Product Catalog & Price List Q&A

Modified on Thu, Oct 9 at 10:33 AM

Audience: System Administrators, Billing Managers, Product Managers

Overview

This article answers common questions about how Work 365 integrates with the Dynamics 365 Product Catalog and Price Lists. Learn how pricing is managed, how Microsoft price changes flow in, and best practices for multi-region pricing, discounts, and subscription management.

Key Concepts & Terminology

Product Catalog (Dynamics 365)

Central repository of all products/SKUs (Microsoft, third-party, and your own services). Work 365 uses catalog items to create:

Subscriptions (recurring services)
Non-Recurring Items (NRIs)
Service Items

? Reference: Work 365 Documentation – Product Management

Price Lists & Price List Items (Dynamics 365)

A Price List defines pricing for a specific currency/market.
Each Price List Item (PLI) links a product to a list and includes:

Product reference
Unit of measure (Sales Unit)
Pricing method
Price per unit

Product Service (Work 365)

For Direct CSP partners, Product Service can:

Import Microsoft price changes automatically
Update cost and margin information
Sync provider prices into your Dynamics 365 catalog

? Reference: Work 365 Product Service Overview

Q&A: Common Questions & Answers

Question	Answer / Guidance
What’s the purpose of the CRM Product Catalog in Work 365?	It’s the foundation for everything you sell—Microsoft resale SKUs, third-party products, and your own services. Catalog items drive Subscriptions, NRIs, and Invoices.
What happens when Microsoft changes the price of a SKU?	Product Service syncs new prices automatically. • New customers get the updated price. • Existing subscriptions keep their current price until renewal (unless you change them). • SKU number changes → treat as a new product. • Name changes only → safe to update in place; existing subscriptions are unaffected.
How do I manage a catalog across multiple regions or currencies?	Create separate Price Lists per region/currency. Add PLIs for each product to the appropriate lists. A single product can belong to multiple price lists for global pricing.
How should I handle special-pricing SKUs or trial subscriptions?	• Global promos: reflect the discounted rate in the PLI for the applicable list(s). • Customer-specific discounts: apply at the Billing Contract or Subscription (percentage-based). • Trial SKUs: follow the trial process and convert to paid SKUs at expiration.
How do discounts differ at the catalog vs. customer level?	• Catalog-level (via PLI price) applies globally to anyone using that list. • Customer-level applies on the Billing Contract or Subscription (percentage-based). ? Flat-amount credits → use NRIs or negative sales order lines (not a catalog discount).
Can I create a subscription using a write-in product?	Yes. Write-ins are invoiceable and useful for one-off items. They may appear as non-catalog in reports/exports. For ongoing services, add proper catalog products for consistency, reporting, and automation.

Best Practices for Dynamics / Work 365 Implementation

✅ Assign a default Price List to Accounts or Billing Contracts for consistent pricing.
? Reuse products across multiple price lists for different currencies/regions/units (Monthly/Annual).
⚙️ Enable Product Service (for CSP) to automate price imports and cost updates, reducing manual maintenance.
? Handle SKU updates carefully:
- SKU number change → create a new product and migrate as appropriate.
- Name change → update in place; subscriptions are unaffected.
? Publish catalog products after setup so they’re available in Quotes, Subscriptions, and Portal purchases.
? Align Sales Units across PLIs and Subscriptions (e.g., Monthly vs. Annual) to avoid pricing mismatches.
? Multi-currency: keep one currency per Price List; avoid mixing currencies in a single list.

Common Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

❌ Missing Sales Unit on PLI → Prices won’t apply as expected.
▶️ Ensure the Unit on the PLI matches the Subscription Sales Unit.
❌ Using catalog discount for a one-off credit → Hard to audit and regionalize.
▶️ Use NRIs (negative amount) or negative sales order lines for flat-amount credits.
❌ Overwriting costs during promos → Breaks margin tracking later.
▶️ Keep Cost sourced from Product Service or Provider Invoice; use subscription-level % discount for promos.
❌ Forgetting to add a product to all required price lists → Missing prices in certain regions/currencies.
▶️ Maintain a checklist/view to confirm PLI coverage by region/currency/unit.

Implementation Tips

Views & Dashboards: Create saved views to track products missing PLIs, unit mismatches, or inactive items.
Change Control: When Microsoft releases price updates, run Product Service sync in sandbox first, validate, then move to production.
Discount Governance: Standardize when to use subscription % discounts vs. NRIs/negative SO lines for flat credits.
Rounding & Precision: Align decimal precision on currency/quantity fields (Subscriptions and Invoice Lines) for consistent totals.