Table of Contents
Upgrade Path to Business Central
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision/NAV/Business Central from an old version to the latest version, several questions may come to mind:
- Is it possible to upgrade directly from Navision to Business Central Latest Version?
- Is it possible to upgrade directly from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Business Central Latest Version?
- Is it possible to upgrade directly from Business Central old version to Business Central Latest Version?
- If there is no direct upgrade option available which path recommended by Microsoft to choose?
This post will clear all these doubts and will be regularly updated, providing you with a comprehensive idea in a single post, instead of having to search online extensively. Instead wasting much time let us coming to the main point.
Business Central 2023 Release Wave 1 April (v22) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 Business Central v15 Business Central v16 Business Central v17 Business Central v18 Business Central v19 Business Central v20 Business Central v21 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2022 Release Wave 2 October (v21) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 Business Central v15 Business Central v16 Business Central v17 Business Central v18 Business Central v19 Business Central v20 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2022 Release Wave 1 April (v20) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 Business Central v15 Business Central v16 Business Central v17 Business Central v18 Business Central v19 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2021 Release Wave 2 October (v19) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 Business Central v15 Business Central v16 Business Central v17 Business Central v18 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2021 Release Wave 1 April (v18) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 Business Central v15 Business Central v16 Business Central v17 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2020 Release Wave 2 October (v17) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 Business Central v15 Business Central v16 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2020 Release Wave 1 October (v16) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 Business Central v15 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2019 Release Wave 2 October (v15) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Business Central v14 | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Indirect. Upgrade to Business Central v14 first. i.e, Stage1: NAV to Business Central v14 Stage2: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect 2 stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage3: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 Stage4: Business Central v14 to Any Business Central Version |
Business Central 2019 Release Wave 1 April (v14) Upgrade Path
If you are planning to upgrade from Navision / Dynamics NAV direct upgrade not possible required to upgrade stage by stage. Following are the details
| Source version | Path |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 Business Central | Direct |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage2: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 |
| Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 | Indirect stages. Stage1: Upgrade to NAV 2013 Stage2: Upgrade to NAV 2018 Stage3: NAV 2018 to Business Central v14 |
My advice is that if you are using a very old version, it would be advisable to consider a fresh implementation. This involves uploading masters, opening balances, and going live, rather than going through multiple stages. However, it is up to you whether you want to keep the same records in the new database. If not, it is recommended to opt for a direct implementation of the latest version. Additionally, please note that migrating stage by stage may be time-consuming, as it involves compiling data from the old database to the new one, considering that the table structure itself has changed. For example, if you are planning to upgrade from the old NAV version 4.0, there have been changes in the Dimension keeping architecture. Improper upgrading may result in errors at the front end.
You may download any version of Business Central here
If you still having doubts then raise comment I will revert as soon as possible.