Sign in

Matthew Perren

@matnav.co.uk
374 followers 194 following 1.2K posts

#MSDyn365BC senior consultant. Reporting specialist #PowerBI #JetReports #SQL #Cosmos Professional profile of @matthewperren.bsky.social

PostsRepliesMedia
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 29/08/2026
Perhaps I’m late to the party, but I had to do a demo of #MSDyn365BC to a prospect this week. Remembering something I’d seen @mynavblog.bsky.social do, I fed the parameters of the demo, and the prospect’s web address to #Copilot and asked for demo data in Config. pack format and it did it! Amazing!
120
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 19/08/2026
Any of my #MSDyn365BC folks demo’d the Purchase Agent? I’ve messed around but ran out of credits before I’d got very far
101
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 16/08/2026
I miss #MSDyn365BC Twitter so it was excellent to finally meet my friend from those days, @thedoubleh.dev and his lovely wife face-to-face for lunch in Edinburgh.
Henrik and I grinning at the camera in The Cumberland Bar in Edinburgh
080
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 14/08/2026
I hadn’t realised that Data Braider is now free for #MSDyn365BC If you’ve ever bemoaned the very basic APIs that are available out of the box in BC, it’s the extension for you Thanks @bc.jeremy.vyska.info and @stefanmaron.com
131
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 01/08/2026
Thinking with eternal gratitude about @luisefreese.bsky.social today as, having started a new job, I set up Outlook for inbox zero. Possibly the only literally life-changing thing I’ve done with technology www.m365princess.com/blogs/overco...
m365princess.com
How can we overcome the pain with email?
Inbox Zero? I reached this goal, inbox zero. I wrote a tutorial how everyone can achieve that, too. Why is this important? For several reasons:
100
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 28/07/2026
Any Business Central manufacturing experts out there? I need to brush up. Who’s got good content? #MSDyn365BC
001
Reposted by Matthew Perren
Dara O Briain @daraobriain.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I mean, sure, if you’re a fan of it, but there’s a time and a place.
371236187
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 09/07/2026
I’m returning laptops and screens to my old employer tomorrow. My new employer has sent me a single small screen. I’m currently working with two Dell 24” monitors and my laptop (16”). Any recommendations for replacements. What are the big curved screens like? Any good?
300
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 07/05/2026
Any #PowerBI folks know the answer?
100
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 06/05/2026
I have a customer wanting to use the Power BI template reports for #MSDyn365BC Can anyone tell me how I can get the dates to display as UK format dates? It seems to be a very elusive setting if it exists at all!
110
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 01/04/2026
I had to uninstall MS Copilot in order to allow Excel to recognise my mouse clicks. Good job lads. Good job.
040
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 28/03/2026
Mate’s in the middle of a go-live and has found a weird bug They have some custom roles set up. A user has found that in one role they can create a new Project Planning Line but in another, they can’t. Error says Project Task No. Is required. Permissions are by user so what’s going on? #MSDyn365BC
100
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 08/03/2026
Aaaaahhhh!!! MB-800 expired on the 4th. I thought I had until the end if the month. Now I have to sit an exam!
media.tenor.com
a man with a mustache is laughing while looking out of a car window .
Alt: a man with a mustache is laughing while looking out of a car window .
110
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 05/03/2026
Just earned my "Trained by Cosmos" badge! Ready to help businesses transform complex Business Central data into clear, actionable insights. #DataClarity #CosmosReady
TRAINED BY COSMOS
000
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 20/02/2026
I got asked to speak at a “thing” that I’ve spoken at before. I’ve spent a couple of days of personal time preparing slide decks and demo environments The organiser has been uncommunicative to put it lightly (unlike previous occasions). The agenda is out and I’m not on it I’m somewhat pissed off
320
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 13/11/2025
I’ve read a couple of articles about #PowerAutomate flows to automate the setting of an out of office in Outlook. However the formulas they recommend for start/end date times all feature utcNow() but in ways that make no sense. It’s volatile so would need to be part of an extended if statement no?
Start Time (Use dynamic content/Expression): Concat(formatDateTime(utcNow(),'yyyy-MM-dd'),'T17:00:00+08:00Z')
	•	End Time (Use dynamic content/Expression): Concat(if(equals(dayOfWeek(utcNow()),5),formatDateTime(addDays(utcNow(),3),'yyyy-MM-dd'),formatDateTime(addDays(utcNow(),1),'yyyy-MM-dd')),'T07:59:59+08:00Z')
000
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 12/11/2025
Oi. Microsoft. Put back the option to send #MSDyn365BC reports to excel data AND layout. You scamps.
000
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 06/11/2025
Anyone else having fun with MTD and the VAT Statement box numbers? #MSDyn365BC
100
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 05/11/2025
That new logo is a bit copiloty Does that mean the copilot elements are going to be useful. Or…not. (Rhetorical question)
050
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 12/09/2025
Migrating open jobs into #MSDyn365BC Discuss
100
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 01/08/2025
Someone on LinkedIn bigging up copilot for knowing how a MID function works in excel. Oddly enough, google knows too. Not sure what the value copilot added there but our correspondent wants us to know about it.
110
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 15/07/2025
bsky.app/profile/matt...
020
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 10/07/2025
I have a shared diary at work. All the project managers have the right to edit. I’d like to put an approval workflow in place that requires them to ask for my permission to add or edit an entry to the diary. I’ve googled and the words “outlook” and “approval” bring up a LOT of irrelevant stuff
010
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 09/07/2025
Client: we need a feature that does “this” Us: Builds a feature that does “this” C: Oh, it needs to also do “that” Us: Adds “that” C: Why can’t it do “x” I’m sure we asked for “x” (they did not) Us: Gives them “x” C: We’ve decided that you’ve made it too complicated and we don’t want it.
030
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 09/07/2025
The new #MSDyn365BC feed seems to work ok. Find it here. bsky.app/profile/did:...
140
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 09/07/2025
Just created a new #MSDyn365BC feed and I’m testing it out. It includes #BCALhelp and a couple of other common hashtags but I could do with a reminder of others we might commonly use. I’m testing it in a sandbox before publishing it to replace the now defunct one.
110
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 09/07/2025
Apologies to everyone who is waiting for me to find a replacement feed service for #MSDyn365BC and #BCALhelp I’m really busy with work just now but I will get to it shortly.
130
Reposted by Matthew Perren
Wyn - Power BI & Excel @wynhopkins.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
For every person saying everyone will become an AI vibe coder, there’s 743,000 people who are still unaware of Tables in Excel. #MostPeopleDontCare
4121
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 27/06/2025
I famously do not like or trust AI. But Kurt has a more measured and hopeful view. I hope he’s right.
120
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 22/06/2025
Wrote a #PowerBI dashboard for a client. The guy I wrote it for was sacked shortly after for… reasons Today I got a support ticket. The company they have hired to write the *same* dashboard (that they clearly don’t know they have) need me to explain the relations between tables in #MSDyn365BC
160
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 20/06/2025
You can’t have negative fixed assets anymore in #MSDyn365BC can you? Despite what Magnus says here bc365.co/2022/08/27/f...
bc365.co
Business Central explained Fixed asset with a negative acquisition cost and positive depreciations? Can it be done in Business Central?
Working as an Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central consultant is a very interesting and of course also sometimes a challenging job. And you can come across customer requirements and business cas…
110
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 20/06/2025
There’s an irony in having to switch off Teams and Outlook in order to get any work done don’t you think?
030
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 18/06/2025
Any Power Query nerds here? I’ve got some VBA looking up a file path into a named range in my excel workbook I want to use that file path as the data source for my main query The idea is that the user searches for the file, hits refresh and PQ returns the nice clean data in a new tab Any ideas?
110
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 15/06/2025
Father’s Day card featured pictures of my favourite activities but there was no excel spreadsheet. It’s like they don’t know me at all.
010
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 13/06/2025
Ongoing chat in the Dynamics team at work about just how shit Copilot in #MSDyn365BC is and how AI in general has just made our jobs much harder.
130
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 13/06/2025
Who’s at #BCTechDays? Say Hi to my pal and our Senior Dev, Ian Silvers.
000
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 12/06/2025
Why in the name of all that’s holy is there no way for a non-dev to add a Send Approval Request button to the Project G/L Journal page (1020) in #MSDyn365BC???? Why is it not there by default in the first place? Aaaaahhhhh!!!!
120
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 04/06/2025
If you write garbage and need AI to tidy it up, how will you know it’s not made your garbage more garbagey if all you can write is garbage?
020
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 28/05/2025
Each month the #MSDyn365BC consultant team meet for skills-sharing. We prep something a feature and present to the group. Or we troubleshoot an issue one of us is struggling with. Yesterday this cropped up. Most of us had never heard of it. learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynami...
learn.microsoft.com
Apply payments to unpaid sales documents - Business Central
You apply amounts paid by customers to related sales documents and post the payment to update the customer, general ledger, and bank ledger entries.
010
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 22/05/2025
Meagan hits the nail squarely on the head. Generative AI products are, at best, prototypes of prototypes. I’ve yet to see any where the output doesn’t have to be checked or where the job would be done faster by a person.
030
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 20/05/2025
Data Exchange Definitions in #MSDyn365BC are a bit of a nightmare. I’m struggling to render a date dd/MM/yyyy. And I cannot for the life of me work out how to insert a column that comprises of 14 spaces The internet is coming up blank and the MS documentation is sparse to say the least.
100
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 19/05/2025
Am I alone in thinking that, compared to competitors like Jet Reports and Cosmos, the #PowerBI connection to #MSDyn365BC is poor?
140
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 30/04/2025
Anyone having trouble adding a new distribution line to an allocation account in #MSDyn365BC?
The Alloc. Account Distribution does not exist. Identification fields and values: Allocation Account No.=*8001HO-
BUSINESSSTREA', Line No.='0*
000
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 29/03/2025
What’s happening with the Sales Agent stuff in #MSDyn365BC? I’ve got a preview environment in the GB localisation and it’s still not appearing. I’m having to go to the link and give my email address and then…nothing! Anyone know?
101
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 06/03/2025
When you write a 9,000 word FRD for a client, share it with them for comment and it comes back with all the formatting altered. That. Guys…it’s our corporate format. It’s OUR document.
120
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 03/03/2025
BC Sandboxes at the minute, man! So slow! Anyone else? Just me? #MSDyn365BC
#MSDyn365BC screen shot showing a process message saying “working on it”
000
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 02/03/2025
Realised that my renewal for my MB-800 was nearly due. I’ve got a full week so I did it just now. Passed it by the skin of my teeth 😬 Those questions are like none ever asked by a normal person
070
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 21/02/2025
Is there a standard feature in UK localisation of #MSDyn365BC that allows a live link to the customer’s bank? Some of the smaller systems (Xero, Free Agent) offer it as standard but not BC. Anyone know why? Could use Yaviro but it’s v expensive.
000
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 18/02/2025
Want to test something in #MSDyn365BC Does anyone know how to lay hands on a trial BC Team Member Licence. I’ve a couple of trial environments that I’ve used for years and a CDX environment too but I can’t seem to work out how to get those licences to assign to one of my test users.
100
Matthew Perren @matnav.co.uk · 25/01/2025
No response to my subscription billing q I’m demoing it to a client on Mon &, while I’ve spent several hours trying to figure it out, it’s still baffling me Client ONLY supplies services such as rent & cleaning so there’s no item to attach a service commitment to Any good resources? #MSDyn365BC
100