Business Central 2026 Release Wave 2 (Version 29): The New Features That Matter
Microsoft has started rolling out Dynamics 365 Business Central 2026 release wave 2 – version 29. Like every major update, it brings a long list of changes, but this one has a clear theme: AI agents are becoming a normal part of everyday work in Business Central, and Microsoft is giving users better tools to supervise them. In this article we summarise the features that matter most for finance, operations and IT teams, and explain how to prepare for the update.
Key takeaways for leaders
- Copilot in Business Central moves to the same chat experience as Microsoft Copilot in the rest of Microsoft 365 (preview).
- The Expense Agent is now available in all Business Central countries, with VAT handling and approvals checked against written policies.
- Report themes and reusable header and footer layouts give all your documents a consistent, branded look.
- SOAP web services on Microsoft UI pages are removed, so check old integrations before you update.
- Online customers can schedule the update until February 2027, but should test in a sandbox first.
Copilot and AI Agents
The biggest changes in version 29 are in Copilot and the built-in agents:
- New Microsoft Copilot chat experience (preview): the chat panel in Business Central now uses the same modern interface as Microsoft Copilot in the rest of Microsoft 365, so users don’t have to learn a second AI experience.
- A dedicated agent task pane: every task created by any agent (suggestions, validations, follow-ups and draft documents) is collected in one pane that can be opened from anywhere in Business Central.
- Review agent content directly on pages: agent-generated suggestions now appear inline on the page where you work, so you can check and adjust them before they are applied.
- Avatars for creators and modifiers: list pages show whether a record was created or last changed by a person, a system user or an AI agent.
- Smarter Payables Agent: purchase order matching now considers line amounts and expected receipt dates, not just descriptions and quantities.
- Easier agent permissions: you can grant extra permissions to an agent when it asks for them.
- MCP Server data queries: AI applications connected through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) can define and run custom data queries, even where no standard API exists.
The Expense Agent Grows Up
The Expense Agent, introduced in preview in spring 2026, gets one of the largest sets of updates in this release. It is now available in all countries and regions where Business Central is available, with additional languages (Czech, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish). New capabilities include VAT calculation and reporting for expense reports, AI-driven approvals based on policies written in plain language, mileage rates by date range and vehicle type, automatic withholding tax, and improved duplicate detection.
Read our detailed guide: Meet the Expense Agent: AI-Powered Expense Management in Business Central.
Reporting and Analysis
Reporting gets a substantial upgrade:
- Report themes and reusable header/footer layouts give all your PDF documents (invoices, order confirmations, pick lists) a consistent, branded look. Defaults can be set globally, per company, per report or per layout.
- An updated Word add-in for designing document layouts, themes and conditional visibility.
- Run multiple financial reports and receive a single combined PDF.
- Bookmark list views and analysis tabs to your Role Center or include them in profiles.
- Trace G/L account usage in financial reports, and changes to financial reports are now always logged.
- New report inbox APIs let you automate report outputs with Power Automate or MCP.
Supply Chain and Manufacturing
Manufacturing and warehouse users will appreciate a set of practical improvements:
- Create released production orders directly from planning suggestions, and calculate and monitor capacity calendars more easily.
- Subcontracting is easier to set up, subcontracting instructions carry over to purchase orders, and inventory put-aways and picks are supported for subcontracting.
- Direct transfer orders can be posted from warehouse-enabled locations.
- Quality management needs less manual work: passed and failed quantities are calculated automatically, and blocked transactions can be resolved from the responsible inspection.
E-commerce, E-documents and Sustainability
The Shopify connector now supports B2B companies, catalogues and pricing, order changes, exchanges and refunds, and synchronisation of tariff numbers and country of origin. A preview of EDI document exchange extends the E-Documents framework.
For companies preparing for ESG reporting, Sustainability Management can now track the carbon footprint of fixed assets and item journals, estimate emissions in Service Management, use formulas to calculate emissions on purchase documents, and reverse sustainability ledger entries.
Everyday Productivity
Some of the most appreciated changes are small ones that save time every day:
- Preview images directly in the web client.
- Tell Me remembers recent searches.
- Lookups suggest recently used records, so you find the customer, item or vendor you need faster.
What IT Teams and Partners Should Know
- SOAP web services on Microsoft UI pages are permanently disabled in version 29. Any integration that still relies on them must move to APIs or OData.
- Several optional features have become mandatory. Check Feature Management in your sandbox before you update.
- On-premises installations on version 24 or earlier must upgrade to version 25 first before moving to version 29.
- For developers, Page Scripting is now generally available, AL tests can run from the command line and CI/CD pipelines, and the AL toolchain gains new MCP and AI-agent capabilities.
How to Prepare for the Update
Online customers get a notification when version 29 is available and can schedule the update for any date within the update window, which ends in February 2027. We recommend that you:
- Create a sandbox on version 29 and test your key processes, extensions and integrations.
- Review the features that became mandatory and any SOAP-based integrations.
- Decide which AI agents, such as the Expense Agent or the Payables Agent, you want to pilot, and who will supervise them.
- Schedule the production update for a quiet period, not during month-end closing.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Business Central version 29 available?
Version 29 (2026 release wave 2) started rolling out in October 2026. Online customers can schedule the update at any time within the update window, which ends in February 2027.
What are the most important new features in Business Central version 29?
The highlights are the new Microsoft Copilot chat experience, better supervision of AI agents, a major Expense Agent update with VAT handling, report themes, manufacturing and subcontracting improvements, and Shopify B2B support.
Will our integrations keep working after the update?
Integrations that use SOAP web services on Microsoft UI pages stop working in version 29 and must be moved to APIs or OData. Test all integrations in a sandbox before you update production.
Business Central 2026 release wave 2 is a release where AI is no longer a side feature. Agents are becoming part of everyday finance and operations work, with the controls businesses need to trust them.
Would you like help testing version 29 or piloting the new agents? Contact us and our team will be happy to help.
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