For many organisations, sales and finance operate in separate systems. CRM platforms like Dynamics 365 Sales manage pipeline and opportunities, while ERP systems like Business Central handle invoicing, cash collection and actual revenue. The challenge is creating a unified view that connects these worlds, enabling leaders to track performance from pipeline to cash without manual data wrangling.
Microsoft Dataverse provides the bridge. By integrating Business Central and Dynamics 365 Sales through Dataverse, businesses can blend CRM and ERP data for end-to-end reporting. This blog explores how to deliver a sales-to-cash view, the KPIs that matter, and the governance patterns that keep data clean and secure.
Why unified reporting matters
Disconnected reporting creates blind spots. Sales teams focus on pipeline and bookings, while finance teams track invoices and collections. Without a single source of truth, it’s hard to answer questions like:
- How much of the pipeline has converted into actual revenue?
- Which customers are slow to pay, and how does that affect forecast accuracy?
- Are discounts or payment terms impacting margin?
According to Forrester, organisations that unify CRM and ERP data see up to a 15% improvement in forecast accuracy and a 20% reduction in reporting cycle times. For leadership teams, this means faster decisions and better alignment between sales and finance.
Building a sales-to-cash view with Dataverse
Dataverse acts as a common data layer for Microsoft business applications. By synchronising key tables from Business Central and Dynamics 365 Sales into Dataverse, you can create Power BI dashboards that show the entire customer journey, from opportunity to payment.
Common KPIs to track
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Pipeline vs actual revenue: Compare open opportunities with invoiced amounts to measure conversion.
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Average days to cash: Track the time from order confirmation to payment receipt for cash flow insights.
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Discount impact on margin: Analyse how negotiated discounts affect profitability once invoices are posted.
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Customer payment behaviour: Identify customers with frequent late payments and assess risk to forecasts.
Common join keys for blending CRM and ERP data
To create accurate relationships between CRM and ERP data, you need consistent join keys. Here are the most common:
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Customer account ID: Ensure that customer records in Dynamics 365 Sales and Business Central share a unique identifier. This is often achieved through Dataverse mapping during integration.
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Opportunity or order number: Link sales orders in CRM to corresponding sales orders or invoices in Business Central.
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Project or contract ID: For project-based businesses, use a shared project or contract reference to connect pipeline data with actual costs and billing.
Consistency is critical. If identifiers differ across systems, consider using Dataverse to create a master key or implement a data stewardship process to maintain alignment.
Governance patterns for clean and secure data
Unified reporting only works if the data is accurate and secure. Here are best practices for governance:
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Define ownership: Assign responsibility for maintaining customer and order data across CRM and ERP. Clear roles prevent duplication and errors.
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Implement data validation rules: Use Dataverse business rules to enforce mandatory fields and correct formats before data syncs.
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Control access with security roles: Ensure sensitive financial data is only visible to authorised users in Power BI and Dataverse.
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Schedule regular audits: Review mappings and integration logs to catch discrepancies early.
Microsoft recommends adopting a “data-first” approach, where integration is supported by governance policies and automated checks. This reduces risk and ensures reporting remains reliable.
Practical steps to get started
To build a unified sales-to-cash view, follow these steps:
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Enable Business Central and Dataverse integration: Use the standard connector to sync customers, orders and invoices.
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Map key entities: Align customer IDs, order numbers and other identifiers across systems.
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Create a Power BI model: Blend CRM and ERP tables in Dataverse to build dashboards for pipeline, revenue and cash flow.
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Apply governance rules: Set up validation, security roles and audit processes to maintain data integrity.
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Iterate and expand: Start with core KPIs, then add dimensions like region, product line or salesperson for deeper insights.
The payoff: one version of the truth
By connecting Business Central and Dynamics 365 Sales through Dataverse, organisations can achieve:
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End-to-end visibility: Track performance from pipeline to cash in one dashboard.
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Improved forecast accuracy: Blend pipeline data with actuals for realistic projections.
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Faster reporting cycles: Eliminate manual data merges and reduce time to insight.
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Stronger collaboration: Align sales and finance teams around shared metrics and goals.
As Microsoft notes, “Dataverse provides a secure and scalable foundation for unified business data.” For businesses, this means turning fragmented systems into a single source of truth that drives smarter decisions.
Ready to unify your reporting?
If your sales and finance teams are working from different playbooks, now is the time to explore Dataverse integration. Start with core entities like customers and orders, then build out dashboards that deliver a complete sales-to-cash view.