Customizing Business Central: An overview of extensions
There are a lot of ERP solutions out there, however, many organizations require an ERP system that can handle their multitude of unique processes and needs. No ERP is going to come out-of-the-box and fit the exacting needs of every organization. Dynamics 365 Business Central, like the rest of the Dynamics 365 platform, is highly customizable to be molded for individual needs. Not only can this be done through the classic ground-up solution building method, but pre-built extensions can easily be installed as well. By not requiring code modifications, these extensions are a much easier way to apply customizations to Business Central tenants than traditional development methods.
What are extensions?
Business Centrals extensions are a way to make modifications to the Business Central functionality without needing to directly modify the code. These extensions are available through AppSource, an online marketplace for add-ons and services. Extensions can add new functions, update how things behave or interact with each other, and even provide new services. The functionality included in extensions can also have their own security permissions settings. Users will need to be assigned the proper permissions in order to access the content within the extension.
Making modifications via extensions is also much more sustainable in the long run. By not needing to modify Business Central’s code directly, the extension developers do not need to worry about base system updates changing or breaking their code. They can focus solely on maintaining the extension itself. Microsoft is even creating a Publisher program to increase the focus on extensions rather than direct code modifications for customizations.
What can extensions do?
Business Central extensions are nearly limitless in their potential. Essentially any process could be accomplished through an extension. Business Central comes out-of-the-box with a few extensions already installed. The company hub is actually an extension used to help multi-company users work more efficiently between all companies.
Third-party online services can be integrated using extensions as well. Payment processors like PayPal or Microsoft Pay are two examples. Extensions for both applications are available as extensions by default with Business Central. Outside of payment processors, many other online services can be integrated this way. Extensions can be made/used for ecommerce sites like Shopify.
What are the benefits?
As previously stated, the base setup of Business Central, while a great system, won’t be able to fit the needs of every business. These modular extensions make is easy to add and remove extra features to that base Business Central system without needing to worry about compatibility and coding issues. The developers that have transitioned to focusing on extensions rather than ground-up customizations have found extensions to be much more efficient. They can focus on improving the product rather than ensuring the customizations continue to work with updates to the base app’s code.
Get started
At Syvantis, we have been working with customizing Business Central for a long time. Get in touch with our consulting team to get a demo and see how Business Central can be customized to meet your business needs.