Internal super user or external support?

Small and mid-sized companies often face the choice: should one of your people be able to do everything in Business Central, or should you buy the help? The answer is usually both, but with a clear split. This article suggests what an internal super user should be responsible for, what suits external support, and how to avoid knowledge gathering with one person without documentation.

What a super user is

A super user is an employee who knows your processes and Business Central well enough to help colleagues day to day. They rarely have a technical background but know your setup, chart of accounts, items and workflows.

Choose someone who is curious, enjoys helping others and has the time. A super user without time set aside quickly becomes a bottleneck. Agree how many hours a week the role takes and include it in their job description.

The super user is also the person best placed to translate between colleagues and consultant. When a colleague says that 'the system is acting up', the super user can find out what is actually happening and write a usable case.

What should stay in-house

Also consider who approves changes to the setup. Small changes to, for example, the posting setup can have large consequences, so the decision should be taken by someone with responsibility for finance.

Answers to daily questions from colleagues
Creating users and assigning roles and permissions in your own company
Knowledge of your processes, so the setup matches reality
Testing new features and updates in a sandbox
Writing a good support case for the external partner
An overview of licences, apps and agreements

What you can buy from outside

Ask the partner whether availability can be agreed, so you know when you can get help when the super user is away. This is often where external support gives most value: as a safety net, not as the first one you call.

Troubleshooting that needs technical insight or access to the admin center
Setting up new modules and changes to flows
Customisations and integrations
Updates, and making sure your customisations work afterwards
Advice on posting setup and reports
Cover when the super user is ill or on holiday

Risks of having only an internal resource

If all knowledge sits with one person, you are vulnerable to illness or resignation. So agree that setup and decisions are written down. Give a colleague the role of deputy.

The opposite also applies. If you only buy external support, you pay for questions that a colleague could have answered in two minutes.

Write a short guide to the ten most important questions colleagues ask. It saves time and can be used by the deputy.

Make it a fixed habit also to let the super user take part when the partner changes something in the setup. Then they learn why it was done and can explain it to colleagues afterwards. It is the cheapest form of knowledge transfer there is. Agree that the partner writes a short note on each change, and keep the notes together.

Find the split, and train the super user

Take your cases from one quarter and sort them by who could have solved them. Many cases turn out to be user questions, others are technical. Use the split to judge how much time a super user should have and how much support you should buy. See also the article on prepaid hours, hourly rate and subscription.

Check that your partner expects you to have an internal contact person and what it takes to give them the right permissions. Users are created in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and permissions are assigned in Business Central.

Microsoft offers free e-learning on Business Central on Microsoft Learn. Give the super user time to use it. It is cheaper than buying the same knowledge as support.

At Addverk

You will find information about support on the page about services and prices. Agree clearly what is yours and what is the partner's.