Business Central Implementation - Planning: 8 Week Assessment

Implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central requires deliberate planning and execution. For any company considering a migration to Business Central, Opal Business Solutions recommends a thorough evaluation of the current ERP deployment, including:

*Current chart of accounts, Historical data requirements, Financial Reporting, Types of transactions and volume entered into each module of the current ERP, Types of master records, Number of legal entities, 3 party add-ins, Customizations to the software, Custom reports (SQL Reporting Services, Jet Reports, PowerBI, etc.), Integrations, User licenses, and Wish List Items.

Many companies address process or system issues during new ERP implementations. For example, a company may move from light manufacturing (assemblies and kitting) to a full discrete or process manufacturing system (routers, bills of material/formulas, MRP, MO’s/batches, etc.). They may also implement a multi-entity management module, overhaul the chart of accounts and/or financial reporting, improve approval workflows, or build new integrations between other business applications.

Lastly, many companies spend more on licensing than they need to. For example, a full Dynamics GP user costs $3,000 (plus annual enhancements). A Business Central user license costs $70/per month, and a team member license costs $7 per month. In some cases, a full GP user may only require team member access to Business Central. In other cases, a device license can be added to a subscription to cut down on monthly costs.

Evaluation of the above areas will allow Opal and the client to jointly determine whether a migration to Business Central is feasible, the monthly investment as well as a high-level implementation plan. The only remaining obstacle after a high-level implementation plan has been drafted is to document detailed system requirements, select required 3rd party products and finally, begin executing.