The Hidden Cost of Staying on Dynamics GP

The Real Risks of Staying on Dynamics GP

At first glance, keeping Microsoft Dynamics GP may seem cost-effective, but the risks of staying on Dynamics GP compound over time. From maintenance headaches to shrinking support resources, GP users are facing more challenges every year.

Maintenance & Upgrades

Every service pack, hotfix, and upgrade on GP drains valuable time and budget. IT teams often spend nights and weekends handling installs, patches, and unexpected outages. These costs don’t move your business forward, they simply keep the system afloat. By contrast, Dynamics 365 Business Central updates automatically in the cloud, with no downtime or late-night cutovers.

Talent & Support

The pool of GP consultants and specialists is shrinking, and the few that remain are charging higher rates. This makes maintaining GP more expensive and riskier as talent becomes harder to find. On the other hand, Business Central skills are mainstream, with more partners, faster support, and lower costs for growing businesses.

Security & Infrastructure

With GP, you’re responsible for patching servers, managing backups, and maintaining firewalls. Each of these adds complexity and risk. Business Central delivers enterprise-grade encryption, automated disaster recovery, and 99.9% uptime, all included in the subscription.

While GP once worked well for small and mid-sized businesses, its limitations now put your financial data, operations, and growth at risk.

The Hidden Costs That Add Up

Beyond the obvious maintenance and support issues, there are several hidden expenses of staying on Dynamics GP that many businesses overlook. These costs accumulate quietly and can have a major impact on growth, efficiency, and long-term strategy.

Throwaway Customizations & Integrations

Every time you build a new integration or customization in GP, you’re making an investment in work that won’t carry forward. When you eventually migrate, those extensions will have to be redone from scratch, turning past spend into sunk cost. In contrast, Business Central provides open APIs, built-in connectors, and native features that eliminate the need for endless custom add-ons.

Lost Innovation Opportunities

GP requires paid add-ons or third-party integrations for modern capabilities like e-commerce, forecasting, or advanced reporting. With Dynamics 365 Business Central, these innovations are included as standard. Features like AI forecasting, real-time dashboards, Microsoft Copilot, and native integrations come ready to use, without extra licensing or patchwork solutions.

Productivity & Missed Growth

Manual processes, outdated reporting, and slow upgrades lead to inefficiencies that drain team productivity. These Dynamics GP hidden expenses and lost productivity may not show up as a line item on your P&L, but over time, they cost far more than a modern ERP subscription.

The longer you stay on GP, the more money you pour into keeping an outdated system alive instead of investing in a future-ready platform.

Dynamics GP vs Business Central: Why Modernize Now

When evaluating Dynamics GP vs Business Central, the difference comes down to more than technology, it’s about cost, risk, and readiness for the future.

• Dynamics GP limitations: On-premise servers, manual upgrades, shrinking talent pool, expensive add-ons.
• Business Central advantages: Cloud-native, automatically updated, widely supported, with AI and modern features included.

Microsoft’s roadmap makes it clear: the future is Business Central for former GP users. By migrating, businesses gain a system that evolves alongside them, instead of one that holds them back.

Benefits of Moving to Business Central

• Lower Total Cost of Ownership: No hardware, patching, or manual upgrades.
• Innovation Built-In: AI-driven forecasting, Copilot, real-time dashboards, and e-commerce connectors included.
• Microsoft Ecosystem Integration: Works seamlessly with Office 365, Teams, Power BI, and Azure.

Dynamics GP Maintenance Cost vs Business Central Subscription

Running GP means budgeting for hardware, IT staff, consultants, and constant fixes. With Business Central, you pay a predictable cloud subscription that covers updates, security, and new features. The result is lower risk, reduced hidden costs, and greater financial flexibility.

Migrating from GP isn’t just a technology decision, it’s a strategic investment in innovation, security, and long-term growth.

Why Businesses Are Moving Off Dynamics GP in 2025

Across industries, more organizations are recognizing that the true cost of staying on Dynamics GP is too high. With Dynamics GP support ending and Microsoft focusing its roadmap on cloud-first solutions, leaders are taking action to modernize before they’re left behind.

• Microsoft’s Roadmap: Innovation is being driven into Dynamics 365 Business Central, not GP. Future enhancements, AI capabilities, and integrations will not come to legacy platforms.
• Competitive Advantage: Businesses that migrate gain agility, scalability, and access to the latest tools. Staying on GP means missing out on opportunities to optimize operations and deliver better customer experiences.
• Sunset Strategy: While Microsoft hasn’t “shut off” GP, the reality is clear, GP is a legacy ERP system. Delaying migration only increases costs and makes future transitions harder.

2025 is a turning point. The question is no longer if you should leave GP, but when. Forward-looking businesses are already making the move to Business Central.

Should I Migrate from Dynamics GP to Business Central?

If you’re still running GP, it’s natural to ask: Should I migrate from Dynamics GP to Business Central? The answer depends on how you weigh costs, risks, and growth potential. Here are a few guiding questions business leaders should consider:

• Are we overspending on maintenance?
  Keeping GP running means paying for servers, consultants, and ongoing upgrades. These Dynamics GP maintenance costs often exceed the predictable subscription of Business Central.
• Is GP holding back innovation?
  Modern features like AI forecasting, rolling budgets, and integrated dashboards are standard in Business Central. On GP, they require costly add-ons or aren’t available at all.
• Are we at risk with GP support ending?
  With fewer specialists and declining updates, staying on GP increases exposure to security and compliance risks.

The reality is clear: ERP modernization in 2025 is no longer optional. Migrating to Business Central ensures your organization stays secure, agile, and competitive, without the burden of legacy ERP system costs.

If GP is draining resources and blocking innovation, the smarter long-term move is to plan your migration now.

Conclusion: Don’t Let Legacy ERP Hold You Back

The hidden cost of Dynamics GP goes far beyond license fees. From endless upgrades and shrinking support to security risks and lost productivity, staying on GP in 2025 means paying more for less. Every customization and integration becomes throwaway work, while innovation passes by in the form of AI, automation, and cloud-first capabilities you can’t fully access on GP.

By contrast, Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a future-ready ERP designed for growth. With automatic updates, built-in AI features like Copilot, enterprise-grade security, and seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, it’s the logical next step for former GP users.

At Volt Technologies, we specialize in helping small and mid-sized businesses make a smooth transition from Dynamics GP to Business Central. Our experts can guide you through a migration strategy that reduces risk, lowers cost, and unlocks the full potential of modern ERP.

Don’t let your ERP be the reason you fall behind. Contact Volt Technologies today to explore your Upgrading Microsoft GP to Business Central path.