product overview - metaphorix.co.uk overview reference: nav/what’s new/2016 date: december 2015...

Product Overview

Reference: NAV/What’s New/2016 Date: December 2015

What’s New in NAV 2016

What’s New in NAV 2016 - Overview

Date: December 2015 Version No: 1.0

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Contents

1 New in NAV 2016 ........................................................................................................................... 1

2 Technology .................................................................................................................................... 2

3 Ease of Use .................................................................................................................................... 4

4 Functionality .................................................................................................................................. 8

5 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 12



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1 New in NAV 2016

The latest version of the Microsoft flagship ERP product, Dynamics NAV 2016, was made available on general release in early October 2015.

In this latest edition there have been a range of enhancements made and this brochure gives the details behind them.

This latest edition takes NAV to a new level of user friendliness, efficient usage and mobile connectivity delivering even more benefit to new and existing users alike.

Dynamics NAV 2016

With the release of NAV 2016 it’s clear that Microsoft have invested heavily in providing new capabilities in mobility, business insight and cloud services, as well as deeper interoperability with the wider Microsoft product set including Azure, Dynamics CRM and Office 365.

This will allow users to enable mobile workers to use NAV on any device with streamlined, easy-to-use native apps. It will also offer the ability to get deeper insights into data with pre-built Microsoft Power BI dashboards and data connections.

With the addition of native integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, users will be able to grow sales, improve customer service and streamline the order-to cash-collection process.

The changes made to NAV 2016 fall under three main headings.

Technology

Ease-of-use

Functionality

The details in each area are covered in the sections that follow.



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2 Technology

2.1 Extensions

In Dynamics NAV 2016 a new feature called Extensions enables developers to customise and extend Dynamics NAV 2016 without directly altering the source code. As the source code is not directly modified, Extensions are also easily upgraded, eliminating code merging.

Distributed via an Extensions ‘Package’ file, Extensions can easily be installed or uninstalled, giving developers complete control over the additional functionality that they need.

The capability of an Extension can span from simple User Interface modifications to complete functions, such as credit card processing or vertical market functionality.

Benefits:

Easy to upgrade – simply install a new Extension version as part of the upgrade process and it takes care of itself, or upgrade an Extension independently without a full system upgrade.

Easy to uninstall – Extensions are easy to remove and you have the option to archive the data from the Extension when uninstalling or upgrading.

2.2 Test Automation Suite

In Dynamics NAV 2016 the test automation suite has been introduced for developers to test their modifications. The suite includes repeatability and reduces, or completely removes, man-hours spent on manual testing and therefore.

The test automation suite adds testing capabilities to the development environment, the C/AL language and the runtime platform.

Benefits:

Man hours saved on manual testing of code.

Cleaner code delivered to the end user.

2.3 Works Natively in Azure

In Dynamics NAV 2016 you can configure your NAV Server instance to securely connect to a NAV database running within a managed relational SQL database-as-a-service or Azure SQL Database.

The Azure SQL Database is a relational database service in the cloud, based on the Microsoft SQL Server engine with built-in, mission-critical capabilities.

Benefits:

Costs can be billed hourly instead of paying for a SQL license upfront.

Elimination of hardware and managed costs, which can result in near-zero administrative cost.



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Built-in support for high availability, automatic backups, data protection and fault tolerance.

Service level agreement (SLA) and compliance assures a database-level availability SLA of 99.99%.

Software is automatically patched and upgraded.

2.4 Works natively with Dynamics CRM

In Dynamics NAV 2016 when using Dynamics CRM for customer engagement and Dynamics NAV for order processing and financials, a direct CRM connection enables an optimal and seamless experience.

Because of the tight integration between Dynamics CRM accounts and Dynamics NAV customers, users can work efficiently in the product that they prefer, using the cross-product features for the lead-to-cash process.

Shared information and functionality between the applications provides easy access to relevant data from within either product without duplicating the business logic.

The integration is simple to install, set up and enable – and it works with a default setup in Dynamics NAV.

Key features

View Dynamics CRM data within Dynamics NAV.

View CRM opportunities, quotes and cases from within Dynamics NAV.

View Dynamics NAV customer statistics data in Dynamics CRM.

View the latest information from Dynamics NAV on the Dynamics CRM account regarding outstanding orders, invoices and balances.

Navigate easily between the two systems.

Selected entities are synchronised and linked.

Easily move CRM sales orders to Dynamics NAV for processing and posting.



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3 Ease of Use

It’s all about power to the people. This series of enhancements are designed to deliver more power to your workforce.

The changes in this section of the product include the following.

3.1 Dynamics NAV for Tablets

Although delivered in NAV 2015 this interface is much improved in NAV 2016. NAV for tablets allows users to get access to the data they need from the device they prefer.

With a fresh and modern interface designed exclusively for touch, it provides the familiar Role Tailored experience so that users can get real work done at home, at work or on the go.

Customising and role-tailoring your tablet experience becomes a simple task using the Dynamics NAV Development Environment and the Tablet client running in the browser.

Download and install the app today from the Windows Store, App Store or Google Play and connect to your Dynamics NAV 2016 Server.

Touch screen design

The ability to use the NAV solution across multiple platforms and devices, with easy to use touch-screen technology, is particularly useful when combined with new role-based features.

The end result is an increase in productivity irrespective of the user’s location - in the office or out on the road.

Faster input

Dynamics NAV 2016 is more intuitive for the end-user:

Making data entry on pages faster by showing mandatory input fields (Mandatory Fields).

Faster processing by automatically filling in document numbers (Auto-fill No. field).

Easier review of documents such as orders, invoices and credit memos by having totals shown on the page (Total section on document pages).

Increased productivity by only showing what is relevant to the user, depending on a user’s permission sets and licence.

In Dynamics NAV 2016 the Universal App delivers a familiar role-tailored experience on all your devices - from tablets, notebooks and 2-in-1s, to desktop computers and smartphones, making it a truly universal app.

Developing new content for the app is simple, without the maintenance headache of different devices or platforms. In fact, the app is entirely powered by your Dynamics NAV server, including the tables, pages and business logic you already use today.



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Because this is all built on the same technology as the Dynamics NAV Web client, you install, configure, secure, license and extend in the same familiar way.

Benefits:

Empower remote workers such as salespeople in the field, service engineers, executives, consultants, bookkeepers and more.

Capture information closer to the source.

Reduce end-to-end time.

A connected organisation from headquarters to the front line.

Allows you to be at the forefront of a world that is mobile-first and cloud-first.

3.2 Web Client and Tablet Enhancements

There have been a number of enhancements to both the Web Client and Tablet to ensure the Role Tailored experience is delivered to all users regardless of the access device.



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4 Functionality

4.1 Finance

4.1.1 Deferrals

In Dynamics NAV 2016 you can automatically defer revenues and expenses over a predefined schedule.

Revenues or expenses over multiple accounting periods are not necessarily recognised in the accounting period in which the sales or purchase document is posted and payment is received or made.

To defer revenues or expenses to relevant accounting periods, you can set up deferral templates with deferral schedules.

Benefits:

This enables companies to easily recognise revenues or expenses over time.

Greatly reduces the time and effort required to defer revenues and expenses.

Enables reporting on deferred amounts for customers, vendors, and account ledgers.

4.1.2 Posting Preview

In Dynamics NAV 2016 a new feature called Posting Preview enables you to preview the impact of a posting against each ledger associated with a document.

On every document and journal that can be posted, you can click Preview Posting to review the different types of entries that will be created when you post the document or journal.

Benefits:

Understand, prior to posting, the effect the transaction will have on related ledgers.

Reduce errors in posting.

Have confidence in the posting setup.

4.1.3 Word Documents

In Dynamics NAV 2016 Microsoft Word forms for customer statements enables you to easily create multiple custom report layouts using Microsoft Word for individual customers.

You can use these layouts to assign to a customer by document type a specific report and an email address for that document. For example, if the statement needs to be sent to the Receivables department but the invoice needs to go to Sales, you can have different email message destinations.

Benefits:



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Save time using Microsoft Word format defaults for Customer Statements.

You can assign Word formats by document type for each customer improving the ease of data entry.

You can assign specific email addresses by document type for each customer improving efficiency.

Enhanced functionality when you print customer statements – the assigned format and email addresses to send the documents are automatically used.

4.1.4 Document Management

In Dynamics NAV 2016 you can store incoming documents, for example, PDFs from vendors, or scanned or captured images of paper versions, and you can use these documents to create corresponding purchase documents or journal lines. You can also track the original document from draft and posted purchase documents, as well as from ledger entries.

Once In Dynamics NAV 2016 to capture invoices you can use an external optical character recognition (Lexmark ICS) service. Similar to electronic documents, the Lexmark ICS integration means that unstructured PDFs or scanned invoices or credit memos can be extracted into structured data, allowing further automatic processing without any need to retype.

Workflows can be added for both approval flows and automated processing, for example, based on vendor or amount data.

Using the supported, out-of-the-box, cloud-based Lexmark ICS service, Readsoft Online, you can extract information about headers and totals. Documents can also be forwarded directly to the Lexmark ICS service, using an email message.

Benefits:

Capture - use device cameras to capture invoices on the go.

Store - archive invoices in Dynamics NAV as incoming documents, allowing a single storage and easy backup.

Extract - use a cloud-based Lexmark ICS service to extract data from the invoice and create purchase invoices or journal lines in Dynamics NAV without any typing.

Automate - add approval workflows and automatic processing to optimise the incoming document handling and reduce time spent.

Find - locate the original invoice from any generated purchase invoice or journal line, for example, as part of auditing.

4.1.5 Electronic Invoicing

In Dynamics NAV 2016 you can send and receive electronic invoices and credit memos in the Pan-European Public Procurement (PEPPOL), B2G format, through the freemium document exchange service Tradeshift.



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Received electronic documents are integrated into the document management features, for example, they are stored in Incoming Documents along with PDF or scanned paper invoices. From here, users can create purchase invoices and purchase credit memos, or general journal lines.

You can add workflows to automatically process any incoming electronic document.

Benefits:

Benefit from the UN standards support for GLN, GTIN, currency codes, country codes, unit of measures, and tax categories.

PEPPOL B2G support - send and receive invoices and credit memos in the new European B2G format, PEPPOL.

Document sending profile - define options for sending documents per customer or customer group.

Document exchange service - use out-of-the-box integration to the freemium document exchange service Tradeshift, to send and receive documents over the PEPPOL infrastructure.

4.1.6 Workflows

In Dynamics NAV 2016 you can use more than 20 workflow templates to connect business processes according to best practices or industry-standard practices.

Anyone can design a workflow by creating or modifying workflow steps and selecting from lists of events and responses. A workflow designer can build sophisticated workflows, without the need of adding application code.

For developers, implementing new or modifying existing workflows is straightforward because the capabilities of workflows are separate from the workflows themselves, leaving developers with a library of functionality to choose from.

Benefits:

Out-of-the-box workflow templates, with situation-specific parameters, are ready in just a few clicks, facilitating sales & purchase approvals and incoming document handling.

Redesigned approvals functionality offers more capabilities and is incorporated in the workflow system to allow for easy extension.

The workflow designer contains intuitive layout and terminology, such as ‘When Event’ and ‘Then Response’, making it easy to model company processes.

Email notifications and approvals by phone app mean that workflow users can be anyone in the organisation and don’t require access to a PC to complete simple steps.

4.1.7 BI Dashboard

Microsoft have introduced a new capability called a Power BI Content Pack so that Dynamics NAV end users can connect a correctly configured Dynamics NAV instance to PowerBI.com and see a full business performance insights dashboard.



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Benefits:

Users can start using and exploring their own data using Power BI in just a few minutes. The dashboard gives users KPIs and charts on their live sales and finance data.

Each report contains multiple charts for a given set of data. Users can modify, copy to new, or create new content on the pages to get KPIs and charts from the data that fits their individual needs. Users can pin report elements to their existing dashboard or they can create a new dashboard.

The data for the package contains sales and finance data. The open infrastructure of Power BI will allow Microsoft to extend the content pack over time, creating a richer content in the future, as well as adding more capabilities from within the dataset when used in PowerBI.com.



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5 Summary

Today more than ever, small and midsize businesses like yours need solutions that drive efficiency.

Dynamics NAV 2016 delivers a host of enhancements and new features designed to help you accomplish this by giving your staff the power they need to do their job easier, better and faster than ever before.