Incidents in ERP systems and how to handle them
In mature organizations, using an ERP system is a natural part of doing business, and incidents are seen as opportunities for continuous improvement. When it comes to Dynamics 365 Finance – the core of finance, reporting, and compliance – it’s crucial for organizations to be prepared to respond quickly and effectively. This ensures smooth process continuity and data reliability.
From the perspective of 7F Technology Partners, incidents are a natural stage in the application lifecycle that can be effectively monitored and controlled. It’s important to understand when risk increases, maintain proper documentation, and build mechanisms for fast, predictable corrective actions. This approach helps organizations better support their business goals and develop a stable working environment based on Dynamics 365 Finance.
Such a strategy not only minimizes downtime but also increases the system’s resilience and flexibility in the face of changing business conditions.
The error curve after Go-Live
The highest intensity of incidents occurs at go-live. Users transition from Excel, legacy systems, or test environments to real data, real volumes, and real responsibilities. At this stage, gaps in configuration, migration inaccuracies, hidden dependencies between modules, and integration errors come to light. This is normal – provided the organization has a process for handling incidents and doesn’t treat every report as proof of a “broken system.”
After a few weeks, a well-managed system enters a stabilization phase. The support team identifies recurring issues, users gain confidence in new screens and processes, and the flood of reports turns into a more selective stream of genuine exceptions. In the following months, the third stage emerges: development and updates. New features, further integrations, changes in business processes, and regular cloud updates raise the risk level again. The difference is that a mature organization already has a change control model in place to keep that risk in check.
Documentation that works
Effective incident management starts with high-quality problem data. In practice, this means consistently using Service Desk tools like Jira or Azure DevOps, and having clear rules about what gets reported. Our standard is that every ticket includes a specific description of the situation, steps leading to the error, environment details, screenshots, and, where possible, system logs.
Categorization is equally important. Distinguishing between functional, integration, performance, or data-related errors not only speeds up assignment to the right team but also helps analyze trends. For example, most issues might stem from a particular integration interface, a specific month-end process, or loosely defined security roles. This feeds into the knowledge base – a repository of solutions and best practices, which at 7F-TP we consider a mandatory part of mature ERP system maintenance.
Where risk grows most
Not all changes in Dynamics 365 Finance are equally “risky.” Experience shows several areas are especially prone to incidents. First, seemingly minor configuration tweaks – a single parameter set incorrectly can disrupt settlements, reservations, or document flows. Second, version updates in the cloud model: regular, necessary, and valuable, but requiring test scenarios tailored to real processes, not just generic checklists.
Third, integrations with external systems, where the problem is often not Dynamics itself, but inconsistent data formats, poorly thought-out field mapping, or changes made by integration partners without coordination. Fourth, critical workload periods – month-end, quarter-end, year-end, audits, intense sales campaigns. If something in configuration, process, or integration is “on the edge,” it will show up then.
From firefighting to control
Minimizing incidents doesn’t mean believing they can be eliminated. It’s about shifting the focus from reaction to prevention. In practice, this means consistent regression testing before deploying new versions or configuration changes, based on real business scenarios – not demo data. It also means investing in users – the better they understand system logic and the consequences of their actions, the faster they can recognize whether they’re dealing with a bug, misconfiguration, or simply a new way of working.
Another pillar is monitoring. Using logs, performance metrics, and alerts helps catch symptoms before they reach management as a delayed financial report. Where possible, we also recommend automating repetitive operations – not just to be “modern,” but because it eliminates classic human errors in manual data entry and repetitive postings.
Maturity over the illusion of perfection
Dynamics 365 Finance, like any complex ERP system, will generate incidents at various stages of its lifecycle. The difference between organizations is whether they treat them as chaos to be managed ad hoc, or as a predictable element of the environment that can be controlled. A conscious approach to the application lifecycle, solid documentation, root cause analysis, and disciplined testing of changes directly translate into process stability and organizational resilience. If, with each incident, you ask not only “how do I fix this?” but also “how do I prevent this type of problem from recurring?” – you’re on the right path to a mature ERP operating model, rather than just putting out fires.
And if you need support in daily management of your D365 system or are considering functional extensions, feel free to contact us: contact@7f-tp.pl.
