I worked with Microsoft Dynamics GP for just over 19 years before I decided that the writing on the wall had become too large to ignore. With the announcement of the new cloud ERPs by Microsoft a few years ago, it became apparent that the focus from Microsoft was on these ERP, rather than the old on premises ones.
Unfortunately, from a Dynamics GP perspective, the new ERP were based on Dynamics AX and Dynamics NAV, which became, respectively, Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management and Business Central.
As I’d been working with Dynamics GP, a mid market ERP, it seemed a reasonable move to start working with Business Central, which is largely aimed at the same (size) market. When considering my options for a new role, I had looked at some of the non-Microsoft alternatives, but ended up going with Business Central as I am used to Microsoft technologies and my initial review had suggested that Business Central was quite similar to Dynamics GP.
Below is a table comparing Dynamics GP vs. Business Central covering a number of different areas:
Dynamics GP | Business Central | |
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On-premises | ![]() |
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Cloud | ![]() |
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Scalable | ![]() |
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Upgrades | Annual releases manually applied | Twice-yearly release waves automatically applied over 6 months |
Microsoft Office 365 | ![]() |
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Financial Reporting | Management Reporter and/or Jet Reports | Financial Reporting (formerly called Account Schedules) and/or Jet Reports |
Multi-dimensional analysis | Analytical Accounting module needs to be installed and configured | Standard with unlimited Dimensions |
COA Structure | Multi-segment G/L Accounts | G/L Accounts with (unlimited) Dimensions |
Purchase Order Matching | Three way matching | Three way matching |
Warehouse Management | ![]() |
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Audit Trails | ![]() |
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Search Feature | ![]() |
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Easy Personalisation of Windows/Pages | ![]() |
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Easy Analysis of Data | ![]() |
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Workflow Approvals | ![]() |
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CRM | ![]() |
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Power Automate | ![]() |
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Power BI | ![]() |
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Easy Data Migration | ![]() |
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3rd Party Extensions | ![]() |
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Customisation/Development | ![]() |
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After working with Business Central for the last two years, I think that all of the customers I worked with over the 19 years on Dynamics GP, would be able to transition to Business Central and be able to work more efficiently than they are currently able.