If your business distributes or trades internationally and you are running Dynamics 365 Business Central, HB SmartTrade is likely the most relevant software extension you have not yet evaluated. This guide covers what it is, what it solves, and who it is built for.
The Problem with Standard ERP for International Distributors
Most ERP systems, including out-of-the-box Dynamics 365 Business Central, are built around a domestic business model. They handle sales, purchasing, stock, and finance well enough when the supplier is down the road and the customer pays in sterling. The moment you introduce international supply chains, the picture changes.
Multi-currency transactions, import and export documentation, customs compliance, landed cost calculations, international supplier management: none of these sit neatly in a standard Business Central configuration. Businesses working around this tend to end up with a patchwork of manual processes, spreadsheet workarounds, and bolt-on tools that solve one problem while creating another.
HB SmartTrade was built to solve this properly.
What Is HB SmartTrade?
HB SmartTrade is a purpose-built extension for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, developed specifically for businesses operating in international trading and distribution. It extends Business Central's core capabilities to handle the real-world complexity of cross-border commerce, without requiring costly bespoke development or third-party integrations.
Rather than adapting generic ERP functionality to fit international trading workflows, HB SmartTrade is designed from the ground up for that environment. It is sold and implemented by authorised partners, of which Advantage Business Systems is one, with specific implementation experience across UK logistics and distribution businesses.
What Does HB SmartTrade Cover?
Multi-Currency Transactions
HB SmartTrade handles invoicing, purchasing, payments, and financial reporting across multiple currencies within Business Central. This includes automatic exchange rate management, realised and unrealised foreign exchange gain and loss tracking, and consolidated reporting in your base currency. For distributors buying in dollars or euros and selling in sterling, this removes significant manual reconciliation work from the finance function.
Import and Export Documentation
Cross-border shipments generate paperwork. Commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, customs entries: HB SmartTrade manages document generation and record-keeping within Business Central, rather than pushing this into separate systems or manual workflows. This matters particularly for businesses managing high shipment volumes, where document errors create delays and costs at the border.
Landed Cost Calculation
The true cost of imported stock is rarely the purchase price. Freight, insurance, customs duties, port handling charges, and other costs all affect the margin on every line. HB SmartTrade calculates and allocates landed costs accurately within Business Central, giving buying teams a realistic view of product cost and enabling more reliable margin analysis.
Without this, many businesses are working with product cost figures that do not reflect what they actually paid to get goods into their warehouse. The margin reporting is wrong, and pricing decisions are made on inaccurate data.
International Supplier Management
Managing international suppliers requires visibility of lead times, payment terms, currency exposure, and performance over time. HB SmartTrade extends Business Central's supplier management capabilities to cover the specific demands of international procurement, including multi-currency purchase orders, international payment scheduling, and supplier performance tracking across your supply base.
Customs Compliance
Post-Brexit customs compliance has become a significant operational challenge for UK distributors with European supply chains. HB SmartTrade includes customs compliance tools that keep documentation and declarations aligned with current requirements within the Business Central workflow, rather than requiring a separate compliance system or manual intervention at each shipment.
Who Is HB SmartTrade For?
HB SmartTrade is suited to a specific type of business. It is most valuable for UK distributors and wholesalers that meet most or all of the following criteria:
- You source products internationally, whether from Europe, Asia, the Americas, or elsewhere
- You deal with multiple currencies in purchasing, selling, or both
- Import or export documentation is a regular part of your operations
- Landed cost accuracy matters to your margin management and pricing decisions
- You are running Business Central or evaluating it as your ERP platform
- You want international trading functionality without commissioning bespoke development
It is not a tool for businesses operating entirely in the domestic UK market. If your supply chain and customer base are purely domestic, standard Business Central will handle your requirements without the SmartTrade extension.
How Does HB SmartTrade Compare to Bespoke Development?
The alternative to HB SmartTrade for a business with complex international trading requirements is typically bespoke development within Business Central. Custom code to handle currency management, document generation, and landed cost allocation is technically possible, but it comes with significant cost and long-term risk.
Bespoke code must be maintained across every Business Central update. When Microsoft releases new functionality, custom code needs to be tested and often reworked to remain compatible. This creates ongoing development cost and the risk of update delays that leave businesses running on older versions of the platform.
HB SmartTrade is maintained and updated by its developers, aligned with Business Central's release cycle. Customers benefit from ongoing improvements without bearing the maintenance cost of bespoke work.
| Factor | HB SmartTrade | Bespoke Development |
| Implementation time | Faster, pre-built functionality | Longer, designed from scratch |
| Ongoing maintenance cost | Covered by subscription/licence | Borne by the business |
| Business Central update compatibility | Managed by the developer | Requires retesting and rework |
| Functionality depth | Proven across many deployments | Only as deep as the brief |
| Risk | Lower | Higher |
How Advantage Implements HB SmartTrade
Advantage is an authorised HB SmartTrade partner with implementation experience across UK logistics and distribution businesses. Our approach starts with understanding your specific trading flows before any configuration begins. The international trading requirements of a food importer are different from those of an industrial parts distributor, even if both businesses run Business Central and both buy from overseas suppliers.
Implementation typically runs alongside a broader Dynamics 365 Business Central deployment or as an extension to an existing Business Central environment. We assess your current document workflows, currency exposure, supplier structure, and customs processes during the Discovery phase, and configure HB SmartTrade to reflect the specifics of your operation rather than applying a standard template.
For businesses evaluating whether HB SmartTrade is the right fit, the Advantage Transformation Sprint is a practical starting point. It gives you a clear picture of your current systems and processes and an honest assessment of where HB SmartTrade would add the most value.
Common Questions About HB SmartTrade
Can HB SmartTrade be added to an existing Business Central environment?
Yes. HB SmartTrade is an extension to Business Central and can be deployed into an existing environment. The implementation scope will depend on your current configuration, data quality, and whether process changes are needed alongside the technical deployment.
Does HB SmartTrade handle both import and export?
Yes. The extension covers both import and export scenarios, including documentation, customs compliance, and multi-currency handling in both directions. Businesses that both buy internationally and sell to international customers can use it across their full trading operation.
Is HB SmartTrade relevant post-Brexit?
Particularly so. The introduction of customs requirements for UK-EU trade created significant new compliance demands for businesses that previously operated without import/export formalities within Europe. HB SmartTrade's customs compliance tools are relevant to any UK business trading with European suppliers or customers under the current post-Brexit regime.
What size of business is HB SmartTrade suited to?
It is used across a range of business sizes, from growing independent distributors through to larger wholesale operations. The extension scales with Business Central, so it grows with the business. Advantage advises on the appropriate scope and configuration for your specific size and trading volume during the initial assessment.
Find Out If HB SmartTrade Is Right for Your Business
Advantage is an HB SmartTrade partner with implementation experience across UK logistics and distribution businesses. If you distribute or trade internationally and want to understand how the extension would work in your Business Central environment, speak to our team.
Contact Advantage today or call 020 3004 4600.
You can also read more about our broader Logistics and Distribution solutions, including how we help UK businesses with stock management, order fulfilment, and ERP modernisation.
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Advantage Transformation Sprint
