Let’s imagine this scenario together: You’re searching for your first or your next ERP solution for your business, but you’re worried about a few things. First and foremost, you will likely consider functionality and budget – what will this cost, does it have what I need, and will it pay off?

After you’ve found a viable ERP—say Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central—you move on to other concerns, like the dreaded how long will this take?

And then there are myriad other things to consider as well. But let’s focus on this last concern – how long will an implementation take, and how much downtime will there be. And this is a worthwhile concern, because an implementation is not only a monetary investment, but a time investment as well. You want to plan to go live and train staff when your business is not in a busy spell (aka tax season for accountants, etc.), and of course you don’t want an implementation hanging over your head longer than necessary.

So let’s dig into this question – how long will a Business Central implementation take?

Considerations

What you probably already know is that implementations are never one-size-fits all—and this applies if you’ve never used an ERP before, you’re are reimplementing a different ERP, or you’re migrating from one to another. The time it takes to implement depends on many factors, such as business size, your partner and their capacity, the needs of your business, if it’s cloud or on-premises, and so much more. Clear communication can speed up an implementation by eliminating confusion and establishing goals and deliverables right away.

No one wants to be down to the wire, and no one wants one hiccup in a plan ruin it all. Considering that a decent percentage of implementations do take longer than originally estimated, we do suggest that you expect delays and account for that possibility before setting a timeline with your partner.

Most partners try hard to accurately set and stick to go live expectations, but sometimes there’s just no avoiding a delay (you want a functional, carefully crafted ERP, not a rushed one). We can speak to our rapid implementation methodology, which is tried and true, tested and improved through the many years we’ve been working with ERP solutions.

In general, we are able to estimate the total time of implementation based on the complexity of your implementation.

Basic implementation

A basic implementation is one that has very few or no customizations. If there are customizations, they are rather small. In essence, a basic implementation is pretty much out-of-the-box functionality, and this means that there is less preparation and time needed for the process. Don’t worry, Syvantis still takes measures to communicate with you and really understand know your business, industry, processes, and unique needs—even with basic implementations.

Basic implementations, on average, are achievable in 6 weeks.

Average implementation

What we call an average implementation has more customizations, usually some smaller and some larger. We call it “average” not because they are all the same, but because we’ve noticed that more organizations seem to want this level of customization while utilizing plenty of the out-of-box functionality as well. And that seems just about right, because Business Central is a robust ERP that is built with many industries in mind with both out-of-the-box functionality and customizability.

An average implementation will often take 3-4 months.

Complex implementation

Complex implementations are as they sound – they include a lot of customizations and therefore take more time. Perhaps there are many, many small customizations, or perhaps there are several large ones – all of which fall into the category. A complex integration will be utilizing a lot of the out-of-the-box functionality while also taking advantage of Business Central’s unique ability to be changed to fit the needs of the company. If you’ve worked with Dynamics GP (previously Great Plains), you’ll know that much of the functionality is “as-is.” This is not the case with Business Central, and companies can really take advantage of that to make their ERP work harder for their needs.

A complex implementation will often take 6 months.

Will there be downtime when migrating from another ERP?

Usually not. When it’s time to cutover from your current ERP to Business Central, we will take your system down late in the day—or after business hours—and perform the remaining migration of your data. Most companies will choose Friday for this, but you may choose any date convenient for you. Since we test the new system and onboard users before cutover, you can come the next workday, hop into the new system, and just get started.

Get Started

So the question of how long your implementation could take has been answered, but what about your other questions? We’ve got you covered. For current Dynamics Nav users, we have a FAQ blog all about upgrading from Dynamics Nav to Business Central, and for current Dynamics GP users, here’s a FAQ blog about upgrading from Dynamics GP to Business Central for you, too! Businesses not yet in using an ERP within the Microsoft ecosystem, check out our ERP product comparisons, and reach out to us directly with questions—we’re happy to chat!

After all that, you may be ready to schedule a free discovery call with our skilled Business Central consultants, where they will listen closely to the needs of your business and help you decide if Business Central is the right move. If it is, you can get the ball rolling toward your implementation.