Migrate from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to Epicor Prophet 21

Business Central Customer records map directly to Epicor Customer. We resolve t ShipToAddress and PayToContact structures into Epicor's Customer and CustShipTo tables, preserving payment terms, customer posting groups, and credit limits. Customer is imported before any Sales Order or AR invoice records so that parent references are satisfied at insert time. We flag any Customer records with inactive status in Business Central for the customer's Epicor admin to confirm before migration.

Business Central Vendor master records map to Epicor Vendor. Vendor posting groups from Business Central translate to Epicor's Vendor purchasing group or terms code. Pay-to addresses and contact records map to Vendor and VendorContact. We resolve AP invoice and open PO records against the Vendor after master import completes, preserving any pre-cutoff open balances as carry-forward entries.

Business Central Items use three separate types (Inventory Item, Service, Non-Inventory Item) stored as distinct records in a single table with a Type field. Epicor Kinetic uses a single Part table with a PartType field (Stock, Non-Stock, Service, Expense). We transform the Business Central Item Type into Epicor PartType and map the related inventory posting group to Epicor's Commodity Code or Class. Stocking UOM, costing method, and lot/serial tracking flags carry forward as Part Plant and PartLot configuration rows. Items without inventory tracking (Service, Non-Inventory) map to PartType = Non-Stock or Service without plant-level stocking records.

Business Central Chart of Accounts records (with account categories, account type, and direct-posting flag) map to Epicor GL Account with the account number and name preserved. We resolve Business Central account categories to Epicor GL Account Categories or Segments depending on the customer's Epicor chart configuration. Pre-migration, we confirm whether the destination Epicor chart uses a flat or segmented account structure, as Business Central account numbering schemes often use prefixes that map differently to segmented charts.

Open Sales Orders from Business Central (document status not equal to Invoiced, Cancelled, or Shipped) migrate to Epicor SalesOrderHed and SalesOrderDtl. We preserve OrderDate, RequestDate, the customer and contact references, and all line quantities, unit prices, and discount amounts. Line-level Item numbers are resolved to Epicor PartNum after the Part master import completes. Backorder quantities and partial-shipment flags carry forward. Lines referencing Items that do not yet exist in Epicor are held in a reconciliation queue.

Open Purchase Orders from Business Central migrate to Epicor POHeader and PODetail. Expected receipt dates, quantities, and vendor references carry forward. Business Central prepayment percentages on PO lines map to Epicor prepayment fields if the destination is configured for prepayment tracking; otherwise they are documented as notes for the customer's AP team. Open PO lines referencing unmapped Vendors are held until Vendor master reconciliation completes.

Business Central Item Ledger Entry and Value Entry tables represent inventory movement history and cost layers. These tables grow indefinitely and can reach millions of rows in active manufacturing or distribution environments. We negotiate a migration cutoff (typically 12-24 months of posted history) with the customer and migrate only post-cutoff Item Ledger Entries as Epicor PartTran records. Pre-cutoff on-hand quantities and average/unit costs carry forward as opening balances on the Part Plant record. Lot and serial tracking flags migrate as PartLot entries.

Business Central G/L Entry records (posted journal entries) migrate as opening balance carry-forward rather than as historical journal lines in Epicor. We aggregate G/L Account balances at the migration cutoff date and create Epicor Opening Balance journal entries per account. This approach keeps the go-live window manageable (avoiding millions of individual G/L Entry imports) while preserving the account balances needed for trial balance continuity and audit trail. Pre-cutoff G/L Entry detail is archived outside Epicor for compliance reference.

Business Central Jobs with WBS-style task breakdowns, resource assignments, and job journal postings map to Epicor Project. We transform the Business Central job task hierarchy into Epicor ProjectPhase and ProjectTask records, preserving budget amounts, resource rates, and job posting groups. Active Jobs with incomplete billing or time entries migrate with their current status; completed or closed Jobs are migrated as historical records with a Closed flag. If Business Central Jobs reference Employees as resources, we resolve the Employee mapping before Job import.

Business Central Employee records (demographics, employment information, bank details for payroll) map to Epicor Employee. Employee numbers carry forward as the primary key. Address and contact data map to Epicor's EmployeePer and EmpBasic tables. Note that Business Central HR capabilities are basic compared to dedicated HRMS platforms, and Epicor's HR module is similarly scoped for payroll and time tracking integration rather than full HRIS functionality.

Business Central Bank Account records map to Epicor BankAcct with the account number, bank name, and posting group preserved. Open bank account ledger entries (outstanding checks, deposits in transit) migrate as Epicor Cash Hed entries to preserve the bank reconciliation state at cutoff. Bank reconciliation rules and statement import formats are documented for the customer's Epicor admin to configure post-migration.

Business Central Fixed Asset records (acquisition cost, depreciation books, insurance coverage) map to Epicor FAsset and related depreciation book tables. Depreciation schedules and book assignments carry forward as FAssetBook records with the original acquisition date, depreciable basis, and remaining useful life recalculated or preserved based on the customer's preference. Asset register balances are reconciled against the G/L Account opening balances at migration cutoff. Insurance coverage and asset location data map to Epicor UD fields or FAssetAttch records.

Business Central custom fields built via AL extensions are stored in separate extension tables and do not have a direct Epicor schema counterpart. We identify all custom fields during the discovery phase, map each to an equivalent Epicor User Defined (UD) field on the corresponding table, and execute a second migration pass after base entity validation is complete. Any custom field that overlaps with a standard Business Central field is flagged to prevent duplicate or conflicting data on import. This is a pair-specific gotcha: AL extension field types (Option, Decimal, Text with length constraints) must be explicitly mapped to Epicor UD field data types.