Microsoft offers two ERP products under the Dynamics 365 name: Business Central and Finance and Supply Chain Management (often still called Finance and Operations or F&O). Both are capable, both run in the Microsoft cloud, and both integrate with Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. Choosing the wrong one is expensive in either direction, so here is how we help clients decide.
The short version
- Business Central is an all-in-one ERP for small and mid-sized businesses: finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, projects, and in the Premium edition, manufacturing and service management. It is faster to implement and simpler to run.
- Finance and Supply Chain Management is built for larger and more complex organizations: many legal entities, advanced supply chain and manufacturing, high transaction volumes, and global operations.
Five questions that usually decide it
1. How complex is your organization?
Many legal entities across countries, shared services, complex intercompany flows and statutory reporting in several jurisdictions point towards Finance and Supply Chain Management. A handful of companies in Canada and the US usually fit Business Central comfortably.
2. How complex are your operations?
Advanced warehouse management with waves and mobile devices, transportation management, process or mixed-mode manufacturing, master planning across many sites, or asset management at scale point to Finance and Supply Chain Management. Standard discrete manufacturing, distribution with bins and pick lists, and project work fit Business Central.
3. How many users and how much volume?
There is no fixed cut-off, but very high transaction volumes and hundreds of users are more naturally served by Finance and Supply Chain Management.
4. What will it cost to own?
Finance and Supply Chain Management has higher licence costs per user and a longer, more involved implementation, typically 13 to 17 weeks for a focused scope in our projects, and often longer. Business Central implementations are typically 6 to 10 weeks. Both need ongoing support.
5. Where are you coming from?
- From Dynamics GP or NAV: usually Business Central.
- From Dynamics AX: usually Finance and Supply Chain Management.
- From QuickBooks, Sage or Xero: usually Business Central.
- From another tier-one ERP: often Finance and Supply Chain Management.
These are starting points, not rules. A growing GP customer with complex manufacturing may be better served by Finance and Supply Chain Management, and a small AX customer may be over-served by it.
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing Finance and Supply Chain Management for prestige when Business Central would meet every requirement at lower cost.
- Choosing Business Central for price, then customizing it heavily to behave like Finance and Supply Chain Management.
- Deciding before mapping processes. A short fit-gap exercise usually makes the answer clear.
How we help
As a Microsoft Partner and Indirect Reseller (CSP) that implements both products, we have no reason to push one over the other. Compare our Business Central services and Finance and Operations services, or book a platform selection call and we'll walk through your processes with you.