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Microsoft Dynamics 365 | Integration, Dataverse...
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D365 - What order to implement the modules?

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Posted on by 4

Hi all, I'm new and was hoping to ask the community for some guidance from your own experiences of implementing D365.

I am currently working on a D365 implementation of Sales, Customer Services and F&O.

Which one should come first? Can we safely implement Sales and Customer Service before F&O as there is an immediate business need. Or should we wait until after the F&O migration or just do it all together at the same time in one larger project?

I am sure there are pros and cons to all options. Any war stories/examples from your own experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I have the same question (0)
  • Wahaj Rashid Profile Picture
    11,323 on at

    Hi,

    There is no straightforward answer to this. It all depends on the need and on your plan.

    Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Services, and F&O are capable of running independently, however once integrate, you can best out of these.

    Again, I'm not aware of your project, however, as per my experience, in most of the implementations we started in parallel.

    So we plan out phases, In Phase 1, we implement Sales in parallel to F&O. This means anything, where you need integration with F&O will be done either in Sales or outside the system. For instance, normally, the sales process until the Sales Order stage is managed in D365 Sales, however, invoices and fulfillment happens through F&O. Since D365 Sales do have capabilities to prepare Invoices, so in Phase 1 your invoicing can be managed in D365 Sales or Legacy systems. In Phase 2, you can start integrating D365 Sales with F&O. For example, now once a Sales Order is created, it flows to F&O for fulfillment and billing purposes.

    One more example, there are processes where there is no direct integration with F&O. For instance, our Marketing Department mostly cares about Customer Segments, Campaigns, and Customer Insights. None of these are directly involved with F&O. So we can safely, start with Marketing Module Implementation.

    Similarly, you will find scenarios in your project.

    I hope, it gives you some perspective.

    Feel free to discuss this.

    Best,

    Wahaj

  • Suggested answer
    protc Profile Picture
    Microsoft Employee on at

    Hi,

    Thank you for your query,

    There is no such order to install the Dynamics 365 Modules as they all can be used independent of each other but you can integrate them later at any point in time.

  • The_CRM_Fairy Profile Picture
    4 on at

    Thanks for your quick reply Wahaj. That is really helpful. So I am 100% clear, is there any best practice guidance from Microsoft in relation to the "best" order to implement these modules in that I need to factor into our decision Vs the business needs?

  • The_CRM_Fairy Profile Picture
    4 on at

    Thanks for your reply Protim. Are you aware of any best practice guidance directly from Microsoft relating to this?

  • Suggested answer
    CU27011421-0 Profile Picture
    86 on at

    In most implementations, it’s better not to do everything at once.

    Typical approach that works well:

    1. Start with Finance (F&O core)


    • Chart of accounts, legal entities, basic processes
    • This becomes the foundation for everything else


    •  

    2. Then Sales (CRM)


    • Customer data, pipeline, integrations
    • Aligns with finance structure (customers, pricing, etc.)

    •  

    3. Then Customer Service


    • Cases, support workflows, SLAs
    • Builds on customer data already set up


    •  

    Why not start with Sales/CS first?

    You can, but it often leads to rework because:


    • Customer/account structures may change after F&O
    • Integrations (orders, invoicing) depend on finance setup

    •  

    Real-world approach:


    • If there’s urgent business need → start Sales/CS as a phase 1 (lightweight)
    • But parallelly design F&O properly before scaling

    •  

    Avoid:

    Big-bang implementation unless the team is very experienced and requirements are stable.

  • Suggested answer
    11manish Profile Picture
    365 on at
    Great question—this comes up a lot in real programs, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. But based on experience with implementations across Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, there is a practical approach that works well in most cases.
     
    Go with:
    • Sales + Customer Service first
    BUT
    • Plan F&O integration from Day 1

    In a typical implementation involving Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, it is generally safe—and often recommended—to implement Sales and Customer Service first to address immediate business needs.
    A phased approach works best:
    • Start with Sales and Customer Service to deliver quick value
    • Then implement Finance & Operations and integrate it with CRM
    However, it’s very important to plan integration upfront, especially around:
    • Data ownership (customers, products, pricing)
    • System of record (typically F&O)
    • Future integration design (e.g., APIs, dual-write, Dataverse)
    Avoid treating CRM as a standalone long-term system without considering ERP, as this can lead to:
    • Data duplication
    • Rework during integration
    • Inconsistent business processes
  • Suggested answer
    ManoVerse Profile Picture
    928 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    If I would be in your positions , i will go with below order : 
     
    Phase 0 – Planning (ALL APPS TOGETHER)
    Goal : “Everyone agrees where we are going, even if we are not building everything at once.”
    Activities : 
    • Agree the overall business vision
    • Decide what value comes first
    • Define system of record for:
      • Customers
      • Products
      • Pricing
      • Orders
    • Decide future integration approach (not build yet) 
    *Microsoft also strongly recommends upfront cross‑app planning before any build starts.
     
    Phase 1 – Sales & Customer Service  Implementation
    Goal : “Improve customer experience and sales visibility now, without waiting for ERP and Deliver fast business value”
    Activities :
    • Sales:
      • Leads
      • Opportunities
      • Pipeline visibility
     
    • Customer Service:
      • Cases
      • SLAs
      • Customer history
    Basic master data only (no heavy finance logic) , Sales and Service have immediate business impact and its Faster to deliver than ERP , No deep ERP integration yet
    Temporary ownership of customers/products , Data model aligned to F&O structure (future‑ready). 
     
    Phase 2 – Finance & Operations (F&O)
    Goal : “Create a stable, compliant system of record for finance and operations.”
    Activities : 
    • Finance (GL, AR, AP)
    • Supply Chain / Inventory
    • Product, pricing, and financial rules
    • Data migration from legacy ERP
    F&O is complex and high‑risk , takes longer and needs stable business understanding
     
    Phase 3 – Integration (CRM <-> F&O)
    Goal : "Sales and Service work seamlessly with Finance and Operations.
    Integration activities :
    • Dual‑write for customers, products, orders
    • Virtual tables for read‑only ERP data
    • Power Automate for process automation
     
    Other than above approach F&O first or Big bang I see can delay delivery , early wins and business values as ERP implementation can delay everything , In above approach you would have breathing time to plan the ERP functionality properly before build with no surprises and rollback would require with good planning.
     
     

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