Why Stay on Dynamics GP vs Move to Business Central? Let's explore both options.

Endeavour offers choice in your 2025 ERP and our consultants are here to help you succeed long-term. We recommend one of two mid-market ERP options Dynamics GP or Business Central"

Our consultants have the knowledge, skills and experience to guide you and your team through the configuration, customization, integration, corporate reporting, and training that you need to help you team get the MOST out of your Microsoft Dynamics ERP whether it be on-premise or in the cloud.

Choose Microsoft Dynamics GP – On-premise ERP with an extended Microsoft roadmap for those who have embraced this mature ERP system.

Choose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central – SaaS Cloud ERP with heavy Microsoft R&D investments designed to take you from good to great.

Why Stay on Dynamics GP?

Back to the Basics – Individual process review and time studies

The original use of time studies started during the beginning of the industrial revolution over 100 years ago. They focused on a worker’s time spent on individual movements and tasks on a manufacturing line. Fast forward a century, there continues to be a number of back-office tasks that can be accelerated, automated, or even eliminated based on additional business process analysis. Learn More: 6-TIPs

Follow the bouncing ball. Create a process map to follow key documents and touchpoints.

Take a special look at your financial processes, including your Order-to-Cash and Procure-to-Pay processes. Review and document how transactions are performed and what documents, decisions, audit trails, and data are captured. In addition to understanding the end-to-end process at a high level, it is recommended that an additional deeper analysis be conducted for scenarios that have higher volumes, or are more time-consuming, as these tasks often represent an opportunity for above-average savings. Learn More: 6-TIPs

Review of business value and value-added functions – OKRs

The need for analysis and metrics extends far wider than just the Finance team. True digital transformation looks at areas outside of finance that can automate other work processes. Sometimes there are apps and automation unique to specific departments and may require an additional focus or more technical review of data models. Often data capture and analytics are key skills that the Finance team can share with other operational teams. Learn More: 6-TIPs

Set up integrated web portals and cloud apps for internal and external stakeholders.

Dynamics GP previously had a module called ‘Business Portal’ about a decade ago, but was since discontinued. This was in part due to other systems such as SharePoint that have portal functions that far surpassed the GP Business Portal making it redundant and obsolete. For many clients, similar remote user access for Purchase Requisitions, Time Entry and Expense Submissions were replaced primarily with direct access to Dynamics GP using the GP Limited User license, or via a third-party add-on, while others simply reverted back to a set of Excel sheets with manual input by the Finance team. Dynamics GP previously had a module called ‘Business Portal’ about a decade ago, but was since discontinued. Learn More: 6-TIPs

Leverage digital communications tools internally and with customers.

Providing an exceptional customer experience has been the mantra for many top consumer-focused organizations and is increasingly important for B2B customers and vendors. Communications related to transactional items such as notices, order confirmations, surveys, quotes, and invoices can all be sent through Dynamics GP via integrated Office 365 email for an enriched customer experience. Learn More: 6-TIPs

Accelerate your Dynamics GP upgrade cycle to every 1-2 years.

New functions released are designed to improve controls, end-user productivity, and improve security associated with Dynamics GP. Upgrading Dynamics GP on an annual basis, complemented with internal end-user refresher training, will help with user adoption and awareness of productivity-saving options while maintaining security and interoperability with other systems. Learn More: 6-TIPs

Why Move to Business Central?

The tipping point happened in 2020, and Business Central is now far surpassing its predecessor in features and functionality, becoming a global leader in cloud-ERP. Over the same period, large third-party ISV (independent software vendor) providers of Dynamics GP and Dynamics NAV on-premise add-ons were able to retool their apps and IP (intellectual property) to support Dynamics 365 Business Central. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

For Business Central, updates and new functions are rolled out automatically on a staggered basis, instantly updating the users with the latest version. In addition to pre-release apps, there is also an ability from an administrative IT perspective to delay major updates temporarily for up to 90 days. This allows for additional time to test in the Business Central sandbox, mitigate risks, and/or train end-users prior to updating the Business Central production environment. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

A foundational pillar of Microsoft’s global growth strategy is a focus on Business Applications including the Dynamics 365 platform, of which Business Central is the core ERP for the Small and Mid-market. There is a strong set of embedded functions currently available for Business Central. These are a result of Microsoft’s significant R&D investments and acquisitions in the fields of AI, Digital Process Automation, and Predictive Analytics. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

with Business Central, the majority of the functions for Manufacturing, Distribution, and Financials are all included with core capabilities, requiring a smaller set of add-ins providing a handful of fields and functions in order to meet common business needs. For clients, this translates into additional cost savings for implementation, while also providing a stronger foundation for automating business processes. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

With the ever-increasing speed and power of computers and the evolution of application design, it is no surprise that the user experience within modern cloud-ERP applications such as Business Central far exceeds that of traditional desktop applications. The Business Central UI is essentially rendered on the fly based on which user is logged in allowing for flexibility in Global, Role-based, and Individual user-driven personalization. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

With Dynamics 365 Business Central cloud subscriptions, much like Microsoft 365 (Office 365), Business Central is housed within your organization’s private cloud-tenant leveraging economies of scale associated with large Microsoft global datacentres. Included are security and infrastructure monitoring as well as rapid response to external cyber-attacks. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

With increased remote access from anywhere in the world, ERP systems are becoming an increasingly attractive target for cyber-attacks, some of which are funded by organized crime and foreign government organizations resulting in not only a greater frequency of attacks but also a greater risk of fraud and related damages. The security functions for Dynamics 365 Business Central, powered by a Microsoft Azure backend, far exceed the provisions seen with on-premise ERP systems. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

With Business Central, many integrations are available out-of-the-box with published apps or quick-to-configure APIs. Integration efforts are often taken from weeks and days (GP), down to a matter of hours and minutes (Business Central). Additionally, the level of integration between Business Central and Microsoft 365 (Office 365) is much richer, even including familiar formatting and layouts. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

Remote anywhere, anytime access is a breeze with Business Central. Business Central works on a variety of screen sizes and auto-adjusts for both screen size as well as for landscape vs portrait orientation. Users can access Business Central on a multitude of devices, once authenticated against Microsoft Azure Active Directory via Microsoft 365 following any corporate security policies, including unique usernames, passwords, and two-factor authentication. Learn more: Business Central implementation.

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Why Stay on Dynamics GP vs Move to Business Central? Let's explore both options.

Endeavour offers choice in your 2025 ERP and our consultants are here to help you succeed long-term. We recommend one of two mid-market ERP options Dynamics GP or Business Central"

Why Stay on Dynamics GP?

Why Move to Business Central?

Need a new Microsoft Partner?

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