5 min read
Exploring the Business Central Modules: A Comprehensive Overview
Nancy Phillippi
Nov 29, 2023 9:33:19 AM
Explore the extensive range of modules offered by Business Central and discover how they can contribute to the success of your business. Microsoft has set itself an ambitious goal for the near future: the company wants to make Business Central the world’s best ERP solution for small and medium-sized businesses. Based on our customer experiences, we strongly believe this is an achievable goal.
Business Central, formerly known as Dynamics NAV, has long been recognized as a leading ERP solution and remains one of the most widely adopted in history. Based on our latest available data which was in 2016, there were 102,000 NAV customers. As of March 2022 there were over 20,000 Business Central customers. This is an average of 800 new companies per month. Based on these numbers we are confident Business Central is not going away.
Understanding Business Central Modules
Business Central is a comprehensive business management solution offered by Microsoft. It is specifically tailored for small to medium-sized organizations, regardless of whether they have straightforward or intricate business needs. This could include multiple lines of business and global locations. Business Central consists of core modules that cater to different aspects of your business operations. These modules are designed to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and enhance productivity.
Understanding the different modules available in Business Central is essential to fully utilize its capabilities and make informed decisions for your business. Each module focuses on a specific area, such as financial management, supply chain management, sales and marketing, and job costing.
There are two editions of Business Central:
- Essentials (currently priced at $70 per user)
- Financial Management
- CRM
- Sales and Purchase Order Management
- Inventory Control (includes available to promise or ATP)
- Warehouse Controls
- Jobs (Projects)
- Microsoft Office 365 Integration
- Premium (currently priced at $100 per user) Includes everything above plus:
- Manufacturing
- Service Management
- If you are a current Dynamics GP or Dynamics NAV customer you may qualify for the Bridge to the Cloud promotion. Please reach out to Clients First for more information.
Financial Management TO ENABLE INFORMED BUSINESS DECISIONS
Financial management is a crucial aspect of any business. Business Central offers essential modules that help you effectively manage your finances and make informed financial decisions. These modules include the following:
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With these modules, you can track and analyze your financial transactions, generate accurate financial reports, and gain insights into your business's financial health. By having a comprehensive financial management system in place, you can streamline your financial processes and make informed decisions to drive your business's growth.
Sales tools BuilT to help drive revenue
Empower your sales team to take better care of customers by establishing best practices using familiar productivity tools to managing the entire sales process from within Microsoft Outlook. Business Central's basic CRM capabilities may be all a company needs, especially if you have never had a CRM before. Of course, the sales order capabilities in Business Central do not need the CRM features enabled to function and companies can even integrate with other CRMs like Dynamics Sales, HubSpot, or SalesForce. Regardless, Business Central has all you need to streamline the sales process down to just create and manage customer orders.
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Companies with a more complex or very long sales processes may want to consider Dynamics Sales. Take advantage of the seamless integration between Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics Sales (licensed and implemented separately) to further optimize your lead-to-cash process. Dynamics Sales is a CRM tool that can enable a much more complex sales process and detailed reporting.
Streamlining Operations with Supply Chain Management Modules
Efficient supply chain management is crucial for businesses to meet customer demands, optimize inventory levels, and ensure timely delivery of products. Business Central offers supply chain management modules that help streamline your operations and improve efficiency.
These modules include features such as inventory management, order management, procurement, and warehouse management. With these modules, you can effectively manage your inventory, track orders, streamline procurement processes, and optimize warehouse operations.
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By leveraging these modules, you can reduce costs, minimize stockouts, improve order fulfillment, and enhance customer satisfaction. Streamlining your supply chain management processes can ultimately lead to improved profitability and competitiveness in the market.
MANUFACTURING for proactive operations
Drive proactive manufacturing operations to enhance productivity, maintain high-quality standards, maximize uptime, and achieve cost reductions, all while exceeding customer expectations.
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Insight Works also provides additional modules for manufacturing like Configurator, a free scheduling module, and a lot more for Business Central. Their solutions are cost-effective, and our team of Business Central consultants can implement these modules without the need for third-party consultants. Our expert Business Central team highly recommends the Insight Works solutions.
COST CONTROLS FOR ProjectS: INTERNAL oR CUSTOMER PROJECTS
Drive successful project execution and maximize profitability with comprehensive planning, resource allocation, real-time tracking, accurate costing, seamless billing, efficient accounting, and valuable real-time insights.
- Basic Resources
- Capacity Management
- Multiple Costs
- Jobs (Projects)
SERVICE MANAGEMENT
Deliver better service experiences with planning, dispatching, and service contract management. We see this Business Central module as more of a depot or in-house service management solution.
- Planning and Dispatching
- Service Contract Management
- Service Item Management
- Service Order Management
- Service Price Management
WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT FOR EFFICIENT INVENTORY CONTROLS
Cut down on operational expenses by optimizing your warehouse operations, ensuring timely order fulfillment, and exceeding customer expectations.
- Multiple Locations
- Bin Locations
- Inventory Pick and Inventory Put-Aways
- Warehouse Shipments
- Directed Pick-Up and Put-Away
More complex warehouse management capabilities are offered by Insight Works. They are our go-to add-on partner for Dynamics 365 Business Central.
GLOBAL Languages and localizations
Support globalization and compliance regulations like International Financial Reporting Standards, local functionality, GDPR, and more. Confidence in a business management solution is key to running an efficient business. With Business Central companies are empowered to streamline business processes while consistently and cost-efficiently complying with increasing regulation and reporting requirements.
- GDPR Compliant
- SOX Compliant
- IAS/IFRS Compliant
- 25 Languages and Localizations
Business Intelligence and Reporting
Small and medium-sized companies rely on the pre-built analytics and reporting capabilities that come with Business Central to effectively track and manage their business operations. Whether it's handling common business processes or more complex ones, Business Central provides the necessary tools and reports to support these activities. Additionally, users have the flexibility to perform ad-hoc analysis right from their home page, making it even easier to gain valuable insights and make informed decisions.
Business Central includes the following reporting tools:
- Standard Out-of-the-Box Reports
- Ad-Hoc Analysis with Excel (Business Central has a tremendous integration to Microsoft 365 Office.)
- Built-In Analytics
- Intelligent Insights (Available in Business Central SaaS only)
- Power BI
- Financial Analytics
- Consolidations from Multiple Companies
- External Business Intelligence Tools
- There are many solutions to choose from. AppSource is a great site to research additional reporting tools.
- The Business Central API allows you to extract data into other reporting tools as needed.
- Microsoft Fabric is Coming Soon Too!
Read More About the Business Central Capabilities
Download the Business Central capabilities guide here.
In conclusion, Business Central offers a wide range of modules that cater to different aspects of your business operations. By exploring and utilizing these modules effectively, you can streamline processes, improve efficiency, and drive business growth. Whether it's financial management, supply chain management, manufacturing, project management, or service management, Business Central has the modules to help you succeed.
Reach out to Clients First Business Solutions to find out more about Dynamics 365 Business Central. Call us at 800.331.8382 or email info@cfbs-us.com.