Navigating Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Licensing: What Does it Mean for the Customer?

[Editor's note: details on the Starter and Extended Packs have been updated for accuracy]

If you have been trying to keep up with all the licensing hoopla surrounding Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and are still confused about how it all is going to work, you are probably not alone. Just about every day it seems, something new is added to the way pricing is going to work.

The first pricing announcement was presented to partners on July 7, 2012 with the introduction of the new Perpetual Licensing model, covering Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.

Following up with the announcement, Microsoft delivered more details of the new pricing model - marketing it as ‘Napkin Pricing' - at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2012, held in July of this year with the goal of getting prospective Microsoft Dynamics GP customers "past the price and look[ing] at the solutions". The model would simply allow account executives to provide a fast quote of the Perpetual Licensing models based on the potential number of users a prospective organization would procure. Frankly, the numbers are pretty simple:

• Starter Pack USD $5,000  (includes 3 full users)
• Extended Pack USD $10,000
• Full User USD $3,000 * Number of Users
• Limited User USD $600 * Number of Users

The difference between the starter pack and extended pack amounts very closely to the current Business Ready License (BRL) model, with the starter pack functionality reflecting the current Business Essentials model and the Extended Pack reflecting the current Advanced Management model, however with both new models delivering far more application features for the announced prices.