Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer Training

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer Associate (Exam MB-820) is Microsoft’s certification for developers who design, build, and maintain Business Central ERP solutions. Dynamics Edge Microsoft MB-820 training can help you with earning this certification proving you can develop extensions in Business Central (using the AL programming language), integrate Business Central with other systems, and manage deployments and upgrades.

Launched in early 2024, this awesome credential reflects the rising demand for Business Central developers as more businesses adopt this cloud ERP platform. Over 45,000 companies worldwide rely on Business Central, and it’s Microsoft’s fastest-growing Dynamics 365 app – so certified developers are entering a thriving job market.

Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer training (MB-820) helps professionals like you gain hands-on skills in customizing the ERP via AL code and implementing solutions, paving the way to become certified Business Central Developers and Dynamics 365 business central functional consultant.

Practical Skills Gained from MB-820 Training

Unlike purely theoretical courses, Dynamics Edge MB-820 training emphasizes practical, hands-on learning of Business Central development. By completing this training and certification, you will develop skills in key areas needed for real-world projects:

• Business Central Architecture & Extensions: Understand the core architecture of Business Central and the extension model for customizing functionality. You’ll learn the difference between the base application and extensions, and how updates/upgrades are handled with minimal disruption to custom code.
• Deployment & Configuration: Learn how to install and configure Business Central environments, including setting up a Dynamics 365 Business Central deployment training and development sandbox managing configuration files for AL projects. The course covers deploying extensions to both Business Central Online (SaaS) and on-premises, managing multiple extensions in a workspace, and administering the system (creating companies, managing users/permissions, etc.). This ensures you can handle the deployment, configuration, and upgrading of Business Central solutions in practice.
• AL Programming Language: Master the AL (Application Language) – the primary programming language for Business Central development.  Dynamics 365 Business Central programming training helps you understand how AL is the modern language used in Visual Studio Code to write extensions (replacing the old C/AL). In the MB-820 course, you start from AL basics (syntax, data types, variables, etc.) and progress to advanced concepts. You will learn to create and extend AL objects like tables, pages, reports, codeunits, and enums. You’ll also practice writing AL code for business logic (custom procedures, event subscribers, error handling) and understand AL’s built-in functions and statements. This practical AL experience is crucial, as AL code is used to implement new functionality, integrate external services, and manipulate data in Business Central.
• Data Management Foundation: Gain insight into Business Central’s data management and file handling features. Dynamics 365 business central data management foundation training covers how data is structured in BC (tables, fields, keys) and how to import/export data reliably. You will work with file streams and storage, and learn to use XMLports (for structured data import/export in XML/CSV formats) and Query objects (for extracting and aggregating data). These skills are essential for migrating data (for example, when implementing Business Central for a new company or upgrading systems) and integrating with external data sources. MB-820 training also touches on ensuring data consistency through upgrades and leveraging Business Central’s data backup/restore tools.
• Integration & APIs: The certification curriculum includes integrating Business Central with other applications and services. You will learn to work with Business Central’s REST APIs and web services, using AL’s HTTP, JSON, and OData capabilities. For instance, you practice calling external REST endpoints from AL and exposing BC data via APIs. This is crucial for building end-to-end business solutions (e.g. connecting Business Central with Power Platform, CRM, or e-commerce systems).
• Development Tools & ALM: You’ll become proficient with the Business Central development environment in Visual Studio Code and the AL Language extension. The course shows how to debug AL code using Visual Studio Code’s debugger, how to use source control (Git) for AL projects, and how to implement testing and continuous integration. For example, MB-820 covers using the Business Central Test Toolkit to write automated tests (test codeunits) for your extensions, as well as monitoring telemetry to analyze performance and usage of your customizations. These skills ensure you can not only build solutions but also maintain quality and performance in a professional development environment.

Overall, MB-820 training offers a comprehensive, practical foundation in Business Central development. Through lectures and hands-on labs, you practice real scenarios like customizing pages and reports, writing AL code to implement business rules, migrating data from a legacy system, and publishing an extension for users. This practical experience means you’re not just memorizing exam topics – you’re building competence in the tasks you’ll perform as a Business Central developer on the job.

What is AL in Business Central?

AL (Application Language) is the coding language used to extend and customize Dynamics 365 Business Central. All Business Central functionality – from business logic to UI pages – can be created or modified using AL code in extensions. AL is a modern, event-driven language that replaced the older C/AL language from Dynamics NAV/BC’s earlier versions. According to Microsoft’s documentation, “AL (Application Language) is the foundation for developing extensions in Business Central.” It is designed to work with Visual Studio Code via the AL extension, providing syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and debugging support for Business Central development.

In AL, you define objects such as tables (database schema), pages (UI forms), reports, codeunits (code libraries), enums, and queries. The MB-820 exam expects developers to be fluent in creating and extending these objects. For example, you might write an AL table extension to add new fields to a Customer table, or a page extension to modify a sales order screen. You also write AL procedures (functions) to implement custom business logic and event subscribers to react to built-in events in the application. AL has a rich library of built-in functions for common operations and supports modern constructs like REST API calls, JSON handling, and .NET interop when needed. The MB-820 training ensures you understand AL syntax and concepts thoroughly – by the end, you will know how to use AL to manipulate data, handle errors, create multi-language apps, and more. Mastering AL is critical, as it is the primary tool for Business Central developers to deliver tailored functionality for customers.

Data Management, Deployment, and Configuration in Business Central

Data Management: One focus of the MB-820 course is understanding how Business Central stores and manages data, and how to safely move data in or out of the system. You learn about the data model (companies, tables, relationships) and best practices for data migration. For instance, the training covers using RapidStart Services or dynamics 365 business central configuration training packages to migrate master data when implementing a new BC system (though this is often a functional consultant task, developers benefit from knowing it). More technically, you practice using XMLports to import/export data in structured formats and Query objects to retrieve data for reports or integrations. The course also introduces how to handle file operations (reading/writing external files via AL streams) and the basics of Business Central’s database (which is SQL Server/Azure SQL under the hood). Understanding the data foundation ensures that as a developer you can support data-related tasks like building data migration tools, creating reports, or interfacing with external databases. It also ties into upgrade scenarios – a Business Central developer must ensure that customer data remains intact through upgrades and that their extensions properly handle changes in data schema.

Deployment & Configuration: The MB-820 training also equips you with knowledge to deploy Business Central solutions and configure the system for use. You learn how to set up a development environment with Business Central Sandbox and Visual Studio Code. The exam covers publishing extensions you develop into a Business Central tenant and installing them for users. You will understand how to manage extension lifecycle – e.g. versioning, dependencies, and upgrading extensions to new versions. Additionally, the course teaches how to perform common configuration tasks in Business Central’s admin center, like creating new companies, setting up user accounts and security permissions, and configuring integrations (Outlook add-in, Teams integration, email setup). These skills are valuable for practical work: for example, a Business Central consultant might need to deploy a custom app to a client’s production environment or configure the system’s settings during an implementation. By learning deployment and configuration, you become capable of not just writing code in isolation but also rolling out your solutions in a live Business Central system. This end-to-end knowledge (from dev to deploy) is part of what makes MB-820 holders effective in the field.

Career Prospects and Job Market (USA Focus)

Becoming a Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer Associate can significantly enhance your career prospects, especially in the US where demand for Dynamics 365 professionals is high. Business Central expertise is in short supply – “Currently, one in three job postings for Business Central talent go unfilled.” This means there are more openings than qualified candidates, creating excellent opportunities for those with the right skills. Microsoft and its partner companies are actively seeking people who can implement and customize Business Central for clients. In fact, Business Central’s ecosystem values a mix of technical ability and business knowledge. Microsoft notes that Business Central developers often come from backgrounds in finance, supply chain, or other domains and then cross-train in Business Central. By earning the MB-820 certification, you prove you have the “deep domain and technical expertise” needed to implement this complex ERP solution – making you an attractive hire for Microsoft partners, Dynamics 365 Business Central consulting training firms or even any company using Business Central.

Job Roles: With MB-820 skills, you can pursue roles like Dynamics 365 Business Central Developer, Technical Consultant, or Software Engineer on Business Central projects. These roles typically involve working for Microsoft partners (consulting firms) that implement BC for clients, or in-house IT teams at companies that have deployed Business Central. In practice, Business Central developers often function as technical consultants, working closely with functional consultants and customer stakeholders to tailor the system to business needs. The MB-820 training prepares you for this by covering not just coding, but also how to troubleshoot issues, optimize performance, and ensure the solution meets user requirements. This holistic skillset enables you to confidently advise clients on what’s possible in Business Central and then deliver the solution – a key aspect of being a professional consultant.

Salary Outlook: Business Central development is a lucrative field. In the United States, a Microsoft Business Central developer earns on average between $75,000 and $120,000 per year, depending on experience, location, and role. Entry-level Business Central developers (with limited experience) might start around the lower end of that range (or slightly below in some regions), while those with several years of experience and strong AL skills often earn into six figures. For example, developers with 5+ years of experience or those leading projects can commonly see salaries above $100K. In high-cost tech markets or for senior positions (e.g. lead developer or architect), salaries can reach the $120K+ range. (Some anecdotal reports even show ranges up to ~$140K for seasoned experts in the field, especially if working as contractors or in areas with very high demand.) These figures underscore that investing in Business Central skills can pay off financially. Moreover, many roles offer additional benefits like remote work flexibility, which has become more common and can sometimes command higher pay.

Value for Employers: From an employer or client perspective, having a certified Business Central developer on the team brings credibility and proven expertise. Microsoft certifications are held in high esteem; 78% of IT professionals believe that certifications make you a more valuable candidate to employers. Achieving the MB-820 shows that you not only understand Business Central theoretically but have demonstrated ability to apply best practices (since the exam tests practical skills). This can give consulting firms a competitive edge – clients feel more confident entrusting projects to certified consultants. Additionally, certification often indicates a commitment to continuous learning, which is important in the ever-evolving Dynamics 365 space. There’s also evidence it can benefit your current job: among those who obtained Microsoft certifications, many reported salary increases or promotions; in one survey, those who saw a raise after certifying averaged a 20% salary increase. While outcomes vary, the MB-820 can be a strong resume booster and may open up opportunities for advancement (e.g. moving into senior developer or solution architect roles over time).

Becoming a Professional Business Central Consultant

Ultimately, the MB-820 training and certification serve as a stepping stone to a consulting career in Dynamics 365 Business Central. The program not only teaches you technical skills in AL and Business Central configuration, but also prepares you to apply them in real business scenarios. Many MB-820 courses (including Microsoft’s official training and partner-led classes) include project-based labs and even discussions of case studies. This practical orientation helps you learn how to translate business requirements into configured solutions or customizations – which is the core of a consultant’s job. For example, you might practice gathering requirements for a custom module, then designing and coding an AL extension to meet those needs. By simulating these tasks during training, you build the confidence to perform similarly in a client engagement.

Consulting in the Business Central arena typically means working with diverse clients to implement the ERP, tailor it through extensions, and advise on best practices. The MB-820 certification validates that you have the technical foundation to do this. As a certified developer, you’ll be capable of building and debugging solutions, integrating with other systems (like Power BI or Power Apps), and ensuring the ERP runs optimally for the client. Additionally, many consulting firms provide further on-the-job coaching in soft skills – but even in the MB-820 learning path, you are exposed to some aspects of the consultant mindset, such as performance optimization and considering upgradeability of customizations.

With MB-820 knowledge, you can really market yourself as a Business Central Technical Consultant who can both advise and implement. Microsoft partners often require or strongly prefer certifications for their consultants, so having MB-820 on your profile makes you eligible for roles at these companies. Once on the job, you’ll find that you’re speaking the same language as other professionals in the field – understanding terms like AL objects, AppSource, extension lifecycle, data migration – which makes collaboration smoother and establishes your credibility.

So really, MB-820 training provides practical, job-ready skills in Business Central development, from data management and AL programming to deployment and integration. It helps you build the expertise needed to deliver value to employers or clients as a Business Central consultant. In the US market, where Business Central talent is in high demand and commands competitive salaries, this certification can significantly boost your career trajectory. By mastering Business Central’s technology through MB-820 and earning the Developer Associate credential, you position yourself as a capable professional who can bridge business needs with technical solutions – exactly what successful consultants do. The investment in learning MB-820 pays off in both skills and opportunities, enabling you to confidently pursue roles developing and implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central for organizations and to grow into a leader in this fast-growing ERP domain.