A Practical Guide to Making the Switch with Confidence

For many business owners, the idea of switching finance or ERP systems is met with hesitation—and understandably so.

You may be wondering:

• Will we lose our data?

• Will it disrupt the team?

• Will we be down for days?

The truth? With the right approach and the right partner, migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can be smooth, safe, and even surprisingly quick.

Here’s how to make it happen—without the drama.

Why Businesses Hold Back from Migrating

The top reasons businesses hesitate to switch from platforms like Sage,

QuickBooks, Xero, or NAV include:

• Fear of data loss or corruption

• Concerns about business downtime

• Uncertainty over what’s actually involved

• Worries about team adoption

• Not knowing who to trust with the move

“We delayed our migration for two years because we didn’t know where to start. In hindsight, we wish we’d done it sooner.” — Owner, Wholesale Distribution Firm

The Truth About Modern ERP Migration

Thanks to better tools, cloud technology, and experienced partners, moving to Business Central today is far less painful than legacy system migrations of the past.

Smarter D365 clients typically go from first discussion to go-live in days, not months—and we often get the core platform up and running within 24 hours.

The Smarter Migration Approach

At Smarter D365, we’ve designed our onboarding framework to remove complexity. Here’s what our process typically looks like:

1. Discovery & Planning

• We assess your current systems and understand how you operate

• We map out what data you need to bring over (and what to leave behind)
  

2. Data Preparation & Cleansing

• We clean and format your existing data so it’s accurate, reliable, and compatible with Business Central

• We help you identify outdated or duplicated entries to avoid "garbage in, garbage out"
  

3. Test Environment & Training

• You’ll see your data and processes live in a test system

• We walk your team through key workflows, reports, and custom features
  

4. Go-Live in Under 24 Hours

• We deploy your live Business Central environment, transfer your data, and run checks

• Your team begins working in the new system with support on hand
  

5. Post-Launch Optimisation

• We offer ongoing support, tweaks, and advice to help you make the most of your new setup

• As you grow, we grow the system with you

  
  

“We were up and running within a day. Our finance team didn’t miss a beat, and we finally got our reporting under control.” — Head of Finance, Professional Services Business

What You Gain from Migrating

Switching to Business Central doesn’t just eliminate pain—it opens doors:

• Real-time dashboards instead of chasing reports

• Centralised data across departments

• Cloud access from anywhere

• Built-in security, compliance, and automation

• Integration with tools you already use—Outlook, Excel, Teams, Power BI

Your Next Step: Let’s Make It Easy

If you’ve been holding back from upgrading your systems because of fear, cost, or complexity—Smarter D365 is here to help.

We’ll make your migration practical, fast, and pain-free.