The next big wave of MS Business Central updates has arrived - WAVE 2 2023

The second major wave of Business Central updates this year—WAVE 2 2023—has arrived, bringing with it many new and exciting features!

WAVE 2 2023 will run from October 2023 to March 2024, and the full list of new features can be found at the link: New and planned features for Dynamics 365 Business Central, 2023 release wave 2 | Microsoft Learn

New features that will definitely make users' daily work easier include, among others:

1. Overview of Available Inventory Levels

This feature will improve warehouse operations by providing us with accurate and up-to-date information on inventory levels, inventory reservations, and similar data.

Now, from within source documents—such as sales orders—we can access up-to-date information on inventory levels in the warehouse and the factors affecting their availability. This data can be found on the Pick Summary page.

2. Consolidate financial data across multiple environments and companies

The upcoming version of Microsoft Business Central (BC 23) is set to introduce a feature that enables the consolidation of financial data across different Business Central environments. This is particularly useful for companies that operate across multiple business units or have subsidiaries. This feature supports the financial consolidation process, eliminating the need for tedious file management. The new feature also allows you to configure multiple types of consolidation, depending on your company’s needs. Free up more time for strategic tasks with Business Central!

3. Allocations in the General Ledger—Effective Allocation of Costs and Revenues (Allocation Account)

Another interesting new feature is General Ledger Allocations, which enables more efficient allocation of costs and revenues. This feature allows for the automatic distribution of cost- or revenue-related transactions among accounting accounts and the assignment of appropriate dimensions to allocation lines. You can configure allocation accounts as either fixed or variable, depending on your needs. This feature is designed to streamline accounting processes and reduce the risk of errors.

Available in the General Ledgers, as well as in the Sales and Purchases ledgers.

4. Selecting Accounting Accounts for Payment and Receivable Settlements (option to change the default accounting group for the Buyer/Supplier)

Good news for those who value flexibility! A new feature in BC23 allows you to use multiple accounting accounts for transactions related to accounts receivable and accounts payable. This is useful when a company wants to record a transaction in an accounting account other than the one assigned by default to a group of customers or vendors. This feature allows you to control the change of the accounting group when recording a transaction, enabling you to tailor accounting entries to your company’s specific needs.

This tag is available globally in Sales and Accounts Receivable Settings and Purchasing and Accounts Payable Settings...

but also in the Supplier and Customer files:

5. Edit in Excel: Journals and Inventory Sheets

Get ready for a revolution in efficient data management! In BC23, Microsoft is adding the Edit in Excel feature for journals and inventory sheets, such as inventory transfer journals, consumption journals, planning sheets, lay-up sheets, and many more. This feature allows you to edit data in Excel and publish the changes back to Business Central. Users can use this feature to quickly enter data, create journal templates, and perform bulk edits. It is a useful tool for speeding up the data entry process.

6. Data Synchronization for Sales and Purchasing Documents (New " Link Doc. Date to Posting Date" tag)

The upcoming BC23 release brings harmony to data management by introducing the option to synchronize or decouple the document date and posting date on sales and purchase documents. This feature improves financial accuracy and operational flexibility. The document date must match the sales or purchase invoice date, while the posting date indicates when the document was recorded in Business Central. This feature allows you to tailor your purchasing and sales processes and ensure accurate financial calculations. Take full control of your finances with Business Central!

In addition to new features, the capabilities of existing, well-known, and popular features have also been expanded—such as page inspection, analysis mode, Excel integration, intercompany consolidation, and inventory management functions—and much, much more!

It’s worth noting that the information above comes from the public preview of the upcoming BC 23 release, which is available in public beta. The new features and improvements introduced in this release may be useful for many companies that use Business Central. It’s a good idea to follow official sources from Microsoft to learn more about these new features and how they can be implemented in practice.