The "back door" to Item, Customer, and Vendor Templates in Dynamics 365 Business Central that is worth another look

Author's Note (January 2022): 

With the general availability of Business Central 2021 Release Wave 2 in October 2021, the functionality of templates has changed. To learn more about templates in Business Central after this update go to Oh no! Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central "shut the back door" on Customer, Vendor, Item, and Employee Templates. If you are on an older version of Business Central, the content of this article may still apply.

Are recent changes in how you work forcing you to take a second look at the tools and controls you use to ensure accuracy in master data setup? Do you find yourself constantly tracking down the source of entries posted to the wrong general ledger account because the posting groups are not properly defined on newly created Items, Customers or Vendors? Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Configuration Templates, if implemented properly, may provide the answer. 

Maybe you tried to use “Save as Template” and “Apply Template” but stopped because you found it lacking due to the limited number of fields in these templates. Well, let me share a little-known secret. There is a “back door” that allows you to turbo boost template functionality!

The setup I am going to show you 1) does not require a developer, 2) takes minimal setup, 3) does not require you to be super technical, and 4) is a change you can make today. Word of caution - since master data impacts multiple functional areas (sales, purchasing, finance, warehousing, etc.), I strongly recommend you coordinate your templates with everyone that uses these records.

Let’s set up an item template as an example.

1. Begin by determining how you might classify the different types of items in your system. For example, you may have items you purchase and make, inventory and non-inventory, or finally domestic and imported. I think you get the idea. Often how you classify your items may directly correlate to the Item Category or Service Item Group, or maybe it is more financial and correlates to the Inventory Posting Group, General Product Posting Group or a specific set of Dimensions assigned. Regardless, determine if more than one item classification exists, and thus, more than one item configuration template may be needed.