Microsoft Dynamics NAV Migration

Your NAV version is out of support.
The upgrade quote is why you are here.

Dynamics NAV 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2018 companies move to QuickBooks Enterprise, QuickBooks Online Advanced, or Intuit Enterprise Suite without the cost and re-implementation of a Business Central upgrade. Dimensions, posting groups, item ledger, and full history mapped and reconciled.

30-day standard timeline · 15,000+ migrations · Trusted by Intuit

Talk to a migration expert The NAV specifics

The trigger

Nobody leaves NAV because it stopped working.

Mainstream support has ended

NAV 2018 was the last release under the NAV name. Every version behind it is out of mainstream support. Your partner’s answer is Business Central, and that is a re-implementation with a new price tag.

The C/AL customizations do not carry forward

Years of C/AL modifications do not lift into AL extensions. Somebody has to rebuild them, and the quote for that rebuild is usually the moment finance asks what else is available.

The partner relationship ended

NAV is partner-dependent by design. When the implementing partner exits, gets acquired, or stops supporting your version, you are running an ERP nobody will touch.

You outgrew the complexity, downward

Plenty of NAV installs were sized for a business that has since simplified, divested, or been carved out. The ERP is now heavier than the company using it.

SQL Server and infrastructure cost

NAV expects SQL Server, an application server tier, and someone to keep both patched. That is a line item most finance teams would rather not defend.

Nobody left knows how it was configured

Posting groups and dimensions get set once. Ten years later the people who made those decisions are gone and the reasoning went with them.

The NAV specifics

What makes a Dynamics NAV migration its own problem.

Global and shortcut dimensions

NAV dimensions are the reporting backbone: department, project, area, and up to eight shortcut dimensions on top. QuickBooks expresses this through classes, locations, projects, and custom fields. Deciding which NAV dimension becomes which QuickBooks structure is the single most important design call in the project.

Posting groups drive the GL

General business posting groups, general product posting groups, customer and vendor posting groups, and inventory posting setup together determine which account every transaction hit. We reverse-engineer that matrix so history posts to the right accounts on the destination side.

Item ledger entries and value entries

NAV separates quantity from value across item ledger entries, value entries, and applied entry links. Inventory valuation is reconciled from value entries, not from a stock report, so the balance sheet ties at cutover.

Number series and document numbering

Invoice, order, and journal numbering come from no-series with prefixes and gaps. We preserve source document numbers as reference on migrated records so your team can still find a 2019 invoice by the number the customer has.

C/AL customizations and ISV modules

Custom tables and fields added by your partner or an ISV are inventoried in discovery. Each one gets an explicit decision: migrate, map to a custom field, or retire. None are silently dropped.

Multi-company inside one database

NAV holds several companies in one SQL database with shared master data. Which companies migrate, which consolidate, and how intercompany balances resolve is settled before extraction, not during.

Approach

Extract from SQL. Reconcile before you commit.

Discovery

NAV version and build, company list, dimension and posting-group matrix, customization inventory, and history depth. Written scope with a fixed cutover date.

Direct SQL extraction

We pull from the NAV SQL database rather than relying on NAV’s export tooling, which means complete ledger detail rather than what a report will render.

Test conversion and sign-off

Trial balance, AR and AP aging, inventory valuation, and dimension-based reporting compared side by side. Your controller signs off before production.

Cutover and first close

Delta load at period end, NAV retained read-only, and support through the first month-end in the new system.

FAQ

Dynamics NAV migration questions.

Which NAV versions can you migrate?

NAV 5.0 through NAV 2018, and Business Central on-premise or cloud. Older Navision installs are handled case by case once we see the database.

Do we need our NAV partner involved?

Not usually. We need a SQL backup or read access to the database, plus documentation of any customizations if it exists. Where a partner is still engaged, we work with them.

What happens to our dimensions in QuickBooks?

Mapped to classes, locations, projects, and custom fields, agreed in discovery. Intuit Enterprise Suite carries this considerably further than QuickBooks Online if dimensional reporting is central to how you run.

Can we keep NAV running in parallel?

Yes, read-only, for as long as your retention policy requires. We never delete or alter the source system.

Before You Decide, Read the Mechanics

Short field guides on the contract clauses and platform limits that usually decide this. Each one names a document or a report you already own.

Find the Escalator Before You Negotiate the Quote

A 6 percent discount erased by a 7 percent annual escalator, all three years priced out, and the three checks that change the answer.

Read the Playbook

Your Price Did Not Rise. Your Discount Expired.

Why a 20 percent introductory discount unwinds as a 25 percent increase, and the four things to do before you reply.