What is an ERP and why do you need one?

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a software solution that integrates and automates various business processes, such as accounting, inventory, sales, purchasing, manufacturing, and more into a single unified solution. An ERP system helps you streamline your operations, improve your efficiency, and gain insights into your performance and profitability.

You may think that an ERP system is too complex or expensive for your needs. However, with the rapid changes in the market and customer expectations, you need a reliable and flexible system that can help you grow and adapt to the new challenges. That's why you should consider Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as your ERP solution.

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly NAV) is an ERP solution that connects sales, service, finance, and operations teams in a single solution to help organisations adapt faster, work smarter, and deliver results from anywhere and on any device.

Named “the Best ERP System” in 2023 by Forbes Advisor and used by over 160,000 customers, Dynamics 365 Business Central is a trusted and robust solution. With options for both Azure Cloud and on-premise hosting, the solution is adaptable to the hosting requirements of any organisation.

Dynamics 365 Business Central is part of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite of business applications that integrate seamlessly with each other and with other Microsoft products, such as Office 365, Power BI, and Azure. Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed to be easy to use, customise, and extend; it offers a rich set of features and functionalities that can help you streamline your processes, optimise your resources, and grow your business.

Comprising of several key modules, Business Central brings the various aspects of your business into a unified solution, providing you with a single source of truth and allowing you to gain business insights without stitching together data from disparate and disconnected systems.

The solution is extensible, with over 5000 Microsoft approved applications built by independent software vendors (ISVs), Business Central has a host of add-ons which further enhance the experience of the solution and provide industry specific vertical alignments. In addition, the solution can be customised via partner development to meet specific needs of individual organisations.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 capabilities

Codec’s favorite features:

• Take your business on the go - Work wherever your business takes you with full capabilities on desktop, tablet, or mobile, on premise or in the cloud, across Windows, Android, and iOS devices. Get a consistent experience across all your devices.
• Use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support tasks and insights with embedded Microsoft Co-Pilot – With embedded Microsoft Copilot, leverage AI to gain efficiencies and provide insight. With Bank Reconciliation assistance, cashflow forecasting, and Chat with Copilot, Business Central empowers users to spend time on the activities that matter.
• Integration with Outlook - Interact with customers and vendors directly from Outlook to accelerate transactions and business decisions. Promptly manage inquiries, service requests, or process payments to accelerate the sales cycle. Get insights into customer history, previous discounts, and more without leaving Outlook thanks to the Business Central connector for Outlook.
• Integration with Excel - Export data from Business Central to Excel for efficient data entry, then publish back to Business Central with business rule validation. Get up-to-date operational insights such as Excel reports, and adapt quickly by customising report layouts using Excel worksheets.
• Integration with Microsoft Teams - Make faster decisions by sharing Business Central data within Microsoft Teams conversations and tabs. Look up business contacts from Teams, along with insights, a history of interactions, and related records. Easily edit data and take action without switching apps.
• Work within the wider Microsoft eco-system – Business Central integrates with the wider Microsoft stack, allowing organisations to build Power BI reports based on Business Central data, leverage Power Automate to build workflows for approvals, and develop low-code / no-code applications with Power Apps which work directly with Business Central. As a full stack provider, Codec are uniquely placed to help your organisation benefit from the wider product set and take a holistic approach to your ERP implementation.
• Never be on an out-of-date version of Business Central – Microsoft release twice yearly updates to Business Central which introduce new and improved features and functionality. These updates are received automatically by organisations which opt for the SaaS version of Business Central. This means you will never need to undergo expensive or costly updates again, as your organisation will always be on the latest version of Business Central.

Codec’s favorite add-ons

Codec work with a variety of third-party add-ons for Business Central which enhance the standard functionality of the application. Some of our favorite recommended add-ons include:

• Continia document capture: An Accounts Payable automation tool leveraging Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. This solution allows you to eliminate tedious and repetitive manual data entry with intelligent OCR by recognising text and placing it in Business Central fields from electronically received accounts payable documents.
• Continia expense management: Allow your employees to submit Out-of-Pocket, Credit Card, Mileage, and Per Diem expenses on the go from mobile and desktop devices. With intelligent OCR, text from receipts is automatically recognised and input into an expense claim, reducing effort of individuals. Expenses are sent for approval and are recorded in Business Central once approved. The finance team have full visibility of each expense claim within Business Central at each stage of the process.
• Solver: Solver is a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) tool which compliments Business Central’s standard capabilities. Produce Management Information (MI) Reports which can be shared with non-financial personnel and accessed through portals and distributed through automatic scheduling. Report writers can design their own reports referencing Business Central data including Actuals vs. Budgets, Cost Centre and Department analysis including drilldowns to view transactional data. In addition to custom built reports, Solver also comes with a suite of pre-built reports and dashboards.
  • Solver allows you to take budgeting to another level beyond the general ledger budgeting available within Business Central as standard. Use Solver to create budgets and forecasts referencing non-financial data such as headcount, floorspace etc.; allowing you create scenario specific reports.
  • Solver uses a data warehouse build which allows you to execute running reports and calculations on databases with high-data volumes at quick speeds.
• Jet Reports: Jet Reports is an alternative to Solver. Jet is an Excel add-in that allows users to build their own Management Information (MI) Reports based on data held within Business Central. Users can build Actual vs. Budget Reports, Cost Centre and Department analysis etc.

Why choose Codec?

In an industry that often falls short of its promises, Codec delivers. Codec’s unique project delivery framework helps organisations create dramatic shifts in efficiencies and customer experiences with new technology.

As a certified Microsoft Gold Partner, we’ve made a positive business impact for some of the Republic of Ireland and UK’s best-known organisations. We're one of the most awarded and certified specialist Microsoft Partners in Europe including Microsoft Country Partner of the Year 2023/24 and with 11 x D365 Partner of the Year awards. We are committed to delivering excellence, as shown by all our Dynamics 365 Business Central consultants being Microsoft MB-800 certified, the official accreditation for Business Central consultants.

With an array of Microsoft Partner accreditation's and awards, and offices in Dublin, Belfast, and London, we are well placed and have the necessary skillset to help you on your implementation journey.

About the Author:

David Wyke, ERP Practice Lead, D365 Business Central, Codec 

David is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Solution Architect and Practice Lead with extensive experience in delivering digital transformation and business change projects using Microsoft technologies. He specialises in large and complex projects across various sectors, including Public Sector, Charity, NGOs, Professional Services, Retail, eCommerce, and Manufacturing. He has worked on projects for PwC and Ernst & Young, and has a background in Finance with over 10 years of accounting experience. He is a passionate advocate of Microsoft's ERP solutions and holds several qualifications in accounting, project management, Microsoft technologies and is a certified Microsoft D365 Business Central Consultant.

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