Business Central consulting: on your side – from selection to go-live.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is often the right choice for the mid-market – but between a good and a bad BC project lie six-figure sums and two years of frayed nerves. We advise you on the client side across the whole project: requirements and scope before the start, choosing the right partner, steering the implementation through to go-live – and if a proposal is already on the table, the second opinion as a compact way in. We have led BC implementations ourselves – we just sit on your side of the table now.
BC from practice
We have led Business Central implementations (incl. Commerce) for mid-sized companies – pre-sales workshops, scope negotiations and go-lives included.
Not a Microsoft partner
Deliberately not: we sell neither licences nor implementation days. That’s why we can review proposals from BC partners without any stake in the outcome.
Second opinion as a way in
An independent review of proposal, scope and architecture – before you sign, or when the project is stalling.
Where BC projects lose money.
Business Central itself is rarely the problem – the project around it often is. We know the typical patterns from both sides of the table:
Proposals without a benchmark
Is the estimated effort realistic? Are 40 consulting days for the migration a lot or a little? Without your own BC knowledge you can’t judge it – and some calculations are built on exactly that.
Customisation instead of standard
Every customisation costs three times: in development, at every update, at every partner change. Many projects bend the standard where a process should have adapted instead.
Scope grows, accountability doesn’t
What sounded “obviously included” in the workshop later appears on the invoice as a change request. Without a precise scope before signing, you negotiate from the weaker position.
The partner steers itself
The BC partner provides the project manager – who represents the partner’s interests. On the client side, the counterpart who challenges effort and signs off quality is missing.
Migration as a black box
Data migration and interfaces are underestimated until they break the go-live date. The risks are rarely stated honestly in the proposal.
The project runs – but not smoothly
Deadlines slip, budget melts, so does trust. Now you need an independent view: what is it really – the partner, the scope, or your own organisation?
How we support you around Business Central.
From a compact proposal check to ongoing project steering – always on the client side, never in the vendor’s camp:
- Second opinion on the proposal – We review partner proposals for realistic effort, complete scope, architecture decisions and contract risks – with concrete negotiation points as the result.
- Requirements & scope before the project – Capture processes, separate must from can, check closeness to standard: the sharper the scope before signing, the shorter the change-order list afterwards.
- Partner selection – BC partners can be worlds apart – in industry knowledge, development quality and project culture. We help you find the right one and make the proposals comparable.
- Implementation support & project steering – As external project management on your side: deadlines, effort, quality and change requests under control – from kickoff through migration and testing to go-live and hypercare.
- Project review when things go off track – An honest stocktake of a running BC project: status, risks, responsibilities – and a realistic plan back on track.
- Key user enablement – Your key users become the decisive resource in the project: we make sure they are empowered rather than steamrolled – training, test organisation, acceptance.
Experience
Led several parallel BC/Commerce implementations for mid-sized e-commerce companies: finance, purchasing, sales, logistics – incl. international teams and C-level reporting.
The e-commerce special case
BC working with shops, marketplaces and shipping is something we know from practice – including the interfaces where such projects tend to fail.
Honest here too
If Business Central is the wrong system for your case, we say so – see our vendor-neutral ERP vendor selection.
The proposal is on the table?
Then now is the cheapest moment for a second opinion – after the signature, every correction costs a multiple.
The second opinion: what exactly gets reviewed.
The second opinion is the most compact way into our BC consulting: an independent review of proposal, scope and architecture before you sign a six-figure contract – or when a running project raises questions.
Specifically, we examine:
- Effort estimates: Are the days for setup, migration, interfaces and training realistic – or does the proposal calculate optimistically what gets billed later?
- Scope & gaps: What is missing from the proposal that experience says will be needed anyway? Permissions, document design, data cleansing and test phases are the classics.
- Standard vs. customisation: Which planned customisations are necessary, which could be avoided through process change or apps from the ecosystem – with consequences for every future update?
- Architecture & interfaces: Does the setup fit your system landscape – shop, warehouse, accounting, reporting? Where do dependencies on the partner arise?
- Contract & risks: Acceptance criteria, change request rules, responsibilities in the migration – the clauses the arguments will hang on later.
The result is a written review report with concrete negotiation and remediation points that you can use directly with the partner. In our experience, the renegotiation alone saves a multiple of the review cost.
Format
Document review, follow-up workshop, written report with recommendations – scope and price depend on the size of the implementation.
Duration
Typically 1–2 weeks from receipt of documents – fast enough for ongoing contract negotiations.
Discretion
On request we review in the background – your partner only learns about it if you want them to.
How the collaboration works.
Initial conversation
Starting point, project status, documents: we clarify which format fits – second opinion, selection support or project steering.
Review / assessment
For the second opinion: review of proposal, scope and architecture. For project support: a stocktake of requirements and system landscape.
Report & recommendation
A written result with clear points: what to renegotiate, what to clarify, what to change – prioritised and justified.
Support as needed
On request we stay on board: in negotiations, as external project management, or selectively at the critical milestones.
Handover
Documented decisions, enabled key users, an orderly exit – the project belongs to you, not to us.
Frequently asked questions about Business Central consulting.
What does the second opinion cost?
That depends on the size of the implementation and the scope of the documents – a single proposal is reviewed faster than a proposal plus concept and draft contract. You receive a clear quote before commissioning. Measured against typical BC project budgets it is a rounding item; measured against what renegotiations achieve, usually a net gain.
Are you a Microsoft or BC partner?
No, deliberately not. We don’t implement Business Central ourselves and sell no licences – our BC experience comes from leading implementation projects. Exactly this independence is what makes the second opinion credible: we earn nothing from whichever conclusion it reaches.
How do you know Business Central so well?
From project practice: we have led several BC and BC Commerce implementations for mid-sized companies – from pre-sales workshops through scope negotiations and migration phases to go-live and aftercare, at times several projects in parallel with international teams.
Won’t a second opinion upset our implementation partner?
A good partner has no problem with it – professional clients review six-figure proposals. In practice, the review even improves the relationship: the scope becomes clearer, the expectations more honest, the points of dispute smaller. And on request, the review stays confidential.
Our BC project is already running and stalling – do you help there too?
Yes. The project review is the second opinion for running projects: where does the project really stand, which risks are open, what has to change? If needed, we take over the steering afterwards – see also interim management.
Do you also advise on whether BC is the right system at all?
Yes – but then vendor-neutrally through our ERP vendor selection. Business Central is a very good choice for many mid-market companies, but not for all. If your requirements profile is better served elsewhere, we say so before the project, not after.
Related services.
ERP Vendor Selection
Before the system decision: select vendor-neutrally instead of believing the first demo.
Learn moreERP Project Management
Managing the implementation on the client side – SAP, Business Central and more.
Learn moreInterim Management
When the project is already off track and needs leadership fast.
Learn moreYour BC project deserves a strong counterpart on the client side.
Whether the project is about to start, a proposal is on the table or an implementation is slipping – describe the situation briefly, and we’ll tell you honestly which format fits and what it costs.
Request Business Central consulting.
Briefly describe your project phase and concern – review a proposal, support a project, or a project review. We’ll get back to you with an assessment and a clear quote.
We usually reply within 24 hours.
Remote & on site – working across the DACH region (DE, AT, CH), with international project experience.