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Upgrade in place or start fresh
Your NAV version decides the route
NAV was sold under version names up to NAV 2018, after which the product continued as Business Central. The older the version, the more steps an upgrade needs, because each database has to pass through supported versions on the way.
NAV 2013 is a useful dividing line. That release replaced the old dimension entry tables with dimension sets, which Business Central still uses, so older databases need an extra data conversion that later versions skip. NAV 2009 systems may also still use the Classic client, whose forms have to become pages.
Business Central version 14 was the last release that supported C/AL and the C/SIDE development environment; everything newer requires AL extensions. So an upgrade usually takes the data to version 14, converts kept code to AL, then continues to a current version and, if you want the cloud, runs Microsoft's cloud migration from on-premises to online.
What happens to C/AL modifications
Rewrite as AL extensions
Modifications that still support how you work are rewritten using table extensions, page extensions and event subscribers. Where old code changed base logic directly, the rewrite hooks into a published event instead.
- ✓Table and page extensions
- ✓Event subscribers
- ✓Reports rebuilt in AL
Covered by standard
Business Central now includes features many older NAV systems had built by hand, such as approval workflows, Word and Excel report layouts and built-in API pages. Those modifications are retired.
- ✓Approval workflows
- ✓Word and Excel layouts
- ✓Built-in APIs
No longer used
A long-lived NAV system carries code for processes that stopped long ago. Talking to whoever owns each process, and checking when the related tables last changed, finds these. Retired code is documented, not converted.
- ✓Table activity checks
- ✓Process owner sign-off
- ✓Documented and dropped
Replaced by AppSource
Some modifications do what an AppSource app now does, with its publisher keeping it current through every update. Common examples are EDI, warehouse scanning and sales tax calculation.
- ✓EDI
- ✓Scanning
- ✓Tax calculation
The technical upgrade path to Business Central online
- 1
Assess the database
Record the NAV version, the objects changed from standard, ISV add-ons, table sizes and data problems. This decides whether an upgrade is realistic or a fresh start is wiser.
- 2
Bring the data to version 14
The database moves through the supported upgrade steps until it reaches Business Central 14, the last C/AL release, with kept customizations merged along the way.
- 3
Convert code to AL
Kept customizations become AL extensions and custom fields move into extension tables, so the base application is standard again.
- 4
Move to a current on-premises version
The database is upgraded to a current Business Central on-premises version: standard base code plus your extensions.
- 5
Run the cloud migration
Microsoft's cloud migration copies the on-premises companies into Business Central online, where your extensions are installed as per-tenant extensions.
Reports, dataports and the NAS
Code is not the only thing that has to change. Reports built for the Classic client, or RDLC layouts written for older versions, are rebuilt as AL reports with RDLC, Word or Excel layouts. Dataports from NAV 2009 and the XMLports used for file imports become AL XMLports or API-based integrations.
The NAV Application Server, which ran job queues and integrations in the background, is replaced by the Business Central job queue, which runs inside the service online. Integrations that read or wrote the NAV SQL database directly have to change as well, because Business Central online offers no database access: they move to API pages or web services.
Listing these pieces early prevents the classic surprise, where the upgrade works but the EDI file stops arriving.
Dynamics NAV migration questions
Is Dynamics NAV still supported?
Mainstream support has ended for every NAV version, and extended support has ended for the older ones and is ending for the later ones. Check Microsoft's lifecycle page for your exact version. In practice an unsupported version means no security updates and fewer people who still know the platform, which is a risk worth weighing in the decision.
Can we stay on-premises?
Yes. Business Central is still available on-premises, and upgrading from NAV to on-premises Business Central is a valid end point. You keep control of the servers and the database, but you also keep patching, backups and upgrades. Some companies go on-premises first and move online later with the cloud migration tool.
How much NAV history comes across in a fresh start?
Business Central gets open customer and vendor entries, inventory on hand, fixed asset values and balances, plus monthly net change for prior years if you want comparatives. Detailed history stays in NAV, which can be kept running read-only on a small server. The data model is so close to NAV that lookups in both feel familiar.
Will our users need retraining?
Less than after a move from a different product, but more than after a version update. The data model and many page names are the same, while navigation, search, role centers and the web client are new. We train on your own data in a sandbox, focused on the tasks each role does every day.
Which route do you recommend?
That depends on your version, the size and quality of the modified code, and how much history you actually use, so we look at all three first. Either route is scoped in writing before work starts, and the scoping call sets the plan.
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.