Why Independent Specialists Build Connectors — And Why AppSource Matters…

By Andrew Simmons, Founder of CoreBiz

When most businesses invest in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, they expect it to work seamlessly with their other critical systems — Shopify, Sentral, Employment Hero, Manhattan WMS, you name it.

In many cases, it does. Microsoft’s ecosystem is powerful, flexible, and growing every day. But here’s the truth that many CIOs and CFOs discover once the project starts: there are gaps.

The Reality of Real-World Business Problems

Every business is unique. One retailer might need advanced POS reconciliation across 90 stores. A school might need student management data to flow directly into finance. A distributor might need complex warehouse transfers automated between sites.

The challenge? These requirements don’t always exist in the “standard” connector offered by Microsoft or the original software vendor.

Take Shopify as an example. Microsoft does offer a Shopify connector for Business Central — but only for SaaS, and with basic functionality. For businesses running on-prem, or for those with multi-store POS, gift card, and loyalty needs, the connector simply isn’t enough.

Why Microsoft (and other big vendors) can’t solve everything

Microsoft is a global company serving millions of users. Their roadmap prioritises the features that will impact the largest number of customers worldwide. That means smaller but critical use cases often get left behind.

A missing feature might not hit their roadmap for 2–3 years. In some cases, it may never appear — because it simply doesn’t affect enough customers at scale to be commercially worthwhile for them.

For the businesses waiting on these features, that’s 2–3 years of manual workarounds, reporting delays, or clunky integrations. And in today’s fast-moving market, that’s simply not acceptable.

The Power of AppSource

This is why AppSource exists— Microsoft’s marketplace for third-party extensions and connectors. It allows independent implementation specialists like CoreBiz to:

• Identify gaps in real-world projects.

• Build connectors that solve those gaps.

• Publish them on AppSourceso that other businesses facing the same problem can access them quickly and reliably.

Think of AppSource as the “app store” for Business Central. It ensures that businesses aren’t stuck waiting on a global vendor’s roadmap. They can tap into proven, tested solutions that extend functionality immediately.

Real-World Examples

At CoreBiz, we’ve built connectors that tackle problems no out-of-the-box solution could address:

• Shopify ↔ Business Central Connector: Beyond the basics, it handles multi-store POS, automated merchant fee reconciliation, Armaguard cash pickups, and loyalty/gift card financials. Microsoft’s connector won’t deliver these features — but retailers need them today, not years from now.

• Sentral ↔ Business Central Connector: Schools need financial and student data to flow seamlessly. Without this, they spend hours reconciling budgets across campuses. Our connector closes that gap and creates a single source of truth.

• Employment Hero ↔ Business Central Connector: Payroll and HR data often live in silos. By integrating directly with BC, businesses get accuracy and automation that the larger vendors weren’t going to build.

And many many more….

In each case, the problem wasn’t “big enough” for Microsoft or the software vendor to prioritise. But for the clients living with the pain, it was urgent.

Why This Matters for Businesses

When businesses rely only on out-of-the-box functionality, they risk being constrained by someone else’s roadmap. By leveraging AppSource, they can:

• Move faster: adopt solutions today, not in 3 years.

• Solve specific problems: tap into the collective expertise of specialists who live inside these systems every day.

• Futureproof operations: rely on connectors that are actively maintained, not custom builds that break with every update.

The CoreBiz Difference

At CoreBiz, we see our role as more than just implementing Business Central. We’re problem-solvers. We listen to the challenges our clients face and build solutions that make their businesses run smoother. AppSourcegives us the platform to share those solutions, so that others can benefit too.

Because at the end of the day, transformation doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs to be practical, robust, and built to last. That’s exactly what the right connector delivers.