Integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an ERP system for small and medium-sized enterprises, which was published in October 2018. Since its premiere, it has been expanded to include all Microsoft Dynamics NAV functionalities for the SaaS environment.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a cloud-based enterprise management solution that enables customers to transition from simpler accounting software or a legacy ERP system to one dedicated to finance operations, sales, and customer service management. The scope of Business Central functionalities can be further expanded thanks to integration with other, more specialized, and advanced modules of Microsoft Dynamics 365.
What are the most important functionalities of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials license includes the following features:
- Financial management – main panel, workflows, audits, banking management, budgets, bank contracts, fixed assets, currencies, deferrals.
- CRM – basic CRM functions, managing contacts, campaigns, sales opportunities and the possibility of easy integration with Dynamics 365 for Sales.
- Supply chain management – management of purchase and sales orders, basic settlement of receivables, management of locations, transfers of goods between them and basic functions related to warehousing.
- HR – managing employees and related expenses.
- Project management – resources, estimation, work planning.
This corresponds to the previous scope of functionality of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Starter Pack.
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium license includes the above functionalities, as well as:
- Service order management – management of contracts, service prices, service planning and resource management necessary to perform service works.
- Manufacturing – ordering production, managing product versions, planning deliveries, forecasting product and resource demand, managing production capacity.
This corresponds to the scope of functionality that was previously available as part of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Extended Pack.
What’s new in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Refreshed interface
One of the most noticeable changes compared to the previous solutions is the refreshing of the interface. The new interface helps users to be more productive with a better layout that maximizes screen space and allows easier navigation throughout the application. The back button is easily visible and displays in the upper left corner of the window, with dynamic system commands occupying the middle section.
Mobile access
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can be deployed in on-premises, hybrid, and in the cloud models. Business Central can be used with Windows, a web browser, and mobile applications installed on a tablet or other devices with iOS, Android, or Windows.
Tell Me
The Tell Me feature improves the searchability of pages or reports, helping users find what they need faster and with fewer clicks.
Better filtering
There is a new filter pane on the side of the pages that allows you to easily apply multiple predefined or custom filters to your lists, which can be saved and used, even when browsing multiple pages/tabs.
Copying and pasting rows
This is a new feature that improves productivity when working with data by allowing users to copy and paste entire rows to the same or similar lists in Business Central. Alternatively, users can copy and paste rows from Business Central to Microsoft Excel or vice versa by copying data from Excel and pasting it into Business Central.
Improved integration with Power BI
Business Central enables a better, more seamless connection between BC and Microsoft Power BI. Improvements include automatic deployment of Power BI reports in Business Central from the first time you sign in. Reports can be customized, managed, filtered, cut and used, without leaving Business Central.
Access policy customization
Each company has its own way of organization, division of responsibilities, etc. Therefore, Dynamics 365 Business Central introduces more extensive possibilities of managing and customizing the permissions of individual users so as to best match them with the business requirements of a given company.
How much does the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central license cost?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is available in two variants: Essentials and Premium.
Detailed pricing can be discovered on Official Microsoft website.
All users within one organization must have the same license type, companies cannot mix and match Essentials and Premium licenses. It should also be noted that all Business Central licenses are user licenses, so it is not possible to purchase one license for the entire organization, but only for each separately.
How does the integration of Microsoft Dynamics 365 with Dynamics 365 for Sales look like?
As ARP Ideas, we mainly deal with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales. However, the scope of our knowledge, skills and experience also includes the integration of Business Central with the solution just mentioned.
Why integrate Dynamics 365 for Sales with Business Central?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides only the basic possibilities in the field of customer relationship management. This Dynamics 365 for Sales is the main Microsoft tool that is designed to support sales teams. You can read more about the possibilities of Dynamics 365 for Sales here.
What are the effects of the integration of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central at our client?
The integration of Microsoft Business Central with Dynamics 365 for Sales enables the creation of a coherent path from the moment of first contact with the customer, sales, order, through accounting, invoicing, and delivery. A true sales integration that streamlines key business processes.
When a customer orders a product, there is a smooth transition between the systems. The sales representative immediately receives information about whether the goods are available, inventory levels are updated, and all documents related to the order are transferred smoothly.
Importantly, thanks to the possibility of tracking each stage from the order to the sales invoice – it is possible to precisely estimate the profitability of each transaction. The company knows exactly how much it cost to complete a given order, taking into account the cost of each stage of customer service, including contact, assembly, invoicing, and so on. This makes it possible to precisely estimate the profitability of virtually every order.
This solution is particularly convenient for companies that execute a lot of orders and issue invoices frequently. Business Central allows you to deliver to specific sales orders. Dynamics 365 for Sales helps with the sales process. D365 Business Central provides support for the order fulfillment process, including purchases and accounting. Common are the indexes of commodity indexes and customer databases. Thanks to this, a smooth flow of information between both systems is ensured.
You can easily check if the customer has paid the invoice, and if not – what was the reason why. For example, the product is not delivered, the product is delayed, or simply forgot. In this case, Business Central will send an alert to the CRM part of the solution. Thanks to this, the sales representative or other person responsible for contact with the customer will be able to clarify the situation.
The solution can be easily adapted to local legal and tax regulations. Its implementation is also relatively inexpensive due to the access to the service in the subscription model.
How does the integration look from a technical perspective?
Due to the fact that the Microsoft D365 Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales tools have been designed in such a way that their connection with each other is not difficult – no external integrators were needed. It is de facto one common platform with a common data modem.
Both systems have common business logic and common processes, you can use processes and logic from Microsoft D365 Business Central in Dynamics 365 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales and vice versa.
The system can also be supported with other elements of the Microsoft platform:
- Microsoft Flow to support i.e. the approval process,
- PowerBI for reporting,
- Office 365 for the intranet and knowledge base,
- Microsoft Teams to streamline communication of the sales teams,
- SharePoint libraries for storing documents.
A consistent interface and common authentication mechanisms improve security and allow users to seamlessly switch between systems.
Do you want to learn more about it or implement a similar solution in your company?
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