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 |
On-premises |
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Cloud |
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Scalable |
(requires additional resources added to server) |
(automatic based on usage) |
Upgrades |
Annual releases manually applied |
Twice-yearly release waves automatically applied over 6 months |
Microsoft Office 365 |
(basic integration) |
(seamless integration) |
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 |
(available as an add-on from 3rd parties) |
(standard functionality with bins, zones, picks, put-aways and more) |
Audit Trails |
(available as an add-on from 3rd parties) |
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Search Feature |
(not in desktop client) |
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Easy Personalisation of Windows/Pages |
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Easy Analysis of Data |
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(every list page has an analyze function) |
Workflow Approvals |
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(extendable with Power Automate) |
CRM |
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(lightweight CRM included as standard) |
Power Automate |
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Power BI |
(OData Service needs to be implemented) |
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Easy Data Migration |
(limited with Integration Manager and only for 240 days without buying a licence) |
(standard via Configuration Packages from Excel spreadsheets |
3rd Party Extensions |
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Customisation/Development |
(Dexterity scripting language in Dexterity editor) |
(AL language via standard tools like VS Code or Visual Studio) |
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.