Microsoft continues to evolve its business applications with precision and innovation, and the 2025 Release Wave 1 for Dynamics 365 Business Central is no exception. Whether you’re a small-to-medium-sized business looking to scale or an established enterprise refining your processes, the latest wave introduces new features and improvements that enhance usability, productivity, and performance.
In this post, we’ll break down what Business Central is, why it’s so widely adopted, and what you can expect from the 2025 Release Wave 1 update — including improvements to Copilot, development tools, performance upgrades, user experience enhancements, and more.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s all-in-one enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution tailored for small to mid-sized businesses. It helps organisations manage finances, supply chains, operations, sales, and customer service in a unified cloud-based platform. Built to integrate seamlessly with other Microsoft products like Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Azure, Business Central enables businesses to automate workflows, improve visibility, and make data-driven decisions.
Since its launch, Business Central has become a preferred ERP solution due to its flexibility, scalability, and accessibility — whether you’re working in-office, remotely, or on-the-go.
Now, with the 2025 Release Wave 1, Microsoft is doubling down on its commitment to innovation, particularly in areas such as AI integration, enhanced personalisation, and improved developer capabilities.
What to Expect in the 2025 Release Wave 1
The 2025 Release Wave 1, expected to roll out from April to September 2025, introduces a wide range of enhancements designed to simplify processes, improve performance, and drive smarter decision-making.
Here are the key highlights across different focus areas:
1. Copilot and AI-Driven Enhancements
Microsoft is continuing its Copilot integration across the Dynamics 365 platform — and Business Central is a core part of this vision. In this wave, Copilot becomes even more intelligent, context-aware, and user-friendly.
New in 2025:
Smarter Natural Language Querying: Users can now interact with Business Central using more complex natural language queries, helping them generate insights without technical knowledge.
- Copilot in Bank Reconciliation: AI can now assist in automatically matching bank statement lines with transactions, improving accuracy and saving hours of manual work.
- Item Creation Suggestions: Copilot can analyse past entries and user behaviour to suggest new item records, streamlining the process of adding new inventory.
- Improved Chat Experience: Enhanced Copilot chat features offer more task-specific guidance, helping users with setup, data entry, and troubleshooting.
The end result is a more conversational, guided experience that supports both technical and non-technical users in making more informed decisions, faster.
2. User Experience and Productivity Improvements
User feedback remains central to how Microsoft shapes its updates. This wave includes multiple quality-of-life improvements aimed at refining the day-to-day experience.
Key enhancements:
- Modernised Navigation: The navigation pane has been updated for better discoverability of pages and features.
- Quick Access Shortcuts: New personalisation options allow users to pin actions, create bookmarks, and build a more intuitive interface.
- Data Entry Validations: Business Central now includes inline validations that offer real-time error correction, reducing time spent troubleshooting.
- Improved Filtering and Views: More powerful filtering options and saved views enable users to quickly focus on what matters most to them.
These updates provide a more tailored, efficient experience — allowing users to focus on value-added work.
3. Finance and Supply Chain Enhancements
ERP systems are only as valuable as their ability to handle core operational processes efficiently. Microsoft continues to invest in improving the backbone of Business Central — its financial management and supply chain features.
Financial Management:
- Enhanced Audit Trails: New tracking features provide more comprehensive audit trails, making it easier to meet compliance requirements.
- Better Deferral Management: Improvements in deferral templates give businesses more control over revenue recognition and expense matching.
- Multi-Currency Enhancements: Business Central now handles currency revaluation and exchange rate adjustments more intelligently, with reduced manual effort.
Supply Chain:
- Inventory Availability Enhancements: The new release offers better visibility into available-to-promise (ATP) inventory, with recommendations based on historical sales and demand forecasting.
- Warehouse Improvements: Expanded support for warehouse scenarios, such as pick prioritisation and cross-docking, enhance operational efficiency.
4. Performance and Reliability Upgrades
As Business Central usage grows, Microsoft continues to improve platform performance and scalability, ensuring a smoother experience for all users.
What’s new:
- Faster Page Loads: Optimisations to the client and database layers result in up to 30% faster page loads across key areas of the system.
- Improved Background Jobs: A revamped job queue allows for parallel execution of background tasks with reduced latency.
- More Stable Integrations: Updates to the integration APIs and telemetry ensure more reliable connections to external apps and services.
For organisations relying on Business Central for mission-critical operations, these improvements offer greater peace of mind and smoother workflows.
5. Developer and Power Platform Enhancements
Microsoft has made significant strides in improving the developer experience in Business Central, enabling partners and in-house teams to build and extend applications more efficiently.
Key improvements:
- AL Language Updates: The AL language used to develop extensions has been updated with more advanced debugging and testing tools.
- Improved Git Integration: Source control with Git is now more seamless, with built-in support for branching, versioning, and deployment.
- Better Power Platform Integration: Business Central now works more cohesively with Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Apps, making it easier to build low-code/no-code solutions on top of your ERP.
- AppSource Updates: New capabilities allow for easier submission, updating, and versioning of apps in Microsoft AppSource.
This reinforces Microsoft’s long-term commitment to extensibility, openness, and platform unification.
6. Global Availability and Localisation
With this release, Business Central expands its availability in new countries and regions, allowing more businesses around the world to access its powerful ERP features. Microsoft has continued to invest in local compliance, language support, and regional tax functionality, ensuring that Business Central remains a strong option for international businesses.
Why It Matters: Real-World Business Cases
The enhancements in the 2025 Release Wave 1 are designed to address common business challenges, streamline operations, and foster growth. Here are specific examples of how organisations can leverage these updates:
1. AI-Driven Sales Order Processing
Business Challenge: A distribution company receives numerous sales orders daily via email, leading to manual data entry, delays, and potential errors.
Solution with Business Central: The introduction of the Sales Order Agent automates the entire sales order process. This AI-driven agent can interpret customer emails, generate sales quotes, verify inventory availability, and process orders with minimal human intervention.
Microsoft have demonstrated this in their 2025 wave one relace video:
Benefits:
- Increased Efficiency: Automation reduces manual data entry, allowing staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
- Improved Accuracy: By minimising human intervention decreases the likelihood of errors in order processing.
- Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Faster order processing leads to quicker deliveries and happier customers.
2. Integrated Field Service Management
Business Challenge: A manufacturing firm struggles with coordinating field service operations and back-office processes, resulting in miscommunications and delayed invoicing.
Solution with Business Central: The new integration between Dynamics 365 Field Service and Business Central’s service management streamlines operations. Field technicians can access real-time inventory data, and completed service orders flow seamlessly into invoicing systems.
Benefits:
- Operational Efficiency: Field technicians have up-to-date information, reducing service times and repeat visits.
- Accurate Invoicing: Automated data flow ensures timely and precise billing, improving cash flow.
- Better Resource Management: Visibility into inventory and service schedules optimises resource allocation.
3. Advanced Sustainability Tracking
Business Challenge: A retail company aims to comply with new environmental regulations requiring detailed reporting on greenhouse gas emissions but lacks the tools to track and report this data effectively.
Solution with Business Central: The enhanced Sustainability Management features allow the company to collect and analyse data on emissions, water usage, and waste management. The system can generate reports aligned with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Benefits:
- Regulatory Compliance: Automated reporting ensures adherence to environmental laws and standards.
- Corporate Responsibility: Demonstrates a commitment to sustainability, enhancing brand reputation.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Insights into resource usage enable the implementation of more sustainable practices.
4. Enhanced Financial Reporting
Business Challenge: A professional services firm requires detailed financial reports to monitor project profitability but finds existing reporting tools cumbersome and time-consuming.
Solution with Business Central: The update introduces pre-built financial reporting templates and improved integration with Power BI, allowing for customised, real-time financial analysis.
Benefits:
- Time Savings: Ready-to-use templates reduce the need for manual report creation.
- Informed Decision-Making: Interactive dashboards provide insights into financial performance, aiding strategic planning.
- Scalability: As the firm grows, the reporting tools can adapt to increasingly complex financial structures.
5. Streamlined E-Document Management
Business Challenge: A wholesale business deals with a high volume of invoices and purchase orders, leading to manual processing errors and compliance issues.
Solution with Business Central: The e-Documents feature automates the receipt and processing of electronic documents, reducing manual data entry and errors.
Benefits:
- Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces the time spent on processing documents.
- Improved Accuracy: Minimises errors associated with manual data entry.
- Compliance: Ensures adherence to regulatory requirements for electronic document handling.
6. AI-Powered Data Insights
Business Challenge: A retail company needs to quickly analyse sales data to identify trends but lacks the resources for in-depth data analysis.
Solution with Business Central: The Copilot AI enhancements provide natural language interactions and predictive analytics, allowing users to generate insights without extensive data analysis expertise.
Benefits:
- Accessibility: Users can obtain data insights through simple queries, making data analysis more accessible.
- Proactive Decision-Making: Predictive analytics help anticipate market trends and customer behaviour.
- Resource Optimisation: Reduces the need for dedicated data analysis teams, freeing up resources for other tasks.
So what is the conclusion so far?
As organisations continue to navigate change, modern ERP systems like Dynamics 365 Business Central are becoming more crucial than ever. The 2025 Release Wave 1 makes Business Central smarter, faster, and easier to use — helping businesses focus less on manual processes and more on growth and innovation.
If you’re already using Business Central, now is the time to explore these features and prepare for the rollout. If you’re considering implementing an ERP system, this release makes a strong case for choosing Microsoft’s integrated, future-ready platform.
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