaction type field
c. Select "Internal" in the Category field.
d. Enter "4000.00" in the Original budget field.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8-14
Repeat step 2 for each budget line transaction in the table provided.
Click Submit.
Optionally enter a Comment and then click Submit.
When you are finished click Close.

Manage Projects in Enterprise Portal

Project managers can now create and maintain projects in Enterprise Portal. In
addition, users can create and update project quotations and convert approved
quotations to active projects in Enterprise Portal.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, time and expense entry were the only projectrelated features that were available.
Web-based support simplifies project managers' ability to work remotely, and
frees them from having to deal with software installations, upgrades, and updates.
The primary goals for the improvements made to projects in the Enterprise Portal
in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 include the following:
Improve usability of existing features: Rendering core project

accounting functionality in the Enterprise Portal provides project
managers the flexibility of creating and managing projects remotely
when they are in the field or away on travel.
Reduce deployment complexity and manageability: Rendering

core project accounting functionality in the Enterprise Portal enables
project managers to access project and employee information
without having to install or deal with upgrades or software updates.
Extend analytical and visualization capabilities: A free-form entry

grid with Gantt and resource views. This simplifies the task of
creating and managing the project schedule. Surfacing key project
information on profitability, invoicing, resource utilization,
committed costs, and cash flow provides key project stakeholders
insight into potential risks.
Procedure: Create a Project in Enterprise Portal

Prakash, the Project Manager, is responsible for creating and managing projects.
Next week a new project will begin, and he must enter all the information into
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Because he is traveling, Prakash must use
Enterprise Portal to enter the required information.

8-15

To create a new project from Enterprise Portal, follow these steps:
1. Open the Enterprise Portal in your Internet browser.
2. Click Projects.
3. Click New > Project to create a new record. The Create project
form will open.
FIGURE 8.6 NEW PROJECT FORM
4.
5.
6.
7.
Select the Project type.

Enter a unique identifier for the project in the Project ID field.
Enter a brief description into the Project name field.
Select the project contract that the project is related to in the Project
contract ID field.
8. Select the Customer account that the project is for.
9. Select the default line property to be used with the project in the
Line property field.
10. Click Create to save the changes.
Project Funding
Many organizations frequently run projects that are paid for from multiple pools
of money.
For public sector organizations, payment could be from multiple grants or from a
mix of internal and external dollars.
In the commercial sector split funding can be used in large construction projects
or it might be used when doing projects for a large customer that wants to split
funding of the project to multiple divisions or sub-organizations.
8-16


For example, if a new data center was going to be constructed for Contoso to be
used by Hotmail and Exchange Hosted Services, then Contoso might ask the
vendor doing the work to split the costs between the two divisions to more
accurately charge the internal organizations.
Revenue limits on Time and Material (T&M) projects are known as T&M to a
Cap. The work being done will be billed as a time and material project. However,
the customer has specified a maximum that they are willing to pay for the work.
Invoicing and revenue recognition are performed by using T&M processes.
However, you must make sure that the customer is not invoiced over a certain
amount.
Funding Terminology
The following table introduces several new terms and concepts that are part of
project funding.
Term
Definition
Funding limit
An amount that is imposed on all or on some part of the

project. If there is a Time and Material project with a cap, it
may be the revenue amount that is funded. In other cases it
may be amount restrictions on how the funds are allocated to
the project.
Funding type
This is either a customer, a grant, or an internal organization

unit.
Funding
source
A relationship entity that is a project contract specific

relationship to a funder. It is a combination of a funder with
an additional attribute to enable multiple revenue sources
from a single funder. For example, the federal government
provides multiple grants to a project for funding.
Funding rule
A set of business logic that defines how a transaction is

funded. Rules can be defined by several criteria including,
project, category, or transaction types.
Scenario: Multiple Internal Funds for a Project

Prakash, the Project Manager, wants to allocate costs of a project across multiple
departments within the company who have agreed to share the costs of the
project.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, it was only possible to have one internal
organizational unit fund on a project. This was performed by setting up a project
type of Internal, Investment, Cost, or Time.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, Prakash is now able to set up multiple funding
sources in the Project contract and define rules for how the project costs will be
allocated to each department.

8-17

Scenario: Using Internal and External Funds for a Project
Prakash wants to allocate costs of a project between an internal organization and
an external customer because his company has agreed to share the costs of a large
capital project with an external organization. Contoso has agreed to pay 60
percent of the project costs internally, and they will invoice the remaining 40
percent to the customer.
Procedure: Set Up Project Funding

To define project funding on a project contract, follow these steps:
Projects > Project contracts.
2. Click Edit to modify the information.
3. Click the Funding sources tab.
4. Click Add line to create a new source.
5. Select the Funding type:
a. Customer - select the Customer number in the Customer field.
b. Organization - select the organization unit in the Customer
field.
c. Grant - select the grant customer in the Grant customer field.
6. Click the Funding limits tab
7. Click Add line to create a new funding limit.
8. Select the funding source to create a limit for in the Funding source
field.
9. Enter any additional criteria for the limit.
10. Enter the maximum amount allowed for this funding source in the
Amount field. To restrict transactions from being posted against a
funding source enter 0.00 into the field.
11. Click the Funding rules tab to create rule for allocation of multiple
funds on a project.
12. Click Add line in the Funding rules grid to create a new rule or
select an existing funding rule.
13. Click Allocations in the Funding rule allocation tab to open the
Funding rules allocations form.
14. Select a funding source and enter the amount to be allocated to the
selected funding source as a percentage into the Allocation
percentage field.
15. Repeat the previous step for each additional funding source until the
sum of each allocation percent for the funding rule equal 100
percent.
8-18

Project Beginning Balances

In some cases, users must post project-only transactions without an effect on the
general ledger. One situation where project beginning balance transactions are
useful are for existing projects that may have been tracked offline or through
another application that must now be tracked in Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces a new feature that allows users to enter
beginning balance transactions for a project. Project beginning balance
transactions allow the user to input catch-up balances for the project without
adversely impacting the general ledger (double entry, inflated balances, and so
on).
Scenario: Enter Beginning Balances

Cassie, the Accountant, is notified of a project that is tracked offline in an
external spreadsheet. The departmental user wants to have a new project defined
in Microsoft Dynamics AX Project Accounting with beginning balances based on
the tracked information. All the costs and revenues were previously posted to
accounts in the General Ledger.
Cassie must create the new project and enter beginning balances for all the
associated project and subprojects without affecting General Ledger.
Procedure: Enter Beginning Balances

To enter beginning balances for a project, follow these steps:
1. Open Project management and accounting > Common > Projects
> All projects.
2. Select the desired project and then click Beginning balances in the
Action pane.
3. The Beginning balance journal form will open, and then click New.
4. Select the Journal name and enter a brief Description.
5. Click Lines to create the details for the journal.
6. The Journal lines for beginning balances form will open.
7. Use the Add button in the desired tab to create a new balance for
Expense/Hour/Items, Fees, or On-account balances.
8. Enter the Project ID for which to create balances.
9. Select the Transaction type (this is only required when the New >
Expense/Hour/Item button is used).
10. Select the Category for the balance.
11. Select the Item number for the transaction (this is only required if
Item was selected in the Transaction type field).

8-19

12. Enter the Quantity for the balance
13. Enter the Cost price for the balance.The Cost amount field will be
updated with the extended cost (Quantity * Cost price).
14. Enter the Sales price for the balance.The Sales amount field will be
updated with the extended sales price (Quantity * Sales price).
15. Select an option for the Cost status.
16. Repeat steps 7-16 for each balance.
17. Click Close, and then click Post to finalize the balances
Summary
Although many functions in the Project management and accounting module are
improved in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the basis and main principle of the
module remains the same.
The greatest changes are in the following areas:
Improvements to project timesheets
Improvements to the Enterprise Portal
Additional project functionality

o
o
o
o
Funding
Budget control
Allocation methods
Beginning balances
8-20

Test Your Knowledge

1. Which of the following options are true? (Select all that apply)
( ) All users can view all timesheets.
( ) Each user can view all timesheets that he or she created.
( ) Project directors can view all timesheets for all employees.
( ) Project managers can view all timesheets for users for whom they are
approvers.
2. Describe the difference between a project that uses a fixed rate to recognize
revenue, and project that uses an adjustable internal sales rate to recognize
revenue.
3. Which of the following are valid options for budget overrun? (Select all that
apply)
( ) Allow overruns
( ) Warning overruns
( ) Error overruns
( ) Disallow overruns

8-21

4. Match the terms on the left with their definition on the right
_____ 1.
Funding
limit
_____ 2.
Funding
type
_____ 3.
Funding
source
_____ 4.
Funding
rule
8-22
a. A relationship entity that is a project contract specific

relationship to a funder. It is a combination of a funder
with an additional attribute to enable multiple revenue
sources from a single funder.
b. An amount that is imposed on all or on some part of the
project. If there is a Time and Material project with a cap,
it may be the revenue amount that is funded. In other
cases it may be amount restrictions on how the funds are
allocated to the project.
c. A set of business logic that defines how a transaction is
d. This is either a customer, a grant, or an internal
organization unit.


chapter
1.
2.
3.

8-23

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Which of the following options are true? (Select all that apply)
( ) All users can view all timesheets.
() Each user can view all timesheets that he or she created.
( ) Project directors can view all timesheets for all employees.
() Project managers can view all timesheets for users for whom they are
approvers.
2. Describe the difference between a project that uses a fixed rate to recognize
revenue, and project that uses an adjustable internal sales rate to recognize
revenue.
MODEL ANSWER:
When fixed rate is selected, each transaction receives a fixed sales rate based
on the sales price setting. In case of a cost over/under run, the estimate would
post a fee transaction to adjust to the contract value.
When adjustable internal sales rate is selected, each transaction receives a
sales rate based on the sales price setting. In case of a cost over/under run,
the estimate would adjust each individual Hour, Expense and Item
transactions based on the new profit markup rate.
3. Which of the following are valid options for budget overrun? (Select all that
apply)
() Allow overruns
() Warning overruns
( ) Error overruns
() Disallow overruns
8-24


4. Match the terms on the left with their definition on the right
b 1.
Funding
limit
d 2.
Funding
type
a 3.
Funding
source
c 4.
Funding
rule
a. A relationship entity that is a project contract specific

relationship to a funder. It is a combination of a funder
with an additional attribute to enable multiple revenue
sources from a single funder.
b. An amount that is imposed on all or on some part of the
project. If there is a Time and Material project with a cap,
it may be the revenue amount that is funded. In other cases
it may be amount restrictions on how the funds are
allocated to the project.
c. A set of business logic that defines how a transaction is
d. This is either a customer, a grant, or an internal
organization unit.

8-25

8-26

CHAPTER 9: CASE MANAGEMENT

Objectives
The objectives are:
Create, assign, plan, resolve, follow up on, and analyze cases for a
customer in the Microsoft Dynamics Client.
Review the process for creating cases for a customer on the

Enterprise Portal.
Create and work with knowledge articles.
Introduction
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces a new feature for Case management.
The new case management feature supports managing different types of cases or
issues that can be leveraged in many modules.
In addition, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 introduces Knowledge articles in the
Sales and marketing module.
Knowledge articles help manage the case resolution and knowledge retention of
information throughout the company. This feature improves and re-engineers the
encyclopedia feature that was available in earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics
AX.

9-1

Case Management in the Rich Client

Companies frequently experience customers who contact the company to resolve
a problem, to have their questions answered, replace bought items, and so on.
The Case management functionality registers such cases enabling for the
registration, assignment, planning, resolution, follow up and analysis of cases.
Examples of Case Management

There are many locations within Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 where Case
management can be leveraged. The following table contains some examples:
Case Category
Description
Expense Audit
The audit system analyzes expense reports and submits

cases to be inspected. An auditor then reviews each case to
resolve.
Accounts
Receivable
Collections
The Collections Manager can attach multiple overdue

customer invoices to a case to be dealt with as a unit of
work.
Customer
Service
The Customer Service Representative receives inquiries or

complaints. He or she uses the information received to log
cases and resolve them after research.
An Information
Technology
(IT) department
An IT department receives requests from employees about

issues with their IT equipment. They use cases for tracking
the requests and assigning the correct internal and external
resources to respond within the time given by the Service
Level Agreement (SLA).
Case Management Overview

The primary goals for the new Case management feature include the following:
9-2
Link the correct people with various categories of issues.
Share knowledge and documents to resolve incoming cases.
Track the time used in case resolution.
Track the case resolutions against the Service Level Agreements

(SLA).
Record and invoice case costs and revenues.
Follow-up on cases with surveys.


Case Management Terms and Concepts
Several new terms and concepts are introduced with the new Case management
feature that are outlined in the following table.
Term
Description
Case
category
A hierarchical structure for classifying the type of cases. The

more specific the categories, the more targeted the knowledge
articles can be associated to the various categories.
Case process
A container or list of tasks and responsibilities required for

resolving a case.
Knowledge
article
A note, hyperlink to a website, document, or other file that

contains a solution to an issue being handled through a case.
Service
Level
Agreement
(SLA)
A contract between two people, companies, or entities that

typically defines the maximum duration before a service is
provided. SLAs can be set up as defaults on case categories, or
entered manually on a case-by-case basis.
Associations
A relationship formed between the case and a Lead,

Opportunity, Customer, Vendor, Vendor invoice, Prospect,
Project, Sales order, Purchase order, Service order, Product,
Interest notes, Expense reports, or Expense lines. Each case
can have multiple associations.
Case log
A tracking mechanism for keeping history of notes and

changes that were made to a specific case.
Activities
Used to track appointments, tasks, actions, or events related to

a case. Each activity represents a given amount of work for
one worker while a case may involve the effort of several
workers inside and outside the company.
Scenario: Creating a Case for a Sales Order

Lisa, the Customer Service Representative, has received a call from the customer
Owl Wholesales.
The customer has explained that they recently purchased a television and have
problems with the display flickering. Lisa must find the sales order and create a
case related to the order so that she can have the appropriate person respond to
the customer.

9-3

Procedure: Create a Case for a Sales Order
To create a new case related to a sales order, follow these steps:
1. Open Sales and Marketing > Common > Sales orders > All sales
orders.
2. Find the desired sales order.
3. Click the General tab in the action pane.
4. Click Cases > Create case in the Customers group of the Action
pane.
5. Select a category from the Case category field that will default some
fields from the Case category.
6. Enter a brief Description for the case.
7. Select a Priority for the case.
8. Optionally, select another case to link the current case to in the
Parent case field.
9. Optionally, enter additional information under the Other cost and
Case log field groups.
10. Click Create to create the case.
11. Close the Case details form.
Procedure: Review a Case

When a case is created, depending on your company's business rules, the case
will be assigned to another employee for review.
To review a case, follow these steps:
1. Open Home > Common > Cases > All cases.
NOTE: Additional list pages exist that will automatically filter cases to My
cases, Open cases, My open cases, Cases assigned to you, or Cases assigned to
your queues are available.
2. Select the desired case.
3. Click Change status > In process to begin the case.
NOTE: When the status of the case is updated to In process, the system starts
logging the time that is spent on the case. Use the Stop button to pause the time
recording.
4. If the Advance prompt option is selected for the Case category that
you are reviewing, the Create activity form will open automatically.
Optionally, enter the appropriate information and then click OK. If
you do not want to create an activity, click Cancel.
9-4


5. Expand the Notes tab to enter additional notes.
6. Expand the Associations tab to see a listing of relations for the case.
For example, each sales order the case is linked to.
7. Click Case process to select a different process for the case. Case
processes are used to determine the hierarchical steps required for
managing a given case. You can create one or more activities for
each hierarchy level and assigning those activities to workers
responsible for the area.
8. Click Change stage to select the next stage to move to in the
qualifying process. Case stages are user-defined based on the case
process assigned to the case.

9-5

Lab 9.1 - Create a Case

This lab provides practice for creating a case related to a sales order.
Scenario
Lisa, the Customer Service Representative, has received a call from Valley Hotel,
customer number 2004.
The customer has explained that they recently purchased 16-inch speaker
enclosures. One of the enclosures was damaged upon receipt.
Lisa must find the sales order and create a case related to the order so that she
can have the appropriate person respond to the customer.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided in the scenario to create a case for the sales
order.
Need a Little Help?

1. Locate the sales order SO-101234 for Valley Hotel (2004), that
includes item number 2009 (16 inch speaker enclosure).
2. Create a case and set the priority to Low.
Step by Step
To locate and create the case for Valley Hotel, follow these steps:
1. Open Sales and Marketing > Common > Sales orders > All sales
orders.
2. Filter for Customer 2004 Valley Hotel.
3. Select sales order SO-101234.
4. Click the General tab in the Action pane.
5. Click Cases > Create case in the Customers group of the Action
pane.
6. Select a category from the Case category field.
7. Enter a brief Description for the case such as "Damaged speaker
enclosure".
8. Select a Priority for the case.
9-6

Case Management in Enterprise Portal

Some users, both internal and external to the company, must access the Case
management functionality. This requires access to cases through Enterprise
Portal.
The availability of Case management in Enterprise Portal will let infrequent users
of the case management functionality access lists of current cases and create new
cases.
The Case management tool set version in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides
the experts who are using the rich client a set of strong tools to handle cases.
Scenario: Case Management in Enterprise Portal

Lyn, an employee at Contoso, receives telephone calls from customers about
products they have purchased. Lyn must enter the information received and
assign the case to a category so that the correct persons can follow up on the
cases.

9-7

Procedure: Create a Case in Enterprise Portal
To create and view a case from the Enterprise Portal, follow these steps:
1. Open your Internet browser, and browse to the Enterprise Portal
website.
2. Open Sales > Cases > All my cases.
3. Click Case in New group of the Action pane.
FIGURE 9.1 CASES IN ENTERPRISE PORTAL
4. Enter a Description for the case.

5. In the Name field select the Customer to relate the case to.
6. Optionally, select another case to link the current case to in the
Parent case field.
7. Select a category from the Case category field.
8. Optionally, select a Primary owner and Department.
9. Select a Case process and Status.
10. Select a Priority.
11. Optionally enter additional information under the Details, Notes, and
Administration tabs.
12. Click Save and close.
9-8

Knowledge Articles
Much knowledge is accumulated over time in the organization, and this
knowledge should be available to Customer Service Representatives while they
perform their job.
Easing the path of solving a specific case requires quick access to documents,
links, and other information that are grouped logically.
Knowledge articles let users quickly benefit from the accumulated organizational
knowledge of the company while they are handling cases and employing teams
of people to resolve cases.
Scenario: Accumulating Organizational Knowledge

Marie, the Customer Service Manager, realizes that much knowledge is
accumulated over time within the organization. Marie wants this information to
be available to the Customer Service Representatives while they are doing their
job.
Marie can create groups to group information that is entered into the system.
After she creates the groups, Marie enters knowledge articles in the form of
documents, links, and so on, with known resolutions.
After the knowledge articles are uploaded into the system, she associates the
knowledge articles to case categories to automatically populate new cases with
the related information.
Procedure: Create Knowledge Articles Groups

To create a new knowledge article group, a folder must be added by following
these steps:
1. Open Home > Common > Document management > Knowledge
articles.
2. Select the node to add a new group or subfolder:
a. To create a new top level folder or group, select the Knowledge
article node.
b. To create a new subfolder or subgroup, select the desired node.
3. Click Knowledge article on the Action pane strip to create a new
group.
4. Enter a Name for the folder or group.
5. Select Folder in the Type field.
6. Click OK.

9-9

Procedure: Create Knowledge Articles
To add a new file or link to a knowledge article group, follow these steps:
1. Open Sales and Marketing > Periodic > Knowledge articles >
Knowledge articles.
2. Select the node to add a file or link to.
3. Click Knowledge article in the Action pane strip.
4. Enter a name for the article in the Knowledge article name field.
5. Select "File" or "Link" in the Type field.
a. If File is selected, copy the file path to the desired file in the
Document field.
b. If Link is selected, copy the URL to the desired website in the
Internet address field.
6. Click OK.
NOTE: Optionally, you can drag-and-drop files into the appropriate folder.
Procedure: Link Case Categories to Knowledge Articles

To link a case category to a knowledge article, follow these steps:
1. Open Sales and Marketing > Setup > Cases > Case categories or
Organization administration > Setup > Cases > Case categories.
9-10


2. Select the desired case category node.
3. Click Related knowledge article.
FIGURE 9.2 RELATED KNOWLEDGE ARTICLE
4. Click New.
5. Select the desired document or link from the Item ID field.
6. Use the Adjusted success and Adjusted attempts fields to increase
or decrease the success ranking of the selected article.
NOTE: The order in which knowledge articles are displayed is based on the
articles relative position among other knowledge articles. The article with the
highest number in the following formula will appear on the top of the list:
number of successes divided by the number of attempts.
7. Click Close.
Scenario: Using a Knowledge Article

Lisa, the Customer Service Representative, has received a call from a customer
and wants to resolve the case as quickly as possible. She will use the knowledge
articles available to her to communicate a resolution to the customer.
Procedure: Create a Case and Use a Knowledge Article

To create a new case related to a sales order and use a knowledge article, follow
these steps:
1. Open Sales and Marketing > Common > Customer > All
customers.
2. Find the desired customer.

9-11

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
9-12
Click the General tab in the action pane.

Click Case in the New group of the Action pane.
Select a category from the Case category field.
Enter a brief Description for the case.
Select a Priority for the case.
Optionally, select another case to link the current case to in the
Parent case field.
Optionally, enter additional information under the Other cost and
Case log field groups.
Click Create to create the case.
Expand the Knowledge article tab.
Select the desired Knowledge article and mark the Attempted
check box.
Click Open to view the document or website.
Review the information and relay the resolution to the customer
Close the document or website.
Select the Success check box to indicate the information in the
selected article solved the issue.
Close the Case details form.

Lab 9.2 - Working with Knowledge Articles and Cases

This lab provides practice for creating a case related to a sales order that uses a
knowledge article.
Scenario
Lisa, the Customer Service Representative, has received a call from Tiger
Concert Hall, customer 2102, and wants to resolve the case as quickly as
possible. The customer has explained that they cannot apply their discount
coupon on the website.
She must use the knowledge articles available to her to communicate a resolution
to the customer.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided in the scenario to create a case for customer
2102, Tiger Concert Hall. Use the "PreSale" case category, and the knowledge
article called Waterfall Hotel Website under the Key Customer Links folder.
Need a Little Help?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Find Customer 2102, Tiger Concert Hall.

Create a case for the customer.
Update the status to In process.
Add the Waterfall Hotel website knowledge article.
Update the status to Closed.
Step by Step
To create a new case related to a customer and use a knowledge article, follow
these steps:
1. Open Sales and Marketing > Common > Customers > All
customers.
2. Find customer 2102, Tiger Concert Hall.
3. Click the General tab in the action pane.
4. Click Create case > Create case.
5. Select "Sales > PreSales" from the Case category field.
6. Enter a brief Description for the case such as "Cannot apply
coupon".
8. Click Change status > In process.
9. Expand the Knowledge article tab.
10. Click Add.

9-13

11. Select the "Key customer links > Waterfall Hotel website" from the
Article ID field. If the knowledge article is new for the case
category, you are prompted to link the knowledge article to the case
category. Click No to prevent the transfer.
12. Select the Attempted check box.
13. Select the Success check box to indicate that the information in the
selected article solved the issue. The system will automatically
increase the ranking for the knowledge article based on the total
number of times the knowledge article is used and the total number
of times the knowledge article is used successfully.
14. Click Change status > Closed.
9-14

Summary
Most of the changes that are made in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Sales and
marketing are based on efforts to simplify and streamline Case management, and
to make the processes more understandable.
The key areas of improvement are in the following areas:
Case Management
Knowledge Articles

9-15

Test Your Knowledge

1. Which of the following are not valid types of case associations? (Select all
that apply)
( ) Workflow
( ) Sales orders
( ) Projects
( ) Service orders
2. Which of the following are not valid types of activities? (Select all that
apply)
( ) Appointment
( ) Project
( ) Event
( ) Task
3. A relationship formed between the case and business document. _____
4. A hierarchical structure for classifying the type of cases. _____
5. A tracking mechanism for keeping history of notes and changes that are
made to a specific case. _____
6. An accepted time span between starting and resolving a case within. _____
7. Used to track appointments, tasks, actions, or events related to a case. _____
9-16


chapter
1.
2.
3.

9-17

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Which of the following are not valid types of case associations? (Select all
that apply)
() Workflow
( ) Sales orders
( ) Projects
( ) Service orders
2. Which of the following are not valid types of activities? (Select all that
apply)
( ) Appointment
() Project
( ) Event
( ) Task
3. A relationship formed between the case and business document.
Associations
4. A hierarchical structure for classifying the type of cases.
Category
5. A tracking mechanism for keeping history of notes and changes that are
made to a specific case. Case Log
6. An accepted time span between starting and resolving a case within.
7. Used to track appointments, tasks, actions, or events related to a case.
Activity
9-18

SLA
CHAPTER 10: HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Objectives
The objectives are:
Review shared worker information in the Microsoft Dynamics

Client.
Discuss improvements to the worker hiring and termination

processes.
Describe improvements to the employee application and recruiting

processes.
Describe improvements to the department and positions setup.
Create and manage incidents related to worker illness and injuries.
Introduction
The Human Resources Management (HRM) module in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012 contains features to improve integration. This enables better decision
making across the organization.
The primary goals of the features are as follows:
Data sharing for workers
Applicant management
Benefits tracking
Improved hire and termination process
Injury and illness management

10-1

Shared Worker Information

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, it was necessary for users to log in and out of
companies to maintain employees, applicants, and other employee related data.
To streamline the user experience for these processes, the data in Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 is shared across all legal entities in an installation.
Approximately 175 tables are shared in the HRM module in Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012.
Some key areas of shared data are as follows:
Workers (employees and contractors)
Applicants
Jobs and Positions
Departments
Teams
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, the Employee form was used to set up

employees and contractors. The Employee form is replaced with the new
Worker form in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. A worker can be an employee or
contractor. Improvements are made to help improve the processes around tasks
that are related to employees and contractors.
Scenario: Adding a New Worker

Claire, the HR Manager, must be able to quickly create and manage worker
information. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, Claire can use one centralized
form to manage and create worker information without logging in and out of
legal entities.
When Claire is entering a new worker record, she is interrupted by a telephone
call. Claire quickly enters the required information so she can save the record and
answer the call. Later, Claire realizes that some information on the worker is
incorrect or missing, and she must update it.
10-2


Procedure: Create a New Worker
To create and manage employee information, follow these steps:
1. Open Human resources > Common > Workers > Workers.
2. Click Hire new worker to create a new record.
FIGURE 10.1 CREATE NEW WORKER QUICK ENTRY
3. Enter the First name, Middle name, and Last Name.

4. Select the Legal entity that the worker is to be employed in.
5. In the Worker type field identify whether the worker is an employee
or contractor.
6. Claire is interrupted by a telephone call and tries to save the record.
Click Hire new worker to save the record, and then close the form.
7. After Claire is finished with her call, she realizes that the employee
start date is incorrect. Access the employee record saved in step 6
from the Workers list page.
8. Click Edit to open the Worker details form in the edit mode.
9. Expand the Employment details tab.
10. Update the Employment start date to three weeks from today's
date.
11. Close the Worker details form.

10-3

Hiring Workers and Terminating Workers

The mass hire process is updated in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to use shared
workers and positions. A common action that must be performed in any
organization is the termination of an existing worker. Termination consists of
capturing the necessary data to terminate the worker from the organization on the
correct date.
Scenario: Mass Hire Project

Luke, the HR Generalist, receives a message from his manager that 25 seasonal
workers will be hired to help with the increased sales volume in the months of
November and December.
Luke creates a mass hire project and then clicks Create positions to enter default
information that is needed to create multiple positions and worker personnel
numbers needed for the mass hire project. As people are identified and hired to
fill the positions, Luke adds the worker information to the positions.
Terminations
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, terminations can be performed. However, it is
a manual process that requires users to access multiple forms to complete the
termination.
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, the termination process is improved to be more
streamlined, and manageable.
Scenario: Terminating a Worker

Susan, an existing worker, has submitted a two week notice that she will be
leaving the company. Susan's manager notifies HR and then Luke, the HR
Generalist, takes action to update her information in the system.
Procedure: Terminating a Worker

To terminate a worker in the system, follow these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Open Human resources > Common > Workers > Workers.

Find the desired worker.
Click Terminate.
Enter the Termination date and Last day worked.
Select a reason for the termination from the Termination reason
field. Termination reason codes are user-defined.
6. Click Terminate worker.
10-4

Application and Recruiting Improvements

The Global Address Book was added to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. By
adding Applicant to the Global Address Book, in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012,
the directory subsystem including names, address and contact information is
aligned with this structure. Therefore, redundant data is removed.
Also included in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, are several architectural changes
to the Applicant entity.
The Applicant table is upgraded to be a global entity by removing

the association of the tables to DataAreaID. This means that the user
is now able to create applicant records that will be visible across the
Enterprise and not constrained to the Legal Entity.
Changes to Applications, that now associate the applications

directly to Applicants. This helps streamline the process for entering
data and reduces the number of duplicated records in the system.
Additional fields are introduced in the Applicant table. By

capturing the additional applicant information and aligning the fields
tracked between applicant and workers, the duplicate data entry is
reduced, access to the applicant information is quicker, and the
information available lets the recruiter and hiring manager make
better hiring decisions.
Applicant Overview
Changes to the Applicant process in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 allow for
creating the Applicant directly from the Global Address Book (GAB), or from
the Applicant list page or details form.
From the Applicants list page and details form, the system lets users create new
GAB entries, or link to existing GAB records. In addition, users can create
applications for an applicant or directly from a worker.
Scenario: Create and Manage Applicants

Jacob, the Recruiter, recruits for all open jobs within the company. He must enter
the applicant and the application into the system quickly so that he can continue
to screen the applicants and move them along in the hiring process.
Two applicants have applied for a job. The first applicant is an existing person
within the Global Address Book (that does not already have an applicant record).
He must create the applicant for an existing person in the Global Address Book
and specify that the applicant has an application.
The second applicant is an existing worker who is applying for a different
position within the company. Jacob must quickly create an application for the
existing worker.

10-5

Procedure: Create an Applicant and Application
To create a new Applicant and Application, follow these steps:
1. Open Human resources > Common > Recruitment > Applicants.
2. Click New > Applicant to create a new record.
FIGURE 10.2 APPLICANTS LIST PAGE
3. Use the drop-down box to select the person from the First name or
Last name field. The global address book information will populate
into the form, and create a link between the GAB and the new
applicant.
4. Enter any additional information available into the Personal
information, Address, and Contact information tabs.
5. Click New > Application to create a new application for the selected
record.
6. Optionally, select the Recruitment project that the application is
related to.
7. Enter the Date of receipt and Expire date for the application.
8. Select the Department and Job that the person is applying for.
9. Close the Application and Applicant forms.
10-6


Procedure: Create an Application for an Existing Worker
To create an Applicant from the Address book for an existing worker, and create
the Application, follow these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Open Home > Common > Address book.

Select the employee that is applying.
Click New > Applicant.
Enter any additional information available into the Personal
information, Address, and Contact information tabs.
5. Click New > Application to create a new application for the selected
record.
FIGURE 10.3 APPLICATION FORM
6. Optionally, select the Recruitment project that the application is

related to.
7. Enter the Date of receipt and Expire date for the application.
8. Select the Department and Job for which the person is applying.
9. Close the Application and Applicant forms.
Recruitment Projects List Page

List pages are where users can find data, analyze data, and then take action upon
that data quickly. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, improvements are made to
the Recruitment projects list page.
The primary goal of the improvements made is to enable users to surface and act
upon information about a Recruitment project in a single view reducing the
number of clicks or drill downs needed.

10-7

Some list page features are outlined in the following list:
Application details - this fact box displays a list of applications that

are related to the selected recruitment project.
Media - this fact box displays a list of each media output with their
start and end dates.
Job Advertisement - this fact box displays the job advertisement

information.
Related information - these buttons let users add or view

applications, media, developments, job advertisements, and print
accommodations with the click of a button.
Human resources > Common > Recruitment Recruitment projects
FIGURE 10.4 RECRUITMENT PROJECT LIST PAGE
Department and Position Improvements

Departments are introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to replace the
organizational units from earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Departments are one of the many entities that are a part of the new organization
hierarchy uptake in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
Positions in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 now have a direct link to
Departments. They are used to help create the reporting relationship hierarchy
and to provide an improved flow for creating and maintaining data.
10-8


Scenario: Create Departments
Contoso has decided to create a new department for research and development.
The new department will be responsible for doing market research and
developing new or improved products for the company based on the research
conducted.
Procedure: Create Departments

To create a new department, follow these steps:
1. Open Human resources > Common > Organization >
Departments > Departments.
2. Click New to create a new department.
3. Enter a unique Name for the department.
4. Optionally, select the person who is in charge of the department in
the Manager field.
5. Optionally, enter additional information into the Address and
Contact information tabs.
6. When you are finished, close the form.
NOTE: Use the Relocate positions button to move existing positions from one
department to another.
Job and Positions Overview

Before you create new jobs, you can set up one or more job templates. Job
templates are collections of the same, or similar, types of jobs within your
company. A job is a grouping of responsibilities, duties, and job functions that
compose an activity.
You can use a job template to define qualifications and responsibilities that apply
to a specific job type, and then copy this information to new jobs. By using the
job template information, you can improve reporting and provide overview
results on jobs in the organization.
A position is a strategic area of responsibility occupied by members of an
organization. Each position has one job and one worker associated with it.
Scenario: Create Positions

Two new positions are available in the new Research and Development
department. Luke, the HR Generalist, must create the positions for a Research
and Development Manager, and a Research and Development Specialist.

10-9

Procedure: Create Positions
To create new positions, follow these steps:
1. Click Human resources > Common > Organization > Positions >
Positions.
2. Click New > Position to create a new record.
3. Select the desired job in the Job field.
4. Enter the Activation date.
5. Click Create positions and the Position details form will open.
FIGURE 10.5 POSITION DETAILS
6. Select the Position type and enter "1" into the Full-time equivalent
field.
7. Click the Organization tab.
8. Select the Department that the position is for.
9. Optionally, select the Cost center and Reports to position.
10. Click the Relationships tab.
11. Optionally, click Add to add the position to a reporting hierarchy.
12. When you are finished, close the form.
10-10

Injury and Illness

Worker safety varies significantly between countries/regions, economic sectors,
and social groups. Employers face costly early retirements, loss of skilled staff,
absenteeism, and high insurance premiums because of work-related accidents and
diseases.
The new Injury and illness feature in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 has several
distinct functions or uses. One use is to provide information to employers whose
workers are being injured or made ill by hazards in their workplace.
The information in the data helps make employers more aware of the kinds of
injuries and illnesses occurring in the workplace and the hazards that cause or
contribute to them. When employers analyze and review the information in their
records, they can identify and correct hazardous workplace conditions on their
own. Injury and illness records are also an important tool to help employers
manage their company safety and health programs effectively.
Injury and Illness Terminology

Several new terms and concepts are introduced as a part of the Injury and Illness
tracking feature in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Some terms are outlined in the
following table:
Term
Definition
Occupational
injury
An injury such as a cut, fracture, sprain or amputation that

results from a work-related accident of exposure involving
a single incident in the work environment.
Occupational
illness
An illness is a medical condition or disorder, other than one

that results from an injury, caused by exposure to
environmental factors associated with employment.
Work
environment
Work environment is defined as the establishment and

other locations where one or more employees or contractors
are working or present as a condition of employment.
NOTE: The work environment includes not only physical
locations, but also the equipment or materials used by
employees or contractors during their work.
Medical
treatment
Medical treatment is the management and care of a patient

to combat disease or disorder.

10-11

Injury and Illness Overview
The primary goal of the Injury and illness feature is to provide a means for
employers to quickly and efficiently enter and track information related to injury
and illness. This includes the following:
Ability to track incident details such as date, locations, type, body

part, object, and summary of information
Options to track costs related to the incident
Ability to track treatment information
Ability to follow up and report on the incident information
Scenario: Create and Track an Incident

Alicia Thornber, an employee at Contoso, was leaving work one evening and
slipped and fell on the sidewalk because of recent snowfall that caused the
cement to be slippery. Her ankle was bothering her the next morning because of
the fall. Therefore, she went to the HR department to report the incident.
As part of the company policy, Luke, the HR Generalist, explains that all
employeess with injuries are required to visit the local urgent care facility to be
evaluated. Luke must enter the information that is provided as part of the incident
and keep track of the cost associated.
Procedure: Create and Track an Incident

To create and track an injury or illness, follow these steps:
1. Open Human resources > Common > Workers > Workers.
10-12


2. Highlight the worker for which to report an injury or illness.
3. Click Personal information > Injury or illness incidents.
FIGURE 10.6 INJURY OR ILLNESS INCIDENT
4. Enter a brief Case description, and then enter the Date and time of
incident.
5. Select the Injury or illness type and Body part.
6. On the General tab, enter the Date reported, and select the Person
who reported the case.
7. Optionally, use the Attachments icon to attach documents related to
the incident.
8. Click the Incident tab and enter the available information about the
cause and nature of the incident.
9. Click the Injury or illness cost tab.
10. Click Add to create records of the costs incurred.
11. Click the Injury or illness treatment tab.
12. Click Add to create records of each treatment the person receives as
part of the incident.
13. Click Injury or illness filings tab.
14. Click Add to create records of each filing made with a government
agency about the incident.

10-13

Lab 10.1 - Create and Track an Incident

This lab provides practice for creating and managing an incident related to an
injury that occurred while on the job.
Scenario
Benjamin Martin, an employee at Contoso, was working in the wood shop to cut
various pieces of wood to length according to specifications. To help speed up
the process, Benjamin decided not to use the safety guard on the table saw. When
cutting a piece of wood, his hand slipped and he cut his finger deeply.
Benjamin's manager came over quickly and escorted him to the local urgent care
facility where he received stitches and pain medication. Meanwhile, one of
Benjamin's coworkers, Andrew Argyle, went to the HR department to report the
incident. Luke, the HR Generalist, must enter the information that is provided as
Several weeks later, an invoice is received in the Accounting department.
According to company policy, the accounting department forwards a copy of the
invoice to Luke. He must now update the case with the cost and treatment
information.
Challenge Yourself!
Use the information that is provided to create an incident and enter the costs. The
following table provides additional information:
10-14
Field
Value
Date and time of incident
11/26/2010 9:57 AM
Invoice date
12/05/2010
Cost type 1
Doctor
Amount 1
375.00 U.S. Dollars (USD)
Cost type 2
Medication
Amount 2
49.95 USD
Treatment date
11/26/2010 10:30 AM
Treatment type
Clinic
Treatment comments
6 stitches


Need a Little Help?
1. Find the Worker record
2. Add an Injury or illness incident.
3. Enter Injury or illness costs and Injury or illness treatments.
Step by Step
To create and track an injury or illness, follow these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Open Human resources > Common > Workers > Workers.

Select "Benjamin Martin" from the list.
Click Personal information > Injury or illness incidents.
Click New to create a new case, and then enter a brief Case
description such as "cut finger on table saw".
Enter "11/26/2010 9:57 AM" into the Date and time of incident.
Select "Injury" from the Injury or illness type field and then select
"Hand" from the Body part field.
On the General tab, enter "11/26/2010 10:16 am" in the Date
reported field, and select "Andrew Argyle" in the Person who
reported the case field.
Click the Incident tab and enter a description for the Where incident
occurred field such as "Wood shop table saw".
Select the On work premises check box.
Enter a description for the Cause of incident such as "failure to use
safety guard".
Click the Injury or illness cost tab.
Click Add to create a cost record.
Enter "12/05/2010" in the Date field, select "Doctor" in the Cost
type field, and enter "375.00" in the Amount field.
Click Add to create a cost record.
Enter "12/05/2010" in the Date field, select "Medication" in the Cost
type field, and enter "49.95" in the Amount field.
Click the Injury or illness treatment tab.
Click Add to create records of each treatment the person receives as
Click Injury or illness filings tab.
Click Add to create a record.
Enter "11/26/2010 10:30 am" in the Treatment date field, select
"Clinic" from the Treatment type field, and enter "6 stitches" into
the Treatment comment field.
Save and close the form.

10-15

Summary
Although many functions in the Human resource module are improved in
remains the same.
The greatest changes are in the following areas:
Shared data
Hiring and terminating workers
Application and recruiting improvements
Department and position improvements
10-16

Test Your Knowledge

1. True or False: Positions must be created before jobs can be created.
( ) True
( ) False
2. Which of the following are examples of shared data in Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012? (Select all that apply)
( ) Workers
( ) Applicants
( ) Injury or Illness
( ) Departments
3. You can only associate jobs with which of the following organization unit
types? (Select all that apply)
( ) Project
( ) Matrix
( ) Line
( ) Department
4. A cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation. _____
5. A person who is seeking employment for certain position. _____
6. Used to indicate the primary duties that an employee performs. _____
7. A medical condition or disorder. _____
8. Used to indicate duties that an employee performs, in addition to the primary
employee duties. _____
9. A commitment to employ a person for a specific job. _____

10-17


chapter
1.
2.
3.
10-18

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. True or False: Positions must be created before jobs can be created.
( ) True
() False
2. Which of the following are examples of shared data in Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012? (Select all that apply)
() Workers
() Applicants
( ) Injury or Illness
() Departments
3. You can only associate jobs with which of the following organization unit
types? (Select all that apply)
( ) Project
( ) Matrix
() Line
( ) Department
4. A cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation.
Injury
5. A person who is seeking employment for certain position.
Applicant
6. Used to indicate the primary duties that an employee performs.

7. A medical condition or disorder.
Job
Illness
8. Used to indicate duties that an employee performs, in addition to the primary

employee duties. Role
9. A commitment to employ a person for a specific job.
Position

10-19

10-20

CHAPTER 11: PUBLIC SECTOR

Objectives
The objectives are:
Review the features and benefits of the public sector industry

solution.
Review the changes that are made to the Accounts receivable module
as a part of the public sector industry solution.
Review the changes that are made to the Budgeting module as a part
of the public sector industry solution.
Review the changes that are made to the General ledger module as a
part of the public sector industry solution.
Review the changes that are made to the Procurement and sourcing
and Accounts payable modules as a part of the public sector industry
solution.
Review the features and benefits of the public sector reports.
Describe the features of the public sector role centers.
Introduction
In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, industry support is expanded with the release
of a public sector solution to support the public sector industry.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides public sector organizations with a
comprehensive solution with functionality that helps them operate efficiently and
improve productivity, while meeting complex regulatory, budgetary, and grant
compliance requirements.

11-1

Public Sector Feature Overview

Some major features include the following:
11-2
User-defined Chart of Accounts structure made up of unlimited

dimensions to support fund accounting and revenue or expense
analysis by various levels of organizations, programs, and so on.
This includes the ability to handle departmental or agency
reorganizations.
Introduction of a fund entity that can be used as a financial

dimension. The fund entity offers the ability to require that journal
entries are balanced by fund. Funds are separate sets of books that
are not separate Legal Entities. Typical examples of funds include a
general operating fund plus special purpose funds such as capital
improvements funds, grant funds, trust funds, and so on.
Support for multiple hierarchical budgetary controls at user-defined

points of the account structure. Budgets can include provisional
(temporary) budgets, original budgets, appropriations, amendments,
and transfers. Each budget can be consumed by actuals,
encumbrances, pre-encumbrances, and budget transfers. Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 also provides for optional commitment
accounting (balance sheet posting) associated with budgetary
transactions.
Introduction of a transaction distributions function that can distribute

a transaction line amount to multiple ledger and project accounts by
amount, percent, or quantity. Notice that this feature is application
foundation feature (see the Key Public Sector Features figure for
more information).
Introduction of posting definitions setup that controls which offset

and additional ledger account entries are generated for each posting
process (such as vendor invoices). The generated ledger account
entries can be based on which dimensions are entered by the user in
the transaction line distribution.
Tracking of multiple funding sources for multiyear project

accounting and grants management.
Fast book closing and simplified year-end carry-over budget

processes.
Expedited receivables processing, travel expense management, and

workflow approvals.
Ability to support settlements in a pooled cash setup.
Improvements for auditors.
Improvements for vendors who use Enterprise Portal.
Report and role center modifications for easier tracking of budgets,

receivables, and other areas.


Feature Separation
Some features can be used with any installation of Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012, while other features can be used only after you install the Public sector
industry solution.
FIGURE 11.1 KEY PUBLIC SECTOR FEATURES
NOTE: The following lessons only review features that are included as a part of
the Public Sector industry applications. For more information about the
horizontal applications or application foundation features, please refer to other
What's New for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 courses.
Accounts Receivable Features

The Accounts receivable module is updated in several key areas to help improve
efficiency.
Free text invoice improvements

o
o
Addition of billing codes to define a specific line item charge,

including definable rate calculations and fields
Addition of billing classifications to organize free text invoice
receivables
Ability to process documents by billing classifications
Ability to support settlements in a pooled cash setup
Addition of customer reporting attributes for United States (U.S.)

governmental reporting requirements

11-3

Free Text Invoice Functionality
Billing classifications let you organize free text invoice receivables across
functional areas. Classifications for property taxes, business licenses, municipal
airport or marina, special assessments, and miscellaneous finance invoices are all
examples of billing classifications.
In addition, you can group billing codes and related charges by billing
classification. You can also assign options, such as a common approach to
interest, or penalty charges and payment terms, to a billing classification.
Billing Codes Functionality

A new Billing codes form is introduced for defining a charge, represented by a
billing code ID. The billing code is then used on free text invoice lines. The code
provides default values such as the fee amount, currency, ledger account, and
item sales tax group. By selecting a billing code on the invoice line, you can
enter non-inventory-related charges quickly and consistently.
Billing codes include unit price and distribution line improvements for free text
invoice lines. The features and benefits of billing codes include the following:
11-4
Save data entry time and reduce errors by using billing codes to enter
default values automatically into the expanded free text invoice line.
Display the default billing amount that is determined by the code in

either the Unit price field or Amount field.
Specify multiple ledger account distributions in the billing code

setup.
Calculate the interest for individual free text invoice lines from the
interest code that is associated with the lines billing code or the
invoices billing classification.
Create billing codes that are effective on a specified future date.

When billing codes are selected on free text invoice lines, the interest
code and the default values for the lines are determined by matching
the billing code date version to the invoice date.
Define the rate calculation script in the code setup (programming

experience is required). When you use this billing code on a free text
invoice line, information such as customer or location is collected
from the invoice and is used to calculate the billing amount. This
feature enables the system to be used for different invoice
requirements and scenarios.
Settle transactions and transaction lines by using a new billing

priority attribute. Billing priorities are customizable by billing
classification and billing code. This attribute, is in addition to the
other settlement transaction attributes, in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012.


Process Documents by Billing Classification
In addition to the ability to use billing classifications on free text invoices,
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 also supports the use of billing classifications on
several other business documents.
Reimbursements - create reimbursement transactions by billing

classification.
Payments - process payments by billing classification in the Enter

customer payment and Payment proposal forms.
Dunning - assign billing classifications to interest notes and

collection letters, calculate interest by billing classification, generate
collection letters by billing classification, and assign a collection
letter sequence to a billing classification.
Free text invoices - post free text invoices by billing classification.

Billing classification information will also appear on the free text
invoice report.
Recurring invoices - create recurring invoice templates, set up the

frequency for individual customers, and generate many invoices by
billing classification.
Process Settlements in a Pooled Cash Setup

If your organization uses a pooled cash setup, in which a single Treasurers fund
manages cash while maintaining equity in individual funds, you can set up
posting definitions for invoice settlements to automatically generate entries for
the Due-to Due-from between the different funds. Additionally, you can
recognize deferred revenue at the time of settlement for doubtful receivables or
make additional entries for summary accounts.
Customer Reporting Attributes

If your organization is required to follow U.S. governmental reporting rules for
accounts receivables activity, you can add attributes that are required by the
federal government to the customer account information. You can assign a
federal/non-federal indicator, trading partner code, agency location code, and
1099-C indicator.
Additionally, you can track customers by their government identification
numbers. This helps you prevent the duplication of customer information. These
attributes are available if the United States configuration key is selected.

11-5

Budgeting Features
The Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Budgeting module improvements are
designed to incorporate public sector budgeting requirements. The public sector
industry solution is improved in several key areas to help organizations achieve
better budgetary control.
Apportionment budget types
Provisional budgets
Budget carry-forward at year end
Apportionments
Apportionments reflect a part of the original appropriation or budget, typically
for a designated time period such as a quarter. They are an additional optional
setup within budget control. Apportionment control requires a two-step process
before budget funds can be consumed by purchase orders, invoices, and so on:
1. Posting the original budget register entry, typically an annual
amount.
2. Posting an apportionment budget register entry for a subset of the
original budget amount.
Only after posting the apportionment can budget funds be spent, and only up to
the apportionment amount. Later apportionment transactions make the remaining
funds available to spend. So apportionments can provide an additional level of
control on spending during the operating year.
Provisional Budgets
Provisional budgets let you create a temporary, preliminary budget that
expenditures are evaluated against.
For example, if the Original budget is late being approved, you can track the
preliminary budget amounts as a separate budget type. When the approved
budget is adopted and recorded, the provisional budget amounts are
automatically reversed.
Budget Carry-Forward at Year-End

For public sector, the ability to carry forward budgets and budget encumbrances
at year end that are related to open purchase orders is improved to offer the
option to process by fund. This allows for selective processing in the event
certain funds are not on the same fiscal year as the general operating fund.
11-6

General Ledger Features

The General ledger module is updated in several key areas to help public sector
organizations improve efficiency and process flows.
General ledger year-end processing improvements
Ability to transfer purchase order encumbrances across fiscal years
Introduction of a fund entity
Ability to correct, adjust, and reclassify transactions by using

advanced ledger entries
Additional attributes can be added to financial transactions to help

perform more detailed analysis
General Ledger Year-End Processes

With the General ledger year-end process, you can select accounts by fund for
year-end closing and close the selected accounts to different equity accounts. The
account attribute that designates an account as real, nominal, or nominal no-close
is used to identify the nominal accounts to be closed and the account balances to
be brought forward as opening balances in the new fiscal year.
Fund Entity
Funds are a special public sector entity that defines multiple sets of books within
the same Legal Entity. It is also typically used as an account dimension, and
offers the ability to require that journal entries balance by fund.
Examples of funds include a general operating fund and special purpose funds
such as capital improvements funds, grant funds, trust funds, and so on.
Transfer Purchase Order Encumbrances across Fiscal

Years
If you encumber purchase orders, you can process year-end closing transactions
to the general ledger and against budget reserves at the end of each fiscal year.
When a new fiscal year is created, a new set of adjusting entries are made to
correctly reflect the encumbrances in the new fiscal year.
These transactions make sure that the purchase orders are correctly represented
on the year-end financial statements. You can also use an override process in the
Funds form to select a year-end processing option for specific funds that differ
from the option that was selected.

11-7

Advanced Ledger Entities
Advanced ledger entries are used to modify expense transactions that were
recorded incorrectly. When the expenditures are reclassified, the fund equity
adjustments must be made by using general ledger posting definitions. On the
Advanced ledger entry form, you can preview the ledger entries before they are
posted to the ledger. You can identify project information, configure workflows,
and perform budget checks for each line item.
By using the Advanced ledger entry web service, you can manage advanced
ledger entries with a third-party application.
Derived Financial Hierarchies

Derived financial hierarchies let you create financial categories that are separate
from financial dimensions, but linked to them. This lets you derive the financial
categories from the financial dimensions for analytics.
Financial category values can be associated to the values of the financial
dimensions (including the main account), and you can make these financial
categories available for analytics without entering these values when you create
transactions. The data can be organized and analyzed based on the derived
attribute values, as if they were part of the account structure, just as you can do
with financial dimension values.
For example, you can create a program category (as a derived financial
hierarchy) that contains a value of "Employee benefits", that then contains subcategories for "Employee wellness" and "Employee education". In this example
these categories are related to specific main account values. Therefore, you
would create associations between existing main accounts and the program subcategory. After the account number is used in a transaction, the "Employee
wellness" and "Employee education" values are derived and ready to be
analyzed.
Procurement and Accounts Payable Features

The Procurement and sourcing and Accounts payable modules are updated in
several key areas to help public sector organizations improve efficiency process
flows.
11-8
Ability to allocate percentages of vendor invoices to specific bank

accounts
Addition of DUNS and +4 DUNS fields to the Vendor bank

accounts form
Addition of U.S. 1099-S and 1099-G tax statements
Ability to track unplanned purchases
Purchase agreement improvements


Designate Invoice Amounts to Specific Vendor Bank
Accounts
A new Payment disbursement tab is added in the Vendor invoice form. This
tab is used to allocate percentages of the invoice amount to specific vendor bank
accounts.
For example, if a vendor requests that 50 percent of an invoice payment is sent to
one bank account and the other 50 percent uses a different bank account, those
percentages can be entered before you post the invoice.
DUNS+4 Entry
A new DUNS number field and a +4 DUNS segment field is added in the
Vendor bank accounts form. DUNS numbers are widely recognized
identification numbers for businesses' physical locations and bank data.
1099 United States Tax Statements

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can now process the United States 1099-S
(Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions) and 1099-G (Certain Government
Payments) tax statements.
In earlier versions, the only 1099 forms that you could process were the 1099MISC, 1099-DIV, and 1099-INT forms.
These features are available only if the Public Sector 1099-G and Public Sector
1099-S configuration keys are selected.
Unplanned Vendor Purchases

In an emergency or special circumstance, you might create an order that
circumvents the typical purchasing process.
For example, you might authorize an order with only a purchase order number
instead of a printed purchase order document. Use the Confirming PO field in
the Purchase order form to track these unplanned purchases.
Purchase Agreements
Purchase agreements are improved in several areas:
Based on purchase agreement classification, selected new data

groups and sub-tables may be enabled on the purchase agreement.
This includes Subcontractors, Certifications, and Activities
Ability to process an invoice directly against a purchase agreement

without first requiring creation of a release purchase order.

11-9

Public Sector Reports Overview

Several new reports are added to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 as a part of the
public sector industry solution.
The following list describes each new report.
Accounts receivable transaction reports - generate an Internal

account statement, Customer transactions report, Open transactions
report, History by transaction report, and a Sales tax specification
C.O.D. report by billing classification.
Accounts receivable payment reports - generate the

Reimbursement payment journal report and the Customer posted
payment journal report by billing classification.
Accounts receivable invoice reports - generate the Invoice journal

report, Invoice specification report, Invoice turnover report, and the
Customer invoice journal report by billing classification.
Customer reports - generate the Customer aging report, Customer

balance report, Customer balance list that has credit limit report, and
the Customer detailed due date list report by billing classification.
Payment approval report - ability to add a signature page to the

payment approval report. This signature page is useful when a
signature is required to approve payments.
Budget control reports - generate two new reports for review and
management of budgets. The Budget control account detail history
report lists budget balances and transactions for selected financial
dimensions. The Budget control activity by project report is similar,
but shows activity by project, in addition to financial dimensions.
Both reports let you select transactions by budget year, and also by
date or by date range.
Public Sector Role Center Overview

Several new features are added to existing role centers as a part of the public
sector industry solution. In addition, one new role center, for Finance Director, is
introduced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
General Ledger Role Centers

Three financial accounting role centers are redesigned as a part of the public
sector industry solution. This includes the Accountant, Accounting Manager, and
Controller role centers.
These role centers provide default home pages that differ from the home pages
for the Accountant, Accounting Manager, and Controller role centers available in
non-public sector installations of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
11-10


For example, in these three redesigned public sector role centers, there is an
Actuals vs. Budget web part on the default role center, but for the three nonpublic sector role centers no Budget web part appears.
In addition, the Controller role center for public sector organizations has two key
performance indicators (KPIs) that can be added:
Controller activity analysis
Controller ratios.
Finance Director Role Center

The Finance Director role center resembles the Chief Financial Officer role
center available in any Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 installation, except that the
Finance Director role center has an Actuals vs. Budget web part on the default
role center while the Chief Financial Officer does not.
In addition, the following web parts are available for use with the Finance
Director role center:
Current equity by dimension chart
Year-to year expenditure comparison by period chart
Finance Director KPI reports

o
o
o
o
o
o
Profitability analysis
Investment analysis
Long-term solvency
Short-term solvency
Operational efficiency
Finance Director ratios
Both the Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer role centers are available
to public sector organizations.
Accounts Receivable Role Center

The Accounts Receivable Administrator role center is redesigned to include four
new web parts.
Customers with unposted interest notes list report
Customers with unsettled amounts by billing classifications report
Receivables by billing classification and period chart
Customers with unposted collection letters list report
A billing classification dimension is also available in the Public Sector Accounts

Receivable cube.

11-11

Summary
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides public sector organizations with a
comprehensive solution, providing streamlined end-to-end integrated public
sector scenarios. Modules in the public sector industry solution are highly
integrated to increase productivity.
In addition to the features that are available in any installation of Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 that are especially interesting to the public sector, such as
budgetary control, distributions, commitment accounting, posting definitions,
project budgeting, grant accounting, advanced funding, audit workbench, and
vendor portal invoicing, the following features help make the Public Sector
installation comprehensive:
11-12
Accounts receivables Free text invoice improvements to add

billing code and billing classification functionality. Other document
improvements to use billing classifications. Settlement priority
improvements and customer reporting attributes.
Budget Apportionment support, provisional budget support, and

budget carry-forward at year-end.
General Ledger General ledger year-end public sector processing,

purchase order encumbrance transferring across fiscal years,
advanced ledger entry support, and customizable reporting
hierarchies.
Procurement and Sourcing and Accounts Payable Support for

designating invoice amounts to specific vendor bank accounts.
DUNS number improvements, 1099 United States improvements,
and unplanned vendor purchase improvements.
Reports Report support for Accounts Receivable billing

classifications, new reports that list budget balances and transactions
for the financial dimension that you select, and a payment approval
report with a signature page.
Role centers General ledger role centers and an Accounts

Receivable role center that contain a layout specifically for the
public sector. A new Finance Director role center.

Test Your Knowledge

1. Which of the following is not a feature for free text invoices?
( ) Ability to sort free text invoices by billing classifications
( ) Assign attributes to billing codes used for free text invoices to achieve
better analytics
( ) Ability to enter non-inventory-related charges
( ) Create billing codes with default values for free text invoice lines
2. Which of the following 1099 tax statements are supported in Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012? (Select all that apply)
( ) 1099-G
( ) 1099-K
( ) 1099-S
( ) 1099-Z
_____ 1. General
Ledger Role Centers
_____ 2. Finance
Director Role Center
_____ 3. Accounts
Receivable Role
Center
a. Has only two new web parts that can be added

b. Includes unsettled customer amounts, unposted
interest notes, and receivables by billing
classification.
c. Includes an expenditure chart and an equity
chart.

11-13


chapter
1.
2.
3.
11-14

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. Which of the following is not a feature for free text invoices?
( ) Ability to sort free text invoices by billing classifications
() Assign attributes to billing codes used for free text invoices to
achieve better analytics
( ) Ability to enter non-inventory-related charges
( ) Create billing codes with default values for free text invoice lines
2. Which of the following 1099 tax statements are supported in Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012? (Select all that apply)
() 1099-G
( ) 1099-K
() 1099-S
( ) 1099-Z
a 1. General
Ledger Role Centers
c 2. Finance
Director Role Center
b 3. Accounts
Receivable Role
Center
a. Has only two new web parts that can be added

b. Includes unsettled customer amounts, unposted
interest notes, and receivables by billing
classification.
c. Includes an expenditure chart and an equity
chart.

11-15

11-16


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COURSE 80164

WHATS NEW - APPLICATION IN MICROSOFT

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Last Revision: March 2011

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Welcome ............................................................................................................ 0-1

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 1-1

Chapter 2: Compliance and Internal Controls

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 2-1

Chapter 3: Accounts Payable

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 3-1

Chapter 4: Accounts Receivable

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 4-1

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

What's New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 5-1

Chapter 6: Travel and Expense

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 6-1

Chapter 7: General Ledger

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 7-1

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Chapter 8: Project Management and Accounting

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 8-1

Chapter 9: Case Management

Objectives ........................................................................................................... 9-1

Chapter 10: Human Resources Management

Objectives ......................................................................................................... 10-1

Chapter 11: Public Sector

Objectives ......................................................................................................... 11-1

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

What's New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics Courseware

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Whats New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

Microsoft Dynamics Courseware Contents

Need a Little Help?

Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Whats New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

Describe the new user interface elements in Microsoft Dynamics

Describe changes to the organization model.

Use and update the help system.

Describe the Microsoft Office Add-Ins in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

View work items that are based on specific business documents in

Review improvements made to the document handling feature in

Describe various interest terms for different date ranges.

Describe and set up post-dated checks.

Simplifying the complete application life cycle of Microsoft

Improving financial capabilities to support companies who operate in

Adding more industry-enabling functionality for target industries.

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

What's New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

Providing best practices in areas such as supplier relationship

Supporting new online services, such as site services for case

Part of the Role Tailored design strategy in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is to

New User Interface Elements

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

FIGURE 1.1 JEWEL MENU

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

What's New - Application in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for Finance, PA,

FIGURE 1.2 NAVIGATION PANE