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Why Business Central uses AL extensions, not modifications
In Dynamics NAV, partners wrote customizations straight into the base code. So every upgrade meant finding each change, merging it by hand and testing everything again. That is why so many NAV systems fell versions behind.
Business Central online does not allow that. Every change is an extension written in AL, installed alongside the base application. It adds to Microsoft's tables and pages and reacts to published events, but never edits them. When the April and October release waves arrive, Microsoft updates the base. Then your extension carries on, as long as it follows the rules.
The Business Central AL extension pieces most customers need.
Fields, tables & pages
Table and page extensions add the fields your process needs to customers, items, orders and ledger entries. They show up where people actually work.
- ✓Table and page extensions
- ✓New setup and document pages
- ✓Role Center tiles and cues
- ✓Permission sets for every new object
Business rules & workflows
Event subscribers enforce your rules at posting, release and approval time without touching base code.
- ✓Validation on posting and release
- ✓Pricing, discount and credit rules
- ✓Approval workflow responses
- ✓Job queue tasks that run overnight
Reports & documents
Report extensions and custom layouts for invoices, pick lists, statements and management reports, in Word, RDLC or Excel.
- ✓Report extensions
- ✓Word and Excel layouts
- ✓Custom document reports
- ✓Scheduled report delivery
APIs & integrations
API pages and web services let other systems read and write Business Central data safely. We add Power Automate and Azure Logic Apps where they fit.
- ✓Custom API pages
- ✓Inbound and outbound web services
- ✓Power Automate and Logic Apps flows
- ✓EDI, ecommerce and payroll feeds
How AL extension development goes from request to production.
- 1
Check the standard first
Before any Business Central AL extension development starts, we check whether a setup option, an AppSource app or a Power Automate flow already meets the need. The cheapest extension is the one you never need.
- 2
Write the specification
A short document lists every field, page, rule and report, plus how we will test it. Then you approve it and the price before Business Central AL extension development starts.
- 3
AL development and extension testing in a sandbox
We write the code in Visual Studio Code with the AL language tools and keep it in source control. Also, automated test codeunits run on every build.
- 4
Your team accepts it
Your users try the change in a sandbox copy of your company with real data. Then they sign off before anything reaches production.
- 5
Release and watch
We publish the extension to production outside working hours. Afterwards we check telemetry, so errors surface before users report them.
Per-tenant Business Central extension or AppSource app?
Business Central AL extension development questions
Will an extension break when Microsoft updates Business Central?
Not if it follows the extension model: no base code edits, only published events and supported objects. We also test every extension against the preview of the next release wave. So we replace obsolete calls before the update reaches you.
Can we move our old NAV customizations to Business Central?
Yes. We review C/AL modifications one by one. The standard product now covers many of them, so you can drop those. For the rest, Business Central AL extension development rebuilds them the supported way.
Who owns the code?
You do. You can access the repository that holds the source, and the extension installs under your tenant.
Do you also support extensions someone else wrote?
Yes. First, we review the existing code. Then we tell you in writing what is sound, what is risky and what we would change, before taking it over.
Talk to us about your project.
Tell us what you run today and what has to change. A senior consultant replies with a written next step.