Provisioning Best Practices for Work 365

Modified on Wed, Oct 22 at 1:07 PM

Applies To: Work 365 (Dynamics 365 / Power Platform)
Audience: Administrators, Provisioning Teams, Billing & Operations Teams

Overview

Provisioning new client tenants and subscriptions in Work 365 should follow a consistent, governed process to maintain billing accuracy, auditability, and data integrity. This guide covers best practices for mapping provider accounts, provisioning/synchronizing subscriptions, managing changes, and keeping billing compliant.

? Reference: Work 365 Support Portal – Provisioning Best Practices

Prerequisites & Roles

Dynamics 365 security roles: Work 365 Service, Work 365 Billing Manager (as applicable)
Application User configured and consented for background jobs
Product Catalog & Price Lists published; Unit Mapping configured
Provider integrations (e.g., Partner Center) verified in Admin Hub → Integrations → Verify Connectivity

1) Provider Account Mapping

When tenants sync from a provider (e.g., Microsoft CSP), Work 365 creates Provider Account records. These must be mapped to the correct CRM Account or billing will fail.

If not mapped, you may see:

Subscriptions with no Customer/Billing Contract (invoicing blocked)
License Change Logs (LCLs) failing due to missing customer linkage

Recommendations

Make mapping part of onboarding: Provider Account → CRM Account → Billing Contract
Route “Notification for New Provider Account” to your ops DL for same-day mapping
Maintain a saved view: Provider Accounts → Unmapped (review weekly)

? Reference: Work 365 Support Portal – Provider Account Mapping

2) Provisioning New Subscriptions

Always provision in Work 365 (not directly in the provider portal). This ensures:

Automatic linkage to the correct Billing Contract
Pricing & units pulled from Product Catalog / Price Lists
Every action logged via LCLs for audit

If a subscription was created externally (e.g., in Partner Center):

Sync back into Work 365
Validate Account, Billing Contract, Product, Unit, Currency, Pricing

? Reference: Work 365 Support Portal – Subscription Provisioning

3) Making Changes to Existing Subscriptions

Perform all quantity/price/product changes inside Work 365 to:

Create a proper LCL with an accurate Effective Date
Preserve a full audit trail (who/when/what)
Keep proration and billing logic aligned

Avoid: Direct edits in the provider portal—these bypass Work 365 and cause misalignment or invoice errors.

? Reference: Work 365 Documentation – Subscription Change Logs

4) Bundles & Add-Ons (Parent/Child)

Assign add-ons to the true parent subscription (e.g., Phone System → M365 E5)
If using bundles, maintain correct hierarchy (Parent → Add-ons → Add-ons to Add-ons)
For non-billable children you don’t want on invoices, control Display on Portal and invoice visibility without breaking the link

? Related: Provisioning Add-Ons in Work 365

5) Dates, Units, Currency & Pricing

Units: Ensure Sales Unit on Subscriptions matches Price List Items; confirm Unit Mapping (Monthly/Quarterly/Annual/Triennial)
Currency: Product currency + Billing Contract currency + Price List currency must align; add PLIs per currency
Pricing: Populate Selling Price per Unit and Monthly Unit Selling Price (for proration accuracy)
Start/End/Eff. Dates: Use correct Start Date / End Date / Effective Date; misalignment can block provisioning or create catch-up invoices

? Related: Units & Unit Mapping in Work 365, Selecting a Currency on the Product Service

6) Azure Usage Subscriptions

Keep markup/margin settings consistent (e.g., ~17.65–17.67% markup for 15% margin)
Decide on Usage Summary condensation vs. full Usage Details (DB size vs. insight)
Establish retention jobs for older usage data (Bulk Delete)
Validate the latest Provider Invoice sync before invoice runs

? Related: Managing Azure Consumption Data, Work 365 – Why Is the Azure Markup 17.67%?

7) Environment Hygiene (Prod/Sandbox)

Consent & App User set per environment
Test provisioning in sandbox first (SKU changes, new bundles, pricing)
After upgrades, clear cache, confirm Work 365 Jobs active, and run a test provision

8) Automation Toggles & Post-Provisioning

On Billing Contracts, set:

Auto-Sync to Accounting
Auto-Charge Payment Profile
Generate PDF
Auto-Send Email

After invoices generate, post-invoice jobs run via Work 365 Start Job. If steps don’t complete (PDF/email/accounting), check workflow ownership (Service/App User) and re-run jobs.

? Related: Why Didn’t the Post-Invoice Jobs Complete?

9) Monitoring & Alerts

Dashboards: Billing Admin & Manager dashboards for failed/awaiting LCLs/SLCLs
Saved views:
- Unmapped Provider Accounts
- Subscriptions without Product or Price List coverage
- LCLs/SLCLs in Failed/Awaiting
Notifications (optional): Import Portal Notifications solution (Power Automate) for provisioning success/failure alerts

? Related: Work 365 Portal Notifications – Overview & Setup

10) Common Pitfalls & Quick Fixes

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Subscription stuck Awaiting Provisioning	Future Effective Date, parent not provisioned, expired consent/credentials	Update dates; provision parent; Verify Connectivity & re-consent; toggle LCL Not Applicable → Awaiting
Invoice shows Write-In Product	Product missing on Subscription or no PLI on Price List	Set Product; add Price List Item with correct unit/price; regenerate invoice
“Checksum Error” on Provider Invoice import	Missing tax/credits/Marketplace lines	Investigate difference; use Override Tolerance (rounded) with justification
“Permissions Error” / pages won’t load	Missing roles; expired service credentials/consent	Assign Work 365 roles; re-run Get/Change Consent; ensure Application User ownership
Apparent double billing	Catch-up billing for past unbilled periods	Compare service periods; adjust Next Invoice Date; void unintended catch-up per policy

Implementation Checklist

Onboard New Customer

Map Provider Account → CRM Account
Create Billing Contract (Frequency, Terms, Tax, Automation toggles)

Create Subscription

Select Product (correct unit/currency)
Link to Billing Contract
Confirm prices, markup (if usage), and dates
Save → LCL created → status Awaiting Provisioning

Sync After External Provisioning (if it happened)

Run Sync Subscriptions on Billing Contract
Validate Account/Product/Pricing/Unit/Currency

Modify Subscription

Change in Work 365 (Quantity/Price/Product)
Set Effective Date; ensure QRB/QRW allow reductions
Monitor LCL to Provisioned

Audit & Monitor

Review Unmapped Provider Accounts, Failed/Awaiting LCL/SLCL
Spot-check new subscriptions and first-cycle invoices

Why These Practices Matter

Impact Area	Reason
Invoicing Accuracy	Prevents missing/duplicate invoices caused by bad mappings or out-of-band changes.
Audit & Traceability	LCLs capture who/what/when for compliance and dispute resolution.
Relationship Integrity	Preserves parent/child links for bundles/add-ons and portal visibility.
Financial Reporting	Ensures correct proration, recognition, markup, and downstream sync.

? Reference: Work 365 Support Portal – Troubleshooting Provisioning

Summary

Follow these provisioning practices to achieve:

✅ Accurate, consistent billing across customers and providers
✅ Complete audit trails for every change and sync
✅ Strong data integrity between Work 365 and provider systems

Onboard properly, make all changes inside Work 365, keep Provider Accounts mapped, and monitor jobs—so you can scale confidently with reliable, compliant billing operations.