Background
Dynamics 365 Business Central
In 1984, three young entrepreneurs in Denmark released the precursor application to Navision (which would later become Dynamics NAV) under the name PC&C (Personal Computing and Consulting). In 1987, the developers released Navigator 1.00, which took PC&C’s single-user application and turned it into a client/server-based accounting program which allowed multi-user access. The first version of Navision for Windows was released in 1993.
In 2000, Navision Software merged with Danish firm Damgaard, making it a 1000+ employee company with partners in 25 (primarily European) countries. A mere 2 years later, Microsoft acquired Navision and brought it under the Microsoft Business Solutions umbrella managed by Doug Burgum. Microsoft rebranded Navision (along with Microsoft CRM, Great Plains, Axapta, and Solomon) in 2005 as Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
Dynamics 365 Business Central was released in April 2018 as an “all-in-one business management solution.“ Built on the functionality, code, and development experience of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Business Central is a native-cloud solution that delivers a modern, browser-based ERP experience. Designed to integrate directly with Office 365, Business Central features extensive customizability and extendibility options via PowerApps, Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow), and Power BI. Learn more about integrating Business Central →
Dynamics GP
Originally developed under the name Great Plains Software in Fargo, North Dakota by CEO Doug Burgum in 1993, this accounting software was one of the first in North America designed to accommodate multiple users. After Microsoft’s acquisition of the software in 2001, Great Plains was rebranded as part of the Microsoft Dynamics product offering in 2005. This new brand replaced Microsoft Business Solutions, and incorporated financial, customer relationship, and supply-chain management solutions for a variety of organization sizes.
After 78,000 hours of development time, Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 was released in December 2012. Adding over 125 new features and a Web Client, this release marked the beginning of the cloud era for the Dynamics GP application. In March of 2013, Syvantis Technologies, Inc. became the first Partner to begin hosting Dynamics GP and its new Web App on the Azure cloud.
The most recent version of Dynamics GP released was GP 2018 R2. Learn more about the future of Microsoft’s ERP solutions →
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Licensing: $70/user/month. Additional add-ons available.
Billing Frequency: Monthly
Implementation: Financial Accounting Implementations begin at $19,995 USD. Manufacturing implementations, because they are more complex, begin at $30,995 USD.
Other Considerations:
Dynamics 365 Business Central contracts are managed through Microsoft Partners. Business Central licenses can be added removed on a monthly basis limiting cost of a changing business. All major updates are applied automatically by Microsoft at no additional cost to the end user.
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Common Pros: Advanced financial management functionality, user friendly, integration with Office 365, affordable, cloud-based
Common Cons: Occasional glitches, lacks CRM capabilities on its own.
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides a robust financial management application that is easily scalable. End users will find the cloud-based web application easy to use and enjoy the comprehensive integration with Office 365.
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Dynamics 365 Business Central 30 day free trials are available. A free trial includes access to a Dynamics 365 Business Central trial account loaded sample data (you have the option to import your own). The free trial also allows you to invite other users from your organization to test for the duration of the trial.
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Microsoft releases two major updates to Dynamics 365 Business Central per year—in April and October. These updates will include new capabilities, performance improvements, and better support experiences. All releases are automatically updated however, any major changes to the user experience will be turned off automatically giving administrators time to test and enable these features as they see fit.
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A major strength of Business Central is its flexibility and ability to integrate with Microsoft and other 3rd party applications. This is done by creating custom apps, installing 3rd party apps from Microsoft AppSource, or working with 3rd party services. Business Central is built to maximize customization, so the majority of app development requires little to no coding.
In addition to the wide range of apps that extend the functionality of Business Central, much can be done to personalize and enhance the interface each user will have. Using the Designer, users can easily drag-and-drop fact boxes, data fields, tables and grids, and other data that was previously hidden. Beyond basic changes, complex enhancements can be made to the UI using Visual Studio.
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Users of Business Central have two ways to access the system—a default web version and a mobile app available for phones and tablets in the Windows Store, iOS App Store, and Google Play. The web version of Business Central can be accessed on any browser—Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, or Internet Explorer. The mobile app contains some but not all of the functionality available on the browser, but actions like exporting to Excel, emailing quotes, and more can still be performed. The mobile app also comes with features that enable uses to work without an internet connection.
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Licensing: Starts at $195/user/month
Billing Frequency: Monthly
Implementation: Base implementations starting at $15,995
Other Considerations:
Additional costs associated with Dynamics GP include add-on apps you may choose to deploy or the addition of new companies or system functionality. As a Syvantis client, Dynamics GP system upgrades are free and automated with no downtime for your business when you host Dynamics GP on the Microsoft Azure Cloud, but this is not the case with every Microsoft Partner. System upgrade availability and cost may vary depending on the partner. Licenses are billed monthly and can be added or removed at any time through your Microsoft Partner.
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Common Pros: Easy and strong report building, integration with Office 365, easily scalable, drill down into transactions, time saving & automated features
Common Cons: Interface feels clunky and can require many clicks to do what you need, occasional glitches and slowness, limited customization options, payroll
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Trial periods of Dynamics GP are available through a select few Microsoft partners, but not through Microsoft directly. Although Syvantis doesn’t offer Dynamics GP trial periods, we can provide customized demonstrations during your decision-making process that mirror how your organization would use the system. We also offer a range of resources and training materials that will help you familiarize yourself with Dynamics GP and associated accounting processes.
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Dynamics GP is considered a legacy ERP system and will no longer receive major upgrades from Microsoft. However, updates including financial forms will be released annually for GP 2018, and it is recommended to follow upgrade schedules accordingly. If you are on a previous version of Dynamics GP, you will need to upgrade before applying a year-end update.
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Dynamics GP, like Business Central, can connect with third-party software to extend its functionality, but creating and managing the integrations is more complex. Add-ons for Dynamics GP are not listed on Microsoft AppSource because they can only be installed by a Microsoft Partner like Syvantis. Extensions range from productivity integrations with Adobe to banking add-ons for areas like payroll, fixed assets, and more.
While personalization options are present in Dynamics GP, there are limited UI elements that can be removed or modified. Using the ‘Customize this page’ feature, users can shuffle around and remove various fields to fit their preferences or simplify navigation. There are more customization options, but most are not very significant, like setting font colors and list orders.
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Like Business Central, Dynamics GP users also have two ways of accessing the software—the Classic App and the Web App. The Classic App mimics the experience of using Dynamics GP installed on-premise, but data is actually accessed via a remote server hosted on the Microsoft Azure Cloud. The Web app is different because it’s a true browser-based experience, allowing users to access the same info as the Classic App via a web browser. The Web App can be used on mobile phones, but it is not optimized to do so. Users have a custom username and password to log into Dynamics GP, never an email address.