How Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central licensing and pricing are evolving

We are now a year on from when Microsoft announced their plans for licencing and pricing Business Central and we are six months on from the last NAV licence being cut. So where did the world settle in terms of licencing and pricing?

Let's deal with those of you who may be looking to buy a completely new licence, as this is probably the simpler model to start with! There are basically two options, both of which are based on a named user basis:

1. Subscription
2. Perpetual

The subscription option means you pay a per user, per month fee and it includes the annual maintenance fee levied by Microsoft, giving you access to future versions. This option provides flexibility in terms of increasing and reducing numbers of users, particularly helpful if you have any seasonal changes in the number of people using the system.