ERP news: what changed for Dynamics 365 and Odoo buyers

As of October 2026, the next cutoff is Business Central on-premises version 26.x. Microsoft support ends on 14 October 2026 at 6:59:59 AM PT. Version 25.x already ended on 5 April 2026, and Dynamics GP 2016 extended support ended on 14 July 2026. Online Business Central uses a different clock: two major updates a year, a five-month update window, then a one-month grace period before incompatible extensions can be uninstalled. Odoo 20 was released in September 2026, and the sections below name who each date affects and the action that belongs before it.

For a licence decision in the same month, the US list is USD 80 per user per month for Business Central Essentials and USD 110 for Premium, paid yearly. The Canada list is CAD 108.50 and CAD 149.20 on the same basis, plus tax. NAV 2018 extended support ends on 12 January 2028 at 6:59:59 AM PT. Read the row that matches the product you run, then the action under it.

Which dates are already on the calendar

This is a buyer calendar for October 2026. Each row is a published Microsoft or Odoo date. Confirm the version string in your own environment before you spend project time, because an online tenant's exact build depends on that tenant's update schedule.

• Business Central on-premises 25.x (What changed: Support ended · Date (as of October 2026): 5 April 2026, 6:59:59 AM PT · Action before that date: Move to a version Microsoft still supports. You install on-premises updates yourself.)
• Business Central on-premises 26.x (What changed: Support ends · Date (as of October 2026): 14 October 2026, 6:59:59 AM PT · Action before that date: Upgrade before this timestamp if this is the build in production.)
• Business Central on-premises 27.x (What changed: Support ends · Date (as of October 2026): 6 April 2027, 8:00 AM PT · Action before that date: Plan the next upgrade so you are not inside a close or audit when this ends.)
• Business Central on-premises 28.x (2026 wave 1) (What changed: In support · Date (as of October 2026): Started 1 April 2026, 8:00 AM PT. Ends 13 October 2027, 8:00 AM PT · Action before that date: Stay current. Support applies only while the deployed software is current.)
• Business Central on-premises 29.x (2026 wave 2) (What changed: In support · Date (as of October 2026): Started 1 October 2026, 8:00 AM PT. Ends 6 April 2028, 8:00 AM PT · Action before that date: Stay current through 6 April 2028, 8:00 AM PT. Support applies only while the deployed software is current.)
• Business Central online (What changed: Major updates · Date (as of October 2026): Generally available the first workday of April and October · Action before that date: Use the preview sandbox, then finish testing before the enforced window.)
• Dynamics GP 2016 and 2016 R2 (What changed: Extended support ended · Date (as of October 2026): 14 July 2026 · Action before that date: This build is past extended support. A later GP path or a move belongs on the plan now.)
• Dynamics GP 2018 and 2018 R2 (What changed: Extended support ends · Date (as of October 2026): 11 January 2028 · Action before that date: A compatible tax release or hotfix that lands on 18.5 or later moves that install onto the Modern Lifecycle Policy.)
• Dynamics GP product (What changed: Enhancements, tax updates, technical support end · Date (as of October 2026): 31 December 2029 · Action before that date: Security updates, if needed, continue until 30 April 2031. Lifecycle listing retirement is 1 January 2030, 6:59:59 AM PT.)
• Dynamics NAV 2018 (What changed: Extended support ends · Date (as of October 2026): 12 January 2028, 6:59:59 AM PT · Action before that date: Mainstream support already ended 11 January 2023. Budget the replacement while extended support remains.)
• Odoo Online (What changed: Version 20 released · Date (as of October 2026): September 2026 · Action before that date: Upgrades are included. Online runs the latest version.)
• Odoo on-premise (What changed: Must run the latest stable version · Date (as of October 2026): The pricing page states this as policy · Action before that date: Moving from Online to on-premise fits best immediately after that stable release. On-premise sits on the Custom plan.)

Version start and end times are on Microsoft's Business Central on-premises modern lifecycle page. Online timing is on the update cycles page. GP dates are on the Dynamics GP lifecycle page. NAV 2018 is on its lifecycle page. Odoo version months are on the release notes index.

If two rows match you, the earlier timestamp wins. A company on GP 2016 that also keeps a Business Central on-premises company on version 26 has already passed the GP 2016 date and is on top of the 14 October 2026 Business Central cutoff. Those are separate projects with separate test lists.

What Business Central 2026 wave 1 covers

The published 2026 release wave 1 plan covers functionality planned from April 2026 through September 2026. Microsoft dated that overview 23 March 2026 and last updated it 27 August 2026.

The overview highlights five areas a finance or operations lead can assign to an owner:

1. AI agents in payables and expenses. A person on your team still reviews what the agent drafted. The software does not close the books by itself.
2. Subcontracting and quality management.
3. Shopify integration.
4. E-documents beyond invoices.
5. Sustainability reporting, including CSRD, CBAM, and EPR.

Microsoft also states that Copilot in Business Central is included with a Business Central licence at no extra cost, and that Copilot and agents are available only to Business Central online customers. An on-premises upgrade does not turn those online agents on.

From September 2026, Microsoft says release plans will no longer be published. New Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse capabilities move to the AI at Work roadmap. Existing release plans stay available for historical reference. For a buyer, that changes how you track what is coming. Wave 1 is still a document you can hand to a process owner. Later capabilities will not arrive as the same kind of wave plan. Ask whoever is implementing the system to show the roadmap entry, the environment where it is enabled, and the person who signs off on the posting.

Our Business Central implementation work starts from that list: which of those items you will use in the first phase, and which can wait until a later update has been tested on your data.

How Business Central online updates are enforced

Online customers do not pick a version the way on-premises customers do. Microsoft's update timeline sets two major updates a year, generally available on the first workday of April and October. After general availability, the new major version is offered to existing environments about a week later.

The clock after that has three parts.

1. The update period lasts five calendar months. This is the window to update on your schedule and fix what breaks.
2. A one-month grace period follows.
3. In the enforced period, incompatible extensions can be uninstalled so the update can succeed. Their data is not deleted.

Uninstall is the line most teams under-read. The extension is removed so Microsoft can finish the update. The data that extension stored is kept. The screen, the posting routine, or the warehouse scan that depended on the extension is not. If that extension prints your packing slip or sends your invoice, the data sitting safely in the database does not ship the order.

Preview sandboxes open about one month before release, in March and September for regular tenants. Preview environments are removed 30 days after the official release. Microsoft recommends testing critical scenarios before production is updated. A useful test list for a 20 to 100 person company is short: post a sales invoice, receive a purchase invoice, ship from the bin you use on a normal day, run the bank reconciliation, and open every extension that touches those four steps. If a partner wrote the extension, book their time into the preview month, not the week production flips.

Assume the October major version becomes generally available on the first workday of October. Existing environments are offered it about a week later. Five calendar months of update window run from that offer. The grace month sits after those five months. Only then does the enforced period allow incompatible extensions to be uninstalled. Count those months on your own admin center dates. The policy is the same for every tenant. The start day is not.

Which on-premises Business Central versions stay supported

On-premises Business Central from the 2019 release wave 2 onward follows the Modern Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft supports a version only if you keep the deployed software current, and you install the updates. That policy is on the on-premises lifecycle page.

After 14 October 2026, 6:59:59 AM PT, version 26.x is outside that window. Versions still inside it, on the dates published as of October 2026, are:

• Version 27.x, through 6 April 2027, 8:00 AM PT.
• Version 28.x (2026 wave 1), through 13 October 2027, 8:00 AM PT. It started 1 April 2026.
• Version 29.x (2026 wave 2), through 6 April 2028, 8:00 AM PT. It started 1 October 2026.

Version 25.x has been out of support since 5 April 2026. Workload in the finance team does not move that timestamp. The modern policy is explicit that staying current is the condition of support: support applies only while the deployed software is kept current, and the customer installs the updates.

A practical sequence for an on-premises finance team:

1. Read the version on the environment page and match it to the table above.
2. If you are on 26.x or older, schedule the upgrade before you rely on that environment for a year-end close.
3. List every extension and the person who maintains it. An ISV that has not shipped a build for the target version is a project risk with a name.
4. Rehearse the upgrade on a copy. Include the modifications your team made in the last two years, because those are the objects that fail first.
5. After go-live on the new version, put the next end date (April or October, from the table) on the same calendar as your audit.

Companies that run Business Central online and an on-premises company in the same group should not assume one test covers both. Online can uninstall a blocking app. On-premises stays on an unsupported build until someone installs the update.

What the GP and NAV dates require

Dynamics GP is on the same calendar as Business Central, with longer dates and a split between product support and security fixes.

On the GP lifecycle page, Microsoft will end Dynamics GP support on 31 December 2029 for product enhancements, tax updates, and technical support. Security updates, if needed, continue until 30 April 2031. The product lifecycle listing shows a retirement date of 1 January 2030 at 6:59:59 AM PT. The same article says the previously announced end date was 30 September 2029. Use 31 December 2029 for enhancements, tax, and technical support, and 30 April 2031 for the security-update horizon. Quote both when a board asks for the end date, because a single date hides the tax-update cutoff.

Version-level dates matter sooner than 2029:

• GP 2016 and GP 2016 R2 extended support ended 14 July 2026. That date is already past.
• GP 2018 and GP 2018 R2 extended support ends 11 January 2028.
• Installing a compatible tax release or hotfix on GP 2018 moves the install to version 18.5 or later and onto the Modern Lifecycle Policy. Ask whoever maintains GP to show the version number after that install, not the installer filename.

NAV 2018 is tighter. Mainstream support ended 11 January 2023. Extended support ends 12 January 2028 at 6:59:59 AM PT, per the NAV 2018 lifecycle page. A distributor that still posts shipments in NAV has about fifteen months from October 2026 until that extended date. That is enough for a phased finance and inventory move if discovery starts while the current system still receives tax updates. It is a poor window if the first workshop is booked in late 2027.

Microsoft's GP lifecycle page encourages customers to transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central. The decision tests are the same ones we use on any replacement: named people, hours, references, a phase plan, and who owns the code after go-live. Partner tier is context. It does not tell you whether your lot tracking or your three-way match will be in the first phase.

What Odoo 20 changes for a US or Canadian company

Odoo's release notes index lists Version 20 as released September 2026, Version 19 as released September 2025, and Version 18 as released October 2024. Odoo Experience 2026 scheduled the opening keynote, Unveiling Odoo 20, by founder and CEO Fabien Pinckaers, on Thursday 24 September 2026, Europe/Brussels.

The Odoo 20 release notes, dated September 2026, include four items finance teams should rehearse on a copy of their database:

• An AI assistant for financial insights based on accounting data in the database. Treat the output as a draft a controller reviews. It reads the books you already posted.
• Parent accounts replacing account groups. Remap any report or export that filtered on the old groups before you publish statements from version 20.
• Payment statuses renamed from In Process to Paid, and from Paid to Reconciled. Anyone who filters a spreadsheet or a bank rule on the old words will misread open cash.
• A new offline mode for creating and editing records. Useful for warehouse or counter work. Test conflict handling when the same order is edited offline and online.

Odoo's pricing page answers "What's included in the subscription?" as a hosting and upgrade policy. Upgrades are included in all plans at no extra fee. Odoo Online runs on the latest version with regular upgrades. "On-premise users must use the latest stable version of Odoo." The best time to move from Odoo Online to on-premise is immediately after the newest stable version is released. Odoo.sh hosting is not included in the subscription price.

Plan boundaries decide whether version 20 on-premise is even available to you:

• One App Free is one app, unlimited users, on Odoo Online, at USD 0.
• Standard is Odoo Online with all apps.
• Custom is the plan that adds Odoo Online, Odoo.sh, or on-premise hosting, Odoo Studio, agentic AI, multi-company, and the external API.

A company that wants its own server, more than one company file, or the external API is on Custom. Standard will not cover that hosting choice. The question "Can I switch from a hosted plan (Odoo Online) to Odoo Enterprise or the other way around?" is a plan change plus a timing choice. Do it right after the stable release you intend to run, and price Odoo.sh separately if you want Odoo to host the instance.

US and Canadian finance documents on version 20

The version 20 documentation describes local finance files. The September 2026 release notes list other accounting changes and do not name these files, so treat the docs as what version 20 can produce, and confirm each file on your own database.

For the United States, the US fiscal localization includes a GAAP localization, a 1099 CSV export for third-party e-filing, NACHA ACH files, and US check layouts. The docs say 1099 data is exported for filing with a third party, not filed inside Odoo. Someone still uploads that CSV to the filing service you use. AvaTax is documented for companies with locations in Canada and the United States.

For Canada, the Canada fiscal localization includes provincial and territorial fiscal positions, Canadian check layouts, and CPA005 EFT payments. Run a CPA005 file to your own bank's test process before you retire the tool that creates EFT files today. Provincial fiscal positions still need a review against the provinces where you have nexus. The documentation lists them. Your registrations decide which ones you turn on.

Odoo implementation for a US or Canadian firm should include that file test in the first finance phase: one 1099 CSV or one CPA005 file, one check layout, and one multi-currency customer if you have one. That test shows which version you must be on, and which plan sells the hosting you want.

What Odoo shows for implementation hours

Odoo sells its own Success Packs. The prices below buy dedicated consultant hours. A full ERP project still needs its own lines for data migration, integrations, and training. As of October 2026, the Success Pack page shows a 15 percent discount for new customers on the first pack:

• Starter (Dedicated hours: 4 · New-customer price (USD): 493 · Returning-customer price (USD): 580)
• Basic (Dedicated hours: 25 · New-customer price (USD): 3,060 · Returning-customer price (USD): 3,600)
• Standard (Dedicated hours: 50 · New-customer price (USD): 5,950 · Returning-customer price (USD): 7,000)
• Custom (Dedicated hours: 100 · New-customer price (USD): 10,625 · Returning-customer price (USD): 12,500)
• Pro (Dedicated hours: 200 · New-customer price (USD): 21,250 · Returning-customer price (USD): 25,000)

Travel is extra. Above 50 users, Odoo says to contact them. A 25-hour pack can cover a tightly scoped workshop. It does not cover data migration, custom documents, and training for a 40-person distributor. Ask any bidder, including us, to price data migration, integrations, and training as their own lines so the pack hours are not mistaken for the whole project. "Where can I get implementation services, and how much does it cost?" is the question on Odoo's pricing page. The Starter through Pro hour prices in the table are the separate Success Pack list.

What the October 2026 licence lists show

Microsoft's US Business Central pricing page and Canada pricing page state that prices shown are informational and may not match the checkout price because of currency, country, and regional factors. Purchase is through a partner conversation, not a self-serve checkout of these plans. The Canada page says: "Contact a partner to purchase or to get an assessment, consulting services, or additional pricing."

List prices as of October 2026, per user per month, paid yearly:

• Essentials (United States: USD 80 · Canada: CAD 108.50, plus applicable tax)
• Premium (United States: USD 110 · Canada: CAD 149.20, plus applicable tax)
• Team Members (United States: USD 8 · Canada: CAD 10.90, plus applicable tax)
• Trial (United States: USD 0 for 30 days · Canada: Use the regional pricing page before you assume the same trial)

There is a worked mix behind those lists. Assume 25 users, of whom 8 need full licences and 17 can work as Team Members, on the yearly-paid monthly list, before tax and before any checkout adjustment.

• United States, Essentials for the 8: 8 times USD 80 is USD 640. Team Members: 17 times USD 8 is USD 136. Together that is USD 776 per month, or USD 9,312 over twelve months.
• United States, Premium for the 8: 8 times USD 110 is USD 880, plus USD 136, which is USD 1,016 per month, or USD 12,192 over twelve months.
• Canada, Essentials for the 8: 8 times CAD 108.50 is CAD 868. Team Members: 17 times CAD 10.90 is CAD 185.30. Together that is CAD 1,053.30 per month, plus applicable tax.
• Canada, Premium for the 8: 8 times CAD 149.20 is CAD 1,193.60, plus CAD 185.30, which is CAD 1,378.90 per month, plus applicable tax.

Price Essentials and Premium as separate mixes, then ask Microsoft or the reseller which of your roles the quote places on Premium. Confirm the actions a Team Members licence is allowed to perform before you put warehouse leads on the USD 8 or CAD 10.90 seat. Run the same headcount through our ERP cost per user benchmarks beside the implementation estimate.

Copilot in the licence versus Copilot Credits

Keep two Microsoft statements apart. Copilot in Business Central is included with a Business Central licence at no extra cost, for online customers, on the wave 1 plan. Separately, Dynamics 365 agents that use Copilot Credits require an Azure subscription.

On the US pricing page, a pre-purchase of Copilot Credit Commit Units can save up to 20 percent versus pay-as-you-go, and there is no in-product capability difference between the two payment methods. "Are there any product differences between the pre-purchase plan and pay as you go?" is answered there: the difference described is the price of credits, not the agent behavior. "How can I purchase Copilot Credits?" and "How do I set up pay-as-you-go billing to run Dynamics 365 agents?" sit on that same page, and both depend on Azure billing, not on adding another Business Central user licence.

Turn agents on only after a named reviewer has a test set of vendor bills. Included Copilot and metered credits can both be in the same tenant. They are not the same line on the invoice.

What the Odoo price cards show

Odoo prices below are US dollars from the pricing page with the yearly toggle selected, as of October 2026.

The Standard card shows a promotional USD 24.90 beside USD 31.10, and the page also shows USD 31.10 and USD 38.90. The Custom card shows a promotional USD 49.00 beside USD 61.10, and the page also shows USD 61.00 and USD 76.20. A footnote says the discount is valid 12 months for the initial users ordered. Do not pick one of those figures as the only price. Ask Odoo, or the advisor on the call, to write the monthly amount after month 12 for the user count you will still have.

A Light User is listed at USD 8.90, quoted by an Odoo advisor after a meeting. It is not a self-serve checkout line. The pricing page asks "What is a Light User?" because that seat is easy to miscount. Get the allowed actions in writing before you classify half the warehouse as light.

One App Free remains USD 0 for one app and unlimited users on Odoo Online. It is a poor fit the day you need a second app. Moving from that plan to Standard or Custom is a commercial change, and Custom is required for on-premise, Odoo.sh, Studio, multi-company, the external API, and agentic AI.

Assume 20 Standard users on the promotional yearly figure of USD 24.90. That is USD 498 per month during the discounted 12 months for those initial users. At the USD 31.10 figure shown beside it, the same 20 users are USD 622 per month. At the USD 38.90 figure also shown on the page, they are USD 778 per month. The spread across those three displayed amounts is USD 280 per month, or USD 3,360 over a year, on an identical headcount. That is why the proposal should state which figure applies in month 13.

For Custom, 20 users at the promotional USD 49.00 is USD 980 per month. At USD 61.10 it is USD 1,222. At USD 61.00 it is USD 1,220. At USD 76.20 it is USD 1,524. Odoo.sh, if you use it, is extra on top of whichever user price you lock. Compare that hosting choice with Business Central online, where Microsoft runs the service and you manage the update window described above. The ERP comparison matrix is the short way to line the two up before you argue about list price.

What to do before each deadline

Pick the paragraph that matches the system you have. Skip the others.

Business Central on-premises 26.x or older. You are on a build that is out of support on 14 October 2026 or that already ended in April 2026. Freeze new customizations, copy the database, and upgrade to 27.x, 28.x, or 29.x. Retest extensions before users post on Monday. Put the next end date from the lifecycle table on the finance calendar the same week.

Business Central on-premises 27.x or 28.x. You are inside a supported window as of October 2026. The work is to stay current. Book the administrator's time for the next cumulative update, and ask each ISV for a support statement on the version you are moving to. Version 27.x ends 6 April 2027. That is the nearer of the two.

Business Central online. Open the preview when it appears in March or September. Assign an owner for payables, warehouse, and bank rec. Finish extension fixes inside the five-month update period. Do not wait for the grace month to discover a packing-slip app will be uninstalled. If you intend to use payables agents, separate the included Copilot entitlement from Copilot Credits and Azure.

Dynamics GP 2016. Extended support has ended. Stop planning as if a future tax release will cover this build. Either move the install forward under Microsoft's GP rules or start a Business Central phase while historical years remain readable.

Dynamics GP 2018. Extended support ends 11 January 2028. If you apply a compatible tax release or hotfix, confirm the version is 18.5 or later and that the install is on the Modern Lifecycle Policy. Use the 31 December 2029 enhancement and tax-update date as the outer bound for staying on GP at all. Security updates, if needed, are a different date: 30 April 2031.

Dynamics NAV 2018. Extended support ends 12 January 2028. Inventory the customizations and the bank or filing add-ons that would have to be rebuilt. A first usable phase on finance and inventory is the scope that fits this clock. Our target for a first usable phase is 8 to 12 weeks, and it assumes the phase is cut to the date you are protecting.

Odoo Online. Expect to be on version 20, because Online runs the latest version and upgrades are included. Retest payment-status filters, parent accounts, and any custom report after the upgrade. The AI assistant can draft a financial comment from posted accounting data. A person still signs the statement.

Odoo on-premise, Odoo.sh, multi-company, or external API. That scope sits on the Custom plan. Schedule the move for immediately after the stable release you want to keep, and add Odoo.sh as its own cost if that is the host. Rehearse US 1099 CSV or Canadian CPA005 on version 20 before you turn off the old filing path.

If your row is a support date you cannot hit with internal staff, start with ERP implementation services. The call is useful once you know the version you run and the first workflow that has to survive the upgrade, such as invoices or receipts. Bring that version string. We will tell you whether the next step is an update test, a licence mix, or a first phase aimed at the cutoff on your row.

How Flectic can help

Flectic implements Odoo and Dynamics 365 for companies of 20 to 100 people in the US and Canada that run finance and stock on spreadsheets, and we replace them with one ERP. Flectic sends a written proposal with a fixed price for each phase before work starts. Before the next deadline, see how ERP implementation with Flectic is structured, then book a free discovery call with Flectic.

Sources

• Overview of Dynamics 365 Business Central 2026 release wave 1, Microsoft Learn, October 2026
• Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises (Modern Policy), Microsoft Learn, October 2026
• Update cycles - Business Central, Microsoft Learn, October 2026
• Software lifecycle policy and on-premises updates, Microsoft Learn, October 2026
• Dynamics 365 Business Central pricing (United States), Microsoft, October 2026
• Dynamics 365 Business Central pricing (Canada), Microsoft, October 2026
• Understand the Lifecycle Policies - Dynamics GP, Microsoft Learn, October 2026
• Dynamics NAV 2018 lifecycle, Microsoft Learn, October 2026
• Odoo release notes index, Odoo, October 2026
• Odoo 20 release notes, Odoo, October 2026
• Odoo Experience 2026 tracks, Odoo, October 2026
• Odoo pricing, Odoo, October 2026
• Odoo Success Packs, Odoo, October 2026
• Canada fiscal localization, Odoo 20, Odoo, October 2026
• United States fiscal localization, Odoo 20, Odoo, October 2026