Key Business Central Features NAV Users Gain Immediately

You’ve been on Dynamics NAV for years. It’s familiar, it’s stable, and your team can run it in their sleep.

So when someone says, “You should move to Business Central before 2026,” it can feel like change for the sake of change.

But here’s what we’re seeing in real projects: teams moving from NAV to Business Central aren’t just “staying supported.” They’re getting real wins in the first few weeks, faster reporting, easier approvals, fewer manual steps, and better visibility without living in Excel.

This guide is a practical look at what NAV users typically gain immediately after moving to Business Central and what you can realistically roll out in your first 30 days.

Why NAV Users Must Upgrade Now

The 2026 deadline isn’t just a date. When mainstream support ends, the risk isn’t theoretical:

• No regular security updates
• No regulatory/tax updates
• Less help when things break
• More pressure from audits, compliance, and internal IT governance

If you’re responsible for keeping systems reliable (IT/ERP/admin/ops), running unsupported software becomes harder to justify every year.

What’s actually pushing companies to move?

In conversations with NAV customers, the usual reasons sound like this:

• Reporting takes too long. – People export, clean, rebuild, and re-check numbers.
• We need mobile access. – Approvals and checks shouldn’t require a laptop in the office.
• We’re spending too much just to keep NAV running. – Servers, patches, and workarounds add up.
• We want automation. – We are not seeking a drastic change, but rather a reduction in the number of repetitive tasks.

What changes right away when you go live on Business Central?

Here are the “day one” differences most NAV teams notice first:

1) Built-in Power BI experience

You don’t need to export data and rebuild charts every time someone asks a new question. Business Central works naturally with Power BI, so leaders can see live dashboards and drill down into details.

2) Mobile + browser access

Business Central runs in a web browser and mobile apps (iOS/Android). That means:

• Approving purchase orders from the warehouse
• Checking inventory while you’re with a supplier
• Reviewing KPIs without VPN and remote desktop setups

3) Copilot (AI) for everyday ERP work

This is where NAV users usually go: “Okay… this is actually useful.”

Depending on your setup and licensing, Copilot can help with things like

• spotting anomalies or duplicates
• suggesting next steps
• drafting text (like follow-ups or summaries)
• speeding up routine finance/admin workflows

4) Updates that don’t become mini-projects

Business Central (cloud) receives ongoing updates without the same patching overhead that NAV teams are used to. The practical benefit: fewer weekend “maintenance windows” and less version anxiety.

NAV vs Business Central

The 6 quick wins NAV users should focus on first

If we try to enable everything at once, teams get overwhelmed. If we focus on a small set of improvements, adoption usually goes smoothly.

1) Universal search

Instead of clicking through menus, users can search once and land on the right record, customer, invoice, order, item, contactfast.

What this fixes: the “I know it exists, I just can’t find it” NAV frustration.

2) Role Centers Tailored for Your Job

Business Central dashboards can be tailored so users see what matters to them:

• Finance: cash position, approvals, aging, KPIs
• Warehouse: picks, inventory alerts, availability
• Sales: pipeline, orders, customer status

What this fixes: the generic homepage and menu-heavy navigation.

3) Email-to-process automation with Power Automate

NAV teams often spend time re-keying information from emails.

With Business Central + Power Automate, you can streamline things like:

• creating records from standardized email inputs
• routing approvals based on value/criteria
• sending confirmations automatically

4) Extensions Marketplace

NAV customizations can become expensive to maintain because every upgrade cycle becomes a testing cycle.

Business Central’s ecosystem (AppSource) lets you add common capabilities via extensions, often faster to deploy and easier to keep updated.

5) Better inventory visibility + forecasting support

If your NAV “real-time” inventory depends on perfect posting discipline, the moment someone misses a step, trust drops.

Business Central improves visibility across locations and workflows, and supports smarter planning, especially when combined with modern reporting.

What this fixes: planning in spreadsheets because system numbers aren’t trusted.

6) Compliance and localization updates without panic

Tax changes, local requirements, and ongoing updates tend to be simpler in a cloud model than a patch-and-pray cycle.

What this fixes: last-minute year-end patch pressure and “who’s going to handle this?” scramble.

What migrates easily, vs what needs attention

Transfers smoothly (most of the time)

• Master data (customers, vendors, items)
• Historical transactions (depending on approach)
• Standard workflows/approvals
• Standard reports/layouts

Needs planning

• Heavy customizations (often better rebuilt as extensions, or retired)
• Third-party integrations (API updates, connector changes)
• Custom reports (often a great chance to rebuild properly in Power BI)

Conclusion

The gap between NAV and Business Central isn’t just features, it’s competitive advantage. Real-time insights, mobile productivity, and AI automation are transforming how modern businesses operate.

At 2HatsLogic, we’ve guided 20+ companies through NAV to Business Central migrations. Whether you’re ready to migrate now or just exploring your options, contact us for a free assessment. We’ll show you exactly what you’ll gain, map a realistic timeline, and provide honest guidance, no sales pressure.