How time flies – 2020 has arrived and we’re working on some exciting new additions

It’s 2020 already! I can remember the oil embargo from the 1970s, when we wondered whether we would have enough oil in 1985. Well, that thankfully didn’t come true, although a barrel of oil is no longer priced under $5.00.

The last few years have certainly brought economic uncertainty with them, as well as the technological changes resulting from the shift to cloud processing. Since Microsoft introduced its cloud or SaaS (Software as a Service) product, Dynamics 365 Business Central, to the mid-market in late 2017, ripples of change have affected both system providers and the users of those technologies. This is an ongoing process and, despite the disruption, seems to have created positive momentum in the market as customers now have some certainty as to what the path forward will be.

Additionally, the move to a cloud architecture has produced major advantages such as automatic twice yearly updates to SaaS systems at little or no cost to the customer. We have covered the cost of these updates in a previous blog here.

Moving on to the latest technology

While 2019 did see us deliver record revenue, our job is far from done. We continue to work on the transition from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central and are excited to see some of our clients being ready to make the switch with us. While Microsoft is still working out a few glitches, they have made amazing progress in building out the Dynamics 365 family, which offers a number of significant benefits to Business Central users.

In the past, needing an outside module such as CRM or customer service would have meant restricted integration options, challenges with mobility, and significant effort to get workflow automations working. This has all changed with the inclusion of Power Apps, Power Automation (formerly Microsoft Flow), and Power BI as options for the Dynamics 365 and Office 365 families. This has opened up opportunities for those companies wanting to add powerful functionality to their core ERP system without having to customize the system or switch up to a tier one system. Power users can now do what developers needed to do previously, which puts powerful capability in the hands of our customers.

Our new Business Central extensions

Our add-on family in Dynamics NAV has largely transitioned over to Business Central extensions, which significantly improves the upgrade process. Our ODT Rentals 365 app has been joined by ODT Service 365, which includes planned maintenance and can be utilized with or without rentals. These two add-ons also now have international capability for use in businesses worldwide.

Our recently launched ODT Advanced Payables app for Business Central offers extensive payables capability and a wide variety of defined check formats. This solution can also provide you with extended options for check remittances, automated check signatures, and miscellaneous vendor capability, among other features. Find it on AppSource here.

Additionally, our newest app now live on AppSource here is ODT InterCompany for Business Central. It can help you save time and easily record payable & receivable GL, AR, & AP transactions for multiple companies in one entry screen.

We’re also working on a few more exciting new additions for 2020 including integration with a visual scheduling product, Power Apps for yard use, and pre-built Power BI dashboards.

The year 2020 will see us release two significant new apps for Business Central. The first is a field ticket system for use in oilfield service. The second is an integration app between Business Central and i2x, an electronic invoicing system capable of uploading invoices to all of the common electronic formats including Open Invoice and Cortex. Stay tuned!

We are grateful to our customers who make all these opportunities possible and look forward to connecting with many new people in 2020. For help with your existing or new Dynamics NAV or Business Central system, please contact us here for a no-obligation chat.

*Are you planning to attend the ARA Rental Show in Orlando, Florida, on February 10-12, 2020? Read our previous blog here to learn about the software we’ll be showcasing and the giveaways we’ll have at booth #3428.