Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer Training 2025

MB-820 is the Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer Associate certification exam. It validates a developer’s expertise in designing, developing, testing, and maintaining solutions on Business Central.

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central developer training your consultant handling client projects has more knowledge from MB-820 so you understand Business Central’s architecture, extension model, and development lifecycle. The exam covers six core areas that align with real-world project needs:

• Business Central Architecture & Core Concepts (10–15%) – Understanding the product’s cloud vs on-premises architecture, multi-tier components, and how Business Central fits into the Dynamics 365 ecosystem. This helps in choosing the right deployment model and knowing the system’s capabilities when planning a client solution.
• Environment Setup, Installation & Deployment (10–15%) – Skills to install Business Central (on-prem or sandbox), configure development environments, and deploy extensions. This makes sure that you can set up sandbox vs. production environments correctly and manage updates.
• Developing with AL Objects (35–40%) – Mastery of creating and extending tables, pages, reports, codeunits, etc., using AL language. This is central to building custom features for clients, such as new modules or tailored functionality.
• AL Programming and Logic (15–20%) – Ability to write AL code (triggers, methods, event subscribers) to implement business logic. This includes understanding AL syntax, event-driven programming, and making sure of code quality.
• Development Tools & Source Control (10–15%) – Using Visual Studio Code, AL Language extension, and tools for debugging, performance profiling, and source control. MB-820 expects knowledge of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) tools like Git and CI/CD pipelines, preparing you to use Azure DevOps or GitHub for collaborative development.
• Integration with Other Applications (10–15%) – Knowledge of how to integrate Business Central with external systems and the Power Platform. This includes consuming or exposing web services, APIs, and automating workflows. Integration skills are crucial for client projects and are a major focus of the exam.

Why it matters: In consulting scenarios, client requirements often span customizations, integrations, and environment management. The MB-820 curriculum or MB-820T00 helps you to have you have a holistic skillset – from initial environment setup to complex AL coding and integrations – to tackle these projects confidently. It also familiarizes you with Microsoft’s recommended practices, which is vital whether you’re building a one-off customization for a client or developing a robust app for AppSource. In summary, MB-820 knowledge serves as a blueprint for delivering high-quality Business Central solutions that are maintainable, upgradable, and aligned with best practices.

Code Structure and AL Best Practices

One of the priorities in any Business Central development project is writing clean, maintainable, and upgrade-safe code. MB-820 emphasizes extension-based development (vs. old customizations) and AL coding standards. As a consultant developer, adhering to best practices to make sure that your code is reliable and easy to hand off or scale. Microsoft recommends following AL best practices to be more assured of consistency in naming and better readability of code. Key guidelines include:

• Use the Extension Model: Develop customizations as extensions (apps) rather than modifying base code. This approach keeps the solution compatible with updates. Leverage events and subscribers to hook into standard processes instead of overlayering code. For example, subscribe to an OnAfterPost event to trigger custom logic after an invoice posts, rather than altering the base posting code.
• Organize Project Structure: Keep a logical project structure in Visual Studio Code. Typically, an AL project has a folder (e.g. MySolution) containing a app.json (manifest) and subfolders like src/ for source AL files and test/ for automated tests. Group object files by feature or module using subfolders as needed to manage larger projects. Dynamics 365 developer training in Business Central with Microsoft MB-820 makes it easier for multiple developers to work on different areas of the solution without stepping on each other’s toes.
• Naming and Coding Conventions: Follow consistent naming conventions for files and objects. Include a prefix/suffix for custom objects (often your company or project prefix) to avoid collisions with Microsoft or other ISV objects. Use clear, descriptive names for variables and methods (e.g. CalcDiscountAmount instead of CalcDiscAmt). In code, use proper formatting and casing – AL keywords in lowercase, indent with 4 spaces, and place curly braces on new lines for clarity. Consistency here greatly improves readability and maintainability.
• Event-Driven Design: Embrace the event-based nature of Business Central. Instead of copying base objects, use event publishers and subscribers. For example, if you need to add checks when posting a Sales Invoice, use the OnBeforePostSalesInv event (if available) via a subscriber in a codeunit. This keeps your code decoupled and easier to update when Microsoft changes base logic.
• Modularity: Break down large features into smaller AL objects or even separate extensions if appropriate. A complex solution might be split into a core extension and several dependent extensions (using dependency in app.json) to isolate functionality. This modular approach makes testing easier and allows reusability of common libraries across projects. It also facilitates team collaboration – e.g. different team members can own different extension modules.
• Documentation and Comments: While writing AL, add comments for any complex logic or important business rules. Consulting projects often have longevity; clear comments and following documentation standards (perhaps using XML comments for public methods) will help future maintainers or your teammates understand the code’s intent.
• Upgrade Considerations: Always code with future upgrades in mind. For example, avoid hardcoding IDs of base objects; use references by name (which AL and the platform handle via symbols). Understand the extension upgrade life cycle – events like OnUpgrade triggers in upgrade codeunits to handle data changes when your app version updates. By following best practices now, you reduce technical debt and make the eventual upgrade or migration of the solution smoother.

By structuring code well and following best practices, you make sure about the custom solution remains robust. This is crucial in consulting: your client will expect that enhancements or updates won’t break the system. In fact, Microsoft’s guidelines and community AL patterns exist to support this consistency and quality in extension development. As a certified developer, you’ll be expected to not only know these practices but apply them so that your deliverables are professional and future-proof.

Integration and Automation Scenarios in Business Central

Modern Business Central projects frequently involve integrating with other systems and automating processes beyond the core ERP. MB-820 prepares you for this by covering integration techniques and tools, which are highly applicable to client needs. Here’s how integration and automation knowledge from MB-820 translates into project success:

• REST and API Integration: Business Central supports RESTful integration via its API endpoints and through AL code. The certification covers using AL’s HTTP classes (HttpClient, HttpRequestMessage, etc.) to call external REST services and handle JSON data. For example, you might need to connect to a third-party web service (like a tax calculator or e-commerce platform) from within BC – MB-820 makes sure that you know how to send HTTP requests and parse responses in AL. Conversely, MB-820 also covers creating and publishing custom APIs in Business Central. This means you can expose BC data or functionality (e.g. a custom “Customer Portal” API) safely to outside applications. Mastering these techniques enables automation scenarios like bi-directional data sync (e.g. pushing sales orders from a website into BC or sending inventory levels from BC to an external shop). The exam’s focus on integration signals how critical this skill is: one study guide explicitly notes to “focus heavily on … integration topics” – reflecting real projects where Business Central rarely stands alone.
• Out-of-the-Box Web Services: Apart from custom APIs, Business Central provides standard SOAP and OData web services. As a developer, you can publish any page or query as an OData endpoint, or any codeunit as a SOAP service, with just a few clicks or AL attributes. Knowing this in 2025 and beyond with help from Dynamics 365 training in Business central you might integrate BC with legacy systems or reporting tools.  So for example, an Accounts Payable automation system could pull vendor and invoice data via OData web services exposed from BC. MB-820 covers how to work with these services and manage any required authentication and permissions.
• Power Platform Integration (Power Automate & Power Apps): Microsoft has invested in low-code integration via the Power Platform. Business Central has a native connector for Power Automate (Flow) which allows creating workflows triggered by BC events (like a new record or a business event). MB-820 training touches on using Power Automate and even building small Power Apps that connect to BC data. In practice, this means you can automate approval processes or notifications without heavy coding – e.g. auto-post invoices nightly or send Teams/Outlook alerts when a big sale is registered. Knowledge of Power Automate also helps you guide clients on what can be done configurably (with flows) versus what needs custom AL code. According to Microsoft’s documentation, Power Automate is a “no code/low code solution to create business workflows in the context of Business Central,” capable of connecting BC with services like Dataverse, Outlook, Teams, Excel, etc. As a developer, you might incorporate these flows or even trigger them from AL (with the new PowerAutomate custom action type in BC). Automation scenarios are greatly expanded by combining your AL skills with Power Platform tools.
• Integration Best Practices: MB-820 helps make sure you understand how to integrate without compromising performance or stability. For instance, when calling external APIs from AL, using asynchronous processing or helping be more sure the HTTP calls don’t block the UI is important (there are guidelines for handling UI interaction in web services calls). Also, you learn about using Business Central’s background tasks (like the Task Scheduler or job queue) to offload heavy integration tasks outside of business hours. A practical example: scheduling a nightly job (via Job Queue) that exports data to an FTP or calls an external API to sync data – these require both AL code (possibly with file handling or HTTP calls) and configuration, which the certification covers. Additionally, MB-820 mentions features like Read-Scale Out for performance – understanding such features means you can optimize integrations that do heavy reads (like analytics) by pointing them to replication databases.
• Real-World Integration Scenarios: With MB-820 knowledge, you’ll be equipped to handle common consulting scenarios such as:
  • CRM Integration: e.g. syncing Customers and Contacts between Business Central and Dynamics 365 Sales (CRM) or Dataverse. This often uses out-of-the-box connectors or custom APIs.
  • E-Commerce Integration: connecting BC with an e-commerce platform (Shopify, Magento, etc.), to send orders to BC and push inventory or shipment tracking back. Likely involves custom REST integrations and maybe Azure Functions acting as middleware.
  • EDI and Data Exchange: automating data import/export (orders, invoices) in standard formats (XML, JSON, CSV) with trading partners. BC’s XMLports or data exchange frameworks, plus some AL processing, can automate these transactions.
  • Workflow Automation: implementing complex approval workflows that might extend beyond BC’s native workflows – for example, using Power Automate to have managers approve purchase orders via email or Teams, then AL code in BC to respond to the approved/rejected status.

In essence, integration and automation know-how allows a Business Central solution to fit into a client’s broader IT landscape. MB-820 helps to be more sure you’re familiar with the tools and patterns to achieve this, from code-centric approaches (AL APIs, web services) to leveraging the Power Platform. This comprehensive integration skillset is what enables consultants to deliver end-to-end solutions, not just stand-alone customizations.

Tooling: VS Code, Source Control, and DevOps in Practice

Modern Business Central development is centered around Visual Studio Code and a suite of supporting tools. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central training with MB-820 puts a real spotlight on you using these tools so effectively, which then translates directly to best practices in project work:

• Visual Studio Code & AL Language: VS Code is the primary IDE for Business Central development. MB-820 covers setting up VS Code with the AL Language extension and mastering its features (like IntelliSense, code snippets, the AL Outline view, etc.). In client projects, you’ll spend most of your development time here – writing AL code, designing report layouts, debugging, etc. Being fluent in VS Code means you can efficiently navigate large codebases, use multi-root workspaces if needed (for working on multiple extensions), and take advantage of extensions like AL CodeCop and PerTenantExtensionCop for static code analysis. The exam expects you to know how to build (AL:Package) and publish an extension from VS Code to a Business Central server (cloud sandbox or on-prem) for testing.
• Git for Version Control: Utilizing a source control system is considered a must in any professional development, and MB-820 touches on ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) including source control (SCM). In practice, for d365bc consulting projects 2025 and beyond you should maintain all AL code in a Git repository (on Azure DevOps or GitHub, for example). This enables collaboration, history tracking, and safe experimentation (via branches). A typical workflow might involve feature branches for developing new functionality, pull requests for code reviews, and a main branch that represents the tested code ready for deployment. Even if you work solo, Git is invaluable for backup and version tracking. When working in a team, it becomes critical: multiple developers can merge their changes, resolve conflicts, and trace who changed what. MB-820’s ALM focus makes sure that you understand basic Git operations (commit, push, pull, branching) and the importance of committing AL code frequently with meaningful messages.
• Azure DevOps and CI/CD Pipelines: Beyond just source control, Business Central projects benefit from continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices. While you can manually build and publish extensions, it’s more efficient to automate it. MB-820 expects knowledge of using pipelines and DevOps tools to build and deploy AL projects. For example, using Azure DevOps Pipelines or GitHub Actions, you can set up an automated build that triggers when code is pushed. Tools like the AL Compiler can run in the pipeline to produce the .app file, and you can even automate running tests and publishing the app to a sandbox for QA. As a consultant, setting up such pipelines improves reliability (each build is consistent) and catches issues early (if the build or tests fail). It also facilitates AppSource submission processes if you go that route, since AppSource validation requires an automated pipeline for building the app package. Even if the exam only lightly covers pipeline concepts, being certified implies you appreciate the value of DevOps in delivering faster and with fewer errors.
• Development and Admin Tools: Besides VS Code and Git, MB-820 covers other tools like the AL Command-Line Interface (alc.exe) for compiling apps, the Business Central Administration Shell (PowerShell cmdlets for admin tasks), and the Web Client itself for troubleshooting. Knowing these, you can streamline tasks – for instance, using PowerShell scripts to upload an extension to multiple environments or to automate setting up a new sandbox. You might also use the DevOps APIs or BC’s Admin Center APIs to script environment management (especially useful if your consulting role involves setting up multiple test companies or environments for a client). MB-820 also includes working with the Performance Profiler and Telemetry for performance tuning and diagnostics – while not the main focus for you (“less so on testing”), familiarity means you can profile a long-running process or review telemetry in Azure Application Insights if a client encounters performance issues.

In summary, being comfortable with VS Code, Git, and DevOps pipelines means you can deliver code more efficiently and collaboratively. The certification makes sure that you won’t be limited to ad-hoc or manual practices. Instead, you’ll follow a professional development workflow – using the right tools for coding, version control, and deployment – which results in higher quality solutions and happier clients.

Environments and Deployment: Sandbox vs. Production

Consulting projects often require working across multiple environments – typically a sandbox (or development/test environment) and the live production environment. MB-820 covers deploying for Business Central and the differences in Online (cloud) vs On-Premises scenarios, which guides you in managing these environments:

• Sandbox Environments: In Business Central online, every tenant comes with at least one sandbox, which is essentially a copy of production data where you can safely develop and test. In on-prem setups, a sandbox might be a separate test company or a Docker container mimicking the production. The key is that all development and testing should occur in a sandbox or non-production environment. As a best practice, you publish your AL extension to a sandbox first, verify that new customizations work and do not disrupt data, and only then promote it to production. MB-820 training makes sure that you know how to spin up sandboxes (e.g. through the Admin Center in SaaS) and how to deploy extensions to them. For example, you might use VS Code to publish directly to a sandbox for rapid testing during development. Also, sandbox environments allow using the full range of diagnostics (you can enable the debugger, use the Performance Profiler, etc., which you wouldn’t run in production for safety).
• Production Deployment: Moving an extension to production in Business Central (especially SaaS) is typically done via the Extension Management in the Business Central admin center or within the client itself (upload .app file). MB-820 covers the steps to package an app and install it for users. An important concept is handling upgrades: when you deploy a new version of an extension to production, the platform will run upgrade code if provided. As a developer, you must make sure that your extension’s upgrade codeunit handles data changes, and that you’ve tested it in sandbox. The certification’s emphasis on deployment means you learn how to do this smoothly – for instance, knowing that you cannot directly debug on a production cloud environment, so all issues must be ironed out beforehand. It also teaches considerations like versioning (incrementing app version, dependency version if your app depends on another), and signs you might need code signing certificates for AppSource apps.
• Cloud vs On-Prem Differences: MB-820 also makes you aware of differences in online vs on-prem. For example, some file system operations or client customizations are only possible on-prem. In SaaS, certain features are restricted or done differently (e.g. no direct DB access – everything via AL or APIs). Knowing these differences helps in consulting: if a client is on BC Online, you’d design an integration using APIs and cloud-friendly methods, whereas on-prem you might have more options (like direct SQL or using server-side resources, albeit not recommended to break the AL sandbox). The exam expects you to “differentiate Business Central Online and on-premises features”, which translates to being able to advise the client on what customizations are feasible given their deployment and plan accordingly.
• Using Both Environments in Workflow: A seasoned Business Central consultant will leverage both sandbox and production in the project lifecycle: sandbox for iterative development and user acceptance testing, production for the final rollout. MB-820’s coverage of install, develop, deploy ties into having a structured release process. For example, you might maintain separate configuration in each (sandbox might point integrations to test endpoints, production to live ones), and you’ll practice data migration steps in sandbox first. The certification makes sure that you’re comfortable with tasks like data upgrade testing, synchronization (when adding new tables/fields), and even backup/restore procedures (in on-prem or using admin center copies in SaaS).

In essence, understanding environment management through MB-820 means fewer surprises during go-live. You will have already rehearsed deployments in sandbox and understood environment-specific considerations, leading to smoother client engagements.

Team Dynamics and Collaboration Strategies

Whether you are working solo or in a team, MB-820 knowledge helps establish good collaboration and modular development practices.

• Solo Developers: If you’re the sole technical consultant on a project, MB-820 helps so you can wear all hats – from initial setup to deployment. You’ll be confident setting up your VS Code and sandbox, writing the extension, testing it, and deploying. The broad scope of the certification (including testing, albeit you focus less on it) means you won’t overlook tasks like writing a few automated tests or doing performance checks on critical processes, even if you’re working alone. Additionally, solo doesn’t mean isolated: you might still collaborate with functional consultants or the client’s IT. Your familiarity with Business Central terminology and roles (a point in the exam is knowing “industry terminology” and how Business Central relates to other Dynamics 365 apps) will help you communicate effectively with non-developers. For instance, understanding what a “purchase invoice” or “general ledger” is helps so you can discuss requirements with accountants or power users in their language.
• Team Development: In a team context, MB-820 concepts allow for smoother collaboration. Everyone having the MB-820-level understanding sets a common baseline of best practices. Teams can agree on patterns (events, naming, etc.) without debate, because they follow Microsoft’s guidance. Version control workflows become second nature – e.g. using Git branching strategies to have multiple developers work on different features simultaneously and merge changes. MB-820 explicitly encourages knowledge of source control and CI/CD, meaning team members will likely use Azure DevOps boards to track work items and pull requests for code reviews. This fosters collaboration: one developer can review another’s code for adherence to standards or potential bugs, improving quality.
• Extension Dependencies & Modularity: In larger projects, multiple developers might work on different extension packages that together form the solution. Knowing how to use extension dependencies is important – for example, a “Base” extension contains shared tables and codeunits, and other feature-specific extensions depend on it. Developers must coordinate version numbers and dependency ranges so that the extensions are compatible. MB-820 covers designing an app and even preparing it for AppSource, which involves careful dependency and module planning. In practice, even outside AppSource, treating each piece of functionality as an “app module” can help teams divide work. One person might focus on the “AP module” (vendor and purchase customizations) while another focuses on the “AR module” (customer and sales customizations), with both depending on a common library extension for shared code. The certification knowledge helps you set up these project structures and understand how to merge them during deployment.
• Collaboration with Non-Developers: A consultant often liaises with functional consultants, project managers, or directly with client stakeholders. MB-820 gives you the technical foundation to evaluate functional requests and propose solutions. For instance, if a functional consultant asks “Can we automate sending a PDF when an invoice is posted?”, your MB-820 background on events and Power Automate integration lets you suggest a design (perhaps use the OnPostReport event of the invoice posting report to call a custom codeunit that sends the PDF, or use a Power Automate flow triggered by a business event). This collaborative solutioning is valued in projects – you act as the bridge between business needs and technical implementation.
• Code Reviews and Knowledge Sharing: Teams benefit from shared knowledge. Because MB-820 covers a bit of everything (from AL basics to advanced integration), team members can more easily mentor each other or share tips. For example, a junior dev might not know about the FilterPageBuilder for advanced filtering experiences, but a certified dev might recall it from study materials and introduce it to solve a client requirement elegantly. Having MB-820 concepts in common means the team can establish internal best practices beyond what’s in docs – perhaps following community guidelines (like the ALGuidelines.dev patterns) – and everyone understands why those are important.

In short, MB-820 equips both solo and team developers to collaborate better. Solo developers gain a well-rounded skillset to handle all aspects of a project, and teams gain a common language and toolbox for development. This leads to higher productivity and a more predictable outcome for the client.

Key Business Central Tables and Functional Concepts (AR, AP, Setup)

(A brief note on Business Central’s functional data model – while primarily the domain of functional consultants, developers benefit from understanding these to build relevant solutions. We will touch on Accounts Receivable/Payable and a few important standard tables – roughly 5% of our focus, as requested.)

Dynamics 365 Business Central’s power comes from its rich set of standard tables that cover typical ERP scenarios. As a developer, knowing these core tables helps you navigate data and design extensions that align with the system’s foundation:

• Customers & Accounts Receivable: The Customer table (Table 18) holds client accounts for sales. Accounts Receivable (AR) processes involve customers, sales orders/invoices, and payments. When an invoice is posted to a customer, entries are created in Customer Ledger Entry (which records every financial transaction per customer) and in the General Ledger. Knowing about Customer Ledger Entries is useful – they are the detailed records of sales, receipts, credit memos, etc., per customer, and they drive AR aging and balance calculations. For example, if you’re asked to build a custom dunning report or a cash flow forecast, you’ll likely interact with these tables. (Customer Ledger Entries are essentially the backbone for tracking money owed and received from each customer.) As a developer, you might extend the Customer Card page or add fields to these tables (via table extensions) to capture client-specific info like a credit score or preferred payment method.
• Vendors & Accounts Payable: Similarly, the Vendor table (Table 23) stores supplier information, and the Accounts Payable (AP) process uses purchase orders/invoices. Posted purchase invoices and payments generate Vendor Ledger Entries for each vendor, recording liabilities and payments. If you customize approval workflows for purchase invoices or automate vendor payment exports, you’ll engage with these vendor tables and perhaps the Purchases & Payables Setup (which contains parameters for AP, like number series or discount settings). For instance, a client might want a custom check printing format – you’d retrieve vendor bank details from the Vendor table and the payment journal data from Vendor Ledger Entries or related payment tables.
• Items & Inventory: The Item table (Table 27) is central for inventory. It ties into Sales and Purchase lines, and each transaction affects Item Ledger Entries (which log every increase or decrease in inventory). Inventory valuation and availability checks rely on these entries. A developer might create an integration to an e-commerce site that needs item availability – you’d use the Item table and perhaps Qty. on Hand calculations which are derived from item ledger entries. There are also Item Journal tables for inventory adjustments, which you might automate (e.g. an automatic daily adjustment based on an external warehouse feed).
• General Ledger (Financials): The Chart of Accounts is represented by the G/L Account table (often Table 15). Every posted transaction in BC creates General Ledger Entries (Table 17) that update balances of those G/L accounts. Understanding this is key if you do anything that posts transactions via code (using e.g. codeunit 12 Gen. Jnl.-Post for general journals, or codeunit 80/90 for sales/purchase posting). If a client asks for a custom posting logic (say splitting an entry among departments automatically), you need to be careful to use the standard posting routines to create proper G/L Entries, or extend them via events. MB-820 covers how to use the posting APIs or events rather than reinventing posting from scratch, respecting the integrated nature of G/L, customer, vendor, and item ledgers.
• Setup Tables: Business Central has a variety of setup/configuration tables (usually one per module). For example, Sales & Receivables Setup, Purchases & Payables Setup, Inventory Setup, General Ledger Setup. These tables hold global settings like default accounts, number series, policy toggles (e.g. if discounts are allowed). While we assume a proper functional setup is in place in client projects (and indeed, your consulting team’s functional consultant usually helps with that), as a developer you should know these exist. Sometimes your code needs to check a setting – e.g. if your extension automates sending emails for overdue invoices, you might check in General Ledger Setup what the “Grace Period” for payments is, or use the “Reminder Terms” table. Only ~5% of our focus is on setup because it’s usually configured, but it’s important to not ignore these tables – they help so your customizations respect the business rules the client has configured. For instance, if “Expected Cost Posting to G/L” is turned on in Inventory Setup, your inventory adjustments extension should also post expected costs; if you ignored that, you’d cause inconsistencies.

Understanding these out-of-the-box tables and their relationships means your extensions will fit naturally into Business Central’s design. You won’t create redundant data structures where a standard one exists. Instead, you’ll extend or reference standard tables (via extensions) and use standard keys (like linking your custom table by Document No. to Sales Header, etc.). This helps so data integrity and a smoother user experience, since users can navigate from your custom features to standard pages (thanks to the shared primary keys or record links).

Tip: When preparing for MB-820 or working on real projects, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with the base application’s schema. Microsoft provides a full list of base tables and their IDs in the AL documentation, and you can also inspect them by downloading the Base Application symbol references in VS Code. Focus on the ones mentioned above (customers, vendors, items, ledger entries) as they appear in almost every Business Central implementation.

Conclusion

By aligning your skills with the MB-820 certification objectives, you position yourself to deliver Dynamics 365 Business Central projects successfully and efficiently. You’ll be developing code that adheres to best practices (making it robust and maintainable), leveraging integrations and automation to extend Business Central’s reach into a client’s broader business processes (a major need in modern ERP projects), and using the right tools and team strategies to do so collaboratively.

In practice, MB-820 knowledge acts as a toolkit: it helps that you can handle everything from setting up a fresh Business Central sandbox, to designing a complex AL extension with proper structure, to integrating with other apps or services, all the way to deploying the finished solution via DevOps pipelines. It also means you’re conversant in the important aspects of the Business Central system – both technical and functional – such as knowing the key tables for AR/AP or how the modular architecture works, so you can communicate effectively with clients and colleagues.

Ultimately, this comprehensive skill set enables you to tackle client projects with confidence. You can take a client’s business requirement, map it to Business Central’s framework, identify any gaps, and fill those gaps with well-crafted extensions or integrations. As the Business Central platform evolves, the MB-820 foundation also helps you stay up-to-date (since it encourages using Microsoft’s latest tools and guidelines). For a consultant or developer in the D365 Business Central space, that means delivering solutions that are not just meeting the requirements today but are also ready for the challenges and upgrades of tomorrow – a win-win for both you and your clients.