Study guide
10.1 Customer Master, Customer Groups & Shared Customers
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Finance Functional Consultant Associate MB-310
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1 Chapter 1: MB-310 Exam Overview & Financial Architecture
1.1 MB-310 Exam Structure, Skills Measured & Consultant Role 1.2 Dynamics 365 Finance Architecture, Legal Entities & Global Address Book 1.3 Hands-on Lab Strategy & Preparation Framework
2 Chapter 2: Chart of Accounts & Main Accounts
2.1 Designing Chart of Accounts & Main Account Types 2.2 Main Account Categories & Ledger Account Aliases 2.3 Balance Control Accounts & Year-End Opening Account Setup 2.4 Legal Entity Overrides for Main Accounts & Dimensions
3 Chapter 3: Financial Dimensions & Account Structures
3.1 Custom & Entity-Backed Financial Dimensions 3.2 Financial Tags: Limits, Storage & Ledger Settlement Use 3.3 Account Structures, Segment Criteria & Activation 3.4 Advanced Rules & Advanced Rule Structures 3.5 Derived Dimensions & Dimension Default Templates
4 Chapter 4: Ledgers, Calendars & Currencies
4.1 Fiscal Calendars, Period Statuses & Module Access Control 4.2 Posting Layers, Multi-GAAP Reporting & the Ledger Form 4.3 Currency Exchange Types, Rate Providers & Triangulation 4.4 Accounting & Reporting Currencies (Dual-Currency Architecture) 4.5 Foreign Currency Revaluation & Revaluation Posting Profiles
5 Chapter 5: General Ledger Journals & Allocations
5.1 Journal Names & Voucher Number Sequences 5.2 Journal Control & Posting Restriction Rules 5.3 Journal Entry, the One-Voucher Rule, Validation & Posting 5.4 Reversals, Storno Corrections & Excel Integration 5.5 Ledger Allocation Rules & the Four Allocation Methods 5.6 Allocation Processing & Periodic (Recurring) Journals
6 Chapter 6: Intercompany Accounting & Settlements
6.1 Intercompany Accounting Setup & Due-To / Due-From Postings 6.2 Intercompany Journal Processing & Multi-Company Vouchers 6.3 Ledger Settlements Configuration & Processing
7 Chapter 7: Cash and Bank Management
7.1 Bank Groups, Bank Accounts & Ledger Integration 7.2 Payment Formats, Bank FX Revaluation & Shared Payment Setup 7.3 Manual vs. Advanced Bank Reconciliation & Statement Formats 7.4 Matching Rule Sets, Reconciliation Execution & Reversals 7.5 Cash Flow Forecasting Setup & Automation 7.6 Customer and Vendor Netting
8 Chapter 8: Periodic Closing & Financial Consolidations
8.1 Financial Period Close Workspace, Closing Roles & Schedules 8.2 Year-End Close Configuration & General Ledger Balance Carryforward 8.3 Consolidations Online: Legal Entity Setup, COA Mapping & Currency Translation 8.4 Import Consolidations & Intercompany Elimination Rules
9 Chapter 9: Sales Tax & Withholding Tax
9.1 Sales Tax Engine Hierarchy, Authorities & Settlement Periods 9.2 Ledger Posting Groups, Sales Tax Codes & Calculation Methods 9.3 Sales Tax Groups, Item Sales Tax Groups & Tax Exemptions 9.4 Sales Tax Adjustments and Settle and Post Sales Tax 9.5 Withholding Tax & US 1099 Vendor Reporting
10 Chapter 10: Accounts Receivable Setup & Invoicing
10.1 Customer Master, Customer Groups & Shared Customers 10.2 Customer Posting Profiles & Account Code Precedence 10.3 Free Text Invoices, Recurring Invoice Templates & AR Charges 10.4 Sales Order Invoicing, Billing Classifications & Prepayments 10.5 Customer Payment Methods, Payment Processing & Customer Bank Accounts
11 Chapter 11: Credit Management & Collections
11.1 Credit Management Architecture & Customer Credit Groups 11.2 Risk Scoring, Credit Limits, Blocking Rules & Credit Holds 11.3 Aging Definitions, Collections Workspace & Customer Pools 11.4 Collection Letter Sequences & Interest Notes 11.5 Customer Write-Offs, Bad Debt & Write-Off Reversals
12 Chapter 12: Subscription Billing & Revenue Deferrals
12.1 Recurring Contract Billing, Billing Schedules & Milestones 12.2 Deferral Principles, Deferral Defaults & Schedule Calculation Methods 12.3 Recognition Processing, Expense Deferrals & Modifying Schedules 12.4 Multiple Element Revenue Allocation (MEA / ASC 606)
13 Chapter 13: Accounts Payable & Invoice Processing
13.1 Shared Vendors, Global Address Book & Vendor Groups 13.2 Vendor Posting Profiles, AP Parameters & Vendor Bank Accounts 13.3 Invoice Matching Setup (2-Way, 3-Way), Tolerances & Exceptions 13.4 Vendor Invoicing Methods, Journals & Invoice Automation
14 Chapter 14: Vendor Payments & Expense Management
14.1 Methods of Payment & the Vendor Payment Proposal Engine 14.2 Generating Payments, Centralized Payments & Check Lifecycle 14.3 Expense Management Configuration, Categories & Policies 14.4 Expense Reports Processing, Mobile Receipts & Intercompany Expenses
15 Chapter 15: Budgeting & Budget Control
15.1 Budget Models, Budget Codes & Allocation Terms 15.2 Budget Register Entries, Workflows & Budget vs. Actual 15.3 Budget Transfer Rules & Processing Budget Transfers 15.4 Budget Control Configuration, Cycles, Rules & Budget Groups 15.5 Budget Funds Available, Over-Budget Permissions & Document Budget Check 15.6 Budget Planning Framework, Organization Hierarchies & Planning Processes 15.7 Budget Plans, Scenarios, Allocations & Generating Register Entries
16 Chapter 16: Fixed Assets Configuration & Transactions
16.1 Fixed Asset Groups, Asset Records & Group/Book Mapping 16.2 Depreciation Profiles: Methods & Conventions 16.3 Fixed Asset Books, Derived Books & Posting Profiles 16.4 Fixed Asset Acquisition Pathways 16.5 Depreciation Proposals, Multi-Company Runs & Fixed Asset Budgets 16.6 Fixed Asset Disposals: Sale, Scrap & Disposal Accounting 16.7 Fixed Asset Splits, Transfers & Reclassification 16.8 Asset Leasing (IFRS 16 / ASC 842)
10.1 Customer Master, Customer Groups & Shared Customers
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Every customer is a Global Address Book party, which is what allows the same legal person to exist in several legal entities.
The customer group defaults terms of payment, settlement period, and the posting profile used for the customer's transactions.
Shared customers use cross-company data sharing so one customer record is maintained centrally and replicated to participating legal entities.
Customer account numbers must align across entities for sharing to work, which usually means a shared number sequence.
Last updated: August 2026
10.1 Customer Master, Customer Groups & Shared Customers
Quick Summary: Accounts Receivable (AR) in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance tracks and manages outgoing customer invoices, incoming collections, customer credit limits, and subledger accounting. At the foundation of AR are three core architectural components: Customer Master Records (built upon the Global Address Book framework), Customer Groups (which standardize payment terms, tax groups, and default accounting rules across customer segments), and Customer Posting Profiles (which dynamically map subledger transaction events to specific balance sheet control accounts in the General Ledger). Mastering how these elements interact—and how the Table / Group / All precedence rule resolves accounting control accounts—is a core requirement for passing the MB-310 exam and architecting robust order-to-cash implementations.
1. Architectural Overview of Accounts Receivable Subledger
Dynamics 365 Finance uses an integrated subledger architecture. Customer transactions (sales orders, free text invoices, payment journals, credit notes, and collection letters) post detailed transaction histories to the Customer Subledger ( CustTrans and CustTransOpen tables) while generating balanced vouchers in the General Ledger ( GeneralJournalEntry and GeneralJournalAccountEntry tables). +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Accounts Receivable Subledger to General Ledger Architecture |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | |
- | PARTY CONTEXT (Global Address Book) LEGAL ENTITY CONTEXT (USMF / DEMF) |
- | [ Global Party Record: Organization / Person ] ----> [ Customer Master: CUST-001001 ] |
- | | |
- | v |
- | +-----------------------+ |
- | | Customer Group | |
- | | - Terms of Payment | |
- | | - Default Tax Group | |
- | | - Revenue Account | |
- | +-----------------------+ |
- | | |
- | v |
- | +-----------------------+ |
- | | Posting Profile | |
- | | (Table / Group / All)| |
- | +-----------------------+ |
- | | |
- | +----------------------------------------------------+------------------+ |
- | | | |
- | v v |
- | +------------------------------+ +------------------------------+ |
- | | Customer Subledger Impact | | General Ledger Voucher | |
- | | - CustTrans (Invoice Entry) | | - Dr. AR Summary Control | |
- | | - CustTransOpen (Balance) | | - Cr. Sales Revenue | |
- | | - Aging & Credit Exposure | | - Cr. Sales Tax Payable | |
- | +------------------------------+ +------------------------------+ |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Unlike standalone entry systems, users never enter a raw Accounts Receivable control account on a sales document. Instead, the posting engine evaluates the customer's assigned Customer Posting Profile to dynamically determine the appropriate GL balance sheet control account.
2. Customer Master Record Setup & Global Address Book (GAB)
Every customer account created in Dynamics 365 Finance represents a business relationship established within a specific Legal Entity linked to a centralized Party in the Global Address Book .
Navigation
Path: Accounts receivable > Customers > All customers +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Customer Master Anatomy: [ US-001 ] |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Header Details: |
- | - Account: [ US-001 ] - Name: [ Contoso Retail San Diego ] |
- | - Party ID: [ Party-99402 ] - Customer Group: [ 10 - Commercial Wholesale ] |
- | - Currency: [ USD ] - Search Name: [ CONTOSO_SD ] |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Invoice and Delivery FastTab: |
- | - Sales Tax Group: [ CA_SAN_DIEGO ] - Terms of Payment: [ Net30 ] |
- | - Method of Payment: [ CHECK ] - Cash Discount: [ 2% 10 Net 30 ] |
- | - Delivery Terms: [ FOB_DEST ] - Mode of Delivery: [ GROUND ] |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Credit and Collections FastTab: |
- | - Credit Limit: [ $250,000.00 ] - Mandatory Credit Limit: [ Yes ] |
- | - Credit Management Group: [ TIER_1 ] - Temporary Credit Limit: [ $0.00 ] |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Ledger and Sales Tax FastTab: |
- | - Posting Profile: [ (Blank - Inherit Default) ] -> Resolves to AR Parameters 'GEN' |
- | - Withholding Tax Group: [ (Blank) ] - Tax Exempt Number: [ (Blank) ] |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- Party Record vs. Customer Record
Understanding the separation between the Global Address Book Party and the Legal Entity Customer record is critical for enterprise architectures:
- Attribute / Field Global Address Book (Party Record) Legal Entity Customer Record
- Scope Cross-Company / Enterprise-wide Specific to a single Legal Entity (e.g., USMF )
Data Elements Legal Name, Organization Type, Physical Addresses, Phone/Email, Contacts Customer Account Number, Credit Limit, Payment Terms, Posting Profile, Currency
Sharing Mechanism Automatically shared across all legal entities Isolated subledger master, linked via PartyID
Address Changes Updating an address on the party updates the address across all linked customer and vendor roles Local delivery addresses can be designated for specific shipping operations
3. Customer Groups Configuration & Defaulting Dynamics
Customer Groups categorize customers for operational, financial, and reporting purposes. Every customer must belong to exactly one customer group.
Navigation
Path: Accounts receivable > Setup > Customer groups +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Customer Groups Configuration Grid |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Customer Group | Description | Terms of Payment | Settlement Period | Default Tax Group |
- | -------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- |
- | **10** | Commercial Wholesale | `Net30` | `MONTHLY` | `COMM_TAX` |
- | **20** | Enterprise Retail Chains | `Net60` | `MONTHLY` | `RETAIL_TAX` |
- | **30** | Government & Public Sector | `Net45` | `QUARTERLY` | `EXEMPT_GOV` |
- | **INTERCO** | Intercompany Affiliates | `Net30` | `MONTHLY` | `INTER_TAX` |
- | **BAD_DEBT** | Suspended / In Litigation | `COD` | `MONTHLY` | `STANDARD` |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
- Key Financial & Operational Defaults Driven by Customer Groups
Terms of Payment: Automatically populates on newly created customer master records (e.g., Net30 , 2% 10 Net 30 , COD ), which in turn defaults onto sales order headers and free text invoices.
Settlement Period: Associates customer transactions with a specific Sales Tax Settlement Period for indirect tax reporting and frequency.
Default Sales Tax Group: Specifies the default geographic/jurisdictional tax group assigned to new customer accounts.
Ledger Account Defaults (Optional / Country-Specific): In certain regional localizations, default revenue accounts or write-off accounts can be defined directly on the customer group.
Trade Agreements & Pricing Groups: Customer groups serve as the primary grouping mechanism for sales price trade agreements, line discounts, multiline discounts, and total order discounts ( Sales and marketing > Prices and discounts > Trade agreement journals ).
4. Shared Customer Records Across Legal Entities
Global enterprises operating multiple legal entities often transact with the same corporate customer across subsidiaries. Dynamics 365 Finance provides multiple strategies for managing shared customer entities:
1. Global Address Book (GAB) Party Association (Standard Framework)
A customer exists as a single Party (e.g., Party-0042: Airbus SE ) in the Global Address Book.
When Airbus is created as a customer in company USMF (US operations) and company DEMF (German operations), both customer accounts link to Party-0042 .
Benefit: Contact details, postal addresses, and tax registration identifiers are maintained centrally. However, subledger transactional data, credit limits, currencies, and GL posting profiles remain separate in each company.
2. Cross-Company Data Sharing (SysDataSharing Framework)
Utilizes the Cross-company data sharing engine ( System administration > Setup > Configure cross-company data sharing ).
Synchronizes specific tables (e.g., CustTable , DirPartyTable , CustGroup ) across designated legal entities in near real-time.
Restrictions: Transactions cannot exist in shared tables prior to enabling data sharing. Furthermore, financial dimensions, posting profiles, and bank account setups that vary by legal entity must be carefully managed or excluded from the sharing policy.
Comparison of Customer Master Data Sharing Methods
- Capability GAB Party Linking (Standard) Cross-Company Data Sharing Customer Copy Framework (Data Management)
- Account ID Can be identical or different Must be identical across entities Can be mapped via entity templates
- Credit Limit Independent per legal entity Shared globally across entities Independent per legal entity
- Payment Terms Can vary by entity Synchronized / Identical Can vary by entity
- Posting Profile Independent per legal entity Must match chart of accounts Independent per legal entity
Implementation Effort Native / Out of the Box High / Requires Data Sharing Policy Low / On-demand batch execution