Mining Solution for Dynamics 365 Business Central User Guide

Introduction

This user guide explains how mining organisations can use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with the d365 Mining Solution to manage procurement, stock requisitions, quality control, asset records, document templates, banking exports, and operational controls.

It is written for procurement users, stores teams, asset managers, finance users, operations controllers, system administrators, and project stakeholders working in mining environments.

Scope of This Guide

• Solution architecture and operating model for d365 Mining on Business Central.

• System setup for companies, global settings, purchasing, inventory, dimensions, approval workflows, document templates and banking.

• Vendor management including contract details, vendor onboarding, vendor performance and quality rating inputs.

• Purchase requisition and stock requisition processes from request through approval, order creation, receipt, invoice matching and posting.

• Purchase quality control for inspections, non-conformance handling, vendor rating and audit history.

• Asset management using Service Items, asset status values, logs and links to procurement, inventory and service activity.

• Customised purchasing and sales document templates.

• ACH and Positive Pay export process for United States localisation.

• Integration option with Dynamics 365 Field Service for connected resources, work orders and service management.

We will cover the following topics:

• Mining Solution Architecture

• System Setup and Configuration

• Vendor Management Including Contract Details

• Purchase Requisition Management

• Stock Requisition Management

• Purchase Quality Control and Vendor Rating

• Asset Management Using Service Items and Asset Status Logs

• Document Management and Customised Templates

• ACH and Positive Pay Export with US Localisation

• Operations Control

• Integration Option with Dynamics 365 Field Service

• Troubleshooting and Exception Handling

• Glossary

Mining Solution Architecture

The d365 Mining Solution extends Business Central as the core ERP platform for mining procurement, inventory, finance, asset and operational control. Business Central remains the financial system of record, while d365Mining adds mining-specific process controls for requisitions, asset status tracking, quality management, document automation and operational visibility.

The architecture is designed to support multi-company finance, mine-site cost tracking, approved purchasing workflows, inventory movements, asset maintenance coordination and management reporting.

Architecture Components

Operating Model

The recommended operating model is to use Business Central as the central source of truth for financial postings, vendors, purchasing, items, inventory balances, bank transactions and asset master data.

The d365 Mining Solution controls the business workflows that sit around those records, including requisition approval, operational status updates, quality outcomes, document generation and exception monitoring. Where Field Service is integrated, operational work orders and resource scheduling can be managed in Field Service, while procurement, stock, cost and financial outcomes remain governed in Business Central.

System Setup & Configuration

System setup should be completed by an administrator or implementation consultant before users begin live processing. Configuration decisions should be documented and approved because they control posting behaviour, approvals, numbering, dimensions, quality rules, document outputs and banking controls.

Company Setup

1. Open the required Business Central company.

2. Confirm the company name, address, registration details, tax setup and localisation settings.

3. Set up the chart of accounts, posting groups, bank accounts, number series and fiscal calendar.

4. Define dimensions such as Mine Site, Cost Centre, Department, Project, Asset Class, Work Order, Vendor Category and Contract.

5. Assign default dimensions to vendors, items, locations, resources, assets and recurring document types.

6. Confirm user permissions, approval users and security roles before go-live.

Global Settings

User Settings & Role Centres

Each user should confirm their company, role centre, language, region, time zone and work date in My Settings. Procurement users commonly use a Purchasing Agent role centre, finance users use an Accountant or Business Manager role centre, stores users use inventory or warehouse pages, and asset managers use service and asset-related pages.

Users should bookmark frequently used pages such as Purchase Requisitions, Stock Requisitions, Vendors, Items, Service Items, Purchase Orders, Warehouse Receipts, Quality Inspections, Payment Journals and Bank Accounts.

Vendor Management Including Contract Details

Vendor management supports controlled supplier onboarding, contract visibility, procurement compliance, payment processing and vendor performance monitoring. Vendor records should be complete before purchase requisitions, purchase orders or payment journals are processed.

Create or Update a Vendor

1. Search for Vendors and open the Vendors list.

2. Select New to create a vendor or open an existing vendor to update details.

3. Enter the vendor name, address, contact details, tax registration, payment terms, currency and posting groups.

4. Assign default dimensions such as mine site, cost centre, department, vendor category or project where applicable.

5. Enter bank account details only when authorised and verified under company policy.

6. Attach supporting documents such as onboarding forms, insurance certificates, safety compliance evidence and tax forms.

7. Submit the vendor record for approval if vendor approval workflow is enabled.

Contract Details

Vendor Rating Inputs

Vendor rating can be calculated from purchasing and quality data including on-time delivery, receipt accuracy, price variance, quality inspection results, non-conformance events, return frequency and contract compliance.

Procurement teams should review vendor ratings periodically and use them when selecting suppliers for RFQs, purchase orders and strategic sourcing decisions.

Purchase Requisition Management

Purchase requisitions provide a controlled request-to-order process before expenditure is committed. They are used for inventory items, non-stock items, services, capital works, fixed assets, consumables and operational requirements.

Approval workflows ensure that requests are reviewed against budget, contract, vendor, project and operational requirements before a purchase order is created.

Create a Purchase Requisition

1. Search for Purchase Requisitions and open the list.

2. Select New.

3. Enter the requester, required date, mine site, cost centre, project, asset reference or work order reference if applicable.

4. Add requisition lines for items, non-stock items, fixed assets or service requirements.

5. Select the preferred vendor where known, or leave vendor selection for procurement review.

6. Attach quotes, specifications, drawings, safety documents, contract references or business justification.

7. Review dimensions, quantities, expected cost and delivery location.

8. Select Send Approval Request.

Approval and Conversion to Purchase Order

1. The approver receives the approval request and reviews the requisition details, attachments, budget coding and justification.

2. The approver approves, rejects or delegates the request according to company policy.

3. Once approved, procurement reviews vendor selection, contract coverage, pricing and delivery terms.

4. If RFQ functionality is enabled, procurement can request quotes from one or more vendors and compare responses.

5. The selected vendor response is converted into a purchase order.

6. The purchase order is reviewed, released and issued to the vendor using the approved document template.

Receipt, Invoice Matching & Closeout

Goods or services must be receipted before invoice posting where company policy requires purchase order matching. Stores users or authorised receivers post warehouse receipts or purchase receipts against the purchase order.

Accounts payable then uses Get Receipt Lines or equivalent matching functionality to create and validate the purchase invoice. Differences in quantity, price, tax, freight or item charges should be resolved before posting.

Stock Requisition Management

Stock requisitions are used when a user requests inventory from a store, warehouse or mine-site location. They support controlled issue of consumables, spare parts, maintenance materials and operational stock.

Depending on configuration, a stock requisition may result in an inventory issue, transfer order, purchase requisition, or replenishment action.

Create and Process a Stock Requisition

1. Search for Stock Requisitions and select New.

2. Enter requester, required date, issue location, destination location, mine site, project, asset or work order reference.

3. Add stock lines with item number, quantity, unit of measure and required date.

4. Check availability by location and review substitute items where allowed.

5. Submit the requisition for approval if approval is required.

6. On approval, issue stock, create a transfer, or create a purchase requisition for unavailable items.

7. Post the inventory movement and confirm that item ledger entries, cost dimensions and work order references are correct.

Stock Requisition Controls

• Use dimensions to track consumption by mine site, cost centre, asset, project or work order.

• Restrict issuing rights to authorised stores users.

• Use approval workflows for high-value, restricted or safety-critical items.

• Use replenishment reporting to identify items repeatedly requested but not stocked.

• Review slow-moving and obsolete stock to reduce carrying cost.

Purchase Quality Control & Vendor Rating

Purchase Quality Control helps ensure that materials, parts, services and equipment meet specification before they are accepted into stock, used on an asset or released for payment.

Quality inspections can be generated from purchase receipts, warehouse movements or manual inspection requests, depending on setup.

Quality Inspection Setup

1. Define inspection templates for item categories, safety-critical parts, fuels, consumables, capital equipment or vendor-specific requirements.

2. Define measurements, tolerance ranges, pass/fail criteria, required evidence and inspection frequency.

3. Set inspection generation rules by item, vendor, item category, location or purchase document type.

4. Configure non-conformance actions such as quarantine, return to vendor, rework, disposal, blocked lot or conditional acceptance.

5. Define vendor rating measures that use inspection outcomes, rejected quantities, late deliveries and corrective actions.

Process a Purchase Quality Inspection

1. Post the purchase receipt or warehouse receipt.

2. Open the generated quality inspection or manually create one if required.

3. Review the item, vendor, purchase order, lot or serial number, location and required tests.

4. Record inspection measurements, comments, evidence and pass/fail result.

5. For passed items, release the stock for normal use.

6. For failed items, create the required non-conformance action and notify procurement, stores and the vendor.

7. Update vendor rating and retain supporting evidence for audit.

Vendor Rating Review

Procurement should review vendor rating dashboards or reports on a scheduled basis. Vendors with declining quality, poor delivery reliability, repeated non-conformance events or unresolved corrective actions should be flagged for review. Preferred vendor status should only be maintained where contract, safety, delivery and quality standards are consistently met.

Asset Management Using Service Items & Asset Status Logs

The d365 Mining Solution can manage operational assets using Business Central Service Items, with additional asset status fields and status logs. This approach supports mining equipment visibility, asset condition tracking, procurement linkage, service history, location control and operational readiness monitoring.

Create an Asset as a Service Item

1. Search for Service Items and select New.

2. Enter the asset number, description, item reference, serial number, manufacturer, model, equipment class and mine site.

3. Assign customer, vendor, location, responsibility centre or internal ownership fields as required.

4. Enter warranty, service contract, commissioning date and expected life details where applicable.

5. Assign dimensions for mine site, asset class, project and cost centre.

6. Add service item components manually or from a bill of materials where component tracking is required.

7. Attach manuals, certificates, inspection records, photos, commissioning documents and compliance evidence.

Asset Status Values

Asset Status Logs

Every asset status change should create a log entry with date, time, user, previous status, new status, reason, related work order, related purchase document and comments.

Status logs provide a controlled history of asset availability, downtime, maintenance events, safety holds and disposal decisions. Asset managers should review status logs during maintenance planning, operational readiness reviews and audit investigations.

Document Management & Customised Templates

Document management ensures that procurement, sales, asset, quality and operational records are retained, controlled and easy to access. Business Central supports attachments and document links, while Microsoft 365 and SharePoint can provide centralised storage, permissions, version control and collaboration.

Attach & Manage Documents

1. Open the relevant record such as a vendor, purchase requisition, purchase order, item, service item, quality inspection or posted document.

2. Use attachments or document links to add supporting evidence.

3. Store contracts, quotes, drawings, safety certificates, invoices, proof of delivery, inspection results and correspondence against the correct record.

4. Use consistent naming conventions for documents and include document date, vendor, asset or purchase order reference where applicable.

5. Restrict access to confidential contract, HR, banking or commercially sensitive documents.

Customised Purchasing & Sales Templates

ACH & Positive Pay Export with US Localisation

For United States localisation, Business Central can support electronic vendor payments through payment journals and bank export formats. Positive Pay provides an additional control for check payments by exporting check information to the bank so that the bank can validate presented checks against approved payment data.

ACH Payment Processing

1. Confirm the bank account, payment method and export format are configured.

2. Verify vendor bank account details using the approved vendor banking control process.

3. Open Payment Journals and select the correct batch.

4. Use Suggest Vendor Payments to populate approved invoices due for payment.

5. Review vendor, invoice, payment amount, bank payment type, due date and dimensions.

6. Submit the journal for approval if payment approval workflow is enabled.

7. Generate the ACH export file using the configured bank format.

8. Save the file in the approved secure location and upload it to the bank portal according to company policy.

9. Post the payment journal when the payment file has been generated and approved for processing.

Positive Pay Export

1. Search for Bank Accounts and open the relevant bank account card.

2. Confirm the Positive Pay Export Format is selected for the bank account.

3. After checks are printed or payments are posted, select Positive Pay Export.

4. Review the check ledger entries included in the export.

5. Enter the cutoff upload date to exclude older payments where required.

6. Select Export and save the file to the approved secure location.

7. Upload the file to the bank portal.

8. Record the bank confirmation number on the Positive Pay Entries page.

9. If required, use Reexport Positive Pay to File from Positive Pay Entries for a prior export.

Banking Controls

• Separate duties between vendor bank maintenance, payment preparation, approval and bank upload.

• Use approval workflows for payment journals and vendor bank account changes.

• Retain exported files, confirmation numbers and approval records according to company policy.

• Review failed exports, rejected bank files and payment reversals promptly.

• Use Positive Pay for check fraud prevention where supported by the bank.

Operations Control

Operations control provides day-to-day visibility over procurement, stock, asset, quality and banking exceptions. The objective is to ensure that operating activities are completed accurately, approvals are not bypassed, stock is available when needed, assets are visible, and exceptions are escalated before they affect production or compliance.

Daily Operations Checklist

• Review purchase requisitions awaiting approval or procurement action.

• Review stock requisitions awaiting issue, transfer or replenishment.

• Review purchase orders due for receipt or delayed by vendors.

• Review warehouse receipts not yet invoiced.

• Review quality inspections awaiting completion or non-conformance action.

• Review assets with status Under Maintenance, Quarantined, Idle or overdue for update.

• Review payment journals awaiting approval, export or posting.

• Review bank file export errors, failed integrations and unresolved exceptions.

Recommended Dashboards & Reports

Integration Option with Dynamics 365 Field Service

Dynamics 365 Field Service can be integrated with Business Central and d365 Mining Solution to support connected resource scheduling, work order execution and service management. This option is recommended where maintenance crews, field technicians or operational service teams require mobile work order management, dispatching, route planning, resource availability and service history.

Integration Scenarios

Integration Design Considerations

• Confirm which system is the source of truth for assets, resources, locations, items and work orders.

• Define integration direction, timing, error handling and retry logic.

• Map asset status values between Service Items and Field Service assets where required.

• Determine how labour, parts and external services are costed back to Business Central.

• Define how stock requisitions and purchase requisitions are triggered from work order requirements.

• Include integration monitoring, exception queues and reconciliation reports in the operating model.

Troubleshooting & Exception Handling

Glossary