Are you looking for a new tool to manage your resources across multiple projects, streamline time tracking, and simplify invoicing? Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Project Operations are both powerful solutions offering a rich functionality, but choosing the right one depends on your specific needs. Let’s explore how each tool can support your business.
Key Features Shared by Business Central and Project Operations
Both Business Central and Project Operations provide core capabilities for project-based work:
- Project management
- Resource assignment
- Time entry
- Time approval workflows
- Invoice creation
- Reporting
- Power BI integration
These features facilitate project management by enabling team members to book time, managers to approve work, and efficient generation of invoices. Both Business Central and Project Operations integrate with Power BI, enabling advanced data visualization and interactive dashboards.
When to Choose Business Central
Business Central is the right fit if:
- You are implementing or switching to a new ERP system and need built-in time tracking to optimize invoicing processes.
- You want a simple, easy-to-set-up solution without the need for complex configurations.
- You prefer to have time tracking and invoicing directly within an ERP system without needing to implement additional integrations with external systems.
- You require a streamlined approach without the additional project management and sales functionalities found in Project Operations.
- You need the reporting functionality that Business Central offers, like the ability to track and report on various financial categories such as Revenue, Expenses, Assets, Liabilities and Equity. To take it even further, the Dimensions feature allows you to perform multi-dimensional analysis, enabling you to filter and compare results across different axes (e.g., sales by region or expenses by department) without needing to add more accounts.
When to Choose Project Operations
Project Operations is a better choice if:
- You need a comprehensive solution that tracks a project from lead generation to invoicing, and project completion.
- You prefer a more modern, user-friendly UI that aligns with other Microsoft Dynamics 365 products.
- Your team already uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales or Customer Service, ensuring a seamless transition.
- Your sales processes are project-based, and you require specialized features like Quotes and Project Contracts, which are better suited for capturing information that are relevant for project-based sales.
- You need robust tracking of estimated vs. actual hours and costs against a client budget.
- You want to leverage Microsoft’s AI capabilities with the easy-to-use Copilot Project Status Report generator or the in-app data visualization tool available on tables like Project, Resource Requirements, Resource Bookings, Quotes, Project Contracts, Approved Time, Actuals and more.
- You need custom data visualization in reporting dashboards available in the app that cater to your daily reporting needs in sales, projects or resource management topics.
- You are already using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain, as Project Operations seamlessly integrates with it via dual-write.
Making the Right Choice
Business Central and Project Operations both offer strong capabilities, but their use cases differ. Business Central is ideal for businesses looking for an integrated ERP solution with simpler time tracking, while Project Operations is a more powerful and robust project management tool designed for organizations handling complex, service-based projects.
Still unsure which solution is best for your business? Contact us at info@reachinternational.ai and let’s find the right fit together.
