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Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

Post Author: Joe D365 |

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you may have a need to use write-in products on the opportunity or quote if you want to estimate something that is not in the product catalog. Write-in products allow you to simply type the name of a product or service and type in the price. In this blog, we'll discuss how to incorporate write-in products into your opportunities and quotes and how to report on write-in products.

Using Write-in Products

  1. Navigate to the Opportunity or Quote that you will be adding the Products to.
  2. Select the appropriate Price List
    • This can be a default Price List or you may create a new one.
  3. Select the + to add new product, then select the Write-in Product option from the list.

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

4. A new blank line item will appear in the Product Line Items sub-grid.

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

5. Enter the Product Name, Price per Unit, Quantity, any Discount that may apply. The total for the price x quantity – discount will appear in the Extended Amount column.

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

6. Enter all necessary products.

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

 

TIP! Notice below that by repeatedly selecting the + to add a new product, you can add a number of blank line items at once. This makes entering several line items more efficient and user friendly because of the ability to 'tab' through the line items quickly.

 

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

 

If you were to add too many line items that can easily be removed by selecting the trash icon on the left side. Additionally, if they line items are left blank upon closing the record, they will be removed.

 

7. Once all of the Line items have been entered the Opportunity and/or the quote will be updated with the new Amount Details. Make sure to save.

Reporting on the Write-in Products

The Write-in Products are stored in the Opportunity Products Entity. The entity is not visible in the CRM navigation. However, utilizing simple queries, an Advanced Find can allow visibility to the records.

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

 

The below query shows how to view all of the Write-in Products that have been entered on Opportunities for the ABC Company.

 

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

 

Below is an example of what the results could look like for the above query. Some options to consider would be to remove the Existing Product column, or adding Account and Topic columns like the example below.

Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM

Utilizing built-in Views, Charts, Dashboards, and Reports can bring invaluable visibility to Write-in Products. Similarly, if you export records to Excel the data can also be manipulated.

As shown above, Write-in Products offers a great alternative to the traditional Product Catalog. Keep in mind that Write-in Products can also be used in conjunction with a traditional Product Catalog in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Whether you are able to use the blended approach or primarily Write-in Products, CRM offers great visibility into the nature of which products your company depends on to drive your business.

We hope you enjoyed this blog. For even more Dynamics CRM fun, head over to main blog! Or check out our Dynamics CRM Education department to register for our many webinars, trainings and boot camps!

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 “Utilizing Write-in Products on Opportunities and Quotes in Dynamics CRM”

  1. Hi Joe. Great article.

    The Write-in Product feature used to allow me to enter a blank line in the Product Line sub-grid and create a new record.

    However, I recently attempted to change the columns in the Product Line Items sub-grid (for example, removing the Discount column). The steps I took were: Form Editor > Connections > Change Properties > Under Data Source, clicked New. I added all the same fields from the same data source except for Discount. Saved this new Opportunity Product Inline View and selected it as Default View. I could have just modified the current one but did not want to alter it in case I needed to revert back to it.

    Now, when I select Write-in Product it directs me to the New Opportunity Product form. Even when I revert back to the original Opportunity Product Inline View, it does the same thing. I looked in the properties of the Write-in Product but couldn't find anything. I hope you can help me change it back so that the Write-in Product feature works as designed! Thank you in advance.

    1. Hi Jennifer,

      A couple options. A - have you tried a publish all instead of just publishing this entity? we have seen cases were a publish all is needed. B - if this is primarily the item you changed and everything else related to product entity is out of the box then you could spin up a trial crm online org (or new on prem org if on prem), and export only the product entity into an unmanaged solution file; then import into your crm. This will revert back the product entity to an out of teh box form. if you have any custom fields they will remain and will NOT be deleted.

      1. Hi Joe. My response is about 4 months late LOL. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that clicking Publish All worked for me. So much easier than requesting a CRM trial, having to talk to an MS rep, etc. Thank you very much.

  2. Hi Joe,

    I have custom subgrid and i need to use write in feature on my custom entity subgrid .
    can you guide me how to do this.

    regards,

    1. Hi Joe,

      With crm 2015 we can't customize the view and still be able to do inline editing. We'll check if update 0.1 has enhanced this and now allows us to do this. I'll reply here in 1-2 days.

      As an alternative we are very close into releasing a new version of our PowerGrid addon which will allow you to do inline editing in any subgrid in any form.
      https://powerobjects.com/blog/powerpacks/powergrid/

  3. Hi Joe
    I would like to be able to either just add a price to existing products. For our opportunities we cannot set a specific price on a product. Price will vary due to customer size, solution size, etc. However we would like to have the benefit of a product list for reporting. How can I achieve this in the best way?
    Thanks.

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