Insights · · 3 min read
Odoo or Business Central? An honest comparison for smaller companies
Odoo and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central compared for small and medium-sized businesses: what each covers, how licensing works, and when to choose which.
Odoo and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central are two of the most common choices when a growing company outgrows spreadsheets and a simple accounting package. We worked with Microsoft 365 and Dynamics for six years before Odoo, so we know both. Here is an honest comparison.
The short answer
- Choose Business Central if your company already lives in the Microsoft world, finance is the heart of the project, and you have a Business Central partner you are happy with.
- Choose Odoo if you want sales, stock, invoicing, accounting, a webshop and a shop till in one system, and you would rather start small and add apps later.
If Business Central already works well for you, switching may not pay off. We will say so.
What each system covers
| Area | Odoo | Business Central |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting and invoicing | Included | Included, a core strength |
| Sales and quotes | Included | Included |
| CRM and pipeline | Included | Basic; full CRM is a separate Dynamics 365 product |
| Inventory and purchasing | Included | Included |
| Manufacturing | Included | Included in the higher licence |
| Website and webshop | Included, on the same database | Through connectors or partner apps |
| Point of sale | Included | Through partner apps |
| Projects and timesheets | Included | Included |
| Helpdesk, HR, marketing | Included | Mostly other Microsoft products |
Both systems cover the core of a small or medium-sized business. The difference is how much sits in one database without connectors.
How licensing works
Odoo is bought directly from Odoo. You pay per user and month, and the standard apps are included in the price. A larger plan is usually needed for several companies, Odoo Studio or API integrations. Current prices are on odoo.com/pricing.
Business Central is licensed per user and month in two main levels, Essentials and Premium, normally bought through a Microsoft partner. Things outside Business Central itself, such as full CRM or some industry functions, are separate licences or partner apps.
Compare the total for your own number of users and the functions you actually need, not the list price of one licence.
Microsoft 365
This is Business Central's strong side: it sits naturally next to Outlook, Excel and Teams. Odoo also works well with Microsoft 365, with sign-in through your Microsoft account and an Outlook add-in for logging emails and creating leads. If your team lives in Excel all day, test that part properly with either system.
Ireland and Sweden
Both systems handle Irish VAT and Swedish moms, through localisations from the vendor and partners. In Odoo, an Irish and a Swedish company can share one database with separate ledgers, VAT and reports, and Swedish accounting can be exported as SIE to your accountant. Whichever you choose, check the exact reports your accountant expects before go-live.
Implementation and the partner
With both systems, the partner matters as much as the software. Ask any partner:
- Will the same person run the project and answer afterwards?
- Is the price fixed per phase, or open hourly?
- What is standard, and what is customisation that has to be maintained at every upgrade?
- Who owns the licences and the data if you change partner?
Our view
We are an Odoo partner, so read this with that in mind. Odoo usually wins for companies that want one system for the whole flow, from quote to order, delivery, invoice and accounts, and want to grow into it step by step. Business Central usually wins where finance and the Microsoft platform come first.
The quickest way to know is to look at your own process. Read what Odoo covers and what Odoo costs, or book thirty minutes and we will go through both options with you.
