How does the sales department use action buttons on items in Business Central?
On the item card in Business Central, you have actions in the ribbon, which are relevant for sales people and I will just run through those here.
This is what happens in the video
The item card in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central holds several actions in the ribbon that are directly relevant to sales people. You can set special prices and discounts per customer, reserve inventory against sales lines, see availability per location, define prepayment percentages, and get an overview of orders and return orders for a specific item. This article walks through each of these functions.
Special prices let you define a fixed price for a specific customer, customer price group, or campaign, with conditions such as unit of measure, minimum quantity, and a start and end date. Special discounts work the same way but apply a percentage line discount instead of a fixed price. When you create a sales order line, Business Central automatically finds the best fitting price for the customer.
You can view availability per location, see reservation entries for a specific item, and set up prepayment percentages so a customer pays part of the amount before the goods are shipped. For assembly items, you can calculate the unit price based on the standard cost from the assembly order.
Special prices on the item card
On the item card you find the Special Prices & Discounts menu under the actions in the ribbon. From here you can set special prices, set special discounts, and get an overview of both.
A special price is a specific price you define. You can set it per customer, per unit of measure, and similar conditions. For example, you can define that customer 20,000, when buying this item in pieces with a minimum quantity of 20, should pay 4,000 kroner. You can also set a starting date and an ending date for the price.
When you create sales order lines, the system automatically finds the best fitting price for the customer based on these rules. You can filter the view by item number, sales code, and similar criteria. If you open the same window from a customer instead, you see it with a sales code filter on that customer, so you can see all the items that customer is buying.
Special discounts as a percentage
Special discounts work like special prices, but instead of a fixed price you define a percentage line discount per item, per customer, or per customer price group. For example, you can set up that the same customer gets a 10% line discount when buying this item.
Normally you would use either a special price or a special discount for a given item and customer, not both at the same time. You can also use the start and end dates to keep historical records, so you can see, for instance, what was valid last year.
From the discounts overview you can see both your special prices and your special discounts in one place.
Reservation entries for sales people
From the navigation tab on the item card you can go into the item’s entries. The entry most relevant to sales people is the reservation entry. If you use reservation to reserve incoming supply or existing inventory against a sales line, you can see in the entries which reservation you have made.
Inventory availability per location
From the availability function you can open Items by Location and see your inventory per location. In a simple setup you may only have inventory on one location, but the functionality lets you see for all your items which quantities you have at which location.
Prepayment percentages
From the sales navigation function you can set up prepayment percentages. You can define these per customer, per customer price group, or for all customers on a specific item number, within a specific date interval.
A prepayment percentage means the customer has to pay part of the amount before you actually ship the goods. This is all configured directly from the item card.
Orders and return orders for an item
From sales navigation you can see orders and return orders. Both views are a list of sales order lines with the specific item number. You can see on which order documents the lines appear and for which customers. The same applies to the list of sales return orders.
Unit price calculation for assembly items
From the bill of material navigation, if the item is an assembly item, you can use the Calculate Unit Price function. This calculates the unit price based on the standard cost that is calculated on the assembly order.
Q&A
What is the difference between a special price and a special discount in Business Central?
A special price is a fixed price you define for a customer, customer price group, or campaign. A special discount is a percentage line discount you define for the same kind of conditions. You normally use one or the other for a given item and customer, not both.
How does Business Central decide which price to use on a sales order line?
When you create a sales order line, the system automatically finds the best fitting price for the customer based on the special prices you have set up, including conditions such as unit of measure, minimum quantity, and date interval.
Can I require a customer to pay before goods are shipped?
Yes. From the sales navigation on the item card you can set up a prepayment percentage per customer, per customer price group, or for all customers on a specific item, within a date interval. The customer then has to pay part of the amount before you ship the goods.
How do I see inventory for an item across multiple locations?
Use the availability function on the item card and open Items by Location. This shows the quantities you have at each location for the item.
How is the unit price calculated for an assembly item?
For an assembly item you can use the Calculate Unit Price function from the bill of material navigation. It calculates the unit price based on the standard cost calculated on the assembly order.