How well does Business Central integrate with Dynamics 365 CRM? Your Dynamics 365 questions answered

Posted March 21, 2025

As a trusted advisor to our clients, Joesoftware receives many questions about Microsoft Dynamics software and solutions.

Recently, a Joesoftware client planning their move to Business Central wanted to understand how their current Dynamics 365 CRM system would integrate with Business Central. They asked good questions:

• Given that CRM and Business Central have different databases, how robust is the integration between the two?
• How much maintenance is required to ensure data is properly sync’d between the two systems?
• How often is data synchronized?
• Will our system get bogged down when synchronization happens?

As we answered these questions, we realized these insights might be helpful to your organization too.

Here you go. Client questions answered. Joesoftware shares how Business Central and Dynamics 365 CRM work together.  

Designed with integration in mind
The Microsoft ecosystem is designed with integration in mind. As new Microsoft solutions are launched, considerable thought goes into ensuring they connect to and work with other Microsoft systems and applications. Joesoftware believe this is Microsoft’s competitive edge in the marketplace.

Separate databases connected with built-in synchronization tools
Business Central and Dynamics 365 CRM do operate on separate databases. However, when out-of-the-box tools (such as the Dataverse Connector) are employed to connect to the two databases, key data is easily synchronized between Business Central and CRM . These tools ensure you can sync critical data and tables such as customers, contacts, items, sales quotes, orders, and more.

Minimal impact on your system’s performance when you are syncing data
Synchronization between the two solutions is asynchronous, which means the sync’ing has very little effect on system performance. Syncing intervals can be configured and adjusted to run every 5, 15, 30 minutes – whatever is best for your organization. Joesoftware has found that a 15-minute interval is the most common. For time-sensitive processes like sales orders, syncs can be triggered immediately.

Access and integrate data as needed
Most organizations don’t need to sync all of their data. For example, Business Central data can be accessed as “virtual” tables in the Dataverse Connector. CRM or Power Apps can read Business Central data like GL accounts or jobs, on demand without physically duplicating the information.

Unique needs? There is a customization for that.
While out-of-the-box integration works well for standard systems, customizations may be required if there is atypical data, entities, or fields that need to be synced. Joesoftware can use integration platforms or write customizations in Business Central to ensure it interacts directly with Dynamics 365 CRM.

Efficient initial setup
If your initial CRM dataset is built from data already in Business Central, the setup is much easier. When you start with synchronized datasets, you avoid the complexity of merging separate systems.

Minimal maintenance and updates
The maintenance requirements for both systems are minimal. Both Business Central and Dynamics 365 CRM updates occur twice a year, typically in April and October.

Do you have questions about your Microsoft Dynamics system as you consider a move to Business Central? Joesoftware is here to help with answers to your questions and expert advice on getting the most out of your Microsoft system. Talk with us to learn more.

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