When it comes to personal banking, shopping or booking travel for example, nowadays we have no issue with picking up a smart device and using an app online. However, when it comes to business financial management software, some businesses don’t seem to be so keen on embracing the same level of technology.
With manual processes and spreadsheets still common place – businesses are being held back.
If this is you and you’re tired of the “this is how we’ve always done things” narrative, it’s time to change your financial management practices.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides a single, end-to-end software solution for managing your finance, operations, sales and customer service.
With easy upgrades, scalability, AI and process automation (among other things), Business Central really could be the system for you.
What’s more, it’s also hosted by Microsoft, eliminating on-premise or private cloud server costs and is all accessible through desktop, tablet and mobile devices.
The signs you’ve outgrown your financial management software
How do you know if you’ve outgrown your software? It’s not like a physical bell will ring to tell you to change, so here are a few of the signals we feel are the tell-tale signs to look out for:
- Manual errors
- Limited reporting functionality
- Lack of integration with other business systems
- Backlogs
- Poor audit trails
- Perceived loss of control
- Disconnected systems and siloed information
- Multiple data sets without a single source of truth
- Lengthy reporting (i.e. month end, year-end, management reports and Making Tax Digital)
- Using spreadsheets alongside finance system
- Lack of workflows
- Moving data outside of secure systems without security roles
If you recognise any of these in your day-to-day, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can solve your financial management woes.
Why consider Business Central?
Microsoft’s leading solution for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), Business Central brings together the seamless integration of the Cloud, Windows Office 365, Power BI and PowerApps.
Cloud-based financial management software, as mentioned, is accessible on any device. Anywhere. Embedded with intelligent reporting, dashboards, AI functionality and access to the Power Platform (Microsoft’s suite of software that enable you to analyse data, build solutions, automate processes and create virtual agents) as standard. Users are able to personalise their insights every step of the way, helping to improve cash flow, predict late payments and choose suppliers for instance.
Twice yearly updates also ensure you’re always on the most recent version of your financial management software, allowing you to stay up to date and on top of your finances.
A wealth of third party add-ons also allow for additional functionality where needed, tailored to your business and your specific requirements. – such as Continia and Jet for your reporting.
Business Central vs other solutions on the market
Ultimately the quality, speed and ease of use Business Central offers along with the flexibility that ensures it can grow as your business grows makes it the smart choice for your next financial management software implementation.
Reducing costs overall, this all-in-one business management solution will reduce your operating costs and increase your growth at a price that suits you.
Offering greater functionality compared to some of its peers, this is how Business Central stacks up:
| Business Central | Sage 50 – Professional | Sage 200 – Professional | |
| Overview | |||
| Licence price (per month) | For current pricing see Microsoft website | For current pricing see Sage website | For current pricing see Sage website |
| 10 full users’ price | as above | as above | as above |
| Users | No limit | up to 20 users | Up to 100 web users (50 for on-premise) |
| Transactions | No limit | Up to 1.5 million per annum | Up to 9 million per annum |
| Functionality | |||
| Finance | Y | Y | Y |
| Supply Chain | Y | Limited | Y |
| Sales CRM | Y | N | Y |
| Warehouse Management | Y | Limited | Y |
| Service Management | Y | N | N |
| Manufacturing | Y | Y via a separate module | Y via a separate module |
| Additional Information | |||
| Configuration | Very configurable | Minimal configuration | Minimal configuration but some personalisation is available |
| Cloud or on-premise | Both | Hosted locally but access via cloud is available | Both |
| Devices | Any | Any | Any |
| Data Analytics | Embedded with Power BI | N | Limited |
| AI | Y | N | N |
| Connectivity | Y fully connective via CDM, 200+ connections available | N | Y via API’s |
| Office 365 integration (Outlook, OneDrive and Excel etc) | Extremely strong two-way integration | Available from £10 a month | Available from £10 a month |
| Automation and custom applications | Y via Power Platform | N | N |
If you’d like to find out more about Business Central or how TVision could help you implement financial management software that will streamline your processes, please get in touch with one of our business software experts. Or get a quote tailored to your business’ requirements.
