Why you should invest in Dynamics 365 Finance

Dynamics 365 Finance revolutionizes financial management with automation, AI-driven insights, and seamless integration, ensuring efficiency and growth.

Key Takeaways

• Automated Financial Processes: Reduce errors and increase efficiency.
• Real-Time Analytics: Empower data-driven decisions.
• Global Support: Multi-currency, multi-language, and compliance features.
• Seamless Integration: Works with other Microsoft products.
• Cloud-Based: Accessible anywhere with lower costs.

Finance teams using outdated ERP systems face significant challenges in collecting, integrating, and analysing data. These legacy solutions are often rigid, complex, and lack the automation and AI capabilities necessary for robust analytics and reporting. As a result, teams frequently depend on scarce data science and IT resources to fill the gaps, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs.

Disparate data sources further exacerbate these issues, hampering timely forecasting. Finance professionals often need to manually transfer data between systems, reducing the organisation’s ability to quickly anticipate and capitalise on market shifts and opportunities. To shift to a more strategic role, finance teams need unified data and intuitive analytics to support smarter decision-making and planning.

Effective financial management is the backbone of any successful organisation. Without it, businesses risk inefficiency and missed opportunities. Efficient financial operations, insightful analytics, and seamless integration with other business processes are essential for growth and sustainability.

One solution that stands out in addressing these needs is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance. As a leading platform, it offers a comprehensive suite of functionality designed to streamline financial operations, enhance decision-making, and ensure regulatory compliance.

In this blog post, we will explore the key reasons why Dynamics 365 Finance is the ideal platform for managing your financial operations and how it can empower your finance team to excel.

Why should you invest in Dynamics 365 Finance?

Dynamics 365 Finance streamlines financial operations, enhances decision-making with AI-driven insights, supports global compliance, integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, and offers the flexibility of a cloud-based solution.

What is Dynamics 365 Finance?

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, your team gains an end-to-end solution that sharpens financial decision-making and adapts to changing business conditions. The platform provides robust analytics, insights, and planning features, turning data into actionable steps for boosting business performance.

Built on a unified data model, it offers an always up to date, 360-degree view of operations, enabling a collaborative and connected approach to financial management.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance stands out for AI-driven insights seamlessly woven into your work processes. Through integration with familiar tools like Power BI and Excel, the platform makes secure, cloud-based reporting and analysis straightforward for a more agile financial management approach.

Advanced features for seamless data unification and optimised data models built on Microsoft Dataverse ensure data connectivity to support in-depth strategic insights. Teams inside and outside finance gain secure cloud access through tools they already know, significantly cutting down on manual tasks and reducing the need for specialised technical assistance.

Integrating traditional financial tools and advanced AI capabilities, Dynamics 365 Finance automates the detection of trends and anomalies. It offers predictive insights—so you can anticipate the unexpected and shape the future of success.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance is a robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that focuses on financial management and operational efficiency.

Dynamics 365 Finance is part of the broader Dynamics 365 suite, which includes other business applications like Sales, Customer Service, and Supply Chain Management.

This integration ensures that financial data is consistent and accessible across the organisation, facilitating better coordination and decision-making.

Features of Dynamics 365 Finance

1. Comprehensive Financial Management

Dynamics 365 Finance offers a suite of tools to manage all financial aspects of a business, including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, and cash and bank management. Its robust financial management capabilities ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance with global accounting standards.

2. Globalisation and Localisation

This solution supports multiple currencies, languages, and tax regulations, making it ideal for organisations operating in multiple countries. Dynamics 365 Finance ensures that businesses remain compliant with local laws and regulations, providing tailored configurations for different regions.

3. Advanced Analytics and Reporting

With built-in AI and machine learning capabilities, Dynamics 365 Finance provides predictive insights and detailed analytics. Power BI integration allows users to create real-time dashboards and reports, enabling data-driven decision-making and improved financial performance tracking.

4. Automation of Financial Processes

Automating repetitive financial tasks such as invoicing, expense management, and bank reconciliations reduces the risk of errors and increases efficiency. Workflow automation streamlines approvals and ensures that financial operations are both consistent and compliant.

5. Budgeting and Forecasting

Dynamics 365 Finance includes sophisticated tools for budgeting and forecasting, helping businesses plan for the future with confidence. These tools allow for the creation of multiple budget scenarios, rolling forecasts, and detailed financial analysis, supporting strategic planning and resource allocation.

6. Credit and Collections Management

Effective management of credit and collections processes ensures improved cash flow and reduced bad debt. Dynamics 365 Finance helps organisations define credit policies, automate collection processes, and provide a clear view of outstanding invoices and payment trends.

7. Expense Management

Streamlined expense management features enable employees to submit expenses easily, while managers can review and approve them quickly. Integration with corporate credit cards and mobile receipt capture further simplifies the expense reporting process.

8. Financial Compliance and Risk Management

Dynamics 365 Finance provides tools to manage compliance and mitigate financial risk. With features like audit trails, segregation of duties, and regulatory reporting, businesses can maintain control and transparency over their financial processes.

9. Integration with Other Microsoft Products

Seamless integration with other Microsoft solutions, such as Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, and Office 365, allows for a unified and connected ecosystem. This integration ensures that financial data flows smoothly across the organisation, enhancing collaboration and operational efficiency.

10. Cloud-Based Solution

As a cloud-based ERP, Dynamics 365 Finance offers the benefits of lower upfront costs, regular updates, and accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection. This ensures that businesses always have access to the latest features and can operate with agility and flexibility.

Who is Dynamics 365 Finance designed for?

Businesses of All Sizes

Whether you’re a small business looking to streamline your financial operations or a large enterprise aiming for greater efficiency and scalability, Dynamics 365 Finance is designed to support your goals. Its modular nature allows businesses to start with the features they need and expand as their requirements grow.

Diverse Industries

Dynamics 365 Finance is versatile and can be customised to meet the needs of various industries, including manufacturing, retail, healthcare, financial services, and more. Each industry has unique financial management requirements, and Dynamics 365 Finance’s flexibility ensures that these needs are met effectively.

Global Operations

For businesses operating in multiple countries, Dynamics 365 Finance offers multi-currency and multi-language support, making it easier to manage global operations. The platform’s compliance with international accounting standards further simplifies financial management for multinational organisations.

Economic impact of using Dynamics 365 finance

A study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Microsoft examining the Total Economic Impact of Dynamics 365 Finance found some key findings, including:

Businesses interviewed for the TEI study faced several common challenges, including:

• High maintenance costs of legacy solutions
• Significant customisation of solutions
• Lack of standardised financial processes
• Reliance on manual processes and tribal knowledge
• Lack of real-time visibility

To address these challenges, these organisations sought a solution that could deliver out-of-the-box core financial and accounting processes, empower financial teams with real-time visibility, and enable scalability in line with business demands.

Key Findings

Dynamics 365 Finance enables businesses to overcome the limitations of heavily customised legacy ERP solutions by:

• Eliminating manual and cumbersome processes
• Providing real-time insights
• Offering platform flexibility to keep pace with digital business demands

Forrester’s study revealed three key impact areas where Dynamics 365 Finance delivers value:

Finance Staff Productivity Improvements:

• Legacy ERP systems required manual report creation and distribution, leading to higher headcount and outdated information.
• Dynamics 365 Finance standardised and streamlined financial processes, leveraging real-time information and automation.
• Resulted in a three-year present value of $2.30 million in productivity improvements.

IT Staff Productivity Improvements:

• Legacy solutions were highly customised and resource-intensive to maintain.
• Dynamics 365 Finance reduced IT administrator and developer hours with easier support and fewer customisations.
• Resulted in a three-year present value of $402,870 in IT staff productivity improvements.

Legacy Cost Savings:

• Dynamics 365 Finance reduced infrastructure expenditures, decommissioned redundant solutions, and lowered the cost to scale with demand.
• Resulted in a projected present value savings of $3.52 million over three years.

Additional benefits

Beyond the quantifiable benefits, the organisations experienced:

• Real-time visibility and improved decision-making
• Enhanced regulatory compliance
• Greater system availability
• Integration with the Microsoft ecosystem
• Improved quality of life for finance employees

Read the full report here.

Benefits of using Dynamics 365 Finance

Streamlined Financial Operations

By automating routine financial tasks, Dynamics 365 Finance reduces manual effort and minimises errors. This leads to more accurate financial data and allows employees to focus on higher-value activities.

Enhanced Decision-Making

Real-time insights and AI-driven predictive analytics empower businesses to make data-driven decisions with confidence. This improved decision-making capability can drive growth and profitability.

Seamless Integration

Integration with other Microsoft applications ensures a unified platform for managing all aspects of the business. This seamless integration enhances collaboration and data consistency across the organisation.

Scalability and Flexibility

Dynamics 365 Finance can grow with your business, adapting to changing needs and requirements. Its modular design allows businesses to start with the features they need and expand as necessary.

Regulatory Compliance

Staying compliant with ever-changing regulations is made easier with Dynamics 365 Finance. The platform’s regular updates ensure that businesses can always operate within the law.

Robust Security

Role-based access control, data encryption, and audit trails provide robust security measures to protect sensitive financial information. This ensures that businesses can trust their data is secure.

Implementing Dynamics 365 Finance

Partnering with Experts: Implementing Dynamics 365 Finance requires expertise and experience. At Mercurius IT, we have a proven track record of successfully deploying Dynamics 365 Finance for businesses of all sizes. Our team of certified professionals works closely with clients to understand their unique needs and deliver tailored solutions that drive results.

Planning and Preparation: The implementation process begins with thorough planning and preparation. We assess your current financial management processes, identify areas for improvement, and develop a detailed implementation plan.

Customisation and Configuration: We configure Dynamics 365 Finance to align with your business processes and goals. This includes setting up workflows, creating custom reports, and integrating the platform with other business applications.

Training and Support: Our commitment to our clients doesn’t end with implementation. We provide comprehensive training to ensure that your team can fully leverage the capabilities of Dynamics 365 Finance. Ongoing support is also available to help you troubleshoot issues, optimise performance, and stay updated with the latest features.

Get started today

Investing in Dynamics 365 Finance offers a multitude of benefits that can transform how your business manages its finances. From streamlined operations and advanced analytics to robust security and seamless integration, Dynamics 365 Finance provides a comprehensive solution for modern financial management.

At Mercurius IT, we are dedicated to helping businesses unlock the full potential of Dynamics 365 Finance through expert implementation, customisation, and ongoing support. By choosing Dynamics 365 Finance and partnering with Mercurius IT, you can achieve greater efficiency, make informed decisions, and drive sustainable growth.

If you’re ready to take your financial management to the next level, contact Mercurius IT today to learn how we can help you leverage the power of Dynamics 365 Finance for your organisation.