Significant return on investment in less than 6 months: Why businesses are moving to Dynamics 365 Business Central

Posted February 28, 2025

Microsoft recently commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine the economic impact and the return on investment that comes when an organization transitions to Dynamics 365 Business Central.

The move to Business Central or a modern-day ERP system can be a significant undertaking. Evidence of the bottom-line benefits of a move to Business Central can be difficult to see before you make the transition. That’s where this research study comes in.

The June 2024 study interviewed four representatives and surveyed an additional 160 individuals from organizations that recently migrated to Dynamics 365 Business Central. With the data, Forrester built a composite organization with an average $15 million in revenue and 150 employees.

Joesoftware has summarized their research findings below. We believe this information will be helpful to our clients and any organization contemplating a move to Business Central:

• A move to Business Central averaged a 265% return on investment over three years, adding up to a net present value of $529,000. The representative interviews and the financial analysis found that the composite organization experienced benefits of $729,000 over three years, versus costs of $200,000 with their old ERP system. This adds up to a net present value (NPV) of $529,000 and an ROI of 265%.
  
• The payback on an investment in Business Central was less than 6 months. Organizations found that moving from individual systems for bookkeeping, inventory management, analytics and more, to one system for everything, saved time and money and delivered results in less than 6 months.
  
• Productivity improved 12.5% for operations, 15% for sales, and 15.6% for finance. Time spent on manual reporting and reconciliation decreased with Business Central, while access to key information and tools through Business Central improved the quality of decision-making for all teams.
  
• Avoided more than $80,000 annually in third-party consulting fees and $53,000 in annual costs for legacy ERP solutions and support. Before Business Central, many organizations paid for third-party IT consulting services to work on customizations and integrations, and external reporting. The move to Business Central enabled internal teams to manage their own integration and customizations and avoid the costs with on-premises infrastructure and deployment.
  
• Business Central-enabled revenue averaged $600,000, along with improved business outcomes and an improved employee experience. The annual revenue of $600,000 generated through Business Central can be attributed to improved sales pipeline generation. In addition, other business outcomes including improved employee team performance and satisfaction were just some of the benefits for organizations running Business Central.
  
  

Depending on the size and structure of your organization, your results and experience may vary. However, the evidence from this study and what we hear from clients who have made the transition to Business Central is clear:  Business Central brings heightened efficiencies and productivity which leads to demonstrated, bottom line returns.

Click here to access the full study, or if you’d like to discuss if Business Central is right for your organization, we are ready to talk with you.