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Benefits of Integrating Dynamics Business Central to Outlook and MS Office

Benefits of Integrating Dynamics Business Central to Outlook and MS Office

Digital transformation across many industries made it vital for organisations to adopt modern tools that will streamline their operations. Sophisticated ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems can make enterprise operations more efficient and process driven. In addition, the rise of cloud-based ERP allows the organisations’ team members to be more collaborative and responsive with each other, regardless of the location and proven to be a crucial component in growing a business.

The popularity of cloud ERP solutions has further grown with the need for remote work setup in the past two years. In 2022, the total market value of the ERP sector is projected to reach more than AUD 128 billion and will maintain a consistent increase in succeeding years. Meanwhile, more than 62% of companies choose to implement cloud ERP software compared to on-premise and legacy systems.

Cloud ERP solutions give organisations a reliable system that connects their departments adequately and is able to make informed decisions with the new and refined data available. With it, employees from various enterprise functions, such as sales, human resources, and manufacturing, will be able to move on from traditional systems that require labour-intensive processes.

Furthermore, cloud ERPs are highly customisable. For example, Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Business Central contains multiple modules and an application store to connect your payroll, eCommerce, or any third-party development that can help firms in different ways. This makes Business Central a top pick for organisations looking to deploy a robust ERP system without investing a lot.

The Rise of Business Central 

Apart from being a product of one of the leading organisations in technology, Business Central also gained popularity because of its functionality. It is mainly designed to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) automate and streamline business-critical tasks, making it easier to utilise than other wholistic market solutions.

In addition to its customisable built-in modules, Business Central’s capability to be integrated into other applications is something that organisations benefit from the most. Integrating Business Central with widely used digital office tools like Outlook and MS Office will make business procedures more efficient for the workforce and stakeholders. More efficient operations significantly boost the productivity of the team members.

Integration with Microsoft Outlook

Through the years, emails have been a reliable way of communicating with other employees and customers. About 64% of SMEs connect with regular customers and prospects using email, with 76% of consumers purchasing after receiving marketing materials through this channel. These are a few reasons why integrating Microsoft Outlook into modern tools is vital in improving customer engagement and potential sales.

By integrating Business Central to the Microsoft Outlook email, enterprises gives marketers and sales representatives a better user experience and are able to save time. It will keep employees from juggling through various applications when doing their tasks, allowing them to do more actions on Outlook. In addition, firms can ensure that clients receive a fast and detailed response to their enquiries.

Users can go to the sales and extensions section on the upper portion of their Business Central website and click on Assisted Setup to begin the connection. Once there, they can choose the “Set Up Your Business Inbox in Outlook” option to start the integration.

Once the setup is done, Business Central will send a test email to the Outlook inbox to ensure that the connection is made correctly. When using Outlook on the browser, the Business Central icon is on the top part of the email. Meanwhile, Business Central options are added to the menu bar when using the application.

Benefits of Outlook Integration with Business Central

One of the prime advantages organisations can reap is allowing the employees to do their tasks in their inboxes. The customer insights feature will provide staff with the details about the customer, such as sell-to customer sales history, account balances, and statistics on sales and payments. But in case the email is not yet known in Business Central, team members can easily create a new contact for it, which will also reflect real-time in the ERP.

Employees can quickly perform multiple sales procedures on their Outlookwhen communicating with customers. For example, if the consumers emailed to ask for a sales quote for various products in the catalogue, the staff can create a document for a new sales quote. When clicked, there will be a pop-up for suggested line items, which are the products and quantities that Business Central scanned in the email using artificial intelligence (AI).

When confirmed, Business Central will prepare the quote instantly, which includes all necessary details. The staff can still alter the document before clicking the “send by email” option on the drop-down menu on the top right. This will prompt the employees to review the email they send to the clients containing a PDF version of the quote.

But if the email is from a vendor account, employees can generate purchase orders or invoices instead. It will also be easier to track, create, and send documents to clients and vendors. These benefits make integrating Business Central with Outlook a game-changer for numerous institutions, especially those looking to migrate from their legacy ERP systems.

Integration with Other MS Office Tools

Employees also use plenty of other applications from the Microsoft ecosystem, such as MS Word and MS Excel, which can also be integrated with the Business Central. Having Business Central connected to the other products of Microsoft will significantly help make the organisation more competitive in their market.

With Excel integration, employees can promptly open various sections such as customer lists, sales orders, and invoices with a simple click on Business Central. Any information revised on either platform will immediately reflect on either Business Central or Excel application with specific options available on the right side of the Excel file.

When connected to MS Word, the staff can have direct access to templates that they can use to generate professional documents, such as sales invoices and purchase orders. The personnel can search for “custom report layouts” in Business Central to look for a plethora of formats they can use for their files. Having ready-to-use professional templates will significantly decrease the time consumed in generating necessary documents.

Another application that organisations can integrate with the Business Central is MS SharePoint, which mainly manages and stores documents. With the help of SharePoint connector extensions available in the extensions marketplace, authorised users from various departments can share and retrieve data and documents from a central location.

Connect Dynamics 365 Business Central with Your Tools

With markets becoming more competitive, having a powerful tool can be an ideal investment for companies in the long run. Business Central alone is already a robust solution for various crucial processes, but integrating it with other applications will significantly improve productivity and customer engagements.

Business Central offers countless benefits to enterprises with its various modules and features. However, migrating from traditional legacy systems to this modern solution can be tedious. Partnering up with third-party ERP vendors can make the transition more efficient and help firms reap the full potential of their new ERP system.

Integral Management Systems PTY LTD has been in the ERP industry since 1989 and is the preferred Microsoft Dynamics (CRM and ERP) partner in Western Australia. We can provide consultations, migration, implementation to support and maintain all your ERP and CRM needs.

 

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