News & Insights

Reasons to implement an off-the-shelf Business Central instance

Written by TD SYNNEX | 29 October 2024 10:29:22 Z

As the backbone of an organisation, early-stage businesses and scaleups should be looking to invest in a high-quality Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. With an understanding of their importance, leaders are often drawn to the high-quality, advanced solutions, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, however they don’t have the capital or resource to justify lengthy implementations or customisations.  

However, off-the-shelf solutions offer a loophole. Powered or based on the well-known ERP solutions, off-the-shelf solutions run in the cloud and strip out the reliance on customisations, making them a lot more affordable to implement. Because of this, they’re often the best choice for early-stage businesses looking to launch their first ERP, with Panorama Consulting reporting that 51% of businesses use off-the-shelf ERP solutions.  

By opting for an off-the-shelf version of Business Central, teams are able to harness the fantastic, innovative capabilities available to market leaders, without the costs of complexities, helping to raise their level of competitiveness.  

What is Business Central?  

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an all-in-one Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform that connects data across an organisation, offering a real time, holistic view of performance and enabling quick, informed decision making.  

Its capabilities extend beyond connectivity, offering advanced automation functionality that helps streamline workflows and boost team productivity. Plus, it can be scale as a business grows, saving the need to look for a new, advanced ERP in a few years’ time.  

Opting for an off-the-shelf version of Business Central  

Our off-the-shelf version of Business Central will ensure businesses are set up and optimising their processes in as little as two weeks. Since the platform is based on pre-existing templates, it can be implemented across a business quicky and at a fixed price.  

With over 150 best practice templates and five apps from Microsoft AppSource included, there’s no need for customisations - this has everything you need to launch an ERP across a company. 

What are the benefits of an off-the-shelf version of Business Central?  

While the main benefit is quick deployment, there are a number of ways that an off-the-shelf ERP can make life easier.  

Ready to go from day one

Unlike a custom implementation, off-the-shelf solutions can be ready to go in a manner of minutes. You won't need to build a project team, spend months deliberating on primary and secondary functionality, or foot the bill for weeks of build work. Instead, you'll typically be ready to go with a small amount of set-up actions (i.e., uploading your logo, selecting your Chart of Accounts and financial year to name a few.)

Ready to support your needs  

While it’s not customised to your business, its best-practice templates can be used to create dashboards that will cover 99% of all business needs – and the best part is that they can be set up in just a few clicks.  

Lower cost 

By cutting out the need for customisations and integrations, the solution offers all the essential functionality while keeping the solution costs low – a perfect value option for businesses looking for their first ERP.   

Scalability and flexibility  

Since it operates in the cloud, the solution can scale with business grow. Plus, with an array of apps available in Microsoft AppSource, extra capabilities can be added as and when needed.  

All the support to get up and running  

In addition to step-by-step startup guide that will help employees set up any final configurations, we also offer additional training and support. So, although most businesses have everything they need to get up and running, we are only a message or phone call away if you do need any extra support.  

How to get started 

Before diving into the implementation, the first thing you need to understand is if the solution suits your business needs. That’s why our first step is to book in a ‘scoping day’ where we’ll map out your requirements and make a project delivery plan. From here, you can decide whether to proceed with the delivery.  

Over two working weeks, our team will support with the data migration, training and testing before putting it live and allowing time for extra user support.  

If you’re looking to get your Dynamics 365 ERP up and running, this is a great option that offers all the core functionalities that your business needs, without the faff and stress of a demanding, customised rollout. Get in touch with our team to get the ball rolling today.