Services / CRM and ERP integration

CRM and ERP integration

Signs your CRM and ERP are not talking

• Orders arrive by email and someone types them into the ERP, line by line.
• Reps quote from a price list that is a week old, and the order comes back with a different number.
• The same customer exists three times, spelled three ways, with three credit limits.
• Sales cannot see open invoices or what a customer bought last quarter without calling accounting.
• When a senior rep leaves, the customer history leaves with them.

You are not alone in this. In a 2026 survey of 233 North American distribution executives, 55% had bought ERP, CRM, ecommerce and analytics systems but had not connected them.^[1] The same research group calls ERP integration the strongest predictor of whether people are satisfied with their CRM.^[2]

What usually gets synced

• Customers and contacts. One record, with the ERP as the owner of billing details and credit terms.
• Items and prices. The catalog, units of measure and customer price lists, so quotes match what the ERP will invoice.
• Quotes and orders. A quote won in the CRM becomes a sales order in the ERP, without retyping.
• Invoices and status. Posted invoices, open balances and order status flow back, so reps can answer the customer on the first call.

Deciding which system owns each field matters more than the tool. Most failed integrations we are asked to fix skipped that step.

Three ways to connect them, and when each is enough

1. The built-in connector. Business Central has a standard integration with Dynamics 365 Sales through Dataverse. When your process is close to the standard one, this is the cheapest and easiest to maintain. We set it up, map what it does not cover, and leave the rest alone.
2. Power Automate or Azure integration services. For NetSuite, Epicor, an older ERP or a process the connector does not fit. Flows and integration code run in your own tenant, with errors logged and someone alerted when a sync fails.
3. Custom integration. Only for the part nothing else can do, such as reading orders out of customer emails or a supplier portal. Kept small, documented and in your repository.

How we run it

You start with a free first pass: describe the systems and the worst handoff, and within two business days we write back what we would connect first and how. If it makes sense to go further, we build a proof of concept on the hardest link, on your real records, at a fixed price quoted after the first pass. Each next link is quoted the same way, as its own step. Everything runs in your tenant and is committed to your repository from the first day; read what you should own on day one.

Want the reasoning first? Integration first: the hidden cost of disconnected systems explains why we connect before we automate. If the integration already exists and fails silently, start with a CRM rescue assessment instead.

Who it is for

Wholesale distributors, light manufacturers and job shops, roughly 20 to 500 people, running Business Central, NetSuite, Epicor or an older ERP, with a CRM that only part of the team uses or none at all. Our senior team has 15+ years and 50+ business system implementations behind it.

Questions people ask

Does Business Central integrate with Dynamics 365 Sales?

Yes. Business Central has a standard integration with Dynamics 365 Sales through Dataverse that syncs customers, contacts, items, prices, orders and posted invoices. It fits companies whose process is close to the standard; the rest is mapped and built around it.

Can you connect a CRM to NetSuite or Epicor?

Yes, through Power Automate or Azure integration services running in your own tenant, with error logging and alerts so a failed sync never goes unnoticed.

Can incoming email orders go straight into the ERP?

Often, yes. Orders are read from the email or attachment, checked against the customer and item records, and created as drafts for a person to approve before they post.

Which system should own the customer record?

Usually the ERP owns billing details, credit terms and invoices, and the CRM owns contacts, activities and opportunities. We agree this field by field before building anything.

How much does CRM and ERP integration cost?

It depends on the systems and how far they differ from the standard. The first pass is free, and the proof of concept on the hardest link is a fixed price quoted after it, so you know the cost before you commit.