Microsoft Dynamics GP is ending (here’s what to do next)

On November 29, 2023, BILL (formerly bill.com) announced that effective December 1, 2023, it would no longer support direct sync with Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains (GP). BILL said it made the decision based on Microsoft’s April 2023 announcement to discontinue GP sales.

If you’re a Dynamics GP customer currently using BILL for accounts payable automation or payment processing, you’re either planning to stay with BILL and manually sync your data with GP, or looking to migrate to a new AP solution or ERP.

However, the announcement raises a significant concern even if you’re on GP and don’t use BILL. As GP ages, integration providers may also discontinue GP support, leaving you scrambling to replace functionality. To protect your business, you need a strategy that ensures business continuity while you continue to use BILL and when you eventually move to a new ERP.

Stampli’s financial automation software supports GP’s full functionality and will continue to do so as long as GP exists. (learn more) Read this article to learn how to develop a business continuity plan for the GP sunset. We’ll explain how Microsoft plans to wind down GP support, how to maintain AP and payments functionality if you stay on GP, and how to migrate to a new ERP without interrupting your financial operations.

Let’s get started.

What is happening with Dynamics GP?

In an April 2023 announcement, Microsoft said it would be phasing out sales of Dynamics GP licenses over the next three years. Here are the details:

• As of April 1, 2025, all new sales of GP perpetual licenses will end. New customers will be able to purchase subscription licenses.
• New GP licenses will no longer be sold after April 1, 2026. However, current GP customers will still be able to purchase licenses and modules. 
• Microsoft will provide regulatory updates, security updates, and hotfixes until at least 2028.

Microsoft says it will support GP customers under the Microsoft Modern Lifecycle policy through 2028.

What are the details of BILL’s GP announcement?

According to BILL’s announcement, after December 1, 2023, GP customers using BILL can only use manual file-based integration to sync data. This leaves them with three options:

• Keep using BILL with a slower and less functional GP integration.
• Implement a new AP automation add-on that supports API integration with GP.
• Migrate to a new ERP and use BILL or an alternative add-on.

How do these changes impact Dynamics GP customers?

If you’re a GP customer but don’t use BILL, Microsoft’s announcement probably won’t immediately impact your business. However, if you do use BILL, the impact could be significant, depending on what features you are using.

However, as mentioned above, BILL’s announcement has implications for any GP customer using modules or add-ons. Let’s break these out.

Other Microsoft products may not support GP functionality

Although Microsoft says it will support GP until 2028, there’s no guarantee that applications like Office 365 will continue to work with the platform. If Microsoft ends support for a product, you may need to find a workaround or a different application to maintain continuity.

Microsoft may end support for GP modules

Similarly, if Microsoft ends support for a GP module your business relies on, you may be forced to find a different solution. For example, Microsoft discontinued the Extended Human Resources and Payroll modules for GP in March 2022 and transitioned them to a third-party provider.

Third party solution providers may end or limit GP integrations

If other solution providers follow BILL’s lead and end or scale back their GP integrations, you will need to move the affected finance processes to a different solution or leave GP altogether. With the GP sunset in 2028, few providers will release new solutions or develop their existing ones.

How GP customers can ensure business continuity 

With a proven track record dating back to before Microsoft’s acquisition in 2001, GP is a financial automation workhorse providing business continuity for thousands of companies. Any GP end-of-life plan must prioritize maintaining this continuity, regardless of the path forward.

It’s best to start by assessing your current situation and making a plan to ensure continuity while you remain on GP. Then you can take a longer look at how you can maintain continuity while migrating from GP to a new ERP.

The short term: Ensuring continuity while staying on GP

You may choose to stay on GP until its eventual sunset. At face value, this is the lowest-risk option. However, it does expose your business to the risk that Microsoft or a solution provider may discontinue a feature your business relies on. You can mitigate this risk by identifying the modules, add-ons, and third-party integrations your business is currently using and developing a contingency plan to replace them if they are discontinued.

Evaluate your current situation

Begin by looking at your immediate needs. Consider factors such as:

• Which GP modules, add-ons, and integrations are you currently using in your financial operations?* Sort them by how critical they are to your financial operations.
• Are these modules and add-ons currently supported?
• What other systems (Office 365, accounting software) are integrated with GP?
• Do you have a fall-back plan if any modules, add-ons, or integrations are discontinued or will no longer integrate with GP?
• Are you using any workarounds for functions like payment processing?

*If you need help finding which add-ons you are using, Stampli can help. We have a solution that automatically identifies your GP add-ons.

By asking these questions, you’ll get a snapshot of your current GP environment and your company’s vulnerabilities. With this information, you can build a short-term plan to ensure continuity while your business stays on GP.

Upgrade to the latest version of GP

Consider upgrading to the latest version if you’re using a pre-2019 of GP. This will ensure you receive support and software updates.

Confirm add-ons support

After you’ve identified the most mission-critical GP add-ons and integrations, confirm that the provider currently supports GP and will continue to do so. If you can’t confirm these add-ons will be supported, flag them as at risk.

Plan to move mission-critical modules and integrations

You may only have a little time to react if a critical module or integration is discontinued. Go down your list of high-priority modules and integrations and develop a plan to migrate them to an alternative solution. In a nutshell, that means:

• Identifying what financial processes depend on the module or integration.
• Finding an alternative solution that provides the same functionality without interrupting your business operations.
• Building a migration plan to move the financial processes to the new solution.

Stampli: The only financial automation platform that supports full GP functionality

Stampli is the leading accounts payable automation solution and the only AP platform that fully supports GP’s native functionality. Built by AP professionals for AP professionals, Stampli builds its ERP integrations from scratch and can be quickly implemented with no changes to your GP environment.

Here’s how Stampli can help you ensure business continuity with GP:

• Seamless integration: Stampli can be integrated with GP in days, not months, with no coding or changes to your ERP.
• Multiple Entity Management (MEM) support: Stampli supports the MEM add-on and can consolidate multiple companies in a single Stampli account.
• Multiple GP databases/companies in one Stampli account: Even if you don’t use MEM, Stampli can consolidate multiple GP databases and companies in a single Stampli account to simplify management and reduce software costs.
• Intercompany transfers for companies not using MEM: Stampli supports intercompany transfers and splitting costs at the line level across multiple companies so you don’t have to change any existing processes.
• Create invoice batches based on standard or custom fields: Stampli lets businesses create batches based on invoice data, source, coder, GL posting date, or custom batch field. This provides more flexibility in creating batches without changing your post-approval workflow in GP. 
• Use Stampli Direct Pay with GP: Even though GP’s API doesn’t cover payments, Stampli has built support for payments at the database level so you can pay suppliers without a third-party add-on that slows or locks your system.
• Track a vendor’s 1099 status: Stampli imports vendors’ 1099 status and will automatically identify them as 1099 on their invoices. You can deselect the 1099 status on a case-by-case basis at the line level, facilitating 1099 reporting.
• Create accrued taxes: Stampli allows for the creation of tax lines representing accrued taxes, simplifying tax reporting, and helping businesses stay compliant with accounting standards and tax regulations.
• “Remit to” different addresses on a per-invoice basis: With Stampli you can select which address an invoice is tied to so it can be correctly uploaded and posted, ensuring invoice-related documentation is accurate.
• Continuity if you migrate ERPs: Stampli has supported many migrations and integrates with all major ERPs, including 365 Finance and Business Central, so your choices won’t be constrained if you leave GP.

Stampli will support its GP integration as long as GP exists. With Stampli, you can modernize AP processing while maintaining total continuity with your current GP setup. (Learn more about Stampli’s GP integration.)

Customers say Stampli makes AP processing smarter and faster. “I use Stampli everyday,” says one customer. “The platform is straight forward and user friendly. The implementation and integration were easy. It puts everything (invoice/approval/payment) all together that gives user a better visability of each invoices. The Definitely make the entire AP process easier and more efficient. Stampli also provide amazing customer service- helpful and responsive.”

Long-term: Migrate to another ERP

You will need to migrate from GP to another ERP at some point. Your analysis may reveal that staying on GP is too risky for your business; you may want to move to a more powerful and flexible platform; or you may simply stay on GP until Microsoft finally stops supporting it.

You have two options for migrating from GP: move to another Microsoft ERP like Dynamics Business Central or Dynamics 365 Finance, or move to another ERP like SAP or Sage Intacct.

To begin, expand on your earlier analysis by looking at your current and future needs:

• What do your employees like and dislike about GP?
• What financial processes do you currently automate with GP? How well is it working? What would you improve?
• What financial processes are you still performing manually? Would you automate these processes without disrupting your business if it was possible?
• What is your business growth forecast for the next 3-5 years? What financial processes would you need to scale up or adapt to support that growth?
• Have you forecasted the cost of staying with GP when Microsoft no longer supports it?

With these factors in mind, you can look at your options with a clear idea of where to start.

Confirm add-ons will work with the new ERP

When evaluating new ERPs, confirm that your existing GP integrations will work with them. This will ensure that you can migrate to the new platform without interrupting your financial operations.

If the integrations can’t work with the new ERP, investigate whether it provides similar functionality or consider alternative integrations. Stampli can help by identifying your current GP modules and add-ons and ensuring they’ll work with Stampli and the new ERP after your migration.

Identify financial processes to be automated

Most ERPs offer only basic automation functionality for complex tasks like invoice coding and matching, approval routing, and payment processing. Consider advanced automation solutions like Stampli, which offer advanced features and functionality.

For greater flexibility, look for solutions that integrate with more than one ERP, so you’ll retain functionality if you add or change ERPs in the future. With seamless integrations for over 70 ERPs, Stampli ensures your accounts payable process remains uninterrupted throughout and beyond your migration.

Migrate to another Microsoft Dynamics platform

If you’d prefer to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, consider migrating to Business Central (BC) or 365 Finance and Operations. Microsoft provides a comprehensive migration guide, data migration guide, and feature comparison guide for customers migrating from GP to BC. However, the process is very complex, and you may consider using an outside consultant to help with the migration.

While Dynamics offers flexibility and power, it may not be the ideal solution for accounts payable automation. Large ERPs like (BC) and Finance & Operations (F&O) prioritize high-level organizational control with complex structures and strict user roles. These features, valuable from a broader organizational standpoint, can hinder AP efficiency.  They may limit AP teams’ access to the resources and people needed for smooth invoice processing.

A Dynamics BC customer review outlines the problem: “[Dynamics BC] is an extremely cumbersome product with a clunky user interface. It’s not easy to navigate; the way to work through menus/field selectors / etc. is not always intuitive…Further, the database structure is horrendous.

If you work with database tables, for reporting, etc. purposes, you’ll find every company you create (and we all know accountants love creating multiple companies) is in the one database, with its own set of tables…— you can seriously have 10s of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of tables, in one database. Then all your data engineering pipelines time out when trying to do database discovery.”

Stampli offers a simplified user interface designed for AP teams. ““I love the ease of use,” says one Stampli customer. “Invoices gets processed so quickly and are easily traceable. It’s pretty straight forward and easy to navigate. The communication options between users, approvers, and outsiders make it easy to have all the information located in one place. The customer service is fantastic. The chat feature is great and you get your questions answered within minutes. I would recommend Stampli to everyone.”

Migrate to a new ERP

Customers who don’t want to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem should consider migrating to a new ERP. Moving to a new ERP gives you a wealth of choices beyond Dynamics BC, such as real-time data visibility and analytics, improved collaboration, and greater security. It also ensures continued support and access to advanced features and capabilities.

As with Dynamics BC, large ERPs bring extraordinary power and flexibility but aren’t always ideal for AP automation. For instance, they are notorious for their complex handling of purchase orders, requiring users to navigate multiple menus and screens to match invoices to POs.

In contrast, Stampli simplifies invoice matching. One Stampli user says, “My location just recently implemented SAP and we just recently started using the SAP version of Stampli. It’s making it much easier to reconcile Purchase Orders for payment.”

Stampli has supported numerous customers as they migrate from old to new ERPs. It can help your company make the transition while maintaining continuity of operations.

“The Stampli service team is unmatched,” says a Stampli customer. “Our team has had any technical questions addressed by Stampli within minutes using their chat window. Also, their implementation team was with us every step of the way helping us with any specific needs for our AP processes. The software is very intuitive and allows us to manage approvals and booking seamlessly. I highly recommend this service to automate AP.”

Migration business case: SBCERA

Financial stability hung in the balance for the San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association (SBCERA) when they needed to migrate from their old ERP to Dynamics Business Central. Managing over $14 billion in assets, even a minor disruption during the transition could be catastrophic. SBCERA’s top priority was migrating to Business Central while ensuring their accounts payable processes remained seamless – a challenge Stampli was uniquely qualified to address.

Over 5 months, SBCERA worked with Stampli to migrate their ERP to BC. They moved their vendor, GL, and entity master lists, historical invoices, activity, audit trails, conversations, documents, and other objects to BC, where they remained accessible. During and after the migration, SBCERA maintained full continuity for their AP workflows and access to historical information.

Stampli: next-generation AP automation for GP-based businesses

Stampli turns ERP migration into a science.

It carefully orchestrates every step of the migration process — migrating vendor data, matching data sets, and maintaining business continuity — to ensure a smooth transition.

Stampli is the easiest AP software solution to integrate with GP. It offers GP customers major productivity gains and a modern AP experience while leaving GP’s functionality intact. GP customers can enjoy complete continuity because Stampli is the only solution that provides real-time data sync and full support for GP functionality and third-party add-ons.

The leader in customer service

Stampli is the recognized leader in customer satisfaction in accounts payable automation. It’s ranked #2 in G2’s Best Accounting & Finance Software Products for 2024 and is listed on Capterra’s Shortlist, SoftwareAdvice’s FrontRunners, GetApp’s Category Leaders, and TrustRadius Accounts Payable –Top Rated.

“The best customer service and support I have experienced during and post implementation!” says one Stampli customer. “The customer service and quick response is impressive. I have not experienced this type of customer service with other products. This is truly what sets Stampli apart from other software products.”

Check out Stampli’s industry-leading integration features:

Launch in days, not months

You can complete most Stampli integrations in days. Read how Beyer Mechanical got up and running with Stampli in 48 hours.

Scale with your business

Stampli’s seamless integrations adapt to current and future functionality, giving you the flexibility to grow your business without worrying about AP processes holding you back.

Multi-location and subsidiary support

Manage multiple entities in GP via a single Stampli account. Stampli accommodates complex organizational structures, can find your GP add-ons, and supports the MEM add-on and intercompany transfers.

Flexible cloud-based platform

Stampli can be implemented and integrated with GP, BC, D365 Finance, or any other major ERP without additional hardware, giving you access to your AP workflows and data anywhere, anytime, and from any device.If you’re an existing GP customer and want to discuss how you can maintain business continuity while migrating from GP, contact one of our AP experts today.