When Microsoft retires Dynamics GP, the company's preferred next step is Business Central. That's a reasonable option for some businesses — but "stay with the same vendor" is not the same as "best fit for your business." For many former Great Plains customers, the better destination is QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, or NetSuite. Here's the honest reasoning.
The migration effort is similar either way.
The instinct is that Business Central will be the "easy" move because it's also Microsoft. In practice, moving from GP to Business Central is a re-implementation: new data model, new chart of accounts, data conversion, re-built integrations, and retraining. That's the same category of project as moving to Sage Intacct or NetSuite. Once you accept that you're doing a real migration regardless, the decision should be about the destination that serves you best — not the one that feels familiar.
Where each platform wins.
| If your business is… | The strong fit is usually… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Single entity, modest complexity | QuickBooks | Faster, cheaper, easier to staff; you stop paying for unused ERP depth. |
| Multi-entity, finance-intensive (services, healthcare, nonprofit) | Sage Intacct | Cloud-native financials, strong consolidations, dimensional CFO-grade reporting. |
| Operationally complex, acquisitive, PE-backed | NetSuite | Full ERP breadth, scalable architecture, handles complex multi-entity reporting. |
What leaving the Dynamics path actually buys you.
- Cloud-native architecture rather than a platform whose roots are in on-premise GP-era design.
- Reporting your finance team controls — without leaning on a developer or ISV for every change.
- A clean break from legacy customizations that accumulated in GP over the years and quietly raised your cost of ownership.
- A platform sized to today's business, not the one you were in 2010.
Questions we hear.
Isn't Business Central the natural upgrade from Great Plains?
It's Microsoft's preferred path, but moving from GP to Business Central is still a full re-implementation and data conversion, not a simple upgrade. Since you're doing the migration work either way, the better question is which destination best fits your business, not which keeps you in the same vendor's ecosystem.
Why would a former GP customer choose Sage Intacct or NetSuite over a Microsoft ERP?
Finance-led and multi-entity organizations often get cleaner consolidations, dimensional reporting, and faster closes from purpose-built cloud financial platforms like Sage Intacct, or full ERP breadth from NetSuite, than from a general-purpose Microsoft ERP. The fit is driven by reporting and operational needs, not brand loyalty.
When is QuickBooks the right move off Great Plains?
When you're a single entity with modest complexity. Many GP customers were running far more ERP than they needed. QuickBooks is faster to implement, cheaper to run, and easier to staff, and you stop paying for depth you never use.
What's the most expensive mistake in replacing Great Plains?
Letting the incumbent vendor's roadmap choose the platform by default, then discovering after an expensive implementation that the fit is poor. Selecting the right platform up front, objectively, is far cheaper than re-doing the project.
Not sure which platform fits?
That's exactly the call we help you make — objectively, before you commit to an implementation. We specialize in QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, and NetSuite.
Get a migration consultation
By Heather Engler, Esq.
Founder & Principal, Capital Advisors
Heather blends legal training with deep expertise in bookkeeping and tax compliance, giving her a unique perspective on financial strategy, risk management, and operations. Under her leadership, Capital Advisors serves hundreds of clients across bookkeeping, tax, payroll, and financial advisory. More about the team →