If you’re looking for an easy way to navigate what’s new and planned in the Microsoft 2024 release wave 2 for Dynamics 365 Business Central, you’ve come to the right place. This year’s second Business Central release introduces exciting enhancements designed to streamline business processes through Copilot, expand global availability to over 170 countries, and deepen integration with Dynamics 365 Field Service.
Furthermore, look forward to advanced e-document capabilities, an impressive array of over 70 new Power BI reports, and vital updates that enhance developer productivity, compliance, and data privacy. But for now, dive in to see the key updates from Microsoft’s 2024 second release for D365 Business Central:
Copilot Enhancements in Microsoft 2024 Release Wave 2 for Dynamics 365 Business Central
In this year’s second release, Copilot in Business Central elevates productivity and streamlines operations across various business processes.
Power Automate Flows: Copilot simplifies the creation of Power Automate flows using natural language, allowing users to build processes effortlessly without templates. This conversational flow building experience enhances creativity and speeds up automation, leading to significant time savings.
Sales Document Creation: By integrating with Business Central, Copilot expedites the drafting of sales documents. It accepts diverse input methods—free text, files, and prompts—reducing manual entry and minimising errors. This capability accelerates revenue generation by getting documents to customers faster.
Product Information Creation: Copilot significantly reduces the time spent on creation of product information. It suggests relevant information from existing items, helping businesses launch new products quickly, ensuring they stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.
Bank Account Reconciliation: The Copilot-enhanced reconciliation feature leverages AI for improved transaction matching, minimising manual review efforts. This automation allows bookkeepers to focus on more critical tasks while ensuring accurate financial records.
Record Summarisation: Business Central Copilot also provides quick summaries of records, enabling users to grasp data insights effortlessly. This feature reduces the time needed to analyse customer details or large orders, allowing teams to act swiftly.
Together, these Copilot enhancements in the Business Central 2024 second release update drive operational efficiency using the latest AI innovations, enabling organisations to focus on growth and innovation.
Core Application Functionality Improvements in Business Central
As for the core Business Central capabilities, the Microsoft 2024 Release Wave 2 for Dynamics 365 introduces several powerful features designed to enhance operational efficiency and streamline service and financial management.
Integration with Field Service: This Business Central and Dynamics 365 Field Service integration allows businesses to seamlessly manage service tasks, work orders, and financial transactions. By synchronising data between Field Service and Business Central, service technicians and managers can enhance invoicing processes and ensure accurate consumption tracking, leading to improved service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Item Availability Insights: Technicians and dispatchers gain real-time visibility into item availability directly within Field Service work orders. This feature optimises work order scheduling, reduces travel costs, and enhances service and purchasing operations. By integrating Business Central’s inventory data, organisations can better manage stock levels and improve planning efficiency.
Enhanced File Management: Users can now drag and drop multiple files into Business Central, simplifying document management. This functionality boosts organisational efficiency and accessibility, making it easier for users to manage important records without hassle.
Faster Project and Service Management: These new enhancements simplify and streamline project and service management in BC. You can now create project sales invoices directly from the Project Card page, and access key project actions—Assembly Orders, Pick Lines, and WIP Cockpit—from the Project List page. These changes make handling projects quicker and more efficient.
These D365 Business Central updates from the 2024 release wave 2 empower organisations to optimise processes, improve service delivery, and enhance overall productivity.
Improved Shopify Experience in Business Central
Business Central is also receiving a few important updates that enhance Shopify integration, enabling businesses to optimise their shipping management, invoice processing, and data synchronisation.
Shipping Information Mapping: The new capability to define shipping fees in Business Central allows for precise mapping of shipping charges from Shopify. By utilising various shipping charge types—such as G/L accounts, items, or item charges—organisations can tailor their shipping processes to improve accuracy and flexibility in financial reporting.
Exporting Posted Sales Invoices: With the ability to export posted sales invoices to Shopify, customers can access their invoices directly in Shopify, regardless of origin. This streamlines customer interactions and consolidates order management, ensuring all invoices are easily accessible.
Payment Transaction Reconciliation: The integration of payment transactions from Shopify into Business Central simplifies online sales management. Merchants can track multiple payment methods and seamlessly reconcile transactions, providing an accurate financial overview and facilitating better reporting.
Refund Location Accuracy: The enhancement of using original return locations for Shopify refunds significantly reduces manual input and errors. By utilising this feature, businesses can streamline credit memo creation and improve accuracy in returns processing.
Product Information Management with Metafields: This new functionality to import and export metafield data allows businesses to enrich product details beyond standard attributes. This flexibility in data management enhances product listings, catering to diverse customer needs.
Reporting Improvements in the Business Central 2024 Release Wave 2
The Microsoft 2024 Release Wave 2 for Dynamics 365 Business Central also introduces some powerful reporting enhancements, allowing businesses to derive insights with ease and precision.
Ad Hoc Analysis for Fixed Assets, Projects, and Services: This release enhances the ability to conduct real-time data analysis on transactions related to fixed assets and projects. Users can group, summarise, and pivot data without generating formal reports. Out-of-the-box queries streamline the analysis process by joining ledger entry tables with relevant master data tables. For instance, fixed asset queries allow users to analyse entries against asset classes, locations, and depreciation schedules, enabling quick insights into asset performance.
Out-of-the-Box Power BI Reports: Business Central now offers a rich selection of embedded Power BI reports across various domains, including finance, sales, and inventory. With 14 reports for finance, 12 for sales, 12 for purchasing, 11 for manufacturing, 7 for inventory, and 6 for projects, users can easily access actionable insights tailored to their operational needs. These reports empower decision-makers to visualise performance metrics and track key business indicators directly within Business Central.
Advanced Power BI Connector Settings: For advanced users, the new parameters in the Power BI connector enhance flexibility and performance. Features like language preferences, max page size, and read-only replicas allow for fine-tuned data management and faster insights. These settings optimise data retrieval processes and improve user experience, ensuring efficient operations during peak periods.
What’s in the 2024 Business Central Second Release for Developers?
Microsoft 2024 Release Wave 2 for Dynamics 365 Business Central doesn’t leave the developers and power users unhappy. They can experience enhanced developer productivity and efficiency through several key features. Take a look!
GitHub Integration: Developers can now pull extension source code directly from GitHub when opening Visual Studio Code. This functionality simplifies troubleshooting and enables quick access to the latest code versions for enhancements, fostering a more agile development process.
Enhanced Report Layouts: New features in the Word for report layout allow developers and power users to leverage sections, control visibility, and easily convert existing templates, minimising design time and empowering more users to create professional report documents quickly.
Code Improvements: The introduction of the ‘this’ keyword improves code readability and self-reference, making complex methods easier to understand. Additionally, bulk conversion of ‘with’ statements streamlines code maintenance across entire projects.
Interface Casting: Type testing and casting operators enhance the extensibility of interfaces in AL, allowing for better code adaptability and futureproofing.
Driving Sustainability with the 2024 Second Release Updates for Business Central
Microsoft introduces powerful sustainability enhancements in Dynamics 365 Business Central that empower businesses to track their environmental impact effectively. Users can set up customised scorecards to monitor sustainability goals, complete with start and end dates, baselines, and current values. This functionality not only bolsters a company’s reputation but also enhances operational efficiency, attracting eco-conscious investors and customers.
Additionally, the integration of greenhouse gas emissions tracking directly into purchase invoices streamlines data entry and enhances productivity. Companies can also meet emission reduction targets by purchasing carbon credits, enabling compliance with regulations while seamlessly tracking impacts through item setup in Business Central. With internal carbon fee calculations, organisations can encourage emissions reduction by implementing internal carbon fees, motivating teams to cut their carbon footprint and drive sustainability while potentially saving costs.
These features in the 2024 second release update for Business Central create a competitive advantage while promoting responsible resource management.
What’s Next?
Ready to unlock the full potential of the updates from Microsoft 2024 Release Wave 2 for Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Our expert team at Dogma can help you navigate these updates and transform your business operations. Contact us today for a personalised consultation and discover how we leverage these updates to help you:
Streamline processes and boost efficiency
Enhance decision-making with actionable insights
Maximise ROI on your Dynamics 365 Business Central investment
Don’t miss out on the latest Business Central innovations that can revolutionise your business. Let us guide you through the journey!
