Explore the differences between Dynamics 365 F&O and Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Both solutions are great options for companies looking to move to a Cloud ERP solution with Microsoft Dynamics. Below we drill into the details of whether Dynamics 365 Business Central (made for SMB & SMC market) or Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (made for Enterprise market) is a better fit for your organization.

Microsoft Dynamics 365
Business Central

  • Small to midsize organizations
  • Available in:
    • 38 countries,
    • partner localizations,
    • 24 Languages
  • Deployment: 1-8 months
  • Vertical-industry capabilities available through Partner Network
  • Thousands of transactions
  • Only available through a CSP
  • Licensing –
    • Full $70/$100,
    • Team $8,
    • Device $40
  • No user min
  • Multi-companies are handled with separate companies. No cross-company data sharing. Intercompany is available
  • IT guy

Shared
Functionalities

***
Cloud or On-Premise

***
Multiple Currencies

***
Multiple Companies

***
Microsoft 365 Integration

***
Power Platform Capabilities

***

Microsoft Dynamics 365
Finance & Operations

  • Multinational midsize to large enterprises.
  • Available in:
    • 140 countries,
    • 40 localization,
    • 24 Languages
  • Deployment: 6-18 months
  • Multiple vertical
    -industry capabilities OOB
  • Hundred-thousands of transactions
  • Available through MS Volume Licensing and CSP
  • Licensing –
    • Full $180,
    • Activity $50,
    • Team $8,
    • Device $75
  • 20 user min
  • Operate multi-company within 1 database with shared tables across organizations
  • IT department

More Differences | Diving Deeper

Financial Management

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

General Ledger â–  â– 
Accounts Payable â–  â– 
Accounts Receivable â–  â– 
Cash & Bank Management â–  â– 
Credit and Collections â– 
Fixed Assets â–  â– 
Electronic Funds Transfer â–  â– 
Financial Consolidations â–  â– 
Financial Reporting â–  â– 
Global Electronic Reporting â– 
Cost Accounting â–  â– 
Revenue Recognition â–  â– 
Multi-Currency â–  â– 
Dual Currency / Triangulation â– 
Audit and Compliance â– 
Multi-Entity â–  â– 
Tax â–  â– 
GST/VAT â–  â– 
Allocations â–  â– 
Cash Flow Forecasting â–  â– 
Finance Charges / Interest â–  â– 
Company Hierarchies â– 
Deduction Management â– 
Document Capture â– 
Multiple Chart of Accounts â– 
Journal Approval Workflows â–  â– 
Recurring Journals â– 
Intrastat Journals â–  â– 
Payment Terms and Schedules â–  â– 
Dunning â– 
Bank Statement Reconciliation â–  â– 
Positive Pay â–  â– 
Multiple Depreciation Methods â–  â– 
Multiple Posting Layers â– 
Multiple Financial Calendars â– 
Intercompany Journals â–  â– 
Statistical Accounts â– 
Payment Run Management â–  â– 
Electronic Payments â–  â– 
Deposit Slips â–  â– 
Letters of Guarantee â– 
Letters of Credit â– 
Multiple Asset Books â–  â– 
Bill of Exchange â– 
Collection Letters â– 
Vendor Aging â–  â– 
Customer Aging â–  â– 
Financial Dimensions â–  â– 
Budget and Forecast â–  â– 
Budget Control â– 

Supply Chain Management

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Warehouse Management â–  â– 
Inventory Management â–  â– 
Batch and Serial Tracking â–  â– 
Transportation Management â– 
Quality Management â– 
Intercompany Planning â–  â– 
Intercompany Transfers â–  â– 
Inventory Costing â–  â– 
Demand Forecasting â–  â– 
Catchweight Management â– 
Multiple Units of Measure â–  â– 
Multi-Site â–  â– 
Multi-Warehouse â–  â– 
Batch Attribute Management â– 
Intercompany Sales â–  â– 
Potency Management â– 
Cross Docking â– 
Warehouse Replenishment â– 
Route Management â– 
Freight Calculation â– 
Freight Bill Reconciliation â– 
Transfer Orders â–  â– 
Returns Management â–  â– 
Cycle Counting â–  â– 
Mobile Handheld â– 
Inventory Picking â–  â– 
Inventory Putaway â–  â– 
Load Planning â– 
Dock Scheduling â– 
Worker Wave Management â– 
Item Traceability â–  â– 
Batch Tracking â–  â– 
Serial Number Tracking â–  â– 
Warehouse Location Tracking â–  â– 
Consignment Inventory â– 
TAG Cycle Counting â– 
Certificate of Analysis â– 
Certificate of Supply â– 
Multiple Inventory Statuses â– 
Quality Orders â– 
Quality Hold â– 
NMFC codes â– 
LTL classes â– 
Container Management â– 
Load Building â– 
Shipment Appointment Management â– 
Shipment Building â– 
Carrier Management â– 
Harmonized Tariff Schedules â– 
Fuel Indexes â– 
Global Customer & Vendor â– 

Procurement and Sourcing

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Requisitions â–  â– 
Request for Quote â– 
Vendor Onboarding â–  â– 
Purchase Order Management â–  â– 
Vendor Collaboration â– 
Vendor Portal â– 
Purchase Agreements â– 
Purchase Discounts â–  â– 
Purchase Tax â–  â– 
Intercompany Purchases â–  â– 
Purchase Planning â– 
1099 â–  â– 
Vendor Change Management â– 
Purchase Order Change Management â– 
Purchase Trade Agreements â– 
Vendor Catalogs â– 
External Vendor Punch Out â– 
Vendor Management â–  â– 
Blanket Purchase Orders â–  â– 
Purchase Quotes â–  â– 
Purchase Returns Management â–  â– 
Vendor Discount Groups â–  â– 
Vendor Rebates â– 
Purchase Credit Memos â–  â– 
Authorized Vendor Product List â– 
Asset Capitalization â– 
Vendor Certifications â– 
Vendor Rating â– 
RFQ Response Ranking â– 
Attribute-Based Pricing â– 
Invoice Matching Policies â– 
Promissory Notes â– 
Payment Fees â– 
Broker Contracts â– 
Royalty Management â– 
Foreign Currency Revaluation â– 

Sales Order Management

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Sales Quotations â–  â– 
Sales Order Processing â–  â– 
Product Configurator â– 
Pricing â–  â– 
Sales Agreements â– 
Rebates â– 
Discounts â–  â– 
Sales Tax â–  â– 
Intercompany Sales â–  â– 
Delivery Date Management â– 
Direct Delivery Management â–  â– 
Return Order Management â–  â– 
Customer Change Management â– 
Trade Promotions â– 
Multiple Ship To / Bill To â–  â– 
Commissions â– 
Customer Management â–  â– 
Order Promising â–  â– 
Available to Promise â–  â– 
Capable to Promise â–  â– 
Order and Item Charges â–  â– 
Blanket Sales Orders â–  â– 
Marketing Fund Management â– 
Customer Price Groups â–  â– 
Product Family Pricing â–  â– 
Sales Analysis Dashboards â–  â– 
Bill backs â– 
Smart Rounding â– 
Credit Card Integration â– 
Attribute-Based Pricing â– 

Product Information Management

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Product Master Data Management â–  â– 
Product configuration modules â– 
Attribute Management â–  â– 
Dimension and variant management â–  â– 
Product Change Management â– 
Product Compliance â– 
Multiple Units of Measure â–  â– 
Standard Costing â–  â– 
Product Dimensions â–  â– 
Product Category Hierarchy Management â– 
Restricted Product Regions â– 
Product Safety Data Sheets â– 
Service Items â–  â– 
Inventory Items â–  â– 
Expense Items â–  â– 
FIFO/LIFO/WAC/BATCH Costing â–  â– 

Human Capital Management

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Employee Management â–  â– 
Skills, Competencies & Certifications â– 
Position Management â– 
Job Management â– 
Employee Self-Service Portal â– 
Benefits Management â– 
Course Management â– 
Loaned Items â– 
Questionnaires â– 
I-9 Document Management â– 
Worker Goal Management â– 
Absence & Leave Management â– 
FMLA Cases â– 
Injury & Illness Management â– 
Compensation Management â– 
Recruitment Projects â– 
Applicant Management â– 

Customer Relationship Management

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Contact Management â–  â– 
Opportunity Management â–  â– 
Lead Management â– 
Campaigns â–  â– 
Prospect Management â– 
Task & Activity Tracking â–  â– 
Outlook Integration â–  â– 
Segmentation â–  â– 
Call Lists â– 
Sales Territory Management â–  â– 
Case Management â– 
Salesperson Management â–  â– 

Project Accounting

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Capital Projects â– 
Time & Materials Projects â–  â– 
Resource Scheduling â–  â– 
Billing & Invoice Rules â– 
Revenue Recognition â– 
Milestone billing rules â–  â– 
Work Breakdown Structures â–  â– 
Cost & Effort Tracking â–  â– 
Project Quotations â–  â– 
Grant Management â– 
Resource Capacity Management â–  â– 

Manufacturing

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Discrete Manufacturing (Route & BOM) â–  â– 
Process Manufacturing (Formula & BOM) â– 
Lean Manufacturing (Kanban) â– 
Kanban Boards â– 
Master Planning â–  â– 
Job Scheduling â–  â– 
Manufacturing Execution â–  â– 
Product Costing â–  â– 
Resource Management â–  â– 
Capacity Planning â–  â– 
Outsourced Manufacturing / Subcontractors â–  â– 
Safety Stock Management â–  â– 
Production Sequencing â– 
Shop Floor Interface â– 

Retail

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Point of Sale â– 
Merchandise Operations â– 
Order Management â– 
Staff and store Management â– 
Product information Management â– 
Retail Analytics â– 
Consumer Mobile Application â– 
Distributed Order Management â– 
Coupons â– 
Loyalty Cards â– 
Kitting/Assemblies â–  â– 
Product Assortments â– 
Channel Management â– 
Call Center Management â– 
Call Center Scripts â– 
Fraud Checking â– 
Continuity Orders â– 
Installment Orders â– 

Service Management

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Service Agreements â–  â– 
Service Contracts â–  â– 
Work Orders â–  â– 
Resource Scheduling â–  â– 
Repair Tracking â–  â– 
Service Item Management â–  â– 
Service Contract Quotes â–  â– 
Service Subscriptions â– 
Service Object Management â– 

Time & Expenses

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Expense Report Management â– 
Time Sheet Management â–  â– 
Travel Requisitions â– 
Workflow Approval â– 
Time & Expense Policies â– 
Credit Card Import â– 
VAT/GST Reclamation â– 
Pre Diems and Mileage â– 
Employee Payments â– 

System

All Dynamics 365 Functionalities

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics 365 BC

Role-Based Security â–  â– 
Azure AD Authentication â–  â– 
Segregation of Duties â–  â– 
Electronic Signatures â– 
Database Auditing â– 
User-Based Alerts â–  â– 
Business Workflows â–  â– 
Document Management â–  â– 
Mobile Client â–  â– 
Microsoft 365 Integration â–  â– 
Document Management â–  â– 
Workspaces â–