Customizing Business Central with code modifications can help tailor it to your unique workflows. However extensive customizations make upgrading harder. Here’s how to find the right balance between customization and configuration.
When implementing Business Central, you have two main options to fit the system to your business:
- Customizations – using developer tools to modify objects, add fields, write code, etc.
- Configurations – using out-of-the-box settings, extensions, and tools designed for flexibility.
Understanding when to utilize each method is crucial for a successful rollout.
Limit Customizations to Critical Needs
Customizations using the development environment provide the most flexibility to add fields, change interfaces, and write bespoke code. But they come at a cost:
- Increased effort: custom code must be developed, tested, documented, and maintained.
- Fragile upgrades: extensive customizations break and require rework during system upgrades.
Therefore, limit customizations only to functionality that is absolutely critical to your business but cannot be achieved through configuration. For example:
- Adding specialized fields and tables not in the standard dataset.
- Unique workflows not supported by default tools.
- Complex integration with external systems.
Focus customizations only on priority needs to reduce overhead down the road.
Configure for Flexibility
For most scenarios, you can likely meet your requirements through out-of-the-box configuration tools:
- User settings – personalize users’ views with filters, favorites, and layouts.
- Role customization – tailor roles to limit access and navigation by user groups.
- Report layouts – adapt built-in reports using the Word layout editor.
- Workflow – build approvals and automation into processes.
- Power BI/Power Apps – integrate reports and apps without code.
- Extensions – install addons and modules to add pre-built functionality.
Configurations customize Business Central without touching the core codebase. This provides flexibility while maintaining upgrade compatibility.
When Should You Customize Business Central?
Given the high cost of customizations, limit them to these examples where no alternative configuration exists:
- New core tables/fields – adding fields or entire tables not in the standard dataset.
- Deep integrations – complex, real-time syncs between Business Central and external systems.
- Industry-specific features – vertical needs like manufacturing routing not covered out-of-the-box.
- Legacy app migration – moving proprietary logic and processes from legacy software.
In these cases where standard Business Central cannot meet a core requirement, customization may be warranted.
Signs You Need to Reel In Customizations
If you see these issues emerging, it’s a sign you may be over-customizing when configuration could suffice:
- Upgrades and migrations break customizations, requiring significant rework.
- Customizations slow down system performance.
- Custom business logic gets tangled into core platform code.
- No documentation exists explaining custom code purpose and business context.
- Customizations become overly complex and fragile.
Where possible, look to simplify unnecessary customizations.
Find the Right Balance for Your Business
Creating a Business Central solution that aligns both to your unique business needs and long-term flexibility requires striking the right balance between customization and configuration.
Focus on built-in configuration options first, and reserve customizations only for truly essential use cases where standard features cannot meet a core requirement. This balance will serve your business both today and into the future.
