Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for manufacturers
Move from legacy ERP and spreadsheets to a modern manufacturing platform.
PSSI implements Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for small and mid-sized manufacturers, with a phased plan designed around your processes, your budget and the time your team actually has.
Authorized NAV & Business Central reseller since 2002
30+ years of manufacturing ERP experience
Senior consultants from plan to go-live
Weekend cutovers where appropriate
Signs it’s time
When the system can’t keep up, the business starts running on workarounds.
Most manufacturers don’t decide to run their business on spreadsheets. It happens one workaround at a time, until quoting, costing and scheduling depend on files and people instead of the system that is supposed to hold it all together. If any of these sound familiar, it’s worth a closer look at your options.
Your ERP is being retired.
Microsoft has set end-of-support dates for Dynamics NAV, GP and SL. Once support ends, fixes and security updates stop, and the pool of people who can help keeps shrinking.
Quotes take longer than they should.
Costs, availability and lead times live in different places, so every quote needs someone to chase down the numbers.
Decisions run on gut feel.
When nobody fully trusts the reports, experience fills the gap. That works until the business grows past what one person can see.
Too much depends on one person.
One person knows how the overhead rate is calculated or how the month-end workaround runs. When they’re out, the process stops.
The same data gets entered twice.
Orders are re-keyed between sales, production, purchasing and accounting, and every re-entry is another chance for an error.
You’ve outgrown what the system can do.
New customers, products or locations need capabilities your current ERP can’t add without expensive custom work.
One of these is a reason to start planning. Two or more usually means waiting is already costing more than it appears.
Running Dynamics NAV, GP or SL? Know your date.
Microsoft has published end-of-support dates for its older ERP products. Extended support for Dynamics NAV 2018 ends in January 2028 and for Dynamics SL 2018 in July 2028, and product support for Dynamics GP, including tax and regulatory updates, ends on December 31, 2029. Earlier versions of NAV are already past end of support.
Your system won’t stop running on those dates. But planning, data cleanup and testing take time, and the strongest migrations start well ahead of the deadline.
Running ALERE, SBT, Sage Pro, ACCPAC or another older system? The same questions apply, and PSSI supports many of these platforms today.
Not ready to replace your ERP? See how we improve the system you have →
Outcomes
What changes when the business runs on Business Central
The goal of an ERP project isn’t new software. It’s a business that runs on one set of numbers that everyone trusts. Here is what that looks like day to day.
One source of truth.
Sales, purchasing, production, inventory and finance work from the same data, so month-end becomes a close instead of a reconciliation project.
Faster quote-to-order.
Costs, pricing and availability sit in one place, so quotes go out on current numbers and orders flow straight into production and purchasing.
Job costing you can act on.
See actual material and labor against the estimate while there is still time to act, not after the job has shipped.
Reporting without the spreadsheet relay.
Leaders see margin, backlog and inventory on live data through Business Central reporting and Power BI dashboards that PSSI builds around your measures.
Knowledge that lives in the system.
Processes are built into workflows and documented, so the business no longer depends on one person’s memory.
A platform that grows with you.
Add users, locations, e-commerce or warehouse tools as you grow. Business Central online is updated by Microsoft on a regular schedule, so you aren’t facing another forced migration down the road.
How PSSI implements
A phased implementation your team can actually absorb
The concerns we hear most are cost, disruption and data. Our approach deals with all three in the open, before you commit to a go-live date.
01
Readiness and budget plan.
We review your processes, data, integrations and team capacity, then give you a phased roadmap and an investment range. You’ll know what it costs and what your people need to do before anything is signed.
02
Process design.
We map how you actually quote, schedule, build, ship and bill, configure Business Central to fit, and identify the few places where an extension or custom development earns its cost.
03
Data migration and cleanup.
Together we decide what history moves, what gets cleaned up and what gets archived. We run test migrations before the real one, so cutover day holds no surprises.
04
Test and train.
Your team works through real transactions with your own data, and each person is trained on the tasks they will do every day.
05
Go-live.
Cutover is scheduled around production. Where it makes sense, we switch over on a weekend, so your team starts Monday on the new system with PSSI on hand.
06
Support and improvement.
The people who implemented your system stay with you after go-live for support, training and the next round of improvements.
“We won’t tell you an ERP project is risk-free. We’ll show you where the risks are and exactly how we plan to manage each one.”
First steps
Choose the right first step
Every company starts from a different place. These packaged options give you a clear, defined way to begin.
Foundation
Get up and running fast
Best for: Small manufacturers and distributors that want to move off spreadsheets or a legacy system quickly and can work with Business Central’s standard, industry-proven setup.
Includes:
- Core financials, plus customer (sales and receivables) and vendor (purchasing and payables) functions
- Standard Business Central inventory management
- Predefined, industry-standard configuration based on your inventory accounting method
- No customizations, which keeps cost and timeline predictable (any customization requested is billed separately on a time-and-materials basis)
Investment: $45,000 (Approximately 200 hours | 3 weeks)
Optimize
Build a strong baseline around how you work
Best for: Growing manufacturers with more complex operations, such as production, warehousing or multi-step processes, that need a strong baseline built around how the business actually runs.
Includes:
- Business process review before configuration begins
- Everything included in Foundation
- Additional functional setup, such as manufacturing and warehouse management
- 40 hours of Level 1 customizations
- A platform ready for advanced Business Central features and third-party solutions
Transform
Design your future-state operation
Includes:
- In-depth discovery process and a customized future-state design
- Level 1, 2 or 3 customizations, as required
- Expanded consulting time beyond the Optimize scope
- A foundation for very advanced feature use and complex customization
All fees in USD. Hours and timelines are estimates and are confirmed during scoping.
Cost guidance
What does Business Central cost for a small manufacturer?
It’s usually the first question, and it deserves a straight answer. Total cost comes from a handful of components: Microsoft subscription licenses for each user, implementation services, data migration, any extensions or custom development, training and ongoing support.
Our Readiness & Budget Plan puts a written investment range in front of you before you commit, with the assumptions behind it spelled out.
What moves the number most is scope
- How many people use the system
- How complex your manufacturing processes are
- How clean your current data is
- How many other systems need to connect
- How much of the work your own team can take on
WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING…
Why PSSI
Why manufacturers choose PSSI for Business Central
We knew it before it was Business Central.
PSSI has been an authorized reseller of Dynamics NAV, the product that became Business Central, since 2002. We know where it came from, how it works and what older NAV systems carry forward.
We understand manufacturing, not just software.
Quoting, costing, bills of materials, routings, the shop floor and inventory are where we spend our time. We speak the language of your operation first and the software second.
Senior people, straight answers.
You work directly with experienced consultants who give candid advice, including when the honest answer is “not yet.”
Both paths under one roof.
If Business Central isn’t the right move today, we can improve and extend the system you already have. Our advice doesn’t depend on which path you choose. Explore ERP Development →
Sized for your business.
Phased plans and right-sized scope for companies that don’t have an IT department or an enterprise budget.
With you after go-live.
Continuity from assessment through implementation, custom development and ongoing support.
FAQ
Business Central questions we hear from manufacturers
Is Business Central a good fit for a small manufacturer?
For many manufacturers with roughly 10 to 100 employees, yes. Business Central brings finance, sales, purchasing, inventory and production together in one system and can be extended as your needs grow. Whether it fits your operation depends on your processes, which is exactly what the Readiness & Budget Plan answers.
How much does Business Central cost?
It depends on the number of users, the complexity of your processes, the condition of your data, the systems you need to connect and how much of the work your own team takes on. The cost guidance above explains each factor, and your Readiness & Budget Plan gives you a written investment range before you commit. Read the cost guidance
How long does an implementation take?
It depends on scope, data and how much time your team can commit. For smaller manufacturers, a phased implementation is typically measured in months, not years. Your readiness plan gives you a timeline before you commit.
Can you move our data from Dynamics NAV, GP or SL?
Yes. We can migrate all your history, and run test migrations first so the final cutover holds no surprises.
What happens to our NAV customizations?
Many customizations built in older NAV systems are now standard features in Business Central. Those you still need can be rebuilt as extensions, which are designed to carry forward through Microsoft’s updates. We review each one with you and recommend whether to keep, replace or retire it.
Should we run Business Central in the cloud or on our own servers?
Business Central is primarily cloud-based, with on-premises deployment available in limited circumstances, including for eligible government organizations.
Will the implementation disrupt production?
Any system change takes effort, and we won’t pretend otherwise. We plan cutover around your production schedule, often over a weekend, and have PSSI people available as your team starts working on the new system.
What will our team need to commit?
A project owner who can make decisions, time from the people who know each process, help with data cleanup, and participation in testing and training. We put a realistic estimate of those hours in your plan.
What if we’re not ready to replace our ERP?
Then don’t, yet. PSSI also develops, integrates and supports existing ERPs, including Dynamics NAV and ALERE, so you can fix what matters now and plan a move on your own timeline. See ERP Development
Know what your move to Business Central involves before you commit.
Start with a Readiness & Budget Plan, or book a 30-minute conversation with a senior PSSI consultant. It’s a conversation about your business, not a sales presentation.
Prefer to talk now? Call 877.273.2444 or email info@pssiusa.com.
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