Dynamics 365 CRM or Business Central — which one do you need?
Dynamics 365 is not one system but a product family: the CRM apps (Sales, Customer Service, Customer Insights – Journeys, Field Service, Project Operations) manage customer relationships, while Business Central and Finance & Supply Chain Management are ERP — accounting, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing. If you want to systemise sales, service or marketing, you need CRM; if you want to run finance and logistics, you need ERP: Business Central for SMEs, Finance & SCM for large enterprises. The two also work together, connected.
What is the difference between Dynamics 365 CRM and Business Central?
Dynamics 365 CRM handles customer-facing processes: who enquired, which quote they received, where the opportunity stands, which service case is open. Business Central is an ERP that runs the company internally — general ledger, invoices, customers and vendors, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing. Both are sold under Microsoft’s “Dynamics 365” brand, which is why they are often confused.
Search for “Dynamics 365 implementation” and most results are Business Central partners offering ERP projects. If your goal is pipeline visibility, quote tracking or a working service desk, however, you are looking for CRM, not ERP. Make this decision before choosing a partner, because the two sides are usually implemented by different specialists.
Which Dynamics 365 apps are CRM?
These five apps make up the CRM side. They all run on the common Dataverse database, so a customer’s data, activities and documents are the same in every module.
Which Dynamics 365 apps are ERP?
There are two ERPs in the family, depending on company size. Business Central is the ERP for small and mid-sized companies and the successor of Dynamics NAV (Navision): finance, sales and purchase orders, inventory, manufacturing and projects in one system. Finance & Supply Chain Management (formerly Finance and Operations, the successor of AX) is the enterprise ERP: multiple legal entities and countries, complex supply chains and manufacturing.
How do the three systems compare side by side?
| Aspect | Dynamics 365 CRM (Sales, Customer Service, Journeys, Field Service, Project Operations) | Dynamics 365 Business Central | Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | customer relationships: leads, opportunities, quotes, service cases, campaigns, field service | business management (ERP): finance and accounting, customers and vendors, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing | business management (ERP) at scale: finance, supply chain, warehousing, manufacturing, multiple legal entities and countries |
| Typical user | salesperson, service agent, marketer, field technician, project manager | accountant, finance, buyer, warehouse staff, production planner | finance, logistics and manufacturing organisations in large enterprises |
| Company size | from SMEs to large enterprises | small and mid-sized companies | large enterprises and groups |
| Data platform | Dataverse (the common database of Power Platform) | its own database; connects to Dataverse through a standard integration | its own database; dual-write to Dataverse |
| Predecessor | Dynamics CRM | Dynamics NAV (Navision) | Dynamics AX |
| Who implements it? | a CRM partner — for example us | a Business Central partner — we recommend DynaGo Hungary, with whom we share an office | a Finance & Operations partner |
When do you need which?
The decision comes down to which process hurts more today: the customer-facing one (sales, service, marketing) or the internal one (accounting, inventory, manufacturing).
Can CRM and Business Central be used together?
Yes, and this is a common set-up: the CRM faces the customer, Business Central faces finance and logistics, and synchronised data sits between them. Business Central has a built-in, standard integration with Dynamics 365 Sales: customers, contacts, products, prices and sales orders are the same in both systems. Finance & SCM writes directly to Dataverse through dual-write.
Where the standard integration is not enough — custom fields, approvals, invoicing rules — we extend it with Power Automate or an Azure-based integration. The split of work is simple: we handle the CRM side and the CRM side of the integration, the Business Central partner handles the ERP side. With both teams in one office, in practice it is a single project.
Decision checklist: what to answer before choosing a partner?
- Which process do you want to fix first: sales, customer service, marketing, field service — or accounting, inventory, manufacturing?
- How many people will use it, and in which roles (sales, service agent, accountant, warehouse)?
- Do you already have an ERP or accounting system that works well? If so, you probably need a CRM next to it, not a new ERP.
- Which data must flow between the two worlds (customer, product, price, order, invoice, open balance)?
- Do you use Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams)? Dynamics 365 CRM delivers the most where users already work there.
- What is the annual budget for licences and implementation? We break down the cost of Dynamics 365 Sales in a separate article.
- Who will be the internal owner making the decisions? Implementation speed usually depends on this, not on technology.
Who should you contact for CRM, and who for Business Central?
We work on the CRM side: implementing Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service and Customer Insights – Journeys, migration, integration and operations — see Dynamics 365 consulting. The first 1–2 hour discovery call is free; afterwards we tell you whether you need CRM, ERP or both.
For Business Central we recommend DynaGo Hungary: they implement and support Business Central, NAV and Finance & Operations, and we share an office with them (Capital Square, Váci út 76, 1133 Budapest). If you need both sides, the two teams run it as one project.
Frequently asked questions
What does ERP system mean?
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a business management system: one database for finance and accounting, customers and vendors, purchasing, inventory and manufacturing. CRM (Customer Relationship Management), by contrast, focuses on customer relationships: leads, sales opportunities, quotes and customer service. At Microsoft, the ERP products are Business Central and Finance & Supply Chain Management; the CRM products are Dynamics 365 Sales and its siblings.
Is Dynamics 365 a CRM or an ERP?
Both, because it is a product family. Sales, Customer Service, Customer Insights – Journeys, Field Service and Project Operations are CRM apps; Business Central and Finance & Supply Chain Management are ERP. You license each app separately and buy only what you need.
Does Business Central include a CRM?
It has basic contact and opportunity management, which can be enough for a very small team. It has no guided sales process, forecasting, service queue management or campaign management — for those you need Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service or Journeys.
Can Dynamics 365 Sales and Business Central be connected?
Yes, through a standard integration: customers, contacts, products, prices and sales orders are synchronised. Custom requirements can be added with Power Automate or an Azure integration.
Is Business Central or Dynamics 365 Sales the successor of NAV?
Business Central. Dynamics NAV (Navision) was an ERP, and so is its successor. Dynamics 365 Sales is the successor of the old Dynamics CRM.
How much does Dynamics 365 Sales cost?
At Microsoft’s list prices for Hungary (1 October 2026, excl. VAT, annual commitment) Sales Professional is €56.30, Enterprise €91.00 and Premium €130.00 per user per month; implementation and operations come on top. A worked example: How much does Dynamics 365 Sales cost in 2026?
Do you implement Business Central too?
No, we work on the CRM side. For Business Central we recommend DynaGo Hungary, with whom we share an office; we handle the CRM side of the integration between the two.
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