Business Central Migration Consultants: A UK Guide
The right Business Central migration consultants make or break your ERP move. Here's how UK SMBs can evaluate partners and avoid an expensive lesson.
Choosing the right Business Central migration consultants can decide whether your move to Microsoft's ERP lands on time and on budget. Whichever system you are leaving, whether Sage, QuickBooks or an ageing NAV system, plan the delivery as carefully as you choose the software.
This guide covers what good migration consultants do, how to evaluate them, and the questions to ask before you sign.
What migration consultants actually do
A capable consultant does far more than install software. They map your chart of accounts, dimensions and reporting needs to Business Central, plan how open items and history move across, set up VAT for UK filing, and rehearse the cutover.
Your route depends on where you start. Microsoft's guide to migrating data to Business Central online sets the options by starting point; from Dynamics NAV, for example, you upgrade to Business Central on-premises first and then switch online.
Key PointThe consultant should translate how your finance team works into the system design, not copy a generic template.
UK experience matters
Business Central is a global product, but your obligations are local. GOV.UK says all VAT-registered businesses should now be signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT, so ask how VAT returns will reach HMRC from the new system.
Ask about the edge cases too. Microsoft's UK Making Tax Digital page says group VAT scenarios are not in scope of the built-in feature, and that HMRC does not accept test submissions. Our group VAT guide covers that case.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who exactly will do the work: the people in the room, or a team you never meet?
- How is data migration tested, and how many trial loads are included?
- Will the trial loads run in a sandbox environment, not production?
- What happens to history you need to keep?
- How is a change in scope priced?
- What does support look like in the first weeks after go-live?
Watch OutPlan where older records will live. GOV.UK says a company must keep records for 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to.
Fixed price or time and materials
Ask exactly what a fixed price includes and what sits outside it, such as data volumes, integrations and extra companies. A clear plan, a data map and a cutover approach agreed before you sign are worth more than the cheapest headline figure.
Agreeing scope first also lets you judge how the team communicates before you commit the full budget. The GOV.UK guidance on company records shows which records you must keep, and for how long.
Red flags to watch for
- A promised migration timeline given before anyone has seen your data.
- No clear answer on how testing works.
- Training treated as an afterthought.
- No plan for handing knowledge over to your team.
Pro TipAsk each consultant to describe the last migration that went wrong and what they changed afterwards.
Where to start
If your business already holds Business Central licences but has not gone live, our BC Fast-Start takes you live in twelve weeks for £4,500 fixed. As our Business Central page says, you talk directly to the consultants delivering the work.
Our guides to choosing a partner and migration strategy go further. For independent guidance, see the ICAEW technology resources, or talk to our team.