Business logic in X++
Custom calculations, validations and workflows that reflect how your finance, supply chain or manufacturing process actually runs, built as classes and extensions.
Microsoft and Dynamics 365
Hire a Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations developer in Dubai
X++ development on the Finance and Operations ERP, often shortened to F&O or FandO, for a business running manufacturing, retail or complex finance on Dynamics 365.
- 4.7 Google rating
- 200+ clients
- In Dubai since 2018
45 minutesto a fixed written quote
A Dubai business tends to hire a D365 Finance and Operations developer, D365 being the common shorthand for Dynamics 365, once its finance, supply chain or manufacturing processes have outgrown what standard configuration covers: a costing rule specific to how the business actually prices goods, a report that regulators or a parent company require in a format the system does not produce natively, or an integration to a bank or a customs system. Finance and Operations, also shortened to F&O or FandO in job postings and community discussion, is Microsoft’s ERP for larger or more complex UAE businesses, built on the X++ language, and it is a genuinely different platform from the smaller business focused Business Central.
This page covers the developer role specifically: someone who writes X++ code, not someone who configures modules or runs training, which our Dynamics 365 consultant and technical consultant pages cover. If your business runs Business Central instead, a smaller platform aimed at smaller businesses, see our Business Central developer page, since the two ERPs do not share a codebase or a developer skill set: whichever one your Dubai business runs, D365 Finance and Operations and Business Central need different developers, not one generalist.
What an F&O developer builds
Typical X++ work on Finance and Operations
Concrete deliverables specific to this ERP, not a generic developer job description.
Finance and Operations reports and workspaces
New or modified reports, and workspaces that surface the specific figures a finance or operations team checks daily, beyond the standard out of the box views.
Integrations and APIs
Endpoints and connections that let a bank, a customs system, an ecommerce platform or Power Platform apps read from or write to Finance and Operations.
UI customisation
Form changes and workspace tiles that remove clicks from a repeated task, built on the extension model rather than direct edits.
Data management
Import and export templates, data entities and scheduled jobs that keep master data consistent as the business grows.
Application lifecycle management
Working through Lifecycle Services and Azure DevOps to move X++ changes from development through test into production safely.
Skills that matter
What to check before you hire a Finance and Operations developer
Specific to this ERP, checked against the vendor’s own documentation.
| Skill or tool | What good looks like | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| X++ fundamentals | Comfortable with X++ classes, tables and the compile to CIL model Microsoft describes in its own reference | X++ is a distinct language with its own conventions, not a variant of C# or Java |
| Extension based development | Builds on extensions and event handlers rather than overlaying the base application | Overlay style changes make it far harder to apply platform updates cleanly |
| Data entities and integration | Comfortable exposing and consuming OData and custom data entities for external systems | Most real F&O integrations run through these entities, not direct database access |
| Lifecycle Services and DevOps | Has moved real changes through a development, test and production pipeline, not only worked in one sandbox | F&O environments are managed centrally through these tools, unlike a typical web project |
| Performance awareness | Understands set based operations and avoids row by row processing in X++ where it will not scale | Poorly written X++ can slow down finance close and reporting for the whole business |
Microsoft’s own X++ language reference confirms that X++ compiles to .NET Common Intermediate Language, which is worth asking a candidate about directly: it explains why interoperability with C# exists and why performance work differs from a plain SQL mindset, and it is exactly the kind of detail that separates a genuine D365 Finance and Operations developer in Dubai from someone who has only worked in the user interface.
Ways to work with us
Hiring a Finance and Operations developer in Dubai
A defined extension, report or integration fits a scoped project, agreed in writing and handed over on completion. An F&O instance that keeps needing small changes as the business grows fits a dedicated developer working inside your team month to month. A business planning to run its own permanent F&O development team is better served by recruitment support, where we source and technically assess candidates you hire directly. Consulting fits a business with X++ developers already in place that wants an experienced second opinion on a performance problem or a customisation strategy before it goes further. Most Dubai businesses that hire a D365 Finance and Operations developer through us start with a project or a dedicated developer.
Which model, roughly
- Project: one extension, report or integration, then handover
- Dedicated: ongoing changes as the F&O instance grows
- Recruitment support: build your own in house F&O team
- Consulting: a review before a bigger commitment
Assessing a candidate
How to assess a Finance and Operations developer
Checks that separate real production X++ experience from a training course project.
Ask for a specific extension they built
Ask which module it touched, what business problem it solved, and how it was packaged, not a general claim of “F&O development”.
Confirm extension, not overlay, habits
Ask directly how they avoid overlaying the base application, since this single habit affects every future platform update.
Review a data entity or integration they built
Ask what system it connected to and how failures or retries were handled, a common weak point in real F&O integrations.
Set a small, scoped exercise
A short task inside a sandbox environment, such as a validation rule or a simple report change, reviewed for how it is built and tested.
Ask about a slow report or process they fixed
A candidate with real performance experience can describe what was slow, why, and what set based change fixed it.
Certifications
Certifications worth asking for
One current, specific credential covers this role.
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate
Microsoft’s own certification page describes this credential as covering business logic in X++, reports and workspaces, endpoints for Power Platform and external systems, testing, performance and application lifecycle management, assessed through exam MB-500.
How to verify it
Ask for the candidate’s Microsoft Learn transcript link rather than a badge image, since that is Microsoft’s own way to make a credential independently checkable, and confirm the certification has not lapsed, since it renews annually, before you hire a D365 Finance and Operations developer in Dubai on the strength of it.
UAE considerations
UAE points worth raising with a Finance and Operations developer
Two areas that come up in real Dubai ERP projects.
Finance data and UAE law
Where Finance and Operations holds customer or employee personal data alongside financial records, Federal Decree Law No. 45 of 2021, the UAE’s federal data protection law, applies to that personal data specifically, separate from any accounting retention requirement, and is worth raising with any D365 Finance and Operations developer you hire in Dubai before an integration is scoped.
UAE eInvoicing readiness
The Ministry of Finance’s eInvoicing programme requires business to business transactions to be reported electronically to the Federal Tax Authority using the OpenPeppol standard, rolled out in phases. An F&O developer working on invoicing or tax logic should be briefed to keep that integration point flexible rather than hard coded, since the programme’s own page describes itself as evolving. It is a good example of why the brief for a D365 Finance and Operations developer in Dubai should be revisited as UAE rules change, not written once and left untouched.
For the smaller business ERP, see our Business Central developer page. For the general, cross application role, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 developer, and for a hire against a named credential, see certified Microsoft Dynamics 365 developer. Configuration and process work, rather than code, sits with our Dynamics 365 technical consultant page, and the full family of roles is on Microsoft and Dynamics 365 inside hire developers in Dubai.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
What is Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, and why is it sometimes written FandO?
It is Microsoft's ERP for larger or more complex businesses, covering finance, supply chain and manufacturing. F&O or FandO is the everyday shorthand people use in job posts and forums for what is officially Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.
Is Finance and Operations the same platform as Business Central?
No. They are separate products aimed at different sizes of business, built on different languages, X++ for Finance and Operations and AL for Business Central. A developer strong in one is not automatically productive in the other.
Do we need an F&O developer or an F&O consultant?
A developer writes X++ extensions, reports and integrations. A consultant configures modules, sets up business processes and manages user training, largely without code. Larger F&O implementations typically need both.
Can an F&O developer also handle Power BI reporting?
Often yes at a working level, since F&O exposes data through Power BI connectors and OData. For heavy, standalone reporting work across several systems, our Power BI developer page is the more specific match.
How disruptive is customising Finance and Operations?
It depends on whether the change is built as an extension or, in older practice, an overlay. A competent F&O developer builds extensions on the current model specifically so platform updates do not conflict with your customisations.
How do we brief a Finance and Operations developer role accurately?
Describe the module involved, for example finance, supply chain or manufacturing, what should change, and any system it needs to talk to. A short call fills the rest, and you receive a written fixed price proposal scoped to that brief.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn: X++ language reference accessed 14 September 2026
- Microsoft Learn: Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate accessed 14 September 2026
- U.AE: Data protection laws accessed 14 September 2026
- UAE Ministry of Finance: eInvoicing programme accessed 14 September 2026
Fixed price, in writing
Send your brief. Get a scope and a price within 45 minutes.
- One fixed number, agreed in writing before work starts
- No obligation, and no pressure to sign
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