With Dynamics GP Support Ending in 2029, Dynamics Square Canada Shares a Roadmap for Business Central Migration

Dynamics Square Canada, a Microsoft Solutions Partner, today outlined its guidance for Canadian organizations planning a Dynamics GP to Business Central move, as Microsoft’s published end-of-support dates for Microsoft Dynamics GP draw closer. The company is encouraging finance and IT leaders to begin planning now, while they can still set the timeline themselves.

Microsoft’s lifecycle documentation states that support for Dynamics GP, including product enhancements, regulatory tax updates, and technical support, will end on December 31, 2029. Security updates, if needed, will remain available until April 30, 2031. Older releases have earlier deadlines: extended support for GP 2018 ends on January 11, 2028, and extended support for GP 2016 ended in July 2026. Microsoft is encouraging customers to transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central.

For many Canadian organizations, Dynamics GP has been a dependable system for decades, and it remains supported today. The concern, according to Dynamics Square Canada, is the amount of work a move involves. Years of customizations, third-party add-ons, integrations, and reports all need review, and finance teams have to fit that work around year-end, audits, and day-to-day operations.

“The end-of-support date is not the date to start planning from,” said Darshan Mungekar, Senior D365 Solution Architect at Dynamics Square Canada. “A Dynamics GP to Business Central migration is a chance to decide which processes, customizations, and data are worth carrying forward. Organizations that start early can make those decisions carefully instead of under deadline pressure.”

Dynamics GP vs Business Central: What Changes

The Dynamics GP vs Business Central question is about more than software versions. Moving to Business Central usually means moving to a cloud service with regular Microsoft updates, closer connections to Microsoft 365 and Power Platform, and a different approach to customization. Extensions replace many long-standing modifications, so each one needs a fresh look. Some will no longer be needed because standard Business Central features cover them, while others will have to be rebuilt or replaced.

Reporting, security roles, and approval workflows also need to be redesigned rather than copied across. Dynamics Square Canada says this is often where organizations gain the most, because it gives them a reason to retire manual workarounds that built up over time.

What Canadian Organizations Should Review

Dynamics Square Canada recommends that organizations looking to migrate Dynamics GP to Business Central in Canada start with five areas:

• Current version and deadlines: Confirm the GP release in use and the support date that applies to it.
• Customizations and add-ons: List every modification and third-party product, then decide whether to keep, replace, or retire it.
• Data: Decide how much history to move, and clean up master data before migration.
• Canadian requirements: Confirm how GST/HST, provincial sales tax, multi-currency transactions, and payroll will be handled in the new environment.
• Timing: Plan cutover around year-end, audits, and busy periods, and leave time for testing and user training.

Microsoft provides migration tools and documentation for moving GP data, but the company notes that a successful Business Central implementation depends just as much on process design, testing, and user adoption as on the data transfer itself.

Experience with Legacy Dynamics Systems

Dynamics Square Canada brings experience from moving Canadian organizations off older Dynamics ERP versions. While these projects involved Dynamics NAV rather than GP, they dealt with many of the same issues: aging systems, data migration, custom requirements, and the need for better visibility.

A Canadian manufacturer of shim and small parts for aerospace moved from NAV 2013 to Dynamics 365 Business Central after its existing version struggled with inventory management and real-time supply chain data. Dynamics Square also built a custom time collection module to track employee time on the shop floor. In a second project, Frankensolar Americas, an Ontario-based distributor of solar PV equipment, upgraded from NAV 2018 to Business Central alongside Dynamics 365 Sales, connecting financial, inventory, and sales data with Outlook, SharePoint, and DocuSign.

“Every legacy ERP move is different, but the discipline is the same,” said Mungekar. “Understand what the business needs, migrate the right data, and make sure people are ready to use the new system on day one.”

Starting the Conversation

Dynamics Square Canada is offering organizations on Microsoft Dynamics GP a personalized assessment covering their current environment, customizations, data and migration options. The assessment results in a practical roadmap that teams can use to set budgets and timelines. More guidance is available in the company’s Dynamics GP to Business Central migration guide.

About Dynamics Square Canada

Dynamics Square Canada provides Business Central implementation, consulting, migration, upgrade and support services for Canadian organizations evaluating their next ERP environment.

As part of the broader Dynamics Square organization, the company supports Microsoft Dynamics 365 initiatives across multiple markets, including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

For more information, visit https://www.dynamicssquare.ca

Media Contact
Arish, Dynamics Square Canada Inc., +1 289-807-0740, [email protected]
Manish Goyal, Dynamics Square Canada Inc., +1 778-381-5388, [email protected]