Bramvia — Business Central Experts
NAV to Business Central Migration Checklist (Step by Step)
A practical, phase-by-phase checklist for moving from Dynamics NAV to Business Central without losing data, customizations, or sleep.
A NAV-to-Business-Central migration goes smoothly when it is planned in phases. Here is the checklist we use on real projects.
Phase 1 — Assess
- Inventory your current version, customizations, and integrations.
- Identify which custom objects are still used and which can be retired.
- Document open transactions, historical data, and reporting needs.
Phase 2 — Plan
- Decide cloud (SaaS) vs on-premise — cloud is right for most.
- Map customizations to Business Central extensions (AL), replacing obsolete code with standard features where possible.
- Set a data-migration scope: what moves, what is archived.
Phase 3 — Build and test
- Re-implement customizations as clean AL extensions.
- Migrate data into a sandbox and validate against the live system.
- Run user acceptance testing with real day-to-day scenarios.
Phase 4 — Cut over
- Freeze the legacy system, migrate final data, and switch over (often across a weekend).
- Keep NAV available read-only as a safety net.
Phase 5 — Stabilize
- Support users through the first month-end close.
- Tune performance and roll out AI and automation features.
The single biggest risk-reducer is keeping your current system live until cutover. Request a migration plan tailored to your environment.
FAQ
How long does a NAV migration take? 3-9 months for a typical mid-sized company. Under three only with very few customizations.
Do we have to migrate all our history? No. Masters, balances and open documents migrate; history is archived read-only. Migrating everything is the most common way to inflate a quote.