We bring your Business Central v20 database directly to the current Business Central version – without intermediate versions, typically in 4 weeks, at a fixed price for the data migration starting at 4.500 €. Thanks to Live-Sync, your legacy system keeps running until the cutover date. Without the intermediate stop at v25 that Microsoft’s own upgrade path requires.
Support ended in October 2023
Upgrade from Business Central v20 directly to the current Business Central version
Out of Support
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (v20) no longer receives updates.
Mainstream and Extended Support for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (v20) have expired. There are no security updates, no hotfixes and no direct, official Microsoft upgrade path any more.
End of support October 2023
No more updates under the Modern Policy
Risk check
Risk checklist for continuing to run Business Central v20.
Five points that become a risk if you keep running the old system – and how the upgrade resolves each of them.
Support window
The maintenance period ends
Support for Business Central v20 ends in October 2023. After that there are no security or feature updates – and no supported way to keep running this release.
After the upgrade
Permanently within the maintenance period
On the current version you stay in support: two releases per year, security updates on an ongoing basis, without another upgrade project.
Feature set
No new features
Copilot, agent workflows and the automations of the current releases are not available in Business Central v20. The gap to the standard widens every six months.
After the upgrade
Current feature scope in the standard
After the upgrade, AI functions, Power Automate and the Teams integration are ready to use – without additional development.
Compliance
Legal requirements continue to apply
E-invoicing obligations, ViDA and GoBD keep being updated. Microsoft implements these requirements only in versions within the support period.
After the upgrade
Compliance comes with the release
Microsoft delivers current formats and validation mechanisms as part of the standard. You do not have to build anything yourself.
Extensions
Add-ons lose their approval
ISV solutions (add-on modules from third-party providers) are not maintained indefinitely for older Business Central versions. Your operations then depend on releases for which there is no more support.
After the upgrade
Maintained app versions from AppSource
On the current version you run the current app versions from your vendors, including updates and support.
Upgrade distance
The gap to the target keeps growing
Every skipped release makes the jump bigger: more changes to objects and extensions, more testing effort in a later switch.
After the upgrade
One step instead of many
DataMigrate Pro transfers your data directly into the current version – no matter how many releases lie in between.
Two routes, one destination
The standard upgrade path – and the direct one.
Microsoft offers no direct route from Business Central v20 to Business Central v28. The standard path runs through one interim version, each one a migration of its own, with its own testing and its own sign-off. DataMigrate Pro skips that chain.
Standard path · one interim version
How the upgrade runs without DataMigrate Pro
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01
Business Central v20
Your starting version. The standard path lifts it one step at a time.
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02
Business Central v25
An interim stop on the way to the current version.
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03
Business Central v28
The target – reached after one migration along the way.
With DataMigrate Pro · one stop
How it runs with us
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04
Business Central v20
Your old system keeps running untouched and is only read from.
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05
Business Central v28
Data and customisations move to the target version in one step. Until go-live, live and delta sync keep both systems aligned.
Why this works. The standard path needs every interim version because Microsoft’s upgrade tooling only carries the data model from one release to the next. DataMigrate Pro reads the source database directly at table level and writes into the target model – which is what makes the interim steps unnecessary. See the comparison with the Microsoft Cloud Migration Tool →
What is special about Dynamics 365 Business Central v20?
If you are on v20 today, you are running OnPremise
Microsoft updates cloud tenants automatically; a release is enforced after about six months at the latest. An installation still running on v20 today is therefore practically always an OnPremise or hosted environment. That is exactly what our path is built for: out of OnPremise, either back to OnPremise or into the cloud.
Access keys for web services were switched off in 2022
In the cloud, only OAuth 2.0 has applied since October 2022. Anything on your side that is still connected with a user name and key has to be converted; we list it in the Upgrade-Check.
Account schedules are now called Financial Reporting
With the following version, financial reporting was renamed and realigned. Your reports keep running; you should take a look at the layouts and column definitions.
Why switch to the latest Dynamics 365 Business Central version?
Business Central Version 20 is out of support
Missing updates, growing security and downtime risks. Business Central follows the Modern Policy with predictable releases and a current security baseline.
CoPilot & AI Features
With Dynamics 365 Business Central, Copilot/AI, Power Automate, Teams & Dynamics integrations are available without additional development. Processes become measurably faster and manual handovers between systems disappear.
E-invoicing/XRechnung · GoBD/GDPR · ViDA compliance
E-invoicing/XRechnung, GoBD/GDPR and modern permission concepts can be mapped cleanly in Dynamics 365 Business Central. That reduces audit risks and makes the system auditable.
Never a major upgrade again
With Extensions instead of base customizations and two automatic releases per year, Business Central stays up to date on its own. The switch from Business Central v20 is therefore your last major upgrade project.
Process
This is how your upgrade works.
From the analysis to the cutover date – your legacy system stays live right up to the end.
01
Upgrade-Check
We analyze your Business Central v20 database – you receive a fixed-price range and a schedule.
02
Test migration
Full trial run with your real data – you see your Business Central with your figures.
03
Mapping & Extensions
Custom objects, ISV add-ons and customizations are mapped or replaced.
04
Live-Sync
Your legacy system keeps running as normal; DataMigrate Pro keeps the data in sync until the cutover date.
05
User acceptance
Key users test the processes in the new system and approve them.
06
Cutover & Go-live
The switchover happens on the cutover date – without data loss, typically after about 4 weeks of project time.
Move from Business Central v20 to the current version. From 4.500,00 EUR
We migrate your data directly to the current Business Central version – without intermediate steps and without downtime. The fixed price for the data migration starts at 4.500 €.
Ready to start in Business Central in 4 weeks (typical)
Customers, vendors, items and further master data included
Complete transfer (entries, documents, history, Add-ons) can be booked in addition – details in the FAQ.
FAQ
FAQ – frequently asked questions
What is different when upgrading from v20 compared to a NAV migration?
The architecture change is already behind you: v20 works with AL and Extensions. So this is not about rethinking customizations, but about two questions. First: which of your extensions and integrations have a build available for the target version? Second: which fields and interfaces deprecated in the meantime actually affect you? The free Upgrade-Check answers both before a quote is drawn up. And one more difference: Microsoft’s own path from v20 to the current version necessarily goes through v25 as an intermediate step. We migrate the data directly.
What does an upgrade / switch from Dynamics 365 Business Central (< version 28) to Dynamics 365 Business Central version 28 cost?
Our entry-level packages start at 4.500,00 € for the master data transfer (e.g. customers, vendors, items, central setup data). A complete 1:1 data transfer including transaction data, ledger entries, general ledger history, posted and unposted documents, custom tables and add-ons is possible – standardized through DataMigrate Pro and therefore considerably cheaper than classic projects. The final cost estimate and the selection of the package that fits you follow a short assessment.
How long does an upgrade / switch from Dynamics 365 Business Central (< version 28) to Dynamics 365 Business Central version 28 take?
Around four weeks until Business Central is in productive use; with a large data volume or many customizations it can also take longer. During the migration phase we synchronize continuously, so that you can keep using your existing system up to the planned Go-live and Business Central is always close to the current state.
Do you also support Dynamics 365 Business Central OnPremise, or only cloud?
Both. In contrast to Microsoft’s own direction, we advise and deliver neutrally for cloud and OnPremise. What matters are IT strategy, compliance, interfaces and TCO – not the dogma “everything has to go to the cloud”.
Does a complete data migration take place?
Yes, 1:1 transfers are possible with DataMigrate Pro. Together we define cutover dates and the data scope (master and transaction data) and verify the result with reconciliation overviews (balance and document differences).
Can we also migrate the data ourselves with DataMigrate Pro?
Yes. DataMigrate Pro is built to be easy to use. Many of our customers carry out parts of the work themselves (e.g. master data mapping, test runs). We take care of setup, tricky steps, quality assurance and the Cutover (switching over to the new system). We have provided several guides for this.
Do you have references? This all sounds too good to be true.
Understandable question – our prices are considerably lower than what many prospects have seen in earlier quotes. The best evidence comes from projects: we have published a case study on the migration from Dynamics NAV 2009 to Business Central and can put you in touch with verifiable reference customers on request. An independent assessment is also available from Cedrik Ferner, author of a book on Business Central, on My Business Central.
Do our in-house developments have to be transferred 1:1?
No – and it would rarely make sense, because over the years technical debt has often built up that should be cleared out. We look at the business logic, but re-implement it technically as AL Extensions (events/subscriptions). The result: release-ready, maintainable, with no changes to the core. That keeps you ready for future versions and updates.
What happens to our Add-ons (ISV solutions)?
We check whether there is an AppSource version of your current ISV solution. If not, we replace functions with the standard or with lightweight Extensions. Our aim: fewer dependencies and simpler updates.
How do you minimize downtime at Go-live?
In principle there is no downtime with our solution, because we continuously migrate the data from Dynamics 365 Business Central (< Version 27) to Dynamics 365 Business Central Version 27 (double run with a parallel phase). This reduces the switchover to a few minutes. The step remains reversible, because you can keep working in the old system at any time.
Cloud or OnPremise – which makes more sense for us?
On request we assess this question for you, taking compliance, integrations, security requirements and costs into account. Cloud means less infrastructure effort and faster innovation; OnPremise remains a valid option if, for example, data sovereignty or special integrations carry more weight.
Can we migrate step by step (technology first, processes later)?
Yes. First the technical upgrade (AL conformity, data), then process optimization (e.g. Copilot/automation, reporting). That way you are productive in Business Central quickly.
What changes for the users?
In short: role-based interfaces, more modern navigation, integrated Office/Teams/Power BI workflows. Everything else stays the same: your data and processes are transferred 1:1 from the previous system and improved / adjusted on request.
Other upgrade paths
Are you coming from a different version?
DataMigrate Pro covers every NAV and Navision version as a source. Choose your starting point.
Dynamics NAV 2009
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Dynamics NAV 2009 R2
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Dynamics NAV 2013
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Dynamics NAV 2013 R2
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Dynamics NAV 2015
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Dynamics NAV 2016
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Dynamics NAV 2017
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Dynamics NAV 2018
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v14
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v15
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v16
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v17
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v18
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v19
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v20
● You are here
Business Central v21
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v22
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v23
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v24
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v25
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v26
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)
Business Central v27
Business Central (Cloud or OnPremise)