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What Makes Navision Different?
When reviewing any
accounting software solution, I think that it is important to understand
how the product is different from its’ competitors. All products are
developed with different tools, different philosophies, and with different
objectives in mind. All products are targeted towards different sized
customers, and different industries. When evaluating products, it is easy
to get bogged down in the overwhelming complexity of the systems. The
reality is that all accounting systems have a general ledger with account
numbers and financial reports; they all have an average accounts payable
module that works fine; they all have a bevy of standard features.
Studying these common elements of an accounting system will get you
nowhere. It is the key differences that provide keen insights that will
allow you to effectively identify and select the right product for your
needs. With this spirit in mind, presented below are the key
characteristics that set Navision apart from its competitors:
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Speed
- For starters, Navision is
extremely fast and reliable. Whether you choose the Navision database or
Microsoft SQL Server database option, you will find that the product flies.
In 2000, I was engaged by an Atlanta based company who needed an accounting
system solution that could accommodate up to ten million transactions a day.
The company was on the verge of contracting with a company in India to write
a product for them to handle this volume. I advised them that I thought that
Navision could handle this volume right out of the box. When asked to prove
this claim, I teamed up with Tom Wimberly and Kevin Fischer of CompuSystems
of GA who constructed a database of 10 million transactions (not an easy
task mind you) and posted these transactions to Navision in less than 3
minutes, right in front of the company’s management. They were convinced
and the company implemented Navision for a total price including
software, customization work, and implementation costs that was 90% less
than expected compared to the India-based programming option.
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SIFT
- There is a key reason why
Navision
is such a fast product – particularly when it comes to printing reports.
Navision is designed with a clever technique which they call “Sum Index
Flow Technology” (SIFT). With SIFT technology, every time a
transaction is posted anywhere within Navision, all customer, vendor,
account, and item totals are updated automatically for each day, week,
month, quarter, and year. In this manner, when a user prints a report in
Navision, the system need only “grab” the necessary totals and pop the
report to the screen. By contrast, most other products must tabulate
hundreds (if not thousands) of transactions in order to calculate the
necessary totals and produce the resulting reports. This same tabulation
occurs each time a report is produced, even if that same report was just
produced seconds earlier. The result is that Navision reports hit the screen
almost immediately, while other products may take 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or
even several minutes in order to make a report happen.
Very clever!
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Reliable
– Navision is designed in such a
way that it maintains database integrity, even if the power is cut
unexpectedly during a posting routine. For example, assume that you are
posting a large batch of 500 transactions in Navision. The product actually
makes a copy of the database on the fly, then posts the transactions to this
copy. Once this procedure is completed, Navision makes another copy of the
original database, and proceeds to over write the original database with the
posted version. Once the whole posting process is completed and verified,
Navision throws away the unneeded database copies. In this manner, the
computer’s electrical plug can be literally pulled out of the wall at any
point during the posting routine, and upon rebooting the computer, Navision
will automatically continue the posting routine where it left off. ACCPAC
has also engineered it’s product to post in this manner. It is not
uncommon for Navision and ACCPAC resellers to stage an “accidental
unplugging” during a product demo in order to prove this powerful feature.
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Customization
- Navision is highly
customizable, with perhaps the best mix of “ease of customization” and
“power of customization” available anywhere. Today you will find that
most of the top accounting packages are highly customizable. The general
idea is that the product is supposed to meet 80% to 85% of your needs right
out of the box, and you use the built-in customization tools to meet the
remaining 10% to 15% of your needs. Unfortunately, some products which offer
customization offer very limited customization capabilities, while other
products which offer strong customization are extremely difficult to
customize. I‘ve talked to dozens of consultants out there who have
customized a wide variety of products and the general consensus is that this
is Navisions’ true strength, and the foundation for it’s success. I have
prepared a detailed demonstration of this feature, which is located in the
“Navision Product Tour” section of this web site.
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Audit
Trail – Navision has perhaps the best audit trail of an accounting
software package I have seen. The product allows you to drill down and
around virtually throughout the entire system. No matter where you are, the
built-in “drill-ability” of the product allows you to navigate
seamlessly from financial statements down to original source documents, and
from source documents up to the resulting financial statements. I have
prepared a detailed demonstration of this feature, which is located in the
“Navision Product Tour” section of this web site.
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High
Reseller Standards – One of the
best attributes of Navision is the extensive training and testing requirements
set forth by Navision. In order to be an Navision Solution Center (reseller),
you must have five people attend extensive training and they must each pass
a fairly tough test. Three of these people must be trained in the Navision
product, and two of them must be trained in customizing the Navision product.
In 1999, Navision reportedly fired 25% of their 120 resellers because they
did not pass the tests, or because they were providing shoddy work. By
contrast, most other accounting vendors make little or no requirements of
their reseller channel. To some accounting software companies, their
reseller test amounts to seeing whether or not the reseller’s check will
clear. I believe that Navision's requirements result in much higher caliber Solution
Centers, which in turn translates to higher customer satisfaction.
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Reseller
Fees - It is worth noting that most resellers are required to pay a fee
in order to become a product reseller. This fee typically ranges from a few
thousand dollars to $15,000 or higher with the normal fee of $5,000.
Thereafter, the reseller purchases the product at discounts ranging from 30%
to 55% off, this discount usually escalates during the year as the reseller
achieves higher volumes. However Navision does not charge a fee to become a
Solution Center. Instead, Solution Centers must meet certain standards
(basically five consultants must be on staff and trained in the Navision
product, and there must be a commitment to maintain a certain level of
marketing). Navision even trains the Solution Center personnel for free
(although the Solution Centers must pick up their own travel expenses to
Norcross, Georgia).
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Positive
Customer Feedback – Perhaps the
main reason that I regard Navision so highly is the fact that I have never had
an unsatisfied customer when I have recommended the product to them. In
other words, 100% of the people I’ve recommended Navision to, and who
actually installed Navision, have indicated virtually complete satisfaction
with the product. The only two exceptions to this are as follows. In 1998, I
recommended Navision to my printer, and despite repeated phone calls to the
nearest Navision Solution Center located about 75 miles away, the Solution
Center never returned her call. In 1999, an Atlanta area Navision customer
mentioned to me a problem with Navision on a Saturday. I e-mailed my contacts
at Navision who immediately jumped on this problem. At 2:00pm on Monday
afternoon, an official at Navision corporate called me personally to explain
that the problem had been solved, and asked me to call the company to verify
this claim. I did. The customer was satisfied. I’ve recommended Navision
dozens of times throughout the years, and with results like these, it is
easy to see why I continue to recommend Navision.
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Protected
Territories – Navision protects
its Solution Centers by limiting the number of Solution Centers in a given
territory. For example the total number of Solution Centers in the United
States has grown from about 80, 120, 150, and 200 in 1998, 1999, 2000, and
2001 respectively. By contrast, many larger accounting software companies
have 2,000 to 4,000 resellers out there. There are some benefits to having
more resellers, for example, it is more likely that you will find one if you
need one. However, it is almost a certainty that this approach results in
hundreds of resellers “working out of the trunks of their cars”
so-to-speak and without the proper product training. Since shoddy resellers
is the number one complaint from end users, this characteristic is worth
noting.
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Two
Database Options – Navision offers
two databases, a proprietary database called the Navision database (formerly
referred to as the C/Side database) and Microsoft SQL Server. Ordinarily,
you will hear me trash proprietary technologies when it comes to databases
and programming languages. However, the Navision database is outstanding.
Today, 80% of the new Navision customers purchase the Navision database
option over the Microsoft SQL Server option, even though it is priced the
same. The reason for this I believe, is that the Navision database is fast,
and easy to administer – which translates to a lower total cost of
ownership. I should note that I like the Microsoft SQL Server database also.
Navision says that they added the Microsoft SQL Server option because they
were losing some deals due to not being fully Microsoft compliant. I can
understand this.
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Granular
Pricing – Navision is the only
mid-range or high-end product that is priced by the granule – or in other
words, priced by the feature. For example, you could purchase a single user
version of the Navision general ledger for about $500. However, the
allocations, budgeting, and consolidation features would cost an additional
$300 each. By the time you purchased the full general ledger, a single user
version would cost about $2,500. User licenses for additional users would
drive that cost up much higher. The result is that smaller companies who
anticipate heavy growth can get into the Navision product for a lower cost,
and can add additional features and functionality as they grow.
It
is interesting to note that each Navision installation includes all granules (or
features). The un-purchased granules are “turned off” in the live
product until they are purchased. However, users can toggle over to the sample
company and experiment with these un-purchased features using the sample company
data before making a decision to purchase them. I think that this is very
clever.
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Foreign
Language and Foreign Currency –
Navision is a widely deployed product around the world. It is reported that in
Iceland, one out of every two hundred residents of that country use Navision
software (this may be hard to believe, but here at Accounting Software
Advisor, we try to bring you every statistic). My point is that because
Navision
is deployed in so many countries, the product has developed excellent
foreign currency and foreign language capabilities. By contrast, many
accounting software products developed in the United States either do not
include foreign currency and foreign language capabilities, or they add them
later as an after-thought. If foreign currency and foreign language
capabilities are important to you, then Navision just moved up a little higher
on your short list – didn’t it?
Weaknesses -
Navision is certainly not without problems – as with any
top product, Navision contains weaknesses, missing features, missing
modules and shortcomings. Navision is not targeted towards businesses of
every size, nor is it ideally suited for every industry. We have
weakness reports detailing the features of Navision
here.
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