The short answer
If you run Dynamics NAV on-premises with an active Enhancement Plan, the next thirteen months matter. Microsoft's Bridge to Cloud 3 offer, a 30% discount on a fixed three-year Business Central cloud subscription, can be enrolled in until 31 December 2027, and the rules around buying on-premises are changing underneath it. The system will not stop on a date. The commercial terms around it will.
Dynamics NAV has carried a lot of businesses for a long time, and for many it still does the job. This article is for finance leaders, IT owners and operations heads who run NAV today and want to know what Microsoft has announced, what it means in money and in time, and how to plan a move to Business Central in the cloud without being rushed by a deadline.
We cover the four dates that matter, what end of sale does and does not mean, the changes to partner margin and purchasing channel, the Bridge to Cloud 3 (BTC3) promotion and who qualifies, how to get from NAV to Business Central, a plan worked backwards from the end of 2027, the mistakes we see and the questions to put to your partner. The dates and terms come from Microsoft's communications to partners, as we understand them on 9 November 2026. Terms change and eligibility is checked by Microsoft, so confirm the current position with Microsoft or your cloud partner before you sign anything.
The four dates that matter
- 1 December 2026: Microsoft will lower the Dynamics Price List (DPL) and SPA partner margins across the Perpetual, Subscription and Enhancement Plan categories, to bring the economics of on-premises closer to those of the cloud.
- 1 February 2027: every new Business Central on-premises subscription purchase must be transacted through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) programme. The DPL and PSBC channel is discontinued for that purpose.
- 31 December 2027: the last day to enrol in Bridge to Cloud 3. The window opened on 1 January 2026.
- 30 April 2031: Microsoft ends the sale of Dynamics NAV on-premises licences and plans, set out in the next section.
Measured from today, 9 November 2026, the first date is 22 days away, the second is twelve weeks away, and the BTC3 window closes in about thirteen months. The end of sale is about four and a half years out, which is why it is easy to file under later. The earlier dates are the ones that change what you are quoted.
What end of sale means, and what it does not
On 30 April 2031 Microsoft will stop selling and renewing the following for all Dynamics NAV versions:
- annual Service Plan renewals, including the Enhancement Plan (EP) and the Anniversary Plan (AP)
- subscription licence renewals
- additional perpetual licence purchases
- subscription use of NAV through the Service Provider Licensee Agreement (SPLA), which is how many hosting partners have offered NAV as a service
What it changes in practice:
- You cannot add users or companies by buying more perpetual licences after the date.
- The Enhancement Plan is how customers have normally kept their right to new versions and to Microsoft support. When it can no longer be renewed, that route ends.
- If a hosting partner runs your NAV under SPLA, ask them now how they plan to continue, because that route closes.
- Every year you stay, the skills pool for NAV, and the number of add-on products that are still maintained for it, gets smaller.
None of that has to be urgent today. It is the reason the cloud move is a question of when and how, and not whether.
What changes on 1 December 2026 and 1 February 2027
These two dates are about how Microsoft's products are sold, and they are easy to overlook because they sit on the partner side.
The 1 December change lowers partner margins on Dynamics on-premises sales. Partner margin is not your price, but it shapes what partners quote and how keenly they quote it. Microsoft's stated aim is to line up on-premises economics with cloud licensing. If you are planning an on-premises purchase or renewal, ask for the price in writing together with the date it is valid to.
The 1 February change moves purchasing. From that date, a new Business Central on-premises subscription must be bought through CSP. Business Central online is already sold through CSP, and Microsoft has said CSP partner margins for Business Central online remain fully intact. The result is that the commercial conversation is moving to CSP whichever way you go, and it is worth knowing who in the chain will sell you the subscription and who will support it.
If you were thinking of buying a Business Central on-premises subscription as a stepping stone, that plan now has a hard date on it.
Bridge to Cloud 3: what Microsoft is offering
Bridge to Cloud 3 (BTC3) is Microsoft's main incentive for moving existing on-premises Dynamics NAV customers who have an active Enhancement Plan to Dynamics 365 Business Central in the cloud.
- Window: enrolment is open from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.
- Discount: 30% off commercial list prices for a fixed three-year term, under the CSP New Commerce Experience (NCE).
- Enhancement Plan continuity: during the three-year term the EP renewal continues at no extra cost, because the subscription fees replace the standalone annual EP payments.
- Concurrency: Microsoft has said BTC3 includes additional savings considerations for eligible NAV customers with high concurrency who move to per-user Business Central online licences.
Two readings of that list help. First, the discount is off list price, not off your current bill. A fair test is the price after the discount against everything you pay today, which is the Enhancement Plan, hosting or hardware, backup, upgrade projects and the staff who keep it running. Second, the Enhancement Plan stops being a separate line for the three years. That is good, but it also means the term is a three-year commitment, so size it carefully.
As a purely illustrative example, a discount of 30% on a list price of 100 gives a price of 70, fixed for three years. The number that decides the business case is that 70 set beside your whole present cost, not beside the list.
Do you qualify?
Microsoft sets the eligibility rules and checks them, so treat this as a list of things to confirm with your partner before you plan around the discount.
| Requirement | What to check |
|---|---|
| Perpetual Dynamics on-premises product bought through DPL before 1 September 2024 | Your licence records and your partner's order history. Subscription-only customers are a different conversation. |
| An active Enhancement Plan | The plan's current end date. If it has lapsed, do not assume it can be reinstated. Ask your partner what Microsoft allows. |
| The customer has not previously licensed the Dynamics 365 online product you are choosing | Existing Dynamics 365 subscriptions in your tenant, including any that began as a trial and turned into a paid licence. |
| Enrolled within the window | Whether Microsoft counts the date of the order or the date you go live. Ask, and do not assume. |
Check the Enhancement Plan first. It is the requirement that is easiest to miss, and the one with a calendar attached.
Concurrent users versus named users
NAV has commonly been licensed by concurrent user: a number of people signed in at the same time. Business Central online is licensed per user, with different licence types for full users and for lighter users such as team members who approve, look up and report.
That difference can move your cost in either direction, which is why Microsoft mentions concurrency in the offer. Before you compare prices:
- Count the people who actually sign in over a month, not the peak at any moment.
- Group them by what they do: full transactional users, lighter users who read, approve and report, and people who only need self-service.
- Ask your partner to show the licence mix they have priced, so that you can check it against the real list.
A quote built on a guess of who needs a full licence is the most common reason a cloud estimate later changes.
Planning backwards from the end of 2027
The sequence is the same for every migration. The durations are yours to confirm in discovery.
- Now to 1 December 2026Confirm the Enhancement Plan status and end date, list your licences and users, and find out what was bought through DPL and when. Ask your partner for any on-premises quote in writing, with its validity date.
- December 2026 to February 2027Run discovery on your NAV estate: version, custom code, add-ons, integrations, reports and data. Choose the route and name an executive owner.
- By mid 2027Put the business case on one page: BTC3 pricing against the whole present cost over five years, with the licence mix stated. Decide, and place the order well before 31 December 2027, so that a slip in the project cannot push it past the window.
- Second half of 2027Build and rehearse the migration several times, reconciling to NAV each time. Test by scenario and train by role before cutover.
- CutoverGo live at a period boundary, with a go or no-go decision, a frozen NAV, a final data load and a reconciliation the business signs.
- Après le lancementStay close through the first closes. Keep NAV read-only for audit and retention, and agree a retirement date.
Add a buffer to every step. Programmes that finish comfortably decided scope early, kept customisation low and started well before the last date.
Mistakes we see
- Waiting for the deadline. The earlier dates change what you are quoted, and the BTC3 window is shorter than it looks once discovery, ordering and a rehearsed cutover are counted.
- Letting the Enhancement Plan lapse without checking what that does to eligibility.
- Reading 30% as the business case. It is a price. The case is the whole cost of running the business on each platform over five years.
- Lifting NAV into the cloud unchanged. The move is the moment to retire customisation that no longer serves the business.
- Migrating all of the history. Move balances and open items, and archive closed history in a searchable form.
- Forgetting the add-ons. A product with no Business Central version is a project of its own.
- Counting concurrent users as named users.
- No second opinion. An independent review of eligibility, licence mix and the migration plan is cheaper than a failed order or a failed launch.
Eight questions to put to your partner
- Is my Enhancement Plan active today, and when does it end?
- Does my NAV purchase meet the DPL purchase-date test for Bridge to Cloud 3?
- Have I ever licensed the Dynamics 365 online product we are choosing, including as a trial?
- Does Microsoft count the order date or the go-live date for the window, and what is the last safe order date?
- Which licence types have you priced, for how many users, and on what assumption about who needs a full licence?
- Who sells the CSP subscription, who supports it, and what changes if we change partner later?
- Does our migration qualify for the Business Central Migration Voucher Program, and how does that show up in your proposal?
- What is the plan for each add-on, integration and custom report?
If a partner cannot answer these in writing, that tells you something about the proposal.
Where to start
Start with a discovery workshop on your NAV estate. You leave with an inventory of version, custom code, add-ons, integrations and data volumes, a check of your eligibility for Bridge to Cloud 3, a proposed route to Business Central with its main risks named, and a plan worked back from your dates. If you have already chosen a route or received a quote, an independent assessment tests it before you commit.
If you are weighing more than NAV, read our guides on Business Central or Finance and Operations and on moving from SAP to Dynamics 365, which set out the same kind of decision. To talk to us about your NAV system, book a conversation.
This article is general information, not legal, financial or licensing advice. Dates, discounts and eligibility are as communicated by Microsoft to partners and understood by us on 9 November 2026. Confirm the current terms and your eligibility with Microsoft or your cloud solution provider before you decide.
Questions fréquemment posées
What is the end-of-sale date for Dynamics NAV?
Microsoft has set 30 April 2031 as the end of sale for Dynamics NAV on-premises. On that date it ends annual Service Plan renewals such as the Enhancement Plan and Anniversary Plan, subscription licence renewals, additional perpetual licence purchases for all NAV versions, and subscription use through the Service Provider Licensee Agreement.
Does NAV stop working on 30 April 2031?
No. End of sale ends the ability to buy and renew, not the running of an installed system. Support and lifecycle dates are published separately for each NAV version, so check the dates for yours.
What is Bridge to Cloud 3 (BTC3)?
It is Microsoft's promotion for moving existing on-premises Dynamics NAV customers with an active Enhancement Plan to Dynamics 365 Business Central in the cloud. It gives 30% off commercial list prices for a fixed three-year term under the CSP New Commerce Experience, and is open for enrolment from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027.
Who qualifies for Bridge to Cloud 3?
Customers migrating from Dynamics on-premises perpetual products bought through DPL before 1 September 2024, with an active Enhancement Plan, who have not previously licensed the Dynamics 365 online product they are choosing. Microsoft sets and checks the rules, so confirm your eligibility with your partner.
Do I still pay for the Enhancement Plan during the BTC3 term?
Not separately. Microsoft says the Enhancement Plan renewal continues at no extra cost during the three-year promotional term, because the subscription fees replace the standalone annual Enhancement Plan payments.
What changes on 1 December 2026 and 1 February 2027?
On 1 December 2026 Microsoft lowers Dynamics Price List and SPA partner margins across the Perpetual, Subscription and Enhancement Plan categories. From 1 February 2027 every new Business Central on-premises subscription purchase must go through the Cloud Solution Provider programme, because the DPL and PSBC channel is discontinued.
Can we upgrade NAV instead of starting again in Business Central?
Often yes, but the right route depends on your NAV version, how much custom code you carry, your add-on products and your integrations. We assess whether to upgrade or to re-implement in discovery, and bring across balances and open items either way.
What is the Business Central Migration Voucher Program?
It is a Microsoft programme that provides financial vouchers to partners who support qualifying customer migrations to Business Central, to cover implementation costs. Whether a particular migration qualifies is for the partner to confirm with Microsoft.
Where can I find Microsoft's migration guidance?
Microsoft publishes documentation, technical tools and step-by-step guidance for moving from Dynamics NAV to Business Central on Microsoft Learn at aka.ms/NAVMigration.