Acumatica vs Business Central for SMB Manufacturers (2024)

I recently did a research project to write an article on the best cloud manufacturing ERP systems. Since then, I decided to dig in deeper to do full one-to-one comparisons of all of the ERPs that compete with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

In this article, I’ll be comparing Acumatica vs Business Central – the two ERP systems that shared first place in my analysis. I believe both of these are great for small to medium-sized manufacturers.

Considering that at Sabre Limited we sell Business Central only to manufacturing companies, I’ll do my best to stay as unbiased as possible while comparing these two ERPs.

If you enjoy this article and would like to talk to Sabre Limited’s president Rob Jolliffe to chat about these concepts, you can book a one-on-one 30-minute call with him at https://calendly.com/robert-jolliffe/30min  

Introduction to Acumatica

Acumatica is a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that has been empowering small to medium-sized manufacturers since its founding in 2008.

Established by a team of experienced ERP professionals, Acumatica was created with the vision of delivering a flexible, scalable, and user-friendly platform that leverages modern cloud technologies to streamline business operations. It was created to be a cloud system from the get-go.

I wanted to compare Acumatica vs Dynamics 365 Business Central because it satisfies my criteria of being a true cloud ERP. For an ERP to truly be cloud it should:

• Run in a browser or purpose-built thin-client on PC, mobile, and tablets.
• Be hosted by the vendor in a “serverless” manner.
• Support third-party apps and add-ons through an open marketplace/Appstore.
• Have seamless and automated upgrades.

From the outset, Acumatica focused on providing a comprehensive suite of integrated applications that cover financial management, distribution, customer relationship management (CRM), and manufacturing processes. This holistic approach enables manufacturers to manage all aspects of their business within a single, unified system, enhancing efficiency and reducing the complexities associated with disparate software solutions.

Benefits of Acumatica

• Cloud Native ERP
• Highly flexible ERP system for manufacturing
• Cost-effective and affordable for smaller companies
• Flexibility in integration to other systems
• Acumatica Marketplace has over 220 add-on solutions

Challenges of Acumatica

• Not as scalable as other top-tier ERP systems
• Pricing is not made public, you’ll need to get a quote
• The ecosystem is not as robust as Business Central (resellers and resources)
• Large volumes of data can slow down the system
• Has fewer add-ons than Business Central

Introduction to Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a key part of Microsoft’s business applications. It helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) manage finances, operations, sales, and customer service. The product’s history dates back to 2002 when Microsoft acquired Navision.

In 2005, Navision was rebranded as Dynamics NAV. In 2018, Microsoft transitioned Dynamics NAV into Dynamics 365 Business Central. The last version under the NAV name was NAV 2018, known as version 11. The first release of Business Central was version 12. Interestingly, early versions of Business Central still displayed “Dynamics NAV” on the About screen.

Business Central integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft cloud services like Office 365, Azure, Power BI, and Copilot. This integration offers organizations a comprehensive and unified business management platform.

Benefits of Business Central

• Cloud Native ERP
• All-in, easy pricing model available publically
• Hosted in top-tier Microsoft Azure data centers (included in your price)
• Open-source tools allow easy customization without special hosting
• Huge collection of apps in Microsoft AppSource for Business Central
• Industry-specific add-ons available, allowing best-in-class solutions for customers

Challenges of Business Central

• Often requires additional apps for advanced manufacturing support
• So easy to customize: can lead to over-customization (increased costs)
• Quality of implementation services vary widely between Microsoft partners
• Process manufacturing requires add-ons

Key Differences Between Business Central and Acumatica for Manufacturing

When evaluating ERP systems, it’s important to focus on key factors that differentiate them to make an informed decision. The top six differences between Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Acumatica include:

1. Customization
2. Pricing
3. Interface
4. Addons
5. Reporting
6. Implementation

Below, we’ll explore these differences in depth to help guide your decision-making process.

1. Customization: Both systems offer robust customization capabilities.
2. Pricing: Business Central’s pricing is straightforward for companies with a predictable number of users, while Acumatica’s model can be more cost-effective for organizations with many users but requires careful monitoring of resource consumption. See the section below for a detailed breakdown.
3. User Interface: Both platforms offer modern, user-friendly interfaces. Business Central may feel more familiar to users of Microsoft products.
4. Add-ons: Both systems support extensive add-ons and integrations. Business Central, however, has over 5500 add-ons in Microsoft AppSource. Acumatica only had 223 at the time of writing this.
5. Reporting: Business Central’s integration with Power BI offers powerful analytics, especially beneficial for organizations prioritizing advanced reporting within the Microsoft environment. Acumatica provides strong built-in reporting tools with the flexibility to integrate other BI solutions.
6. Implementation: Both Business Central and Acumatica are implemented through Value-Added Resellers (VARs). While the base products are competitive and robust, the success of your ERP implementation will depend on the knowledge and experience of your chosen partner. Acumatica VARs tend to be better trained, in general, for manufacturing. That said, some Business Central partners are experts in manufacturing, but might be harder to find. You can look at our article on the top Business Central manufacturing partners for examples of partners that we know are great at manufacturing.

Manufacturing Product Features

Acumatica is a modular-based ERP that comes in packages based on your industry. You can purchase the generic edition of Acumatica and add any other modules you’d like or purchase an industry-specific package.

If you’re getting Acumatica and you only need 20% of their modules, it’s going to be much cheaper than Business Central. Most manufacturing companies will need way more modules than this to run their operations. 

If you have a lot of users, a low volume of transactions, and fewer modules, Acumatica will be cheaper. On the other hand, if you have few users and a high volume of transactions, Business Central will be cheaper.

Think of Acumatica’s modular approach like buying a satellite TV package—your base package only includes select channels, and you add more based on your needs.

With the Acumatica Manufacturing Edition, the following modules are included:

The graphic shows you everything you would get from the Acumatica Manufacturing Edition which matches almost 1:1 with Business Central. However, the general edition of Acumatica only comes with the Finance and Reporting, and Dashboards modules. You can learn more about Acumatica modules at beacns.io.

Pricing Comparison (Acumatica vs Business Central)

Comparing the pricing of Business Central vs Acumatica can be challenging because both systems offer flexible pricing that scales with your business needs. The main difference is that Business Central uses user license-based pricing, while Acumatica operates on consumption-based pricing. This means the cost of Acumatica depends heavily on the number of commercial transactions your business processes.

Business Central has standard license fees, keeping everything transparent and out in the open. You can learn more about Dynamics 365 SMB pricing in our detailed Business Central pricing article.

To get pricing for Acumatica, you must fill out a form or contact them directly for an estimate. The cost depends heavily on the number of commercial transactions. Some ERP consultants have shared that Acumatica typically costs between $30,000 and $65,000 for the software, depending on the modules chosen, and an additional $60,000 to $90,000 for implementation.

One consultant noted, “These are early estimates, likely for a 14-user system, though Acumatica doesn’t charge by user. It’s priced lower than NetSuite and higher than Intacct.”

Since Acumatica’s pricing isn’t publicly available, you’ll need to work with an Authorized Acumatica Reseller to get an exact quote. They can provide a full breakdown of costs, including software, training, consulting, and implementation.

User Reviews (Acumatica vs Business Central)

To ensure fairness and avoid bias, I only included sites that had reviewed both ERPs. Interestingly, both Acumatica and Business Central tend to receive positive user reviews.

Let’s see how the user reviews shape up in the table below.

It’s important to remember that Business Central is sold through VARs, which can influence the product’s rating. In many cases, the rating reflects the experience with the partner rather than the ERP itself, which can skew Business Central’s overall rating.

Recommendations

Choosing between Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Acumatica hinges on your organization’s specific needs, existing technology investments, and future growth plans.

• Business Central is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses seeking seamless integration with Microsoft products, a user-friendly interface, and a licensing model based on user counts.
• Acumatica is well-suited for organizations that require unlimited user access, prefer a consumption-based pricing model, and desire a high degree of customization with flexible deployment options.

Both products can handle most small and medium manufacturing requirements.

If you’re still exploring ERP systems, don’t forget to check out our other comparison articles:

• Business Central vs NetSuite
• Business Central vs SAP Business One
• Business Central vs Odoo

Conclusion (Acumatica vs Business Central)

By now, you should have a better grasp of the key differences between Acumatica vs Business Central, and hopefully, a clearer idea of which ERP is the right fit for your business.

If you are a company that wants to grow your investment in the Microsoft 365 Technology Stack, then Business Central is probably the best choice. If you don’t really care too much about integration with other Microsoft products, then Acumatica should be on your list of products to check out. In any case, I would check both of them out when looking for an ERP system.

At Sabre Limited, we’re specialists in manufacturing and proud to be one of the leading Microsoft Dynamics manufacturing partners in North America. What makes us stand out is our commitment to fixed-fee pricing—no unpredictable time-and-material charges—and our focus on always putting our clients’ needs first. Learn more about how Dynamics manufacturing can help streamline your operations.

If you’re ready to learn more about how Sabre Limited can help, we’ve been working with small to medium-sized manufacturers to implement and optimize Business Central. Let’s connect and see how we can help take your manufacturing operations to the next level. Contact us today—we’d love to hear from you!