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Microsoft Dynamics SL

Microsoft Dynamics SL at a glance
VendorMicrosoft
HeadquartersRedmond, Washington, USA
OwnershipMicrosoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT)
DeploymentOn-premises (Windows Server/SQL Server); partner hosting possible
Support statusFinal release is Dynamics SL 2018. Mainstream support ended January 9, 2024; extended support (security updates and paid support only) runs until July 11, 2028
Target marketProject-driven small and midsize businesses; existing installed base only, no new development
IndustriesProfessional services, government contractors, construction and engineering, field services
PricingNot actively sold; existing customers pay enhancement/maintenance plans; no published pricing
Websitelearn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/dynamics-sl-2018

Overview

Microsoft Dynamics SL is an on-premises ERP system for project-driven small and midsize businesses, known to most of its users by its original name, Solomon. The installed base is loyal and almost entirely North American, concentrated in professional services and government contracting. The product is in sunset. Dynamics SL 2018 is the final release, and what is left is extended support through July 11, 2028.

The company behind it

Solomon Software was founded in 1980 in Findlay, Ohio, and Solomon IV became one of the better-known Windows-based project accounting systems of the 1990s. Great Plains Software acquired Solomon in 2000, Microsoft acquired Great Plains a year later, and the product was eventually rebranded Microsoft Dynamics SL. Development effectively concluded with the 2018 release. Mainstream support ended January 9, 2024, after Microsoft granted a roughly six-month extension from the original July 2023 date, and extended support with security updates and paid incident support runs to July 11, 2028. Regulatory and tax updates stopped with mainstream support.

Core functionality

Project accounting is the center of gravity: project budgeting and cost tracking, time and expense capture, and billing models covering time and materials, fixed price, and cost-plus contracts. Around that core sit general ledger, payables, receivables, inventory, order management, and payroll, plus integrations with Microsoft Project and Office. Partners built the rest. Government contracting extensions, including reporting patterns aligned with DCAA-style audit requirements, explain the product's durability in that niche.

Best-fit companies

Professional services firms, government contractors, construction and engineering companies, field service operations: project-centric organizations, overwhelmingly in the United States. Microsoft neither develops nor markets SL any more, so the only meaningful audience is the existing base weighing where to migrate and when.

How it is sold

It is not. Existing customers run SL on their own Windows Server and SQL Server infrastructure, or with a hosting partner, and pay annual enhancement plan fees plus partner support. There is no published pricing and no route in for new customers. Those carrying costs deserve to be weighed against a migration budget in a structured selection process, not renewed by default each year.

Editorial verdict

SL is an end-of-life system, and the only live question is how cleanly its project accounting DNA transfers to a successor. Payroll-dependent customers are already past the comfortable point: tax and regulatory updates ended in January 2024, so year-end reporting now leans on workarounds or third-party services, which makes July 2028 a secondary date. Microsoft points to Dynamics 365 Business Central, usually paired with Dynamics 365 Project Operations for services firms, and that combination needs a genuine gap analysis before anyone signs. Acumatica markets a dedicated SL migration path and its project accounting was designed in part by former Solomon architects, which makes it the most natural functional landing spot for many firms; compliance-heavy government contractors should put Deltek Costpoint on the list instead. Nobody should be buying into this product today, and a customer still debating whether to start planning has effectively decided by waiting. Data migration planning is where the work begins.

What the Microsoft Dynamics SL website looks like

Current view of the vendor homepage, captured by our editorial team.

Screenshot of the Microsoft Dynamics SL vendor homepage

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Frequently asked questions

Is Microsoft Dynamics SL still supported?

It is in extended support, the final phase of the Microsoft lifecycle. Mainstream support for Dynamics SL 2018 ended on January 9, 2024, after Microsoft granted a roughly six-month extension, and extended support runs until July 11, 2028. That phase brings security updates and paid incident support, but no new features, no non-security fixes, and no tax or regulatory updates.

Can new companies still buy Microsoft Dynamics SL?

Microsoft no longer positions the product for new customers, and there is no development beyond the 2018 release. SL matters only to the existing installed base, which keeps running it under enhancement plans and partner support agreements. Anyone shopping for project-centric ERP functionality should evaluate products that are still being built.

Where does the Solomon name come from?

Solomon Software was founded in Findlay, Ohio, in 1980, and its Solomon IV product became a well-known Windows project accounting system in the 1990s. Great Plains Software bought Solomon in 2000, Microsoft bought Great Plains in 2001, and the software was later renamed Microsoft Dynamics SL. Long-time users still call it Solomon.

What was Dynamics SL best known for?

Project accounting for services businesses. Its strengths are project budgeting and cost tracking, time and expense capture, and flexible billing across time and materials, fixed price, and cost-plus contracts, wrapped around conventional financial and distribution modules.

Why do so many government contractors run it?

Partners extended SL deeply into US government contracting, including reporting aligned with DCAA-style audit expectations, and that work has no easy equivalent in general-purpose mid-market systems. Contractors that built compliant processes around SL two decades ago have had little reason to move, which is why the product held its niche far longer than its wider mid-market relevance would suggest.

What are the main migration options for Dynamics SL customers?

Microsoft points to Dynamics 365 Business Central, often combined with Dynamics 365 Project Operations for project-driven firms, although the functional mapping needs careful gap analysis. Acumatica actively markets a migration path for the Solomon installed base, helped by project accounting designed in part by former Solomon architects. Government contractors also evaluate Deltek Costpoint, which is purpose-built for compliance-heavy contract accounting.

How urgent is a migration if extended support runs until 2028?

The July 2028 security cutoff is not the binding constraint. Tax and regulatory updates ended with mainstream support in January 2024, so payroll and year-end reporting already depend on workarounds or outside services. Selection and implementation for a project-driven business commonly take a year or more, which puts a sensible start date well before the final deadline forces the issue.