Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive ERP solution designed to help small and medium-sized businesses manage finance, operations, sales, and supply chain in one unified platform. Within its ecosystem, two key roles drive successful implementations — Functional Consultants and Technical Consultants. Each plays a distinct yet complementary part in ensuring a smooth and effective deployment of the system.
Functional Consultants
1. What Does a Business Central Functional Consultant Do?
A Business Central Functional Consultant acts as the bridge between business needs and system capabilities. Their primary role is to understand the client’s processes such as accounting, procurement, inventory, and sales and map them into Business Central’s Functionalities.
Key Responsibilities:
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- Conducting Requirement Gathering Sessions & Business Process Analysis.
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- Designing Functional Solutions aligned with industry best practices.
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- Configuring modules like Finance, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, and Manufacturing.
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- Performing data migration, testing, and user training.
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- Supporting client’s post-implementation for process optimization and issue resolution.
In essence, the functional consultant ensures that the ERP system fits the business, not the other way around.
2. What Skills Does a Business Central Functional Consultant Need?
A successful functional consultant blends business acumen with ERP expertise. The most valuable skills include:
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- Domain Knowledge: Strong understanding of finance, supply chain, or manufacturing processes.
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- Analytical Thinking: Ability to translate business requirements into system configurations.
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- Communication: Excellent interpersonal and documentation skills for workshops and user training.
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- ERP Knowledge: Deep familiarity with Business Central modules, workflows, and setups.
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- Testing & UAT: Experience in validating solutions through user acceptance testing.
A mix of business understanding and system know-how enables the consultant to deliver solutions that truly improve operations.
3. Certification
Microsoft offers a certification path to validate one’s expertise in Business Central:
MB-800: D365 Business Central Functional Consultant Associate
This is the core certification for professionals aiming to prove their functional consulting skills. It tests proficiency in:
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- Setting up Business Central
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- Configuring financials, sales, purchasing, and inventory modules.
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- Managing workflows, approvals, and reporting.
Technical Consultants
1. What Does a Business Central Technical Consultant Do?
A Business Central Technical Consultant focuses on system customization, integration, and technical performance. They translate the functional consultant’s business requirements into technical solutions using tools like AL language, Visual Studio Code and Report Builder (These are few main tools).
Key Responsibilities:
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- Developing Extensions and Custom Modules using AL.
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- Creating APIs and integrations with external systems (CRM, e-commerce, middleware).
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- Handling performance tuning, environment setup, and deployment in cloud or on-prem.
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- Ensuring code quality, version control, and technical documentation.
In short, technical consultants bring the system to life through coding, integrations, and technical innovation.
2. What Skills Does a Business Central Technical Consultant Need?
A skilled Business Central Technical Consultant blends development expertise with system understanding to build, customize, and integrate robust solutions.
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- AL Programming: Developing extensions, reports, and custom logic.
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- Integrations: Connecting Business Central with CRM, e-commerce, or third-party apps using APIs and web services.
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- Database Knowledge: Managing SQL data and optimizing performance.
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- System Architecture: Understanding cloud/on-prem deployment, updates, and environments.
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- Debugging & Version Control: Strong problem-solving with GitHub or DevOps for code management.
These skills enable technical consultants to deliver efficient, scalable, and business-ready Business Central solutions.
3. Certification
Microsoft offers certifications that validate the technical expertise required to develop and customize Business Central solutions:
MB-820: D365 Business Central Developer Associate
This is the primary certification for technical consultants and developers. It measures skills in:
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- Developing and extending Business Central using AL language.
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- Building and managing extensions through Visual Studio Code.
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- Integrating Business Central with external applications and services.
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- Managing environments, source control, and deployment.