Bank reconciliation is one of those tasks your accounting team handles constantly. In Dynamics GP, you likely rely on a manual process or perhaps the Electronic Reconcile tool, which often requires you to download specific file formats from your bank and hope they match GP’s requirements. When it doesn’t work, you’re back to the old-fashioned way: one screen for the bank statement, one for the Checkbook, and a lot of manual clearing.
As you look at moving to a modern ERP, bank feeds are a prime example of how everyday workflows can change. Both Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Acumatica offer automation, but they take different approaches to how data enters your system and how it’s processed.
What to Know About Business Central
Business Central cannot handle bank feeds natively; it requires third-party integrations. It’s a common setup for many cloud applications, though there are some configuration realities to keep in mind.
- Third-Party Dependency: Because it relies on third party integrations, you’ll need to install an extension and set up that connection. If you are running an on-premises version of BC, this often requires a separate arrangement.
- User considerations: With the out‑of‑the‑box online bank connection, the authorization is typically tied to a single user account. As a result, that person often becomes the default owner of manual transaction pulls, which can create friction when several controllers need to work in parallel. Some organizations address this by introducing additional tooling or governance so that responsibility for bank feeds is shared more evenly across the team.
On the plus side, recent updates have introduced Copilot-assisted matching, which uses AI to pair statement lines with ledger entries, improving reconciliation speed once the data is in the system.
How Acumatica Handles the Process
We find that Acumatica approaches bank feeds as a native part of the Financial Management suite rather than a “bolt-on” service.
- Direct Connections: Acumatica connects to thousands of institutions through Plaid and MX. This is built directly into the platform, so you aren’t managing a separate extension just to get your data moving.
- Smart Matching: Instead of just looking for exact dollar amounts, Acumatica uses machine learning to learn your matching patterns over time. This reduces the manual effort required for those recurring “nuisance” transactions.
- Corporate Cards: The feeds also support corporate credit cards. These integrate with expense management, so when a consultant or salesperson swipes their card, the transaction flows into Acumatica and can automatically generate an expense receipt.
See It In Action
Want to see how this actually looks in practice? In the video below, Mike Scott walks through the setup and daily reconciliation workflow in Acumatica. He demonstrates how the system pulls in data and handles the auto-matching process to save your team time.
The Bigger Picture
Bank feeds are just one example of a broader question worth asking during your migration: Is this functionality native to the platform, or does it require third-party dependencies?
For many teams, either platform can meet core requirements; the real difference shows up in how much of the recurring work is automated in the base product versus pushed into manual steps or external tools. For finance teams with significant intercompany activity, we’ve seen Acumatica’s automated intercompany postings reduce both clicks and reconciliation effort compared to more manual workflows.
Neither approach is “right” for everyone, but understanding these workflow differences now prevents surprises after you’ve already migrated.
Would you like us to review your current GP bank reconciliation process and discuss how these workflows would change for your team? Fill out this form!
