Starting Small, Growing Strong with Business Central and SkyBill
Updated: 4 days ago
This post summarises an article SkyBill published on ERP Software Blog on October 6, 2025. Read the full article here.
Deregulation has opened utility markets to local energy retailers, water suppliers and property managers. Billing systems built for millions of customers are too expensive and complex for them, while spreadsheets quickly turn into a risk. SkyBill explains why Dynamics 365 Business Central with SkyBill is a practical way to start small and grow.
Key takeaways
Business Central costs less to start with than SAP, Oracle or Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.
It is a complete ERP out of the box, covering finance, purchasing, inventory, projects, service and reporting.
SkyBill adds usage based billing for water, electricity, gas, heating and common area charges.
A customer portal, which can be white labelled, gives self-service access to invoices, consumption and messages.
Power Automate, Power BI, Sales or Field Service can be added later without changing platform.
Avoiding the spreadsheet trap
The usual path runs from notepad and email to Excel invoicing, then to macros, and finally to a custom app that is hard to maintain. The alternative SkyBill recommends is to start with Business Central and SkyBill, add Power Automate workflows and Power BI dashboards as the business matures, and bring in Dynamics 365 Sales or Field Service when growth calls for it. That way costly migrations are avoided and the total cost stays lower over time.
When it makes the most sense
The combination fits organisations with hundreds to several thousand customer accounts or meter points and plans to grow, teams that want a quick deployment instead of a multi-year project, companies that value predictable costs, and those already comfortable with Microsoft tools and partners.
Frequently asked questions
Why choose Business Central over a larger ERP for utility billing?
It has a lower entry cost, covers core ERP needs out of the box and scales with added modules, so smaller providers do not pay for enterprise complexity.
What does SkyBill add to Business Central?
Automated usage based billing for utilities and property management, flexible billing cycles, a customer portal and integrations with payment gateways, CRM and market messaging where needed.
Who is Business Central with SkyBill best suited for?
Utilities and property managers with hundreds to several thousand customers or meter points that expect to grow.
Read the full article
The original article on ERP Software Blog also shows how Business Central and SkyBill fit into the wider Microsoft ecosystem and what you get on day one.
