What is Dynamics 365 Business Central, again?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s subscription-based ERP solution that provides a full range of accounting and operational functionality. For more details about the product as a whole, check out this blog post and intro video.
One of the most important pieces of any ERP system is the Financial Management module:
- Finances with General Ledger and all Supporting Journals and Ledgers
- Cash Management including Cost Accounting
- Sales and Order Processing
- Accounts Payable
- Purchasing
The program is designed to connect all the various processes in a business resulting in better decision-making, higher levels of customer service, and operational efficiencies.
User Functions Available
The system provides multiple levels of security including regular user, business manager, and systems administrator all with different levels of access and security. Menus can be easily customized, and include functions relevant to each user like:
- Sales Quotes
- Sales Orders
- Sales Invoices
- Purchase Order
- Purchase Invoice
- Payments
A user with Business Manager-level security has access to all these functions and more. Each user can customize their layouts and information they want to see within their level of security.
The cloud-based application includes “user-level insights” such as comparative sales information like the largest sales invoice last period, top customer, best-selling product, and the number of deals reported for a Sales user. For an Accounts Payable user, the screens and menus can be customized to focus on invoices due, aging reports, cash flow reports, and trend information. Users can access help videos from anywhere in the system.
Business Analytics
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides business analytics and intelligence that goes well beyond a typical accounting software package. Hovering over bars on a cash flow graph reveals the detail behind the bar. Linking to Microsoft’s Business Intelligence (BI) Module shows how users can create fully customizable reports that draw from multiple applications.
The reports can be displayed directly on the dashboard at whatever point the users decides is most useful. The reports can be pre-scheduled or generated on demand, and then easily inserted and displayed in a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet.
Accounts Payable
Creating a purchase invoice, including supporting documentation, from a documentation management system is a breeze with Dynamics 365 Business Central. All columns on the invoice are easily customizable. Once the invoice is posted, if further reviews are required for the invoice, the Workflow system is accessed and the invoice is sent out for necessary approvals.
Business Central Integrates with Other Microsoft Products
Like Microsoft’s other platforms, Dynamics 365 Business Central directly integrates with Outlook, Excel, Word, and other Microsoft products so users who are familiar with how these products work can easily adapt to the ERP system. The Assisted Setup module guides a new user through setting up how they want to interact with the system.
Dimensions Allow Flexibility
Dynamics 365 Business Central includes a “dimensions” capability that allows users to create and manage how they want to see all the information displayed. They are no longer tied to the same way of viewing a General Ledger. Columns of information can be easily moved around to fit the needs of each user and “drill downs” for detailed information are easy and intuitive. Drilling down on Accounts Receivable allows the user to quickly see a specific invoice that is causing the balance to be higher than normal.
For more detailed information, check out this video webinar from Melissa Paglia, and contact sales@crestwood.com for more info.
