Modernizing oilfield services with Business Central & D365 Field Service

Despite having Dynamics NAV in place, Petroplex’s operations were hampered by disconnected systems and outdated processes. Field technicians filled out job tickets by hand, often turning them in days or weeks later. The maintenance manager relied on a whiteboard to track service schedules, leading to limited insight into upcoming equipment needs. Back-office staff spent hours matching paper ticket packets with logs and reports. Data silos and delays were common, for instance, only one person might have access to crucial ticket information until it was manually entered and scanned. Additionally, the previous NAV partner had implemented a custom dispatch module but restricted access to it (“locked in a box”), preventing Petroplex from modifying or fully utilizing it once the partnership ended. These issues resulted in lost information, slow invoicing, and frustrated users.

Petroplex’s operational pain points included:

• Paper-based field tickets causing delayed invoicing and lost tickets
• Manual maintenance scheduling on whiteboards with no proactive alerts or visibility.
• Key processes managed in spreadsheets (e.g. daily cash flow), leading to duplicate work and errors.
• A locked custom dispatch system from the previous vendor, limiting support and enhancements.
• An aging Dynamics NAV system that lacked capabilities for mobile field service and integration.

The transition to Business Central and D365 Field Service has transformed Petroplex’s operations, digitizing previously manual tasks, improving interdepartmental visibility, and enabling real-time decision-making. Business Central now serves as a unified financial and operational backbone, replacing spreadsheets, whiteboards, and outdated reports with centralized, structured data. Reporting capabilities have significantly improved, especially for private equity requirements, enabling Petroplex to extract key metrics and respond to ad hoc data requests without manual workarounds. Meanwhile, D365 Field Service and Power Apps streamline field ticketing and maintenance workflows. Technicians can now submit digital tickets from mobile devices—even offline—which sync instantly once service is restored, eliminating lost tickets and accelerating the invoice cycle. Preventive maintenance is now driven by real usage data, allowing teams to schedule proactively and ensure equipment reliability. Together, Business Central and Field Service deliver a cohesive, scalable system that supports long-term growth.

Key results achieved:

• Faster invoice cycle times (from weeks to hours) as tickets are available for billing immediately.
• Higher data accuracy and consistency, leading to fewer billing errors or missed maintenance schedules.
• Improved cross-department visibility and communication with all operational data in one connected system.
• Significantly reduced manual errors in invoicing and ticketing
• Improved accuracy and timeliness of financial reporting, essential for private equity stakeholders
• Enhanced preventive maintenance scheduling

“Tasks that previously took days of manual work, like our monthly chemical usage report, are now completed with just a click of a button. This saves significant staff time and eliminates the errors that came with manual entry.”
— Erin Underwood, Vice President & CFO