Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Construction
Transform D365 Finance into an ERP for construction, engineering and architecture with enterprise project management, financials, and operations unified on one platform.
PlanAutomate is an exclusive Microsoft partner for project-centric businesses. Our Enterprise Project Management (EPM) foundation and Construction Industry Kit embed project control directly into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, giving you a single source of truth from bid to final handover.
PlanAutomate Bridges the in Dynamics 365 Finance Implementations for Engineering and Construction Companies
We are a boutique Microsoft Partner who specializes in implementing Dynamics 365 Finance for project-centric businesses, including construction, engineering, architecture, and modular manufacturing. Our Enterprise Project Management (EPM) solution is made especially for project-driven businesses and serves as the core component of the Dynamics 365 Finance implementation for engineering and construction businesses.
Engineering and construction companies we serve:
Engineering Services
Infrastructure Construction
EPC
Environmental
Modular Manufacturing + Construction
Specialty Contractors
Heavy Construction
Electrical Contractors
General Contractors
Construction is a Project-Driven Business. We Help You Run It Like One.
PlanAutomate’s unique approach combines your D365 Finance ERP with essential enterprise project management capabilities that provide the structure your business needs. It transforms Dynamics 365 Finance from a standard back-office system into a project-centric command center.
The EPM Foundation Includes:
Unified Schedule & Finance
Integrate the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) with a dedicated Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS), ensuring your operational reality always matches your financial reporting.
Real-Time Financial Control
Move beyond month-end surprises. Utilize embedded Estimate at Completion (EAC) forecasting and real-time variance analysis to spot margin fade weeks before it becomes critical.
Single Source of Truth
Optionally replace disconnected tools (like Primavera P6 or MS Project standalone) with a single, high-performance scheduling engine that lives inside Dynamics 365. When dates shift, you know about it in real time.
The Construction Industry Kit for PlanAutomate EPM
Critical features for engineering and construction companies working with Dynamics 365 Finance:
Material Constraint Management
Quantity Budgets
Track quantities, not just costs.
Move beyond simple financial buckets. Create detailed bottom-up estimates based on operational quantities (e.g., cubic yards of concrete, linear feet of piping) to track productivity and variance with precision.
Subcontract Management
Progress Billing & Retention
Streamline billing based on actual progress.
Eliminate manual billing errors. Streamline your Applications for Payment (AFP) based on physical percent complete or milestone delivery. Manage complex retention (holdback) rules for both receivables and payables.
Add advanced features to fit your business’ needs
Insight & Analysis Add-on
Transform raw project data into actionable intelligence, providing executives and PMOs with the visibility needed to optimize project and portfolio performance.
- PlanVector AI: Leverage artificial intelligence to uncover hidden factors driving project success and predict future outcomes before they occur.
- Portfolio Analytics: Instantly aggregate views of health, progress, and financial status across the entire enterprise to identify trends and outliers.
- Performance Indices: Automatically roll up key KPI (Sensor Point) data into an executive dashboard that tracks performance and progress in key operational and financial views.
Advanced Project Management Add-on
Designed for more complex and large-scale ventures, this package unlocks deep capabilities in rigorous financial control, advanced scheduling, and Earned Value Management (EVM).
- Earned Value Management: Automatically calculate and track EVM metrics to measure project performance against the baseline with precision.
- Complex Scheduling Logic: Utilize advanced scheduling features like strict constraint types (e.g., “Must Start On”), unlimited baselines, and embedded sub-projects for master planning.
- Deep Financial Control: Manage rigorous period-close procedures, model detailed cash flows, and track burn rates to ensure fiscal discipline.
- Variance Analysis: Require reason codes for budget or schedule deviations to systematically track and analyze the root causes of project variances.
Governance Add-on
Ensure standardization, compliance, and control across project portfolios, providing the strict security and automated monitoring essential for enterprise governance.
- Project Autopilot: Automates management-by-exception with an intelligent system that continuously scans projects to flag risks, anomalies, and deviations automatically for stakeholders.
- Project Organizational Structure (POS): Enforces strict security and access controls based on organizational hierarchy, ensuring users only access the projects and data they are authorized to manage.
- Sensor Points: Automated data monitor that tracks KPIs and watches for specific threshold deviations (e.g., budget variance or schedule slippage) for proactive intervention.
- Stakeholder Workspace: Provides a dedicated, streamlined portal for stakeholders to view project status, risks, and KPIs for ease of use.
Project Modeling Add-on
Revolutionize your planning process by dynamically generating accurate project estimates and schedules in minutes, not hours.
- Dynamic Configuration: Build complex project plans by answering simple configuration questions (e.g., specifications, dimensions), which automatically generate the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS).
- Speed & Accuracy: Eliminate manual data entry errors and “wishful” estimates by automating the creation of optimal project structures every time.
- Standardized Best Practices: Enforce enterprise-wide standards by using curated models that ensure every project starts with the best possible plan.
- Sales Acceleration: Empower teams to generate accurate, feasible proposals instantly without needing deep technical engineering support for every quote.
Risk Management Add-on (RAIDO)
Move beyond simple risk logs with a complete RAIDO framework that integrates Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies, and Opportunities directly into your project management workflows.
- Full RAIDO Framework: Centralizes the management of all uncertainty factors—not just risks and issues, but also critical assumptions, dependencies, and potential opportunities.
- Operational Integration: Links specific risks and issues directly to project tasks (WBS) and financial lines (CBS) to visualize the true impact on schedule and budget.
- Opportunity Tracking: Proactively identifies and manages positive opportunities for cost savings and efficiency, allowing you to capture value rather than just mitigating threats.
- Automated Response Workflows: Streamlines the resolution process with automated workflows for mitigation plans, ensuring that every identified risk has an owner and a deadline.
Create the optimal construction project estimates right from the start
The Project Modeler™ offers a superior budgeting experience for construction companies compared to other tools, spreadsheets and estimating apps.
With PlanAutomate’s Project Modeler, your project estimates are created faster and with more accuracy than ever before. Gain speed and control. Enhance your sales process by creating the best project budget from the start.
- Construction project estimates are formulated through carefully curated cost models
- Enable your estimators and controllers to produce optimal budgets in minimal time and with minimal errors
Customer Stories Using for Construction on D365
Industries: Construction, Engineering, ETO Manufacturing
SurePods, a DPR Construction company, specializes in delivering custom, ready-to-install bathroom pods for healthcare, hospitality, and multi-living projects. Their highly complex, project-driven business requires seamless coordination across design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing, shop floor control, delivery, and installation.
Industries: Construction, Engineering, ETO Manufacturing
Z Modular is transforming modular construction with precision-engineered, steel-framed developments. By reinventing traditional building and construction processes, they are driving efficiency, consistency, and scalability—and they chose PlanAutomate to help make it happen.
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