Understanding Product Types in Dynamics 365 Field Service

How do products work in Dynamics 365 Field Service? Let’s look at three examples:

Imagine we work in a fictitious Atlantis Coffee Servicing company where we install coffee machines, refill machines and fix if they are broken. To keep it simple, let’s consider the following three services:

1. Install a new coffee machine: Coffee machines is a stock item, which means they are maintained in a warehouse. Field Resources fetch coffee machines from warehouse to go & install for customers.
2. Refill coffee machines: Field Resources refill coffee machines with a sample but these sample pods are not maintained as stock items. In other words, field resources carry pods with them and put them in coffee machines without any impact on inventory.
3. Cleaning a coffee machine: Cleaning is a service that is charged to customers. It is an intangible product.

All these three kinds of products can be set up in Dynamics 365 Field Service to be estimated, consumed and charged to customers in different ways.

1. Coffee machines = Inventory Product

Inventory products are set up with a very important flag: Convert to Customer Asset. If set to yes, this means once Work Order is completed, a Customer Asset record is created against a Work Order Product carrying this product. The new Customer Asset can be subsequently used in Agreements and Work Orders. You can also set default vendor and costs for this type of product. These types of products can only be added to Work Order Product.

2. Sample Coffee Pods = Non-Inventory Product

Sample Coffee Pods are set up as ‘Non-Inventory Product’. This type of product can also be set up as convertible to Customer Assets, though it is less common. These types of products can also be only added to Work Order Product.

3. Coffee Machine Cleaning = Service Product

The product of type ‘Service’ cannot be converted to an asset, and also do not have a default vendor or purchase name. These types of products can only be added to Work Order Service.

The pricing of these Field Service products is determined on the configuration in the associated Field Service Price List Item.

The configuration allows for:

• Various rounding-off mechanisms (top, down, nearest)
• Do you charge a flat fee?
• What is the minimum charge duration?
• What is the minimum charge amount?
• Duration rounded to ‘which’ denomination?

..and of course, you can set an appropriate price list (and related currency).

The above configurations allow for a variety of products and services to be maintained and used in Dynamics 365 Field Service. The security model, though sometimes, is a bit challenging because Product Catalog tables entities are maintained at Org level.