Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365: What Happens to Your Time Tracking?

Microsoft’s decision to end support for Dynamics GP has prompted many organizations to consider their next ERP system. For some, that means moving to Dynamics 365 Business Central. Others may be evaluating Dynamics 365 Finance.

While much of the planning focuses on financial data and reporting, there’s another process worth examining before making the switch: employee time tracking.

The way employees record their hours directly affects project costs and payroll accuracy. For companies managing field crews or project-based work, it also determines whether finance can account for labor against the correct jobs.

Moving from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 is an opportunity to improve time tracking, but a new ERP won’t automatically fix the processes used to collect labor data.

What Does the End of Dynamics GP Support Mean for Your Business?

Microsoft has announced that product enhancements, regulatory updates, and technical support for Dynamics GP will end on December 31, 2029. Security updates will remain available until April 30, 2031, as outlined in Microsoft’s official Dynamics GP lifecycle documentation.

For current GP users, this creates an opportunity to evaluate their existing systems and plan for the future. Organizations aren’t required to migrate immediately, but decisions about ERP replacements and connected applications deserve attention well before the support deadline.

Microsoft is encouraging Dynamics GP customers to consider Dynamics 365 Business Central and has published migration guidance for Dynamics GP customers.

Depending on their size and operational requirements, some organizations may also evaluate Dynamics 365 Finance.

Both offer project accounting capabilities, but the systems have different structures and workflows. Understanding those differences is important when planning how employee time will be collected and processed.

Does Dynamics 365 Include Time Tracking?

Yes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers native time tracking functionality, although the available features depend on the specific product and configuration.

Dynamics 365 Business Central supports timesheets for recording time against projects and resources. Employees can submit entries for approval, and approved hours can be used in project accounting. Microsoft provides documentation on setting up timesheets and approvals in Business Central.

Dynamics 365 Finance, commonly associated with Finance and Operations (F&O), supports project timesheets through its project management and accounting functionality. Organizations can use these records to account for labor associated with projects.

For some businesses, these built-in capabilities may be sufficient.

Others require more control over how time is entered and validated before it reaches accounting. A business with crews working across several jobs may need employees to enter hours against specific work orders. Managers may also need to review time before it is used for payroll or project costing.

The question isn’t simply whether Dynamics 365 can record employee hours. It’s whether the time entry process captures the information your business needs without creating additional work for employees and administrators.

Why Time Tracking Deserves Its Own ERP Migration Plan

Consider a technician who works on two assignments in one day. The morning is spent on a capital improvement project. The afternoon involves routine maintenance.

The employee worked eight hours, but the total alone doesn’t tell accounting how those labor costs should be assigned.

Each portion of time needs to be associated with the appropriate work. The accounting team must also be able to distinguish capital work from operating expenses. If those details are missing or incorrect, someone may have to reconstruct the work after the fact.

An ERP migration can introduce another layer of complexity.

Project identifiers may change when an organization moves from Dynamics GP to Business Central. Approval responsibilities may be reassigned, and labor categories may be organized differently. Even when the underlying work stays the same, the information required by the new financial system can change.

A successful migration needs to preserve the meaning of the labor data, not just transfer the hours.

Before moving to Dynamics 365, organizations should examine how time is recorded today and determine what the new system will require.

That includes reviewing how project and work-order codes are assigned. It also means identifying which information must be validated before an employee can submit a timesheet.

Testing should follow a complete transaction from employee entry through approval and into the new ERP. Comparing the resulting labor allocations against expected totals can help identify problems before the system goes live.

Historical records deserve similar attention. Organizations that rely on labor records for customer billing or audit support should have a plan for maintaining access to supporting documentation after the transition.

These considerations are important regardless of which ERP your business uses. As we explain in our article on why accurate labor cost tracking starts in the field, not your ERP, financial reporting depends on the accuracy of the information captured before it reaches accounting.

Should You Keep a Separate Time Tracking System When Moving to Dynamics 365?

An ERP doesn’t have to be the place where employees enter their time.

In fact, separating time collection from financial processing can make sense when an organization has more complicated operational requirements.

A dedicated time tracking system can give employees a simpler way to record their work while allowing supervisors to verify entries before the information reaches the ERP.

This approach is especially useful when the business needs detailed labor allocations. A field supervisor may need to review hours against individual work orders, while finance needs those same hours assigned to the appropriate project costs.

For employees who regularly work away from a desk, mobile time tracking can make it easier to record hours at the job site rather than relying on spreadsheets or notes that must be entered later.

When validation happens at the time of entry, errors can be addressed while employees and supervisors still have the work details readily available.

A separate time tracking solution can also provide continuity during an ERP transition. Employees may be able to keep a familiar entry process while the organization changes its financial system, although the integration and data mappings still need to be reviewed.

For companies that plan to stay on Dynamics GP for several more years, improving time collection doesn’t have to wait until the ERP migration.

How Journyx Works with Microsoft Dynamics GP and Dynamics 365

Journyx provides employee time and expense tracking solutions that integrate with several Microsoft Dynamics ERP platforms.

For organizations using Microsoft Dynamics GP, Journyx supports time collection for payroll and project accounting. Employees can enter time through a web browser or mobile app, while organizations can configure validation rules and approval workflows to fit their processes.

Journyx also offers a standard integration with Dynamics 365 Business Central. This supports automated, two-way data exchange between the systems for time and related project accounting processes.

Organizations using Dynamics 365 Finance can use Journyx to collect and approve project time before transferring the applicable data into Finance. This integration requires the Microsoft Dynamics Finance project management module.

The integration approach differs by ERP platform, so an organization changing from GP to Dynamics 365 should review its specific configuration and data mapping requirements.

Across these environments, Journyx helps organizations collect more complete labor information before it reaches their financial system. Configurable validation can help prevent missing or incorrect entries, and approval workflows allow managers to review hours according to company requirements.

The goal is to reduce the corrections that happen after timesheets have already reached accounting.

How One Utility Improved Time Tracking Without Replacing Dynamics GP

Muscatine Power and Water, a municipal utility in Iowa, offers an example of how improvements to time collection can benefit an organization using Dynamics GP.

The utility had implemented Dynamics GP for its financial operations but continued to rely on spreadsheets for employee timesheets.

Over time, that process became difficult to manage. Employees were using 17 different versions of the timesheet spreadsheet, and eight to ten administrators were manually entering time and project information into GP.

Muscatine Power and Water implemented Journyx to provide a more consistent time entry process integrated with its existing Dynamics GP environment.

The results were substantial. The utility estimated that it saved 79 hours per pay period after implementing Journyx. Employees could enter time from the field, and validation rules helped reduce errors before submission.

The utility achieved these improvements while using Dynamics GP. Its experience illustrates why reviewing time collection separately from the ERP itself can be worthwhile.

Read the Muscatine Power and Water customer story.

Planning Your Next Steps with Dynamics GP or Dynamics 365

Whether your organization is preparing to migrate from Dynamics GP or looking to improve time tracking within an existing Dynamics 365 environment, begin by evaluating the process employees use today.

Consider how easily employees can record time against the correct work. Review how supervisors approve entries and where accounting staff typically encounter errors.

It’s also worth examining how much effort goes into correcting timesheets before payroll or project costs can be processed.

These are practical questions that can inform both your ERP implementation and your choice of time tracking software.

Journyx supports organizations using Microsoft Dynamics GP and Dynamics 365 with configurable time entry and validation. Its integrations help connect approved labor information with the financial systems that rely on it.

Explore Journyx time tracking integrations for Microsoft Dynamics to see how your organization can improve time collection while getting more from its ERP investment.