It enhances business processes with new functionalities from April to September 2024. The release boosts efficiency, improves project and service management, and expands global availability. It also enhances developer productivity and provides more granular access to environments. The official launch event was held from April 4-10, 2024.
In this release wave, we are excited to share a list of major updates that will significantly enhance your experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Here’s the list of major updates in the Release Wave 1:
Business Central’s Release Wave 1 for 2024 brings a suite of powerful enhancements for sustainability, service management, user testing, and web services. Each of these has been strategically crafted to streamline processes and elevate user experience.
Biplab Banerjee, Sr. Project Manager at Intwo, sums this up perfectly: “BC Release Wave 1 2024 not only enhances Copilot’s capabilities but also enriches application metadata, leading to a superior Copilot experience. By aligning our business objectives with community values, we’re not just boosting efficiency and engagement, but crafting a strategic advantage.”
As the platform continues to evolve, it’s crucial to connect with MSP experts to ensure a smooth transition and to fully leverage the spectrum of these new capabilities.
The 2024 Release Wave 1 delivers enhancements across several core areas: Copilot AI capabilities for data analysis, sales line suggestions, and e-invoice matching; deeper Power Platform integration including Field Service and Dataverse connectivity; improved project and service management with archiving and multi-project invoicing; sustainability tracking tools for emissions reporting; and stronger governance features such as Microsoft Purview auditing and customer-managed encryption keys. These updates collectively strengthen automation, compliance readiness, and operational efficiency for small and mid-sized organizations.
Copilot in Business Central now acts as an AI-powered assistant across multiple workflows. It generates analysis tabs using natural language, suggests sales line items from prior transactions or product catalogs, automates electronic invoice matching to purchase orders, and accelerates product information creation by handling variants and units of measure. Users can also interact with Copilot through a chat interface for record retrieval and process guidance. These capabilities reduce repetitive manual work while keeping users in full control of their data and decisions.
The Field Service integration connects service operations directly with financial management inside Business Central. It provides visual scheduling, workflow automation, and alignment of inventory and transactions for service-oriented companies. Data synchronization covers resources, items, and work orders, enabling seamless invoicing and operational tracking without switching between platforms. This ready-to-use integration is especially valuable for organizations that manage field technicians, on-site service delivery, or asset maintenance, where disconnected systems previously created billing delays and data gaps.
Project management sees several targeted improvements in this release. Users can now archive projects with full audit trails and version control, invoice a single customer across multiple projects in one consolidated document, and access Power BI reports and Project Details FactBoxes directly from the Project List page. Microsoft has also standardized terminology by renaming “jobs” to “projects” across the platform and documentation. Together, these changes reduce administrative overhead, improve financial visibility, and align Business Central with widely recognized project management conventions.
The release introduces Sustainability Insights, enabling small and mid-sized enterprises to track environmental metrics directly within Business Central. Users can monitor emissions data through a dedicated sustainability chart of accounts, record entries via sustainability journals and templates, and apply calculation tools for emission factors. Customizable reporting options allow organizations to generate compliance-ready outputs aligned with growing regulatory and stakeholder expectations. This feature responds to increasing pressure on businesses of all sizes to measure, report, and reduce their environmental footprint as part of broader ESG commitments.
This release introduces several governance enhancements designed for enterprise-grade data protection. Administrators can now audit Business Central operations through Microsoft Purview for unified oversight across Microsoft services. Customer-managed encryption keys (CMK) allow organizations to encrypt databases using their own keys stored in Azure Key Vault. Additionally, a new lockbox policy lets customers grant explicit consent before Microsoft support personnel access their data. These features collectively give organizations greater control, transparency, and compliance confidence over sensitive business information.
The release deepens integration between Business Central and the broader Power Platform ecosystem. Enhancements include improved approval workflows through Power Automate (eliminating manual approver setup), new Business Central connectors and sample apps, and a preview of Copilot within Power Automate that lets users create automated flows using natural language. Linking Business Central environments with Dataverse streamlines data access across Dynamics 365 applications without duplicating records. These updates make it easier for business users to build custom automations without relying heavily on developer resources.
The updated Shopify Connector extends Business Central’s e-commerce capabilities by supporting both B2B and direct-to-consumer (D2C) transactions within a single platform. New features include automatic URL configuration, detailed inventory management, and an order editing function that simplifies post-sale adjustments. This integration allows businesses to manage online sales operations, track stock levels, and synchronize financial data without toggling between separate systems. For organizations scaling their digital commerce channels, this connector reduces operational friction and brings e-commerce workflows closer to core financial management.
The release enhances reporting through new Excel-based layouts covering finance and sales functions, including trial balances and customer analyses designed for large datasets. A preview of Excel Copilot helps users identify trends and outliers within their reports. Business Central also introduces a new report explorer and improved search tools, making it easier for users to locate the right BI content quickly. These improvements aim to put actionable data directly into the hands of decision-makers without requiring advanced technical skills or external analytics platforms.
Yes. Intwo specializes in upgrading and managing Dynamics 365 Business Central environments for organizations across the MENA region and the United States. Whether you are moving from an older NAV version, migrating from on-premises to Business Central online, or adopting the latest release wave updates, our team handles environment assessment, data migration, customization compatibility checks, and post-upgrade support. As an Azure Expert MSP and Microsoft Solutions Partner, we ensure your upgrade delivers maximum operational value with minimal disruption.
Rest assured. We've got you.
Let's get in touch and tackle your business challenges together.