Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Vs Dynamics 365 CRM

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM are two of the most powerful business applications. The two top-tier business solutions are part of the overall reach and intent of Microsoft to establish itself as a leader in the business solutions market. In a field where IBM might be the earlier adopted but Microsoft with all its might and resources is catching up fast and even leading in many verticals.

The majority of Microsoft business applications share the same DNA and at times it becomes harder to decide which one is right for your business and requirements. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM also share the same DNA, and coincidently the same decision dilemma. Between the two powerful business applications, there are a lot of overlapping features but the one that creates the most confusion is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central’s sales management capabilities versus those of Dynamics 365 CRM.

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM?

Dynamics 365 for Sales or commonly called Dynamics 365 CRM is a robust cloud based customer relationship manager from the tech giant Microsoft. The overall package contains several applications. The Dynamics 365 Sales app, one of the most popular, allows businesses to qualify leads, manage sales opportunities, build customer relationships, optimize email marketing campaigns, and more.

While Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 CRM seem to have identical features and capabilities, each of the two has to be purchased separately. And while they look similar, yet each has its own areas of strength.

Business Central comes with a Relationship Management functionality that tracks pre-sales operations including contact management and opportunity tracking, and combines your people and processes into a single, unified solution that can be accessed at any time and from any location, allowing data to be shared quickly and easily throughout your organization. You have access to the most up-to-date and accurate information, allowing you to make well-informed business decisions. 

Payroll and banking are all linked, allowing your staff to share the most up-to-date information and respond to client requests more quickly with the correct information. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is a multi-application cloud-based customer relationship management solution. Dynamics 365 for Sales is one of the most popular apps, allowing businesses to qualify leads, manage sales prospects, nurture customer relationships, improve email marketing campaigns, and more. 

Dynamics 365 Sales Professional is Microsoft’s major CRM product. It includes the most used CRM processes and capabilities, such as contacts, accounts, leads, opportunities and offers full sync capabilities with emails, appointments, Teams, and so on. 

Which product will be most beneficial to your business? 

When is it best to use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?  

• If your main motivation for switching the software is to have better financial and operational management, but you also require some basic tracking and reporting features for contacts and opportunities. 
• Integration with other Office 365 tools like Outlook and Teams isn’t a priority, and you don’t expect your firm to require additional CRM features soon. 
• Basic sales management tools are all that is required; you just want to keep track of your finances, inventory, and manufacturing. 
• You’d like to organize your business based on opportunities and related quotes.  
• It’s critical that you have complete access to all product details and sales history. 
• You need to meet certain basic marketing criteria. 
• It is not a key priority to integrate with Outlook and handle sales activity. 
• Most of your sales processes are pretty straightforward.  

Related: Do my business need Dynamics 365 Business Central?

When is it best to use Dynamics 365 CRM:  

• The main reasons for considering a new CRM system are to consolidate and centralize your present sales processes, improve visibility and reporting, and boost sales conversions by leveraging your existing Office 365 tools.  
• To track emails, handle projects and appointments, and reach customers via email marketing, robust integration with Outlook is essential. 
• You’d like the ability to customize the out-of-the-box process to further personalize the solution to your business needs, even if you don’t need it right away. 
• Within the next few years, you may want the option of upgrading your CRM solution to a more comprehensive and customized solution. 
• The end-to-end sales process and sales activity management are critical. 
• You’ll need more Customer Engagement features, such as Customer Service, Field Service, and so on. 
• Your marketing requirements are more advanced and it’s critical to have a seamless Outlook integration.  

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 CRM built-in integration 

Because they are Microsoft products, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 CRM have a built-in integration. Customers who use Business Central can use the ERP tools they require, as well as leverage Dynamics 365 CRM to gain the full range of sales and customer management features. 

The Business Central – Dynamics 365 CRM integration allows you to complete a full quote-to-cash process: 

• Enter quotes into Dynamics 365 CRM using the pricing lists from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 
• Turn quotes into orders by checking Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central inventory availability in Dynamics 365 CRM 
• Orders are shipped and invoiced through Business Central. 
• Receive and post cash against invoices through Business Central 

• Check the status of invoice payment through Dynamics 365 CRM 

Let’s take a closer look at the other Dynamics CRM applications:  

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for Customer Service: 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for Customer Service is a customer service automation module that offers, among other things, automated case management, dashboards, and reports. Customer service can become a competitive advantage with Dynamics 365. 

With D365 Customer Service, your team can manage client problems faster than ever before ensuring that your customers receive the finest possible service and are completely satisfied. Contracts, resources, working hours, unified service desk (USD), case management, and custom entities are all conveniently managed using D365 Customer Service. 

• Effective Financial Management: Financial information across accounts, sales, purchases, inventory and customer interactions. Primarily want to manage financials, inventory, and production; only need basic sales management features.
• Accurate reporting and analytics – Directly integrated into Excel and display real-time financial performance charts with built-in Power BI Dashboards. With Business, you can make your decisions based on full insight.
• Use built-in intelligence to predict when and which SKUs to replenish.
• Deliver projects on time and under budget easily creating and tracking customer projects using detailed timesheets