Beginning a transition from Dynamics GP to a different ERP platform can feel like standing at the base of a mountain without a compass or map, unable to even see the top.
You know you’ll likely need help to reach the summit, but you’re not entirely sure what lies ahead of you on the path, so how and who should you ask for directions? And when?
Across the following entries in our blog series, “,” you’ll recognize similar themes. The biggest takeaway is that you don’t have to migrate everything—all your processes and data—right away, but there are small, substantial steps you can take right now to make your eventual move (and you will have to move eventually) a little easier on you and your team.
Explore the posts below to start building a roadmap for your transition from Dynamics GP to a new ERP platform.
Making changes to Dynamics GP while prepping for a future move: Updating or creating new financial reports
Financial reporting is a core function of Dynamics GP, particularly with beloved features like SmartLists. Rather than waiting until migration to address your reporting needs, you can start preserving important financial data and processes now by implementing third-party reporting extensions that work across both Dynamics GP and Business Central.
are two examples of ISVs that can bridge the gap between these systems. Both allow you to export financial data and reports to Excel, creating an external repository of information that you can access throughout your transition. This helps maintain consistency and confidence in your financial reporting during and after migration, while also reducing the risk of losing critical historical data.
These tools can also help your team become more comfortable with self-service reporting in Excel, a useful skill they can bring with them to Business Central. Users can filter data by accounts or dimensions, drill down into individual transactions, and build customized views.
Making changes to Dynamics GP while prepping for a future move: Adding major modules to GP
A major change in your business can happen at any time, creating an urgent need for new capabilities in your Dynamics GP system.
However, , it’s worth considering whether adding a major module is the right investment for your organization at this time. Adding significant functionality to a system you expect to move away from in the next few years means investing significant time and money into processes you’ll eventually need to recreate or reimagine in a new ERP. Before expanding your GP environment, evaluate whether those resources would be better spent moving to a platform that can support your business in the long run.
Service Management, Project Accounting, and Manufacturing are among the most significant modules you could add to your GP environment. If your organization is considering implementing one of these modules, it may make more sense to accelerate the timeline of your transition to Business Central or another ERP platform.
Making changes to Dynamics GP while prepping for a future move: Adding intercompany transactions
You may never have needed to manage intercompany transactions before, but a merger or acquisition can quickly change that. An intercompany transaction is an exchange between two business units under the same parent company. It can add complexity to your accounting practices and create the need for robust multi-entity management (MEM).
While Dynamics GP does offer decent multi-entity management capabilities, hosting your MEM functions there still means you’ll have to transition them somewhere else in just a few short years.
Instead, set yourself up for a successful ERP platform transition by implementing ISV solutions that work in both Dynamics GP and Business Central, like . With Binary Stream’s MEM, you can seamlessly handle intercompany transactions in a platform that is already familiar to you while also preparing to handle them in a new platform that won’t be.
Making changes to Dynamics GP while prepping for a future move: Credit card processors
Processing credit card payments in Dynamics GP involves multiple manual steps and comes with several limitations that can hinder your ability to accept payments in a modern, flexible way. These inefficiencies put unnecessary strain on your accounting team and could be causing you to miss out on potential revenue.
Business Central supports a broader range of modern payment options than Dynamics GP, meaning you can close more invoices and get paid faster. If you’ve been planning a migration to Business Central, you don’t have to wait until the move to start improving your payment processes. Implementing a third-party payment processing extension that works across multiple ERP platforms lets you preserve your data and modernize your processes at the same time.
An ISV like works in both Dynamics GP and Business Central and allows you to accept more payment types than ever before through a secure, PCI-compliant portal—something you’ll be able to take with you from Dynamics GP and into Business Central.
It can be hard to find your way out of Dynamics GP; we can help
With the end of Dynamics GP approaching, now is a good time to start planning your organization’s migration to or implementation of a new ERP platform or accounting application. Resist the urge to stand still; You can’t reach the top of the mountain without taking the first step. To get started today, .
Nearly any system transition can come with complications and challenges, but the resources above are designed to help you avoid or at least weather the most common of them. With Syvantis as your Microsoft Partner, you’ll have a calm, knowledgeable advisor by your side through your transition and beyond.