There is much to consider when selecting the right ERP system for your business. However, how can you be sure you have picked the right one for you? With the announcement of the upcoming Microsoft April 2019 updates there is a host of tools and features due to be added. With this in mind, many Microsoft users are reviewing their current solution to see where they stand.
Dynamics GP and Dynamics 365 Business Central
One such consideration is whether Dynamics GP or Dynamics 365 Business Central is the better choice for your business as the ERP solution of choice. There is never a simple answer to which ERP system is best for you and before any decision is taken you should have a consultative chat with your perspective partner before making a choice. Below is a guide of some of the features for each system to consider:
|
Product/Feature |
Dynamics GP |
Dynamics 365 Business Central |
|
Hosting |
On-premise or IaaS (not included; £500 - £1110/ month) |
Cloud Only (included) |
|
Price (full user subscription) |
£50/user/month |
£65/user/month |
|
Upgrades |
Incurs Cost Every 2-4 Years |
Free and Automated |
|
Customization Options |
Many |
Many |
|
Add-on Options |
Many |
Limited |
|
Allocation Accounts |
YES |
NO |
|
BI Integration |
YES – requires help |
YES – little effort |
|
Bill of Materials |
YES |
YES – limited |
|
Budgeting |
Setup and Import Excel Based Budgets. Advanced capabilities through ISVs |
Create multiple budgets for financials, revisions, analysis, and dimensional reporting |
|
Canadian Payroll |
YES |
NO |
|
CRM Integration Capable |
YES – requires expert guidance |
YES – little effort |
|
eBanking |
YES |
YES |
|
Financial Reporting |
Management Reporter and Jet Reports |
Leverages Account Schedules and Analysis Views and Jet Reports |
|
Fixed Assets |
YES |
YES |
|
GL Account Structure |
Multiple Segments for Structure |
Multiple Dimensions for SubStructure |
|
Inter-company Processing |
YES |
YES |
|
Inventory Tracking |
YES |
YES |
|
Multiple Currencies |
YES |
YES |
|
Multiple Entities |
YES |
YES |
|
Multiple Languages |
YES |
YES |
|
Purchase Orders |
Both include PO Creation, separate inventory receipt, and 3-way PO Invoice Matching |
Both include PO Creation, separate inventory receipt, and 3-way PO Invoice Matching |
|
SQL Server Reporting Services |
YES |
YES |
No more updates
One major thing to note is that that the Dynamics 365 is licensed on a full “SaaS” model. A full SaaS model means that you pay monthly subscription licensing and you’re hosted in the Azure Cloud. The benefits of the SaaS model is that Microsoft automatically pushes out enhancements, bug-fixes and updates for your solution. This mean users of Business Central will never have to worry about updates to their system as they are automatically applied to their subscription. For Business Central there is also no up-front cost for hardware, servers, or other components. These factors make Business central a good option for companies with little or no dedicated IT resources.
Overall, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is “the future”, and will be receiving the lion’s share of Microsoft’s future development efforts and attention. Dynamics GP won’t be replaced, but if you are looking to adopt cutting-edge new features, these will be implemented in Dynamics 365 way before Dynamics GP.
Dynamics GP and Dynamics 365 Business Central
|
Dynamics GP |
Dynamics 365 Business Central |
|
Ideal for companies with 2-500 users |
Ideal for companies with up 250 users |
|
Ideal for companies with up to 1,000 employees
|
Ideal for companies that have up to 250 employees
|
|
Ideal for companies that generate between £5 - £500M in revenue yearly |
Ideally generate £5 – £50 million in revenue
|
|
Works well with companies that Business in the distribution, not-for-profit, or public sector
|
Works well for companies don’t need specialized industry functionality/customisations |
Considering moving from GP to Business Central?
With all these features it is difficult to make the right move. However, here is a brief outline of the indicators that show that it may be time to consider Microsoft Business Central as a solution.
Here are some of the things you should consider if you want to move from your current ERP solution to Dynamics 365 Business Central:
|
Things to consider to gauge whether you are ready for Business Central |
|
- You are willing to learn a new software interface
|
|
- You feel Dynamics GP is too expensive on a yearly basis
|
|
- You have a specific compelling reason to switch (a particular feature or annoyance)
|
|
- You are fine with the responsibility of hosting your data and application in the cloud
|
|
- You are fine with accessing Dynamics 365 through a web client only
|
|
- You don’t rely on a Dynamics GP add-on/ISV for critical business processes
|
|
- You don’t use Dynamics GP for manufacturing
|
|
- You are willing to find and adapt to a new payroll software
|
But what about Microsoft GP?
Microsoft will continue the development of Dynamics GP for the foreseeable future as it is still a very popular system used by many companies. With the recent announcement of Business Central there has been much discussion about the future of Dynamics GP.
The roadmap for Dynamics GP shows that Microsoft will continue to provide releases past 2019 and further. Dynamics GP is extremely customisable and offers a wide variety of options from many ISV providers for additional functionality that can be used to make industry specific changes to improve efficiency. For this reason and many beyond, Dynamics GP is still an extremely viable option for many businesses and we at Advantage always recommend an in-depth consultation before making the decision on what works best for you.
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