Microsoft has announced the range of new features coming to Dynamics 365 Business Central on the 1^st April 2021. This forms part of Microsoft’s release wave 1 2021 updates.

The new updates coming to Dynamics 365 Business Central forms part of Microsoft’s six-monthly commitment of continual enhancements across the entire Dynamics 365 and Power Platform product portfolio. What is new for Dynamics 365 Business Central within release wave 1?

Dimensions corrections for general ledger entries

As a result of the new features, users will be able to correct dimensions for general ledger (G/L) entries. This will ensure financial reporting provides accurate insights, without the need to make notes of temporary data entry mistakes.

On the General Ledger Entries page, the Correct Dimensions action will allow users to correct dimensions on posted entries by editing the dimension value, adding new dimensions or removing them.

Administrators will also be able to:

• Lock dimensions for corrections
• Specify that corrections must respect closed accounting periods
• View a change log for a given G/L entry
• Revert the entry to its original value.

More control over default dimensions

Release wave 1 brings with it consistent and accurate dimension value attributes for operational and financial transactions. This will ensure greater insights from your business data in Business Central.  The new feature also provides greater control over prerequisites for recording any transaction that must include dimension value attributes that will later be used in business analysis and reporting.

Instead of allowing users free control over dimension values, when the dimension value posting is set to ‘Code Mandatory’, using ‘Allowed Dimension Values’ in the ‘Default Dimensions’ page, users will now pick from a predefined list of allowed dimension values that have been approved.

Assisted setup

To optimise user experience, most features in Dynamics 365 Business Central are turned on by default. However, as data accumulates over time, this can impact performance. To reduce the load on the application, it is often helpful to use job queue entries to move tasks to run in the background. Creating the job queue entries can be tricky, even for an experienced consultant!

As part of release wave 1, Microsoft have introduced an assisted setup guide to make the process easier for adjusting item costs. On the Inventory Setup page, when you turn off the ‘Automatic Cost Posting’ toggle or specify ‘Never’ in the automatic cost adjustment field, an assisted setup guide will appear, helping you along each step of the process.

Bank reconciliation improvements

With release wave 1, bank reconciliation features will be improved to make it easier to see how the automatic application rules have been applied. The bank reconciliation report, known as the test report for bank reconciliation, will be available for posted bank reconciliations (bank statements).

From the Bank Account Reconciliation page, users will now be able to cancel a bank reconciliation that was posted with mistakes. This previously was not possible. From the Bank Statements page, users will be able to run a new, corrected, bank reconciliation report.

User enhancements in the web client

For users with a reduced browser width or upscaled screens, the desktop interface will now be more responsive and automatically adapt to the available space. This will accommodate diverse screen resolutions, low-vision users who are more comfortable working with a scaled-up user-interface, as well as embedding the Business Central web client into small frames inside other applications.

Running reports in the background

A key time-saving improvement for Dynamics 365 Business Central users will be no longer having to wait  for reports to be completed. As part of release wave 1, once initiated, reports will  perform in the background, enabling the user to continue working within other areas of Business Central whilst the report compiles. When a report is ready, the user will be notified.

Business Central contacts in Teams

Business Central offers a comprehensive business contact management system that is essential for many users of the system. Release wave 1’s updates will enable users to utilise Business Central contacts within Microsoft Teams, removing the need to open another solution. Feature updates will include the ability to:

• Search for Business Central contacts within Microsoft Teams
• Share a contact with your co-workers during conversations in Microsoft Teams
• View contact information and historical data in the details window in Microsoft Teams
• Immediately start a call with Business Central contacts.

Release wave 1 summary

The new features of release wave 1 are free to organisations who hold an active subscription to Dynamics 365 Business Central. If your organisation requires assistance navigating the rollout of Microsoft’s 2021 release wave 1 for Dynamics 365 Business Central, please get in touch.