How existing customers can upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

by | Feb 27, 2019 | Business Central, Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s latest ERP solution, available for both cloud and on-premises. We’ve had a number of existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV customers come to us to ask what this means for them. They’re unclear as to whether their current solution will become obsolete, whether they should upgrade to Business Central, how much an upgrade will cost and when they should make the leap.

This blog post aims to give an overview of your options when upgrading to Business Central in a no fuss, easy to digest way.

Option 1: Business Central On-premises Perpetual – Get 3 named users for every 1 concurrent NAV user

The first way Microsoft is helping existing NAV customers upgrade to Business Central On-premises is by offering 3 named Business Central users for every 1 concurrent NAV user purchased before 1st October 2018. This means that if you have the minimum requirement of the Starter Pack, you end up with 6 Essentials users.

For example:
Starter Pack (no Extended Pack) = 6 Essentials users
Full user (no Extended Pack) = 2 Essentials users
Starter Pack (with Extended Pack) = 6 Premium users
Full user (with Extended Pack) = 2 Premium users
Limited user = 1 Team Member

Head to Microsoft’s Upgrade Policy document to calculate the number of users you’d get using this offer.

Option 2: Business Central On-premises Subscription – Host on Azure and save

You also have the option to purchase Business Central licenses on a per user/month basis, requiring a smaller initial investment and providing more flexibility to increase license numbers as you grow. By hosting those licenses on Microsoft Azure, you have an even bigger opportunity to save, with Microsoft offering a substantial discount. Of course, you have to consider the cost of the Azure hosting itself, however this does usually come in cheaper than running a server on your own premises or outsourcing to a local partner.

For example:
Premium – £60 down to £50 (per user/month)
Essentials – £42 down to £35 (per user/month)
Team Member – £7.50 down to £5.50 (per user/month)

Option 3: Business Central SaaS – save 40% on licenses until June 30th 2021

You are also able to deploy Business Central as a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. SaaS deployments have licenses and hosting included in one monthly subscription, much like the way you might subscribe to Netflix. Business Central SaaS is slightly more limited in terms of scope for customisation, however you can still utilise Extensions 2.0 to enhance your solution. Microsoft is offering a 40% discount on Business Central SaaS licenses for existing Microsoft Dynamics customers (as of 1st April 2018), due to run until June 30th 2021.

For example:
Premium – £75.40 down to £45.24 (per user/month)
Essentials – £52.79 down to £31.67 (per user/month)
Team Member – £6 down to £3.60 (per user/month)

Other considerations

Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP)

If you’re considering an upgrade, the first thing you should find out is whether you’re up to date with your Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP) payments, as only those that are will be eligible for the above offers. If you haven’t paid your BREP up to date, there is a simple calculation to work out how much you owe (16% of your original license price per year, plus a 3% penalty), so you can compare whether it makes more sense to backpay your BREP or re-enrol as a new customer. However, it is worth noting that, by the laws of maths, the longer you leave it the more it will cost to backpay.

For example:
Back pay + re-enrolment fee + future year
License List price is £10,000. Lapsed 420 days
£10,000 *(16%+3%)/365 = £5.21 per day
£5.21*420 days + (16%*£10,000) = £3,788.20

Head to Microsoft’s policy on re-enrolment fees to do your own calculation if BREP repayment is something that affects you.

Fixed Price Upgrade

We’ve looked at ways to reduce license costs but what about implementation? Mercurius IT’s Fixed Price NAV Upgrade has been highly successful, with our customers saving over £25,000 on their upgrade bills. By quoting at a fixed price, we shoulder the risk of project overrun for you. Our competitive rates also mean that we usually come in much lower than other quotes you might receive, which tend to average £800-£1000 day. After the previous success of our customers with this model, we’ve extended the offer to NAV customers looking to upgrade to Business Central.

If you’d like to find out more about upgrading to Business Central, get in touch for a no-obligation Fixed Price NAV Upgrade quote.

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Whitepaper: Everything you need to know about upgrading Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Download our free comprehensive whitepaper to learn everything there is to know about upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, complete with worksheets to get you started.

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