Dynamics 365 Business Central Consulting and Migration
The old accounting system is not going to get better. It is going to get one more workaround, then one more, until the analyst who knows them leaves. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the modern destination for small and mid-sized finance, and the migration is the whole risk. NetSys runs it end to end: mapping, data, integrations, training, two parallel closes, and the old virtual machines finally shut down. We have done the entire thing for a client, from Azure-hosted legacy to Business Central.
The short answer
Dynamics 365 Business Central consulting covers choosing, planning and moving to Microsoft's cloud ERP for small and mid-sized businesses, then running it: chart of accounts design, licensing, data migration from systems such as QuickBooks, Dynamics GP or NAV, integrations, reporting and training. NetSys runs the migration as one team in phases (planning, data, integrations, reporting, training, decommissioning) and turns the old system off only after two clean month-end closes reconcile against it. We have done this for a client moving from an Azure-hosted legacy system, and afterward we manage Business Central alongside your Microsoft 365 tenant, month to month.
ERP migrations fail in predictable ways: the chart of accounts is copied instead of designed, history is migrated wholesale and slows the new system, integrations are discovered after cutover, and the go-live is scheduled for a busy month because nobody checked the calendar. The finance team ends up running two systems for a year.
We run the migration the other way around. The chart of accounts is designed for how the business reports now. History is migrated to what the auditors will ask for. Integrations are inventoried and rebuilt before anyone says the word cutover. Two parallel closes reconcile to the penny before the old system is turned off. Then the old virtual machines are decommissioned, and the bill for them stops arriving.
Two Clean Closes Before the Old System Goes Dark
Planning starts with the reports the controller relies on and works backward to the data that produces them. Master records and open transactions migrate first; history follows to the depth auditors need. Integrations (bank feeds, payroll, billing, inventory, Power Automate flows) are rebuilt and tested against real transactions. Training runs in a quiet week with the legacy system read-only. Cutover is followed by two parallel month-end closes reconciled against the old system, and only then does decommissioning begin.
What the Migration Covers
Planning & Chart of Accounts
Designed for how you report now, not copied from 2009.
- Discovery of current processes, workarounds and the reports leadership actually uses
- Chart of accounts and dimensions designed for Business Central's reporting model
- Licensing and environment design: Essentials versus Premium, users, sandboxes
- A migration calendar that avoids quarter-end and audit season
Data Migration
Everything the auditors expect, nothing that slows the system.
- Master records, open transactions and balances migrated with configuration packages
- Historical depth agreed with your accountants and auditors up front
- Validation runs reconciled against the legacy system's totals
- Legacy workarounds documented, then rebuilt properly or retired
Integrations & Automation
Discovered before cutover, not after.
- Bank feeds, payroll, billing and inventory integrations rebuilt to land in Business Central directly
- Power Platform automations and Copilot capabilities where they return hours
- Microsoft 365 integration with Outlook, Excel and Teams, configured for the finance team
- Reports the controller relies on, recreated and verified
Training, Cutover & Decommissioning
The quietest week of the project should be go-live.
- Role-based training run in a quiet week with the old system read-only
- Cutover followed by two parallel closes reconciled to the legacy system
- Legacy servers and virtual machines decommissioned on a planned date
- Business Central managed alongside your tenant afterward, month to month
Why Businesses Choose NetSys for Business Central
Fifteen minutes with a NetSys engineer, not a salesperson, and you will know where your business central migration stands and what it would take to fix it. Call 845-203-3914 or request a call to discuss the scope and next steps.
Who does the work: meet the NetSys team on our About page.
- We have run a complete migration from an Azure-hosted legacy system to Business Central: planning, data, integrations, training, cutover and decommissioning
- One team for the ERP, the Microsoft 365 tenant, the Azure environment and the security around all of it
- Two parallel closes before the old system goes dark, so finance never runs blind
- Integrations inventoried and rebuilt before cutover, not discovered after
- Month to month, like every NetSys agreement
Where we deliver Business Central Migration
Business Central Migration in Princeton, NJ · Business Central Migration in Jersey City, NJ · Business Central Migration in New Jersey · Business Central Migration in New York City. We also support clients remotely wherever their systems run. See all locations and service areas.
Business Central Migration FAQs
What is Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Business Central is Microsoft's cloud ERP for small and mid-sized businesses: general ledger, receivables and payables, banking, inventory, purchasing, sales, projects and reporting, integrated with Microsoft 365 and the Power Platform. It is the usual destination for companies outgrowing QuickBooks or leaving older Dynamics products such as GP and NAV.
What is the difference between Business Central Essentials and Premium?
Essentials covers finance, sales and operations; Premium adds service management and manufacturing. Microsoft lists Essentials at $80.00 per user per month and Premium at $110.00, paid yearly, with Team Members licenses at $8.00 for staff who only read data, approve workflows or update select records (Microsoft list prices, as of October 2026). The license mix is set per user during planning, and our migration work is quoted separately.
How much does a Business Central migration cost?
The migration is quoted as a project after discovery. The price moves with the source system, the volume of data and how much history you carry, the number of integrations to rebuild, the reports to recreate and verify, and how many people need training. Microsoft licenses are billed separately, ongoing management afterward is a monthly fee, and NetSys publishes no rate card.
What does NetSys handle, and what stays with our finance team?
We run the technical project: licensing and environment design, data mapping and migration, integration rebuilds, reports, training sessions, cutover and decommissioning, then ongoing administration. Your controller and outside accountants make the accounting calls, such as how far back history must go and when each parallel close is signed off, and they approve each step before the next one starts.
How long does a Business Central migration take?
It depends on data volume, integrations and how much history you carry. Planning and chart-of-accounts design come first; data migration, integration rebuilds and training follow; then cutover and two parallel closes. We scope each migration as a defined project with the calendar built around your quarter-ends and audit season, and we put the phases in writing.
Can you migrate from QuickBooks, Dynamics GP or NAV?
Yes. Those are the most common sources, along with aging custom or hosted systems. The approach is the same: design the chart of accounts for the new model, migrate master records and open items, bring history to the depth auditors need, rebuild integrations, and reconcile parallel closes before decommissioning.
What happens to our old system and servers?
They stay read-only for reference through training and the parallel closes, then get decommissioned on a planned date: virtual machines shut down, data archived per your retention requirements, and the hosting bill stops. That final step is part of the project, not an afterthought.
Do you manage Business Central after the migration?
Yes. Business Central becomes part of the environment we manage alongside your Microsoft 365 tenant and Azure footprint: users, permissions, updates, integrations and reporting changes, through the same engineer-answered helpdesk. Agreements run month to month.
Sources and technical references
Retire the old ledger after two clean closes.
The chart of accounts gets designed around how you report now, not around how the old system numbered things. Integrations are inventoried before anyone says the word cutover, starting with the bank feeds finance cannot work without. Two parallel closes reconcile before the legacy virtual machines are switched off.