How Business Central addresses these three common pain points
Businesses of all sizes experience pain points, especially while on the precipice of growth and trying to align your business management software’s features with your needs just so to really take you to that next level. If your current business management software often leaves you scratching your head and wondering if there’s something better out there, then it might be time to move on to a different solution.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is a market-leading cloud ERP solution and champions the needs of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) across a wide variety of industries. With tried-and-true features, unparalleled flexibility, and rich and reliable modules, you’ll be wondering why you stuck with your old software for so long.
Here are some of the most common business pain points that Business Central can help you conquer so you can focus on growing your business and working toward your long-term goals.
Data silos
Data silos occur when your system’s data isn’t available across the entire organization – like customer information only being visible to a sales team while only the accounting team is able to see past-due invoices – and causes breakdowns in communication, information handoff, collaboration, and decision-making. Data silos mean that the average system user doesn’t have the complete view of the story, and knowledge gaps widen over time the longer that silos exist. This can cause delays in relaying crucial information that may have an effect on the entire organization, like slow shipping times, parts shortages, overlooked leads, or not having accurate numbers that are necessary to make business decisions.
Business Central helps bridge the gap between teams and users by synchronizing data across multiple touchpoints, while keeping data stored and continuously updated in one, secure database, allowing for organization-wide data and information visibility. That doesn’t mean that all data is available to all users at the same time, though! Custom security roles assigned to each user delegate access to data, modules, and features so some data and procedures remain behind closed doors without gatekeeping the information completely. Centralized data with customizable access keeps everyone on the same page with the necessary context needed to keep everyone’s day running efficiently.
Outdated processes
Many businesses have an idea of their ideal standard procedure, but oftentimes find themselves molding their operations to fit into what’s possible in their current system, changing the way they do things in order to fit into the features that are available. In other words, your processes control your business instead of the other way around, and you don’t feel empowered by the capabilities of your business management system. Your stack of applications, tools, and software used on a regular basis should all work together in harmony to make your day easier, instead of planning your time around navigating these systems and struggling to extract useful data from them.
Your business management solution should be able to handle and facilitate the quick and efficient transfer of data and other important business information, and it can be difficult to keep multiple teams aligned toward business goals when everyone is on a different page with different applications and systems. Business Central’s clean, sleek, intuitive design means less time is spent trying to figure out where that feature you need is located and struggling through a long trail of clickthrough actions to get anything done. Implementing a cloud-based ERP like Business Central means that all the latest feature upgrades, tax code updates, and improvements are automatically applied as necessary and maintenance time is slashed, on top of day-to-day ease with task automation that speeds up menial and repetitive processes as your business embraces digital transformation.
Using too many systems
Using a mix of business software isn’t always a bad thing, but it is when your current system fundamentally does not meet your functional needs, and that’s why you must resort to a roster of applications to cover all your bases. Fragmented processes prevent you and your entire organization from having a 360-degree view of operations, processes, financials, and reports, and sifting through multiple applications for accounting, ecommerce, order fulfillment, inventory, customer management, and forecasting.
Data is at risk of becoming inconsistent and inaccurate if it lives in multiple places that aren’t updated in sync, and working with multiple versions of incorrect data sets is a major threat to any high-functioning and achieving businesses who are centered on constant improvement and growth. Plus, using a single, consolidated data storage platform helps break down siloed data as well.
Business Central is customizable not only in your app configuration, but with extensions and add-ons as well – and best of all, none of this requires any kind of code or modification. That means that you can manage accounting, ecommerce, inventory, fulfillment, and more in a singular unified user interface. Gone are the days of needing countless clunky integrations that suck up time, energy, and processing power to get things done in a cohesive workflow – not to mention cutting down on storage space and expenditure on needless systems and connectors.
Using a comprehensive ERP solution like Business Central takes you beyond simple accounting capabilities, so in addition to core financial activities and management, you also have the ability to manage many day-to-day tasks and activities – all while integrating data across multiple information intersections and freeing up time across your entire organization.
Systems that are strictly accounting-only are quite entry level in comparison to a fully-featured ERP like Business Central, which provides users with robust automation features, built-in reporting, and intelligent visibility into supply chain, demand, inventory, forecasting, and more – not to mention industry-specific modules and add-ons to extend the app’s abilities to whatever your needs may be.
Give your business an advantage
Staying on top of industry and technological trends is one way to stay ahead of your competition and distinguish yourself as a market leader. Business Central is, first and foremost, a cloud-based business management solution built with small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in mind. Plus, an implementation project may be easier than you think. If you think Business Central can help streamline your business processes and make your day-to-day operations easier, let us know. Our knowledgeable team of consultants can give you a free system demo.