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Understanding Business Central Licensing

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has been developed to suit the needs of small and mid-sized businesses. It helps organizations connect their financials, sales, purchase, inventory, projects, service, and operations. But before you get started with the solution, it is important to understand the licensing process so that you don’t end up paying more than you need or intend.

Requirements

Licensing requirements for internal users

You may license access to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central by purchasing a Subscription License (SL) for every internal user who has direct or indirect access to the service.

Dynamics 365 Business Central has only one type of SL. User SLs are assigned on a “named user” basis, meaning each user requires a separate User SL. User SLs cannot be shared but an individual with a User SL may access the service through multiple devices.

Licensing requirements for external users

External users refer to the end customers and third-party users of the organization or its affiliates. They do not require SLs to access Microsoft Dynamics 365. External user access is included with the organization’s internal user SLs.

Types of licenses

Business Central has simplified licensing options. The licenses for D365 Business Central users are broadly classified under two headings:

1. Full users – The users whose work requires use of the feature-rich business applications functionality, such as salespeople, customer service representatives, finance employees, controllers and supply chain managers. These full users are licensed with a Dynamics 365 Business Central (Essentials or Premium) subscription.

2. Additional users – These represent a significant percentage of users in an organization and may consume data or reports from line of business systems, complete light tasks like time or expense entry and HR record updates or be heavier users of the system, but not require full user capabilities. These additional users are licensed with Dynamics 365 Business Central Team Members.

The full users Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials comes with the following features:

  • Financial Management
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Project Management
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Human Resources Management
  • Warehouse Management

The full users Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium comes with the following features:

  • Everything in Essentials
  • Service Management
  • Manufacturing

It must be noted that you can’t mix and match Essentials and Premium users. You can license Essentials or Premium users but not both.

Dynamics 365 Business Central Team Members is the license available for additional users. It is a named user subscription designed for users who are not tied to a particular function, but who require basic Dynamics 365 Business Central functionality. This license includes read access, as well as some, write access for select light tasks across Dynamics 365 Business Central functionality for a given tenant. The users of this license can perform the following tasks:

  • Read anything within Dynamics 365 Business Central
  • Update existing data and entries in Dynamics 365 Business Central
  • Approve or reject tasks in all workflows assigned to a user
  • Create, edit, delete a quote
  • Create, edit, delete personal information
  • Enter a time sheet for Jobs
  • Use PowerApps for Dynamics 365

Licenses for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central service do not include licenses for other products and services that may be necessary to light up integrated scenarios or extend functionality. Licensing for other products and services such as Microsoft Power BI, Cortana Intelligence and Microsoft PowerApps have to be acquired separately.

Now that you know all about the D365 Business Central licenses, what are you waiting for? Book your consultation today with Isys Solutions.

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