Just when you think you are set in Dynamics GP, you are good with what you have, and you know you have time to transition to Business Central later, something comes along and changes your mind. 

We are Dynamics GP and Business Central experts committed to supporting our GP clients until they decide the time is right to move off GP. When they are ready, we’re here to guide them through an upgrade to Business Central—we've already helped so many of our clients do the same.

Throughout this blog series, we’ve been sharing our advice for how to handle new needs in your Dynamics GP environment, considering Microsoft’s publicly-announced end of service for GP. In the series, we’re covering our suggestions for making large changes, like adding a new module to meet new business needs (like Project Accounting or Manufacturing), and we’re also discussing the small adjustments you can make to GP to get the most out of the system while working toward replacing GP on a timeline that works well for your business. Here are some of the other blogs in this series: 

This whole series is about making sure you are not doing more work or spending more money than you need to, given GP’s upcoming sunset. Your business, like many others, is constantly changing. If you aren’t using intercompany today, there is a chance you may need it later, and the need often arises quickly. Intercompany additions are more frequent than you might think, primarily due to acquisitions and mergers.

If you’re this late in the game and only now needing intercompany functionality, you can set yourself up for an easier move by making sure your intercompany solution is the same in GP as it will be in Business Central. 

It is true that Dynamics GP has a pretty decent intercompany option built in, and it doesn’t take too long to set up. Likewise, Business Central has built-in intercompany functionality. However, just because the tool is available in GP doesn’t mean you should default to it. In the long run, you will reduce setup costs and training time by implementing a solution that your team can use across both ERPs. 

Whether you have an immediate need for intercompany functionality before you transition ERPs or you’re looking forward and preparing ahead of time, you should consider speaking with your partner about implementing Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management (MEM). It’s full-featured and available in both GP and Business Central.

Not only does MEM have a strong intercompany component, but you can also:

Two additional considerations: At this time, licensing differs between GP and Business Central, so you may incur duplicate licensing fees during your ERP transition. Also, if you are thinking of switching to Business Central in a short time frame, maybe less than a year, it may not be worth the effort to add MEM to Dynamics GP, and you’d be better off waiting for it in Business Central.

If you are considering adding intercompany or any other functionality to GP, discuss the implications with your partner. They can help you determine the best course of action and recommend solutions that may save you time, effort, and money as you transition to Business Central.

Stay tuned for other blogs in this series, where we will continue with common business needs in GP and our suggestions for approaching them.