Summary:
The Works Cafe relied on Dynamics GP for years, but mounting manual work, slow reporting, and limited integration options made it clear the cost of staying put was rising fast. Rather than wait for GP’s sunset, the fast casual restaurant group partnered with JourneyTeam to modernize on Dynamics 365 Business Central through its Sherpa approach. They gained cleaner data, faster workflows, and financial reporting that now runs in minutes instead of hours.
A practical move from an aging system to faster, reliable financial operations
The Works Cafe had reached a point where its longtime GP financial system no longer matched the pace or complexity of the business behind it. With 13 locations, hundreds of employees, and a fast casual model that relies on tight margins and daily visibility, the team needed an ERP that could keep up, not one that made everyday tasks feel heavier. Their technology was becoming a silent constraint, limiting the clarity, speed, and adaptability required to run a multi-state restaurant operation.
Instead of waiting for change to be forced on them, The Works Cafe chose to get ahead of it. They partnered with JourneyTeam to modernize their financial foundation and build a system designed for accuracy, efficiency, and growth. This decision set the stage for more confident reporting, smoother workflows, and an operational rhythm that finally matched the energy of their business.
A Growing Brand With Operational Demands
The Works Cafe is a fast growing, multi location restaurant group operating across five Northeastern states. What began as a single Bagel Works location has expanded into a 13 store fast casual brand supported by nearly 500 employees and multiple sales channels, from in store orders to online platforms.
With that kind of scale comes a high volume financial operation, and the team needed technology that could keep pace with their growth, maintain clarity across locations, and support the complexity of a modern restaurant business. As they continued to expand, their GP solution became increasingly misaligned with the way the business needed to work.
When Legacy Systems Become Liability
When The Works Cafe expanded across five states and added new storefronts, the cracks in their ERP began to widen. Dynamics GP wasn’t built for the pace or complexity of a modern, multi location restaurant group. Everyday financial tasks required cumbersome workarounds, and core processes like importing invoices, preparing journal entries, or reconciling sales, depended on manual effort and brittle integrations. Even basic data movement required third party tools that often slowed the team down.
The company’s unique 13 period (4 4 5) accounting structure added even more strain. GP couldn’t produce accurate reports outside those boundaries, forcing the team to run massive backend ledger pulls that took hours and required IT intervention. These limitations became especially painful during key business events, including a recent merger, where GP couldn’t provide the needed financial clarity.
Taken together, the system wasn’t just outdated; it was introducing risk, slowing growth, and making every day financial visibility far harder than it needed to be.
The Right Partner for a Critical Transition
From the beginning, The Works Cafe felt a difference in how JourneyTeam communicated and collaborated; taking the time to understand how they operated and making the process feel approachable rather than overwhelming. This level of clarity and partnership gave the team confidence that the transition wouldn’t be something they’d have to navigate alone.
Their communication is great… it feels like working with friends. They listen to how we used to do it and show us how we can do it better in BC.
– Selena Wilder, The Works Café’s Senior Accountant
That confidence grew when The Works Cafe learned more about JourneyTeam’s Sherpa approach. They didn’t want a fully hands off implementation, nor did they want to be left alone to figure things out. Sherpa offered the middle ground they needed: structured guidance, hands on learning, and a clear path through a complex transition. Sherpa allowed their team to stay engaged, understand the system as it was being built, and make informed decisions every step of the way. This blend of expertise and empowerment made JourneyTeam the partner they felt they could trust to lead them into Business Central.
A Clean Move to Business Central
JourneyTeam led The Works Cafe through a structured migration from GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central. The migration included three years of historical financial data, providing enough context for analysis without overwhelming the new system. Their core financial structure, including general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, banking, and reconciliation processes, was rebuilt in Business Central to reflect their current flow of business.
From there, JourneyTeam configured the system to fit the needs of a multi-location restaurant operation, incorporating The Works Cafe’s dimension structure, and recreating familiar financial report templates inside Business Central. Posting rules were designed to eliminate the GL and bank discrepancies they had experienced in GP.
For high volume AP processing, configuration packs were developed as a temporary bridge for GFS invoices until the full EDI integration was complete. At the same time, the team began rolling out Continua to modernize credit card and employee expense workflows, laying the groundwork for cleaner, more automated financial processes across the organization.
Proof That Modernization Pays Off
The impact of moving to Business Central was both immediate and measurable. Financial reporting, once a time-consuming process requiring hours of backend ledger pulls and IT support, now runs in minutes, directly from Business Central and without external tools.
The biggest difference is confidence. We’re no longer questioning whether the numbers are right or waiting hours to get them. We can see where the business stands and act on it the same day.
-Selena Wilder, The Works Café’s Senior Accountant
The Works Cafe can finally generate reports by calendar month, rather than forcing everything into 13-period constraints. This shift has restored accuracy to their financial insights and eliminated the guesswork that had long complicated reporting cycles.
Daily operations also saw significant improvement. Business Central’s Copy and paste journal entry functionality reduced manual effort, while predefined posting rules eliminated the bank and GL discrepancies that had previously gone undetected in GP.
Even before their upcoming integrations are fully complete, the team has seen a reduction in rework, fewer manual touchpoints, and far more trust in their data. With Business Central in place, The Works Cafe finally has a financial system that supports the pace of their business and sets the stage for continued growth.
Momentum to Build On
With Business Central now powering their financial operations, The Works Cafe is ready to take the next steps toward a more automated and data‑driven ecosystem. Two major enhancements – full EDI integration with GFS and the rollout of Continua for employee expenses and credit‑card management – are already underway. Once complete, these integrations will eliminate remaining manual imports, tighten AP workflows, and reduce the reliance on temporary configuration packs.
The team is also looking ahead to more advanced reporting capabilities. With multiple locations and dimensional tracking already in place, The Works Cafe is exploring Power BI to streamline multi‑site financial visibility and produce consistent, location‑level reports without heavy spreadsheet manipulation.
Let’s Build Your Next Success Story
The Works Cafe’s move to Business Central wasn’t just a technology upgrade – it was the result of choosing a partner who understood their business, listened to their needs, and guided them at every step. The result: a rebuilt financial backbone for a growing, multi‑location restaurant brand that delivers clarity, efficiency, and confidence.
“We didn’t just switch systems – we learned how to own it with Sherpa,” Wilder said. By the time we went live, our team understood Business Central well enough to move forward confidently instead of relying on support for every change.”
Now, with a modern ERP foundation, streamlined processes, and integrations on the horizon, The Works Cafe is positioned to scale smarter and move faster, with JourneyTeam continuing to support their digital growth.
If your organization is facing similar challenges or you’re ready to modernize your financial operations, JourneyTeam is here to help. Our experts can guide you through every stage of your transition, from strategic planning to hands‑on implementation.
Reach out today to start the conversation and discover what JourneyTeam can help you achieve.