Gather Customer Setup Values

You use the configuration questionnaire to help reduce your implementation workload by streamlining the task of setting up the new company. You can generate the configuration questionnaire in Business Central and then provide it to your customer as an Excel or XML file.

You can change all default values in a questionnaire to more closely match customer needs.

Tip

For more information about defining setup values in supply planning fields, see Setup Best Practices: Supply Planning.

When your customer completes the questionnaire, you import the file into the customer's new Business Central company. You and your customer validate the questionnaire answers before you apply them to the company.

To create a configuration questionnaire

You can use a questionnaire to help you determine the scope and needs of configuration. You can create a new questionnaire, or modify an existing questionnaire by adding new questions or question areas.

You can create questionnaires for setup-type tables only. For example you can use the tool to provide information to the following pages:

  • Company Information
  • Fixed Asset Setup
  • General Ledger Setup
  • Inventory Setup
  • Assembly setup
  • Manufacturing Setup
  • Purchases and Payables Setup
  • Marketing Setup
  • Service Setup
  • Sales and Receivables Setup
  • Warehouse Setup
Note

To see a complete list of setup tables, choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Setup, and then choose the related link. To determine the scope of migration of records data, use migration functionality. For more information, see Migrating Customer Data.

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Configuration Questionnaire, and choose the related link.
  2. Choose the New action.
  3. On the Configuration Questionnaire page, in the Code field, enter...
  1. Choose the Questions Areas action. The Question Areas page opens.
  2. Choose the New action. The Config. Question Area page opens.
  3. In the Table ID field, choose the ID of the table for which you want to collect information. The Table Name field is automatically filled in.
  4. Choose the Update Questions action. Each field in the table is added to the questionnaire with a question mark following its label.

You can rephrase the label to make it clear how the question should be answered. For example, if a field is called "Name," you could edit it to state "What is the name of ." You can also provide guidance in the Reference field, including a URL to a page that provides additional information.

You can also delete any questions that you do not want to include in the questionnaire.

Note

The Answer Option field describes the type and format of the answer of the data that is appropriate. The Answer field contains user-supplied information.

As needed, you can also define default answers in the Answer field. These values are used by default for custom setup. However, the person filling in the questionnaire can modify and update the answer.

To complete the configuration questionnaire

You use the configuration questionnaire to structure and document a detailed discussion about the customer’s specific needs. You also use it to collect setup data from the customer to configure the relevant Business Central setup tables, such as the general ledger, inventory, and customers.

Note

You can also create your own configuration questionnaire to meet your needs.

  1. Open the company that you want to complete the questionnaire for.
  2. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Configuration Questionnaire, and then choose the related link.
  3. Select the questionnaire for the company, and then choose the Export to Excel action, optionally the Export to XML action.
  4. Have the customer complete the configuration questionnaire by entering the answers in the Excel workbook. There are worksheets for each of the question areas that have been created for the questionnaire.
  5. Save the Excel workbook as XML Data. Choose the Import from XML action, and select the .xml file with the customer's answers.
  6. Choose the Question Areas action to begin the process of validating and applying the answers to the configuration questionnaire.

To complete a questionnaire from the configuration worksheet

The following procedure provides an alternative way of accessing configuration questionnaires. It assumes that the configuration package that you have been provided includes questionnaires.

  1. After you import a configuration package, open the configuration worksheet.
  2. For each table for which there is a question area, choose the Questions action. The questionnaire page opens.
  3. Answer the questions, and then choose the Apply Answers action.
  4. Choose the OK button to close the questionnaire.

To validate the configuration questionnaire

It is important to validate the configuration questionnaire before you apply it to the Business Central format. It is also a way to make sure that data formatting is preserved during the import from Excel.

A common validation task is to check that text strings are not entered in date fields. This review process is necessary because the format of the answer in the questionnaire is not validated automatically when you run the Apply Answers function.

Note

In general, validation of the configuration questionnaire is a manual process. However, there are checks for regional formatting inconsistencies. In addition, you will get errors if the structure of your Business Central database does not match the structure of the migration database.

  1. On the Configuration Questionnaire page, select the relevant questionnaire, and then choose the Question Areas action.
  2. Open the relevant question area.
  3. For each question, validate that the value in the Answer field corresponds to the format provided in the Answer Option field. For example, validate that the address of a company is in text format.
  4. If you find errors, you can troubleshoot and make corrections in Excel by exporting the questionnaire, and then importing it again. Alternatively, you can correct errors directly in Business Central as you review the answers on the Config. Question Area page.
  5. Repeat these steps for each question area.

When you have completed your validation, the data is ready to be applied to the database.

To apply answers from the configuration questionnaire

After you have imported and validated information from a configuration questionnaire, you can transfer, or apply the setup data to the corresponding tables in the Business Central database.

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Configuration Questionnaire, and then choose the related link. The Config. Questionnaire page opens.
  2. Select a configuration questionnaire from the list, and then choose the Edit List action.
  3. You can apply answers in one of two ways.
  • To apply the whole questionnaire, choose the Apply Answers action.
  • To apply answers for a specific Question Area only, choose the Question Areas action, select a Question Area in the list, and then choose the Apply Answers action.

To verify that answers have been applied successfully

  1. Check setup pages for the various functional areas of Business Central. To locate the page, choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter the name of the setup page, and then choose the related link.
  2. Verify that the fields have been populated with the correct data from the various question areas in the configuration questionnaire.

You have now configured setup with the customer’s business information and rules.

See Also

Setting Up a Company With RapidStart Services
Administration