What is Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and how it works with Ramp

Managing your business with outdated systems can feel like navigating a maze—slow and full of dead ends. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central presents a clear solution, a modern ERP platform designed to streamline your business operations.

‍

However, Business Central’s built-in tools are just the beginning. When you extend the platform with Ramp, you enable an integration that simplifies expense management, automates workflows, and connects your financial data in ways that drive even stronger results.

‍

Let’s dive into what Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is and how integrating it with Ramp transforms your business processes.

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP?

‍

Unlike basic accounting software or fragmented point solutions, Business Central integrates all your business operations—financial management, sales, service, supply chain, and project management—into a single, cloud-based platform. This ensures real-time access to data and complete visibility across departments.

‍

For these reasons, Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is a powerful choice for companies aiming to unify their operations, grow efficiently, and streamline their processes without sacrificing control.

‍

It’s worth noting that Microsoft Dynamics Business Central often gets confused with other Microsoft ERP software, like Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The core difference is that Business Central is cloud-based, while NAV is an on-premises ERP solution.

How does Microsoft Dynamics Business Central work?

Business Central’s cloud-based architecture enables real-time data synchronization, so information entered in one area—like a financial transaction or an inventory update—is instantly reflected across the platform. Business Central uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data, detect trends, and make recommendations.

‍

For instance, Microsoft Copilot in Business Central creates cash flow projections, assists with analyzing data to detect patterns or anomalies, and enhances productivity through AI-driven recommendations. 

‍

Integrations with other Microsoft products, such as Outlook, Teams, and Azure, further extend its functionality, allowing employees to perform tasks from within familiar tools. Additionally, its open architecture supports customization through pre-built apps and third-party integrations with other business applications.

‍

Overall, key benefits of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central include:

• Automated workflows: Automates processes across finance, sales, and operations, reducing manual errors and saving time
• Real-time data: Provides dashboards and KPIs that ensure informed decision-making with up-to-date information
• Scalability: Grows with your business, offering modular capabilities and support for global operations, including multi-currency and tax compliance
• Collaboration: Integrates seamlessly with Microsoft tools like Teams, Excel, and Power BI, boosting productivity and teamwork
• Customization: Easily extended through Microsoft AppSource for industry-specific business needs

‍

Microsoft Dynamics Business Central enables businesses to operate as a cohesive unit, improving efficiency and revealing opportunities for growth.

Features of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics Business Central has a range of features designed to tackle specific business challenges:

• Comprehensive financial management: Automates key financial tasks like reconciliations, cash flow forecasting, and advanced budgeting while supporting dimensions for detailed financial analysis
• Supply chain management: Improves vendor and inventory management, replenishes stock based on actuals and demand, and even integrates with Shopify for ecommerce operations
• Project management tools: Offers advanced job costing, resource allocation, and real-time profitability tracking to ensure successful project delivery
• Manufacturing capabilities: Streamlines production with assembly-to-order support, detailed bills of materials, and production orders tailored to complex manufacturing environments
• Global readiness: Supports multiple payment methods, currencies, languages, and international tax regulations to facilitate cross-border operations
• AI-driven analytics: Copilot delivers actionable insights and anomaly detection for improved decision-making and creative problem-solving
• Customizable workflows: Enables workflow automation with Power Automate, built-in templates, and integrations with third-party apps through AppSource
• Mobility and accessibility: Fully functional on desktop, tablet, and mobile across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, ensuring work can get done anywhere
• Built-in security and compliance: Protects sensitive data with role-based access, encryption, and advanced identity protection

Who uses Microsoft Business Central ERP software?

Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is purpose-built for small and medium-sized businesses that need more than basic accounting software but aren’t ready for the complexity (or pricing) of a full-on ERP system. It’s the perfect fit for companies looking to unify their operations, scale efficiently, and make better business decisions.

‍

Industries that Business Central supports include:

• Professional services
• Retail and ecommerce
• Manufacturing
• Distribution and wholesale
• Nonprofits
• Financial services
• Healthcare
• Construction and real estate

‍

Whether your company is expanding globally or streamlining internal processes, Business Central provides an adaptable solution.

Microsoft Business Central integrations: Why they matter

No single tool can do it all. Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is certainly powerful on its own, but integrations matter because they can extend its capabilities even further. These integrations help you seamlessly connect Business Central to the tools you already rely on, whether for payroll, customer relationship management (CRM), or other functions.

‍

For example, pairing Business Central with Ramp integrates Ramp’s advanced expense management tools with Business Central’s robust ERP capabilities, enabling businesses to streamline financial processes and improve accuracy.

Why choose Ramp with Microsoft Business Central?

Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is already a robust solution, but pairing it with Ramp can boost efficiency even more. Together, they simplify financial management, offering businesses accounting automation, real-time spend tracking, and granular expense controls that amplify Business Central’s ERP capabilities.

‍

Here’s how Ramp’s features work with Business Central:

• Accurate mapping: Seamlessly imports all fields, including dimensions, from Business Central to ensure every transaction is coded accurately
• Sync data in real time: Keeps vendor data, bill payments, transactions, and categories in sync so any changes made in Ramp reflect in Business Central instantly
• Automate routine workflows: Enables rules in Ramp to automate coding, approvals, and transaction reviews, while simplifying receipt collection via SMS, email, web app, and integrations with common vendors like Gmail, Lyft, and Amazon Business

‍

With Ramp and Business Central, companies get the best of both worlds: a streamlined way to manage expenses and the business-wide clarity to make informed decisions.

How Ramp’s ERP integrations have helped businesses transform their workflows

While Ramp doesn’t have a singular customer success story with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central just yet, our proven track record with other integrations, such as NetSuite and QuickBooks, demonstrates our ability to transform financial workflows:

Ramp and NetSuite integration: Quora’s success story

When Quora’s lean finance team faced inefficiencies with fragmented tools and processes, integrating Ramp with NetSuite transformed their workflows. Ramp streamlined the accounts payable process, reducing bill processing time from 5–8 minutes to just 1–2 minutes per recurring vendor.

‍

“In the old world, there were multiple entry points, and sometimes bills were put into the wrong places. There were 10+ steps to go from PDF processing to NetSuite, to payment and reporting," said Richard Gobea, Finance Manager at Quora. “With Ramp and NetSuite together, we’ve reduced that to three simple steps. It’s more efficient and a huge time saver.”

‍

Ramp’s real-time two-way sync with NetSuite eliminated manual double-entry, saving Quora hours in monthly accounting work while increasing visibility into corporate spend.

Ramp and QuickBooks integration: Bubble’s Success Story

Bubble’s fragmented financial processes impacted its finance team’s accuracy, efficiency, and reporting—until Ramp’s integration with QuickBooks simplified its workflows. The integration allowed Bubble to easily push all Ramp transactions and invoices into QuickBooks, creating an audit-friendly trail and streamlining bookkeeping.

‍

Beyond efficiency, Ramp delivered tangible savings: over $100k annually through cashback rewards and more than $90k in SaaS vendor negotiation savings, enabling Bubble to focus resources on higher-value tasks.

‍

“We’re able to push everything that happens on the Ramp platform to QuickBooks,” said Yiwen Ding, Controller at Bubble. “It also helps to reconcile expenses more easily because you’re able to leave a very clear trail.”

‍

Ramp’s integrations demonstrate how businesses can save time and money, turning disconnected processes into streamlined systems that drive efficiency.

Maximize efficiency with Ramp and Microsoft Dynamics Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics Business Central can put your business on the path to success, but combining it with Ramp helps get you to the finish line. By integrating these two platforms, you can streamline processes, eliminate inefficient manual workflows, and get the org-wide visibility you need to grow confidently.

‍

Explore how Ramp and Business Central can transform your financial workflows and help you focus on what truly matters: moving your business forward.