Introduction

Welcome to the world of Dynamics 365 Business Central! As a powerful, cloud-based ERP solution, Business Central helps small and medium-sized businesses manage their financials, supply chain, and operations from a single platform.

If you’re new to the system, the sheer number of features and menus can feel a bit overwhelming. But don’t worry—getting started is simpler than you think. This guide will walk you through the essential first steps, from your initial login to setting up your first company and user.

Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Your First Login and Dashboard

After your administrator provides you with your login credentials, you’ll access Business Central through your web browser or the dedicated desktop app.

Your first view will be the Role Center, which is your personalized dashboard. Think of it as your control panel. The Role Center is designed to give you a quick overview of your key performance indicators (KPIs), daily tasks, and shortcuts to the most used functions.

• Tip: The Role Center is customizable! You can easily personalize the layout, add or remove charts, and rearrange the tiles to suit your specific job function.

Step 2: Understanding the Navigation Pane

On the left side of your screen, you’ll find the Navigation Pane. This is your primary tool for moving around the system.

It typically contains links to your main work areas, such as:

• Financials: For general ledger, chart of accounts, and financial reports.
• Sales: To create and manage sales orders, quotes, and invoices.
• Purchasing: For managing vendor invoices and purchase orders.
• Inventory: To handle items, stock, and warehouse management.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, use the Tell Me function (the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner). Simply type in what you need, and the system will show you relevant pages and reports.

Step 3: Creating a New Company

Before you can start entering data, you need a company to work in. Business Central allows you to manage multiple companies within a single tenant, which is great for businesses with different entities.

Here’s how to create a new company:

1. Click the Search (Tell Me) icon in the top-right corner.
2. Type “Companies” and select the Companies page from the results.
3. Click New.
4. The Create New Company wizard will guide you through the process. You’ll be prompted to enter basic details like the company name and choose a template for setup data (e.g., standard demo data).
5. Once you’ve completed the wizard, your new company will be created and ready for use.

Step 4: Setting Up Your First User

Proper user setup and permissions are critical for security and data integrity. While your administrator likely created your account, it’s good to understand the process.

To set up a new user:

1. Use the Tell Me function and search for “Users.”
2. Click the Users page.
3. To add a new user, you’ll need to select them from your Microsoft 365 tenant.
4. Once the user is added, you must assign Permission Sets. Permission sets control what a user can see, create, and modify in the system.
5. For a standard user, you might assign permission sets like “D365 BASIC” and specific roles like “SALES MANAGER” or “ACCOUNTANT.”

• Note: Always follow the principle of least privilege. Only grant users the permissions they absolutely need to perform their jobs.

Step 5: Understanding Role-Based Access

Business Central is designed with a role-based security model. A user is the person logging in, and a permission set defines what that user can do.

A Profile (Role), on the other hand, determines a user’s initial Role Center and what their navigation pane looks like. For example, a “Bookkeeper” profile will have shortcuts to accounting tasks, while a “Sales Order Processor” profile will be geared towards sales-related functions.

• To change your profile, go to the My Settings page (click the gear icon in the top right).
• From here, you can select a different Role and your dashboard will automatically update to reflect the new profile’s shortcuts.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve now completed the most fundamental steps in getting to know Dynamics 365 Business Central. By understanding your Role Center, navigation, and the basics of company and user setup, you’re well on your way to leveraging this powerful ERP system.

In our next blog post, we’ll dive into one of the most critical foundational elements: setting up the Chart of Accounts to structure your financial data for success.

Stay tuned!