Dynamics NAV to Business Central migration: a step-by-step guide, main challenges & solutions

November 5, 2026
Elizaveta Kazimirova

by Elizaveta Kazimirova , 

Dynamics 365 ERP Practice Lead

With Microsoft deprecating Dynamics NAV and the platform’s extended support ending in January 2028, many companies are migrating their ERP systems to Dynamics 365 Business Central. As a logical successor of Dynamics NAV, Business Central offers comprehensive finance, sales, inventory, and supply chain management capabilities for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), helping them manage their core business processes in a single platform.

Itransition provides end-to-end Dynamics 365 Business Central migration services, helping businesses move to Business Central from any legacy platform and ensure the solution’s high long-term performance and scalability.

Dynamics NAV to Business Central migration

Main Dynamics NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central migration options

Depending on the Dynamics NAV version you currently use and your migration goals, there are several options for moving to Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Staged upgrade

Dynamics NAV versions that were available before the launch of Dynamics 365 Business Central 14 can't be directly transferred to the cloud. Therefore, businesses seeking to migrate to Business Central online need to follow a staged approach, conducting a series of step-by-step upgrades to move to the desired platform version. Depending on the NAV version your business currently uses, potential migration paths can look as follows:

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Starting version Upgrade route Dynamics NAV 2015 through 2018 Dynamics NAV 2013 and 2013 R2 Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 and 2009 R2 Business Central version 14 on-premises Business Central on-premises (version 25 or later) Business Central online Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central version 14 on-premises Business Central on- premises (version 25 or later) Business Central online Dynamics NAV 2013 or NAV 2015 Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central version 14 on-premises Business Central on- premises (version 25 or later) Business Central online

Direct upgrade

A direct upgrade, when the existing NAV solution, including data, configurations, and customizations, is directly moved to Business Central, is possible but not very common, since the following conditions need to be met at once:

  • The business should already use a recent version of NAV (NAV 2015 or 2018)
  • The customizations, extending the NAV system functionality, should be implemented as extensions rather than modifications to the base code
  • The existing NAV functionality and workflows still meet the company’s operational needs, so there is no need for substantial workflow or solution redesign

Reimplementation

Alternatively, businesses can implement a standalone Business Central solution, recreating necessary functionality, as well as customizations, configurations, and integrations from their existing NAV solution, and only migrating the data they need. This approach allows businesses to reassess existing system modifications, replace obsolete customizations and outdated integrations with standard Business Central functionality where possible, and redesign outdated processes instead of reproducing the legacy solution as‑is.

Planning to move from Dynamics NAV to Business Central?
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Step-by-step migration roadmap

While the Dynamics NAV to Business Central migration process can vary based on a number of factors, such as the selected migration approach or the NAV version in use, a typical project still follows several key stages. Our team can guide businesses through these stages, from assessing the existing NAV environment and preparing data for testing, final migration, and post-migration support.

1

System assessment

  • Conduct a full evaluation of your current tech environment to identify the current NAV version, inventory customizations, document add-ons and integrations, and audit data structure, types, and volumes
  • Review existing workflows to identify functionality that can be redesigned, replaced with standard Business Central capabilities, or retained through customizations, extensions, or additional integrations
  • Determine the most suitable migration option
2

Planning & data preparation

  • Design a detailed migration plan with a timeline and clear milestones
  • Map legacy NAV data to the target Business Central data model and assist with data preparation, including data cleansing, restructuring, and validation
3

Business Central setup & migration

  • Configure the target Business Central environment based on the established requirements and implement the required customizations, integrations, and third-party add-ons
  • Run trial migrations in safe sandbox environments to validate that core workflows (including sales and purchase orders, postings, etc.) function correctly
  • Transfer the required data to Business Central
4

Testing & validation

  • Run functional, integration, regression, and performance testing to identify issues in the Business Central system and integrations
  • Conduct user acceptance testing (UAT) to verify that the solution supports employees’ workflows and requirements
  • Investigate any discrepancies in the migrated data and refine the migration procedures before the system’s go-live
5

Post-migration support

  • Provide role-based training materials for end-users to facilitate a smooth Business Central adoption
  • Address post-migration issues and fine-tune configurations, workflows, integrations, and user access permissions as needed
  • Deactivate your legacy NAV environment after a full business cycle has run smoothly in Business Central

Why upgrade Dynamics NAV to Business Central

Improved user experience

Business Central offers a cleaner, more intuitive interface with role-specific workspaces that help users quickly access the relevant data, tasks, and functions. The solution also provides vast personalization capabilities, allowing teams to, for example, drag, drop, and hide fields, tailoring page layouts to their workflows.

Enhanced accessibility

On-premises NAV-based systems are tied to the office network, which leads to limited mobile access capabilities. Hosted in Microsoft Azure cloud, Dynamics 365 Business Central is accessible from web browsers and mobile devices, facilitating collaboration and empowering your teams to handle tasks wherever they are.

AI & machine learning functionality

Dynamics 365 Business Central is equipped with AI and machine learning capabilities, including Copilot assistant and autonomous AI agents, that are not available in NAV. These tools enable teams to quickly analyze data, automate routine tasks, and streamline finance, sales, inventory, and customer engagement business workflows.

Broader integration & customization capabilities

Business Central seamlessly connects with the broader Microsoft ecosystem though native connectors and APIs, facilitating seamless data exchange between the apps. Moreover, the solution uses extension-based architecture, allowing businesses to customize and extend standard functionality without modifying the core application, which makes the system easier to upgrade and maintain.

Cost savings

Microsoft provides regular Business Central updates, reducing adopters' maintenance effort. Additionally, the solution does not require physical servers, helping businesses reduce server infrastructure and maintenance costs in the long term.

System scalability

Business Central’s cloud nature and modern extension architecture ensures that it can support business growth, enabling companies to easily introduce new functionality, add new users, and integrate third-party add-ons and business systems, accommodating expanding operations as the business evolves.

Common Dynamics NAV to Business Central migration challenges & how to solve them

Migrating from Dynamics NAV to Business Central can involve a range of data, customization, and process-related challenges. Understanding these challenges early and knowing how to address them can help minimize migration risks and make the transition much smoother.

Challenge

Our solution
Handling large data volumes
NAV systems that have been used for years can accumulate large volumes of historical and transactional data, making it challenging to determine which data needs to be migrated and prepare it for the transfer to a new Business Central environment. Moreover, Business Central provides a defined online storage capacity, with additional storage available for an extra fee.

We thoroughly assess your current data and apply targeted data preparation strategies, including cleansing redundant and outdated data and mapping relevant data to the Business Central data structure. This approach helps ensure that relevant data is prepared and transferred correctly while limiting the amount of unnecessary data migrated to Business Central.

Transferring NAV customizations
Many NAV customizations involve direct application code changes. Business Central uses an extension-based customization approach instead, with Microsoft recommending to adopt extensions instead of modifying the Base Application. As a result, legacy NAV customizations, including custom fields in customer cards, custom tables, modified posting routines, and more, cannot always be transferred to the new system.

To retain custom functionality, we convert C/AL customizations to AL extensions, enabling their use in the new Business Central solution after the upgrade from NAV. This way, the extensions and the data they store in custom tables or fields can be migrated to the corresponding Business Central’s tables and fields, allowing businesses to preserve custom functionality their teams are used to.

Licensing cost considerations
While NAV has perpetual licenses, Business Central uses a subscription-based model. Businesses considering migrating to Business Central need to factor recurring license payments based on the adopted functionality and the number of users, as well as consider the financial impact of these recurring costs over time.

To prepare for the cost of Business Central, businesses should assess which users need system access and what Business Central functionality they require. Reviewing these aspects can help decide on the license (Business Central Essentials, Premium, or Team Members), custom development, and associated hosting requirements. For a more detailed assessment, turn to Dynamics 365 consultants, who can help choose the most suitable licensing options and calculate potential ROI for your Dynamics 365 Business Central solution.

Our Dynamics NAV to Business Central migration services

We handle NAV to Business Central migration end-to-end, helping businesses move from their legacy systems and supporting every stage of the migration process, including:

Why work with us

Official Microsoft partner

As a Microsoft Partner since 2008 with a proven track record in delivering Dynamics 365, Azure, Power Platform and other Microsoft-powered solutions of different complexity, we’re well-versed in ensuring low-risk migration of your business management solutions to Dynamics 365.

Deep industry expertise

Our team has robust experience working with clients across 20+ industries, including manufacturing, retail, real estate, construction, and professional services. This allows us to align our migration strategies with each client’s unique business needs by tailoring Dynamics 365 Business Central to industry-specific operations, data structures, and workflows.

Multiple collaboration options

To meet the unique needs of every migration project, we offer different engagement models, including full project outsourcing, dedicated teams specifically assembled to work alongside your specialists, and staff augmentation, with individual experts from Itransition joining your project.

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