Comparing Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 Business Central
A NAV/BC Feature Comparison
If you’re on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, you should have a plan for moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. There are many benefits of a modern, cloud-based ERP system. There are many more reasons beyond the technical benefit and cost savings — namely, the surprisingly long list of features and capabilities in Dynamics 365 Business Central–that are just as valid. So, we thought it would be helpful to provide a NAV and Business Central comparison, which our own Gwendolynn Stearns was kind (and patient) enough to compile.
Microsoft puts out a major release of Dynamics Business Central two times a year–and by “major,” we mean Microsoft includes many improvements and enhancements every six months. That’s a lot of bang for the buck from the first release of BC in 2018 to the latest, 2022 Release Wave 1 (BC 20), which was released in April 2022.
This Dynamics NAV and Business Central comparison goes all the way back to NAV version 4 through the latest, Business Central 2022 Wave 1. It provides Dynamics NAV users a glimpse into the future, as well as serve as a reminder to those customers already on BC the importance of staying current with updates. As stated in the BC 2022 Wave 1 Enhancements article: “With Microsoft releasing updates so often, it’s easy to move past them without examining what’s new…Microsoft has clearly put effort into expanding the Help functions, improving performance and usability through easier navigation, and helping users increase productivity by providing in-app improvements.”
Below, you’ll find a NAV and Business Central comparison, listed by product (Dynamics NAV and D365 BC) and by version, broken out by functional area. NOTE: this is not a comprehensive list due to space constraints. Download the full feature comparison including Dynamics NAV version 4 through all versions including Business Central.
Here is a key legend for the following Dynamics NAV to Business Central comparison tables:
 | Basic Functionality |
 | Basic Functionality Enhanced |
 | Functionality Not Included |
NAV and Business Central Comparison: General
Responding faster to inquiries is always a welcome feature. Answering a customer about an order or tracking down invoices or purchase orders must happen quickly. The first version of BC featured big improvements over Dynamics NAV when it came to searching and filtering, but jumping forward to BC 2023 Wave 1, Microsoft made a good thing even better.
Finding related documents and entries enhances an existing capability used to track entries generated while posting specific transactions. The Find Entries feature has been available on most pages that display posted documents or document entries, but in BC 2022 Wave 1, it became available on all Role Centers. We’ve seen even more improvements and enhancements across the application from the early days of Dynamics NAV to the latest version of BC:
| General Functionality | NAV 4 | NAV 2013 R2 | BC 2018 | BC 2020 Wave 2 (17) | BC 2023 Wave 1 (22) |
| Find non-posted document lines in search | | | | | |
| Tailor the action bar to fit your needs on document lines | | | | | |
| Drag and Drop files onto the file upload dialog | | | | | |
| Zetadocs Express | | | | | |
| OneNote Integration | | | | | |
| Outlook Integration | | | | | |
| Data Upgrade Automation | | | | | |
| Provisioning Tools for Windows Azure | | | | | |
| Interoperable with Office 365 and Excel | | | | | |
| Web Client | | | | | |
| Automated Workflows | | | | | |
| Full Keyboard Shortcut Support | | | | | |
| New User Concept | | | | | |
| Multi-tier Architecture | | | | | |
| Additional Columns Through Personalization | | | | | |
| Enablement of Word Merge | | | | | |
| Single Sign On | | | | | |
| Hosted App in Office 365 | | | | | |
Accounting & Financial Management
There are many exciting new features in BC 2023 Wave 1, like using statistical accounts to collect data for financial reports, one of the many improvements that came as a result of user input. There are several improvements to the G/L, along with exchange rate adjustments. It’s exciting to see Microsoft automating more with each new release. That’s just the beginning; as an ERP with its roots in accounting, the number of significant enhancements since NAV 2017 is well over 60. Here are just a few:
| Accounting & Finance Functionality | NAV 4 | NAV 2013 R2 | BC 2018 | BC 2020 Wave 2 (17) | BC 2023 Wave 1 (22) |
| Use statistical accounts to collect data | | | | | |
| Reverse payment reconciliation journal entries | | | | | |
| Different G/L Accounts for Payables/Receivables Transactions | | | | | |
| Consolidate Customer and Vendor Balances | | | | | |
| Dimension Corrections for G/L Entries | | | | | |
| Notify Requester About Changes for an Approval Request | | | | | |
| Batch-Post Sales and Purchases as Scheduled | | | | | |
| View the Number of General Journal Lines | | | | | |
| Bulk Invoicing | | | | | |
| Cost Accounting | | | | | |
| Cash Flow Forecast | | | | | |
| Fixed Assets | | | | | |
| Bank Reconciliation Improvements | | | | | |
| Payment Reconciliation Journal improvements | | | | | |
| Intercompany Postings | | | | | |
Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management
Manufacturing was one of the earliest industries focused on with Navision, so, like accounting and financial management, the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management functionality has been deep for many years. Also, like accounting, the list of manufacturing enhancements since the days of Navision is impressive. Some favorites in recent Business Central releases include Fixed Quantity in Product Bills Of Materials, Set Default Dimensions on Locations, and Support Inventory Pick and Warehouse Pick Operations for Jobs. The following two tables highlight enhancements in the areas of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management:
| Manufacturing Functionality | NAV 4 | NAV 2013 R2 | BC 2018 | BC 2020 Wave 2 (17) | BC 2023 Wave 1 (22) |
| Flexible sorting on the Planning Worksheet page | | | | | |
| Defining lot sizes for various stages of production | | | | | |
| Fixed Quantity in Product Bills of Materials | | | | | |
| Define Lot Sizes for Various Stages of Production | | | | | |
| Register Capacity in Units of Seconds | | | | | |
| Sales and Inventory Forecasting | | | | | |
| Production Orders | | | | | |
| Graphical Production Schedule | | | | | |
| Supply Chain Functionality | NAV 4 | NAV 2013 R2 | BC 2018 | BC 2020 Wave 2 (17) | BC 2023 Wave 1 (22) |
| Undo transfer shipments | | | | | |
| Post item charges for each step of the process | | | | | |
| Set Default Dimensions on Locations | | | | | |
| Merge Duplicate Customers, Vendors, or Contacts | | | | | |
| Item Variant Code on Demand Forecasts | | | | | |
| Assembly Management | | | | | |
| Extend Price Calculation | | | | | |
| Supply Planning | | | | | |
| Costing | | | | | |
| Item Tracking | | | | | |
| Pick | | | | | |
Jobs & Project Management
If your business depends on project management or jobs, you’ll want to take a look at the enhancements in Business Central, and in particular, BC 2023 Release Wave 1. New features include tracking items used in projects/jobs, including picks. Here are more new features in our Dynamics NAV and D365 Business Central comparison:
| Jobs & Project Management Functionality | NAV 4 | NAV 2013 R2 | BC 2018 | BC 2020 Wave 2 (17) | BC 2023 Wave 1 (22) |
| Track items used in jobs/projects | | | | | |
| Allow different sell-to/bill-to customers | | | | | |
| Jobs | | | | | |
| Bin Codes in Jobs | | | | | |
| Report Selection for Projects | | | | | |
| Jobs WIP Calculation Compliance | | | | | |
| Improved Control Over WIP Entries for Jobs to G/L | | | | | |
Better with M365
The Microsoft Power Platform enables Dynamics Business Central to connect and communicate more easily with other applications and tools, including Microsoft 365 (Office). Business Central users get all kinds of benefits that were not possible with Dynamics NAV. You’ll see stark differences between Dynamics NAV and Business Central, including enhancements to Microsoft Teams integration, which makes it easier to share quotes, orders, customer info, and so forth, which others can edit in Teams without opening Business Central. We also like sharing a file through OneDrive, Outlook pop-out windows, and the ability to add email attachments to Business Central records. Still, there are many more enhancements in this area. Take a moment to scan them; you’re sure to find functionality that would benefit your business:
| M365 Integration Functionality | NAV 4 | NAV 2013 R2 | BC 2018 | BC 2020 Wave 2 (17) | BC 2023 Wave 1 (22) |
| New approval workflow with Power Automate templates | | | | | |
| Embed Business Central in Teams tabs | | | | | |
| Image Analyzer | | | | | |
| Microsoft Teams | | | | | |
| Outlook Add-In Popout Window Enhancements | | | | | |
| Send Documents as Emails with Attached Files Automatically | | | | | |
| Share a File Through OneDrive | | | | | |
We’ve mentioned only a few areas of note here. Still, there are many advantages to be had throughout the application, like Sales & Marketing, Service Management, Reporting & Analytics, and, of course, cloud and workflows. Download the complete comparison chart for details of the differences between all versions of Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Talk to ArcherPoint About Moving from Dynamics NAV to Business Central and Staying Current
If you’re still on Dynamics NAV, this peek into the features offered by Business Central should be enticing enough to take a closer look. And if you’re already using Business Central SaaS, the rapid development of the product means it’s very important to stay current with updates. Talk to ArcherPoint about a move to Business Central or an upgrade stay current plan. We have the expertise in managing the D365 BC release cycle you can be confident in, and we offer several fixed-fee upgrade subscription plans with a range of services, including BC SaaS “proactive” (Managed Services) and “reactive” (Break-Fix) plans. Contact us today for your upgrade plans!