Business Central for Professional Services
Business Central's project tools let consultancies, agencies and other professional services firms plan resources, record time and bill clients from one system linked to finance. We set it up around how you scope, deliver and invoice work.
Our Business Central Services
TrueVantage is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner for UK small and mid-market businesses. We implement Business Central, help you choose the right licences and support it after go-live.
How Business Central fits Professional Services businesses
Common challenges in professional services
- Time that never gets billed. Hours recorded late, or in a separate tool, then re-keyed for invoicing.
- Project profit known too late. Budgets, actuals and work in progress pulled together in spreadsheets after month-end.
- Mixed billing models. Fixed-fee, time-and-materials and milestone billing handled differently on every project.
- Resource guesswork. No single view of who is booked, who is free and which skills are available.
Business Central capabilities that fit
- Projects. Budgets and planning lines by task, with costs and revenue tracked against each project.
- Time sheets. Weekly time sheets with approval, posted straight to projects.
- Resources and capacity. Resources and resource groups with skills, cost and price rates, and capacity.
- Project billing. Invoice from planning lines for fixed-fee, time-and-materials or milestone billing.
- WIP and revenue recognition. Work-in-progress methods that recognise revenue and cost by project at period end.
- Dimensions. Report by client, office, practice area or partner without extra general ledger accounts.
- Purchasing for project costs. Expenses and subcontractor costs coded straight to projects.
Projects, resources and time sheets are all in the Essentials licence. See Business Central licences for Microsoft’s current UK prices.
Integrations we typically scope
- Microsoft 365, Outlook and Teams for day-to-day work
- Dynamics 365 Sales or another CRM, for a clean handover from won deal to project
- Expense management apps for receipts and mileage
- Payroll and HR systems
- Power BI for utilisation, realisation and project margin dashboards
- Document management apps from AppSource
Not every business needs all of these. We agree what’s in scope during discovery; for a first estimate, try our Business Central cost calculator, and see how we run a Business Central implementation. After go-live, Business Central managed support keeps the system in step as your business changes.
Why Choose TrueVantage?
Dual-Platform Expertise
One of very few UK consultancies certified in both NetSuite and Business Central. We recommend the right platform for your business, not the one we happen to sell.
Senior-Led Projects
Every project is led by a senior UK consultant with finance and ERP experience.
Designed With Your Finance Team
Our team includes finance- and accounting-experienced consultants, so your chart of accounts, dimensions, approvals and reporting are designed around how you close the month, not bolted on afterwards.
Support After Go-Live
We don't hand over and walk away. After go-live, Business Central managed support covers user help, fixes, improvements and Microsoft's twice-yearly updates.
Not Sure Business Central Is Right for You?
TrueVantage is also a certified NetSuite partner. Our vendor-neutral approach means we'll recommend the platform that genuinely fits your business — even if that means NetSuite is the better choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Business Central handle fixed-fee and time-and-materials projects?
Yes. Project planning lines can be billable or not, and you can invoice on time and materials, a fixed price or milestones, even on the same project.
Does Business Central have time sheets?
Yes. People enter time against projects and tasks, and a project manager approves it before it posts.
How does Business Central calculate WIP?
You choose a WIP method for each project, such as cost value, sales value or percentage of completion, then run the WIP calculation at period end to post recognised revenue and costs.
Do professional services firms need Business Central Premium?
No. Projects, resources and time sheets are in Essentials. Premium only adds manufacturing and service order management.
Does everyone who records time need a full licence?
Not necessarily. Team Members licences cover lighter tasks such as approvals and updating selected records. We check which of your people need a full licence before you buy.
Talk to us about Business Central for your business
Book a free, no-obligation call. We'll talk through how you work today, which Business Central licences and modules you'd need, and what an implementation would involve for your professional services business.
Book Your Free Consultation