Charlie Blomkvist
Visma Net and Business Central often end up on the same shortlist when a company has outgrown its bookkeeping software. Both are cloud ERPs for companies with more workflows, more companies and more people in the system. The difference lies in who delivers the Swedish specifics. Business Central is Microsoft's ERP, built for a global market, and much of the Swedish functionality is added with apps from other vendors. In Visma Net, the Swedish functionality is built and run by Visma: the bank connection, e-invoicing, the OCR number (the standard Swedish payment reference) and the VAT file. Here are the differences that usually decide it.
Short answer: Visma Net or Business Central?
- you want to build your finances in Microsoft's world
- a partner chooses and manages the apps for bank, e-invoicing, OCR and VAT
- per-user licensing works for you
- bank, e-invoicing, OCR and VAT should come from Visma itself
- you want to avoid apps from several vendors that have to survive every update
- many people will work and approve in the system
- approval needs to be split per line
- you want fewer vendors to hold together
What sets them apart is rarely what the systems can do. It is who delivers it, and who holds it together.
Business Central vs Visma Net at a glance
Business Central in Sweden: standard or apps
Microsoft's Swedish localization of Business Central covers, among other things, triangular trade, account codes, SIE export (the Swedish standard file format for accounting data) and a few reports. For Swedish bank formats, Microsoft refers to partner apps and states that no new bank and payment formats will be developed. OCR numbers and the VAT return file also come from apps, and e-invoicing requires an agreement with an operator.
Swedish formats via apps or agreements with other vendors. The standard payment file is SEPA in euros.
AutoPay, Visma's own bank connection, with ISO 20022 to the major Swedish banks.
Created with an app.
Calculated automatically in standard.
No Swedish VAT file from Microsoft. An app from another vendor creates or submits it.
AutoReport, Visma's own service, creates the XML file for the Swedish Tax Agency.
Separate agreement with an operator, such as Pagero or Avalara.
Via Visma, with AutoInvoice.
It works, but every app is one more vendor, one more agreement and one more thing that has to work after every update. Bankgirot's old file formats (Bankgirot is the Swedish giro payment system) are also being phased out during 2026, and in Business Central the Swedish bank formats sit with the apps. In Visma Net, it is Visma that builds and runs the bank connection.
Updates
Business Central gets two major updates a year. An app that is not compatible can cause the update to fail. It is then retried, and eventually the app can be uninstalled automatically so the update goes through. Finding a solution is the responsibility of the customer and the partner.
Visma upgrades Visma Net every week, without downtime, and the bank connection, e-invoicing and the VAT file are Visma's own services. There is nothing from another vendor that has to keep up.
Pricing and licenses: Business Central per user, Visma Net per volume
Business Central is sold with a per-user license, only through partners, and anyone who only needs to approve requires at least a Team Members license. On top of that come the apps, such as the VAT app Smart Swedish VAT, which charges per user per month.
Visma Net is sold in four packages with a fixed monthly fee plus transaction volume, meaning invoices and payments, and the number of users and approvers is unlimited. The packages start at SEK 2,744 a month.
A simplified view of the pricing models. Options such as letter printing cost extra in both. Microsoft sells Business Central through partners, and the price is set at purchase.
The more people who need to work and approve in the system, the more the pricing model works in Visma Net's favor.
Supplier invoice approval
Both systems have approval workflows with amount limits and conditions. The difference shows when an invoice touches several parts of the company, and when many people need to approve.
Approvers per user, amounts and conditions in the workflow, such as department.
The person responsible for the cost center, the project manager on the project or whoever owns the subaccount line.
The whole document is approved. Approval per line requires custom code or Power Automate.
Line by line: an invoice with costs for three departments can go to three different approvers.
Each approver needs at least a Team Members license.
Unlimited approvers.
Approval per project manager requires project accounting, which is included in the Plus packages.
AI and what we build on top
Both systems have AI. Business Central has Copilot, ready-made agents for orders and supplier invoices, and an MCP server for external assistants. Visma Net has AI Connect, Visma's own connection to Claude and Microsoft Copilot, where deletion is permanently blocked. What decides it is what gets built for your specific workflows.
On Visma Net's API we build our own agents, for example:
An agent that reads reports from your other systems and suggests the journal transaction.
An agent that matches bank transactions and suggests the reconciliation.
Documents from email are interpreted and presented for approval.
The agent suggests, and you always approve before anything is written to Visma Net. Read more about what we build on top of Visma Net and about AI agents.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Visma Net and Business Central?
Both are cloud ERPs for growing companies. In Visma Net the Swedish specifics, such as bank connection, e-invoicing, OCR numbers and the VAT file, are Visma's own services. In Business Central much of the Swedish functionality is added with apps from other vendors and an agreement with an e-invoicing operator.
What does Business Central cost compared with Visma Net?
Business Central charges per user, and each approver needs at least a Team Members license. On top of that come the apps and the agreement with the e-invoicing operator. Visma Net charges for volume, with unlimited users and approvers, from SEK 2,744 a month plus transaction volume. The more people who work in the system, the more it favors Visma Net.
Do you need apps for Business Central in Sweden?
For most of what is Swedish, yes. Microsoft refers to partner apps for Swedish bank formats and is not developing new bank and payment formats. OCR numbers and the VAT return file also come from apps, and e-invoicing requires an agreement with an operator.
How do you move from Business Central to Visma Net?
Chart of accounts, customers, suppliers and items are exported and converted through our own conversion tool, Straviont Cloud Bridge, where they are cleaned and validated before they land in Visma Net. The conversion is included in the price. How the history should come along is something we decide together in the workshop.
Can we use AI with Visma Net?
Yes. AI Connect, Visma's own connection, lets Claude and Microsoft Copilot read and work in Visma Net within the user's permissions, and changes are only made once the user has approved them. On Visma Net's API we build agents for your own workflows.
How long does a switch take?
With us it takes from four weeks to go-live, depending on the scope. The standard setup Visma Net Core costs SEK 75,000, or SEK 125,000 with logistics, excluding VAT and for one company. Integrations and custom apps are quoted separately.
How to move forward
We never start with the choice of system. We start with your workflows: how invoices, payments and documents move today, where time goes and what is missing. We do that in a free 45-minute workshop, and the review is yours whatever you choose afterwards. If you are on a smaller system today, read about when you have outgrown Fortnox or Visma Net vs Visma Administration. If you run Dynamics NAV today, read what the end of support for NAV 2017 means and see how an order flows in NAV and in Visma Net, step by step.