Dynamics NAV

Why are “mandatory” fields baaad?

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  • Reading time:10 mins read

Last time, I gave you a recipe on how to do a bad thing. If you really need to do something bad, I figure it’s better to do it the way that would hurt the least, or the way that isn’t so bad after all. I wouldn’t have dreamt of a comment on that blog post, but Ian came, and gave the perfect example which really explains why things like that *ARE* bad. Funny thing is, how many customers really go for such a requirement, and even funnier, how many consultancies give in. I gave in once, most of you probably did. But, why are mandatory fields so bad after all?

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Master data completeness validation

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  • Reading time:4 mins read

Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a very consistent user interface, that helps user get used to it pretty fast. Yet it has its own ways, that aren’t so intuitive to most of typical business application users. There is one specific feature which causes a lot of confusion, especially with those users only starting to use NAV. It’s the data persistence: as soon as you enter something in a form, it is automatically saved, you don’t need to press any Save button. Nor is there any Cancel button to forget the changes entered.

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Accounting vs. ERP: The saga continues

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  • Reading time:7 mins read

Running a business using only accounting data can be pretty much the same as driving a car using rear-view mirror only. The purpose of accounting is to provide accurate and reliable overview of financial situation to interested parties. What this financial overview consists of is the stuff that has happened in the past, in other words: history. However, there are many drivers of business success other than just history of events that contributed to wherever you are at the moment.

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Accounting vs. ERP: Sticks and carrots

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  • Reading time:8 mins read

When referring to their ERP systems, it is pretty common that customers refer to it as accounting software. While it is true that every ERP system embeds some accounting functionality, there is a major difference between these two categories of software. It starts with two things: what computers are good at, and the goal of accounting as a discipline.

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Automated version management? Of course!

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  • Reading time:6 mins read

Imagine that whenever you edit an object in C/SIDE Object Designer, and save it, the system automatically saves it in the version history. Imagine that it never simply overwrites your previous version, but keeps all of them there for you. Imagine that you can see all of the modified versions of any object, then make any version the current version by doing as much as a single mouse-click, no tedious imports and exports needed. Imagine that this is true for all of the developers on your team. Imagine that it is completely, fully automated.

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