The first of two 2024 releases for Microsoft’s Business Central is here, and some underdog modules are getting a lot of love! Read on to discover what’s new in Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Copilot is King 

As expected, Copilot—Microsoft’s embedded AI tool—saw several updates with the latest Business Central release. 

Build Business Central Power Automate Flows with Copilot 

Our team is thrilled about the Copilot connection between Business Central and Power Automate. We gave it a test drive and found that creating automation flows with conversational language is an easy and accurate way to build new processes in Business Central! The best part? No coding experience is necessary. 

Create Sales Orders, Analysis Views, and Item Details

The latest Business Central release adds new Copilot capabilities that use conversational language. Users can ask Copilot to create sales lines on quotes, orders, and invoices; organize and present structured data; and centralize item information so users don’t have to hunt for variants, substitutions, and dimensions. 

Tap Copilot for Help 

Copilot is more accessible to Business Central users than ever. An embedded chat feature means users can chat with Copilot in casual language to get accurate answers to their queries. Copilot can also assist users when navigating Business Central and digesting data. 

Renamed and Revamped Job Cost 

Job Cost—now renamed Project Account—sees some significant overhauls with the latest Business Central release.  

Quote Multiple Projects to Multiple Customers 

Tired of quoting projects one by one as you run down your customer list? Business Central’s latest update lets users generate a single invoice for multiple projects—or tag multiple accounts under one project invoice to ensure all parties are billed correctly.  

Keep Project Logistics Simple

The Project Account process has been simplified from start to finish. Business Central now analyzes each assemble-to-order item on a project list and automatically creates orders to ensure all parts are accounted for. The Project Card page now sports fields for default locations and bins when moving items. These are automatically assigned but can be updated as needed. And, for customers whose project needs have evolved, Business Central users can archive those past projects to see the progression of customer needs via an audit trail. 

Enjoy Time Sheet Enhancements 

Time sheet data entry and approval are more streamlined than ever. A new Self Service tool lets users generate time sheets with existing data and quickly access the latest time sheets, while the Time Sheet page has been decluttered to give a better data overview. Managers can multi-select vetted time sheets to wrap up the process.

Integrate Dynamics 365 Field Service with Business Central 

Professional services organizations can benefit from being a Microsoft shop with this new integration. Field Service is part of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite of applications and communicates service task data to Business Central. In turn, Business Central uses the integration to invoice and efficiently fulfill service orders. 

Spend Less Time on 1099s 

Microsoft pays close attention to feature requests; several of the latest 1099 enhancements came directly from Business Central users and partners. These updates make it easier for users to adjust or automate statuses, customize data, and submit forms directly to the IRS through an integrated system. 

Explore New Report Layouts in Excel 

Microsoft has added eight new Excel reports with layouts for finance, sales, and purchases. Users can treat the latest reports as templates or build off them to visualize data in the ways that matter most to their business.