FP&A tools for planning & forecasting in Dynamics 365
Excel-friendly financial planning & analysis software your team will actually use, built for Dynamics 365
Walkerscott partners with Australian businesses to implement Solver as the FP&A platform for Dynamics 365. It covers FP&A, xP&A and CPM in practice through driver-based forecasting and plain-English budgeting. Excel remains the working surface, Power BI the reporting layer, and Azure/Fabric the data backbone. We ensure your finance team can keep working in Excel, connect cleanly to Dynamics 365 (Business Central; Finance & Operations / Supply Chain Management), and report in Power BI.
Led by experienced functional consultants, we help you build expert models, automate budgets & forecasts, and add the governance and write-back your board can trust. The result is reliable rolling forecasts, faster close-to-forecast cycles, and audit-ready statements, without rebuilding spreadsheets every month. A trusted FP&A solution designed around your needs, delivered by a certified Australian Microsoft Solutions Partner and authorised Solver partner & reseller.
You’ve rolled out Dynamics 365, so why are budgets still 100 spreadsheets deep?
CFOs tell us the ERP is solid, but planning and forecasting still live in fragile spreadsheets. Call it FP&A, xP&A or CPM, this work belongs in a governed system, not scattered files.
When the business wants live what-ifs, finance is reconciling links, versions, and macros. So, what do Australian businesses really want from an FP&A solution?
Shorter close-to-forecast cycle with fewer manual steps
One source of truth for scenarios and board packs (no more “final_v27.xlsx”)
What-if answers in the meeting, not next week, no need to take it offline
A planning system that fits Dynamics 365 and Power BI (Excel-friendly too)
Governance you can audit including permissions, approvals, and secure write-back
The ability to automate budgets & forecasts without losing flexibility or control
Keep Excel, connect Dynamics 365 to FP&A software Solver and report in Power BI.
Solver for Dynamics 365
Purpose-built FP&A add-on for Dynamics 365 with prebuilt models, workflow, security, and budget post-back, delivered by an authorised Solver partner & reseller.
Your team can still use Excel
Governed Excel templates with validations, versions, approvals, and secure write-back, so contributors can build expert models safely on top of Solver.
Dynamics 365 aware planning
Sync actuals and dimensions from Business Central or Finance & Supply Chain into Solver, keep hierarchies aligned, and (optionally) post approved budgets back to ERP.
Unified reporting in Power BI
One trusted Power BI dataset fed from Solver, with drill-through to transactions and paginated financial statements where board-style layouts are needed.
Opportunities for smarter planning…
Headcount & on-costs
Plan FTE, start dates, salary bands and on-costs, including superannuation, allowances and awards, then model vacancies and hiring freezes.
Revenue & mix
Analyse price, volume and mix by channel or route, track churn and retention, and present a contribution margin bridge.
Capex & depreciation
Prioritise projects with portfolio approval gates, model depreciation, show cash and P&L views, and quantify the covenant impact.
Cash & working capital
Tune DSO and DPO, measure inventory turns and drawdowns, and report a 13-week cash forecast with a rolling 12 month view.
Consolidation & eliminations
Manage foreign exchange, intercompany balances and minority interests, and maintain an audit-ready eliminations log.
Live what-ifs at the table
Adjust a driver and see the P&L, cash and headcount impact in minutes.
How it works
Connect & align your ERP actuals, chart of accounts, and dimensions; agree mappings once, then sync them into Solver.
Plan & collaborate in governed Excel on top of Solver with driver-based models and scenarios (Base/Downside/Upside); write back to Solver to automate budgets and forecasts.
Publish & control in Power BI from a single Solver-curated dataset; (if required) post approved budgets back to Dynamics 365 for budget control.
What you’ll get
Days back each month by removing manual rebuilds
Rolling 12/18 month forecasts people trust and use
One source of truth for scenarios, statements and packs (Solver as the hub)
Confidence in meetings, run what-ifs live and show the trace
How we work together
Finance-led FP&A solution design
Led by a Principal Consultant turned Functional Consultant, with hands-on expertise in cadence, drivers, workflow, data design, board packs, and controls. The functional consultant works closely with our technical delivery team to shape your Solver model and Excel experience.
Technical implementation by Dynamics 365 experts
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner and authorised Solver partner, we deliver faster: robust Dynamics 365 integrations into Solver (Business Central; Finance & Supply Chain), governed Excel templates with secure write-back, a trusted Power BI model with paginated financials sourced from Solver, and Azure/Fabric pipelines with full lineage, implemented using proven playbooks and accelerators.
Turn 100 spreadsheets into one governed FP&A solution
Solver at the centre, Excel for contribution, Power BI for insight, Dynamics 365 for operational control. Build expert models, automate budgets and forecasts, and keep full auditability.
Get in touch
FAQs about FP&A solution Solver for Dynamics 365
Can we keep using Excel, or does Solver replace it?
You keep Excel for input and analysis. The difference is that your templates are connected to Solver, so when people submit, the data writes back to Solver rather than living in loose files. Solver becomes the governed home for versions, approvals, and security; Excel is simply the front end your team already knows.
Where do the plans, versions, and assumptions actually live between Dynamics 365 and Solver add-on?
They live in Solver. Think of Solver as the FP&A system of record. Excel feeds it, Power BI reads from it, and Dynamics 365 receives approved budgets posted back from it. That way, everyone is working from the same numbers.
How does Solver plug into Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Business Central remains the source of truth for actuals and dimensions, while Solver holds the plans and scenarios. We sync Business Central data into Solver for planning, then, once budgets are approved, we can post those budgets back into Business Central so your Business Central budgets and Account Schedules reflect the same plan you’re managing in Solver.
How does Solver work with Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations / Supply Chain?
Dynamics 365 Finance holds entities, financial dimensions, and balances; Solver holds the planning logic and versions. We bring Finance data into Solver to plan scenarios, and when those are approved, we post back to Dynamics 365 Finance as budget register entries. You can keep Budget Planning and Budget Control in Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management for in-period governance while Solver runs the heavier scenario work.
What exactly is Power BI’s role in FP&A solution between Dynamics 365 and Solver?
Power BI is the reporting surface in this scenario. It reads a curated dataset from Solver for interactive analysis and dashboards. For board-ready, pixel-perfect layouts, we also generate paginated financial statements from the same numbers. If you want to drill all the way down, the solution can take you back to the relevant transactions in Dynamics 365.
Can we automate budgets and rolling forecasts in Solver without losing flexibility?
Yes. The planning logic and versions live in Solver, while your teams continue to work in Excel templates connected to it. You get the freedom of Excel for modelling, but everything is stored, approved, and audited in Solver. As soon as submissions are approved, Power BI updates, and if you choose, the approved numbers are posted back to Dynamics 365.
Will board reports and financial statements come out clean in Solver?
They will. We use the same Solver dataset to drive both Power BI dashboards and paginated statements, so there’s no double maintenance and no “which version is right” debate. The board gets the format they want, and finance keeps the numbers consistent.
We’re mid-ERP change. Will Solver planning break if we switch to Dynamics 365 later?
No. Planning stays stable in Solver. You can connect your current ERP to Solver today and switch the connector to Dynamics 365 at cutover at a later date. Your Excel templates and Power BI reports continue to use Solver’s dataset, so there’s no rebuild of the planning process during the ERP transition.
Who owns the management of Solver and Dynamics 365 day-to-day? Finance or IT?
Finance owns the model in Solver: drivers, versions, templates, and approvals. IT generally looks after the platform plumbing, for example identity via Entra ID (Azure AD), data pipelines in Azure/Fabric, and any security policies. That split keeps finance in control of the process without overloading IT.
How do Business Central Account Schedules fit once Solver is in place?
Account Schedules remain useful for operational and statutory views inside Business Central. Solver handles budgeting, forecasting, and scenarios. When budgets are approved in Solver, they can be posted back to Business Central so Account Schedules and other Business Central reports can compare actuals to the same budget everyone signed off.
How do Dynamics 365 Finance’s Budget Planning and Budget Control fit with Solver?
You can keep Budget Planning and Budget Control where they work well, inside Dynamics 365 Finance, and still use Solver for the scenario engine. You would plan in Solver, approve there, and then post budget register entries back to Dynamics 365 Finance so in-period controls and budget checks continue as normal.
Can Solver handle multiple entities, FX, and intercompany eliminations in Dynamics 365?
Yes. Solver supports multi-entity planning, FX, and management consolidations. If your statutory consolidation is complex, you can design the right pattern so you still get a single dataset for reporting in Power BI while meeting statutory needs in Dynamics 365 Finance or your consolidation process.
What is Solver like when it comes to security and auditing?
Permissions, workflow, and the audit trail sit within Solver. Sign-in and access are handled through Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD). Data moves through Azure or Fabric pipelines with lineage, and when you post budgets back to Dynamics 365, those postings are traceable end-to-end.
Why Choose Walkerscott
Authorised Solver Partner for D365
Implementing Solver for Business Central and Finance & Operations, integrated with your ERP, Excel and Power BI.
Australian Microsoft Solutions Partner
Deep expertise across Dynamics 365, Azure/Fabric, Power BI and Power Platform to deliver one trusted FP&A system.
Functional Consultant Led FP&A Design
Senior finance practitioners help you design cadence, drivers, workflow and board packs; our technical team builds and integrates.
Secure, Governed and Fast to Deploy
Entra ID (Azure AD) SSO/MFA, row-level security and full lineage, delivered with proven playbooks and accelerators.