Product documentation
Standard Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations can create payment files, which can be imported into proprietary banking software. Security is set up in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations to make sure only authorized users can create these payment files. And the banks usually have safeguards built-in that only people with a special token, reader and/or password can process the payments. However, that leaves a gap in between these 2 systems; if a user manipulates the payment file coming out of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, there is no way for the user processing the file in the banking software to know if the file is exactly the same as generated.
To remedy this, most banking software now supports some kind of hashing totals. Using an encryption key, an entire file gets interpreted, and the result is a calculated number. This number is called a hash (value).
In Dynamics Banking it is now possible to calculate this hash on an outgoing payment file, allowing the user to compare the hash-totals in the 2 systems. If the hash-totals are exactly the same, the user can be certain the file being imported has not been manipulated. If the hash-totals are different, something has happened to the file, and this should be investigated.
On journal names of type ‘Vendor Disbursement’ and ‘’Customer Payment’, a new field has been added: Hash Algorithm. Default it is set to ‘None’, but it can be set to an encryption standard: SHA-1, SHA-256 or MD5. These are the encryptions used by the major banks (but the lists can easily be expanded).
When a journal is created, using these journal names, the Hash Algorithm value is copied to the individual journal header.
After successfully generating payments (in the standard way, so usually based on a payment proposal), the user can see the calculated hash totals in the journal. They are located under Inquiries / Hash Totals. In theory, a journal can have multiple hash values, but usually there will only be one.
The results are shown in a grid, which is accessed through the Inquiry menu.
| Field | Description |
| Lines | The total number of lines (= payments) in the payment file |
| Hash algorithm | The algorithm used to calculate the hashed value. Different algorithms give different results for the same file. If the hashed values are different, make sure the correct algorithm is used. |
| Hashed value | The calculated hashed value. This is a complex number, and will usually be copied/pasted, if needed elsewhere. |
| Created date and time | The date and time the hash value was calculated. |
The primary use of hash values would be for vendor payments. But it has also been implemented to work for customer direct debits.
The Customer Payment Proposal report and the Vendor Payment Proposal Report show the Hash values.