What Is Dynamics 365 Business Central?

August 13th, 2024

By Darren Atkins, Dynamics 365 Account Executive

Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s modern ERP solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It helps organizations manage their financials, sales, service, and operations all in one place.

I have sold Business Central to dozens of customers and also told several potential customers in certain situations that Business Central may not be right for them.

In this article, I’ll introduce you to Business Central’s core features, pricing, and target market. We also provide a broader perspective on how Business Central compares to other ERP options in our free guide.

Main Features

Financial Management
Warehouse Management
Supply Chain Management
Project Management
Service Management*
Manufacturing*

*Requires Premium licenses

Pricing

$80/user/month USD ($108.50 CAD) with a 12-month commitment for Business Central Essentials licenses. See our licensing overview.

Target Market

While Business Central can scale from a 2-user not-for-profit all the way up to a 2,000-user public company, its sweet spot tends to be in the mid-market, $10-50M, 15-100 users. It spans a variety of service, distribution, and manufacturing companies.

Microsoft Interoperability

Microsoft Dynamics 365 shines and differentiates itself in its powerful interoperability with the full Microsoft 365 stack (Excel, Word, Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, etc.), Power BI, Power Automate, and other D365 family products such as D365 Sales (CRM). All this provides you with extended functionality, single sign-on, tools you already know, with a familiar UI look and feel that shortens the learning curve.

No one is more Microsoft than Microsoft.

Generative AI

Generative AI in the form of Microsoft Copilot exists to smooth your journey every step of the way and can assist with anything from how-to’s and learning, to automation of more complex functionality such as auto Bank Rec or Item Forecasting. Read more about Copilot functionality in Business Central.

How Business Central and the Microsoft Stack Meet Your Needs

As I often tell potential customers, like other general-purpose ERP solutions, Dynamics 365 Business Central will perform the majority of any business’ functional needs itself — with the remaining requirements being filled by extensions, integrations, or interoperability with other popular apps.

In this respect, Business Central is similar to other ERP solutions. What differentiates it is the ease of interoperability with the rest of the Microsoft stack (Office, Power Platform, Copilot, Dynamics 365 CRM, etc.) allowing you to address your full business needs within a single platform.

License Pricing

The table below gives prices for the three main Dynamics 365 Business Central license types. For further details, and guidance on the right license types for your company, see our overview of Business Central licensing and our comparison of Business Central Premium and Essentials.

Dynamics 365 Business Central License Type

Price Per User Per Month with a 12-month Commitment

Business Central Essentials Full User

$80 USD ($108.50 CAD)

Business Central Premium Full User

$110 USD ($149.20 CAD)

Business Central Team Member

$8.00 USD ($10.90 CAD)

Note: Pricing is subject to change without notice. Always contact Encore for the most current product pricing, and for specific advice tailored to your situation.

AI Capabilities in Dynamics 365 Business Central

Every major new release of Business Central contains generative AI features to improve productivity. More importantly, Microsoft recognizes the need to maintain the security and integrity of your data and IP.

Microsoft Copilot respects the policies set up and in place for your data, and your data is not consumed outside of your organization to train other LLMs (Large Language Models), or exposed to the web in any way. Some of the published features for Copilot in Dynamics 365 Business Central include:

Natural Language Query and Search with Copilot
Marketing Text Suggestions with Copilot
Enhanced Bank Reconciliation with Copilot
Inventory Forecasting
Late Payment Prediction
Cash Flow Analysis

Learn more about the recently added functionality of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Business Central.

What Kinds of Companies Is Business Central Right For?

Business Central can serve as the primary ERP solution for mid-market companies either migrating up from other systems such as Dynamics GP, QuickBooks, Sage, or NetSuite, to those already using Microsoft product suites, such as Microsoft 365 and Power Platform who want to leverage the interoperability and power of being a true Microsoft shop.

As earlier mentioned, this can fit any number of industries from not-for-profit organizations to service, distribution, and manufacturing.

Is There an ERP With Everything You Need?

No. So how can you get all your needs met in an ERP project? This guide explains.

Read the Guide

Who Might Business Central Not Be Right For?

I have spoken to many companies about Business Central, and although it is an excellent ERP choice in a wide range of scenarios, there are some situations where it may not be a great fit.

For example, maybe your company wants to work in G-Suite (Google Workspace). You may not be able to really benefit from all the extended functionality and interoperability offered in Business Central and could just as easily fit any other ERP solution.

Or maybe you have a unique industry where very specific requirements would not be found in general-purpose ERP software, such as Engineering. In these cases, the typical scenario is that the industry-specific software can handle the operational business needs and then will leverage the ERP for what it does best which is accounting, inventory management, etc., in more of a traditional hub and spoke model.

Implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central

To maximize the ROI of Business Central for your company, it’s crucial to approach the implementation thoughtfully with a partner who can help you:

recommend best practices,
understand your business processes to determine where automation can improve efficiency and productivity, and
navigate the overwhelming number of options available to you when you start searching the Internet for solutions.

At Encore, we aim to understand your current business, technology, processes, and challenges while strategizing how to successfully transform to your desired future state. Business Central estimates range from $16,000 to $160,000+. To find out where you fit in that range, you can speak with our experts or try our self-serve tool to build an estimate range:

You may also be interested in these related resources:

Dynamics 365 Business Central Training and Support

As part of your implementation, and in order to leverage your solution effectively over time, you’ll also need training and support from a Dynamics Partner.

Each Business Central implementation is unique, and most implementations will include some extensions, integrations, or even customizations. So, it’s usually best for the company that provides your implementation to also provide training and support.

At Encore, we offer support and training as well as implementations for Business Central clients.

For training, one of the methods we recommend is to have Encore “train the trainer” – building up the skills of a small number of power users or product experts at your company, who then go on to educate the rest of your staff.

Learn More About Business Central

To learn more about Dynamics 365 Business Central, please explore our many articles about the product or watch our training video playlist.

For a broader perspective on selecting an ERP, and how Business Central differentiates in the market, read our guide, “No ERP Can Do It All.”

FAQs

Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s modern ERP solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It helps organizations manage financials, sales, service, and operations all in one place, offering a unified platform for business management.

The Essentials license for Dynamics 365 Business Central costs $80 USD per user per month (or $108.50 CAD) with a 12-month commitment. Premium licenses, which include additional features like manufacturing and service management, are priced at $110 USD ($149.20 CAD). Discover more about licensing here. Implementation costs range from $18,000 to $160,000+. Learn more about Business Central Implementation.

While Business Central’s sweet spot tends to be for mid-market companies with $10–50 million in revenue and 15–100 users, it can scale from a 2-user not-for-profit all the way up to a 2,000-user public company. It’s flexible enough to support organizations ranging from small nonprofits to large public companies, especially in service, distribution, and manufacturing sectors. Read about a manufacturing company that moved to Business Central.

Business Central stands out for its deep interoperability with the Microsoft ecosystem, including tools like Excel, Teams, Outlook, Power BI, other Dynamics 365 apps, and Copilot AI. This integration shortens the learning curve and enables businesses to manage operations using familiar tools and interfaces. Read about Copilot features in Business Central.

Dynamics 365 Business Central Beyond Financials

Learn how organizations are growing their use of Business Central beyond financial management with automation, AI, and connected business processes.

October 20 9:00 am – 9:45 am PST

D365 Business Central Beyond Financials

October 20 9:00 am – 9:45 am PST

Author

Darren Atkins

Darren helps clients articulate their desired business goals and objectives. He helps clients architect the roadmap to transform from existing current state to manifest the desired future state and provide guidance for the journey from inception to successful completion.