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Planning 2025

Start planning now: The 9 steps your business must complete before your transition from GP to Business Central

In the fall of 2024, Microsoft announced the end of life for Microsoft Dynamics GP. September 2029 will mark the end of all GP enhancements, updates, and support. 

While 2029 might seem like a long way away, Joesoftware recommends that your business begin planning for your transition to Business Central now. We also encourage you to not wait until 2029. You can make the transition to Business Central at any time. The transition to a new software solution takes time, energy, and financial and human resources – factors every business needs to plan for.

Business Central: Microsoft’s new ERP system

Business Central has been on the scene for a few years and has demonstrated its power and potential. It will likely be the only Microsoft ERP solution for small and medium sized businesses when GP reaches end of life.

What makes Business Central different and better than Dynamics GP is that Business Central is cloud-based. With Business Central, you get ERP functionality with anytime, anywhere access to your operations.

Plan for Business Central with these 9 steps

As your organization dives into 2025, here are the steps and best practices we encourage you to follow. With thoughtful advance planning and preparation, you can minimize disruptions to your operations and ensure your organization gets the most out of Business Central.

  1. Evaluate your current Dynamics GP system.
    Joesoftware recommends that you identify and document the functionality, customizations, integrations, and reports in GP that are essential to your organization. This evaluation will also help you identify any gaps that could be addressed in Business Central
  2. Engage employees and establish clear objectives.
    When you involve key employees from various departments or lines of business in your planning, you will better understand their needs and ensure Business Central works for your entire operation.
  3. Review and reflect on current business processes and seize new opportunities.
    Determine what’s working well in your current ERP and where there are opportunities to improve. Business Central has the capability to streamline workflows, eliminate inefficiency and duplication, and embrace greater automation.
  4. A data migration plan is a must.
    You must determine what data that needs to migrate from Dynamics GP to Business Central, and what can be archived for future reference. Clean up any duplicative, outdated or inaccurate data before you transition to Business Central as it will make the post-transition time much easier.
  5. Plan for employee engagement.
    Joesoftware has found that key employees can invest anywhere from 1/3 of their time in the planning phase, up to 100% of their time during the actual transition. With this time commitment, it is important to plan ahead so employees have back-up support so they can continue to perform their regular duties during the transition.
  6. Team training is another must.
    While Business Central has many similarities to GP given that both are Microsoft products, there are enough differences with Business Central features, functionality and navigation that some advance training is required.
  7. Leverage the power of extensions and add-ons.
    The right extensions and applications to Business Central can give you increased functionality and industry-specific solutions tailored to your business and industry. Review and choose your options ahead of time as you plan your transition.
  8. Establish your Business Central support and maintenance plan.
    Identify ahead of time the internal or external resources available for ongoing system management, updates, and troubleshooting. Be ready to evaluate how your new system is performing, listen to feedback from employees, and be ready to address any concerns.
  9. Communicate and manage change effectively.
    Changing your ERP system is a major effort, impacting employees in all areas. Get your team onside with the transition long before it happens. When a change is well managed, it can mitigate any potential disruptions and lead to greater employee satisfaction.

Smart planning always makes good business sense.

Joesoftware can help you map your transition away from GP to Business Central. We will provide you with an objective, informed perspective so you are prepared and ready for Business Central. Let’s get the planning started.