At a Glance

Complying with GDPR is essential for UK SMEs handling personal data. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central simplifies this task with its built-in tools for classification, correction, deletion, and anonymisation. With Brookland Solutions’ GDPR ToolBox add-on integration and expert guidance, your business can automate compliance, manage DSARs, and continue lawful governance.

Why GDPR Compliance Should Be a Priority for Growing UK Businesses

From May 2018, businesses in the UK have needed to follow a series of strict requirements under GDPR. Under this regulation, your organisation must document and assess the process used to record, store, and process personal data in your systems. 

Even with using standalone GDPR software, UK businesses may struggle to adhere to the various requirements of GDPR and the UK data protection law. Many GDPR compliance solutions fall short when it comes to handling large amounts of vendor and customer data, and often face issues such as poor access, weak audit trails, and missed Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) deadlines. These issues can escalate into fully-fledged problems in no time, and without any GDPR specialist on site, your business might struggle.

Fortunately, it’s easier to meet GDPR needs with Business Central, a more integrated and reliable system that provides the right set of tools. In this guide, you’ll learn how the right extensions in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can make it easier to comply with GDPR.

How Business Central Helps Meet GDPR Requirements

Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP system has native features that support various GDPR requirements. These include:

Data Classification

Set the correct level of data sensitivity for your tables to manage and control them properly. This feature allows you to classify fields according to the type of data they contain into normal, personal, sensitive, and confidential categories.

Data Export

You can export your customer data into an Excel file, edit it, and save it in a machine-readable format, like CSV or XML.

Data Correction

Correct incomplete or incorrect data in Business Central, either by editing the data elements individually or exporting the data to Excel and correcting multiple records at a time.

Data Deletion

Handling data deletion requests is easier with Business Central’s built-in features. You can remove old and unused records older than five years.

Deleting individual data: You can manually delete customer data by removing the data elements containing documents such as notes, booked sales, and invoices. 

Deleting an entire customer: You can also delete an entire customer’s data by deleting a contact and running a batch job: “Delete Interaction Log Entries for Cancelled Interactions”, then deleting interactions for that contact.

Data Search

Use standard search, sort, and filter functions for a customer data search.

User Permissions

Using permission sets and security groups allows your administrators to permit or revoke access to data in Business Central. Permission sets are predefined roles that can be modified to suit a specific role, while security groups are where groups, instead of individual users, are assigned certain permissions.

Respond to DSAR

Your organisation needs to be prepared to review and respond to every DSAR as soon as possible. Business Central’s ERP offers guided processes to handle requests for access, rectifying, restricting processing, exporting, or erasing personal information efficiently, while complying with GDPR and data protection laws.

Data Anonymisation

Data Anonymisation in Business Central is when you protect confidential customer data by replacing sensitive data with fictional yet realistic information. You can use this feature to anonymise sensitive data such as personal information and transaction history for inactive customers and vendors.

Data Retention Policies

You can define how long data should be kept before cleanup and, in turn, meet key regulatory requirements.

Tools that Make GDPR Compliance Simple in Business Central

Dynamics 365 Business Central is a fully customisable system, allowing you to add and modify extensions for different workflows. As your Microsoft partner, we recommend working with Business Central extensions for GDPR that further extend its standard functionalities.

One extension to consider is the GDPR ToolBox for Dynamics 365 NAV/Business Central. This is an advanced tool designed to help organisations meet their GDPR requirements. With this add-on GDPR compliance solution, you can:

  • Allocate data origin, consent declarations, and processing purposes
  • Postpone deletion and anonymisation deadlines automatically or manually
  • Get prompts to delete or anonymise pending data
  • Document requests by concerned persons, such as deletion requests, duty of disclosure, correction, or restriction requests

The GDPR ToolBox is compatible with Dynamics NAV version 2009 R2+ and Dynamics Business Central. Our team can integrate and set up this add-on with a few adjustments to the standard solution, without needing a major upgrade.

Get in touch with us to explore the complete functionality of this add-on solution. We’d love to work with your organisation and suggest more relevant extensions in Business Central for GDPR compliance.

How Brookland Helps You Simplify Complying with GDPR in Business Central

For over two decades, Brookland Solutions has helped UK SMEs across multiple industries implement, support, and extend the capabilities of their Microsoft ERP systems. Our in-depth industry knowledge, coupled with the strength of our consulting team, makes us a leading choice for Microsoft ERPs, including Dynamics NAV and BC.

Whether your organisation is in the manufacturing sector or the services industry, we know exactly what actions you should take to comply with GDPR.

You can count on us for:

  • GDPR support – Setting up standard features and integrating add-ons tailored to your needs
  • Ongoing compliance – Updates according to changes in law and regulations
  • Training and guidance – Helping your team become independent in managing personal data protection processes

Make GDPR compliance simpler with Business Central. Book a consultation with our team to explore the built-in and add-on tools with Brookland Solutions today.