D365 Business Central or D365 Finance?

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Why change to new ERP system?

For many small and medium-sized companies, the administration of finances, accounting, company data and customer service pose significant challenges in daily work processes. This is where ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) platforms step in to streamline business operations and increase day-to-day efficiency.

But to get the most out of your ERP system, it is important that you choose the right ERP system and keep it up to date. Because not embracing the latest technological advancements can hinder your company's potential for scalable growth and throw your business into operational hurdles.

Which ERP solution is right for you?

Whether you need to migrate from a local on-premise business solution to the cloud or are considering investing in a completely new ERP system that can better meet your specific business conditions, it is crucial that you understand the differences between the solutions you are considering.

On this page, we review the two company applications Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance. The solutions have in common that they are both part of Microsoft's business platform Dynamics 365, but apart from that, the solutions are very different and suitable for very different types of companies.

On this page, we take a closer look at the two solutions, which should hopefully enable you to better assess which solution best matches your company's needs.

What is your current situation?

Regardless of which solution you use now, it is important to consider your current situation before choosing an ERP solution.

Why choose Business Central over Finance?

Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive cloud-based ERP solution from Microsoft. Business Central integrates a wide range of business areas, including finance, sales, service and operations to streamline the company's daily operations and processes.

Budget

Overall, you can very briefly say that if costs are an important parameter when you have to choose an ERP system, then it is in all probability Business Central that is best suited for your company.

Compared to Finance, Business Central is far more cost effective to implement. The investment required when implementing Business Central is, in most cases, only about 30% of the cost of a Finance implementation. In addition, the license costs are also lower if you choose Business Central, so all in all, Business Central is a more attractive ERP solution for companies with limited budgets.

Implementation time

In the vast majority of cases, the time horizon for a Business Central implementation is much shorter than for a Finance implementation, which can stretch over two years or more. If you have a shorter timeline and need to get up and running quickly, BC can provide a more expedited implementation process.
 

Functionality requirements

If your company does not need specific advanced capacities within localization and national adaptations or advanced production management, Business Central will in the vast majority of cases be the obvious solution. Business Central offers a wide range of core functions for business operations, and the standard functionality alone meets the requirements of most organizations. However, you are not limited by the standard functions of Business Central. The functionality can be easily expanded and customized with extensions you download from Microsoft AppSource.

Why choose Finance over Business Central?

Dynamics 365 Finance is a comprehensive Microsoft ERP platform that unifies finance and operations and enables companies to streamline business processes across procurement, production, inventory management and sales.

Advanced requirements for localization and national adaptations

For large organizations that are present in several countries and operate across national borders and in addition have requirements for extensive capabilities within localization, Finance, which is designed to handle these complex requirements and regulations, will often be the right solution. With Finance, you can manage the operation of your business across multiple locations, currencies, tax rules and legal compliance in one unified system. Business Central also has functionality that lets the user deal with locally determined rules and regulations, but if a high degree of complexity is needed, Finance will often be the best choice.

Complex manufacturing processes

Finance provides dedicated functionality tailored to companies involved in advanced process manufacturing, such as chemistry & life science, the pharmaceutical industry or food and beverage production. Finance provides advanced functionality for managing complex manufacturing processes, including batch management, formula management and quality control.

Very high transaction volume and thousands of users

For the very large organizations that manage significant volumes of transactions or operate with a very large number of users, Finance will in some cases be the ideal solution as this solution is designed to handle these scalability requirements effectively. Dynamics 365 Finance provides strong and stable performance and scalability features that support demanding environments with thousands of users who need simultaneous access to the system.

Make an informed decision

Define your requirements

The first thing you should do is carry out a thorough BPR (Business Process Review), i.e. a thorough analysis of your company's work processes, systems and operations with the aim of gaining an understanding of your company's needs and identifying areas for improvement and optimization of business processes. Active Business Solutions can help you with the BPR process, or you can hire an independent consultancy to carry out the analysis on your behalf.

Get a demo presentation

If you are in doubt about which system to choose, we recommend that you ask a Dynamics 365 partner to demonstrate both Business Central and Finance. In this way, you can assess with first-hand experience how well each solution matches your company's specific business processes.

Contact several parties

It is always a good idea to obtain information and quotes from multiple parties, i.e. Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners and/or independent consultants, to compare prices, time horizon for implementation and level and scope of support.

Thorough research

Do your own research, perhaps you have the opportunity to talk to others who have been in your situation or you can read customer testimonials and industry reports. In short, do what you can to gather insights into the systems and understand the experiences of other companies in similar situations so that you can benefit from their experiences.

Don't rely solely on opinions

Although there is great value in gathering information from experts and professionals, it is important that claims and recommendations are validated and debunked with the knowledge you have obtained yourself and your own analyses.

Use the information provided as a starting point:

The information on this page is only a starting point, providing a basic knowledge base and is intended to help you understand the most important aspects when you are faced with having to choose between Business Central and Finance.

It is therefore crucial that you delve deeper into your company's specific business requirements in order to make the decision about which system best suits your company's unique needs.

Let us help you decide

Choosing between Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance is a big decision that will have a significant impact on the operation of your company for a long time to come. Therefore, you should also be thorough when considering key factors such as budget, time horizon, requirements for functionality and your current ERP system, so that you can make an informed decision that can form the foundation for your company's future path towards growth and success.

If you need help finding your next ERP solution, you are of course very welcome to contact us. Find contact information on this page.