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Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Post Author: Joe D365 |

Today we will be reviewing a new feature that have been introduced as part of the Spring '14 Update; entitlements.  They are similar to service contracts, but have enhanced functionality. With the new functionality of entitlements, you can:

  • Allocate how much service an account entitled to
  • Limit the amount of service per product for an account
  • Specify which contacts are entitled to a service within the account
  • Specify the amount of service by channel
  • Set up entitlement templates for quick entitlement setup

So, compared to a service contract where only the amount of service can be specified for an account, entitlements provides the facility to really fine-tune the service provided. Let's explore how to use entitlements:

 

Creating an Entitlement

    1. To create an entitlement, navigate to the account for which you want to create an entitlement.
    2. Look for the entitlement area.
    3. Click on the + to create a new entitlement.

 

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

4. Once the new entitlement form opens fill in the following:
    • Name: this is the entitlement name
    • Primary Customer: the entitlement customer
    • Start Date: effective start date for the entitlement
    • End Date: effective end date for the entitlement
    • Restrict based on entitlement terms (Yes/No - Optional): Whether the system will restrict case creation based on the entitlement terms
    • SLA (Optional) – associate an SLA with the entitlement if required
    • Owner: entitlement owner
    • Description (Optional): entitlement description
    • Allocation Type (Number of cases / Number of hours): specify how the entitlement would be calculated
    • Decrease Remaining Time on (Case Resolution / Case Creation): specify when the entitlement should be consumed
    • Total Terms: Specify how many hours or cases are allocated to the entitlement
    • Remaining Terms: calculates how many hours or cases are left from the allocated terms

 

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

5. Save the entitlement.
6. Once the entitlement is saved, make sure you click on the activate button, for the entitlement to be active.

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

7. The Status changes to Active - You have now successfully created an entitlement for an account.

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

Working with Entitlements

 

To see how entitlements work, let head back over to the account. The entitlement shows up in the list of entitlements for the account.

 

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

If you notice, the remaining terms says 10, which is equal to the total terms, as we have just setup the entitlement.

Let's go ahead and create a case for this account.

  1. Make sure the account is filled in.
  2. The entitlement to be consumed is selected.
  3. Fill in the relevant fields and save the case.

 

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

On saving the case, the entitlement should get consumed, as our entitlement is based on case creation.

Going back to the entitlement, we see that our remaining terms have been adjusted.

 

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

That's how entitlement works. If we create 9 more cases, for the next case, it will stop us from creating any more cases, as we have set the Restrict Based on Entitlement terms to Yes.

 

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

However, if you do set the Restrict Based on Entitlement terms to No, and create more cases than the total terms, then this is how the entitlement will look like – the remaining terms shows a negative figure.

 

Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

 

Remember – To make changes to an entitlement, you would need to de-active it, make the change, and then activate it again. If you are interested in learning more about entitlements, look to our our deep-dive blog on further advanced features– namely, channel, products and contacts.

Happy CRM'ing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe CRM
By Joe D365
Joe D365 is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 superhero who runs on pure Dynamics adrenaline. As the face of PowerObjects, Joe D365’s mission is to reveal innovative ways to use Dynamics 365 and bring the application to more businesses and organizations around the world.

6 comments on “Spring Wave 14 Update: Working with Entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM”

  1. Is there a recommendation on the use of this as a best practice? If a company was already using Contracts to identify utilization, is the recommendation to switch to entitlements? Or should the two be used in combination? If so, what would the best use case be, or potential benefit, in using contracts with entitlements together?

    1. Hi - Great question. I don't think there is a best practices for everyone as it really depends on how you currently use contracts. However, the entitlements has some nice bells and whistles and if I were to guess this is were future enhancements will come in. We may blog in the future about when to switch from contracts to entitlements as this topic has come up a couple times from our existing clients.

  2. Hi Joe do you know if it is possible to change the value of the Total Terms (once the Entitlement is deactivated) through a process?

    In my version of on-premise CRM 2015 I would like to run a dialog that will fire off two processes. The first to deactivate the Entitlement, amend the Total Terms value, then reactivate the Entitlement. The second process to raise and resolve a zero minutes Case (therefore not reducing the amount of Entitlement Terms), recording that an amendment has been made to the Entitlement.

  3. Hi Joe do you know if it is possible to change the value of the Total Terms (once the Entitlement is deactivated) through a process?

    In my version of on-premise CRM 2015 I would like to run a dialog that will fire off two processes. The first to deactivate the Entitlement, amend the Total Terms value, then reactivate the Entitlement. The second process to raise and resolve a zero minutes Case (therefore not reducing the amount of Entitlement Terms), recording that an amendment has been made to the Entitlement.

  4. Hi Joe,
    I tried the same but i get error can you please help me out in this.
    I created SLA for account entity.
    Then i created one account record.
    Later created one Entitlement for that account record and then mapped the created SLA as well.
    But when i am trying to create a case for that account i get error.
    1. SLA for account entity screen

    2. Entitlement screen mapped both account and SLA.
    3. Error screen when i create Case for that Account.

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