Crowe Metals Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics 365

Accounts Payable and Receivable

In Crowe Metals Accelerator for metals manufacturing companies, the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable modules are integral for managing the company’s financial transactions related to vendors and customers. Here is how they can be effectively utilized:

Accounts Payable (AP)

• Vendor Management: Set up and manage vendor groups and vendors and posted profiles.
• Invoice Processing: Enter and approve vendor invoices manually or electronically, with options for invoice matching and workflow automation.
• Payments: Configure various payment options, handle settlements, and manage outgoing expenditures to vendors.

Accounts Receivable (AR)

• Customer Management: Track customer invoices and incoming payments by settling up customer groups, customers, and posting profiles.
• Invoice Creation: Generate customer invoices based on sales orders, packing slips, or as free text invoices.
• Payment Collection: Receive payments through different types, including bills of exchange, cash, checks, credit cards, and electronic payments.

Both modules offer centralized payment options to record transactions on behalf of multiple legal entities within the organization. They also ensure compliance with financial regulations and support automated processes for efficiency and accuracy.

General Ledger

In Dynamics 365 for metals manufacturing companies, the General Ledger module is crucial for defining and managing the financial records of the legal entity.

Here is how it can be used effectively:

• Chart of Accounts: Set up a chart of accounts to classify all financial transactions into appropriate accounts.
• Financial Dimensions: Use financial dimensions to segment and categorize financial data for more detailed analysis and reporting.
• Allocations: Monetary amounts are allotted to account(s) and dimension combinations based on fixed or variable allocation rules.
• Consolidation: Combine financial results from multiple subsidiaries into a single consolidated organization for reporting purposes.

Cash and Bank Management

In Dynamics 365 for metals manufacturing companies, the Cash and Bank Management module is essential for maintaining the company’s bank accounts and handling the financial instruments associated with those accounts. 

Here is how it can be used effectively:

• Bank Account Maintenance: Manage all bank accounts within the legal entity, including opening, closing, and updating account details.
• Bank Reconciliation: Reconcile bank statements to ensure that the company’s records match the bank’s records, which is crucial for accurate financial reporting.
• Payment Management: record and manage both accounts payable and receivable payments and settlements.
• Cash Flow Forecasting: Utilize cash flow forecasts to predict and manage the company’s future cash flow, helping to make informed financial decisions.
• Process Automation: Schedule updates for cash flow forecasts and automate other cash and bank management processes to increase efficiency.

Credit and Collections

In Dynamics 365, metals manufacturing companies can utilize Credit and Collections to manage customer credit and perform collection activities efficiently. 

Here is how it can be beneficial:

• Credit Management: Set credit limits for customers and control the flow of sales orders through the posting process based on credit rules.
• Collections Management: Use the centralized collections page to manage accounts receivable collection information and perform collection activities.
• Risk Management: Assign risk scores to customers and use these scores to automatically generate credit limits through credit limit adjustments.
• Collections Workspace: Customize the Customer Credit and Collections Workspace to include information required for the collection process and manage collections activities.

Fixed Assets

Dynamics 365 allows metals manufacturing companies to manage the lifecycle of assets such as machinery, equipment, and buildings. 

Here is how you can use it:

• Set up Fixed Asset Groups: Group your assets based on categories like machinery or vehicles and define default attributes for each group.
• Configure Depreciation: Set up depreciation profiles to automate the calculation of an asset’s value decrease over time due to wear and tear or obsolescence.
• Manage Books: Assign books to fixed asset groups to track the financial value of an asset over time.
• Record Acquisitions and Dispose of Assets: Enter acquisition information for fixed assets, including purchase price and date, which will be the basis for depreciation calculations. Manage the disposal of fixed assets, whether through sale, scrapping, or donation, and record any gain or loss on disposal.
• Integrate with General Ledger: Use Fixed Assets in conjunction with the General Ledger to get a real-time view of the value of all fixed assets.

Landed Costs

Dynamics 365 allows metals manufacturing companies to use landed costs to gain comprehensive financial and logistical control over their imported freight. 

Here is how they can benefit from this feature:

• Estimate Landed Costs: Companies can estimate landed costs at the time of voyage creation, which often account for a significant portion of the total cost of imported items.
• Manage Costs: Allows for the management of estimated costs and updates the item cost price to reflect these landed costs.
• Cost Apportionment: The module supports apportioning landed costs to multiple items and purchase orders or transfer orders in a single Voyage.
• Goods in Transit: Recognize accruals for goods in transit, enabling businesses to invoice goods before they’ve been physically received.

By utilizing the Landed Cost modules, metals manufacturing companies can streamline their inbound shipping operations, provide accurate cost estimates, and improve the administration of costing and reduce errors.

Expense Management

Dynamics 365 offers metals manufacturing companies the ability to use the expense management module to streamline their financial processes and improve cost control.

Here is how they can benefit from this feature:

• Policy Enforcement: Companies can define and enforce expense policies, ensuring compliance with internal rules and external regulations.
• Per Diem Management: Crowe Metals Accelerator supports the definition of per diem rates and rules, which can be tailored based on travel location and time of year. This helps to manage travel-related expenses efficiently.
• Automated Workflows: The system can automate the reimbursement of travel expenses, reducing manual work and the potential for errors.
• Mobile Accessibility: The Crowe Metals Accelerator mobile app allows employees to manage expenses and submit reports, increasing efficiency and providing real-time expense tracking.

By leveraging these features, metals manufacturing companies can gain better visibility into their expenses, enforce spending policies, and ultimately achieve a more efficient expense management process.

Project Management and Accounting

Dynamics 365 offers metals manufacturing companies the opportunity to leverage the project management and accounting features to streamline their operations in several ways:

• Project Initiation: Companies can use project quotations to estimate labor, expenses, and materials, and record billing terms and agreements in project contracts. A work breakdown structure can be set up to plan and assess the work.
• Project Execution: Crowe Metals Accelerator allows tracking project resources, schedules, and costs. This helps metals companies manage their production orders and ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget.
• Project Analysis: After project execution, companies can analyze financial results such as revenues or assets generated by the project. This functionality supports decision-making for future projects.
• Billing and Accounting: Crowe Metals Accelerator supports various accounting options for billable projects, including time and material and fixed price transactions. This helps metals companies invoice their work accurately and recognize revenue appropriately.

By integrating project management and accounting into their systems, metals companies can gain better control over their projects, optimize resource allocation, and improve financial performance.