The October 2025 update (v27) brings changes worth your attention if you're running Business Central. Not every release update matters equally, but this one has several areas that could make a practical difference to your operations.
Copilot and AI Improvements
Microsoft's enhanced Sales Order Agent now handles the messy reality of how customers actually send orders. Your team can process PDFs or images containing quote requests directly from email attachments rather than manually transcribing information. The agent manages multiple delivery addresses within a single order, includes custom email signatures during interactions, and can create sales orders without waiting for customer confirmation with simple configuration.
Enhanced Analysis Assist (available October 2025) lets you ask Copilot to include fields from related tables in your analysis views. Finance teams can answer their own questions faster without involving IT each time they need a different perspective on the data.
Beyond sales orders, Microsoft is introducing a Payables Agent to automate invoice processing. Starting November 2025, it can match purchase invoices to orders, prioritise draft changes using confidence levels, and work across more countries and regions. The agent aims to reduce manual data entry and speed up accounts payable workflows.
Finance Features Worth Noting
Create multiple fixed asset cards: When you post a purchase invoice, you can now create multiple fixed asset cards at once. If you're buying assets in bulk, this removes repetitive manual entry that slows down your team.
Financial Reporting improvements: Excel-based editing means your team works in familiar territory. New features include dynamic column headings and auto-fill fields that streamline report creation. The reports remain accurate whilst requiring less effort to build and maintain.
Alternative posting groups for employees: Gives you more flexibility in how you handle employee-related transactions across different scenarios.
Supply Chain Changes (December 2025)
Two significant additions arrive in December rather than October. If either affects your operations, start planning now:
Subcontracting capabilities: Warehouse handling and item tracking integrate properly with subcontractor processes. You can receive finished goods with full item tracking directly from purchase orders. If you depend on external manufacturing partners, this should eliminate current workarounds and improve visibility across your supply chain.
Quality Management extension: This new extension adds checks for purchase receipts, production output, and assembly orders. You can schedule regular inspections and generate Quality Certificates or Certificates of Analysis when required. This addresses a gap that's pushed some businesses toward third-party solutions, particularly in regulated industries.
Key capabilities include:
- QA checks for inbound goods and manufactured items
- Scheduled inspections for inventory
- Reporting including certificates and analysis documentation
Electronic Documents and PEPPOL
Business Central continues expanding e-document capabilities. This update includes the ability to create e-documents from posted sales invoices, send documents via service and email simultaneously, and export reminders and finance charges as PEPPOL files. These improvements streamline document exchange and reduce manual processing time.
Reporting and Analytics Enhancements
Microsoft has updated several Power BI apps for Business Central:
- Improved Finance app for better cashflow analysis
- Updated Sales app with modernised reports
- Refreshed Purchasing app to analyse vendor risk
- New Inventory app for forecasting future stock flow
- Upgraded Manufacturing and Projects apps
All Power BI apps are now open-sourced and include drill-back capabilities with dynamic dimension names. This release also adds the ability to include data fields in report layouts using the Word add-in.
What This Might Mean for Your Business
Most businesses use a fraction of Business Central's available features. These updates improve core functions many teams use daily: order processing, financial reporting, and asset management. The Payables Agent and new extension address gaps that have pushed some organisations toward additional software or manual processes.
If you rely on subcontractors or need documented quality processes, the December features require planning. Talk to your implementation partner about what changes ahead of the December release, so you're prepared. Understanding how these capabilities fit your workflows now will help you take advantage of them when they arrive.
The Copilot improvements continue Microsoft's push toward AI-assisted workflows. Whether these deliver value depends on your transaction volumes and current manual workload. Consider running a pilot with the Sales Order Agent or Payables Agent to see if they reduce bottlenecks in your specific environment.
Note: Microsoft also updated sustainability management capabilities, added new country-specific features, and improved developer tools. You can find complete details in the official Microsoft release notes.
