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Essential Training Resources for Business Central Users
Adopting a new ERP system like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can be challenging for both companies and end-users. Thankfully, Microsoft provides a wealth of training resources and in-product guidance to help new users get started quickly.
By following a structured learning plan, from guided tours and documentation to role-based e-learning modules, your team can become proficient in Business Central (SaaS version) much faster.
In this blog, we outline a recommended training roadmap and key resources (focused on official Microsoft materials and in-app help) that will serve as a handy reference for anyone new to Business Central.
Step 1: Begin with Microsoft’s Guided Tour and Free Trial
If you’re brand new to Business Central, start with Microsoft’s guided introduction. Microsoft offers an interactive online guided tour on their website, which provides an overview of Business Central’s look-and-feel and main capabilities. You can access this tour without any installation – it’s a great first taste of the system.
Next, consider signing up for a free trial environment. The trial lets you explore Business Central with sample data, so you can practice navigation and try out features risk-free.
Microsoft’s official site walks you through getting an overview, taking the guided tour, and then starting a free trial.
Additionally, be sure to check out the Quick Start articles that Microsoft provides for new users. These quickstart guides cover basic tasks and concepts, giving you a solid grounding in how to perform common actions in Business Central.
By the end of this first step, you should have a general sense of the system’s interface and how to access it, setting the stage for deeper learning.
Related Article: How to Starts Your 30 Day Free Trial of Business Central
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Step 2: Leverage In-Product Help and Onboarding Features
Business Central has rich in-product help features designed to assist users directly within the application. As you navigate through pages and fields, you’ll notice small information icons and tooltips.
These tooltips provide on-the-spot explanations for fields and actions, guiding you through various business processes. Many pages also include teaching tips and tours – guided walkthroughs that appear as a sequence of pop-up hints highlighting what the page is for and how to complete tasks. These tours are extremely useful for first-time users, as they walk you through processes step-by-step without leaving the application.
Whenever you need more information, use the Help Pane inside Business Central. Simply press
Ctrl + F1(or select the ? icon in the top-right corner) on any page to open the Help pane.
The Help pane will show a description of the current page and links to relevant Microsoft Learn articles for that context. In other words, Business Central knows where you are in the app and fetches the appropriate documentation for you via the Help pane.
You can also search within the Help pane for specific topics or training modules; it will return links to guidance on using the product and even relevant learning modules. This context-sensitive help means you have Microsoft’s official documentation at your fingertips at all times.
For example, if you’re on a Sales Order page and press
Ctrl+F1, the Help pane will offer links to articles about sales order tasks and related processes. This seamless integration of documentation ensures you can learn as you work.
Onboarding checklists and wizards
When setting up Business Central for the first time, take advantage of the Assisted Setup guides (wizards) and onboarding checklists available in the product. These guided setup wizards help you configure common modules step by step (for instance, connecting your business to Outlook, setting up your company information, or migrating data).
They not only configure the system but also teach you what information is needed and why. Using assisted setups is like having a built-in coach for initial configuration tasks. While not a traditional “training course,” they are invaluable for learning the ropes during your first-time setup.
By leveraging all these in-app resources – tooltips, teaching tours, help pane, and assisted setup wizards – new users can learn in context and get unblocked quickly whenever questions arise.
Step 3: Explore Microsoft’s Official Documentation and Guides
Microsoft’s official Business Central documentation is another cornerstone of your training journey. This documentation is freely available on Microsoft Learn (the online learning platform) and covers all functional areas of Business Central in detail.
You can think of it as the user manual for the entire product, with how-to articles, explanations of concepts, and step-by-step instructions for various tasks.
The documentation is organised by topics (Finance, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, etc.), so you can easily find guidance specific to the area of the system you’re interested in.
For a broad overview, you might start with the “Welcome to Business Central” and “Business functionality” sections, which introduce key concepts and capabilities of the system. From there, dive into specific articles relevant to your needs – for example, how to create a sales invoice, how to reconcile a bank account, or how to set up approval workflows.
One tip: since Business Central is a cloud-based (SaaS) solution that receives regular updates, always refer to the online Microsoft documentation for the latest information.
The content on Microsoft Learn is kept up-to-date with the current release of Business Central Online. (If you ever find differences between the system and the docs, it could be due to a recent update – Microsoft’s docs usually note new features by version.)
Using the documentation in tandem with the live product is an effective way to learn. For instance, if you’re not sure how a certain process should be done, search the docs (either via the Help pane or on the Microsoft Learn site directly) and follow the step-by-step guide provided.
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Step 4: Take Advantage of Free E-Learning Modules on Microsoft Learn
Beyond the reference documentation, Microsoft also provides free online training modules and learning paths for Business Central on Microsoft Learn.
These are structured, self-paced training courses designed to teach you Business Central in a logical progression. They often include a mix of reading, interactive exercises, and quizzes to reinforce learning.
On the Microsoft Learn Business Central training page, you’ll find suggested learning paths for different needs – including Getting Started with Business Central, Managing Financials, and even Extending Business Central (for more technical users). All of these are free; you just need to sign in with a Microsoft account to save your progress.
Click and go to Microsoft Learn Business Central Training page
A recommended sequence for new users is to begin with the foundational learning paths.
For example, the “Get started with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central” path provides a solid introduction – it even shows you how to set up a trial, gives an overview of available features, and demonstrates personalisation options in Business Central. This is a perfect starting point as it familiarises you with the system’s basics in about 3 hours of content.
After that, you can move on to the “Work with the Business Central user interface” module to learn navigation and UI personalisation in depth, and a module like “Work like a pro with data in Business Central” to understand how to search, filter, and find data in the system.
These foundational modules will boost your confidence in using Business Central’s interface and basic features.
Once the basics are covered, consider branching into the functional learning paths that match your role or interest (see next section for role-based suggestions). Microsoft’s e-learning catalogue for Business Central includes a variety of topics.
For instance, if you’re in charge of financials, there’s a path for setting up and using core financial features. If your work involves sales and purchasing, there are modules dedicated to those processes.
All these learning paths are self-paced, so you can progress through them on your own schedule, and they often include hands-on practice scenarios. According to Microsoft, users and customers can find free e-learning content on Microsoft Learn’s Business Central page, which includes collections for getting started, managing financials, and more. By systematically working through these courses, new users can accelerate their understanding of Business Central’s capabilities and best practices.
Step 5: Follow a Role-Based Training Plan
Every user’s learning needs will depend on their role in the company. Business Central is a broad system, used by people in finance, sales, operations, management, and IT. It’s wise to tailor your training focus to the areas of the system that matter most for your job.
Below we outline a small handful of key roles and the training resources each should prioritise:
Finance / Accountant Role
If you are responsible for financial management, concentrate on the Business Central modules related to finance. Microsoft’s learning paths for Financials cover everything from setting up the chart of accounts and posting groups to using journals, processing payments, and closing the books.
For example, there are modules on how to post journal entries, perform bank reconciliations, and generate financial reports.
The “Set up financial management in Business Central” learning path is a great starting point for finance users as it discusses configuring essential financial settings (like number series, dimensions, etc.).
After setup, modules like “Use journals in Business Central” and “Reconcile bank accounts in Business Central” teach day-to-day tasks. By following these, accountants new to Business Central will learn how to efficiently manage G/L entries, payables, receivables, VAT/GST, and periodic processes in the system.
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Sales and Purchasing Role
Users involved in sales orders, purchasing, or customer service should focus on the Trade or sales/purchase-oriented training content. Microsoft provides specific learning paths such as “Sell items and services in Business Central” and “Post sales and purchase invoices in Business Central”.
The sales learning path walks you through the entire sales process – from creating quotes and orders to posting invoices and handling returns.
The complementary purchasing modules teach you how to create purchase orders, record vendor invoices, and manage vendor returns.
These courses also cover related features like applying discounts, handling prepayments, and even using electronic documents in Business Central for sales/purchase. By completing the sales and purchasing training, users in operational roles will understand how to use Business Central to manage customer orders, vendor orders, shipments, and billing.
It’s highly recommended for sales reps, order processors, and purchasing agents in a new Business Central deployment to go through these targeted modules so they can perform their day-to-day tasks confidently.
Inventory / Warehouse Role
For companies dealing with physical inventory, warehouse managers or inventory controllers should become familiar with Business Central’s inventory and supply chain features. Microsoft’s resources include modules on inventory management, such as “Replenish items in Business Central” which demonstrates how to efficiently restock inventory and the various methods (manual reordering, automated reorder policies, etc.).
Additionally, there are guides on processing item returns and handling basic warehouse operations. While the core sales/purchasing training covers some inventory aspects, those dedicated to inventory management will benefit from exploring the documentation on item tracking, stock adjustments, and warehouse shipment/receipt processes.
Using these resources, an inventory role user can learn how to maintain accurate stock levels, set up reordering policies, and ensure the warehouse module is used effectively (for example, learning to post inventory picks or moves if using advanced warehousing).
Business Central’s standard documentation on Inventory and Warehouse Management is a helpful reference to keep bookmarked as well.
Administrator / Key User Role
Every organisation implementing Business Central should have at least one key user or system administrator who understands the system at a higher level. This might be an internal ERP champion or IT personnel responsible for maintaining Business Central.
If that’s you, there are role-specific learning paths for administrators and functional consultants on Microsoft Learn. These cover tasks like configuring the application, managing users and permissions, setting up workflows, and understanding integration options.
An administrator should learn how to use the Business Central Admin Center (for SaaS) and how to handle environment settings, backups, and updates.
Microsoft’s training for functional consultants (which often overlaps with advanced end-user topics) can be very valuable. It delves into implementation steps and configuration of modules beyond everyday use. Even if you’re not going for a certification, following the administrator/functional consultant learning paths will give you a comprehensive understanding of Business Central’s setup and capabilities, enabling you to support your team better.
And remember, the in-app Help & Support page (accessible from the question mark icon) provides links to admin and technical resources, plus ways to contact Microsoft support if needed.
By focusing on the learning content most relevant to your role, you ensure that your training time is efficient and effective. The Microsoft Learn platform conveniently organizes content from core knowledge to specific domains (from basic to advanced) – use that structure to your advantage.
Most users will start with the general overview and then dive into their role’s specialty (financials, sales, etc.), but don’t shy away from exploring other areas once you’ve mastered your primary role. Business Central is integrated across departments, so having cross-functional knowledge can be beneficial.
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Step 6: Continue Learning and Stay Updated
Learning doesn’t stop after the initial onboarding – continuous learning is key to getting the most out of Business Central.
Here are a few tips for ongoing education and staying up to date with the platform:
Use the Community and Forums
Microsoft hosts an official Dynamics 365 Business Central Community forum where users, MVPs, and Microsoft experts discuss questions and share tips. This is a great place to ask any real-world usage questions that come up once you start using Business Central in practice.
Often, someone in the community has encountered a similar scenario and can offer guidance. Bookmark the community site and explore the threads. It’s an excellent complementary resource to formal documentation, especially for practical troubleshooting or nuanced process questions.
Practice and Explore
Nothing reinforces learning better than hands-on practice. Use a sandbox environment or your trial/company environment to practice what you learn in the modules. Try entering sample transactions (e.g. create a sample invoice, run a financial report, set up a test item), and use the in-product help whenever you get stuck.
The more you play with the system, the more comfortable you will become. Business Central is designed to be user-friendly and has a consistent interface, so as you explore one module, you’ll find it easier to learn others.
Keep an Eye on New Training Content
Microsoft frequently updates and adds to its Learn content. New modules or learning paths may appear, especially when major updates introduce new functionality.
For example, as Business Central integrates more with Power Platform or adds industry-specific features, Microsoft Learn will publish modules for those. Revisit the Microsoft Learn Business Central landing page periodically to see if there are new learning paths or upcoming live training events/webinars.
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Remember, learning ERP software is a journey; take it step by step, and use these readily available resources to guide you. With Microsoft’s official materials and the outlined training plan, your company’s transition to Business Central will be smoother and your team will be well-prepared to leverage the system effectively.
FAQs: Training Resources for New Business Central Users
What’s the best way to start learning Business Central as a new user?
Begin with Microsoft’s official Learn modules and in-product “Help & Training” links. These provide step-by-step guides tailored for core roles such as finance, sales and operations.
Are there role-specific learning paths in Business Central?
Yes. Microsoft Learn offers structured paths for finance managers, sales order processors, warehouse clerks and administrators, making it easier to focus on what’s relevant to your day-to-day work.
Does Business Central include built-in training resources?
Yes. The in-product Help pane, tooltips and guided tours explain functionality directly within the system, reducing the need to leave the application while learning.
Where can I find Microsoft’s free Business Central training?
Microsoft Learn (official site) is free and covers topics from setup and posting to reporting and security. It’s the most up-to-date training library.
Are there video resources available?
Yes. Microsoft publishes short “How-to” videos on YouTube and Learn modules. Partners also offer webinars and recorded sessions that cover best practices and common pitfalls.
What should a training plan for new users include?
Start with navigation and role centre basics, move on to posting sales and purchase transactions, then cover bank reconciliation, reporting, approvals and personalisation. Build confidence step by step.
How long does it usually take for new staff to get comfortable with Business Central?
Most users become comfortable with daily tasks after 2–4 weeks of structured training and guided practice. Finance managers may need longer to master reporting and month-end processes.
Is there formal certification for Business Central users?
Yes. Microsoft offers certification exams such as MB-800 (Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Functional Consultant Associate), though these are aimed at consultants rather than end-users.
Should SMEs invest in partner-led training?
Partner-led sessions help tailor Business Central to your business processes, accelerate adoption and reduce errors. Many SMEs combine self-study with targeted partner workshops.
How can we ensure training sticks for new staff?
Use role-based security and role centres, encourage staff to practise in a sandbox, and set up refresher sessions or quick reference guides. Regular use cements knowledge.
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