Visualize your business working like a well-oiled machine with every department communicating immaculately, necessary data being instantly accessible, and real-time insights backing every decision.
Isn’t this the perfect scenario?
Undoubtedly, it is the ultimate goal for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling with disjointed systems.
Did you know that your business can implement ERP solutions to experience a 10-15% improvement in operational efficiency within the first year?
This is the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution is your strategic partner for eliminating operational inefficiencies, gaining unparalleled visibility, and cultivating a truly connected enterprise.
Let’s take a closer look at how Business Central empowers you to navigate the complexities of growth to achieve operational excellence.
| TL;DR • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a cloud-based ERP designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It unifies all core operations, including financials, sales, and supply chain management, on a single platform. • It offers key functionalities across financial management, sales, marketing, warehouse management, project management, and reporting & analytics to ensure operational efficiency and compliance. • It integrates well with other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft 365 (Excel, Outlook), Power Platform (Power BI, Power Automate), and Azure, to create a single, connected digital environment. • It automates routine tasks and centralizes data to eliminate data silos, improve business management, enhance financial oversight, and provide real-time insights. • Successful Business Central implementation involves four key steps: laying the foundation with clear objectives and a budget, designing and configuring the system, testing and training users, and finally, launching and optimizing the system post-go-live. |
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a robust and globally adopted business management solution. Formerly called Dynamics NAV, it’s a cloud-based solution that’s especially designed to benefit SMBs.
Over 62% of decision-makers highly prioritize digital transformation. The digital transformation market is forecast to reach USD 10.95 billion by 2032.
Often tagged as an all-in-one platform, it enables you to manage almost all your operations within a single integrated system.
It aids in improving customer relationships, streamlining operations, and propelling smarter decision-making. It does this by consolidating supply chain, financial management, sales, service, and project management into a single, intuitive platform to make it happen for your business.
What are Microsoft Dynamics Business Central Functionalities?
The cloud ERP market was at USD 87.73 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.5% and reach USD 172.74 billion by 2029.
Business Central is a leading name in the switch to cloud ERP market. Its various features and functionalities, whose availability depends on your chosen BC license, make it a prominent tool today.
1. Financial Management
The financial management capabilities of Business Central can ensure your business’s compliance by maintaining financial records per industry regulations. Streamline your financial processes, gain real-time visibility into financial operations, and make data-based decisions with this feature.
Real-time performance gives visibility to your financial aspects, like general ledger, cash management, fixed assets, accounts payable, and multi-currency.
2. Sales and Marketing
Use BC’s multiple tools to bridge sales and accounting, enabling end-to-end sales process management (quote to cash). The customer service feature helps you understand customer needs and supports on-time delivery.
Key aspects of Sales and Marketing are email integration, sales order management, campaign management, and customer relationship management.
3. Warehouse Management
You can automate your organizational processes and connect workflows for a concrete foundation for efficient inventory management. Managers strongly understand business opportunities and performance to learn more about their company’s margins and profitability, and how to improve them.
Key features include managing inventory, order fulfillment, tracking stock movements, and warehouse operations.
The Premium license unlocks numerous advanced features, including warehouse automation and bin management.
The Essentials version provides access to inventory management across multiple locations, streamlining inventory pickup and put-away.
4. Resource and Project Management
This module’s features enable you to plan, execute, allocate, and monitor common resources and project management tasks effectively.
Key aspects include tracking time and expense, planning projects, job costing and reporting, invoicing, and managing resources.
5. Reporting and Analytics
The reporting and analytics module has impressive BI and reporting tools for real-time business performance insights. You can swiftly make decisions as it integrates with tools like Power BI for custom reporting, visualization, and data analysis.
Excel integration also helps to analyze and manipulate the data, track performance, and make informed decisions.
It includes Role Centers with personalized dashboards, integrations with Power BI, and standard reports.
6. Order Processing
You can monitor and control buying and selling easily with the automated workflows of this functionality. The inventory level updates dynamically, saving a lot of time finding out what to purchase and what is selling.
It offers tools for managing purchase orders, sales orders, financial aspects, and inventory for order processing.
It's time to optimize your business operations.
Tap into the full potential of your platform with Aegis Softtech's Business Central services.
Benefits of Dynamics 365 Business Central
Around six thousand companies globally use Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, which is also consistently growing.
The soaring number can be attributed to the multiple benefits of Dynamics 365 Business Central. Here are a few ways your organization can grow:
• Uninterrupted Microsoft Ecosystem Integration
Business Central offers seamless integration opportunities with other services and products in the MS ecosystem, like MS 365, MS Teams, Power Platform, and Power BI.
It boosts team collaboration and workflow automation. You can also easily create interactive dashboards and reports for organizational-level understanding.
• Automation for Better Efficiency
Routine tasks and workflows can be automated to reduce the time involved. Minimal human intervention means fewer errors and more productivity. You can use Microsoft’s AI-powered platform, Copilot, to efficiently streamline day-to-day tasks.
• Enhanced Business Management
All your organization’s core processes and operations are handled on a single, unified platform. This removes data silos as all the teams have a clear picture in a single place.
Operations, finance, supply chain management, project management, sales, and customer services are a few processes that benefit. BC ensures these features stay connected for better cross-departmental decision-making.
• Better Financial Management
It brings along many 360-degree financial management capabilities, like budgeting, bank reconciliation, general ledger, multi-currency support, and accounts payable and receivable.
You can better understand your finances to speed up the monthly and yearly closing processes.
• Cloud-Backed Flexibility & Scalability
More businesses are adopting cloud ERP, which in turn is increasing the demand for flexible and scalable enterprise solutions. Businesses can easily scale up with this cloud-backed solution to keep up with changing organizational needs. With flexible deployment options and mobile accessibility, BC has become a one-stop solution for growth-seeking organizations.
• Data-Oriented Decision Making
Real-time dashboards and flexible reports for every operation give businesses important insights for better decision-making. Data is continuously updated to eliminate silos and get all the members on the same page.
Interested in diving deeper into Microsoft's enterprise solutions?
Continue your journey with our detailed blog on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation Guide.
Integration of Business Central with Other Microsoft Products
One of the big value-driving aspects of Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is its capability to integrate flawlessly with other Microsoft products.
The swift connection helps build a singular, productive digital environment for the smooth data flow across different platforms.
Here are a few crucial products it integrates with:
1. Microsoft 365
Business Central integrates with different Microsoft 365 applications.
• Excel
Export data from Business Central to Excel for manipulation, analysis, and customization. You can also edit it in Excel and send it back, resulting in powerful data analysis and reporting.
• SharePoint & OneDrive
Store, share, manage, and collaborate on documents seamlessly for easy accessibility, editing, or reviewing.
• Outlook
It is one of the stronger integrations as you can directly carry out your BC tasks within and via the Outlook inbox. You can synchronize all the contacts for all types of customer information.
• Word
MS Word integration in BC creates documents with a professional look and feel. You can use Word’s mail merge prowess to personalize customer documents and communications.
2. Power Platforms
Microsoft has three amazing and useful power platforms: Power BI, Power Automate, and Power Apps. Integrating these with Business Central yields exceptional outcomes for your organization.
Here’s how it happens:
• Power BI
Power BI and Business Central integration process leads to high-level business intelligence and analytics through highly interactive reports and dashboards. KPIs related to different operations are visualized for better decisions and faster ROI.
• Power Automate
The union of Power Automate and Business Central automates all tasks and workflows across the cloud platform. Any actions in the Business Central ecosystem trigger automated workflows for results in either MS services or related third-party applications.
• Power Apps
It is a low-code/no-code platform for creating custom applications to extend BC functionality. Custom solutions addressing specific customer needs will make your organization stand out.
3. Microsoft Azure Services
Since Business Central is built on Azure, it automatically benefits from Azure’s reliability, scalability, security, and other features.
You can tap into their advanced capabilities by integrating with other Azure services, including machine learning and data warehousing. Copilot has also introduced some great AI-powered features.
Business Central Implementation
Your organization can experience unprecedented growth and success with Business Central implementation. Successful execution follows great planning, which can steer the outcomes your organization desires.
Step 1 – Lay Down the Foundation
The first step is often the most challenging and must be done right for the best outcomes.
- You should clearly outline the pain points and challenges that your business has been facing. In addition to this, define the objectives clearly in a measurable form. Understand the data flows to pinpoint the areas of improvement.
- You should then determine the budget on factors like training, software subscription costs, data migration, implementation services, etc. Understand the right usage of both internal and external resources.
- Business Central can be deployed on different models, like on-premises, the cloud, and hybrid, with the cloud being the most preferred choice. The decision depends upon your IT capabilities, infrastructure, security needs, available resources, etc. Carefully choose a license type for your organization.
Step 2 – Design & Configure the System
The next step includes designing and configuring the system in the right manner.
- Conduct an in-depth workshop for the core operational areas to document all their working details. Create a document highlighting how Business Central can help them run smoothly for the best outcome. The process includes customization plans, integration strategies, financial understanding, and data mapping.
- Configure the main settings (financial periods, company setup, etc.) and integrations with other important systems (bank accounts, payment gateways, etc.).
- Built-in data migration tools help migrate important data from your company’s legacy systems to this platform. Imported data is then cleansed and transformed to meet quality and consistency checks.
Step 3 – Test & Train for Usability
- Unit, user acceptance, and integration testing are important steps. They verify different individual functionalities, the working of the entire system, and integration with other systems.
- Employee training and user guides are important to ensure that they clearly understand their roles and responsibilities.
Step 4 – Launch and Optimize
- The first thing is to go live through a well-curated plan.
- Once the implementation is complete, a continuous monitoring and checking system is set to provide consistent user support.
- User feedback is integral to improving any aspects that might be lagging. Consider all feedback and make changes accordingly if it is found to be useful.
Business transformation on your mind?
Our tested Business Central implementation services guarantee a smooth transition for a successful launch and rapid ROI.
Leverage Business Central with Aegis Softtech for Your Growth
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can unify your finance, supply chain, operations, and customer management in a single streamlined platform. Its flexibility and scalability hold the potential to improve your efficiency and visibility.
It centralizes workflows and integrates immaculately with the Microsoft ecosystem. Thus, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and operational excellence.
All you need is a partner like Aegis Softtech.
We help you unearth the full potential of Business Central. Our seasoned experts hold deep product knowledge and customization expertise. They adopt a strategic approach to ensure your ERP and business goals align with one another.
Our Business Central developers focus on delivering measurable impact and long-term value.
Want to explore what Business Central can really do for your business?
FAQs
Q1. Is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central an ERP system?
Yes, it is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that works best for SMBs.
Q2. What is the role of Dynamics 365?
Dynamics 365 helps businesses systematize their operations to improve their customer engagement and bring better results.
Q3. How many modules are there in Business Central?
It has multiple modules for managing different business operations. The list includes finance, purchasing, sales, supply chain management, project management, and more.
