Upgrade Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration Services

Microsoft has been transitioning investment from GP to Business Central since 2019. While mainstream support continues until 2028, GP receives no new features — only security patches. Business Central, by contrast, receives two major feature updates per year, is cloud-hosted (eliminating server maintenance), and integrates natively with the modern Microsoft ecosystem (Teams, Power Platform, Azure). The longer organisations wait, the larger the technical debt gap becomes.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo helps offshore GP users build a migration business case and plan a phased move to Business Central — at a cost and timeline that fits your organisation.

Timelines depend heavily on data complexity, number of legal entities, and the extent of GP customisations. A straightforward single-entity migration with clean data typically takes 8–12 weeks. Multi-entity or heavily customised environments can take 16–24 weeks. The Cloud Migration Tool accelerates data transfer, but UAT, training, and change management add time regardless of data complexity.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo provides a detailed migration plan with phase-by-phase timelines after a free assessment of your GP environment — so you know exactly what to expect before committing.

Microsoft’s Cloud Migration Tool migrates: Chart of Accounts, Customer and Vendor master data, Item records, open AP/AR transactions, open purchase and sales orders, and GL beginning balances. Full historical transactional data (closed invoices, historical journals) is not migrated to BC — it remains accessible in GP or can be exported to a data archive or reporting tool for compliance purposes.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo advises offshore clients on data scoping decisions — what to migrate, what to archive, and how to maintain audit-ready historical access post-migration.

GP customisations (Modifier, VBA scripts, Dexterity) have no direct equivalent in Business Central. Each customisation must be individually assessed: some requirements are met by native BC features (reducing the need to rebuild), others must be recreated as BC Extensions using AL code, and some can be delivered via Power Automate or Power Apps. A fit-gap analysis is the essential first step.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo conducts a structured fit-gap analysis of your GP customisations, recommending the most cost-efficient path for each — minimising bespoke development while preserving critical business logic.

Common migration risks include: data mapping errors (particularly for accounts with non-standard structures), integration gaps (third-party tools connected to GP may not have BC equivalents), user adoption resistance, and underestimating the scope of customisation rebuild. The most successful migrations involve parallel running for at least one month-end close before cutting over permanently.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo’s migration methodology includes risk workshops, parallel running periods, and structured UAT sign-off — designed to de-risk go-live for offshore clients with limited internal IT capacity.

Any integration built directly against GP’s SQL database or DYNAMICS API will not work with Business Central. BC uses a REST-based OData API and webhook framework, which is more modern but requires integration re-engineering. Popular GP integrations (payroll, ecommerce, EDI, 3PL) typically have certified BC equivalents on AppSource, or can be rebuilt via Power Automate or Azure Logic Apps.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo audits all existing GP integrations before migration and maps a path for each — replacing, rebuilding, or retiring integrations so your offshore operations continue without interruption.

Migration costs broadly fall into three areas: licences (Business Central subscriptions replacing GP perpetual licences), implementation services (data migration, configuration, customisation rebuild, training), and change management. Implementation fees for a single-entity migration typically range from USD 20,000–60,000 depending on complexity. Multi-entity or complex customisation environments are higher. The ROI calculation should include elimination of server hardware, IT maintenance, and GP support costs.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo offers transparent fixed-price migration packages for offshore clients, with clearly scoped deliverables — so there are no surprises mid-project.

Business Central’s interface is significantly different from GP, particularly in navigation and posting logic. Role-based training is most effective — finance users need different content from warehouse or sales users. Microsoft’s own learning paths on Microsoft Learn are a good foundation, supplemented by hands-on sandbox practice. Super users should be trained first and then support their colleagues during go-live.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo delivers remote, role-based BC training for offshore teams — available in your time zone, with recorded sessions your team can revisit after go-live.

Business Central is a SaaS platform updated by Microsoft every 6 months (wave releases in April and October). You always deploy on the current version — there is no choice of version as with on-premise software. This is a key benefit: you are always on the latest release, with no manual upgrade projects. Extensions (customisations) must be maintained to stay compatible with each wave release.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo ensures your Business Central extensions are wave-release compatible, managing the upgrade cycle on behalf of offshore clients so you never fall behind.

Business Central does not include a native payroll module. Most GP clients run payroll through GP Payroll or a third-party integration. During migration, you need to select a BC-compatible payroll solution — either a certified AppSource app (e.g., PaySpace, Myriad, Paychex) or an integration with your existing payroll provider. This decision should be made early in the migration project to avoid last-minute complexity.

▸ ShreejiSoftInfo includes payroll integration planning in our GP-to-BC migration scoping — recommending the right AppSource payroll solution for your offshore entity and employee structure.