Microsoft continues to further develop Dynamics 365 Business Central as a smarter, more automated ERP platform. With the Business Central 2026 release wave 1, also known as version 28, many new improvements are coming that will help companies work more efficiently.
This time, the focus is mainly on AI, automation, finance, supply chain, and reporting. So it's not about one big change, but about various concrete improvements that make daily processes faster, smarter, and less manual.
In this blog, we summarize the most important new developments and discuss what they could mean for your organization.
AI agents support repetitive processes.
One of the most striking evolutions in Business Central 2026 release wave 1 is the further expansion of AI agents. These agents help users with recurring tasks that often still require a lot of manual work today.
Sales Order Agent: faster from email to sales order
From Sales Order Agent helps process incoming orders via email. The agent can recognize requests in emails and attachments, create sales orders, detect different delivery addresses, and calculate what is available for delivery.
Users retain control themselves. They can give instructions in natural language and determine the extent to which the agent may perform actions autonomously.
This can make a big difference for companies with many order emails or recurring sales inquiries. Less manual input means faster order processing, fewer errors, and more time for customer follow-up.
Payables Agent: Process invoices automatically
Purchasing is also being further automated. Payables Agent assists with processing incoming invoice emails. This includes automatic invoice processing, matching between orders, receipts, and invoices, categorizing emails in Outlook, and improved team collaboration.
An important improvement is that this agent will be more widely available to end-users. This means automation will no longer be limited to admins or IT, but will also be accessible to finance and purchasing teams who work with it daily.
For finance, this primarily means: less manual work, fewer errors, and smoother processing of supplier invoices.
Centralized control over AI tasks
As AI agents become capable of performing more actions, control becomes increasingly important. Therefore, a central location will be established where users can track, control, adjust, or stop AI tasks.
That's important for companies that want to implement automation but also want to maintain control over what's happening. AI takes over tasks, but users remain in control.
2. Copilot is being more widely integrated into Business Central
Besides AI agents, also Copilot ever more intertwined in Business Central. Where AI used to be mainly supportive, Copilot now appears in various processes within the system.
Copilot can help users with, among other things:
- auto-filling fields;
- presenting number sequences;
- summarizing information;
- chatting with data via Chat with Copilot;
- data analysis support;
- suggestions within sales, finance, inventory management, and CRM.
Copilot is also becoming more relevant within specific domains. Think of support with bank reconciliation, mapping e-documents, suggestions for alternative articles, generating marketing texts, or analyzing data.
For users, this means they will find information faster, have to enter less manually, and receive better support for decisions. For organizations, it primarily means that Business Central is increasingly evolving from a recording system to a smart working environment.
3. New opportunities for finance
On the financial side, Business Central 2026 release wave 1 also brings various enhancements. Organizations with more complex or international processes can particularly benefit from this.
New tax functionalities
Business Central is receiving additional support for, among other things:
- excise duties, for example based on weight, volume or sugar content;
- withholding tax;
- Self-billing invoices.
Not every function will be equally relevant for every Belgian company, but they clearly show the direction in which Business Central is evolving: more financial processes directly in the ERP system, with less reliance on external tools or manual calculations.
Fixed assets and accelerated depreciation
Within fixed assets, there are also expansions, including a new method for accelerated depreciation. For companies that invest heavily in assets, this can be interesting to better support financial processes.
First step towards expense management
Another interesting development is the first step towards expense management Within Business Central. Employees will be able to record and submit expenses directly in Business Central, after which they can be approved and processed internally.
Many companies today use separate tools, Excel files, or manual processes for this. By bringing expense management closer to finance, it becomes easier to track and process expenses correctly.
4. More support for supply chain and production
This release also contains interesting improvements for production and distribution companies. Business Central is further expanded with features that help to better manage supply chain processes.
Quality Management
An important novelty is the extension around Quality Management. This allows companies to better automate quality checks and bring more consistency to their processes and products.
This is particularly relevant for manufacturing companies. Quality control is often a crucial part of the process, but in practice, it is still regularly done via separate documents, Excel files, or manual follow-up. By integrating this better into Business Central, there is more control and less fragmentation.
Additional support for subcontracting
Subcontracting is also receiving extra attention. Business Central already supports outsourced production activities, but this release builds on that.
For companies working with external production partners, this means that subcontracting can be better integrated into the entire production process. From planning to processing: outsourced activities become more visible and manageable within one central system.
This provides better control over external work, improved supply chain follow-up, and reduced risk of errors or delays.
Improvements in purchasing and order processing
In addition, there are smaller improvements in the supply chain, such as better purchase order matching, improved drop shipment flows, and more flexibility in order processing.
These may not be spectacular innovations, but they can make a big difference in daily operations. Especially for companies with many orders, suppliers, or logistical movements.
5. Stronger reporting and data analysis
Business Central 2026 release wave 1 also focuses heavily on better insights. Reporting will become more user-friendly, flexible, and better tailored to different roles within the organization.
Better Power BI integration
The integration with Power BI is further enhanced, including more extensive capabilities and a better experience for subscription billing. This allows companies to visualize and analyze their data more easily.
Improved Excel Integration
The Excel integration is also being further strengthened. This makes it easier to prepare financial reports faster and process data more smoothly.
Many companies still use Excel extensively alongside Business Central today. Better integration can help make reporting more efficient without teams having to completely abandon their familiar way of working.
More insights into sales and inventory
Sales analytics and inventory reporting are also receiving improvements. Think of more insight into customer loyalty, sales performance, and inventory data.
This is important for management teams. The better the data is available, the faster you can adjust margins, inventory, sales opportunities, and operational performance.
IT audit and security reporting
Finally, there are also improvements in IT audit and security reporting. These help organizations gain more control over compliance, rights, and security.
For companies that are growing or have more complex user structures, this is becoming increasingly important. An ERP system contains a lot of sensitive company data. Good reporting around security and auditing is therefore not a luxury, but a necessity.
Why this release is relevant to your organization
Business Central 2026 release wave 1 isn't an update you should just look at technically. The real value lies in its impact on your processes.
For finance, the added value can lie in less manual invoice processing, better expense tracking, and stronger reporting. For sales, the Sales Order Agent can ensure faster order processing. For manufacturing companies, quality management and subcontracting are of interest. For trading companies with a webshop, the extensive Shopify integration can, in turn, yield a lot.
So the right question isn't just: What's new?
The better question is: What innovations will concretely help our organization move forward?
How do you best prepare?
Are you already working with Business Central today? Then it's wise to check in good time which parts of release wave 1 are relevant for your environment.
Good preparation consists of:
- assess which new features impact your processes;
- Check if extensions and customizations are compatible.;
- testing integrations such as Shopify, Outlook, Power BI, or other connections;
- inform key users about new possibilities;
- review where AI and automation can reduce repetitive tasks;
- Re-evaluate reporting and data quality.
This way, you not only gain technical advantages from the update, but also use the release as an opportunity to optimize processes.
How scapta can help
At Scapta, we help companies implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central more effectively. We don't just look at what features are available, but rather at which improvements are relevant for your organization.
We support you with:
- Analyzing Business Central 2026 release wave 1;
- testing updates, extensions, and integrations;
- optimizing finance, sales, purchasing, production, and logistics processes;
- improving reporting and data quality;
- guiding key users;
- and the smart use of AI, Copilot, and automation within your ERP environment.
Ready to get more out of Business Central?
Business Central 2026 release wave 1 brings many concrete improvements. From AI agents and Copilot to finance, supply chain, and reporting: this release offers various opportunities to make your ERP environment more efficient.
Would you like to know what new features are relevant for your organization? We'd be happy to explore together how to best implement Business Central 2026 release wave 1 within your processes.
Contact our scaptans and discover how your organization can get more out of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.