Stop Lift-and-Shift: A Process-First Playbook for Business Central
- Elliott Clark Consulting
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
A practical playbook for streamlining and visualizing your operations in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
To streamline business processes with Business Central,
(1) map your current L1–L4 processes across departments
(2) design a “to-be” process that fits standard BC capabilities before customizing
(3) automate handoffs and controls
(4) instrument KPIs in Power BI
(5) run lightweight governance to iterate monthly
This process-first approach avoids “lift-and-shift,” reduces friction, and creates real visibility and control.
Why Process-First Beats Lift-and-Shift
We meet a lot of teams right before go-live who feel uneasy—and for good reason. One CFO told us she’d spent months watching her implementation “copy” old QuickBooks + spreadsheets habits into a new system. The result? More clicks, the same bottlenecks, and no cross-department view of how work actually flows.
At Elliott Clark Consulting, we start with the business process—not screens or customizations. We align Finance, Operations, Sales, and the Shop Floor around a shared, visual picture of how value moves through the company. Then we fit that to standard Business Central capabilities, layering automation and controls where they add measurable value. It’s calmer, faster, and far more sustainable.
If you've experienced the Lift and Shift to Business Central, let us give you a second opinion.
What ERP consulting should do (in plain English)
“Knowledge workers spend about one day per week (~20% of their time) searching for and gathering information.” This estimate comes from McKinsey Global Institute and is cited in McKinsey’s 2023 analysis of generative AI’s productivity potential.
ERP consulting is the practice of making your business run better using an integrated system. Done right, it:
Eliminates redundancy: one source of truth for items, vendors, customers, and transactions.
Shortens cycle times: fewer handoffs and manual work.
Improves control & visibility: approvals, posting groups, audit trails, and live dashboards.
Our lens is simple: does this process increase control, clarity, or cash? If not, we fix it.
L1–L4: The Four Zoom Levels Everyone Understands
We use four levels to keep everyone aligned—from CEO to AP clerk:
L1 (End-to-end flows): Record-to-Report, Procure-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, Plan-to-Produce, Receive-to-Ship.
L2 (Sub-processes): e.g., in Procure-to-Pay: vendor onboarding, requisition, PO, receipt, invoice match, payment.
L3 (Activities): create PO, post receipt, match invoice, release payment journal.
L4 (Tasks): the actual clicks/fields in Business Central (e.g., “Post and Print,” set Posting Group, select Dimension).
Why it works: L1/L2 align leaders on outcomes and controls; L3/L4 guide configuration, training, and test scripts. Everyone sees the same movie.
The ECC process-first blueprint (applies directly to Business Central)
“Organizations saw a 9%–18% productivity improvement for finance & operations by reducing manual reporting and reconciliation with Business Central.”
1) Map how work really happens (not how we wish it did)
Facilitate 60–90 minute workshops for each L1 flow.
Capture wait states, rework, and “Excel escapes.”
Mark controls (who can approve?), handoffs (who owns the baton?), and data owners (who is accountable?).
Output: A clean current-state map and a prioritized list of friction points.
2) Design the “to-be” process that fits standard BC
Start with fit-to-standard: Posting Groups, Dimensions, Approval Workflows, Item Tracking/Lots, Reservations, Planning Worksheets, Production Orders, and Warehouse Picks/Put-aways.
Only add extensions when they unlock material value (compliance, margin, throughput) and the standard path truly falls short.
Rule of thumb: If the process once existed to work around old tools, it probably shouldn’t survive in BC.
3) Wire in controls and automation (lightweight, high-impact)
Approvals: Purchases, vendor changes, price/discount overrides.
Templates & defaults: Vendor posting groups, item templates, recurring journals, standard cost updates.
Automation: Power Automate for reminders, escalations, and document delivery; scheduled jobs for routine postings.
Data hygiene: Required fields, consistent master data policies, and periodic review queues.
4) Instrument the work (so you can manage it)
Dimensions for the slices you actually report on (product line, channel, plant, market).
KPIs & lead indicators in Power BI: quote-to-cash days, first-pass yield, late POs, inventory turns, backorders, and margin leakage.
Operational dashboards at the L2 level (e.g., invoice-match aging, pick completion vs. ship deadlines).
5) Train for confidence, not just clicks
Role-based guides that follow the L2 → L3 → L4 flow (what, why, then how).
Short task videos for L4 tasks (under 3 minutes).
“What good looks like” checklists at the end of each process.
6) Govern lightly, improve continuously
A monthly, 45-minute Process Council: review KPIs, exceptions, and one improvement per flow.
Keep a change parking lot with business cases, not wish lists.
Refresh process maps quarterly; update test scripts after each improvement.
What “Good” Looks Like in BC (P2P, O2C, P2P, R2R)
Procure-to-Pay: Three-way match by policy; vendor onboarding with approvals; variance posting groups for clean GL; late PO watchlist; payment runs batched by cash plan—not one-off checks.
Order-to-Cash: Quote → order with margin guardrails; credit holds automated; pick/pack by wave; e-invoice delivery; unapplied cash queue reviewed daily.
Plan-to-Produce (Manufacturing): Item setup with correct replenishment system (Prod/BOM/Routes); finite capacity planning; lot/serial tracking; nonconformance captured; backflush where appropriate; production variances reviewed weekly.
Record-to-Report: Dimensions enforced; recurring journals for accruals; close checklist with roles/times; subledger to GL ties tracked (inventory, WIP, AP/AR).
Change management with a brain
People don’t resist change—they resist loss of control. We reduce fear and increase clarity by:
Making progress visible: simple scorecards and before/after cycle-time snapshots.
Micro-wins: launch one automation per month that saves obvious time.
Default to simplicity: fewer choices, clearer paths.
Story over jargon: show how the new flow prevents the last fire everyone remembers.
Common pitfalls (and how we avoid them)
Lift-and-shift thinking: “We’ve always done it this way.”Fix: Fit to standard first. If it’s a true edge case, prove it with numbers.
Over-customization: Every tweak is a future cost.Fix: Extensions only with a business case and owner.
No cross-department view: Local wins, global losses.Fix: L1/L2 maps and a shared KPI tree.
Training as button-click tours: Users memorize—then forget.Fix: Role scenarios tied to outcomes and controls.
A quick self-assessment
Do we have one L1 map per end-to-end flow everyone agrees on?
Are our L2/L3 activities explicitly mapped to BC features (and test scripts)?
Which three controls stop the most leakage today (approvals, posting guards, dimensions)?
What’s the one automation we’ll ship this month?
Which five KPIs tell us the process is healthier?
FAQs
What are L1–L4 processes in ERP? They’re four zoom levels: L1 end-to-end flows, L2 sub-processes, L3 activities, L4 exact tasks/clicks. We use them to align strategy with day-to-day work in Business Central.
Do I need to customize Business Central to match my processes? Not usually. Start by fitting your process to standard BC. Customize only when a clear business case (compliance, margin, throughput) justifies it.
How long does process mapping take? Most teams can map each L1 flow in 60–90 minutes and design a to-be in a follow-up session. The win is clarity—you’ll make better configuration decisions immediately.
What should we automate first? Approvals and reminders in Procure-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash. They reduce risk and busywork without disrupting core operations.
How do we keep improving after go-live? Run a monthly Process Council, track a small backlog, and release one change at a time. Update KPIs and training as you go.
How we help
Our Spark → Shape → Navigate → Activate framework keeps you out of the weeds and focused on results:
Spark: Rapid current-state mapping and data review.
Shape: To-be design that fits standard BC, with controls and KPIs.
Navigate: Configuration, training, and pilot cycles tied to L2/L3 scenarios.
Activate: Go-live support plus monthly governance to keep improving.
If you’re planning Business Central—or living with a “lift-and-shift” that never delivered—this approach replaces anxiety with control and gives your team the visibility they’ve been asking for.
Want to see this in action?
Book a demo or a Second-Opinion Review for existing Business Central environments.
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