If you didn’t already know, Microsoft has recently revealed its plans for the upcoming Wave 2 update due for release during October 2023. To help break this down for you, in our latest blog article, we will take you through 6 new improvements that will be coming to Business Central as a result of these plans.
1 – Edit in Excel extended capabilities
You will find that improvements have been made in the Edit in Excel action within item journals and warehouse worksheets that now allow you to change records in Excel and then publish these changes straight back to Business Central. You will find that when Excel opens, you will be able to see the Excel Add-in on the right-hand side.
- Excel allows you to use most filters on the page, so the Excel workbook will contain almost the same records and columns.
- In order to access the latest data from Business Central, simply hit ‘Refresh’ on the Excel Add-in window.
- If your business has configured OneDrive for system features, the Excel workbook launches in your browser by using Excel for the web. If you aren’t using OneDrive for system features, it will simply download the workbook to your device. Meaning that you can open it on either the desktop app or Excel online.
2 – Comprehensive Power BI reporting
You will find that all businesses will now be able to access Power BI reports for finance, sales as well as inventory. This equips users with robust reporting and data analysis capabilities.
Furthermore, the functional areas of sales, finance and inventory will enable you to do the following:
- Add queries that can easily be analysed from within the client.
- Create Power BI reports and package them inside a Power BI app that is available on AppSource.
- Expose select queries as reports with Excel layouts.
- Outline how KPIs are able to be shown and tracked from inside a Power BI metrics scorecard which can easily be embedded within the client.
3 - Intuitive AI tools with Copilot
Business Central introduces Copilot, a set of intuitive AI tools that enable users to accomplish more with less effort, without requiring expertise in data analysis.
For example, the bank account reconciliation feature in Business Central has been improved through:
- AI-powered transaction matching helps to improve automation as well reducing the outstanding unmatched transactions that need to be checked manually.
- AI-generated explanations on how remaining transactions could be matched up, making it much easier for bookkeepers to finish the account reconciliation task by easily reviewing and approving matches.
4- Enhanced data analysis with multiple tabs
Business Central now allows users to analyse, group, and pivot data from multiple queries using multiple tabs.
You will find that analysis mode was launched as a public preview feature back in the Wave 1 release earlier this year as a new way of engaging with data on list pages. This meant that instead of running reports using different options and filters, you are able to add multiple tabs that showcase different tasks or views on the data.
The above concept has been built upon in this release:
- It’s easier to analyse data from any query the same way as on a list page.
- From any analysis tab, you are able to share a link to the tab with your colleagues.
- Shared links can also be used as a click-once installation of good out-of-the-box analysis.
5 - Accelerate development with Microsoft's Power Platform
Another significant improvement is the integration of Microsoft’s Power Platform with Business Central. You will notice that Business Central can easily connect with Power Automate, allowing triggers on Business Events to activate Power Automate flows and logic. To put this into context with an example, a new sales invoice can trigger an approval request flow with customisable events based on the approver’s response. Negative responses trigger notifications and emails to the requester, whilst the positive replies are added to an Excel spreadsheet in SharePoint and then send a chat update in Teams.
6 – Improved data loading and application performance
You will find that there is now an improved data load speed on the server which can benefit all usage scenarios such as web service integrations, background jobs as well as interactive sessions.
This improved load speed focuses on optimising two essential parts of the data stack within the Business Central server:
- The data model for table extensions
- The use of modern SQL datatypes for Booleans and blobs
You will find that as a result, users will see rapid improvements when executing tasks such as:
- Running country-specific reports
- Renumbering General Journal entries.
- Generating report 120 Aged Accounts Receivable for larger datasets.
Next Steps?
If you are a business that is looking to take advantage of the some of the new features above by implementing Business Central in your business or looking to make the move from Dynamics GP to Business Central or moving from Dynamics NAV to Business Central then please do reach out to our team of Dynamics 365 experts now to discuss your requirements in more depth.
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