Managing CRM Documents with SharePoint

Throughout the sales process and ongoing customer service work, you may accumulate documents related to Leads, Orders, Cases, Accounts, Contacts, and other Dynamics 365 CRM records. Even if each record has only a few documents, those files can quickly add up. Your team also needs a convenient way to view and share them while keeping documents organized in a central location. Storing all of those files directly in Dynamics 365 isn't necessarily the best option because CRM database storage can be expensive. The SharePoint integration provides an alternative: store CRM-related documents in SharePoint while continuing to access and manage them from Dynamics 365.

Setting Up the SharePoint Integration

The default SharePoint integration is built into Dynamics 365 CRM and is relatively simple to configure. You'll need a SharePoint team site. Then a Global Administrator or Microsoft Partner can connect Dynamics 365 to the SharePoint site and specify which CRM tables should use SharePoint document management. For example, you might enable the integration for:

• Cases
• Leads
• Accounts
• Contacts

Once configured, users can manage SharePoint documents without needing to leave the corresponding records in CRM.

Working with Documents from Dynamics 365

Within an enabled CRM record, you can open the Files area to see documents associated with that record. From there, you can:

• Upload new documents
• Open existing documents in SharePoint
• Create new files, such as Word documents
• Switch between document locations when multiple locations are configured
• Open the document location directly in SharePoint

If you create a Word document from CRM, for example, you can edit it with Word for the web while the document is automatically saved to its SharePoint location. This effectively brings SharePoint document management into the Dynamics 365 interface.

How SharePoint Organizes CRM Documents

When the integration is configured, SharePoint document libraries can be created for the CRM tables you've selected. When you upload or create a document from a record for the first time, a folder is automatically created in the appropriate document library to store that record's files. The Dynamics 365 and SharePoint experiences are connected to the same document location. As a result, changes made from either interface are reflected in the other. This allows employees who prefer working in CRM to manage documents there, while employees who prefer SharePoint can continue using SharePoint's interface.

Understanding Document Locations

Behind the scenes, Dynamics 365 uses Document Location records to understand where associated files are stored in SharePoint. The Document Location serves as a reference between a CRM record and its corresponding SharePoint location. These records contain information Dynamics 365 uses to locate the appropriate SharePoint folder. Because Document Locations exist as records within CRM, they can also become part of customized processes.

Customizing Document Management with Power Automate

The standard integration works well for straightforward document management, but organizations with more complex requirements can customize it with Power Automate. A simple example is improving the automatically generated names of Document Location records. You could create a Power Automate flow that runs whenever a new Document Location is created. The flow could use information such as the relative URL to create a clearer, more descriptive name. While this type of change may primarily be cosmetic, it demonstrates an important point: the SharePoint-to-CRM integration can be extended to fit your organization's document-management requirements.

Building Custom Folder Structures

Power Automate can also support much more complex document structures. Consider a business process that uses a Case along with several related sub-case records. Each sub-case may need its own document location, while the primary Case needs a location as well. Rather than scattering those folders across separate locations, the organization may want them grouped together. A Power Automate flow can automate that structure. The flow can:

1. Trigger when the Case is created.
2. Create a parent folder in SharePoint.
3. Create subfolders for the main Case and each associated sub-case.
4. Create corresponding Document Location records in Dynamics 365.
5. Connect those Document Locations to the appropriate SharePoint folders.
6. Associate each location with the correct Case or sub-case record.

The result is a structured group of folders that reflects the organization's actual business process.

Connecting SharePoint Folders to CRM

When working with the SharePoint connector in Power Automate, the Relative URL can be used to identify a folder's location in SharePoint. That Relative URL can then be added to the appropriate Document Location record in Dynamics 365. By configuring the parent site or location and associating the Document Location with the correct CRM record, organizations can build customized connections between Dynamics 365 records and SharePoint folders. This provides substantial flexibility beyond the default document-management structure.

Using Power Automate Across CRM and SharePoint

Power Automate is a workflow tool that can connect applications such as Dynamics 365 CRM and SharePoint. In the context of document management, those automated workflows can eliminate repetitive manual tasks, enforce a consistent folder structure, and ensure documents are stored in locations that match your organization's processes. The goal is to make document management easier for users without requiring them to think about all the work happening behind the scenes.

Make CRM Document Management Easier

The SharePoint-to-CRM integration combines the convenience of accessing documents from Dynamics 365 with the document storage and management capabilities of SharePoint. For organizations with straightforward requirements, the standard integration offers an easy way to centralize CRM-related documents. For organizations with more specialized processes, Power Automate can extend the integration with custom naming conventions, folder structures, and Document Location management. If you're already using SharePoint to store documents associated with CRM records, or you're planning to do so in the future, the integration can provide a more seamless way to manage those files as part of your everyday Dynamics 365 workflows.