Skip to main content

Notifications

Announcements

No record found.

News and Announcements icon
Community site session details

Community site session details

Session Id :
Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Small and medium business | Business Central, N... / Dynamics 365 Business ...
Small and medium business | Business Central, N...
Suggested answer

Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Dynamics 365 for Sales

(0) ShareShare
ReportReport
Posted on by Norcan 25

Hello

I am new to MS Dynamics and had few questions related to Dynamics 365 Business Central  vs Dynamics 365 for Sales. 

a) Are Dynamics 365 Business Central  & Dynamics 365 for Sales, two different entities or is Dynamics 365 sales a part of Business Central?

b) Both Dynamics 365 Business Central  & Dynamics 365 for Sales, shows capability to produce quotes. Which among the two would be a better place to perform an estimation process (Creating a costing sheet by adding products, adding labour rate, material rate and assigning margins & markup in order to bid for a project)?

Please suggest. Thanks in advance

Categories:
Dynamics 365 Business Central
  • Suggested answer
    Ben Baxter Profile Picture
    Ben Baxter 5,372 Super User 2025 Season 1 on at
    RE: Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Dynamics 365 for Sales

    Project costing, as you are describing, is handled well within the Jobs module of Business Central.

    You can plan the tasks needed to complete the Job and then assign the labor, material, subs, etc. required to complete each task.  You can utilize the BC opportunity tracking to track the sales functions regarding the project.  The BC CRM capabilities will not match what is available in D365 Sales.  However, if you want fairly simple tracking of the engagement, and linking it back to the project all within a single platform Business Central is the way to go.

    You'll need to decide what is your more critical need today.  Do you need stronger project tracking of estimate vs. actual with profitability analysis?  Or do you need stronger opportunity tracking, marketing automation tools, and focus on sales?  This answer will determine where you should focus.

    I would not recommend implementing both solutions at the same time.  Both projects independently have risks, and stacking those on top of each other is not a great place to start.

  • Community member Profile Picture
    Community member on at
    RE: Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Dynamics 365 for Sales

    The CRM capabilities within Dynamics 365 Business Central are fairly limited in comparison to Dynamics 365 Sales. Whilst this option may be enough for some companies’ contact and opportunity management needs, those looking for an end-to-end, purpose-built CRM solution, may not be satisfied with this. The basic sales management features within Business Central include:

    Contact Management

    Opportunity Management

    Account Management

    Quote & Order Management

    Campaigns & Segments

    If we compare this to Dynamics 365 for Sales, which is built as a CRM solution, the capabilities are much more extensive and is a better choice for companies who are looking for the above features and more.

  • Suggested answer
    MahGah Profile Picture
    MahGah 15,435 on at
    RE: Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Dynamics 365 for Sales

    Hi

    I am not really familiar with Dynamics 365 Sales. I saw a demo before and I am sure if you ask that question the answer usually is yes. But always the "how" is more important. Seems like that you can define a product which could be labor and change the price and QTY. See this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ei5M7yeLY

    In BC you can use Job Quote (as an example)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS2xAwdYb0k

    My recommendation is if you have partner ask for demo and ask "how" and ask them to show you "how" they do it. Then make a decision. 

    Personal experience: We needed ERP system and we selected Business Central. We thought CRM functionality is enough for us. Now after 3 years we realized we need a little more CRM functions such as recording opportunity, capturing more info about customers, deal, etc. Hence, we are in process to determine if we want to integrate our BC with Microsoft Sales or we want to expand Business Central CRM (through 3rd part app or coding). If your company care more about CRM then maybe start with demo of Sales and ask for deep demo. But if you need more functions start with Business Central demo. 

  • Norcan Profile Picture
    Norcan 25 on at
    RE: Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Dynamics 365 for Sales

    Hi

    Thanks for the reply

    Just to add up to the discussion,  

    Can costing sheets be made in Dynamics 365 for sales.

    I understand, that I can create product, family & bundles. But does the out of box Dynamics 365 for sales have the capability to incorporate the labour rates, material rate , markup & margins, which can be different for different project.

  • Suggested answer
    MahGah Profile Picture
    MahGah 15,435 on at
    RE: Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Dynamics 365 for Sales

    Hi

    1) They are different entities, Dynamics 365 for sales is mainly CRM solution but Business Central 365 is ERP system with some CRM capabilities. See below links for comparison.  

    https://cargas.com/blog/dynamics-365-business-central-vs-dynamics-365-crm/

    https://www.pragmatiqsolutions.co.uk/blog/microsoft-dynamics-365/business-central-vs-dynamics-365-for-sales/

    2) Both will handle this. But if you want to focus on CRM portion and keep track of opportunities, interaction, etc I think Business Sales is more capable. Business Central has those functions but not as advanced as Dynamics Sales. See following links for more info 

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/sales/overview#:~:text=Dynamics%20365%20Sales%20enables%20salespeople,order%2C%20and%20create%20sales%20collateral.

    https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/business-central/capabilities/

    In general the answer depends on your organization needs. Do you want a complete ERP solution with Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, Inventory, etc or you only want CRM function. 

    Keep in mind you can have both system and integrate them with each other two have the best of both worlds. 

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/admin-prepare-dynamics-365-for-sales-for-integration

Under review

Thank you for your reply! To ensure a great experience for everyone, your content is awaiting approval by our Community Managers. Please check back later.

Helpful resources

Quick Links

Daivat Vartak – Community Spotlight

We are honored to recognize Daivat Vartak as our March 2025 Community…

Announcing Our 2025 Season 1 Super Users!

A new season of Super Users has arrived, and we are so grateful for the daily…

Kudos to the February Top 10 Community Stars!

Thanks for all your good work in the Community!

Leaderboard

#1
André Arnaud de Calavon Profile Picture

André Arnaud de Cal... 292,892 Super User 2025 Season 1

#2
Martin Dráb Profile Picture

Martin Dráb 231,772 Most Valuable Professional

#3
nmaenpaa Profile Picture

nmaenpaa 101,156 Moderator

Leaderboard

Featured topics

Product updates

Dynamics 365 release plans