Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Score8.1 out of 10

242 Reviews and Ratings

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV) is one of the ERP products in the Dynamics family. The technology is based on the Navision product acquired by Microsoft in 2002. This product is the best-selling Microsoft ERP platform, and is often used by companies in the manufacturing and distribution verticals.

Categories & Use Cases

Budgeting and Forecasting
Establish project budgets and forecast future project financials
Category average: 7.7
Project Costing
Standardize, track, and control costs at all project phases
Category average: 7.8
Cost Capture
Capture costs including those for procurement, financials or time and labor, including from external systems
Category average: 7.9

Contract Authoring
Document authoring with guided navigation, negotiation templates and productivity tools for reviews and collaboration
Category average: 6.9
Award Lifecycle Management
Manage the life of program funding awards from initial funding to close-out
Category average: 7.2
Benefit plan administration
Benefit plan administration is administration of health insurance plans and 401k plans, and other benefits.
Category average: 7.4

Verified User

Employee (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for Student Data information, results information access for students (Student Information System), Finance, Procurement, and HR, and Faculty course allocation and grades update (Faculty Portal). It helps to track progress reports of students, their grades, and also track financial matters like their payments, and staff member payment requisitions. It addresses problems of students trying to register for a course pending prerequisites, faculty members clashing on a time table i.e allocated two courses on one day at the same time and it helps track students eligible for graduation as well as the recruitment and admissions team with entering new students in the system and accepting/rejecting their applications. The scope of our use case is that the whole institution uses the system and it makes data entry and tracking pending matters faster and easier.

Pros

Integreted data management accross all departments
Academic Controls being automated
Resource Management and Timetabling
Monitoring graduation eligibility and student's progress

Cons

being able to have full access on the business central ios mobile app. Some information is restricted and cannot be acced unless i use a laptop

Return on Investment

Positive: Faster Decision making and having access to centralized and realtime data which stipulates taht reports that in the past took ages can be gotten instantly
positive: the 365 has improved student life cycle especailly in the tracking of theri academic procgrsss by being able to ID graduation eligibility
positive: very time saving - when I want to generate a student transcript, it does it withing seconds after punching in a student ID

Usability

Alternatives Considered

IBM Managed Services for SAP Applications

Other Software Used

Zoom Workplace, Google Meet, Apple Keynote

Dhruv Vig

Consultant in Sales at gammastack (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

me and my team use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to manage finances and sales in a easy way. it makes it easy for us to invoice expenses its smooth for me to manage all the finances. The system also improves our customer relationships makes it better. Also enhancing overall business performance.

Pros

Easy for customer interactions and improves sales management
manual work is very less by automated approvals and invoice process
connects with Microsoft 365 and one place for all my needs

Cons

easy for managing invoice and automated updates
Solves major sales problems and helps a lot for customer relationships
One place for the needs because it connects all the Microsoft 365 apps which we require

Return on Investment

Insights from the software won us $30k last month in deals
Reports management and invoices the automations all have been so fruitful for the business
Compared to the plus points we get the subscription amount is negligible

Usability

Alternatives Considered

SAP Business One, NetSuite ERP and Odoo

Other Software Used

Odoo, SAP Business One, NetSuite ERP

Chris Studebaker View profile

Technical Architect in Engineering at Enavate (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I have been a technical architect for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for over 25 years. Currently the company I work for is Enavate which implements Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. We specialize in GP to Business Central (BC) conversions, and certain industries such as wine production, sales, and distribution, (plant) nurseries, as well as a mix of other industries. We have been using F&O internally, but are not satisfied with the flexibility and extensibility, so will be implementing BC for our internal system, focusing on the Project granules.

Pros

Integration between GL, AR, AP, Inventory Mgmt, production, distribution, and project management
Ability to integrate seamlessly and low/no code with the Azure architecture (PowerApps, PowerAutomate, etc.)
Flexibility in extension points throughout the base code
Use of Visual Studio Code and other languages (javascript, css, html) for flexibility in data presentation in the client.

Cons

In distribution, tracking of container / truck dispatch management. Direct integration with LTL shipping providers and package management. This functionality requires ISV add-ons, so it is available but requires additional licensing
Better integration with PowerBI in as much as having better / easier implementation of data sources for reporting. Cube building is difficult and not easy to change over time. This may be a limitation of PowerBI rather than Business Central.
Service management / asset management. While the service module exists, it is not well integrated with the other modules.
Better flexibility in production for the additional implementation of process manufacturing rather than only discrete.

Return on Investment

With customers moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, a reduction in the time spent making financial reports match AP, AR, and Inventory numbers is greatly reduced
More automations allow for employees to get more done in a shorter time period
The ability to have the system configurable and extensible allows for optimization of workflow specific to your business rather than conforming to a software's limitations.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

NetSuite ERP and Microsoft Dynamics GP

Other Software Used

Microsoft SharePoint, Azure DevOps Services, Microsoft Visual Studio Code

Verified User

General Manager (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central connects several offices across the globe for us. We are able to see inventory in real time, incoming orders, etc. Our previous system required you to log in remotely to access it, and inventory was not always accurate. I use Business Central Daily to fulfill client orders; since it's web-based, I have visibility wherever and whenever I'm working without issues.

Pros

Web based for easy access to data.
Allows for team collaboration on ordering and inventory.
Allows for tracking of pricing across several platforms.

Cons

Page Setup.
Add the ability to hide unused fields.
Advanced search options.

Return on Investment

Enabled us to coordinate inventory across 4 warehouses in different states.
We are able to track purchasing and ordering from sister entities with ease.
Real time pricing is available.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

aACE and Wrike

Other Software Used

aACE, Wrike, Pipedrive

Verified User

Consultant in Information Technology (5001-10,000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the major source of connection in the client project. Previously we were working through On-premise application and it lacks the data accuracy for our Asset management. Then we shifted to Business Central which not only improves the data accuracy but also helps to manage the assets efficiently. I use it almost daily to track real-time movements of assets, and I can use its web version from anywhere and any device is the real relief.

Pros

Easy to collaborate on inventory and asset management across teams
Able to track real-time data to avoid issues
Can be used anytime anywhere

Cons

Sometimes it becomes expensive in terms of licensing
Need a more user friendly interface
Add more 3rd party integrations please

Return on Investment

Provided the great dashboard and top class reporting which makes managing the inventory effortlessly
Security measures for approvals reduces the cash miscounts by assigning an authorized user for it

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Dynamics AX and discontinued

Other Software Used

Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Categories & Use Cases

Key Features

Top Performing Features

Budgeting and Forecasting

Project Costing

Cost Capture

Areas for Improvement

Contract Authoring

Award Lifecycle Management

Benefit plan administration

Reviews

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