Business Central Apps

For companies using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in the cloud (real SaaS), apps are the best way of extending the functionality of the solution.

In this article, we will introduce you to what an app is, how it works, and how you get started.

What is an app

Apps are simply packages of additional functionality for Business Central. Microsoft offer apps from their store, which is called Microsoft AppSource. You can find the app that fits your need – and install it directly into your Business Central.

If you have previously used on-premise versions of Microsofts ERP-solutions, you are definitely used to having an external consultant delevop customizations for your specific needs.

On the new cloud-platform, Microsoft still allows custom development to some extent. But we recommend to avoid it if you can. The point is that you will not be able to receive the monthly updates from Microsoft without validating your custom development. We have explained this in the video about the technology of apps.

The benefit of using apps is that Microsoft will update your Business Central every month – and you don’t have to do anything. No cost. No tasks. No upgrading project. Think about how much time and money you have spent on version-upgrades through the years. The App-technology is probably bad news for external consultants, but it’s good news for your CFO.

» Transcription of video
You are probably used to having your ERP-solution customized by a developer to fit your company’s needs – and you are probably also used to upgrades turning into major migration projects undertaken out of necessity, not because they yield any immediate business benefit.
With Business Central, Microsoft has introduced an app store where you can purchase functionality that has been tested and approved by Microsoft. You can actually install these apps in Business Central yourself. It’s as easy as that.
This means that the solution is now so mature that many companies can meet all their needs with the standard solution plus apps from Microsoft AppSource – with no need to customize the solution.
So, you pay for everything on a subscription, and there are no financial surprises along the way. That’s the advantage of using apps and avoiding customizations.

Learn all about Apps

Our benefactor, Abakion, has produced a comprehensive 20-page guide with all the information you need to begin using apps. There are some great tricks to making sure you find the best app for the purpose (and avoid the low-quality apps).

Submit the form – and you receive an email with a link to the document. The good people at Abakion will probably also send you a few marketing-emails, but that’s a small price for this content.

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO

Customizing Business Central by using Apps

Get it now »

– The Purpose of Apps
– How Apps work
– Required editions
– How to install an App
– How to find the right App
– How to maintain Apps

If you install multiple Apps from Microsoft AppSource, it’s important that they work together.

The App Foundations are generic functionality that is used in several apps. What you need is a set of basic structures and basic features that all apps can build on top of. It’s called “App Foundations”.

Watch videos »

» Transcription of video
The cloud version of Business Central is just as customizable as the on-premise version. Whether it’s a good idea to do customizations is another question.
We have to understand the technology of how apps are working in Business Central.
Before we had apps – if you needed the solution to be customized, this is what you would have to do.
Let’s say, this is Business Central, and this is a line of code inside the Business Central solution.
Now, you need the solution to work slightly different. You need an X instead of the D.
Traditionally, you would change the code directly in the core of Business Central. This is fast and efficient, but there is one small issue.
Well, actually it’s a quite big issue.
Once in a while, Microsoft release a new version of the core solution, and guess what – your customization is overwritten. It’s gone.
So, you must manually go through every single customization and migrate them individually to the new version. And this is why upgrading traditionally has been so expensive.
Now, jump to present time.
With Business Central in the cloud, you have App which are based on a technology called Extensions.
With an Extension, you place the customization outside of Business Central. It is an addition to the solution, not an alteration.
It utilizes event that Microsoft has placed inside the core, allowing delevopers to trigger code, even though it is placed outside the solution. For the user, the end result is the same.
But when Microsoft release a new version of Business Central, you see the big difference.
Your customization is not overwritten.
New versions doesn’t break your solution.
Now, we ask Microsoft to review and approve the extension, and then it becomes an App. It’s published on Microsoft AppSource, and everyone can download it.
The suppliers of Apps have committed themselves to Microsoft to maintain their Apps, and to test them before new versions are coming out. So, you will not experience upgrading issues. And the days of huge upgrading projects are over.

The technology of apps

You should understand how apps are working in Business Central. It’s a fundamental change in approach of customization. And it’s not just the same old things done with different technology that makes no difference.

The choice between apps and development is an IT-strategic decision, and you should treat it as such. Custom development makes it easier to meet inflexible and comprehensive demands, while apps make it easier to deploy extended functionality quickly and upgrade to new versions.

Know which corner you are painting yourself into.

How to install an app

Let’s take a look at how you install an app in Business Central. In this video, we will walk you through the steps in Business Central.

It’s quite easy to install an app. You will see that it is something you can easily do yourself.

» Transcription of video
Let’s take a look at how you install an app in Business Central. In the top menu, you have the menu item “Setup & Extensions” and you select Extensions.
On this page you have an overview of the apps and extensions that are installed in your Business Central. Apps are the ones from Microsoft AppSource, but this list may also include extentions, which are code-packages developed for you exclusively. Those are called Customer Extensions. The one called Base Application is actually your Business Central, which is also an app.
Let’s install a new app. You select Extension Marketplace in the menu. That is Microsoft AppSource, you are now accessing from inside Business Central. You can search for apps, and a nice place to begin is this free app, called Use Dynamics. It provides user guide videos inside Business Central.
So, you can read about the app, you have selected, and if you like what you see, you click “Get it now”, approve the terms and privacy policy, and then you install the app. If you go to the “Deployment Status” window, you can see the current status of the installation process. This one is “In progress”. For a small app like this one, installation takes only about a minute.
Now the app is ready, and it has added a new menu item called “Use Dynamics”. It provides access to instructional videos.
If you go to the item list, and select an item, then you can also find the Use Dynamics menu item, and when you click it, it takes you to a collection of user guide videos about the item card.

» Transcription of video
Before you install an app in your live environment, you should test it. Microsoft has already tested that it works, but to evaluate if the app does exactly what you are looking for, we recommend you test it in your sandbox environment.
When you have Business Central in the cloud, you also have a sandbox environment available. In the Admin Center you can create a sandbox as a copy of the production environment. Use this to test the app, before you install it in your live company.
If it doesn’t live up to your expectations – or you just don’t need a particular app anymore – you can delete it.
It’s very simple. In the Extensions list inside Business Central, you click Uninstall, and Business Central will remove the app and clean up.
And that’s it. So don’t be afraid to test new apps. It’s very simple to delete them.

How to test an app

Before you install an app in your live environment, you should test it.

Microsoft has certified all apps, and they guarantee that they work, but you probably want to evaluate if the app does what you are looking for, which is why you should test it in your sandbox environment. In this video you will see how to do it.

If the app doesn’t live up to your expectations – or you just don’t need a particular app anymore – you can simply delete it. So don’t be afraid to test new apps.

Apps are automatically updated

The great thing about apps is that you don’t have to maintain it. Updates are always a part of the deal.

You will see in this video how Microsoft keeps track of the versions and what the suppliers are required to do to keep you up and running.

» Transcription of video
We should talk about how apps are maintained.
You can see that all apps have a version number. This is how Microsoft keeps track of the versioning and upgrading process.
Microsoft requires all app suppliers to keep up with new versions. Microsoft release minor updates every month, and a major update twice a year. Well in advance, the app suppliers must test their apps with the new version.
So when it rolls out, your apps are also automatically updated, and you actually don’t have to do anything. There are no upgrading projects anymore, even if you use a lot of apps.

The Curated List of Apps

There are thousands of apps for Business Central available on Microsoft AppSource.
Check out the selection for yourself here.

Some apps are high quality – some are not.
This is our list of preferred apps. These are the ones we know are good.