This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.
The 10th of the new functionality in the Copilot and AI innovation section is Simplify collections with Copilot for Finance and Business Central.
Improve your cash flow and lower the cost of collecting payments for unpaid invoices by empowering your collections team with easy access to relevant and timely data about customers with outstanding payments, without having to do expensive task-switching between applications.
Enabled for: Users by admins, makers, or analysts
Public Preview: Jun 2024
General Availability: Sep 2024
Feature Details
A healthy cash flow is key to business operations, and in a perfect world, all customers pay their invoices on time. When they don’t, the cost compounds in delayed payments combined with the costly effort of collecting payments. This release helps you claim payments faster by increasÃng the effectiveness and productivity of your collections team to drive down the cost of collections while improving your cash flow.
Business Central supports native integration with Copilot for Finance. This integration lets you access and work with real-time financial data from Business Central directly within Copilot for Finance in Outlook. The direct access to financial data helps you make informed decisions and act quickly, without wasting time switching between Outlook and Business Central to look up key information about the customer. This integration supports your collections team with relevant and timely information to support constructive dialogs with the customers.
Copilot for Finance provides AI-powered assistance while working in Microsoft 365 applications, eliminating the need to juggle tasks, making financial processes more streamlined and automated.
Key features of the integration
- Copilot assistance with drafting dunning letter emails and other correspondence with customers who have outstanding balances. This helps your collections team draft personalized emails for every customer.
- Real-time access in Outlook to customer aging data from Business Central, contextual to the company of the current email, which is key to understanding the customer’s payment patterns.
- Access in Outlook to unpaid invoices from Business Central, contextual to the company of the current email. It’s easy to attach the invoice to the email draft, and providing the document makes the process more convenient for your customer convenience and can speed up payment.
- Access in Outlook to contact information from Business Central, related to the company of the current email.
- Set a Promised to Pay date on a posted invoice in Business Central directly from Outlook. The date adds transparency so that other stakeholders know that payment of the invoice is underway and agreed with the customer.
All of this makes your collections more efficient because people don’t have to switch between Outlook and Business Central while they’re in a dialog with customers over email.
The integration is easy to set up and use, and is designed to help you save time and improve your financial management processes. With Copilot for Finance and Business Central working together, you can free up time for your finance and collections teams.
For more information about the Copilot for Finance integration to Business Central, including regional and language availability, see the Copilot for Finance release plan here.
