Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials vs Premium
Cloud ERP software, Business Central Cloud provides strong features that help medium-sized businesses to efficiently and effectively manage their business when their limited accounting software outgrows. This saves money and helps to run their business with better smoothness eventually. Business Central empowers users with Microsoft cloud strategy and allows companies to integrate their business processes with Office 365.
There are two subscription license types that Microsoft offers with the requirement that the users of the company have the same type of license.
- Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium – $100 per user per month
- Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials – $70 per user per month
Which licensing is correct for your business and what is the ideal difference? Let us get into the Dynamics 365 Business Central Features of each and discuss about the right time to make a move from Essentials to Premium.
Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials Functionality
The Essentials license provides all the core functions a business requires to operate, including –
- Finance Management – Dimensions, budgets, cash flow forecasts, cost accounting, electronic payments and direct debits, Basic general ledger, multiple currencies, accounts schedules, fixed assets, customer payment processes, bank account management, GL, AP, AR, allocations, fixed assets, budgets, multiple currencies, monthly/year end closing and more.
- Sales and Marketing – Campaign management, email logging Dynamics 365 Sales integration, interaction and document management, contact management and opportunity management.
- Sales and Delivery – Sales order management, campaign pricing, alternative shipping addresses, bulk invoicing, Sales invoicing, sales line pricing and discounting, sales invoice discounts and sales return order management from Microsoft bookings.
- Purchasing and Payables – Purchase order management, alternative order addresses, alternative vendors, Purchase invoicing, purchase return order management, vendor catalog items and purchase invoice discounts.
- Supply Chain Management – Shipment and distribution, procurement and vendor management, inventory and purchasing control, returns and cancellations.
- Project Management – Capacity management, jobs, Basic resources, time sheets and multiple costs, sales invoicing, sales order management and estimates.
- Warehouse Management – Inventory picks and put-aways, warehouse shipments, warehouse management systems, Bin, bin setup, warehouse receipts, picks and put-aways, order promising, automated data capture.
- Inventory – Item categories, item tracking, location transfer, item charges, item substitutions, analysis reports , basic inventory, item attributes, multiple locations, shipping agents, cycle counting and item cross-references.
- Supply Planning and Availability – Demand forecasting, order promising, drop shipments, order planning, supply planning, sales and inventory forecasting and calendars.
- Human Resource Management
- Built-in CRM Functionality – Task management, Dynamics 365 for Sales and Customer service, outlook client integration, contact management.
Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium Functionality
Premium includes everything in Essentials, plus modules for complete Manufacturing and Service Management capabilities with a subscription of $100 per user per month.
- Everything in Essentials
- Manufacturing – Assembly management, standard cost worksheets, production bill of materials, basic capacity planning, machine centers, version management, production orders, and finite loading
- Service Management – Planning and dispatching, service contract management, service item management, service order management, and service price management.
Mathematically, Business Central Premium = Business Central Essentials + manufacturing + service management.
Business Central Essentials vs Premium and which is the finest for your Business?
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides complete advantage of Microsoft’s all- in cloud strategy for a seamless integration. It is user- friendly, easy to deploy, maintain and adaptable to business growth as Office 365, Dynamics 365 displays renewed results in a jiff as you go-live.
Will Essentials suffice the functionality that your business needs or would it be the Premium with a $30 additional monthly investment per user?
The below questions helps answering to make a first good step to decide as to which Business Central Licensing is correct for your organization.
Do you have to supervise the field technicians or service personnel? If yes, do you need to :
- Track the supplies and repair parts?
- Provide service invoices and service estimates?
- Assign service personnel by the availability and skill?
- Schedule service calls and set up service orders?
Do you have to manufacture products in a make-to stock, engineer to order or make-to-order environment? If yes, do you:
- Execute in the sequence defined by production order routing upon production operations start?
- Plan of Machine centers and work centers have the production process in available capacity (finite or infinite)
- Have the system suggesting the approximate orders so to plan the demand (dependent or independent) for a satisfying inventory, production and procurement requirements to support that demand?
Contact us if you’re evaluating Dynamics 365 Business Central for your business and aren’t sure whether Essentials will serve your needs or if you should upgrade to Premium.
