Setup and Extension
Everything needed to set up Dynamics NAV 2018 for the first time is all in one place with assisted setup and wizards to make it very easy to get started. Manual setup requirements are provided in one place.
User Tasks
In each role center there is a user task queue to create system-wide tasks, assigned to any user, track due dates, create recurring tasks and gives user their own task list. Any overdue tasks are highlighted in red for easy identification of what needs attention.
Employee Ledger Entries
You can now create journal entries directly for employees. There is no longer a need to create vendors for employees. Only local currency is supported for this. You can also define the default posting group (account) for employees and access this information on the employee card. We can make payments to employees in the payments journal and apply payments to open employee entries in one shot, linking the payment to the employee journal and closing both. Further, one can easily correct mistakes with the “un-apply” payments option. Payment Suggestions provides a list of all outstanding employee payments. These capabilities are exposed through APIs, allowing ISV partners with expense management systems to use this new functionality.
Image Analyzer
In NAV 2017, machine learning was introduced for inventory and sales forecasting, as well as cash flow forecasting. NAV 2018 expands on these capabilities by using cognitive services so you can take a picture of people and products. For Contacts, it will automatically detect age and gender from photos. For Items, it will identify item category and attributes of an item from the picture including type and color. The Image Analyzer will by default only show the suggested item category and attributes with an 80% or higher confidence level, but you can select “View All” to see all suggestions, even those with low confidence. This setting can be modified in setup.
Dynamics 365 for Sales Integration
Integration with Dynamics 365 for Sales was introduced in previous versions. However, improvements have been made with a setup wizard for synchronizing Dynamics 365 for Sales (CRM) users with NAV 2018, guiding you through the coupling of users in both applications. Additionally, synchronization of the two applications now runs in the background.
You can also send a sales quote without having to set them up as a customer first. Sales orders from Dynamics 365 for Sales now can be created in Dynamics NAV automatically without manual intervention (no longer requires “commit” in Dynamics NAV).
Sync Vendors to OCR
OCR recognition is much better if you enable Kofax ICS within OCR service setup. It can recognize vendors that already exist in NAV when scanning invoices and purchase documents.
Integration with Microsoft Flow, Power BI, and Microsoft Office
Chad Sogge GPM at Microsoft announced improved integration with Microsoft Flow, Power BI, and Office.
Microsoft Flow Embed Experience
Using the new connector, you can create, edit, and manage your Flows directly from Dynamics NAV 2018. You can even connect and monitor “non” Dynamics NAV data. It’s also easy to manage approvals as well as modify, notify, and update data automatically. Lastly, you can select which Microsoft Flow environment in which you want to work.
Power BI Reporting
Power BI reporting is now embedded in NAV 2018. The content packs have been updated to support the latest Power BI functionality with direct navigation to content packs within your organization as well as to the general public. Setup is easy with all necessary connection information available in a single page, and the connector has been updated.
Create Contact Interactions in Outlook
NAV 2018 boasts the work that has been done with the Outlook add-in, which now provides more features with contact interactions. You can now use NAV templates to create emails in Outlook and track those interactions on the contact card within NAV.
Preconfigured Excel Reports
Excel Reports that are now found in the ribbon menu are Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Retained Earnings Statement, Trial Balance, Aged Accounts Receivable, and Aged Accounts Receivable Excel reports.
Company Displayname
Company name is “burned into” the table names and changing the company display name throughout the system was cumbersome and time consuming. Now, when you key the new display name in the Companies table, it is perpetuated throughout the UI and reports instantly.
Report Preview
When previewing reports, you no longer need no need to install a pdf viewer to render the report in pdf format. This gives a much better experience for the user.
It is everywhere (all supported browsers, all supported mobile platforms), embedded (directly in the client, no need to download and install viewer apps), interactive (toolbar, mouse, keyboard, select and copy text, hyperlinks), and modern (a new foundation to continue to build on the report preview functionality).