If you are planning to use the shop floor mobile app in Business Central, you need to make two separate purchases. You buy the app itself, and you choose how to license the users from Microsoft. You can pick between two licensing strategies: full users or device users.
A full user license follows the person. One named user can log in across multiple devices and computers. A device user license follows the hardware. It costs less, but it ties the license to a single terminal, while allowing many employees to share that one screen.
If you run 10 screens on the production floor, you would typically buy 10 device user licenses and let all your employees log in through them.
Two licensing strategies for the shop floor mobile app
The shop floor mobile app requires its own purchase, but the user licensing is a separate decision handled through your Microsoft licensing setup. Here you have two options to choose from: working with full users in Business Central, or working with device users.
How full user licensing works
A full user license is tied to a named person. As long as you have a named user license, that person can run their registrations from many different devices or computers. For example, you might be logged into the system under your own user account and move between several machines without any restriction. The license stays with the user, not the hardware.
How device user licensing works
A device user license is the less expensive option, and it works the other way around. The license is tied to a single terminal, which can be a scanner, a tablet, a computer or a touchscreen. You can only use that one device with the license, but many users can share it. That means several production employees can come to the same screen and do their registrations there.
Choosing the right strategy for your production floor
The right choice depends on how your production is set up. If you have a fixed number of screens out on the floor and multiple employees who share them, device users are usually the practical and cheaper approach. With 10 screens in your production environment, you would normally buy 10 device user licenses, and all your employees log in through those screens.
If instead you have individuals who need to move between several devices and computers, a full user license gives that flexibility, since it follows the person rather than the hardware.
Q&A
What do you need to buy to use the shop floor mobile app in Business Central?
You need to purchase the app itself, and separately license the users through Microsoft. The user licensing is either full users or device users.
What is the difference between a full user and a device user license?
A full user license is tied to a named person, who can use it across multiple devices and computers. A device user license is tied to a single terminal, but many users can share that one device.
Which licensing option is cheaper?
The device user license is the less expensive option. It is tied to one terminal, but it lets multiple employees use the same screen.
How many licenses do you need for 10 production screens?
If you use device users, you would normally buy 10 device user licenses, one for each screen, and let all your employees log in through them.