Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2026 release wave 1, also known as version 28 or BC28, introduces a wide range of enhancements that can directly simplify companies’ day-to-day operations. Rather than being built around a single headline feature, the new version makes processes faster, more transparent and easier to automate across several areas, from financial administration and reporting to supply chain management and quality management.

A clear common direction emerges from the new capabilities. The system supports users in completing an increasing number of repetitive, manual tasks while providing greater control over critical business operations. The aim of these enhancements is not only to accelerate individual activities, but also to make related processes more consistent and easier to track, while reducing the likelihood of errors.

The AI and Copilot capabilities of BC28, as well as the architecture of artificial intelligence solutions within Business Central, will be presented in detail in a separate upcoming blog article.

General Improvements for More Transparent Operations

BC28 includes several general enhancements that may initially appear to be minor changes but can significantly simplify the use of the system in practice.

A company-level language code can now be configured on the Company Information page. This allows invoices and other sales documents to be created in the language specified by the company, regardless of the language in which an individual employee uses the Business Central interface.

This is particularly valuable in multilingual or international environments, as it reduces the risk of a document being generated in a language that does not meet the business partner’s expectations simply because of the current user interface settings.

Permission management is supported by a new page that provides an overview of permission sets. This centralized view makes it easier to review the permission sets and authorization structures in use, which can be especially useful for companies with a large number of users and complex roles.

List pages can also display which user created or modified a particular record. The user’s avatar or initials are shown directly in the list, so it is no longer necessary to open each record individually to check this information. This enables users to find relevant information more quickly during day-to-day collaboration, troubleshooting and the clarification of discrepancies.

Finance and Reporting: More Flexible Control and Better-Organized Reports

Allowed Posting Periods Using Date Formulas

Posting periods have traditionally been restricted by defining specific starting and ending dates. These dates had to be updated manually on a regular basis, for example at the beginning of each month, to ensure that they continued to reflect the currently open posting period.

BC28 adds two new date formula fields to this configuration. The first and last allowed posting dates can now be specified not only as fixed dates but also by using formulas relative to the current work date. The rule can be applied at company level to all users, while different posting periods can also be configured for individual users.

Specific dates and date formulas can also be combined. For example, the beginning of the period may be defined as a fixed calendar date, while the end date is determined by a formula relative to the work date, or vice versa.

This solution can reduce the number of recurring manual configuration tasks while maintaining control against accidental or unauthorized posting to closed periods.

Statuses and Categories for Financial Reports

In BC28, statuses can be assigned to financial reports as well as to their row and column definitions. This makes it possible to clearly distinguish between reports that are still under development or review, reports that are active and ready for use, and definitions that have already been retired.

Both a status and a category can be assigned to a financial report, while statuses can be applied to row and column definitions. If a user attempts to select a row or column definition that has been locked, the system displays a warning.

This reduces the risk of an employee accidentally using a report structure that is outdated, has not yet been approved or is no longer intended for use.

Categories also support the logical organization of reports. Separate groups can be created, for example, for reports related to balance sheets, cash flow, budgeting and forecasting, compliance or management reporting. Where a large number of reports are used, this can significantly simplify searching and the maintenance of the financial reporting catalog.

Financial reports are also being enhanced in several other areas. A company logo can be added to the printed output, and its position can be configured. Default report parameters can be defined, while reports can be scheduled to run automatically and sent by email at regular intervals. The system supports grouping by dimensions, and a new audit log makes it possible to review who ran a particular report and when.

Supply Chain Management and Logistics

The logistics enhancements in BC28 affect a broad range of operations, from item master data management and warehouse setup to purchasing processes and the full drop shipment lifecycle. Their common aim is to reduce manual data entry, establish more accurate document relationships and improve the control and traceability of business processes.

Managing Images and Attributes by Item Variant

In previous versions, an image could primarily be uploaded to the main item record. From BC28 onward, a separate image can be assigned to each variant code on the Item Variant Card. This provides a real advantage for products that are available in several visually distinct colors, sizes or designs.

For example, separate images can be assigned to the red, blue and black variants of the same basic T-shirt. Warehouse, sales and purchasing employees can therefore identify the correct product more quickly, reducing the risk of selecting the wrong item.

Item attributes can also be managed at variant-code level. Individual attributes can be assigned to each variant and displayed on both the Item Variant Card and the list page. Managing images and attributes together makes it possible to create a more accurate and detailed product database.

The Description 2 field, which contains the secondary description of an item, is also becoming available on production bill of materials lines and production bill of materials version lines. This additional description is particularly useful when the primary description is not sufficient to accurately identify a component, raw material or part. Users working in production can therefore view the more detailed description directly on the relevant page.

Simpler Purchase Invoicing and More Accurate Product Identification

The Get Order Lines function available on purchase invoices allows users to retrieve purchase order lines directly in addition to receipt lines. Purchase order lines can be selected whether they already have a related receipt or have not yet been received into inventory.

The system automatically creates purchase invoice lines based on the selected information and preserves the relationship with the original purchase order and any related receipts. A new field on purchase orders controls whether any outstanding receipt should be posted automatically when the invoice is posted. This functionality is primarily applicable to items that are not subject to item tracking.

The enhancement can reduce the manual work associated with creating separate receipts in advance, while preserving the relationships between orders, receipts and invoices.

Creating a New Location by Copying an Existing One

The Copy Location function allows users to create a new warehouse or site by copying the configuration of an existing, properly configured location.

The user can select the source location, specify the new location code and decide whether all data from the source location or only selected related configurations should be copied.

When selective copying is used, the following elements can be controlled separately:

• zones and their related bins;
• warehouse employees;
• inventory posting setup;
• transfer routes;
• automatic opening of the new Location Card after creation.

In a traditional process, creating a new location was followed by several rounds of configuration, data entry and testing. With the copy function, a proven master location can serve as the starting point. This can support faster site launches, more consistent configurations and a lower risk of setup errors. Naturally, the specific modifications and checks required for the new location can still be completed after the copy process.

Approval Workflows for Worksheets and Journals

BC28 extends approval capabilities to inventory and purchasing planning processes. New workflow templates support the approval of requisition and planning worksheets as well as item journal batches.

Users can send approval requests from requisition and planning worksheets, withdraw them and view their current approval status. Approval can also be used for item journals, physical inventory journals, output journals and consumption journals.

Entire journals can be submitted for approval, and their status can be monitored in real time in the journal header. A journal awaiting approval cannot be posted until the appropriate decision has been made.

At a manufacturing company, for example, the posting of a consumption journal can be made subject to approval by a shift supervisor, ensuring that only verified material consumption is entered into the system. In the warehouse, an output journal may be approved by the warehouse manager, while purchasing planning controls can prevent purchase orders from being generated without prior approval.

Automatic Separation of Service Orders

The One Service Item Line/Order setting in service management previously applied primarily to manually created service orders. In BC28, the functionality is also extended to orders generated automatically from service contracts.

If a contract contains several service items and the One Service Item Line/Order option is enabled, the system creates a separate service order for each service item. This can support more transparent work organization, more accurate assignment of responsibilities and simpler tracking of completion.

Creating a Purchase Quote from a Customer

A new Create Purchase Quote function is available on the Customer Card and the customer list page. It allows users to create a purchase quote that refers to a customer number rather than a vendor number.

This capability can support business processes in which a purchasing requirement is directly related to a specific customer or customer order. The relationship can be recorded as early as the quotation stage, improving traceability throughout the subsequent process.

Faster Filtering on Sales, Purchase and Service Invoices

When creating sales, service and purchase invoices, users often need to select the lines to be invoiced from a large number of shipment or receipt lines. BC28 makes several fields filterable that could previously only be displayed.

On shipment lines for sales and service invoices, for example, users can filter by order number, reference or external document number. On receipt lines for purchase invoices, the available filtering criteria include the order number, reference, vendor order number, vendor shipment number and item reference.

This enhancement can significantly accelerate the selection of the correct lines, particularly in environments where many open orders and documents are handled simultaneously.

Matching Purchase Invoice Lines with Multiple Orders and Receipts

The creation of purchase invoice lines becomes more flexible, as the system can handle lines originating from multiple orders and multiple receipts on a single invoice. It also takes the relationships between purchase orders and inventory receipts into account during subsequent posting steps.

This is especially beneficial in processes where a supplier invoice includes items from several orders, multiple partial deliveries or goods received at different times. More accurate management of these relationships can reduce manual reconciliation and the number of errors between different documents.

Sending Posted Sales Documents by Email

Posted sales shipments and posted return receipts can be sent by email directly from Business Central. Using the send function available on list and card pages, the document can be attached to the message in PDF format.

Users therefore no longer need to save the document separately and attach it manually using an external email system. Documents can be forwarded more quickly and consistently from within the Business Central interface.

Exploding the Routing for Serial-Numbered Items

The Explode Routing function in the output journal previously created journal lines based on the operations of the production order. Typically, one line was created for each operation, containing the full quantity to be produced.

For finished products subject to serial number tracking, however, output must be recorded individually for each unit. In BC28, the system can create as many output journal lines for the final operation as the production quantity, with each line representing one unit.

This can significantly accelerate the receipt of serial-numbered products into inventory. The functionality requires the Item Tracking on Lines setting to be enabled in the journal template.

More Advanced Drop Shipment Processes

In a drop shipment process, goods are delivered directly from the vendor to the customer, creating a close relationship between the sales and purchasing processes.

In BC28, the Create Purchase Orders function available on sales orders also handles lines marked for drop shipment. The system creates the related purchase order directly from the sales order and automatically transfers the customer’s address or the shipping address from the sales order into the delivery address. The vendor can be suggested based on the Item Card or entered manually.

The enhancement significantly reduces the need to create the purchase order separately and manually. This can result in less data entry, more accurate address management, shorter lead times and less follow-up work.

It is also possible to undo a sales shipment related to a drop shipment, provided that neither the sales invoice nor the purchase invoice has been posted. When the sales shipment is undone, the system automatically reverses the related purchase receipt as well. This means that the process can be reversed in a controlled manner until the invoicing stage.

Quality Management: End-to-End Quality Management in Business Central

A new Quality Management extension is also available for BC28, providing integrated support for the end-to-end management of quality inspections. Rather than managing only individual inspection points, the solution connects quality processes across multiple stages of the value chain within a unified system.

Quality inspections can follow the product throughout its entire journey, from purchasing and incoming-goods inspection through manufacturing, assembly and inventory receipt to release, sales and customer complaint management. The extension also includes a dedicated Quality Manager role and Role Center, bringing related tasks together in one place.

The receipt of a purchase order can automatically initiate a quality inspection task. The system supports incoming-goods inspections, sampling, quarantine inventory, vendor qualification and the tracking of vendor performance.

During production, in-process inspection points can be defined. Automatic inspection tasks may be associated with a released production order, while measurement results can be entered directly into the system. The process supports the monitoring of critical manufacturing parameters, real-time data entry and the immediate handling of deviations.

Posting production output can initiate a final inspection. The quality characteristics of finished products, related test results, documents and certificates can all be recorded in the system. Following quality approval, inventory can be released automatically. If an inspection fails or is still in progress, the stock can be blocked or held in quarantine.

Quality management does not end after the sale. The solution also supports outbound-goods inspections, customer complaints, lot- and serial-number-based traceability, as well as the monitoring of quality trends and KPIs.

Extensive Configuration and Automation Capabilities

One of the main strengths of Quality Management is that the scope and operation of inspections can be configured in detail. Companies can define, among other elements:

• the scope of a quality inspection, which may cover a specific item, item group, lot number, serial number or package number;
• the timing of the inspection and the business event that triggers it;
• measurement parameters, target values, lower and upper tolerance limits and units of measure;
• the sampling method and required sample size;
• inspection templates, generation rules and related workflows;
• quarantine, blocking, release and rejection rules;
• the content of quality certificates and certificates of analysis.

The Quality Tests page allows users to define the measurement parameters to be inspected and the acceptable result ranges. Results may be numerical, Boolean, text-based or selected from predefined options.

Individual tests can be grouped into inspection templates. A template can determine which inspections must be carried out for a particular product, vendor or production process. This helps ensure that the same requirements are applied every time the same business situation occurs.

Generation rules define which business event should create a quality inspection and which inspection template should be used. Such events may include the receipt of a purchase order, the release of a production order, the posting of production output, a warehouse operation or a particular step in an assembly process. Inspections can be created manually or according to a schedule.

By default, the system supports inspection results with in-progress, passed and failed statuses, but these can also be extended with custom result codes. A failed inspection can automatically place the item in quarantine, block its use or sale, or initiate an approval or deviation-management process.

The extension also supports the creation of quality certificates and certificates of analysis. Test results, measured characteristics, lot or serial numbers and approval information can be provided to customers in a consistent document or used during internal and external audits.

What Does This Mean for Business Central Users?

The new features in BC28 do not target only one business area. Together, the enhancements support more efficient operations across the company as a whole.

Finance teams gain more flexible posting periods, better-organized reporting structures and additional automation capabilities. In logistics and manufacturing, manual data entry can be reduced while approval controls and traceability are strengthened.

Quality Management can integrate quality-related tasks directly into business processes instead of maintaining them in separate records and systems.

However, the business value of the new features will always depend on appropriate configuration and the right implementation approach. Companies should assess which enhancements fit their current processes, what permission structures need to be established and which features should first be tested in a sandbox environment.

DynaGo’s experts support companies in evaluating and testing the new BC28 capabilities and implementing them in line with their business processes. This ensures that the project goes beyond simply installing a new version: the new capabilities can be transformed into real, measurable operational benefits.