TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CUSTOMIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 BUSINESS CENTRAL Full Time NEW

1.Background

GROOTS Kenya is a national movement of grassroots, women-led, community-based organizations and self-help groups in Kenya. We were founded in 1995, after the fourth UN Conference on Women in Beijing, China. We aim to address the lack of visibility of grassroots women in development processes and decision-making forums that affect them and their communities.

GROOTS Kenya currently uses Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 as its finance management system. The organization intends to migrate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to strengthen financial management, reporting, system integration, automation, data accessibility, internal controls and operational efficiency.

GROOTS Kenya seeks to engage a qualified and experienced consultant toundertake the assessment, design, configuration, data migration, integration, testing, training, implementation, go-live and post-go-live support.

2. PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The purpose of this assignment is to engage a qualified and experienced consultant to support the organization in planning and implementing and the successfully migration from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central including assessment, solution design, configuration, data migration, testing and go-live

3. SCOPE OF WORK

3.1 Inception, Current-State Assessment and Requirements

The consultant shall undertake a comprehensive review of the Organization’s existing systems, processes, data and internal controls, covering finance and accounting, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Grant Management Information system, budgeting and forecasting, procurement processes, accounts payable and receivable, bank and M-Pesa/mobile money processes, staff and partner advances, fixed assets and inventory, payroll management, tax and statutory reporting, donor and management reporting, financial close processes, approval workflows, user access and segregation of duties, existing system integrations, data structures, reporting requirements and document management. The consultant shall identify inefficiencies, manual processes, duplication, control weaknesses and opportunities for automation.

Deliverable: Inception Report, Current-State Assessment and Business Requirements Specification.

3.2 Fit-Gap Analysis and Future-State Design

The consultant shall conduct a fit-gap assessment comparing the Organization’s, financial and operational requirements against standard Business Central functionality. Each requirement shall be classified as standard functionality, configuration, extension/add-on, customization, integration, manual workaround or not recommended, with consideration of cost, controls, efficiency, scalability, security, data integrity and sustainability.

The consultant shall also assess the future role of existing systems and recommend whether each system or function should be retained, integrated, replaced, reconfigured or discontinued. Any proposed customization, extension, third-party solution or integration shall clearly outline the solution, costs, risks, dependencies, maintenance requirements and long-term implications.

Deliverable: Business Central Solution and Fit-Gap Assessment Report

4. FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The Business Central solution shall support, as applicable:

4.1 Financial Management

The Business Central solution shall provide comprehensive financial management functionality, including management of the chart of accounts, accruals, prepayments general journals adjustments, multi-currency transactions, bank and cash management, bank reconciliations, accounts payable and receivable, VAT and withholding tax, financial period and year-end controls, audit trails and financial reporting. The solution shall support accurate, timely and auditable financial information and facilitate effective financial controls and reporting.

4.2 Grant Management

The solution shall support the Organization’s non-profit and donor-funded operations by enabling financial transactions and reporting to be tracked by key dimensions, including donor, programme, project, activity, department, location, partner/CBO, budget category and restricted/unrestricted funding.

The system shall support grant budget and expenditure tracking, burn-rate analysis, sub-grant and partner expenditure monitoring, and reporting by activity and location. The consultant shall design and implement a practical and efficient financial dimensions and coding framework that meets the Organization’s reporting requirements without unnecessary complexity or duplication.

4.3 Budget Management

The Business Central solution shall support annual, programme, project and grant budgeting, including budget preparation, revisions and adjustments, budget version control, budget-versus-actual reporting, variance analysis, commitment monitoring, forecasting and budget availability controls, where appropriate. The system shall provide management with timely information to monitor budget utilization, identify variances and support informed financial decision-making.

4.4 Procurement

The solution shall support an integrated procure-to-pay process covering purchase requisitions, approvals, purchase orders/LPOs, receipt of goods and services, invoice processing, payment, accounting and reconciliation. The system shall incorporate appropriate procurement and financial controls, including delegated authority, approval workflows, budget availability checks, supplier controls, invoice validation, three-way matching where applicable, segregation of duties and audit trails.

4.5 Sub-Grant and Partner Management

The solution shall support the financial management and monitoring of sub-grants and partner funding, including partner disbursements, partner advances, partner financial reports, liquidations and outstanding partner balances. The system should provide appropriate visibility of partner funding and expenditure and facilitate reconciliation and reporting on partner financial obligations.

4.6 Fixed Assets and Inventory Management

The solution shall support the complete fixed asset lifecycle, including asset acquisition, registration, classification, capitalization, depreciation, transfers, disposals, impairment, revaluation where applicable, physical verification and asset reporting. The consultant shall also assess and recommend the appropriate treatment and migration approach for fixed assets, inventory and other non-capital items to ensure that the new system accurately reflects the Organization’s asset management requirements.

4.7 Payroll Management

The solution shall support payroll management, including payroll preparation, calculation of statutory deductions and employee benefits, processing of employee changes and generation of employee Payslips. The consultant shall assess the Organization’s existing payroll processes and determine the appropriate Business Central functionality, configuration or integration required to support payroll requirements and statutory compliance.

5. REPORTING

The solution shall provide integrated and reliable financial, grant, management and compliance reporting to support operational management, donor accountability and decision-making. At a minimum, the system shall support key financial reports, including trial balances, statement of comprehensive income, Statement of financial position, statement of Cashflows and Statement of changes in net assets, budget-versus-actual, variance analysis, ageing reports, bank reconciliations, and imprest report.

The consultant shall assess existing reporting requirements and configure or develop appropriate reports and dashboards within Business Central or approved reporting tools. Reports shall enable analysis by key dimensions, including donor, programme, project, activity, department, location and partner.

6. SYSTEM INTEGRATIONS

The consultant shall assess existing and required integrations between Business Central and relevant systems, including the internal management information system and Microsoft 365/SharePoint. The consultant shall map data flows, identify integration requirements, eliminate duplicate data entry and recommend appropriate integration methods and controls.

The consultant shall configure and test approved integrations, resolve identified issues and provide integration documentation and knowledge transfer. The final integration scope, including data exchanged, frequency, ownership, costs, dependencies and maintenance requirements, shall be agreed during the requirements and solution design phases.

7. DATA MIGRATION

The consultant shall develop and implement a structured data migration strategy covering agreed master data, opening balances, outstanding transactions, fixed assets, grants, projects and historical data from the Organization’s existing systems to Business Central.

The consultant shall assess data quality, cleanse and map data, conduct test migrations, and validate and reconcile migrated data against approved source records. Any discrepancies shall be resolved before final migration.

The scope and period of historical data to be migrated shall be agreed during the requirements and solution design phase. Final migration shall be subject to successful validation and reconciliation, with the consultant providing a Migration Completion and Reconciliation Report.

8. INTERNAL CONTROLS, SECURITY AND WORKFLOW

The Business Central solution shall incorporate appropriate internal controls, including segregation of duties, role-based access, delegated approvals, automated workflows, user access management, audit trails and controls over sensitive master data.

The consultant shall assess and configure the Organization’s approved control requirements within Business Central and ensure that user roles, permissions and workflows align with responsibilities and delegated authorities.

The consultant shall develop the User Access and Security Matrix, Delegation and Approval Matrix and Workflow Configuration Matrix, and configure and test key transaction workflows, including requisitions, purchases, invoices, payments, journals, budgets and master data changes.

The consultant shall conduct security and segregation of duties testing, resolve identified control weaknesses before go-live and obtain formal Organization approval of user access, security roles and workflows. The consultant shall also provide guidance on ongoing user access management and periodic access reviews.

9. TESTING AND USER ACCEPTANCE

The consultant shall develop and implement a comprehensive testing strategy covering functional, integration, data migration, security, segregation of duties, end-to-end processes, UAT and regression testing across key financial, grants, budgeting, procurement, payment, reporting and workflow processes.

The consultant shall provide test scripts, document results, track and resolve defects, and support formal UAT by the Organization. All critical and high-priority defects affecting financial reporting, data integrity, controls, security, compliance or key processes shall be resolved and retested before go-live. A consolidated Testing and UAT Report shall be provided as evidence of successful testing and approval.

10. TRAINING AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

The consultant shall provide role-based training to relevant Finance, Grants, Programmes, Procurement, Management, HR/Administration, ICT and Internal Audit/Compliance users using the Organization’s actual processes and configured Business Central environment.

The consultant shall provide user manuals, process guides, training materials, system administration documentation, frequently asked questions, training records and super-user knowledge transfer to support effective system adoption and sustainable use of the solution.

11. GO-LIVE

The consultant shall develop and implement a detailed go-live plan covering final data migration, opening balances, system configuration, user access, integrations, data validation, outstanding transactions, system freeze, reconciliations, contingency and rollback arrangements, go-live activities and formal approval.

12. POST-GO-LIVE SUPPORT

The consultant shall provide a minimum of eight (8) weeks of post-go-live support covering timely issue resolution, user and configuration support, data corrections, reporting and integration support, system stabilization and process optimization.

The consultant shall provide a clear post-go-live support and escalation mechanism, including designated support personnel, contact channels, issue prioritization and response and resolution timelines

13. IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD

The implementation is expected to commence on 1 November 2026 and run through to May 2027, with targeted go-live on 1 April 2027.

14. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

1. Demonstrable experience implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
2. Proven experience migrating from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Business Central.
3. Experience implementing financial management systems for non-profit, NGO or donor-funded organizations.
4. Experience in financial management systems and accounting processes.
5. Experience with data migration, system integration, testing, and user training.
6. Knowledge of financial controls, reporting, and audit requirements.
7. Relevant Microsoft certifications would be an added advantage.

15. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Technical Proposal: Bidders shall submit a technical proposal demonstrating their understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology and solution architecture, approach to Non-Profit Organization and grant management, data migration and system integration, testing and User Acceptance Testing(UAT), training and change management, risk management, implementation schedule, relevant experience, client references and proposed project team, including CVs.

The technical proposal shall also include a detailed implementation workplan, including key activities, milestones, deliverables, dependencies and proposed timelines.

Financial Proposal: Bidders shall provide a detailed and itemized financial proposal clearly identifying Business Central licensing, implementation and configuration costs, customization/development, data migration, integrations, reports and dashboards, training, go-live and post-go-live support, as applicable. Bidders shall also clearly distinguish one-off costs, recurring costs, assumptions, exclusions and third-party costs.

Bidders shall clearly identify one-off costs, recurring costs, licensing costs, assumptions, exclusions and any third-party dependencies.

Tagged as: GROOTS Kenya, Kenya