DEV Community: Miwa J

Customizing D365 Sales — For Our Own Sales Team (Customer Zero) (3) The "Missed Tasks" Problem

Miwa J — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 05:12:01 +0000

This continues from Part ②.

Does any of this sound familiar?

After a customer meeting, activity entries in the SFA get missed — materials don't get sent, follow-ups slip through the cracks.

The ideal flow looks like this:

Hold a customer meeting (Outlook appointment exists) → Link meeting notes and slide URLs to D365 Sales → Issue follow-up action tasks in Sales from the notes → Set reminders in Sales

Zone A — Next Action: Scheduled Flow Running Every Morning at 8:00

#	Trigger	Condition	Generated Task (Message)	Priority	Notify
A-1	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`cr917_stage_changed_date` is 7+ days ago AND status is Open	"[Opportunity name] stage has been stalled for 7+ days. Please check for follow-up."	High	Owner
A-2	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`cr917_last_activity_date` is 30+ days ago AND there is an open opportunity	"No activity toward [Account name] for 30 days. Consider reaching out."	High	Owner
A-3	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`estimatedclosedate` is in the past AND status is not Won/Lost	"[Opportunity name] close date has passed. Please update the date or confirm status."	High	Owner

Zone B — Opportunity Velocity Monitoring: Mix of Scheduled and Event Triggers

#	Trigger	Condition	Generated Task (Message)	Priority	Notify
B-1	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`estimatedvalue` >= 5,000,000 AND `cr917_stage_changed_date` is 14+ days ago	"[Opportunity name] is a large deal but has had no progress in 14+ days."	High	Owner + Manager
B-2	On opportunity update (Event)	Stage (`stagename`) changes from "Proposal" → "Negotiation"	"[Opportunity name] has entered the Negotiation stage. Please confirm the PO receipt deadline."	Medium	Owner
B-3	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`closeprobability` >= 80 AND `estimatedclosedate` is within 7 days	"[Opportunity name] closes in 7 days. Please do a final review."	High	Owner

Zone C — Churn Prevention: Threshold Switching by Customer Type

#	Trigger	Condition	Generated Task (Message)	Priority	Notify
C-1	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`cr917_customer_type` = License-continuation OR Support (term contract) AND `cr917_last_activity_date` is 60+ days ago AND no active opportunities	"[Account name] may be a churn risk (License type — 60 days no activity). Please do a health check."	High	Owner
C-2	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`cr917_customer_type` = Project OR Support (spot) OR Support (time-purchase) AND `cr917_last_activity_date` is 90+ days ago AND no active opportunities	"[Account name] may be a churn risk (Project type — 90 days no activity). Consider seeding the next engagement."	High	Owner
C-3	1st of each month (Scheduled)	`cr917_renewal_date` is within 90 days AND not before the 90-day window	"[Account name] contract renews in 90 days. Please start preparing the renewal proposal."	Medium	Owner
C-4	1st of each month (Scheduled)	`cr917_renewal_date` is within 30 days	"[Account name] contract renews in 30 days. Please expedite PO receipt."	High	Owner + Manager
C-5	On opportunity update (Event)	`statecode` changes to Won (no task generated)	Auto-set `cr917_renewal_date` to close date + 365 days	Internal	—
C-6	On activity create/update (Event)	A completed activity (`statecode` = 1) is added or updated (no task generated)	Write back `cr917_last_activity_date` to current date/time	Internal	—

Zone D — Chained Tasks Triggered by Yes/No Flag Changes

#	Trigger	Condition	Generated Task (Message)	Priority	Notify
D-1	On opportunity update (Event)	`cr917_proposal_sent` changes false → true	"[Opportunity name] Proposal sent. Please confirm the expected PO receipt date."	Medium	Owner
D-2	On opportunity update (Event)	`cr917_po_received` changes false → true	"[Opportunity name] PO received. Please send the order acknowledgment and prepare to issue the invoice."	Medium	Owner
D-3	On opportunity update (Event)	`cr917_invoice_sent` changes false → true	"[Opportunity name] Invoice issued. Please register the acceptance confirmation deadline (30 days from now) as a task."	Medium	Owner
D-4	Daily 8:00 AM (Scheduled)	`cr917_invoice_date` is 30+ days ago AND `cr917_acceptance_done` = false	"[Opportunity name] Acceptance is unconfirmed (30 days since invoice). Please follow up with the customer."	High	Owner + Manager

Configuring these flows can significantly reduce the operational overhead of sales management.

Depending on your industry, you may need additional flows. If you have questions like "what should we do in this situation?", please feel free to leave a comment!

Customizing D365 Sales — For Our Own Sales Team (Customer Zero) (2) Common Settings

Miwa J — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:28:47 +0000

This continues from Part ①. In Part ②, we'll configure the common settings and the internal-processing Power Automate flows.

Common Settings

Setting Up Connections

Open Power Automate (https://make.powerautomate.com)
Go to "Data" → "Connections" → "New connection" and create a Microsoft Dataverse connection
Do the same to create an Office 365 Outlook connection

Basic Flow Creation Steps

Click "Create" → select "Automated cloud flow" (event-triggered) or "Scheduled cloud flow" (recurring)
Name flows in the format [Zone]-[Number] [Description] (e.g., "A-1 Opportunity Stage Stall Alert")
Always run a test after creating a flow to verify it works

2. Internal-Processing PA Flows — 4 Flows (Write-back portions of A-4, C-5, C-6, D-3)

Once the common settings are done, it's time to build.

A-4: Write Back Stage Changed Date

Without this flow, the stall-day calculations in A-1 and B-1 will not work. Implement this first.

In Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365), a "stage" refers to a major milestone in a process — such as a sales deal or customer engagement — that guides the responsible person through what needs to happen next. It's how a series of activities is visualized and managed.

From here, all work is done in Power Automate.

Step	Task	Details
1	Create the flow	"Automated cloud flow" → select trigger "When a row is added, modified or deleted (Dataverse)"
2	Configure trigger	Table: Opportunities / Change type: Modified
3	Add condition	Add a "Condition" action: "When Status Reason (statuscode) has changed"
4	Write-back action	"Update a row (Dataverse)" → set `cr917_stage_changed_date` to `utcNow()`

C-5: Auto-Set Renewal Date + Auto-Create Renewal Opportunity (on Won)

On Won close, two things happen: ① auto-set the renewal date to close date + 365 days, and ② auto-create a new Opportunity for the renewal cycle and add it to the pipeline.

Step	Task	Details
1	Create the flow	"Automated cloud flow" → trigger "When a row is added, modified or deleted (Dataverse)"
2	Configure trigger	Table: Opportunities / Change type: Modified
3	Add condition	Process only when "Status (statecode)" changes to "Won"
4	Calculate renewal date	"Variables" → "Initialize variable" (Date type), set to `addDays(triggerOutputs()?['body/actualclosedate'], 365)`
5	Write back to Account	"Update a row (Dataverse)" → set `cr917_renewal_date` on the Account to the variable
6	Auto-create renewal opportunity	"Add a new row (Dataverse)" → Table: Opportunities. Subject: original name + " — Renewal " + (close year + 1) + "". Account: same Account ID. Owner: same owner ID. Estimated close date: `cr917_renewal_date` value. Estimated amount: same as original. Stage: "Prospect" (first stage). Description: "Auto-generated — Created from Won close of " + original name
7	Prevent duplicate creation	Before running the flow, add a condition to check whether a renewal opportunity with the same name already exists. Skip if it does.

C-6: Write Back Last Activity Date

This flow runs only when a completed activity (statecode = 1) is created or updated. It does not trigger on scheduling a new activity.

Step	Task	Details
1	Create the flow	"Automated cloud flow" → trigger "When a row is added, modified or deleted (Dataverse)"
2	Configure trigger	Table: Activity Pointers (activitypointers) / Change type: Added or Modified
3	Add condition	Process only when "statecode" equals "1 (Completed)"
4	Get related Account	"Get a row (Dataverse)" → retrieve the Account linked via the activity's `regardingobjectid`
5	Write back to Account	"Update a row (Dataverse)" → set `cr917_last_activity_date` to `utcNow()`

D-3 (Write-back portion): Auto-Record Invoice Issue Date

Step	Task	Details
1	Create the flow	"Automated cloud flow" → trigger "When a row is added, modified or deleted (Dataverse)"
2	Configure trigger	Table: Opportunities / Change type: Modified
3	Add condition	Process only when `cr917_invoice_sent` changes from false → true (retrieve the previous value via `triggerOutputs()` and compare)
4	Write back issue date	"Update a row (Dataverse)" → set `cr917_invoice_date` to `utcNow()`

Continued in Part ③.

Customizing D365 Sales — For Our Own Sales Team (Customer Zero)(1) Preparation

Miwa J — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 03:12:16 +0000

What is Customer Zero?

"Customer Zero" is a strategy used by IT and technology companies in which the company itself becomes the "0th customer" (a test monitor) for a new product, AI service, or cloud service before rolling it out to external customers.

Key benefits: faster validation and improvement (using the product in a real working environment surfaces bugs and usability issues early), and more persuasive sales pitches (a proven in-house success story/use case lets you propose to clients with confidence).

With that in mind, the DX team has kicked off an initiative to get our own sales team using D365 Sales more fully.

Scope

Zone	Content	Implementation
Zone A	Auto-generated Next Actions / detecting stalled deals	Power Automate
Zone B	Opportunity velocity monitoring / large-deal alerts	Power Automate
Zone C	Customer health management / churn prevention / renewal alerts	Power Automate
Zone D	Document flow / chained tasks	Power Automate + BPF

Implementation Order

Create custom fields (12 on Opportunity, 6 on Account)
4 internal-processing Power Automate flows (write-back portions of A-4, C-5, C-6, D-3)
3 Zone A alert flows (A-1, A-2, A-3)
3 Zone B alert flows (B-1, B-2, B-3)
6 Zone C alert flows (C-1–C-6)
4 Zone D document flows (D-1–D-4)
Enable and verify the Outlook Add-in
Reorganize dashboard views

1. Creating Custom Fields (12 on Opportunity, 6 on Account)

Custom fields are added from Power Apps using the following steps.

Step	Task	Details
1	Open Power Apps	Go to make.powerapps.com and select the target environment (sandbox)
2	Select the table	Left menu "Tables" → select "Opportunity"
3	Add a column	"Columns" tab → click "Add column"
4	Enter field info	Enter display name, data type, and schema name (cr917_xxxxx), then save
5	Do the same for Account	Add the corresponding fields to the "Account" table the same way (also create the Initiative ② additional fields using the same steps)
6	Configure choices	For cr917_customer_type, add a "new choice" with the two options "License-continuation type" and "Project type"
7	Add to forms	Open the main form for each table, add the new fields, then save and publish

Fields added to the Opportunity entity

Note: prefixes like cr917_ vary by environment.

Field Name	Type	Input Method	Purpose / Description
Proposal Sent `cr917_proposal_sent`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	Checked by the rep when the proposal is sent. Trigger condition for Zone D-1 flow.
PO Received `cr917_po_received`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	Checked when the PO is received. Trigger condition for Zone D-2 flow.
Invoice Sent `cr917_invoice_sent`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	Checked when the invoice is issued. Flow D-3 auto-sets `cr917_invoice_date`.
Acceptance Confirmed `cr917_acceptance_done`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	Final completion flag. If left unchecked for 30 days, flow D-4 generates a reminder task.
Invoice Date `cr917_invoice_date`	Date and Time	PA auto (D-3)	PA automatically records the date `cr917_invoice_sent` became Yes. Used as the baseline date for the 30-day acceptance check.
Stage Changed Date `cr917_stage_changed_date`	Date and Time	PA auto (A-4)	PA updates this with the current date/time every time the stage changes. Used for stall-day calculations in flows A-1 and B-1.
NDA Status `cr917_nda_status`	Option Set	Manual (rep)	For ① NDA Signing. Three choices: Not Submitted / Under Review / Complete. PA monitors status changes to advance the flow.
NDA SharePoint URL `cr917_nda_sharepoint_url`	Text	PA auto	For ① NDA Signing. After signing completes, PA automatically writes in the SharePoint storage URL.
WBS Approved `cr917_wbs_approved`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	For ⑤ Offering. Checked once WBS approval is complete. PA then advances to the order-registration step.
Order Registered `cr917_order_registered`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	For ⑤ Offering. Order-registration completion flag. Checking it generates the flow-completion task.
Payment Confirmed `cr917_payment_confirmed`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	Shared by ④⑥ Renewal/Inspection. Checked after payment is confirmed. If unconfirmed 60 days after invoicing, an alert fires.
SP Registered `cr917_sp_registered`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	For ⑥ Delivery Inspection. Flag for completed SharePoint registration of deliverables. PA checks this as a precondition before triggering invoicing.

Fields added to the Account entity

Field Name	Type	Input Method	Purpose / Description
Renewal Date `cr917_renewal_date`	Date	PA auto + manual override	PA auto-sets this to close date + 365 days on a Won close. Rep may optionally adjust it. Baseline date for flows C-3/C-4.
Last Activity Date `cr917_last_activity_date`	Date and Time	PA auto (C-6)	PA updates this to the current date/time whenever a completed activity (call, email, visit, CI-J integration) is created. Baseline date for A-2, C-1, C-2.
Customer Type `cr917_customer_type`	Option Set	Manual (rep)	5 choices: License-continuation / Project / Support (spot) / Support (term contract) / Support (time-purchase). 60-day group: License-continuation, Support (term contract). 90-day group: Project, Support (spot), Support (time-purchase).
BC Registered `cr917_bc_registered`	Yes/No (Boolean)	Manual (rep)	For ② Partner Contract. Rep records completion of Business Central registration. Interim flag pending full BC integration.
Contract SharePoint URL `cr917_contract_sharepoint_url`	Text	PA auto	For ② Partner Contract. After the contract is signed, PA automatically writes in the SharePoint storage URL.
PO Number `cr917_po_number`	Text	Manual (rep)	For ③ PO Issuance. Rep enters the PO number when it's received; used for reconciliation at invoicing time.