This post is one of a series I’m creating connected with Project Service Automation (PSA) for Microsoft Dynamics 365. This time I will consider the opportunity entity.
When you create a project opportunity, the first thing to check is that you are looking at the correct form. As shown below you need to select the “PROJECT INFORMATION” form. This is a “special” form that exposes the additional features you’ll require when creating an opportunity for a project.
The following table describes the key fields on opportunity entity.
| Field | Details |
| Account Manager | The account manager field is set to the user who creates the opportunity, as it will typically be the account manager who creates and manages the opportunity in CRM. |
| Contracting Unit | The contracting unit is the division of the company responsible for this opportunity. The entity in question here is called “Organizational Unit”. It defines the cost price lists that will be used to calculate the profitability of an opportunity.
Read about cost price lists here. |
| Currency | The currency of the opportunity that will have defaulted from the accounts currency. Any price lists associated with the opportunity must be of this currency. |
| Product Price List | The price list to be used for “regular” items from the product catalog.
The product price list can be defined on the account entity. The product price list on the opportunity will default to this if defined. Read about sales price lists here. |
Project Price Lists
In addition to the product price list other lists can be added for project pricing. These lists can be found by navigating to the Project Price Lists option.
As explained the product price list option is defaulted based on the price list associated with the account. Project pricing has a similar approach. On the account form you will find a project pricing tab. (As shown below.)
Opportunity Lines
Having created the opportunity and entered the details for appropriate price lists you can then add product and project lines to the opportunity. These will itemise the customers budget for the project tasks and the sales value for any products. Which collectively will give an estimated revenue to the opportunity. (If you set the calculated on the opportunity.)
When quotes are created for the opportunity the line items will get transferred to the quote. However the use of project line is optional. If you opt not to enter any opportunity lines then the quote will initially contain no line items but you can opt to add them manually as required.
Project Based Lines
Under project based lines you can record the potential project costs and enter the customer’s budget. Plus, define the billing method. (Options being “Time and Materials” or “Fixed Price”.)
Product Based Lines
Under product based lines we list any products that will be purchased along with the project. If we were defining a project to implement CRM, then typical product based lines would include CRM licenses.
There are two types of product based lines, write-in products and existing products.
Write-in products are simply free text entries that do not require the product to exist in the product catalog. These are useful for one-off purchases that you want to record without having the overhead of creating products and adding them to price lists.
Products you regularly sell would exist in the product catalog and would be part of the price list associated with the opportunity. The Existing Product option allows you to add these to the opportunity.
Below you will notice that I have added a product based line to my opportunity. Also, notice that this product has an edit option under properties. Properties are a standard feature of the product catalog. PSA however extends this functionality to give us product quantity properties. These are useful for products like licenses, when the quantity field is actually a combination of the length of the agreement and the number of licenses purchased. I describe how to configure these product quantity factors here.
Note, it is possible to record a customer budget on the product based lines. (As we did on the project lines.) But with products it is the sales amount that is used by the system to calculate to total estimated revenue.
Creating and progressing opportunities is a key step in the sales cycle for Project Service, hopefully this post has given a good overview. J
Microsoft Dynamics 365 
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