If your company runs Salesforce and recently moved to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you already know the problem. The two systems do not share data on their own. Sales teams work in Salesforce. Finance and operations work in Business Central.
Without integration, staff enter the same records twice, leading to errors. Varitronics LLC faced this exact situation. The Minnesota-based school technology wholesaler had used Salesforce since the early 2000s. In 2018, they replaced a Salesforce-based ERP called Ascent with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and engaged Rapidi to connect the two systems.
Summary
Company: Varitronics LLC, a Minnesota-based education technology wholesaler serving 30,000+ schools across North America.
Problem:
- Varitronics replaced a Salesforce-based ERP (Ascent) with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in 2018.
- Salesforce and Business Central did not share data. Staff entered records manually in both systems.
- Duplicate data entry caused errors and slowed down sales reporting, order processing, and dealer operations.
Solution:
- Rapidi connected Salesforce and Business Central with bidirectional sync across accounts, products, credit limits, and orders.
- No custom code required. The operations team manages the integration without dedicated IT staff.
- Nine-month implementation. Went live on January 2, 2019 with zero downtime.
- Sales and financial reporting now pulls from both systems automatically. Dealers report faster order entry.
Tom Hallbeck, Director of Operations, called it the best of his seven ERP implementations.
How Varitronics Connected Salesforce and Dynamics 365 Business Central with Rapidi
Varitronics LLC is a Minnesota-based education technology company. Headquartered in Brooklyn Park, the company sells specialized printers to schools across North America, including wide-body, 3D, and label printers, along with laminators and die cutters. The company serves more than 30,000 early childhood centers, elementary schools, secondary schools, and post-secondary institutions. Varitronics distributes through a network of dealers and sells directly to customers.
The company had been a Salesforce customer since the early 2000s, when Varitronics was still part of the Brady Corporation. After becoming independent in 2012, the team kept Salesforce as their CRM. But their ERP situation was a different story.
The Problem: An ERP That Did Not Fit
After the split from Brady Corporation, Varitronics could no longer access their former parent company's on-premises ERP. They turned to Ascent, a Salesforce-based ERP, to handle financials, inventory, and distribution. The team was never fully satisfied with Ascent.
Tom Hallbeck, Director of Operations, explained the decision to move: "Being in the cloud was important for our ERP as well as our CRM. Salesforce is the top of the line CRM, and Microsoft now provides the top of the line cloud-based ERP with Dynamics 365 Business Central."
In 2018, Varitronics chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as their new ERP. The migration created a familiar challenge. Many companies face the ERP-CRM integration dilemma: Salesforce and Business Central did not talk to each other. Staff had to enter data manually in both systems, import and export records between them, and deal with the errors that come from duplicate entry.
Finding the Right Integration Partner
Stoneridge Software, Varitronics' implementation partner, recommended Rapidi. Hallbeck recalls: "Rapidi made a good first impression on us, and we felt comfortable with what they were offering us. We did look at another solution, but the decision to go with Rapidi was easy." For companies evaluating their options, three qualities matter most when choosing an integration solution: simplicity, speed, and security.
Varitronics' Salesforce setup had been heavily customized to compensate for their previous ERP. Hallbeck wanted a clean start: "We wanted a fairly vanilla ERP implementation, and that's what we ended up with. Well, with the exception of the printer serial numbers that are generated in the ERP and require some customization in Salesforce as well."
How the Integration Works
Rapidi handles bidirectional data flow between Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Accounts are created and updated in Salesforce, then synchronized by Rapidi into Business Central. Credit limits and credit holds flow in the opposite direction, from Business Central back to Salesforce. Product data is entered in Business Central, and Rapidi transfers new and updated product information over to Salesforce. These are among the most common CRM-ERP data sync points, and Rapidi handles all of them bidirectionally.
Hallbeck noted the benefit of keeping each system focused on its purpose: "Using Salesforce only for its intended purpose as a CRM means that we don't have nearly as much customization as before. Which is a good thing."
Companies looking at a similar setup can follow a three-step process to integrate Salesforce and Dynamics 365 ERP. Varitronics' experience shows what the results look like in practice.
Go-Live and Results
Varitronics gave themselves nine months for the full implementation. The system went live as scheduled on January 2, 2019.
Hallbeck has been through seven ERP implementations over twenty years. He rated this one the best: "They are not for the faint of heart, and they are challenging. Even 3, 6, or 9 months after the system is turned up, you still might not be where you should be. This was my seventh ERP implementation, and from top to bottom, the best. Rapidi was a big part of this."
The go-live was smooth. "When we went live on January 2nd, we didn't find any 'gotchas'," Hallbeck said. "We needed a few tweaks. The system hasn't been down even once. The connections are working exactly like Rapidi promised."
Business Impact
The management team saw the biggest gains. Hallbeck explained: "Before, we had a hard time with our previous ERP system trying to get good salesperson and customer sales reporting. We knew that Salesforce would hold some information, and our Business Central would have other. But because they are connected, we produce reports without having to worry where the data originates."
User adoption went well. Hallbeck prepared the team with advance meetings: "Change is always difficult, even when it's for a good reason. We had many meetings in advance with our user group to prepare them as best we could. The atmosphere is positive."
The dealer network also benefited. Dealers reported that entering orders became much easier, which directly improved Varitronics' lead-to-invoice process.
Why Varitronics Chose Rapidi
Hallbeck highlighted two factors: the product's simplicity and the team's expertise. "The best thing about Rapidi is that it works. And when we need help or advice, the Rapidi consultants are always there for us. They know their own product, and they are experts on both Salesforce and Business Central as well. And that is important." Rapidi's no-code approach meant Varitronics did not need dedicated developers to maintain the connection.
He also praised the support during implementation: "The Rapidi consultant was always there for us, and often worked early or late to accommodate our needs in a different time zone. My team member who worked closely with the consultant was extremely appreciative."
Advice for Companies in a Similar Situation
Many Rapidi customers start with an ERP and add Salesforce later. Varitronics went the opposite direction, implementing a new ERP alongside an existing Salesforce setup. If you are planning a similar project, this Salesforce-ERP integration guide covers the full process. Hallbeck's advice for companies on the same path: "Give yourself enough time. ERP implementations are difficult. We gave ourselves 9 months to be sure we had a good system on Day 1. And we did."
Hallbeck does not hesitate to recommend Rapidi: "Anyone who asks me, who has similar needs, I will tell them to check out Rapidi."
Frequently Asked Questions About Salesforce and Business Central Integration
What does the quote-to-cash process look like after integrating Salesforce and Business Central?
A sales rep creates a quote in Salesforce. When the opportunity is marked as won, Rapidi automatically generates a sales order in Business Central. From there, Business Central handles fulfillment, invoicing, and payment tracking. Updated financial data flows back into Salesforce so the sales team sees invoice status and payment history without switching systems. Varitronics uses this exact flow. Accounts originate in Salesforce, sync to Business Central, and financial data like credit limits returns to Salesforce automatically. The full lead-to-invoice process runs without manual data entry between the two systems.
How do I avoid creating an infinite loop where records sync back and forth?
Looping happens when System A updates a record, System B detects the change and writes it back, and System A detects that change again. Rapidi prevents this with built-in change detection. The platform tracks which system initiated each update and only syncs genuine changes. Rapidi's LinkStorage feature maintains reference fields between Salesforce and Business Central records without requiring custom fields in either system. This means you do not need to build anti-loop logic yourself. The integration platform handles it at the transfer level.
How do I test the integration in a sandbox before going live?
Both Salesforce and Business Central offer sandbox environments. You connect Rapidi to these sandboxes first and run test transfers with real data structures but no production risk. Create test accounts, contacts, and orders in the Salesforce sandbox. Verify they appear correctly in the Business Central sandbox. Then test the reverse: update a credit limit in Business Central and confirm it flows back to Salesforce. Varitronics followed this approach during their nine-month implementation. Hallbeck noted they needed only "a few tweaks" at go-live because the sandbox testing caught issues early. Once you are satisfied with sandbox results, you point Rapidi at your production environments and go live.
What if I am replacing a Salesforce-based ERP with Business Central?
This is exactly what Varitronics did. They moved from Ascent, a Salesforce-based ERP, to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central while keeping Salesforce as their CRM. The key advantage: your Salesforce data, customizations, and workflows stay intact. You are only replacing the ERP layer, not the CRM. Rapidi connects to Business Central as the new ERP and syncs the same data objects your team already works with in Salesforce. Hallbeck's advice for this scenario: keep the Business Central implementation as close to standard as possible. Varitronics went with a "fairly vanilla" ERP setup and only customized where the business required it, such as printer serial number generation. This reduced complexity and shortened the implementation timeline.
Who manages the integration after deployment, IT or business users?
With Rapidi, business users handle day-to-day management. The no-code platform means you do not need a developer to monitor transfers, check error logs, or adjust field mappings. Rapidi's built-in monitoring sends email alerts to a system administrator when a transfer fails, with a direct link to the record that caused the error. At Varitronics, the operations team manages the integration without dedicated IT staff. When they need help, Rapidi's support team is available. Hallbeck specifically praised this: "When we need help or advice, the Rapidi consultants are always there for us." Rapidi also handles updates to connectors when Salesforce or Business Central releases new versions, so your team does not have to manage version compatibility.
