All NAV clients know that to add additional functionality to NAV they must purchase run time license access to access the development made by their partner.
A very few lucky clients will be told this by their partner during the sales process BEFORE they sign a contract. The majority will learn this before Go-Live during the gap-fit analysis when the development estimates come in. Then a very unlucky few will learn after they have committed to an enhancement and it's too late to do anything except pay.
The cost of these objects (when put into perspective) is quite low, so I can never fathom why partners don't make this very clear before signing, instead of the belated excuse of "Yeah well its right there in the price list, surely you did your due diligence and read the price list".
In my opinion though if your partner caught you like that, then you have a lousy partner.
But that is not what this blog is about. This is about a common practice I see from partners that I find totally unacceptable. And that is using the 50,000 object range for development.
The range of objects from 50,000 through 50,099 (50,009 for tables) was intended to be used by Clients that purchased the NAV development tools. Commonly many clients are advised to purchase the basic designers
Obviously to use these they need access to objects, and thus the inclusion of basic objects for them to create their own forms and reports, and later some tables. But very often I see that the partner has already started development at the 50,000 range, and thus 6 months down the track the client is ready to start development, and is told "Ah well you need to buy tables and forms, because we used the all up during the Implementation process. So since ten tables cost the same as the table designer, from the client's point of view they have to go out and purchase the development tools all over again.
This is shameful.
When you perform development for a client, you should define a range that your company will use, and start there. DON'T start at 50,000, and you will thus completely avoid this issue, and most importantly you will avoid a horrible argument with your client all over a lousy $800. When I quote modifications to a client, I would make it very clear the difference between buying one table for $200 or ten at $80 each. But make it clear, don't just sneak it in as a line item at the bottom of the quote.
Of course there are clients that will never use 1000 reports and 10 tables, so in those cases, sit with them up front, be frank and open with them, and tell them that it's not recommended practice, but if they want you can develop using the 50,000 range. What customers hate is deception, or at least the feeling of being deceived.