SoP Example Template - Order to Cash OTC Process

Updated about 1 month ago

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Document Information

Field	Details
SOP Title	Dynamics 365 Business Central - Order to Cash (OTC) Process
Version	1.0

1. Purpose

Process a customer transaction from sales order entry through shipment, invoicing, accounts receivable update, cash receipt/bank deposit, and reporting in Dynamics 365 Business Central.

2. Scope

Applies to: Sales reps, Warehouse staff, and Accountants/Finance roles.

Covers: Dynamics 365 Business Central, Sales order entry, shipment/invoice posting, bank deposits, and cash flow/trial balance reporting.

Does not cover: UPS WorldShip, InsightWorks shipping module.

3. Definitions

Term	Definition
OTC	Order to Cash: The end-to-end process from receiving a customer order to receiving payment and reporting.
Cross-Reference	A mapping of a customer's own part numbers to the internal system's item numbers.
Posting	The process of finalizing a transaction in the general ledger and sub-ledgers.

4. Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Responsibilities
Sales and Relationship Managers	Handles customer review, sales order entry, confirmation, release, and shipping detail entry.
Warehouse staff	Receives picking instructions and prepares shipment.
Accountant / Finance	Validates bank deposits, processes cash receipts, and generates financial forecasts.

5. Procedure

Step 1.1 — Open Business Central

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Open Dynamics 365 Business Central in your web browser and verify that the active company is set to CRONUS USA, Inc.

Clear view of the Business Central homepage.

Step 1.2 — Verify Role Personalization

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Navigate to the Top Right Gear Icon → My Settings and confirm the 'Role Center' is set to 'Sales and Relationship Manager'.

Shows the My Settings dialog box for role verification.

Step 2.1 — Open Customer Record

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Click 'Customers' in the top navigation menu and select the target customer, such as '20000 · Trey Research', from the list.

Shows navigation towards the Customers list.

Shows the customer list with the target customer selected.

Step 2.2 — Review Credit and Payment Terms

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Review the 'General' tab for the 'Credit Limit ($)' and scroll to the 'Payments' tab to verify 'Payment Terms Code' (e.g., NET 14) and 'Cash Flow Payment Terms Code' (e.g., NET 30).

Shows the top portion of the Customer Card for Trey Research.

Shows a different part of the Customer Card (Payments and Shipping sections).

Shows the Payments tab of the Customer Card with specific fields visible.

Shows a different state of the UI with both Payments and Shipping tabs expanded.

Shows the Customer dropdown menu being accessed on the Customer Card.

Step 3.1 — Create New Sales Order

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Navigate to 'Sales Orders' in the top menu and click the '+ New' button to open a blank sales order form.

Shows navigation to the Sales Orders list from the main dashboard.

Shows the resulting Sales Orders list view.

Initial view of the Sales Orders list before starting the creation process.

Shows the interaction with the '+ New' button to initiate a new order.

The blank Sales Order form ready for data entry.

Step 3.2 — Select Customer

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Type the customer name (e.g., 'Trey') in the 'Customer Name' field and select the correct account from the dropdown to auto-populate header details.

User searching for the customer 'Trey Research' in the customer field.

Form populated after selecting the customer.

Step 3.3 — Enter PO Number

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Input the customer's purchase order number into the 'External Document No.' field in the General section.

User entering the Purchase Order number into the External Document No. field.

Step 3.4 — Select Items via Cross-Reference

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

In the Lines grid, click the AssistEdit button in the 'CROSS-REFERENCE NO.' column to select items from the customer-specific catalog.

Selecting an item from the cross-reference dropdown in the order lines.

Shows the initial state of the sales order line and the action of selecting the cross-reference button.

Confirms the item has been successfully populated into the sales order line.

Step 3.5 — Review Overdue Balance Warning

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

If the blue notification bar 'This customer has an overdue balance' appears, click 'Show details' to review past due entries highlighted in red.

Notification bar showing the overdue balance warning.

Shows the specific action of clicking 'Show details' on the overdue balance notification banner.

Shows the detailed Credit Limit Notification window for the overdue balance review.

Step 3.6 — Assign Location and Quantity

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Select the 'MAIN' warehouse in the 'LOCATION CODE' column and enter the required 'QUANTITY' (e.g., 20) for the line item.

Shows the selection process for the Location Code.

Confirms the Location Code has been set to MAIN.

Shows the entry of the quantity into the quantity field.

Shows the recalculated totals after entering the quantity.

Step 3.7 — Acknowledge Credit Limit Warning

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

If a notification appears stating 'The customer's credit limit has been exceeded', click 'Show details' to acknowledge and verify the financial impact before continuing.

Shows the new notification banner for the exceeded credit limit.

Shows the initial state of the sales order screen for the step.

Step 4.1 — Update Ship-to Address

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

In the 'Shipping and Billing' section, select 'Alternate Shipping Address' and choose the correct location (e.g., MIAMI) from the list.

Shows the Shipping and Billing section being expanded.

Shows the modal for selecting a ship-to address.

Shows the updated shipping address details in the main form.

Step 4.2 — Enter Shipping Carrier Info

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Assign the shipping 'Agent' (e.g., UPS) and the 'Agent Service' (e.g., GROUND) in the Shipping and Billing tab.

Step 4.3 — Print Order Confirmation

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Select 'Print/Send' → 'Print Confirmation...', then click 'Preview' in the dialog to generate the document.

Shows the user interacting with the Print/Send menu to initiate the confirmation process.

Shows the modal dialog for sales confirmation options.

Shows the actual generated order confirmation document.

Step 4.4 — Release Sales Order

Responsible: Sales and Relationship Managers

Click the 'Release' button in the ribbon to finalize the entry and prevent further changes.

Shows the order header with the status updated to Released.

Shows the UI state where the status is 'Released'.

Shows the user interacting with the Release action menu.

Step 4.5 — Generate Pick Instruction

Responsible: Warehouse staff

Navigate to 'Print/Send' → 'Pick Instruction' to generate the picking list for the warehouse team.

Shows the initial navigation to the Print/Send menu for pick instructions.

Shows the configuration dialog for the Pick Instruction document.

Shows the generated Pick Instruction report preview.

Step 5.1 — Set Quantity to Ship

Responsible: Warehouse staff

Update the 'Qty. to Ship' column in the lines grid to reflect the actual amount being shipped (e.g., 15 out of 20).

Shows the 'Qty. to Ship' value successfully entered in the grid; slightly clearer state than image 3.

Step 5.2 — Assign Lot Numbers

Responsible: Warehouse staff

For lot-tracked items, navigate to Line → Item Tracking Lines and select the specific lot number being shipped from the list.

Shows the specific menu navigation to reach Item Tracking Lines.

Shows the Lot No. List selection dialog.

Step 5.3 — Enter Tracking Number

Responsible: Warehouse staff

Manually enter the shipment identification into the 'Package Tracking No.' field in the Shipping and Billing tab.

Shows interaction with the Package Tracking No. field.

Shows the initial state of the Shipping and Billing section with the cursor in the tracking field.

Shows the Shipping and Billing section with tracking information populated.

Step 5.4 — Run Posting Preview

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Select Posting → Preview Posting to review the impact on G/L and ledgers and ensure no errors exist.

Shows the initial navigation to the 'Preview Posting' option.

Shows the system processing the preview request.

Shows the actual Posting Preview results screen.

Step 5.5 — Post Ship and Invoice

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Select Posting → Post... and choose the 'Ship and Invoice' radio button to finalize the records.

Shows the user initiating the 'Post' action.

Shows the Post selection dialog with 'Ship and Invoice' selected.

Shows the loading dialog during the final posting process for this step reference.

Step 5.6 — Verify Shipped Quantity

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Review the order lines after posting to confirm 'Quantity Shipped' (e.g., 15) and any remaining backorder amounts.

Shows the updated sales order quantities after partial shipping.

Step 5.7 — Review Posted Documents

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Use the Navigate menu under Order to open the 'Shipments' or 'Invoices' records associated with the order.

Shows navigation to open the shipment records.

Shows navigation to open the invoice records.

Step 6.1 — Review Updated Customer Balance

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Drill down into the customer's dollar balance link in the Statistics FactBox to verify the newly posted invoice entries.

Shows the Customer Ledger Entries screen, which is the final outcome of reviewing the balance.

Shows the balance link in Customer Statistics

Shows the detailed customer ledger entries after invoicing

Step 6.2 — Initiate Bank Deposit

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Search for 'Deposits' using the Tell Me feature (Alt+Q) and click '+ New' to create a blank deposit record.

Shows the navigation to the Deposits menu via search

Shows clicking the +New button to start a new deposit

Step 6.3 — Setup Deposit Header

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Select the appropriate 'Bank Account No.' (e.g., CHECKING) and confirm the auto-assigned deposit number.

Shows the number series selection for the deposit

Step 6.4 — Record Customer Payment

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Enter the 'ACCOUNT NO.' (Customer), 'DOCUMENT NO.' (Check Number), and the 'CREDIT AMOUNT' (e.g., 3,000) for the payment received.

Shows selecting the Account Type as Customer

Shows selecting the specific customer 'Trey Research'

Shows the entry of amount and document number for the payment

Step 6.5 — Apply Payment to Invoices

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Select Functions → Apply Entries on the line to match the payment against outstanding invoices in the Apply Customer Entries dialog.

Shows the action of clicking Apply Entries

Shows the Apply Customer Entries screen with outstanding invoices

Shows the Apply Customer Entries dialog with invoice details.

Step 6.6 — Generate Deposit Test Report

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Select Posting → Test Report... and click 'Preview' in the dialog to review the formatted deposit slip before final posting.

Shows the Bank Deposit menu with the 'Test Report...' option being selected.

Shows the parameter window for the Deposit Test Report.

Shows the preview of the generated Deposit Test Report.

Step 6.7 — Post Bank Deposit

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Click 'Post' and confirm the prompt 'Do you want to post the Deposit?' to update the bank balance.

Shows the action of clicking the Post button on the Bank Deposit record.

Shows the confirmation dialog to post the deposit.

Step 6.8 — Verify Post-Deposit Balance

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Confirm that the customer's balance has been reduced accordingly in the Customer Statistics FactBox or ledger entries.

Shows the Sales Orders list with the updated Customer Statistics FactBox.

Shows the detailed Customer Ledger Entries for verification.

Step 7.1 — Open Cash Flow Forecast

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Navigate to Cash Management → Cash Flow Forecasts and open the 'DEFAULT' forecast card to view system-wide statistics.

Shows navigation to the Cash Management menu.

Shows the selection of the 'DEFAULT' cash flow forecast from the list.

Shows the details of the opened Cash Flow Forecast Card.

Shows the Cash Flow Forecast Card for the 'DEFAULT' forecast.

Step 7.2 — Run Cash Flow Date List

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Set parameters like 'Interval Length' (e.g., 1W) and click 'Preview' to view projected liquidity, receivables, and payables.

Shows the initial state of the Cash Flow Date List parameters dialog.

Shows the updated Interval Length field set to '1W'.

Shows the formatted report preview for the Cash Flow Date List.

Step 7.3 — Generate Trial Balance Report

Responsible: Accountant / Finance

Search for 'Detail Trial Balance', configure G/L Account filters, and click 'Preview' to generate the report.

Shows the user searching for the trial balance report in the search dialog.

Shows the parameter configuration screen for the Detail Trial Balance report.

6. Decision Points and Exceptions

Situation	Action Required	Escalation Path
Customer overdue balance popup appears	Click 'Show Details' to review past due entries	Notify Finance if balance is significantly over terms
Credit limit exceeded	Acknowledge warning; if system blocks, request approval	Notify Sales Manager / Finance for release
Stock unavailable for full quantity	Update 'Qty. to Ship' for partial fulfillment	Notify Customer of backorder
Process cannot be completed	Halt and document reason	Notify Process Owner

For questions about this document, contact the Process Owner listed in Section 1.