Integrate your website with Dynamics 365 Sales

Task: Integrate your website with Dynamics 365 Sales using Parserr parsing software
Difficulty: Advanced
Time to implement: 1-2 hours

I am quite excited about sharing with you a great discovery I made when surfing the web looking for new ways to handle automatic record creation in Dynamics 365 from emails messages. In my research, I came across a parsing tool that enables you to create any record in Dynamics 365 based on form submissions and email messages.

In this post I will show you how you can use this new tool to integrate a standard contact webform on your website with CRM (Note: Previously I have done a three-part blog series how this can be done with Microsoft Forms). To facilitate this integration you will use Parserr, a brilliant parsing tool, that’s easy to use and free*. 

*Free plan includes 1 inbox and up to 15 emails a month

Table of contents

Tools used
Part 1 – Setting up Parserr
1.1 Signing up
1.2 Configuring your Inbox
Part 2 – Setting up the flow
2.1 Create the Flow
2.2 Configure the Flow
2.3 Testing the Flow

1. Tools used

• Parserr: A parsing tool that allows you to extract content from emails and parse information from the email body into variables or fields.
• WordPress forms: WordPress is the most popular CMS system in the world and comes equipped with a standard contact us form that can be easily customized.
• Dynamics 365 Sales: A popular CRM system from Microsoft that allows you to track your sales pipeline and activities, opportunities, and leads.     
• Power Automate: A service from Microsoft that allows you to connect different systems. In this example it is used to connect your form to Dynamics 365 Sales facilitated by a connector from Parserr.
• Power-up for Dynamics 365: A handy chrome extension that provides quick access to various Dynamics 365 information, such as GUID information of records. In this case, it is used to copy the GUID of a user record in D365.

Part 1 – Setting up Parser
1.1 Signing up

What you are about to do is to create an Inbox at Parserr to connect and prepare the data contained in your submitted form to be imported to CRM (Parserr is GDPR compliant by the way). While it sounds complex (and probably is behind the scenes), the configuration process is surprisingly simple and easy to set up. It takes only five minutes and there is no coding required. So, let’s get started:

1. Register at Parserr’s website.
2. When you have filled in the information and accepted their terms and privacy policy press the ‘Register’ button.
3. Log in through the Parserr’s web portal. Fill in your newly created username and password.
4. Press the ‘Log in’ button to sign in.

1.2 Configuring your Inbox

Once you are signed in, you will be guided through the process of setting up your Inbox. It’s a three step process. To start the process, click ‘Great. Let’s get started’ button

1. Copy the email address in the first step and add it to the ‘Email addresses to send the form to’ field on your form in WordPress.
2. Submit a test email through the form filling out all fields on the form.
3. Go back to the Parserr portal’s set up page and wait for the email to be received. Once it is received, you will automatically be taken to the next stage in the process.
4. Click ‘Great. Let’s create some rules’ button.
5. Answer Parserr’s questions. You are extracting or parsing information from the body of your email and you will be using Power Automate (Microsoft Flow) as an integration tool. Lastly, you are extracting data to be used in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales (Microsoft Dynamics CRM).
6. Once you have answered these three questions, press the ‘Finish’ button. This will take you to a Email Quick Setup page.
7. Click Yes, create the rules I have checked above (make sure that your contact’s name is stored in two separate fields as the default WordPress form stores name information in a single field).
8. On the navigation, click Incoming emails. You should see your test email appear on the list and the status should be Parsed.

Part 2 – Setting up the flow

2.1 Creating the flow

At this stage in your task you’ve already done most of the work. You have configured Parserr’s parsing definition, connecting your form submission to that service which will provide us with structured data required to add to our CRM database. The remaining task is simply configuring a Power Automate flow for the integration between your website and CRM. As soon as you have configured your Parserr Inbox you can create your flow.

You create your flow by logging into the flow.microsoft.com website and:

1. Click + Create on the left navigation. This opens a page where you can choose from different options. You will create a flow from blank.
2. Choose Automated flow. This opens up a window where you can choose a trigger.
3. Give your flow a name and search for ‘Parserr’. Choose ‘When an email is received’ as your trigger.

2.2 Configuring the flow

Once you have created the flow, you can start to configure your trigger and choose what you want to do with that trigger. A trigger is something that happens that will set cause your flow to run. In this case it is an email that is received in the Parserr system.

1. In the When an email is received box in the flow designer, choose the appropriate Inbox or email.
2. Click ‘+Next step’ below the box and choose ‘Create a new record’ action for the Common Data Service.
3. In the Create a new record Environment drop down field, select the environment where your Dynamics 365 Sales system is located.
4. In the Create a new record Entity name drop down field, select the lead entity (called ‘Leads’).
5. Using the Dynamic content feature, fill in the appropriate information on the Lead form (I recommend giving your lead an owner. To do this you need to retrieve the GUID of your user. You can use Power Up for Dynamics 365 to do this. See the video how its done).
6. Click the ‘Save’ button.

2.3 Testing the flow

1. At the top right corner of the command ribbon, click the ‘Test’ button.
2. Select th ‘I’ll perform the trigger action’ option.
3. Click the ‘Save and test’ button.
4. Go to your WordPress form and fill in all the fields and press ‘Submit’. Make sure it is the same form you configured in step 1.2.1 above.
5. Wait for your flow to run.

If your test is successful you have completed the task of integrating your website with Dynamics 365 Sales using Parserr parsing software. Congratulations.

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