What version of Dynamics NAV are you on?

If you have a significantly modified solution and you feel that little has changed in your business since you implemented Dynamics NAV, and you believe you still need all that data in your day-to-day solution, it may be that this is the best upgrading approach for you. It brings your modifications across to Dynamics 365 Business Central as ‘extensions’ i.e. written in AL, and whilst this can be complex with some modification types, the result is your Dynamics 365 Business Central solution will still be upgradeable in future.

Taking older modifications from a Dynamics NAV solution and transferring them to a new AL extension in Dynamics 365 Business Central potentially requires some redesign and plumbing. Complete modules developed in Dynamics NAV as stand-alone functionality are easier than modifications to the core of Dynamics NAV functionality. Also bear in mind the functionality in Dynamics 365 Business Central is potentially newer than that in your solution (depending on the version you are on), so many of the modifications you had may be irrelevant. By simply moving every modification into Dynamics 365 Business Central you may lose the chance to gain from the improved standard functionality. Remember the more standard the solution, the easier its long-term maintainability!

This depends largely on the level and type of modifications, but in essence it’s generally more complex than the ‘Start from Standard’ approach. The move of the bespoke code to AL extensions can be complex (as described in ‘things to consider’). If you have a huge database, moving and upgrading all that data is a significant task to do in this process too. It also doesn’t give you the opportunity to review code which may be deemed obsolute because new standard features may replace it, or your business may not require the modification any more.

1. We take your database and review it for the type of modifications you have.
2. We convert the easy stuff to AL
3. We investigate the hard stuff and decide how to revise the functionality.
4. We build an initial system to play through the existing processes in the new version of Dynamics 365 Business Central.
5. We find areas that either can longer be used in the old way and revise.
6. We create a test system to test the existing processes.
7. Significant process testing is required by your team as the processes will be largely bespoke and every modification from the old system needs to be assessed in the Dynamics 365 Business Central upgrade.

• Companies who do not want to look at their processes.
• Companies who have a lot of modifications and believe they are all still required in the new system.
• Companies who want all their old data brought across to the new one.

1. Do I have to upgrade the code to AL? (Or can I stick with old mods in C/AL?)
No, you don’t have to upgrade the code to AL. It is possible to stick with your old modifications in C/AL but it is important to recognise that the solutions will not be easily upgradeable to new versions of Dynamics 365 Business Central. In addition, you can only upgrade to Business Central 14 (the 2019 Spring Release) as it allows both AL and CAL. None-the-less this is an option if you decide it’s the best way forward for your business.

2. Will I keep my old data?
Yes for good and bad you will have the same data in the new system as the old.

3. Could I revise the data taken on into Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Yes, you could have bespoke data transfer mechanisms created to only move the data you want into the new Dynamics 365 Business Central solution.

1. Start your new world ERP solution with a nice clean approach. Only take the data you need (remember the old stuff isn’t going away).
2. Take an opportunity to revise your business processes and tune them to best practice with the standard functionality delivered in Dynamics 365 Business Central – your current processes may have been agreed a while ago by different people! You may be a different company, sell different products or want to embrace new ways to bring efficiencies to your business.
3. Investigate how to use the new technologies available to you to replace bespoke code or add-ons in your existing solution that you no longer need e.g. adopt standard extensions for warehouse mobility, use standard bank reconciliation functions to replace bespoke code, or nHanced modules such as nHanced Order Management to solve your order processing needs with standard software.

This approach helps your organization get the best from your new ERP. This is maybe the first time you’ve changed solutions for over a decade, so it needs some input from your key staff. The right people need to help decide which features in Dynamics 365 Business Central, or its market extensions, make sense to be used in the new world. Some of these staff may need their time ‘back filled’ by others in the organization or temporary staff to allow them time to give their valuable input.

In terms of ‘complexity’ this is generally the least ‘technically complex’ solution and requires the lowest level of technical testing as the task is to use as much standard code, either Dynamics 365 Business Central or standard extensions, and only modify the solution via extensions (the new upgradeable development mechanism). So, the level of difficulty depends on how modified your solution is and where/what those modifications are. But we have an established process for understanding these.

1. We take your database and using our upgrade tools we build a standard database consisting of standard master data like Customers, Items, Vendors, GL Accounts etc. We calculate and post opening figures for Customer, Vendor and Stock Ledgers as well as bringing over open orders for both purchase and sales.
2. We use this database to run through a ‘Day in the Life’ of your business (we work with you to document this first). This helps us both understand how your transactions flow (sales to cash, purchase to pay etc.) will work in Dynamics 365 Business Central.
3. We work out and document the gaps in functionality and data which enables us to estimate the work needed to get this implemented.
4. We work together on a cut-over plan. This may be all in one go or in phases using a Functional Bridge approach.

• Companies with a very old solution, where many of the modifications are no longer used or required. The data has built up with lots of useless and unused information clogging up reporting and user screens.
• Companies who want to start afresh

What happens to my old data?
It doesn’t go away, you can still access all your history in your old Dynamics NAV system. Even better we provide automatic links from screens in Dynamics 365 Business Central to your old historical data to make the process easier.

Do you ignore my old modifications?
We don’t ignore them and we may refer to them during the process, however we do not simply transfer them. The modifications may have modified parts of Dynamics NAV no longer the same, your modification may be replaced by a standard feature or extension, or you may no longer need the modification as your process has changed.

Are all modifications in AL as extensions?
Yes all modifications (unless we agree otherwise) will be AL extensions. This means your upgrade is using all the latest technology and completely upgradeable.

Will this be my last upgrade?
We recommend you upgrade to new versions of Dynamics 365 Business Central more regularly than you have in the past! But these upgrades will be a much simpler and automated process because your Dynamics 365 Business Central solution will not have modifications, just extensions, which will be completely upgradeable.