Part 2 of the From GP to Growth series
For organisations still using Microsoft Dynamics GP, the focus is shifting rapidly from whether to move on, to how and when. With Microsoft’s long-term investment firmly behind cloud ERP, many finance and IT teams are now planning their path to Dynamics 365 Business Central.
In part two of our From GP to Growth series, we focus on what businesses should be doing before a migration, covering system readiness, data preparation, process review, and why early planning is one of the biggest success factors when moving from GP to Business Central.
Why early planning makes a real difference
Although GP end-of-life milestones may feel some way off, ERP migrations rarely succeed when they are rushed. Early planning gives organisations the time and space to make informed decisions, rather than reacting under pressure.
Starting early helps you:
- Reduce project risk and unexpected costs
- Align system change with business priorities
- Improve adoption by involving the right people early
- Use migration as a catalyst for improvement, not just replacement
Most importantly, it allows you to move at the right pace, not the fastest possible one.
Assess your current GP environment
A successful move to Business Central starts with a clear understanding of your existing GP setup. For many organisations, GP has evolved over years (sometimes decades), gaining customisations and workarounds along the way.
Key technical areas to review include:
- Customisations and third‑party add‑ons (Dexterity, VBA, ISVs)
- Integrations with other business systems and data sources
- Reporting tools such as SmartLists, SSRS, and Excel models
- Security and access models, including segregation of duties
This review helps identify what can be replaced by standard Business Central functionality, what needs redesigning, and what genuinely adds value to your organisation.
Look beyond IT: review how the business actually works
Migrating from GP to Business Central isn’t just a technical exercise. It’s also an opportunity to review how work gets done across finance and operations.
Over time, many processes exist purely because of GP limitations. Manual handoffs, spreadsheet controls, and email-based approvals become the norm, even when better options are available.
Now is the time to ask:
- Which processes rely heavily on spreadsheets or paper?
- Where do delays or bottlenecks regularly occur?
- Which steps exist because “that’s how GP works”?
- If we redesigned this process today, would it look the same?
Business Central, combined with the wider Microsoft platform, supports automation, approvals, role-based access, and real-time reporting, enabling processes to be streamlined rather than replicated.
Data migration: bring what adds value
One of the most common misconceptions in ERP projects is that all historical data needs to be migrated. In reality, data migration decisions have a direct impact on cost, complexity, and timeline.
Most organisations migrating from GP to Business Central choose to bring across:
- Master data (customers, suppliers, items)
- Current and prior year general ledger transactions
- Open customer and supplier balances
- Bank and inventory balances at go-live
Historical GP data doesn’t have to be lost. It can be retained in read-only GP, exported for audit purposes, or securely archived. The key question is always: who needs this data, and why?
As a rule, migrating less data leads to faster projects, lower cost, and fewer risks.
Clean up now to avoid issues later
Poor data quality doesn’t disappear during migration, it becomes much more visible.
Before moving to Business Central, organisations should take time to:
- Inactivate unused customers, suppliers, and items
- Apply outstanding credits and clear small balance differences
- Ensure control accounts reconcile with subledgers
- Correct master data fields (emails, phone numbers, postcodes)
- Remove known data issues instead of carrying them forward
Every clean-up activity completed in GP reduces effort during migration and improves confidence at go-live.
Expect change, avoid like‑for‑like assumptions
Business Central is not GP in the cloud, and assuming a like-for-like move is one of the biggest migration risks. While the user experience will feel familiar, the system itself works differently by design.
Business Central introduces:
- Continuous updates instead of periodic upgrades
- Modern dashboards and reporting
- Embedded automation and workflows
- Stronger controls over security and permissions
Some processes will need to be redesigned rather than recreated. Addressing this early avoids surprises during testing or after go-live.
Testing is where projects succeed or fail
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is critical to successful adoption. It’s where users gain confidence, issues are identified early, and real-world scenarios are validated.
Well-executed testing:
- Reinforces training
- Validates key processes
- Minimises disruption at go-live
- Reduces post‑implementation support issues
Simply put, projects with strong UAT experience far smoother transitions.
Moving from GP to growth
Migrating from Dynamics GP to Business Central is more than a technical upgrade. It’s a chance to modernise processes, improve visibility, and build a platform that supports future growth.
With the right preparation, the move doesn’t need to be disruptive, and it certainly doesn’t need to be rushed. If you’re starting to think about life after GP, now is the best time to begin planning.
If you’re starting to think about life after Dynamics GP, mhance can help you plan a clear, low‑risk path to Business Central, starting with an honest conversation about where you are today and where you want to be.
