Dynamics GP vs. Dynamics 365 Business Central | Purchase Orders

I’m going to show you a simple purchase order process in Dynamics GP and also in Dynamics 365 Business Central. Let’s start with Dynamics GP and a simple inventory or GL and expense PO.

Creating and Receiving a Purchase Order

This is Dynamics GP. I’m going to open up a purchase order. This is a simple purchase order in Dynamics GP. I can open the item detail here, change the account if I want to, but I’m going to save this. The next step then is receiving it.

Receiving the Purchase Order

I can receive this PO right from here. Go to actions, receive the PO. This is a wizard that comes up. I’m going to receive this. It creates a receiving transaction. I can go ahead and post this.

Invoicing the Purchase Order

When I want to invoice that, I can go to this screen here, purchasing invoice entry. I can auto invoice, select the shipment, invoice that. Here’s a purchase invoice here. Put the invoice number here. I’m done. I’ll post that.

Dynamics 365 Business Central Purchase Order Process

Processing Purchase Orders in Business Central

Now let’s take a look at that in Business Central. I’m in Business Central here. I can look up my PO. Here’s my purchase order in Business Central. I’ve got two line items.

Receiving and Invoicing in Business Central

The first line item is a GL account. From this screen, I can receive it and also invoice it. So I’m going to receive it first. Go over here. I’m not going to receive the second item. I’ll receive the first. Let’s post this. It’s going to post the receipt. The next thing I want to do is invoice this. I’ve got the vendor’s invoice.

Invoicing in Business Central

I’ll enter the vendor’s invoice number. I’m just going to invoice this first line. So I’ll go ahead and post that. Post the invoice and I’m done. In Business Central, there’s one screen.

Streamlined Process in Business Central

I put the purchase order in there. I received the purchase order, and then I invoiced it.

Dynamics GP Purchase Order Process for Projects

Processing a Project-Related Purchase Order in Dynamics GP

Now we’ll go back to Dynamics GP and process a purchase order, a receipt, and an invoice for a project-related item.

Using an Alternative Form

Let’s take a look at the purchase order entry screen. Now I’m looking at the purchase order with an alternative form. This alternative form has a project number on it and a cost category ID.

Receiving and Invoicing Project-Related Items

I’m going to receive this. Go to Actions, receive the PO items. I’ve got this wizard here. I’m just going to receive this. The Receiving Transaction Entry Screen is filled out, and from here I can go ahead and post this. Next, I want to enter the vendor’s invoice.

Completing the Invoicing Process

I’ve received that. I’ll go back to this screen here. I’m still using an alternate form. It’s got the project information and the cost category ID right here.

Post the Invoice

I can do an auto invoice. I can look up the PO number here. I’ve filled out the invoice. This is ready to go. I need to put an invoice document number here. Then I’ll go ahead and post this. I’m done. For Dynamics GP, for projects, I’ve got a set of three alternate forms that I use.

Streamlined Purchase Order Process in Business Central

Processing Purchase Orders for Job Cost Items

Let’s go back to Business Central. I’ve got this purchase order. The first line we’ve already processed. We received that, we invoiced it. The second line is a job cost line.

Processing Job Cost Items

This one includes job cost information. So this is a project. I’ve got a job number. I’ve got a job task number. You can see that here.

Receiving and Invoicing Job Cost Items

I’m going to receive this in. I’ve already received the first line. I’m going to receive the second line. So let’s go ahead and do that. Hit post. I’m just going to receive it.

Finalizing the Invoice for Job Cost Items

Now I’ve received that line. You can see that here. I’m going to go ahead and invoice this. This is the second invoice on this PO. So I’m going to have a different invoice number. You can see that here. I’m going to go ahead and post that. And I’m done.

Comparison Between Dynamics GP and Business Central Purchase Order Processes

Process Efficiency

In Business Central, I’ve got one form where I can process purchase orders for inventory items, expense items, and also job cost items. It’s the same form I can use to receive from that form and I can also invoice from that form.

Process Complexity in Dynamics GP

In Dynamics GP, I’ve got six separate screens that I use to process a purchase order for inventory or expense items