Why are ERP systems Complicated?

By definition, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software is complicated. It can be viewed as having many components that work together intricately and seamlessly. This is a necessity since a business requires tracking activity in many diverse areas such as accounting, sales, customer relationship management, inventory, warehouse management, manufacturing, and yet these areas must somehow come together for concise financial reporting and planning.

Add to this the fact that companies often require functionality that is not included in the ERP, but has been provided by the community through third party apps. These apps can be installed in the ERP software (Microsoft Business Central for our purposes here) and become part of the solution as a seamless integrated whole.

Selecting the appropriate app, configuring it and providing training is a key task. Having a competent and experienced partner is key as they will be able to recommend apps they have used in the past that are tried and true. Importantly, but sometimes overlooked is the publisher of the app. Do they provide good support? Do they continually improve their app?

By selecting appropriate apps, we simplify the user experience, thus reducing complexity. There is the complexity of the software itself, but as far as user experience goes, the complexity is beyond the visibility or awareness of the user. One doesn’t need to know the inner workings of a mechanical watch to wear the watch and tell the time.

Having an ERP system available in the cloud simplifies not only the user experience, but reduces cost for your company. No longer are complex physical servers required, nor the whole host of required accompanying software. While the technology to run ERP in the cloud is complicated, it is not something you need to concern with anymore. That tedious and costly endeavor is now handled by the publisher of the ERP software. All you need is a web browser or a tablet or phone.

Reducing complexity for the user is key to a successful implementation. This is accomplished by implementing the system appropriately for the company involved taking into consideration its staff, its capabilities, its resources and so on. The implementation to be successful must be managed well and in an extremely organized fashion. Done right, ERP implementations can be smooth and with relatively few bumps in the road. Complexity can be taken down to simplicity for the user and the company.

Shopify and Business Central

When Microsoft announced they have been working with Shopify to create a quality API between Business Central and Shopify, I was excited.

The prospects were good. The API was built-into Business Central and there was no additional fee for clients to use it. It was a collaborative effort between both software publishers. Check.

The initial release proved to be slightly disappointing as we could not extend (modify) the API and the API did not handle returns.

However, Microsoft being Microsoft, improved the API over time and currently, we can extend (modify) the API. Microsoft also added the ability to handle returns.

Being able to extend the API comes in handy. For example, we have had clients wanting to send a different calculation for quantity available.

We have made further improvements by converting Shopify transactions and payouts into Cash Receipts and auto-applying the cash receipt to the invoice. These are areas perhaps Microsoft will address in the future to round out the API.

The Shopify connector is open to contribution from the community and one can also suggest product suggestions. The link for this is here.

Artificial Intelligence and Business Central

Copilot AI is now available within Business Central 24! This version of Copilot is specifically designed for Business Central. You will see a new Copilot icon in the top right portion of your screen directly to the left of the search (magnifying glass) icon.

What can you do with co-pilot now?

1. You can chat with Copilot. There are currently three main categories:

   a. Find - use verbs such as “Look up”, “Show”, “Go to”, etc.

   Examples:

   1. Look up posted sales invoice 55666.

   2. Show invoices over 30 days past due.

   3. Go to Cash Receipts Journal.

   b. Explain

   Examples:

   1. Explain field “Due Date” on Sales Order

   2. Help me understand posting.

   c. How do I?

   Examples:

   1. How do I enter cash receipts?

   2. How do I print financial reports?

2. Create marketing text

3. Map e-documents to purchase orders

4. Reconcile bank accounts

5. Suggest Lines on sales orders

6. Analyze data in lists

While Copilot is in its infancy with respect to Business Central and the outputs are not yet ideal, this is a great start and it will only get better as it improves.

You can find more details on the above here.

Business Central for Manufacturing Companies

Manufacturing companies are unique in that they both manufacture and distribute their products. Therefore, an ERP system for manufacturing companies must be strong in both manufacturing and distribution. You can read about Business Central for Distribution companies here as this is applicable to manufacturing companies.

Business Central contains key functionality for manufacturing companies including: bills of materials, , routings, production planning, production orders, recording consumption and output and finishing production orders.

Routings are defined as the steps necessary to produce a particular product. Routings give the ability to predict how long production will take and thus schedule production orders. The other key feature of routings is the ability to include labor and overhead in the cost of your manufactured products.

Production planning suggests what to produce, when and suggests the acquisition of raw materials needed in the production process. Demand Planning Forecasts can be utilized to predict future sales and get ahead of future production demands.

Shop Floor is an available extension of the standard BC functionality, where kiosks or workstations can be place strategically on the production floor where users can clock in or clock out and thus record time, consumption of raw materials and output of sub-assemblies and/or finished goods.

The key to a successful manufacturing implementation is understanding the production process and configuring the system to parallel the process and record all inputs and outputs along the way. The end result is properly costed product, leading to accurate gross margin calculations.

Business Central has strong web capability and can be connected to scales and/or machines to read data and record data in BC. This can lead to streamlined processes and improved data capture and accuracy.

Contact us today to find out more.

Business Central for Distribution Companies

Distribution companies often have common requirements that extend beyond the capability of simple accounting systems. Do any of these functions sound familiar to you?

1. Accepting sales orders through various means - phone, web, EDI, etc.

2. Planning and purchasing inventory and tracking inventory on the water.

3. Allocating freight costs to inventory.

4. Integrating with carriers such as UPS, Fedex and USPS.

5. Forecasting sales based on history.

6. Sending and receiving EDI transactions with trading partners.

7. Efficiently packing and shipping inventory in volume.

8. Advanced warehouse management with picking, shipping, receiving and put-aways.

Implementing an ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics Business Central can help support your business with the above requirements and more. Having a single integrated solution rather than running disparate systems reduces complexity and software costs.

Contact us today to find out how Business Central can support your business as it scales.

How Business Central ERP Software can Support Growth

A properly implemented ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software can support your company’s growth in many ways:

1. Support and enforce business processes. Employees following standard processes is the ideal method to ensure products and services are delivered with consistent quality. Workflow, approvals and mandatory steps and sequences are helpful in ensuring business processes are followed.

2. Reduction of double entry of data. Running multiple software systems can lead to double entry of data where the same data is entered in multiple systems. Integrations can reduce and/or eliminate this. The concept behind ERP Software it is is one platform and thus data is automatically available throughout the system, eliminating double entry.

3. Automate tasks - using automations such as optical character recognition (OCR) on vendor invoices will increase efficiency and allow accounting staff to focus on other important tasks.

4. EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) - some vendors/customers may require you to send transactions via EDI. Once configured, EDI automatically takes incoming documents and converts them to sales orders, purchase orders, invoices, etc., thus saving on data entry and on potential input errors. This is particularly important if your transaction load is high or is increasing. EDI automates the creation of transactions within your ERP system.

5. Provide metrics that were not available before. By capturing data within your ERP software, reports may be possible that were not before. This can give better insight into costs and profitability and point out problem areas.

6. Take advantage of planning tools to facilitate sales forecasts and purchasing. Sales forecasts can help predict future sales and purchase planning can ensure you have inventory to meet customer demands.

7. Provide needful information efficiently to customers and vendors, improving customer experience and cash flow. ERP can facilitate the flow of orders through your system resulting in goods and services being delivered faster.

   The key is implementing the software for your business, tailored to the uniqueness of your business, streamlining and enforcing business processes, with the end goal of delivering quality products and services to customers efficiently and with sufficient volume to continue expansion.

   Contact us today and put in place the structure that will support your business’s growth.

Successful Actions for ERP Projects

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software projects can range from straightforward to complex. What are some of the actions one can take to ensure the project goes well?This will be written from the viewpoint of the customer.

As a customer, what can you do to ensure the project is successful?

1. Select the software that closely meets your needs. No software will match 100%. Your partner should be able to fill in any gaps.

2. Select a partner that is competent, has good communication and organizational skills. Check references. Ensure you meet/interview technical resources that will be working on the project. Ask about their implementation methodology. What tools do they use for project plans? What are the phases of the project? Do they provide documentation? Have them walk you through step-by-step how the implementation will be carried out. Is training done remotely or on site? Is go-live done remotely or on-site? Is there a design phase? What are the deliverables for design? Does the partner use a checklist for going live? Ask for a sample copy.

3. Assign an internal resource as the Project Manager. The ERP vendor will have a Project Manager on their side. These two contacts are key to moving the project forward. Project Managers key skillset must include strong communication, follow up and good organizational skills. Your internal project manager must take charge and be able to gather up internal resources and set meetings and ensure users are actively engaged.

4. Assign an internal ERP team consisting of key department managers who will be responsible for their area.

5. Have a company-wide briefing on the purpose of the ERP Project and what it will do for the company and how it will affect their roles and what benefits you expect to gain from it.

6. Schedule weekly meetings with your team and partner. and ensure they are productive and not time-wasting sessions.

7. Design requirements sessions must be carried out and your partner must provide a written document indicating what will be implemented, what data will be converted, any custom requirements, documents, reports, etc. You should have a good understanding of what your partner will be providing.

8. Insist your partner demonstrates work-in-progress on a regular basis. You don’t want your partner to go into a black hole for 6 months and show you what they did and find out it widely missed the mark. Regular demos of work-in-progress gives your partner feedback to deliver what is needed and wanted.

9. Insist training is done with your data. There is nothing worse the training done with irrelevant data. On site training is superior than remote training.

10. Get your team engaged for user-acceptance testing. This means regular testing and feedback and an efficient way to communicate test results back to your partner so they are addressed quickly.

11. Have your team verify data conversions and validate the integrity of the data. Make them responsible for the accuracy and quality of the data. Communicate issues back to your partner and ensure they are addressed.

12. Have department heads write procedure guides for each post. Alternatively, you can have your partner write them. However, having your resources write them will reinforce their training and take greater responsibility for their part of their project.

13. Understand the final data conversion that is done just prior to going live with the software. What time will you stop using the old system? What time will the data be exported? When will your partner import the data? Who will validate the data and when?

14. Ensure you partner prepares a go-live checklist well in advance of the go live date. There may be dozens of tasks that need to be done prior to go live. You cannot leave this to someone’s memory or chance.

15. Assess your go-live readiness by consulting your team and the partner. The partner may have a completely different concept than your team. It is unwise to force a go live that is not ready. The results of going live before you are ready can be serious and costly. Users should be confident they can do their jobs in the new system and you must be able to run your business processes start to finish in the new system and hit all of the various types of transactions that you would typically encounter.

16. Ensure your partner is physically present during go live. On site presence is ideal when going live. Remotely supported go lives can be done succesfully, but an on site go-live will result in faster response and help smooth over any bumps.

17. After the go live week, don’t consider your work done. To the contrary, you will undoubtedly have many follow-up tasks. Keep your partner and team engaged and addressing those tasks until the team is running smoothly.

This should serve as a good guideline to ensure your ERP implementation is successful. A successful ERP project is a team effort between customer and partner. Good communication, a friendly working relationship, organized activity, well-managed and run will ensure your ERP project will succeed.

Have you outgrown Quickbooks?

Many small businesses start out on Quickbooks, but at some point, you will outgrow Quickbooks and look for ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software to support your business.

What are some of the indicators that may be signaling you have outgrown Quickbooks? What are the pros and cons of moving to an ERP System. We will attempt to answer these two questions here.

You may have outgrown Quickbooks if one or more of the following apply:

1. It lacks the functionality to run your business smoothly without workarounds and/or manual solutions.

2. You are using multiple software systems due to the lack of functionality of Quickbooks, requiring double entry of data.

3. You are tracking processes off-line using Excel or other tools.

4. Your transactional load needs automation to keep up with your business demands and are currently being handled manually.

5. It does not lend itself to industry compliance requirements and/or standards.

6. You need functionality tailored specific to your business for legal, compliance, customer-driven or other reasons.

If any of the above points hit home, it may be time to start looking for an ERP software. ERP systems are fully integrated and will handle most of your business needs within a single solution. I say “most” because nothing is absolute and there is no single ERP software that does everything for every industry.

What are some of the pros and cons of an ERP System compared to Quickbooks? Let’s start with the cons. Note that some of the cons are actually benefits, although they may not seem so at first glance.

1. ERP systems are more complex than Quickbooks and will require dedicated training and user acceptance testing. This complexity means there will be a learning curve. This doesn’t mean that the system cannot be configured and sized appropriately to your business for easier user adoption.

2. ERP systems are more expensive than Quickbooks. Expect subscription fees and implementation fees to be higher than that of Quickbooks.

3. It takes good organization and a competent and dedicated team to properly implement an ERP system. Do it right and it will support your company in its expansion for years to come.

4. ERP systems properly implemented will enforce concepts such as “audit trails”, “separation of duties” and GAAP (Generally Accepted Account Principles) compliance. This means you cannot modify posted entries such as the date, etc. Quickbooks gives you quite a bit of leeway here. You will not typically see this “leeway” in an ERP system.

5. Depending on what you are trying to capture data-wise, an ERP system may require more data entry with the end result being better reporting to base decisions on.

6. Computerizing a process (where before it was loosely done or not done at all) requires discipline and a mindset change for staff.

Now, let’s look at the pros of moving to a full cloud-based ERP system:

1. Fully integrated ERP system encompassing most modules business require such as accounting, sales, CRM, inventory, purchasing, resource planning, projects, manufacturing, and more.

2. Access anywhere using a web browser.

3. May be integrated with other software using latest technologies available.

4. Support business specific requirements and tailor to your business as necessary.

5. Capture vital data to manage your business and report on outcomes.

6. Define, standardize and implement ideal business processes paralleled and supported by the software.

7. Increase efficiency by eliminating multiple data silos and double-entry.

8. Comply with legal requirements, best practices and principles.

As you can see, there are many positive benefits to moving to an ERP system when you are ready. Contact us to find out more how Microsoft Dynamics Business Central can support your business.

Advantages of Migrating from Dynamics GP to Business Central

Depending on your version of Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft has either stopped supporting or will sunset support in the near future. You can see the sunsetting dates in the link here.

A natural evolution may be to switch to Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. The reasons for this are:

1. Business central is tightly integrated with the Microsoft stack of products that you are already likely familiar with such as Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams, etc.

2. Business Central has built-in, evolved and improved. data migration tools to convert data from GP to Business Central. You will realize a significant cost savings over converting to an ERP system without built in tools.

3. You may qualify for a discount from Microsoft when migrating from GP to Business Central. The subscription model requires less up front costs and may be more affordable depending on your situation.

4. Business Central likely contains the functionality and features your business needs. A wide variety of extensions are available from the marketplace to fill in any gaps. “Extensions” are apps that may be installed or uninstalled from Business Central.

5. As a cloud solution, Business Central is updated monthly with two major updates semi-annually. You will be able to take advantage of the latest features and functionality and stay-up-to-date with technologies such as AI.

6. Save on IT hardware, software licensing and recurring service costs, You will not need physical or virtual servers, or server software to run Business Central in the cloud. All you need is a web browser.

If you would like more information on converting from GP to Business Central, contact us today!

What I love about Business Central

I’m going to geek out a little bit in this blog. I’m going to talk about the features that I absolutely love about Business Central. These are the ones that make one’s life easier or save’s one hide in a pinch. Some of these are not strictly based on the software and extend beyond ones and zeros. Without further ado, here are my favorites!

1. Restoring environments - restoring sandbox environments from production data from a specific point in time. Sometimes, you have to recreate a problem in order to solve it and that problem often only is demonstrable in the production environment. By making a copy of production into a sandbox, one can typically debug the issue and resolve it. In the past, this could be a daunting task, but with Business Central cloud, it takes minutes.

2. Automatic updates - we often take automatic updates for granted as practically everything updates automatically these days - automobiles, phones, TV’s, smart devices of every sort, to name a few. Business Central automatically updates along with your extensions (customizations made for your business). This means you will not end up with aging software and outdated technologies faced with an expensive upgrade years down the line. You get two major releases every year and monthly minor updates.

3. Continual improvement - it’s quite a relief when something you found cumbersome, annoying or lacking is now resolved or available. It’s enough to let out an audible sigh of relief or perhaps a joyful expletive. Microsoft has listened to us and you can provide direct feedback to Microsoft on desired features and vote for them on Microsoft Dynamics Ideas website. Ideas (dynamics.com)

4. Peace of mind and lowered IT costs. Having your software hosted in the cloud by Microsoft takes out a great deal of complexity out of running an ERP system. No servers! No SQL server licenses. No security certificates. No remote desktop server. No Citrix server. And if you don’t know what any of that means - it means less headache and less cost and less things to worry about. Microsoft takes care of all of the backend and you are the consumer of the product and simply use a web browser to access the software. It couldn’t be simpler.

5. An active and thriving field. The Business Central field is huge and continually growing. Many ISV (independent software vendors) continually innovate and create solutions for industry specific needs or areas where a niche can be filled. Some examples are sales tax integrations, web portals, credit card processing and more. There is a strong community and user groups where you can network, receive or give training and exchange ideas.

Why Business Central?

If you are in the market for a new ERP system, why choose Business Central over the competition? Here are a few compelling reasons:

1. One of the key advantages of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is its comprehensive, all-in-one approach. Unlike some competitors that offer fragmented solutions requiring multiple integrations, Business Central provides a unified platform that seamlessly integrates financials, sales, service, and operations. This integrated approach fosters collaboration across departments, breaking down silos and enabling a holistic view of your business operations.

2. Scalability - Businesses evolve, and your ERP solution should grow with you. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed with scalability in mind. Whether you are a small startup or a large enterprise, Business Central can adapt to your changing needs. Its modular structure allows you to start with the functionalities you need and scale up as your business expands. This scalability ensures that your ERP system remains a strategic asset rather than a limitation as you navigate the challenges of growth.

3. Stable and secure platform, self-maintained, automated backups and point-in-time recovery, frees up your IT resources to focus on other areas of the business.

4. Seamless Integration with Microsoft 365 and Power Platform: Business Central isn't just a standalone ERP solution; it's a seamless part of the larger Microsoft ecosystem. Integration with Microsoft 365 facilitates smooth communication and collaboration, while the Power Platform empowers users to create custom apps and automate workflows without extensive coding knowledge. This integration ensures that Business Central aligns effortlessly with your existing technology stack, enhancing overall efficiency and user experience.

5. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers robust business intelligence and reporting tools, providing real-time insights into your company's performance. With Power BI integration, users can create visually compelling dashboards and reports, turning raw data into actionable intelligence. Informed decision-making becomes second nature, enabling your business to stay ahead of the competition in a data-driven world.

6. Continuous innovation - Staying competitive in the digital age requires constant innovation and adaptation. Microsoft understands this, and that's why Business Central benefits from regular updates and enhancements. As a cloud-based solution, updates are seamlessly delivered, ensuring your business always has access to the latest features, security patches, and improvements. This commitment to innovation means you can future-proof your business, staying ahead in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

7. Strong independent software vendor community. Extensions are solutions created by the community that expand the functionality of Business Central for specific industries, features, integrations and more.

   In the realm of ERP solutions, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central stands out as a compelling choice for businesses seeking a unified, scalable, and innovative platform. Its seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and Power Platform, coupled with robust business intelligence capabilities, positions Business Central as a strategic asset for businesses of all sizes. Make the wise choice for your business's future success — choose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central over the competition.
   

   Contact us today 888-512-3195 or email us: sales @erpefficiency.com

Face-to-Face Consulting

We live in a digital world and remote work has become commonplace. Software consultants and developers can work remotely and many work out of their homes. However, is software consulting or training best done remotely or in person?
The answer to that depends on a lot of factors, but a strong argument can be made in favor of face-to-face consulting. The following work types we prefer to deliver in person:

1. Design - there is no substitute for seeing business processes, manufacturing processes, distribution processes and flows in person. One would be hard-pressed to design a solution without the understanding of the actual physical scene and what occurs. Setting up a warehouse efficiently would be impossible without seeing the spaces, bins, racks and flow throughout the warehouse. Additionally, one meets the key players in the organization and begins to build a rapport with them. This helps smooth over any eventual bumps in the implementation which are sure to occur.

2. Training - while training can be conducted remotely succesfully and we have done so in the past, we prefer to deliver training in person. When training in person, one can see the student’s facial expressions and know if they are grasping the subject or are confused. Students can ask questions and get their questions answered on the spot. One can observe the room and assist students as needed. This is very difficult to do over a Zoom meeting even with video and audio.

3. Go-Live - When we go live with new software, our resources are on the ground. A well-trained professional brings calm to the environment and this is needed during a new software rollout. Issues will occur, employees will forget their training, situations no one thought of will occur. A pro will be able to quickly resolve issues and instill confidence in the users.

Technology is wonderful and it is tempting to dive deep into the latest and greatest communication wizardry, but let us not neglect the tried and true, face-to-face communication. It’s worked for as long as humans have been around and will cotinue working in the future. It is a superior way.

Business Central Productivity Tips and Tricks

Here are some of our favorite tricks and tips, shortcuts and productivity enhancments in Business Central.
1. Return to your home role center - Click your company name in the top left corner.
2. Use more than one monitor. If you never tried this, it is a game changer. You can run Business Central in multiple tabs on your browser and drag and drop the tabs onto multiple monitors.
3. Switching environments/companies - near the top left part of the page, you will see “Environment Sandbox” or “Environment Production”. Click on this to quickly switch between environments and/or companies.
4. If you use lot or serial numbers - Press CTRL-Shift-i to quickly get into the Item Tracking page.
5. Copy data from cell from the row above - Press F8.
6. Tired of deep menu trees? - you can personalize your page and drag and drop your commonly used functions higher up on the menu tree.
7. Forget to enter fields on certain pages? - Personalize your page and move the field to a more useful position. You can move fields on both card and list pages.
8. Don’t like second level menu row disappearing? - After clicking on a top row menu item, click the push pin icon to the far right. This will prevent second level menu from disappearing.
9. Bookmark all of your commonly used pages by clicking the bookmark icon near the top right portion of the page. They will then show up on your home role center as menu items and are easily accessible.
10. Edit in Excel - if you want to mass update data, you can do so in Excel and publish the results back into BC. On a list page, click the icon that looks like an open box with an arrow pointing to the right in the upper right side of the page, then click Edit in Excel. You may also set filters before editing in Excel. Your data will load in Excel and you can make your changes. Click Publish to publish your changes back to BC. Recommended for advanced users.

Go Live Checklist

A Go live checklist is key to a successful go live.  One would not fly a plane without one and one should not take an ERP system live without one!

A Go live checklist can be started at the beginning of the project and added to as the project progresses.   This will ensure important tasks are not forgotten.  Every project will have different tasks, but there will be some that are consistent with every project.  These may include:

·        Cutting off the old system

·        Verifying set ups

·        Verifying data conversions

·        Ensuring users and security are set up

·        Ensuring users can access the production environment.

·        Printing out key reports such as aged accounts receivable, payable and inventory valuations and comparing against source data.  

One should make a list of all key items and check them off once completed. One will not likely consider of every requirement while going through the stress of go live without such a checklist considered well in advance.

Business Central SaaS and Defaulting Printers

In Business Central SaaS, it is not so easy to set a report to print to a default printer as it was on on-premise versions. If one goes to Printer Selections and attempt to look up available printers, you will not see any network or local printers.

In order to do this, you will need to utilize a cloud service such as Microsoft Universal Print. However in this article, we are highlighting a product called "PrintNode".

PrintNode is very easy to install and configure and you may find the pricing very competitive. You can write your own API (they have good documentation) or you can utilize one from various third parties which already talk to Business Central.

Another benefit is it has scale integration to both HID and old COM port scales. PrintNode supports a wide variety of makes and models and will even add your model of scale if it is not on the list.

Three ways to Deploy Business Central

There are three different ways that Business Central can be deployed. We’ll cover each way and their pros and cons.

1) SaaS (Software as a service) - there is no software to install, no servers needed and is the easiest way to deploy Business Central. You are subscribing to a service. Backups are automatically made and automatic updates are rolled out periodically. The biggest benefit is you never have to perform a costly upgrade as updates are made automatically. If you do not want your data in the cloud, then this is not the method for you. Automatic updates have the potential of causing an issue, though this is rare. You also have very little ability to manage the environment as this is controlled by Microsoft. Since the software is on the cloud, if there is an internet outage, it may impact your ability to use the software.

2) Private cloud - you may purchase or subscribe to a Business Central license. The software would be installed on cloud server(s) as Azure to host Business Central. You will need Windows server along with SQL server and a web server. In this case, you can maintain the environment and have full control over it. This will be more costly than SaaS, as you will need to subscribe to multiple services and purchase licenses in addition to Business Central. You are responsible for backups and you may apply updates as you wish.

3) On Premise - you may purchase or subscribe to a Business Central license. In this case, the software is installed on your physical servers. You will need Windows server along with SQL server and a web server. You have full control over the environment. This will be more costly than SaaS, as you will need to subscribe to multiple services and purchase licenses in addition to Business Central. You are responsible for backups and you may apply updates as you wish. This method is ideal when you absolutely do not want your data on the cloud.

Your requirements will determine the best method. Seamless updates, automatic backups and no servers to worry about makes SaaS the ideal option for most.

Extending Business Central Functionality

In Business Central, an “Extension” extends the functionality of the core ERP software. Most ERP systems today handle the core business functionality such as accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, manufacturing, etc. Solution providers such as ourselves will often extend the functionality by adding features or business specific rules to the software to meet specific business requirements. This could be as simple as formatting an invoice layout slightly or as complex as handling a robust commission structure.

Additionally, third party companies called ISV’s (Independent Software Vendors) may create their own extensions and provide them for sale on the “Extension Marketplace” where they can be installed directly into your sandbox environment, tested and rolled out to production.

The term “extension” is appropriate since it does not touch nor modify Business Central’s core software. Extensions can be easily installed or uninstalled. Yet, when an extension is installed, it is now a seamless part of Business Central. It is not a bolt on, nor does it require additional integration.

When Microsoft releases updates they are only updating their core product. Your extensions will automatically apply to the new release. Occasionally, Microsoft will make technology changes which may require an extension to be updated. Microsoft alerts partners to any potential issues so that they may be addressed prior to applying an update.

Your solution provider can help you choose the extensions that will best fit your needs or create extensions.

Business Central Cloud Gives Peace of Mind

Business Central SaaS (software as a service) is now easier than ever to implement. To spin up a sandbox and production environment is just a matter of a few clicks. One no longer has to concern oneself with server requirements, pre-requisite software, and backups since this is all taken care of by Microsoft.

Service packs, updates, and new releases are automatically installed while preserving customizations. This has worked reliably and consistently for all of our clients to date.

Business Central is easier than ever to configure. The user interface is intuitive and continues to improve over time as Microsoft releases new updates. All of this translates to lower implement costs for you the customer.

Customers and partners can request and vote on suggested improvements here. This gives you a say in how the software evolves and what it does. Microsoft does a great job in listening and carrying out these requests.

From a development side, we are able to customize the product to suit your business needs, whether it is a simple formatting change on an invoice or specific business rules.

Contact us today for more information.

What is Business Central?

Wow, it has been a couple of years since I wrote a blog! We’ve been quite busy delivering projects and services for Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics NAV and our business has grown organically over these very fast four years. Anyhow, let’s get on with the topic at hand!

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a well-known ERP system which has been around for years and years. It has gone through many versions, the latest being NAV 2016, NAV 2017 and NAV 2018.

In April, 2018, Microsoft released Business Central. This is a replacement for NAV. No further NAV versions would be created and so NAV 2018 is the last version of NAV that will ever exist.

Basically, Microsoft renamed Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Now that is a mouthful, so we just called it “Business Central”.

Business Central does not have version numbers, per say, but is just referred to with release dates, such as the “April 2019 Release” or the “Oct 2019 Release” and so on.

Microsoft aggressively updates the product with monthly service packs (fixes mainly) and bi-annual updates).

One of the advantages of Business Central is the flexibility in licensing and deploying it. Here’s the breakdown:

Business Central can be licensed in several ways:

1) Perpetual licensing - one time purchase plus annual maintenance fee for the rights to service packs and upgrades.

2) Subscription licensing - lease the software and pay on a quarterly or annual basis.

Business Central can be deployed in several ways:

1) On-premise

2) Private cloud - this could be any cloud provider of your choice.

3) Microsoft Cloud (SaaS) - on the Microsoft cloud you will receive automatic updates.

There are pros and cons to each deployment method which I will cover in a another blog. It’s good to be blogging again, it is something I enjoy and shouldn’t neglect for so long. Look forward to seeing you at the next one.

Cloudy with a Chance of ERP?

The weather forecast today is cloudy with a 85% chance of ERP.  Yes, here I go again, "borrowing from a movie title", but I can't help myself - my nine-year old son loves the movie and that's the end of that. 

Should you run your business in the cloud?  You probably are already to some degree and almost daily, a new cloud solution materializes in the ether.  We are becoming more dependent on cloud-based services - banking, word processing, spreadsheets, payroll services, on-line tools and so on.  ERP is undergoing the same evolution, though it has unique challenges.  It is not a question of if, but when. 

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is rapidly evolving and users are successfully running NAV in the cloud and with the release of Dynamics 365, Microsoft is clearly stating its intentions - cloud ERP is where we're going. 

The main problem that needs to be solved is customization, though Microsoft is making great strides in this area. Customization may be a "feared" word with negative connotation, but I'm not one to mince words.  Businesses are unique and therefore customization is often necessary to support a business in running efficiently. Being able to customize the software and at the same time receive automated updates and upgrades is the end-goal. 

One school of thought states to change your business to satisfy the software.  Wrong-headed approach in my humble opinion.  Structure does not monitor function.   Function monitors structure.  In other words,  your customers and your ability to satisfy your customer's needs are paramount.  Everything else should be aligned in that direction.  

Microsoft's latest release, NAV 2017 has some compelling features, leveraging Office 365.  The In-Office 365 experience is a magical one.   Here's a scenario - a salesperson receives an email from a new contact. Without ever having to leave Outlook, a contact is created and a Sales Quote is created and emailed using NAV in Outlook. Another scenario - your accounting department receives an email requesting a copy of an invoice.  Within Outlook, with a single click, the invoice pops in view and is then sent to the customer by email.   This is a game changer in increasing efficiency.  Switching software and searching for documents takes time and this all but eliminates that time. 

Microsoft Dynamics NAV has never been so cloud-enabled with deep Office 365 integration, improved Web client and continued improvements in supporting customizations without affecting the base product.  Add to this the already excellent native phone and tablet apps for Android and iOS.

Embrace the cloud, but be smart about it. Research it and find a trusted partner who can advise you and steer you away from any pitfalls.  There are many companies providing cloud hosting services, some are poor, many are mediocre and a very, very few are stellar. This can make all the difference in the world as you want your ERP experience to be fast, reliable and efficient. A lot of things need to come together properly to make this a reality.