Improving Efficiency with Mandatory Fields for Microsoft Dynamics NAV

One of the issues that has plagued all versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, is that there is no built-in enforcement of mandatory fields while setting up master records such as customers, vendors, items, fixed assets, etc.  This can create interruptions in daily workflow as errors may not be encountered or discovered until a user tries to enter a transaction or worse - after posting a transaction.   This often requires involving resources in multiple departments to correct the issue. 

Let's take an example of a sales order where an item was setup without an item category and posted.  To correct this in NAV would require crediting the order and copying the posted invoice onto a new order and re-posting the order.  This could have been avoided had the item been validated as properly set up initially.  

NAV 2013 added a feature where "mandatory" fields can be indicated with a red asterisk as a reminder to users.  However, this is simply a "reminder" with no actual enforcement.  Further, one has to use the Development Environment to mark fields as "mandatory". 

The answer to this long-standing problem is a low-impact customization which allows a user to select mandatory fields for various master records such as customers, vendors, items, etc. within NAV and blocking master records unless all mandatory fields are populated. 

The above fields are required when setting up a customer.  Customer will be blocked until all fields are populated. 

This customization can be embellished further by displaying a warning message should the user neglect to enter all required fields before leaving the master record page.  

To make this more user-friendly, the mandatory settings can be pre-populated with the commonly expected mandatory fields for master tables.