Run a more predictable and profitable consulting business with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Connect your projects, people and finances in one modern ERP so you can grow with control, protect margin and improve client satisfaction.
Consulting becomes harder to manage when your systems do not work together. Dynamics 365 Business Central unifies finance, project data and operations so leaders can plan, deliver and grow from a single, connected platform.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft's business management solution that brings finance, sales, service and operations into one cloud platform. For consulting businesses, it acts as an ERP system that links project accounting, billing, resource planning and financial management. This means your partners, finance teams and operations leaders can see the same real-time picture of performance and act on it quickly.
With Business Central, consulting firms can move away from spreadsheets and disconnected tools and replace them with one integrated system that supports better decisions, stronger control and sustainable growth. If you want to see what an ERP built around Business Central can do for a consulting business like yours, keep reading.
An ERP system designed for consulting firms can transform how you manage projects, people and profit. Business Central gives you the visibility and control needed to run a more efficient and scalable consulting business.
Business Central brings together finance, project delivery, resource planning and reporting in one environment. This helps partners, finance and operations teams work from the same data rather than separate spreadsheets, so you can reduce confusion, cut duplication and make quicker, more confident decisions.
By linking budgets, timesheets, expenses and invoices, Business Central gives you a clear view of engagement profitability. You can see which projects and clients are driving margin, which ones are at risk and where scope or resourcing needs to change to protect profit.
Business Central helps you track consultant availability, skills and assignments in real time. This means you can match people to projects more effectively, reduce bench time and avoid overloading key individuals, all of which support higher billable utilisation and better staff retention.
With integrated billing schedules, milestone tracking and debtor management, Business Central helps you bill accurately and on time. Finance teams can see expected income, overdue invoices and work in progress more clearly, which makes it easier to reduce lock-up and maintain a healthy cash position.
Consulting firms handle sensitive client data and must demonstrate strong financial control. Business Central benefits from Microsoft's built-in security, compliance and audit features, which help you meet internal policies and external regulations while keeping client information protected.
As your consulting business adds new service lines, opens new offices or expands internationally, Business Central scales with you. It supports multiple entities, currencies and localisations, so you can grow while keeping a consistent operating model and central view of performance.
Data taken from a survey we commissioned in December 2024. Click here to view
of businesses are utilising an ERP
businesses are dissatisfied with their current ERP
of businesses say using an ERP has contributed to achieving business outcomes
Consulting leaders need clear insight into project performance, cost and capacity. Dynamics 365 Business Central is well suited to consulting firms because it focuses on the processes that matter most, such as project management, budgeting and resource planning.
Provide partners and practice leaders with clear dashboards that show revenue, margin, utilisation and pipeline contribution by client or sector. This helps leaders develop higher value relationships, refine service offerings and focus attention on the areas that create the most value for the firm.
Consulting firms need systems that support growth, not slow it down. Dynamics 365 Business Central gives you an ERP built for visibility, control and scalability.
Consulting firms use Business Central to track profitability at project and client level. By combining time, expenses and subcontractor costs, you gain a reliable view of margin. This allows leaders to identify underperforming engagements quickly and take action, such as revisiting scope or reallocating resources, before issues escalate.
Business Central helps consulting businesses measure and manage utilisation with more accuracy. Timesheets feed directly into the system, giving real-time insight into billable versus non-billable time. Operations and practice leaders can then make informed decisions about hiring, skills development and workload balancing.
For consulting groups that operate across multiple legal entities or countries, Business Central offers a unified platform with multi-currency and multi-entity support. This lets you maintain local compliance while still reporting at group level, giving leadership teams a consistent view of performance across all parts of the business.
In-house consulting and transformation teams can use Business Central to manage internal initiatives with the same discipline as external client work. By tracking time, costs and benefits in a structured way, it becomes easier to prove value, justify investment and report to senior stakeholders across the organisation.
Partners and executives need fast, accurate insight rather than static monthly reports. With Business Central as your core ERP, you can connect to Microsoft Power BI and other reporting tools to create interactive dashboards. This supports better strategic decisions based on live data rather than retrospective analysis.
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To learn more about Business Central for consulting businesses, or to see how an ERP like this would work for your firm, fill in this short form and a specialist will get in touch.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a cloud-based business management solution from Microsoft that connects finance, projects, sales and operations in one platform. For consulting businesses, it acts as an ERP that supports project accounting, billing, resource planning and financial management, helping firms run more efficiently and profitably.
Yes. Business Central is designed for small and mid-sized organisations that have outgrown basic accounting software or disconnected tools. It is a strong fit for small and mid-sized consulting firms that want better control over projects, cash flow and utilisation without the complexity of large enterprise systems.
Business Central links project budgets, timesheets, expenses and invoices so you can see the real-time financial position of each engagement. This helps partners and project leaders identify where costs are rising, where scope has changed and where resourcing needs to be adjusted, all of which support stronger project profitability.
Yes. Consultants can record time and expenses directly against projects in Business Central, and finance teams can set up billing rules for fixed fee, time and materials, milestone-based work and retainers. This reduces manual processing, improves billing accuracy and helps recover more of the work you deliver.
Business Central integrates closely with Microsoft 365 applications such as Outlook, Excel, Teams and Power BI. This allows your teams to work in familiar tools while still feeding a single source of data. It can also connect to other systems through APIs and the Microsoft Power Platform, which your implementation partner can help you design.
Business Central is hosted on Microsoft cloud infrastructure and benefits from Microsoft's security, compliance and privacy controls. This includes data encryption, role-based access and audit trails that help consulting firms protect sensitive client information and demonstrate strong information governance. For detailed information, you can refer to the official Microsoft documentation.
Implementation timelines vary depending on your scope, the number of entities involved and how many processes you want to include from day one. A focused consulting deployment that covers finance, projects and billing is usually faster than a wide-ranging transformation that includes every part of the business. A specialist partner will work with you to create a realistic roadmap based on your priorities.
Yes. Business Central is a cloud solution, so consultants and support staff can access it securely from any location with an internet connection. Combined with Microsoft Teams and other collaboration tools, this supports remote and hybrid working models while keeping your project and financial data in one place.
Within the Microsoft ecosystem, Business Central focuses on end-to-end business management for small and mid-sized organisations, including finance and projects. Other solutions, such as Dynamics 365 Project Operations, focus more heavily on complex project scenarios. The right choice depends on your size, processes and growth plans, so it is important to review the official Microsoft guidance and work with an experienced partner.
Business Central is licensed on a per-user basis, with different licence types available depending on the level of access required. Get in touch today to find out how much Business Central may cost your business.
