License pricing is the easiest cost to obtain in the entire project planning process, but on its own it’s not very useful.

You can get the information in a few minutes. Microsoft publishes Dynamics 365 licencing prices on its website; its apparent simplicity makes it reassuring enough to plug into an Excel spreadsheet. However, once you consider the project’s total cost, you realise that licensing was never really the question.

We won’t claim that there’s a straightforward figure for the total cost of your project. There isn’t one, and anyone offering you one without first gathering more details is simply speculating. We can, however, explain what the cost is made up of; that way, when you receive a quote, you’ll be able to check that nothing’s missing.

The Dynamics 365 project costs that people remember

Licensing, obviously. It’s worth noting that not every employee in your organisation necessarily needs a full license. For instance, some staff simply need to view records rather than edit them. Striking the right balance here is one of the few ways to achieve real cost savings without sacrificing essentials.

But then comes the implementation phase. The system must be configured to align with your actual systems, people and processes. The cost of this stage depends on the state of your data, the systems involved and how much you want to deviate from standard Dynamics 365 functionality.

The Dynamics 365 project costs that people forget

The discovery phase. This is the time dedicated to defining your actual needs before any technical work even begins. It might seem like an avoidable cost, but it’s actually the insurance policy for the entire project.

Data quality and data migration. Often we see projects with years of client records, stored in an outdated system that no one’s really looked at since the person who set it up left. Deciding what needs to be transferred, what should be archived, and what can be left behind is a major undertaking in itself. “Let’s just transfer everything” is one of the costliest phrases a project team can hear.

Integrations. Dynamics 365 rarely operates in a vacuum. It needs to communicate with your accounting system, your website, perhaps a booking platform or warehouse management system. Each of these connections represents a mini-project grafted onto the main one.

Testing. We aren’t talking about technical testing here – that’s our responsibility. This stage is about your staff getting hands-on with the tool and seeing how it aligns with their workflows. This takes time and that time comes at a cost to you, even if it never appears on an invoice.

Training – and the two weeks that follow. With a new system, users are less efficient at first and then eventually pick up speed. This dip in productivity is a reality; it’s better to plan for it than to discover it.

Team involvement. The more complicated projects require a business lead capable of making decisions; someone who can dedicate about a day or two a week to the project over several months. If no one can spare that time, the project slows down and often becomes more expensive.

The Dynamics 365 project costs that continue

Year 1 commands the most attention, as that’s when the budget is first allocated and the project is implemented. The second year introduces operating costs: support, administration, the steady stream of minor tweaks requested by users, the purchase of additional licenses as the team grows.

A business case that stops at the launch phase is incomplete. You will inevitably be asked about the second and third years, so it’s best to have an answer ready.

So, what’s the cost?

It all depends on you, which we know isn’t the answer you were after. However, it does depend on parameters that you can actually verify, which is good news.

If you have a quote in front of you and would like a second opinion on its validity, we’d be happy to review it. No strings attached, no sales pitch. We’d rather you went into this with all the information you need, even if the project itself ends up with somebody else.