Business Central Second Opinion: 5 Common Issues We Fix Fast

A Business Central Second Opinion helps companies already live on Business Central uncover what’s truly holding them back—whether it’s setup errors, missing balances, costing chaos, or broken processes. Here are the five issues we resolve most often (and how we fix them fast).

You know that moment when someone says,

“We thought Business Central would make things easier.” You just nod… because you’ve heard it a hundred times?

That’s usually when they find us.

Most of the clients who co me to us aren’t failing — they’re frustrated. Their system works “technically,” but every day feels harder than it should. Reports don’t match, costing doesn’t tie out, and the team’s patience is paper thin.

That’s exactly why our Business Central Second Opinion exists — to uncover what’s really going on so you can fix it fast without starting from scratch.

Here are the five most common issues we find (and how we help clients breathe again).

1. Inventory Costing Chaos

The pain: You open your inventory valuation report… and it doesn’t match your G/L. Again.

One day it’s off by $20K, the next by $200K. Your accountant blames operations, operations blames the system, and no one’s sure what to trust anymore. There are quantities with negative values or worse a zero quantity that has a value!

The reality: Costing chaos usually isn’t a system failure — it’s a setup and process disconnect. Wrong costing method, bad revaluation timing, or inconsistent posting groups can turn what should be a reliable cost layer into a black box.

The fix: We trace the flow of every value entry and pinpoint the exact source of distortion. Then we realign posting setups, clean the data, and teach your team how to keep costing stable moving forward. Learn more about Inventory Costing in our Founder, Stephanie E. Clark's blog Dynamics Power Play.

The result: One manufacturer went from “we don’t trust our numbers” to fully reconciled, audit-ready inventory in just two weeks.

Clarity restored. Confidence rebuilt.

2. Missing or Wrong Beginning Balances

The pain: Your trial balance never quite ties out. You’ve checked every dimension, every subledger — still off. AP and AR don’t match your legacy system, and month-end turns into detective work.

The reality: Opening balances get messy when implementations rush through data loading. If someone used configuration packages here and journals there, with different posting dates or missing dimensions, your base data’s off forever.

The fix: Our Second Opinion digs into your opening entries — where they came from, how they were posted, and what’s missing. Then we rebuild them cleanly, align them with legacy reports, and reset your baseline so reporting actually means something.

The result: After a single two-hour review, one distributor finally closed their first clean month in a year.

Sometimes the problem isn’t today — it’s day one.

3. Poor Process Alignment

The pain: Your ERP works, but your people don’t. Sales is tracking quotes in Excel, production’s using whiteboards, and purchasing “doesn’t trust the system.”

The reality: Business Central was implemented around modules, not how your business actually flows. When the process doesn’t fit, users go around it — and suddenly you’re back to duct-taped spreadsheets.

The fix: We map your real process — not the textbook version — and show how to make the system work with it. Simple tweaks to approvals, screen layouts, or item setup can eliminate massive friction. Learn more about our Process First approach.

The result: A medical device manufacturer cut order-to-ship time by 40% and ditched four spreadsheets in the first week.

No new licenses. No reimplementation. Just alignment.

4. Dimensions and Reporting Confusion

The pain: You run three “profitability” reports and get three different answers. Finance doesn’t trust operations; operations doesn’t trust finance.

The reality: Dimensions are powerful — and dangerous. When they’re inconsistent, duplicated, or optional in all the wrong places, your data looks fine on screen but lies in the reports.

The fix: We clean up your global and shortcut dimensions, standardize posting, and rebuild analysis views so data slices finally tell the same story everywhere. Then we train your team to post with consistency, not chaos.

The result: Month-end close dropped from five days to two — and for the first time, the CFO’s dashboard actually matched the controller’s spreadsheet.

Data harmony: the most underrated feeling in ERP.

5. Security and Setup Gaps

The pain: Half your users have “SUPER” access. The other half can’t post an invoice. Approvals fail, workflows break, and audit risk is through the roof.

The reality: In go-lives, security is often an afterthought. Too many cooks, too many shortcuts, and no one truly understands permission inheritance.

The fix: We audit every role, group, and permission, then design simple role templates that make sense. Add working approval flows and you suddenly have both control and speed.

The result: One client cut posting errors by 70% just by tightening security and giving users the right level of access.

Control restored. Confidence unlocked.

What These Stories Prove

Every one of these companies was already live on Business Central. They weren’t broken — they were stuck.

A Business Central Second Opinion gives you the clarity to move forward. We identify the quick wins, the real risks, and the simple fixes that make your system finally deliver on its promise.

Ready to See What’s Really Going On?

You don’t need a new ERP — you need a fresh set of expert eyes.

Are you ready to get your Second Opinion?

Book My Second Opinion

Learn more about our Second Opinion Service.