Tag: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1

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 1st of the new functionality in the Governance and administration section is use linked environment in Dataverse integration.

Businesses want to keep their data safe and secure within their privacy boundary, and especially when their business management application integrates with other apps. By linking Business Central and Dataverse environments, you’ll not only achieve those considerations, but also give your administrators an easier way to create and maintain your integrations with other Dynamics 365 apps.

Enabled for: Users by admins, makers, or analysts
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

In the Business Central admin center, you can link your Business Central environment to your Dataverse environment. Business Central can use the information from the link to make it easier, and more secure, to integrate with other Dynamics 365 apps, such as Sales and Field Service. For example, the linked Dataverse environment URL is available by default on the Dataverse Connection Setup page and when you run the Dataverse Integration assisted setup guide. Administrators can connect to the linked environment with confidence, less friction, and a streamlined workflow.

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 3rd of the new functionality in the Development section is remove friction when working with external app dependencies.

For resellers who develop per-tenant extensions for customers, or for publishers who create AppSource apps, it isn’t uncommon for them to build on the work by other publishers, and thereby take a dependency on these. However, in order to develop or test, they need access to the AppSource apps they depend on.

Today, this involves a tedious manual process where resellers and publishers with dependencies must contact publishers owning the applications they depend on and ask for symbols to develop against or runtime packages to test with. This is not only required once, but continuously as new versions of the Business Central first-party applications and the publishers’ applications versions emerge, making the whole process tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone.

In this version Microsoft plan to unblock developing and compiling against external applications in containers and test in online sandboxes.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: Apr 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

In this release Microsoft plan to allow resellers and publishers to download symbols for AppSource applications to use these to develop against on-premises and in containers. In addition, Microsoft also plan to provide GitHub actions to make it easy to provision online sandboxes with the required applications installed to run tests on.

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 2nd of the new functionality in the Development section is debug the system application.

Have you missed being able to debug into the System application? Many have, and with the recent introduction of the SecureText data type, Microsoft will enable debugging of the System application, benefiting both development and troubleshooting of applications, as well as Open Source contributions to the System application itself.

Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: Apr 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

With this, you’ll be able to step into the System application code base when debugging to understand code flow and inspect variables, unless these are protected by the new SecureText type.

Having access to debug the System application helps both during development and troubleshooting of AppSource and customer-specific applications, as well as with contributing to the System application itself via https://github.com/microsoft/ALAppExtensions.

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 1st of the new functionality in the Development section is handle multiple file uploads and file drop zones.

The ability for AL developers to handle multiple file uploads and designate different page parts as file drop zones in Business Central provides greater flexibility and usability. This enhancement benefits developers working on applications or customizations that require multifile upload functionality and adds value to organizations by improving productivity and the user experience.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

Developers can handle multiple file uploads and designate different page parts as file drop zones.

This improvement empowers AL developers to create more flexible and user-friendly interfaces within Business Central. Designating specific page parts as file drop zones lets people upload multiple files at the same time, which improves efficiency.

This feature is particularly valuable for developers working on applications or customizations that require users to upload multiple files simultaneously. By allowing users to drag and drop files onto designated page parts, developers can streamline the file upload process and simplify data entry.

Continue reading “New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Handle Multiple File Uploads and File Drop Zones”

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 3rd of the new functionality in the Country and regional section is install UK localization as an app.

The new and upgraded localized version for the United Kingdom is delivered as an extension.

By removing country-based customizations in the base app, delocalization can help organizations save time and money during implementation. This can be especially beneficial for organizations that operate in multiple countries or regions with different regulatory requirements because they can easily build PTEs and connect those environments. Delocalization can also help organizations get ISV solutions without limitations.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: –
General Availability: Aug 2024

Feature Details

The localized version for the UK is now delivered as a set of extensions on top of the W1 base app. The solution offers a data upgrade, making it easy to move from the previous localization to the new extension. This release is a step toward full delocalization so that ISVs can release their apps to a broader market.

My Opinion

This sounds, on the surface, like it might be a positive, but also that there could be a lot of extra overhead and complexity. I worry about the phrase “set of extensions”.

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 2nd of the new functionality in the Country and regional section is enable additional countries and regions.

Additional countries will be enabled to leverage the benefits of Business Central’s cloud-based business management software solution.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Jun 2024
General Availability: Jul 2024

Feature Details

Microsoft are expanding Business Central to more countries and regions through partner-led localizations. Their partners create the relevant localization apps and publish them to AppSource. In combination with the built-in language offerings, Microsoft are making Business Central online available to serve customers in 170-plus countries and regions worldwide.

My Opinion

On the surface this sounds goo,d but the times I’ve worked with a client wanting localisations and we’ve looked for extensions, we’ve found two main issues.

The partner who provided the localisation doesn’t respond to messages or the localisation is in the marketplace, but only available to clients who have support with the partner who created the localisation.

Are these going to be any different?

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 1st of the new functionality in the Country and regional section is automate IRS 1099 Form submission in US.

The 1099 form is a set of documents mandated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States. The upcoming update streamlines the process with automated delivery of 1099 forms through an integration with the IRS. This automation also applies to automated delivery to vendors.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: –
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

Business Central’s updated support for 1099 forms streamlines the process by automatically generating new 1099 documents when calculations are performed. Documents with the IRS 1099 calculation will have headers and lines, where each document also maintains an archive. You can make the relevant adjustments and modify the status of the document, such as Open, Released, Printed, Sent, Reported, Approved, or Rejected. Some statuses can be changed manually, while others are set based on specific actions, including Printed or Sent. Business Central also adds a new setup table with boxes and other detail configurations for specific periods. Each organization has the flexibility to update new values without overwriting setup information from previous years.

After a document is created and the manual adjustments are complete, you can initiate the automatic delivery of form substitutes by email, if vendors are configured to receive 1099 forms through email channels. If email isn’t feasible, you can manually print substitutes (no usage of original forms by IRS) and send them. It’s important to know that 1099 copies will be based on templates that you can change the structure of even before Microsoft provides the update. Microsoft won’t change reports on a yearly basis, but will update templates with new information, making full support much better and easier. As 1099 will use documents and the system will keep them archived, you can set the Retention Policy to remove outdated documents.

You’ll be able to submit the forms through the integration with the IRIS system that tracks status updates from the IRS. If the form is successfully received, the document status changes to Approved. If the form isn’t successfully received or some issues exist, it gets the status Rejected and is updated with the rejection information from the IRIS system.

This updated capability is provided as an extension that replaces the existing capability. It adds a more user-friendly experience by improving the workflow efficiency and delivering additional value to users.

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 8th of the new functionality in the Copilot and AI innovation section is learn more about fields with Copilot.

Learning how to use Business Central has never been easier. Getting more information about a given field is now just one click away. Copilot enables you to discover valuable field-specific information from Microsoft Learn without having to search for it. By bridging the gap between Business Central and their extensive Learn content, Microsoft are making it easier than ever for new customers and partners to learn how to use Business Central. Copilot is the AI-powered assistant for work that boosts creativity and improves productivity for Business Central users.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Apr 2024
General Availability: –

Feature Details

The introduction of the Copilot-powered chat (see link here) feature in Business Central has changed the game for how people learn and interact with the product. Copilot explains and guides people to learning about Business Central concepts and how to accomplish tasks, based on Business Central’s extensive online documentation. This significantly reduces the time it takes to get unblocked or ramp up your Business Central knowledge.

This Copilot experience can be initiated by asking a question in the chat, or by other UI elements that trigger the chat functionality based on an action. One such action is to click a link in a tooltip. Today, the Learn more link in a tooltip opens the Help pane which shows page-level help. In this release, the Learn more link is replaced by an Ask Copilot link that triggers the Copilot chat pane to open and automatically post in the chat on the user’s behalf, asking about the meaning of the field in question. By doing so, field-specific help is only one click away, which makes it much easier to understand the value and impact of fields and settings.

Continue reading “New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Learn More About Fields with Copilot”

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 7th of the new functionality in the Copilot and AI innovation section is create product information faster with Copilot.

In a business landscape that changes fast, companies often need to evolve the portfolio of products they sell. Whether it’s a handful of new products, modifications to existing products, or entire new product lines and categories, it’s often time consuming to create and manage product (item) information. Copilot can significantly reduce this effort and accelerate the time to market for new products to meet customer demand. This means more time for you to focus on what matters most, your business. Copilot is the AI-powered assistant for work that boosts creativity and improves productivity for Business Central users.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Jul 2024
General Availability: –

Feature Details

Because product (item) information in Business Central is spread out across several tables, creating and managing this information can be a time-consuming task. The effort involves looking up information based on existing items, pasting values, and ensuring the new product is ready to transact. Creating variants, dimensions, units of measure, and other item-related information also takes time that delays market readiness for new products.

Copilot can help you create item-related information based on similar items. To begin with, Copilot can suggest the following item-related information:

• Variants
• Units of Measure
• Substitutions
• Dimensions

Continue reading “New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Create Product Information Faster with Copilot”

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 6th of the new functionality in the Copilot and AI innovation section is complete bank account reconciliation faster with Copilot.

Bookkeepers in SMB organizations need to import bank statements and reconcile transactions with their bank ledger entries, making sure all transactions are accounted for. While Business Central already reduces effort through rule-based transaction matching, the residual work to process the unmatched transactions every week remains cumbersome and quickly accrues to lost workdays. Copilot reduces bookkeeping effort by matching more transactions and suggesting G/L accounts to post the remaining transactions.

Enabled for: Users by admins, makers, or analysts
Public Preview:  Nov 10, 2023
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

The bank account reconciliation feature in Business Central has been enhanced with:

• AI-powered transaction matching that complements rule-based matching and further reduces the remaining unmatched transactions that require review.
• AI-powered G/L account suggestions where Copilot suggests the most likely ledger account to post any residual transactions to and offers the opportunity to remember a specific transaction description for the next reconciliation.
• Built-in demo data for evaluation companies that makes it easier to experience and demonstrate this Copilot capability to others. Demo data is available in English with 23.1 and other languages with 23.2.

Continue reading “New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Complete Bank Account Reconciliation Faster With Copilot”