A test of your NAV skills

From Dynamics

Getting Started with Dynamics NAV

If you want to start learning Navision at a technical level, then the first step is to learn two things.

1) The data structure

2) The functionality

Although you will be tempted, aviod looking at or touching code at all costs. Programming/coding is a trivial part of Navsion, but still, it's very easy to get caught up in it at the begining, and many potential developers do so, and thus never learn Navision, and never become great developers.

Be prepared to open the Table designer, and just start scanning through tables, looking at links (preferably do this with F6, NOT by looking at field properties), and reviewing data. Functioanlity, you should make the effort to run every function you can find. Start at the sales menu, and one by one, open each and every form, and try each and every function. If the function does not work, find out what you need to setup to make it work, but try everything. To start with, concentrate on GL, Inventory, Sales and Purchasing, get those understood first.

Once you have a good idea of how Navision works, test yourself. I suggest the following test for all those that think they know Navision, and be honest, don't cheat.

Open or Create a new Navision Database from the Install CD. In this database, delete all companies. Yes delete all company data. And for the rest of the test, DON'T open Cronus on another DB, thats just cheating.

Now in this new completely empty Database, create a new company, and in that company do the following.

• Create 10 or so Items,
• Customer and Vendors.
• Purchase a few of each item from various vendors,
• Sell Items to various customers,
• Purchase Office supplies and pay salaries using Purchasing and GL Journals,
• Receive Payments from customers,
• Pay Vendors,
• Also throw in some vendor and customer credits or returns,
• Spread all the transactions over a year,
• Close the financial year
• Create and Print out a Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, and Profit Loss statements, and an inventory valuation report.

If you get this far, then you willl really understand Navision. You would have had to create GL accounts, and setup all the posting groups and posting accounts. It will be a true though mini exercise in implementing Navision.

The next test is to introduce Dimensions, Reservations, Lot Numbers, Item Charges, Transfers, Locations, Manufacturing, Expected cost posting, Resources, and Jobs.

Once you have that worked out, then its time for Warehouse RM, Fixed Assets, Service management etc.

In summary, if you really want to learn Navision, then learn the tables, then learn the functions, the rest will follow.

See also

• NAV glossary
• Learning Dynamics NAV
• NAV Interview