Last Friday (01/12/2017) Microsoft announced the general availability of Dynamics NAV 2018.
For those of you that are not familiar with the product, Dynamics NAV is an end-to-end ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution that specialises in providing small-to-medium sized businesses with greater efficiencies and streamlined processes. Rather than having each department work off its own siloed data, Dynamics NAV gives your business the technological resources it needs to get a macro view of each of your organisation's functions. One of Dynamics NAV's advantages is its suitability for a wide variety of industry types. Whether you're a lawyer, in finance, a wholesaler or in manufacturing, Dynamics NAV is able to bring your business a wealth of value.
What's new in 2018?
Microsoft is working hard to better integrate Dynamics NAV with the Cloud. As such, part of this update looks to improve Dynamics NAV's capabilities when it comes to working with Office 365 and Dynamics 365. In fact, Microsoft has gone so far as to say that by mid 2018 they hope to expand Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations to include the full breadth of Dynamics NAV capabilities. This is great news for SMBs, as it allows them to take advantage of a complete end-to-end business management solution, while also experiencing all the benefits of Cloud computing.
The Details – Our top pick of improvements
In regards to application improvements, Dynamics NAV 2018 has focused on:
- Providing better payroll import
- More efficient OCR vendor Sync
- Easier Employee ledger entries
- Smoother importation of transactions &
- Dimensional analysis filter
NAV 2018 also sees big improvements in Microsoft's Cognitive Services, users can:
- Amalgamate artificial intelligence into the application to provide automatic facial, speech and language recognition
- Automate procedures, such as enabling product recognition so items can be placed in their correct category
Quickbooks File Import:
- Import payroll transaction files by installing the QuickBooks Payroll extension
- Aggregate payroll data, such as date, description, payroll account and amount
Along with easier processes, workspace personalisation has improved and also includes the ability to set User Tasks:
- Ability to personalise workspace directly in browser
- Move, hide and show a column on the page
- Freeze columns to keep them visible while scrolling
- Easily create tasks for yourself or colleagues
View and interact with Power BI reports:
- Access your Power BI reports from Dynamics NAV
- Interact and filter report by selecting record from the associated list page
- If you use Azure, you can sign in with Active Directory and instantly connect to the application
Preconfigure reports that are ready to print from Excel:
- Business Manager and Accountant Role Centres have new options in the ribbon for Excel Temples
Bulk orders, invoices and credit memos & Bulk invoicing from Bookings:
- You can now process large batches or orders, invoices or credit memos at the same time by choosing the documents and then selecting Post selected
- If you're using the Booking app in Office 365, there are additional capabilities to do bulk invoicing for bookings.
The Dynamics NAV 2018 update is a huge step in the right direction for Microsoft. By continuing to invest in the Cloud and optimising their products for complete 360 business collaboration, Microsoft is ensuring its place as one of the best, if not the best, ERP solutions maker in the world right now.
If you'd like to find out more about NAV 2018 and Advantage, talk to us today.
Words by Camilo Lascano Tribin
Main source: Oksana Kuzmina's blog
