Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) received its yearly October update a few days ago, and customers have already begun asking our GP consultants whether they should install it. Microsoft numbers this update 18.9, while consultants and user groups often use the name GP 2027 for it.
For readers with little time, here is our position in two sentences. The update is small, yet nearly every company that plans to keep Microsoft Dynamics GP beyond this year should install it during the coming months. The remainder of this article gives the reasoning, a preparation plan, and the end dates you need for your budget.
Why One Update Has Two Names
Seven years ago, Microsoft stopped adding a year to the name of each Dynamics GP version, and from that point every update has been known only by its number. The number 18.9 belongs to the October 2026 update. People who liked the old habit of naming versions after the coming year invented the label Dynamics GP 2027, and it has spread widely.
The rhythm of updates is different now too. Microsoft follows a servicing policy for Dynamics GP under which roughly three updates are issued per year: one in June, one in October and one in December. An update always contains the earlier ones, which is why installing a single update every twelve months is enough to keep your system supported.
What 18.9 Changes in Daily Work
The list of new functions is brief. To make it easier to judge, we describe each function through the situation in which your staff will meet it.
When a Payment or Invoice Has to Be Voided
Accounts payable teams void documents every week, for instance after a duplicate invoice or a check printed with the wrong amount. Older versions kept no record of the motive. With 18.9, the user chooses a reason code during the void, and the code stays attached to the document. Auditors get their answer without sending emails, and a controller analyzing the codes can spot a vendor or a user who causes an unusual number of voids.
When a Purchase Order Is Withdrawn
If a buyer canceled an order that was waiting for approval, the approval task used to stay active and confuse the approver. The new version ends that task at the moment the order is canceled. In addition, companies get extra choices for the way approvers are notified, which is helpful where requests tend to wait for days.
When Nobody Remembers Which SmartLists Are Needed
Long-running Dynamics GP installations carry large numbers of SmartLists that were built for projects or employees long gone. Version 18.9 keeps a record of the most recent use of every SmartList and of the person who created or edited it. An administrator can therefore decide, on evidence, which lists to keep.
When Reports Are Opened in Microsoft Edge
Management Reporter has been adjusted to remain fully compatible with Edge. Finance teams will see no visible difference, but they are protected against browser problems in the middle of a reporting deadline.
Known defects are also repaired in 18.9, and customers who jumped over 18.7 or 18.8 collect those improvements as well. Because Microsoft can still adjust details, confirm any function that matters to you in the official release notes.
Why Microsoft Now Delivers Small Updates
Clients who worked with Dynamics GP 2013 or 2015 sometimes expect a long catalog of new modules, and four items surprise them. Microsoft’s priorities explain the difference. Its investment for smaller companies now flows into cloud products, with Dynamics 365 Business Central at the center, and GP is kept stable instead of being expanded. In practice, Dynamics GP gets tax and regulatory changes, compatibility work and a few improvements requested by customers.
We always emphasize this point in client meetings: judge 18.9 as you would judge a service visit for an important machine. The benefit is that the machine keeps running safely and that the manufacturer will still answer when you call.
Upgrade Now, Later or Not at All?
The right timing is not the same for every company, so we have listed the cases we meet most often.
| Your Case | Our Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Payroll for US or Canadian employees runs in GP, or you file 1099 forms. | Install 18.9 in November or early December. It arrives inside the year-end tax update in any case, and an early date avoids pressure. |
| The installed build is below 18.7.1756. | Start planning immediately. According to Microsoft’s current guidance, earlier builds cannot go to 18.9 in a single step. |
| The company still works with GP 2016 or an older version. | Give the upgrade top priority, because extended support for GP 2016 ran out in July 2026. |
| 18.8 is installed, payroll is not used, and the new functions are not needed. | Waiting until a quieter month is acceptable, provided one update is installed within the year. |
| A replacement for GP will go live in under twelve months. | Do not spend on 18.9. Put the money into the migration. |
In all five cases, keep the upgrade away from payroll weeks, month-end closing and year-end closing. Our general view is that organizations gain more from a planned upgrade in a quiet week than from another year of waiting.
A Simple Preparation Plan
A Dynamics GP upgrade seldom fails on installation day. It fails in the weeks before, when preparation is skipped. This is the sequence our consultants follow.
- Take stock of versions. Note the exact build on each server and on several user computers, since this determines how many steps the upgrade needs.
- Compare the infrastructure with Microsoft’s requirements. Windows Server, SQL Server and Office must all be at supported levels.
- List everything that is not standard. That includes each customization, changed report, integration and add-on, with confirmation from every vendor that 18.9 is supported.
- Prove your backups. Copy the system database and all company databases, restore them on another server, and check that Dynamics GP opens.
- Rehearse with real data. Upgrade the restored copy and let key users post invoices, run payments and print reports before the live date is fixed.
Nearly all the difficult upgrades we have seen share one cause: an add-on or a custom report was never tried in a test system.
Microsoft’s End Dates for Dynamics GP
Planning one update without looking at the product’s remaining life would be a mistake. The table below is our way of summarizing the dates Microsoft has confirmed.
| Date | Consequence |
|---|---|
| April 2026 | Dynamics GP is no longer sold to new customers. |
| Each October until 2029 | A yearly update is planned, and the final one will be 18.12. |
| December 31, 2029 | Feature work, tax updates and technical support from Microsoft finish. |
| April 30, 2031 | Security patches finish. |
After these dates Dynamics GP does not shut down, and your historical data stays available. What changes is the level of risk. From 2030, payroll calculations will rely on old tax tables, and from mid-2031, security gaps will remain open. Banks, auditors and cyber insurers recognize such a system as a control weakness, and they may ask questions about it.
Our recommendation is to treat the next three years as one project with two parts. The first part keeps Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) current. The second part selects and prepares the successor system, which for most of our customers is Business Central. Since a Dynamics GP to Business Central migration generally runs over several months, an early start gives you room to choose the timing.
How Our Team Supports You
Nevas Technologies has worked with Dynamics GP for more than two decades and serves customers from New Jersey and Chennai.
If you are keeping Dynamics GP, we take responsibility for the complete upgrade, including planning, testing and go-live. Our Dynamics GP support service then covers daily questions, and Dynamics GP training helps new and existing users.
If you are preparing to move, we provide a clear comparison of costs, including Business Central pricing and licensing, and a realistic migration timetable.
You are welcome to contact us for a first conversation about your system, without obligation.
Quick Answers
Does the update cost anything?
Microsoft does not charge extra for 18.9 when your enhancement plan or subscription is active, because it is covered by your Dynamics GP license. You only pay your partner for the upgrade service.
Are customizations at risk?
Most customizations survive an update without changes, but nobody should rely on that, so we test every customization in advance.
How long is GP supported?
Microsoft provides full support until the last day of 2029 and continues with security patches until the end of April 2031.
Closing Advice
Dynamics GP 18.9 will not transform your finance department, and Microsoft does not intend it to. It improves the audit trail for voided documents, tidies approvals in purchasing, gives administrators control over SmartLists, and renews your supported status. For the great majority of organizations, that justifies a well-planned upgrade.
At the same time, 2029 is closer than it seems when a system change takes many months. Begin the conversation about your next platform now, and request a quote when you are ready to plan either step.
