A free WMS for Business Central exists, and it is not a trial: WMS Express from Insight Works gives a warehouse barcode receiving, put-away, picking, shipping, and counting on Android handhelds for the first five concurrent devices at no license cost, on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online. It is a scaled-down configuration of the paid Warehouse Insight platform rather than a separate product, which is why growing out of it is a licensing change instead of a migration. This article sets out exactly what the free tier includes, where the limits are, and the signals that a warehouse has reached them.
Is WMS Express really free?
Yes, for the first five concurrent device licenses, with no support contract required. WMS Express is the entry-level mobile warehouse app from Insight Works. This is a completely free app from Insight Works for Business Central. Concurrent means signed in at the same time, so eight scanners on the shelf with four in use is within the free tier.
Three costs sit outside that statement:
- Microsoft licensing. Each handheld needs either a Business Central Device license or an existing named user license. Microsoft Learn’s page “Licensing in Dynamics 365 Business Central” describes the Device license alongside Essentials, Premium, and Team Member (Business Central license types). Insight Works does not sell or discount those.
- Hardware. A rugged Android scanner is a purchase. Insight Works sells devices preloaded, and the hardware guide for the free WMS lists tested models. Phones with camera scanning work for occasional use, not a full shift.
- Implementation help, if you want it. Setup is self-service through a wizard, with the knowledge base and community forum for support. Implementation help is available as a Quick Start option covering initial setup assistance and training.
Devices beyond five are an add-on rather than a wall. The comparison page lists the five devices as included per company, with additional licenses available. The app page carries the current terms, so a rollout that will pass five devices can be planned from the start.
What does the free WMS for Business Central include?
WMS Express includes the four warehouse jobs and a count, on whichever documents Business Central is already configured to create at the location. It adds no document types of its own.
The setup wizard offers three configuration levels, chosen to match the Location Card settings already in place:
| Configuration level | Business Central documents used | Fits a warehouse that |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Purchase orders, sales orders, transfer orders posted directly; Phys. Inventory Journal | Has no warehouse documents turned on and wants to scan receipts, picks, and counts against the order itself |
| Basic Warehouse | Inventory Put-away, Inventory Pick | Has Require Put-away or Require Pick on the Location Card and works one document per order |
| Warehouse | Warehouse Receipt, Warehouse Put-away, Warehouse Pick | Has Require Receive and Require Shipment on and consolidates receipts and shipments across orders |
Within those levels, the handheld applications cover:
- Receiving. Filter by typing part of a number, scanning an item, or scanning the printed document. Item pictures appear on scan. Lot, serial, and package numbers are parsed from the barcode. Barcode cross-references can be created on the fly. Posting can happen from the device or be restricted to the office.
- Picking and shipping. The same filtering, including scanning a printed pick ticket, plus assignment filtering and a review list for serial, lot, and package capture. The shipment posts from the device, or hands off to Order Ship Express or Dynamic Ship for carrier labels.
- Counting. Standard Count runs against a Phys. Inventory Journal batch, with bins optional: the counter scans the bin and the item and enters the quantity, and the batch line is updated or added. Review and posting happen in Business Central.
- Movement. Ad hoc bin-to-bin moves, limited to three items at a time.
- Labels. Item label printing from a Business Central report at receipt.
Handhelds never print directly. On Business Central online, print requests pass through Business Central to a cloud print service, and Insight Works supplies PrintNode Connector PowerTool for that step. This is a completely free app from Insight Works for Business Central.
Sign-in removes a common objection. The device authenticates to Business Central once with OAuth. On top of that, WMS Express supports its own user logins: a short name and password, or a scanned badge barcode printed from a badge report. A picker does not need a Business Central account and a two-factor prompt to pick an order.
What are the limits of the free WMS?
The limits are the features that belong to Warehouse Insight, plus two platform boundaries. Knowing them up front is the difference between a clean rollout and a stalled one.
- Business Central online only. There is no on-premises path for WMS Express at all.
- Five concurrent devices in the free tier, with additional device licenses available beyond that.
- Standard Count does not count lot or serial numbers. The Insight Works knowledge base puts it directly: “Standard Count does not support lot or serial number tracking. If you need to count lot or serial numbers, please consider purchasing the Advanced Inventory Count add-on.”
- No license plating, so no pallet or carton build.
- No Application Designer, add-on catalog, custom applications, or overrides. Column selection is limited to the shipped set, and a custom field on a handheld screen requires Warehouse Insight.
- Ad hoc movement limited to three items per move.
- Support is the knowledge base and community forum, monitored by the support team. E-mail and phone support is a paid add-on, and implementation help is billable.
One first-hand detail from the support queue: the most common self-install failure is a scanner keyboard-wedge misconfiguration, typically an extra Enter key appended to each scan, which makes the app appear not to recognize barcodes. Preloaded hardware from Insight Works avoids it; otherwise check the scanner’s suffix setting before blaming the app.
Does the free WMS work on-premises?
No. WMS Express runs on Business Central online only. The Insight Works licensing FAQ describes it as a free app for Business Central Cloud with no license purchase required, and the comparison page lists it as cloud only. There is no on-premises build.
Warehouse Insight, by contrast, is available for both Business Central online and on-premises. Microsoft Learn’s “Deployment of Dynamics 365 Business Central” page describes the two models (Business Central online and on-premises deployment). An on-premises warehouse that wants scanning starts with Warehouse Insight and plans for the larger on-premises implementation scope.
When has a warehouse outgrown the free WMS for Business Central?
A warehouse has outgrown WMS Express when it needs something the configuration deliberately leaves out, not when it gets busier. The signals below are the ones that show up in implementation calls.
| Signal | What it looks like on the floor | What Warehouse Insight adds |
|---|---|---|
| Customization | A supervisor wants a custom field, a different column, or a changed scan sequence on the handheld | Application Designer with documented blocks for building and changing applications in Business Central, no development work; extension events for developers |
| Production or assembly | Operators consume components and report output from released production orders | Production order consumption and output, assembly consumption and output, from the handheld |
| Offline work | Trailers, yards, or freezer rooms without Wi-Fi coverage | Store-and-forward queue for interruptions and full offline mode with cached documents |
| On-premises Business Central | The company runs Business Central on its own servers | Cloud and on-premises deployment |
| Pallets and cartons | Mixed items on a pallet need to move or ship as one unit | License Plating, licensed per company, for build, nested plates, and one-scan moves |
| Lot and serial counting | Tracked items have to be counted from the handheld | Advanced Inventory Count, licensed per company, with lot and serial reconciliation |
| Directed movements | The location uses Directed Put-away and Pick and replenishes from the Movement Worksheet | Directed movements from movement worksheets, bin inquiry |
| Other device platforms | A receiving desk on Windows or a forklift tablet on Chrome OS | Windows Desktop Client and Chrome OS client reading the same Business Central configuration |
| Voice or tile views | Workers want spoken bin and item prompts or a one-tile-per-line screen | Voice guidance that speaks the bin, item, and quantity and then requires the barcode scan; Rich Tile, Directed Card, and Compact Grid views assigned per device configuration |
Two rows carry an implementation note. Turning bins on at the same time as adding scanning is a Rapid Implementation, not a Quick Start, because the Location Card change touches every document. Adding License Plating to a Warehouse Insight project also moves it off the Quick Start track.
The full feature matrix lives on the WMS Express vs Warehouse Insight comparison page; this article is about the decision, not the matrix.
How does moving from the free WMS to Warehouse Insight work?
Moving up is a licensing change, because WMS Express is the same software scaled down. The Business Central configuration the handheld reads, meaning location settings, device configurations, barcode rules, and scan behaviors, carries forward.
That is the strongest reason to start with the free tier. A company whose requirement is receive, pick, ship, and count can stay on the free mobile WMS for Business Central indefinitely. A company that later needs production, offline work, or license plates moves to full mobile warehouse management for Business Central with the same devices and the same Business Central setup. Warehouse Insight is licensed per concurrent device, with License Plating and Advanced Inventory Count licensed per company.
FAQ: free WMS for Business Central
Is WMS Express really free?
Yes, for the first five concurrent device licenses on Business Central online. Microsoft device or user licenses and the hardware are separate, and implementation help is optional and billable.
What are the limits of the free WMS?
Business Central online only, five concurrent devices in the free tier, no lot or serial counting, no license plating, no Application Designer or custom fields, and ad hoc moves of three items at a time.
What happens at the sixth device?
Additional device licenses are available beyond the five included per company. The app page and the comparison page carry the current terms.
Does the free WMS work on-premises?
No. WMS Express is online only. Warehouse Insight supports on-premises Business Central.
Is WMS Express a different product from Warehouse Insight?
No. It is a scaled-down configuration of the same platform. Moving up is a licensing change, and the Business Central configuration carries forward.
Do I need to buy hardware from Insight Works?
No, but preloaded devices avoid the most common self-install failure, a keyboard-wedge suffix misconfiguration on the scanner.