Releasing an update to Dynamics CRM is an easy way to get me excited. There’s always something I can see myself using and a few things I think our CRM clients will appreciate. 

We’ve integrated Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Outlook, quoting software, Microsoft Dynamics GP and plenty of other applications. Despite all that, there’s one integration that many companies don’t take advantage of that can add just as much value, if not more.

Keeping with the brisk update tempo they’ve set over the last year, Microsoft just announced that Dynamics CRM 2016 is on deck for later this calendar year. They’ve outlined some of the biggest changes on-deck and members of CRM Software Blog have been given access to some of the early application screenshots.

Changing records is a fundamental piece of functionality in CRM but there are occasions when you need to change a large volume of records and the native editing functionality of Microsoft Dynamics CRM aren’t up to the challenge. Recently we figured out a simple way to export and change records in bulk without creating duplicates and we wanted to share it with you.

• Choose or create a view with the records/columns you need.
• Choose Export to Excel on the top ribbon.
• Choose to export as a static worksheet.
  • You will have the option for current page records or all pages in current view.
• Tick the checkbox “Make this data available for re-importing by including required column headings”
• Open the Excel file and enable editing.
• Go to the “Review” tab in excel and “Unprotect Sheet”.
• Update the data as necessary.
• Save the file as XML to be reimported.
  • CSV files will not allow you to update only and will create duplicates.
• Click ‘Import Data’ button in the CRM top ribbon.
  • Browse to the XML file location with the updated information.
• If done properly you will see a screenshot similar to below with the message “This Action will update existing records and, if required, create new records. If you do not see this message duplicate records will be created.
• Click Submit and you’re done!

You can check the status of the import from Settings -> Data Management -> Imports. If you see errors Click on the import and check “Failures”. There will be error codes here that should help you troubleshoot the import problems.

CRM 2015 launched in Q4 2014 and brought with it some really interesting new features. However, in keeping with the accelerated release tempo, Microsoft is already launching CRM 2015 Online Update 1, which is bringing a host of improvements to CRM Online. We don’t have a release date yet but here’s some of what you can expect.

It shouldn’t be news that CRM can add value beyond sales. (Marketing and Customer Service are part of the Holy Trinity of Dynamics CRM, after all.) What might be news is that even the accounting department can benefit from using CRM. At our latest user group we showed off a way to manage collections in CRM and we’re going to break it down for you.

Customer relationship management is all about communication. That’s why one of the most appealing features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is how easily and thoroughly it integrates with Outlook. Sure, other CRM systems have integration with Outlook as well, but Microsoft products always play better together than they do with the other kids.

At its core Dynamics CRM is a way to organize and manage contacts. That’s a task that every business struggles with eventually and it’s the most immediate benefit of switching from spreadsheets or Outlook. That’s why the first article in our CRM Startup series is going to show you what it looks like to manage your contacts in CRM.