Upgrade Dynamics NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central

Dynamics 365 Business Central is the browser-based form of Dynamics NAV, which will include all the capabilities of NAV from Sales and Service to Operations Management, with the only difference between the two being their licenses. With NAV we had a concurrent user’s model of license, while with Business Central the licenses are based on Named Users. On-premise and Cloud versions are available in both NAV and Business central.

One critical difference between the two is that the on-cloud version is mostly intended for small companies with less complex business processes who don’t need the more complex features present in the on-premise version which is also costlier in nature. With the on-cloud version you can also get access to your data 24/7 from any device and in real time which can’t be done in the on-premise version unless you have high-availability network hardware.

It is easy to move Data from NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central. You can use the Data Migration tools of Rapid Start Services or move it naturally by entering it directly to the company.

As an offering from Microsoft, Dynamics 365 Business Central can be integrated with other Microsoft Products such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and communication applications like Microsoft Teams, PowerApps, Power BI, etc. Additionally, it also has many standard API’s available which can be used to create Connect Apps which can be published in App Store and integrated with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. This can be used in the scenario where a point to point connection is needed to connect a third-party service and Business Central. Some examples of such Apps are Shopify Connector and ADP Workforce Now. Microsoft AppStore has many third-party extensions which can be extend functionality of Business Central that may be needed for your specific industry process.

Like data migrations, old integrations or customizations can be migrated to Business Central easily as long as you are using a later version of NAV like NAV 2017/2018. The older the version, the more difficult it is to migrate to either the cloud or on-premise version of Business Central due to the large difference from the standard version. In order to use the old customizations in Business Central they need to be made as extensions in order to be suitable for integrating with the new BC deployment. In some case the old customization might not integrate because it is too incompatible or because a similar in-build functionality already exists in Business Central. In many cases you might not need to migrate old customizations as Business Central already has a wide variety of functionality for the user’s needs.

Business Central online is fully integrated with Office 365 so that you can navigate freely between Office 365 apps and Business Central using the app launcher. In Business Central, you can open data in Excel, print reports using Word, and you can work with your Business Central data in Outlook

With the addition of standard reports, Business Central Users can make more informed decisions and strategies by accessing data, creating reports and viewing dashboards all using mobile applications. Power BI presents these statistics in real time and ensures that the user is provided with all the latest insights.

The cost of Dynamics 365 Business Central is determined by the licenses purchased by the user. The Essential License is priced at $70/named user/month. The Premium License is priced at $100/named user/month. The Team Member License is priced at $8/named user/month.

Business Central (on-premises or on-cloud) is licensed on per named-user basis. Microsoft has changed the licensing model from concurrent users to named users.

Microsoft offers several types of paid licenses such as:

• Essential
• Premium
• Team Member
• External Accountant.

Based on the licenses purchased by the user they are given certain entitlements which are permissions that describe which objects in business central a customer is permitted to use. Like NAV, Business Central on-premises also has perpetual and subscription licensing with the monthly fee under the subscription model being based on the number of users.

Yes, Microsoft Dynamics Business Central does allow dual user rights. To take advantage of Dual Use rights, a Dynamics 365 Business Central cloud subscription needs to be activated via CSP.

Through June 30, 2021, Microsoft is offering a 40% discount on Business Central licenses for any existing Microsoft Dynamics customer using the following:

• Dynamics NAV
• Dynamics GP
• Dynamics SL

This discount only applies to Dynamics 365 Business Central cloud subscription licenses. Customers cannot use it for Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises licenses or perpetual licenses.