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All rights reserved.
SOLUTIONS
Two Things Determine What You Actually Pay:
Licensing and Implementation.
Licensing is Microsoft’s structure.
Implementation is where your investment either pays off or quietly punishes you.
Let’s separate them.
Choose Your Starting Point
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Licensing
What you Actually Need
Business Central is one platform.
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Essentials covers financials, distribution, and inventory.
-
Premium extends Essentials to include manufacturing and service management.
You cannot mix Essentials and Premium for core users. You choose one foundation. Everything else builds from it. Team Member and Device licenses are layered on top to extend access across the organization.
Essentials
$80
Per user/month
Core Financials & Operations
The full Business Central platform for financials, and operational control
When this fits:
-
You need strong financials, inventory and order management.
-
You don't need production or service management.
Premium
$110
Per user/month
Manufacturing & Service Operations
Everything in Essentials, extended to support manufacturing and service operations.
When this fits:
-
You manufacture and require production planning, BOMs or shop floor tracking.
-
You need service management.
Team Member
$8
Per user/month
Light Access across the organization
A limited access license designed for users who need read access to BC without running full operations.
When this fits:
-
Users who need read-only visibility into data.
-
Users who have targeted interaction like approvals or basic quote entry.
Device
$40
Per device/month
Shared Access for Operational Environments
A shared license tied to a physical device rather than a user.
When this fits:
-
Warehouse scanning stations.
-
Shop floor terminals.
What Actually Drives Your Business Central Cost
(and How to Get It Right)
Pricing is not about counting users. It is about structuring your system in a way that reflects how your business operates today and where it is headed. Licensing is only one part of the investment. Setup, design, and adoption determine whether it actually works.
Start With the Foundation: How Licensing Is Structured
Before anything else, there are two key rules:
You choose either Essentials or Premium for your core users. These cannot be mixed
Team Member and Device licenses are then layered on top to extend access across your organization
Think of Essentials or Premium as your foundation.
Everything else builds from there.
1. Your Core Team
Start here. Always. Establish who owns:
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Financial management
-
Inventory and operations
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Order processing
-
Reporting and analysis
These users require full licenses.
Not everyone needs full access on day one. The mistake most companies make is licensing reactively instead of strategically. Start with your core team. Expand as you approach go-live.
Over-licensing wastes money. Under-licensing creates workarounds. Both are avoidable.
2. Your Operational Model
This determines Essentials versus Premium.
If you operate in manufacturing, assembly, or service management, Premium is required.
If your focus is financials, distribution, and inventory, Essentials may be appropriate.
This is the most important licensing decision you will make, and it is the hardest to reverse later.
This decision should be based on how your business actually runs, not on short-term budget pressure.
3. How Your Team Interacts with the System
Not every user needs full control.
Core users manage transactions and processes.
Broader teams often need visibility, approvals, or limited interaction.
That is where Team Member licenses make sense. They extend access without inflating cost.
Over-licensing increases spending unnecessarily. Under-licensing forces manual workarounds and shadow processes. Both undermine efficiency.
4. Warehouse and Shop Floor Environments
In operational environments, licensing often shifts from individuals to locations.
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Shared workstations
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Warehouse scanning stations
-
Shop floor terminals
Device licenses are often more efficient here. They reduce cost while supporting throughput.
Licensing should reflect how work actually happens on the floor, not just how roles are defined on paper.
5. Your Implementation Approach
Licensing is the easy part.
Implementation is where money is won or lost.
Your total investment is shaped by:
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How clearly your processes are defined before configuration
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How accurately the system is aligned to real workflows
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How effectively your team is trained and prepared
A poorly structured implementation costs more over time regardless of licensing decisions.
You can buy the right licenses and still end up with a system that feels harder than it should.
6. Your Growth Plan
Business Central scales. Restructuring later does not.
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Adding users is simple.
-
Redesigning licensing strategy midstream creates friction.
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Reworking system design after growth creates cost.
The goal is not to overbuild. It is to make disciplined foundational decisions early.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Implementation Plans
Licensing is the Starting Point. Implementation Determines the Outcome.
You can choose the right licenses and still end up with a system that feels harder than it should.
☑ Because what matters most isn’t what you purchased.
☑ It’s how it’s designed, configured, and adopted.
☑ This is where most implementations go wrong.
Implementation Plans Built Around How You Actually Operate
No two businesses run the same way. Your implementation shouldn’t either. We structure implementations based on operational complexity, team readiness, and how your processes actually flow, not a one-size-fits-all template. Implementation is a one time investment based on scope, not just user count.
One size does not fit all.
Choose the package that fits you best.
Top Pick
Move
Starting at
$9,000
Who is it for:
Companies with straightfoward processes moving off QuickBooks or manual processes.
<10 Users
What's included:
-
Basic financial management
-
Light sales and purchasing
-
Basic inventory tracking
Momentum
Starting at
$24,500
Who is it for:
Growing manufacturers and distributors who need stronger process control, inventory accuracy, and better decision-making.
10-30 Users; up to 2 locations
What's included:
Everything in Move, plus:
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Adv. inventory management
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Basic warehouse operations
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Light manufacturing or assembly workflows
-
Material planning
Mastery
Starting at
$88,000
Who is it for:
Organizations with complex operations, multiple locations, or advanced manufacturing and planning requirements.
20+ Users; Multilocation
What's included:
All in Momentum, plus:
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Advanced financials
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Location based inventory planning
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Advanced warehouse management
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Production planning & scheduling
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Full manufacturing capabilities
Not Sure Where You Fit?
That’s Normal. Most companies don’t, at first.
The goal is not selecting the “right package” on paper. The goal is ensuring the structure fits how your business actually operates.
We determine the right starting point based on your processes, team structure, and growth plans before you commit.
What Every Implementation Includes
Regardless of plan, every implementation is built on the same foundation:
Project planning and environment setup
Process-first design workshops
Configuration aligned to your workflows
Data migration support
The details may change. The discipline does not.
How Our Approach Is Different
Most implementation partners start with the software:
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Configure features
-
Adjust when things don’t fit
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And fix adoption later.
We start with how your business actually runs:
How inventory flows
How orders move through your operation
Where breakdowns are happening today
What your team needs to operate confidently
Then we design Business Central to support that, not the other way around.
Where Implementations Go Sideways
This is where most frustration comes from:
Processes aren’t clearly defined before configuration
Licensing and system design decisions are made in isolation
Teams are trained on screens, not workflows
Go-live happens before the system is truly ready
The result?
A system that technically works but feels harder than it should.
Why This Matters
The details don’t need to be complicated, but they do need to be right.
When implementation is aligned from the start:
☑ The system fits how your team actually works
☑ Reporting becomes reliable
☑ Adoption happens more naturally
☑ You avoid rework later
What You Can Expect
A plan that fits your business today
A structure that supports where you’re going
A clear fixed price with no surprises