Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation

Implementing a new ERP system can be daunting, but Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed for smooth integration, minimizing disruption to your everyday business. Its intuitive interface and familiar Microsoft environment make it easy for users to learn. Plus, with the help of experienced partners like Velosio, the implementation process can be efficient and streamlined.

Award Winning Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation Partner

For successful Dynamics 365 Business Central implementation, it’s important to select an experienced partner who can ensure successful business outcomes. Velosio, a Microsoft award winner, brings 30+ years of experience helping companies modernize applications, simplify operations, and leverage their data to make better decisions. Our clients trust our consulting, implementation, and support teams to reduce risk, empower innovation and create the foundation for reshaping the employee and client experience.

What Is Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a cloud-based, all-in-one business management solution that helps small and medium-sized companies connect their finance, sales, service, and operations teams within a single easy-to-use application. It enables organizations to upgrade from their entry-level accounting software or legacy ERP system to one single, comprehensive solution to manage finances, operations, sales, and customer service.
While it’s designed to integrate with other Microsoft Apps and ISV solutions, it’s meant to act as a standalone ERP that connects the entire business. Included, you’ll find the following modules:

Finance
Sales
Supply Chain
Project Management
Warehouse Management
Manufacturing

It’s ideal for small to medium-sized businesses in professional services, manufacturing, or distribution. Business Central is particularly suited for single-country operations and organizations transitioning from tools like QuickBooks or legacy systems.

Benefits of Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central stands out as an integrated, flexible, and highly scalable solution. This cloud-based platform has transformed how businesses manage operations, making it a compelling choice for organizations looking to enhance their efficiency. Top benefits of the solution include:

1. Streamlined financial management
2. Improved sales and customer service
3. Optimized supply chain management
4. Enhanced project management
5. Seamless integration with other Microsoft solutions
6. Advanced customization and scalability
7. Security and compliance assurance
8. Cloud-based accessibility anywhere
9. Real-time data and reporting capabilities
10. Automation of repetitive tasks

What Are My Business Central Implementation Options?

Many clients either migrate from another legacy Microsoft solution such as Dynamics GP, SL, AX, or NAV, or from another solution such as QuickBooks. At Velosio, we offer distinct options to ensure your journey to a fully implemented and professionally managed ERP system aligns with your specific needs. Whether it’s taking an accelerated implementation path with our Velosio Express for Dynamics 365 Business Central or standard assessment and migration, our migration specialists will work with you to discover which option will best suit your needs and budget.

Velosio Express is a unique deployment option for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that delivers an accelerated implementation built on proven best practices and a pre-defined scope of services. Velosio Express is designed to help companies with $50M or less in annual revenues take advantage of the Microsoft cloud platform at an implementation timeline and price point that quickly delivers real value.

Velosio Express clients can go live with a new deployment in as few as 90 days, including data migration, user acceptance testing, implementation, and training. In addition, ongoing support is available to ensure high user adoption and ongoing performance management.

How Long Does a Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation Take?

The length of a Business Central implementation depends on several factors, including complexity, third party integrations, customizations, and more. With our Express implementation, clients can go live as soon as 90 days, but an average implementation is more likely to be around six months. Here is an example of a typical six month to two-year timeframe.

Stages of a Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation

The stages of implementation vary depending on the client, but common stages with average timeframes include:

Project Team Mobilization: 1 month
Business Process Mapping, Fit Gap: 3 months
Solution Design: 3 months
Data Migration Planning / Mapping: 6 months
System Configuration and Testing: 6 months
Production Readiness and Deployment: 1 month

Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation Pricing

Pricing for Business Central also varies depending on the clients’ needs, but Velosio’s Express implementation starts at $30,000. Time and materials implementations can be up to $500,000, based on a client’s specific needs.

Customization and Scalability of Dynamics 365 Business Central

Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed to solve a variety of business needs straight out of the box. It focuses on usability and industry standards to support multiple business models with minimal need for customizations, reducing both implementation time and costs.

Low-Code Customization with Microsoft Power Apps: Business Central integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Power Apps. This allows users with limited coding experience to build custom extensions and workflows that support specific industry requirements. They can automate tasks and create custom fields and reports, all without extensive programming knowledge.
AppSource for Industry-Specific Solutions: Microsoft’s AppSource offers a rich repository of pre-built, industry-specific solutions that extend Business Central’s capabilities for niche verticals. These solutions are developed by certified partners and address specialized workflows and data needs common within those industries.

How Can I Avoid Business Disruption While Implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central

To minimize disruption, organizations should consider a phased implementation. One of the primary advantages of a phased ERP implementation is enhanced risk management. By breaking down the implementation into manageable stages, businesses can mitigate the risks associated with a full-scale rollout. This approach allows for the identification and resolution of issues on a smaller scale before they escalate, ensuring a smoother transition overall. A phased approach also supports better change management. It provides employees with the necessary time to adapt to the new system, which can lead to higher user adoption rates and less resistance to change. Gradual implementation helps staff become familiar with the system’s features and functionalities in stages rather than overwhelming them with a completely new system all at once.

What Are Best Practices for a Successful Business Central Implementation?

Your implementation starts with understanding where you are today, where you’d like to be in the future, and what barriers stand in the way of goals.
It’s critical to get the entire organization involved early on. You want the people who will actually be using new solutions to have a say in defining requirements & identifying gaps. Beyond that–you’ll also want to make sure they’re trained and ready way before the go-live. Executive sponsorship is important as well as thorough system testing. Here are additional best practices:

Common Business Central Implementation Challenges

Common Business Central implementation challenges may include user resistance to change, a lack of executive buy-in, data migration issues, too many customizations, and more. These mistakes can easily be avoided with guidance from an experienced Microsoft partner.

Why Should I Use a Partner for My Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation

Using a partner for Dynamics 365 Business Central implementation has many benefits for an organization. Implementing Dynamics 365 can be complex, and a partner ensures a smooth process. Partners can provide solutions tailored to your specific challenges and growth goals. When choosing a partner, consider experience, industry knowledge, customization abilities, customer support, training and resources, and reputation.

User Training and Support

Velosio carries out change management and employee training in several different ways. Typically, it’s a combination of classroom training, videos, train-the-trainer, and more until user acceptance is high.

Velosio’s Approach to Implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central (Methodology)

Proper planning and preparation can provide a strong foundation for your ERP implementation. Organization is key to the project’s success, as is a well-documented process, controlling the inevitable project changes, is critical in “keeping things on track” both operationally and financially. Below is a typical implementation methodology for Velosio, but it’s subject to change based on each client’s need.

Real-Life Case Studies of Successful Implementations

Successful ERP implementations have a few things in common. They launch on time, on budget, with all planned features and functionality optimized and ready for use. People, processes, and technology work together to drive specific outcomes upon launch. An example of a successful Business Central implementation is for regional sporting goods retailer Fin Feather & Fur. The organization initially contacted Velosio because their ERP wasn’t meeting their needs. At the time, the company used Oracle’s JD Edwards ERP and struggled with inefficiencies, unreliable data, and poor visibility across six brick-and-mortar and two e-commerce storefronts.

JD Edwards ERP is a solid platform. It offers a robust feature suite with features that support everything from agribusiness and real estate to manufacturing, logistics, and complex real estate and construction projects. The problem is that it wasn’t designed for retail. Velosio experts worked with Fin Feather & Fur to find a better platform aligned with their business model and settled on Business Central.

We worked with the client to merge and unify data, people, and processes across all six locations. We helped them automate financial processes, manage promotions, and enforce ATF compliance for all firearms sales.
We also implemented a handful of integrations to fill critical gaps. We found a POS solution from ISV provider LS Retail that helped the company streamline in-store and online operations.
For inventory management, we selected a third-party barcoding system called Bartender. We built a custom extension for Business Central — giving our client enhanced visibility into its massive product catalog and more control over inventory and order management processes.

Conclusion

Business Central provides many compelling business benefits for small and medium-sized organizations. Our ERP experts will work with your team to develop a game plan that gets you where you need to go. We’ll help gather requirements, find the perfect-fit platform, and nail the implementation. We can also tailor ERP & CRM solutions around your organization’s unique challenges and goals.
Contact us today to learn more.