The Investments in implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can pay back in less than six months, according to Forrester research

April, 2026

Small and medium-sized companies that have outgrown basic operational management tools often cannot afford the complex and expensive ERP systems needed to scale and optimize business processes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a cloud ERP system developed by Microsoft taking into account the needs and capabilities of small and medium-sized businesses. It is also an affordable comprehensive solution that covers all areas of the enterprise's activity and allows you to transparently manage finances, sales, service, production, supply chains, warehouse logistics in a single information space, as well as receive reporting and analytics for making informed management decisions.

The recently published Forrester Total Economic Impact study helps estimate the potential financial impact of implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central .

Leading research and consulting firm Forrester conducted interviews with four business leaders who have experience using the ERP system from Microsoft. The respondents noted that before the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, their organizations relied on inconsistent tools across departments and struggled with aging on-premises solutions and manual processes. This required regular system maintenance, led to errors and limited the ability to scale operations. After implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the respondents were able to retire legacy solutions, automate manual processes and scale their operations, resulting in improved finance teams’ productivity and a noticeable increase in profitability.

Forrester summarized the experiences of respondents and modeled a single composite organization that, according to the research results, can achieve the following indicators from implementation Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central:

• over 200% return on investment (ROI) in three years;
• over $460 thousand net present value (NPV) over three years;
• payback of initial investment in 6 months.

The study also identified several areas where a company can achieve tangible benefits, taking into account risks, within three years of using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central:

• automation of numerous billing, accounts payable and receivable processes, which increases the productivity of the finance team by up to 50% and leads to a reduction in period closing time by up to 30%;
• reducing the total cost of ownership of the system by more than 10% due to the elimination of maintenance costs for outdated local solutions;
• the ability to make quick, informed decisions based on real-time data, which helps increase profitability;
• ensuring fast reporting and reducing audit preparation time on 30% thanks to consolidated access to financial data and built-in capabilities Microsoft Power BI;
• automation of manual processes, which reduces the number of errors in invoices, speeds up the issuance and processing of invoices, and simplifies the onboarding process for new customers;
• additional modules for marketing and sales teams that allow you to track the lead funnel, increasing conversion and improving financial results;
• more efficient warehouse management, acceleration of picking and packaging processes, and reduction of inventory turnover cycles;
• intuitive interface and improved user experience;
• increasing team productivity thanks to the built-in AI assistant Copilot and intelligent agents based on artificial intelligence.

«We had a mix of different systems and they were very expensive to support. Some of them were developed in specific languages, and when the people who created them left, we had to find other specialists to support them. We wanted to consolidate everything into a single system. That’s why we switched to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central,», – commented one of the respondents, the operations director of a company providing professional services.

«"The system brings everything together in one place: timekeeping, expense reports, accounts payable and receivable – all these processes are brought together, and working becomes much easier,", – emphasized the senior vice president for project implementation and operations of the manufacturing company.

«"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central allowed us to unify our processes, making them more efficient, and thus saving both money and time spent on administrative or routine operations,", – said the CFO of the financial company.

If you want to experience the financial impact of using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or get advice on the cost and options for implementing a cloud ERP system specifically for your company, contact our specialists. Innoware by phone: +38 044 490 22 20 or write: info@innoware.com