Power Platform for Business Central and AI Innovation
For most of my career, customizing an ERP system felt a lot like field work: measure twice, build once, and hope nothing unexpected shows up behind the drywall. It worked, but it wasn’t flexible. Every change required planning, budget, downtime, and (too often) a brave heart — something the Power Platform for Business Central was created to simplify.
In my previous blogs in this series, I talked about why moving off GP is really a conversation about safety, and how Microsoft’s Bridge to the Cloud offer helps reduce the financial risk of modernization.
So the natural next question is: How do you tailor Dynamics 365 Business Central without falling back into the old cycle of heavy customizations and long-term technical debt?
That’s the shift I’m most excited about. With the Microsoft Power Platform and AI, the work gets lighter. You solve problems with low-code tools instead of deep custom code. You adjust processes in days — not months. And you prepare your organization for the kind of innovation that’s already reshaping the industry.
What is Microsoft Power Platform, and how does it work with Business Central?
How the Power Platform for Business Central Supports Low-Code Customization
The Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of low-code tools that connects directly with Dynamics 365 Business Central, giving organizations the ability to tailor workflows, automate tasks, and build apps without deep development.
Instead of relying on traditional extensions or custom code, teams use Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI to create solutions that live alongside Business Central and integrate cleanly with Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem.
Microsoft explains this shift clearly in its low-code overview, describing how businesses can build solutions faster and with significantly less complexity.
For contractors and field service organizations, this means modernization without rebuilding old limitations. The Power Platform for Business Central becomes a strategic foundation — flexible, scalable, and designed to evolve as your business evolves.
Can Power Apps really replace custom ERP development for contractors and field service teams?
The short answer: Yes, in many cases.
For decades, modifying ERP systems meant writing code, testing code, and hoping the next upgrade didn’t break anything. Even small improvements required planning, resourcing, and significant downtime.
Power Apps replaces much of that with low-code tools that let teams:
• Build lightweight mobile apps
• Replace manual data collection
• Create job tracking tools
• Improve field reporting
• Streamline communication
Modern field service ERP solutions no longer depend on heavy customizations. Power Apps allows companies to modernize processes without taking on the technical debt that GP customizations often created.
It’s also why business central for contractors is gaining traction — low-code apps let teams adjust processes quickly, without risking system stability.
How does low-code automation with Power Automate reduce ERP costs?
Automation used to mean custom code. Today, it means configuration.
With Power Automate, contractors and field service organizations can:
• Automate approvals
• Build simple apps for technicians
• Create dashboards for real-time job-cost visibility
• Streamline handoffs between departments
• Improve data capture without custom development
These improvements don’t require development cycles. They’re built using low-code configuration, which saves time, lowers costs, and reduces dependency on hard-to-maintain customizations.
A recent Forbes Business Council article underscores why low-code is becoming central to business agility; helping companies innovate faster, reduce technical debt, and lower development costs.
This approach not only reduces initial development costs, it prevents ballooning maintenance costs, keeping job costing software for construction and other critical systems accurate and up-to-date.
Is Power Platform secure enough for financial and construction data?
Yes, and this is one of the most important advantages of modernizing with Business Central.
The Microsoft Power Platform operates inside the Microsoft Cloud, which means:
• Enterprise-grade authentication
• Role-based access control
• Audit trails
• Secure connectors
• Encrypted data paths
• Compliance with major industry standards
Contractors and field service organizations handle sensitive financial, labor, and project data. Using a platform that inherits Microsoft’s security model is not only safer, it avoids the risks that come from stitching together third-party custom tools or unsupported scripts.
Security is not bolted on — it’s built in.
What are real-world examples of AI and Power Platform Improving ERP Performance?
AI is already improving ERP performance in several meaningful ways:
• Forecasting project costs
• Detecting anomalies in job data
• Improving scheduling
• Predicting overruns
• Accelerating document processing
• Cleaning inconsistent entries
And now, AI-enabled apps built with Power Platform are giving field teams richer insights, faster reporting, and smarter decision support.
At WennSoft, this aligns with our move toward an AI-first roadmap, starting with our job costing solutions. AI helps organizations surface issues earlier, plan more effectively, and reduce the risks that lead to cost overruns. This is the next evolution of AI ERP — intelligence built into daily operations.
How does WennSoft ensure your system stays flexible over the long term?
The biggest migration risk is rebuilding old limitations in a new environment. Over-customization doesn’t just slow you down. It limits your ability to adopt new capabilities later.
At WennSoft, we help organizations avoid this through:
Strategic Solution Design: Identifying where configuration or low-code can replace custom code.
Industry-Proven Patterns: We design for the way contractors and field service teams operate today... and tomorrow.
AI-Ready Architecture: Your system is prepared for emerging AI-powered ERP capabilities without major rework.
Continuous Improvement: You modernize safely, sustainably, and without unnecessary complexity.
Tailoring becomes a strategic advantage instead of a long-term liability.
Your system should evolve as fast as the work you do
Customizing an ERP used to feel like taking on another project: complex, slow, and expensive. With Business Central, Power Platform, and AI, tailoring becomes faster, lighter, and safer.
The organizations that modernize thoughtfully now are the ones that avoid rework later. That’s why I focused this series so much on safety: first from disruption, then from financial risk, and now from long-term technical debt.
WennSoft’s goal is to help you move forward without recreating the past.
If you’d like to talk about how your team can take advantage of these tools, whether you’ve already migrated or are still preparing, I’m here to help.
Let’s make your system ready for what comes next.
About the Author
Richard Haus is a technology leader with over 30 years in construction software innovation. As CEO of WennSoft, he helps contractors modernize operations with purpose-built Microsoft technologies that improve efficiency and drive long-term success. He has led the development of industry-transforming solutions like Signature Time and Signature Telematics, designed to optimize workflows and enhance productivity for the skilled trades.
Passionate about problem-solving and continuous improvement, Richard believes success – whether in business or the outdoors – comes from preparation, the right tools, and a willingness to adapt.
Connect with Richard on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.