Benefits of GP to Business Central Migration
In September 2024, Microsoft announced that they would be effectively pulling the plug on Dynamics Great Plains (GP) by ending product support. They even set a date – December 31, 2029. Now, we would not say that this was surprising. To be honest, the system was getting dated, and Microsoft was not looking to be too enthusiastic about making upgrades. This is the reason we often recommend our clients migrate from GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central. And now, Microsoft is recommending the same thing – you migrate from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central. End of support is not the only reason to migrate, though. In the following article, we are going to look at some of the benefits of upgrading from GP to Business Central.
The Common Challenges Existing GP Users Face
As said before, businesses already using Great Plains face a lot of challenges. Here are some of the usual challenges that most users encounter.
Cumbersome User Interface
The interface of GP was designed for a different era of desktop-driven work. One of the biggest problems was navigation. It is nested, outdated, and not intuitive for inexperienced users.
Today’s finance teams need intuitive tools that match the fluid way that they work. Its interface demands a steep learning curve and that effectively slows down onboarding, and increased dependency on IT.
Lack of Remote Access
Most teams have at least some team members who work remotely. Therefore, it is important to have a system that can be accessed anywhere. Hence, you need a system that is hosted on the cloud.
Now, GP can be hosted on the cloud. We have done that ourselves. But it was not built for the cloud. This creates limitations in real-time collaboration, mobile access, and data sharing across locations.
Manual Workarounds
Many GP users rely on external spreadsheets or third-party tools for reporting, data consolidation, or for tracking transactions. This often leads to duplicate data entry, errors, and confusion between different document versions.
Now, we believe that the actual cost of such manual processes is not just time – it is a risk. Disconnected workflows compromise decision-making and expose your business to compliance issues.
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The 6 Benefits of Upgrading from GP to Business Central
Let us now delve into the 7 real-world benefits of upgrading from GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Close the Books up to 60% Faster Every Month
With the help of Business Central, you can automate reconciliations, account consolidation, and other month-end processes. From the perspective of a CFO, this means that your finance teams will be spending less time wrangling data and analyzing it.
We understand that closing accounts can be hectic. With Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can reduce manual effort and errors. After migrating from GP to BC, we have often seen teams report closing in days, and not weeks and that too with fewer last-minute errors to deal with.
Track and Approve Spending without Relying on Emails or PDFs
Most of the GP users we have seen still rely on email chains and PDFs to track purchase orders and approve them. Dynamics 365 Business Central offers you a smarter way.
You can integrate Dynamics 365 BC with Power Automate, to automate workflows, making it easier for managers to track and approve POs, expenses, or budget changes, directly in Outlook or Teams.
For CFOs and CIOs, this means that there will be no more delays due to mail lying in the inbox. Real-time visibility and instant approvals will help CFOs to reduce cost overruns. At the same time, it will make it easier for CIOs to improve document and process governance.
Only One Document Version Will Reduce Confusions
In GP, departments depended on siloed data exports and external tools. This meant that different departments often ended up using different versions of the same document. For example, the sales report with Sales could easily have different numbers than the one available for the Product team.
Dynamics 365 Business Central completely removes the issue by unifying inventory, sales, finance, and operations on one live platform. Therefore, every user has access to a single version of data, with the latest updates.
No More Worrying About Backups, Security Upgrades or Server Downtime
When you are using GP, you need to plan backups and upgrades at regular intervals, to keep your data safe. On top of that, there is always the risk of unnotified server downtime.
Business Central is a SaaS platform. So, when you execute Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration, you can rest assured that your data is always backed up, always updated, and never reliant on aging infrastructure or local IT teams.
Spot Margin Leaks and Stock Gaps Instantly
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central comes with role-based dashboards and real-time alerts to help finance and operations teams detect anomalies like unusual costs, mismatches in pricing data, or challenges like overstocking or stockouts.
I guess, CFOs and COOs will agree that small issues, if not rectified on time, can become the reason behind revenue leaks. By migrating your ERP system from GP to Business Central, daily operations become more proactive and efficient.
Get AI-Driven Suggestions for Everyday Tasks
One of the major reasons that makes GP a misfit for modern work is that it lacks any significant AI features. On the other hand, Dynamics 365 Business Central comes with a smart AI assistant – Microsoft Copilot.
By using Copilot, you can draft emails, summarize records, and predict stock needs or overdue payments – right inside the Dynamics 365 environment.
CFOs, CTOs, COOs, and CIOs and their teams can reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks, identify issues early and make smarter decisions.
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The Risks of Not Planning for GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central Migration
The risks of not migrating from GP to Business Central are also critical, especially when you look at the long term. According to us, here are some of the major risks you will be exposed to, if you do not transition now:
Falling Behind in the AI-Driven Economy
Your competitors are moving to platforms like Business Central, that have built-in AI capabilities. If you stick to GP for the next four years, you will miss productivity gains.
In other words, you will miss any chance of taking a strategic advantage.
Increased Risk of Talent Attrition
Few GP users realize this. But today’s workforce expects intuitive and modern tools. Legacy systems like GP are harder and less engaging to use. This leads to dissatisfaction and finally, attrition.
Incompatibility with Evolving Compliance Standards
New regulatory frameworks in most industries require real-time reporting, tighter audit trails, and more secure data storage. It is harder to manage these changing compliance standards with your existing GP system.
Migrating to Business Central makes compliance easier and avoids the chances of costly compliance fixes, keeping your performance and reputation safe.
How to Execute Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration
Now, comes the important question – how do you migrate to get the most benefits of upgrading from GP to Business Central? Well, there are diverse ways to go about it.
Cloud Migration with Historical Data
Here, you will be migrating all key business data from GP to Business Central, including historical transactions.
When to choose:
- You want to preserve the complete history of financial transactions.
- You want to meet industry compliance requirements.
- Your GP environment is clean and well-structured.
Migration of Only Master-Data
In this method, you can move only master records which have details on customers, vendors, chart of accounts, inventory items, and open balances.
When to choose:
- You want a fresh start but do not want to lose the chance to refer to old GP data.
- You want to optimize your processes.
- Your data is inconsistent.
Phased Module Based Transition
In this case, you will be migrating to Business Central, one functional area at a time. This gives you the ability to run GP in parallel to Dynamics 365, until full transition.
When to choose:
- You want to minimize disruptions
- You have complex or customized modules
- Your team needs time for adoption.
Discover More About Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central
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