MS Dynamics 365 Accounting All: You Need to Know

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is more than an accounting system. It’s a unified cloud platform that brings finance, operations, and customer data together in one place. For UK businesses dealing with tighter margins, VAT compliance, and increasing reporting expectations, having a single, reliable source of financial truth is no longer optional.

This MS Dynamics guide walks through everything you need to know about Dynamics 365 Business Central for UK accounting. From robust general ledger control and VAT-ready configurations to real-time financial reporting in GBP, it explains how Business Central supports growing UK organisations with scalable systems, clearer insights, and better-informed decisions, without adding operational complexity.

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Pre-Migration Setup: Essential Accounting Configurations in Business Central

Before any transactions post to the general ledger, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central needs to be structured correctly for UK accounting requirements. Getting this foundation right supports clean data migration, accurate VAT treatment, and consistent ledger balances, helping avoid reconciliation issues later.

Chart of Accounts (COA) Setup

• The Chart of Accounts forms the backbone of your accounting structure in Business Central and determines how every transaction is recorded and reported.
• For UK businesses, accounts should be structured around standard categories such as assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses, with clear alignment to statutory reporting and VAT requirements. Logical number ranges, for example, 10000–19999 for assets- help maintain consistency, simplify navigation, and support cleaner reporting.
• Sub-accounts should be created where management reporting requires more detail, allowing finance teams to analyse performance without overcomplicating the ledger. Each account must also be assigned the correct posting type to ensure transactions flow accurately to either the balance sheet or the profit and loss statement.

Posting Groups

• Posting groups control how transactions from sub-ledgers flow into the general ledger and are critical for accurate financial reporting.
• Key posting groups include customer, vendor, bank, item and inventory, and fixed asset posting groups. These define where sales, purchase, inventory movements, and asset transactions posted in the ledger.
• When configured correctly, posting groups automate postings across the system, reduce manual intervention, and ensure consistency across sales, purchases, stock, and asset accounting.

Dimensions Setup

• Dimensions allow UK businesses to analyse financial data without expanding the Chart of Accounts.
• Common dimensions include department, location, project, cost centre, region, and customer or supplier group. These enable meaningful reporting by business unit, site, or activity.
• Business Central supports two global dimensions for primary analysis and 8 additional shortcut dimensions for deeper insight. Used properly, dimensions play a key role in profitability tracking, budgeting, and management reporting.

Opening Balances Preparation

• When migrating from another accounting system, accurate opening balances are essential for a clean transition.
• This includes general ledger balances, outstanding customer and supplier balances, bank balances with unreconciled items, fixed asset values with accumulated depreciation, and inventory quantities and valuations.
• Business Central uses specific journals, such as general journals, customer and vendor journals, fixed asset journals, and item journals to record this data. Clean, reconciled opening balances ensure continuity between systems and prevent downstream reporting issues.

Master Data Migration

• Before migration, all master data should be reviewed, cleaned, and validated.
• This includes customers, suppliers, items, units of measure, bank accounts, fixed assets, payment terms, and posting group assignments. Careful handling of quantities, conversions, and asset depreciation data is critical for accurate transactions after go-live.
• Tax groups and VAT setups should also be reviewed and migrated correctly to support compliant VAT calculation and reporting from day one.

Financial Periods & Number Series

• Financial periods must be configured to align with the company’s UK financial year and reporting cycle.
• Accounting periods define when transactions can be posted, while period locking prevents backdated entries that could distort reported figures. Number series should be set up for invoices, journals, orders, and payments to maintain clear, sequential transaction tracking and audit clarity.

User Setup & Permissions

• User access should be assigned based on clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
• Typical roles include accountant, business manager, AP and AR processors, inventory manager, and auditor or external accountant. Permission sets and user groups help maintain proper segregation of duties, reducing risk and supporting internal controls.
• Access for auditors or external accountants should be granted in line with the Business Central licence structure and the level of visibility required.

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Key Accounting Processes You Manage in Business Central

Business Central becomes far more effective once you understand how its accounting processes connect end to end. Everything starts with a properly configured financial structure and then moves into day-to-day operations, sales, purchases, bank activity, VAT, reconciliations, and period close. Each stage builds on the previous one, supported by automation, clean master data, and controlled workflows.

Accounting for Sales (Accounts Receivable)

• Sales accounting in Business Central supports the complete order-to-cash cycle and clean ledger postings.
• Sales invoices, credit memos, and recurring invoices are created with the correct general posting setup, VAT product posting groups, and dimensions to ensure accurate revenue and VAT reporting.
• Customer receipts are applied directly against outstanding invoices, keeping receivables balances accurate and reducing reconciliation effort.
• Reminder and finance charge functionality helps manage overdue invoices and supports consistent credit control.
• Customer ledger entries provide a complete audit trail of all invoices, payments, credits, and adjustments.
• Aged receivables reports classify outstanding balances by due date, supporting cash flow forecasting and debtor management.

Accounting for Purchases (Accounts Payable)

• The accounts payable module manages the procure-to-pay cycle with strong controls and accurate VAT handling.
• Supplier invoices are recorded with the correct general ledger accounts, VAT posting groups, and dimensions based on posting group configuration.
• Supplier payments are processed via cheque, or manual payment journals in line with agreed payment terms.
• Vendor ledger entries include all outstanding and settled balances, providing a clear view of liabilities.
• Aged payables reports help monitor overdue suppliers and manage working capital.
• Approval workflows ensure purchase invoices are reviewed and authorised before payment.
• Three-way matching validates purchase orders, goods receipts, and supplier invoices before posting, reducing errors and duplicate payments.

Bank & Cash Management

• The bank and cash management module ensures accurate cash control and efficient reconciliation.
• Bank Account Cards in Business Central are used to centrally maintain and manage multiple bank accounts across GBP and foreign currencies, ensuring accurate posting and reliable reporting.
• Bank feeds enable automatic import of bank transactions, reducing manual data entry.
• Automated and manual bank reconciliation tools match bank statements to ledger entries with high accuracy.
• Payment and receipt journals record all cash movements and support proper posting to the general ledger.
• Cheque ledger functionality tracks issued cheques and their clearing status where applicable.

Fixed Asset Management

• Business Central supports the full fixed asset lifecycle in line with IFRS requirements.
• Asset acquisitions are recorded with controlled number series and linked to the correct balance sheet accounts.
• Depreciation books allow parallel tracking for accounting, tax, and management purposes where required.
• Disposals, sales, and write-offs ensure assets are removed correctly with gains or losses posted accurately.
• Maintenance and capital cost tracking ensures total asset value is captured over its lifecycle.
• Automated monthly depreciation posting reduces manual effort and improves consistency.

General Ledger & Journal Management

• The general ledger acts as the central accounting engine, with strong automation from sub-ledgers.
• Sales, purchase, bank, inventory, and fixed asset postings flow automatically into the general ledger.
• General journal templates standardise manual postings such as accruals, adjustments, and corrections.
• Recurring journals automate monthly entries such as rent accruals, payroll journals, and depreciation.
• Account schedules support management reporting and statutory formats using live ledger data.

Reconciliation Controls

• Reconciliation in Business Central ensures accuracy before period close.
• Bank reconciliations confirm that bank balances match statement data.
• General ledger account reconciliations validate control accounts and key balance sheet positions.
• Aged receivables, payables, and variance reviews help identify issues before month-end close.

Period-End Close & Financial Reporting

• Business Central supports a disciplined, repeatable month-end and year-end close process.
• Accruals and provisions ensure income and expenses are recognised in the correct accounting period.
• Deferrals manage prepaid expenses and deferred income automatically using deferral templates.
• Accounting periods can be opened, closed, and locked to control posting dates and prevent backdated entries.
• Foreign currency revaluation updates customer, supplier, and bank balances at month-end rates.
• Inventory close routines adjust costs and post inventory values to the general ledger.
• Core financial statements, trial balance, profit and loss, and balance sheet are generated directly from the system.
• Year-end close transfers profit or loss to retained earnings without manual intervention.
• Consolidated financial statements combine data across entities where required.
• Power BI integration provides visual dashboards for management and board-level reporting.

UK Tax & VAT Compliance

• Business Central is built to support UK VAT compliance and HMRC reporting.
• VAT business posting groups and VAT product posting groups control VAT calculation on sales and purchases.
• VAT is calculated automatically based on standard-rated, reduced-rated, zero-rated, and exempt supplies.
• VAT exceptions and adjustments can be reviewed and controlled before submission.
• VAT returns are generated directly from posted transactions, supporting Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliance.
• VAT periods and submission history are tracked within the system for audit purposes.
• VAT reports can be exported for review by advisers or submission through approved MTD connectors.

Intercompany & Consolidation

• For UK groups with multiple entities, Business Central supports structured intercompany accounting.
• Intercompany sales, purchases, and journals record transactions between group companies.
• Posting rules control how intercompany balances are recorded in each entity’s ledger.
• Consolidation combines financial data from multiple companies into a single reporting view.
• Eliminations ensure that intercompany transactions and balances are removed from consolidated financial statements to avoid duplication.Multi-currency support allows reporting across entities operating in different currencies.
• Multi-currency support allows reporting across entities operating in different currencies.

Work Smarter with a Business Central Accounting Expert

When Dynamics 365 is set up and managed by the right accounting professional, it moves well beyond basic bookkeeping. Reconciliations become simpler, financial controls are more robust, VAT is handled correctly, and month-end and year-end reports stand up to review. Rather than constantly correcting issues or working around system constraints, your finance function runs with clarity and confidence built on records that are accurate, compliant, and decision-ready.

At Whiz Consulting, our Microsoft Dynamics 365 accounting support is designed to cover the entire finance function for UK businesses. We handle ongoing bookkeeping, reconciliations, management reporting, VAT compliance, and higher-level financial oversight, all within Business Central. By tailoring the system to your operations, tightening controls, and standardising processes, we help create a finance setup that delivers consistent results, supports growth, and stays ompliant as your business scales.