Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an Accounting System

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Graham Sandham

Many years ago, a colleague reminded me that everything in a business either flows into or out of the business’s accounting system.

I think something that has been lost in the glitz and spectacular functionality of Business Central is the fact that it is a robust accounting system. Reporting and ultimately government related filing like tax returns are generated based on the information created and stored in Business Central.

It has a Chart of Accounts and a G/L (General Ledger) Entry table that stores transactions for those G/L Accounts. It generates a Balance Sheet and an Income Statement.

It also handles and stores the complicated transactions related to inventory costing for distributors and manufacturers.
When dealing with multiple currencies, Microsoft Business Dynamics 365 Business Central keeps track of the realized and unrealized gains and losses related to those transactions in different transactions.

It keeps track of banking transactions and allows bank reconciliation.

In most businesses, there are five main business activities to lesser or greater degrees:

  • Invoices go out (Sales Invoices)
  • Invoices come in (Purchase Invoices)
  • Payments come in (Cash Receipts)
  • Payments go out (Payments or Disbursements)
  • Payroll (employees need to get paid)

These are all represented by transactions that flow into the Business Central financial functionality.

Fixed assets need to be tracked, with purchasing and depreciation recorded.

Budgets and revised budgets need to be tracked against actual transactions.

At its core, Business Central is an accounting system. Its not an afterthought or add-on functionality, and as an accounting system, can be an essential part of any business.

Sandham Adams’ team of experts can help with your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Microsoft Dynamics NAV) installation or migration. Contact us for more information.