Microsoft's 2026 Wave 1 release runs from April through September 2026. There's a lot in it - but not all of it will matter to your business. This guide cuts through the noise and focuses on the updates most relevant to finance teams, operations leads, and the SMEs running on Business Central today.

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Built-in employee expense reports GA Oct 2026

Business Central is finally getting native expense management. Finance teams will be able to manage employee expense submissions directly within BC, reducing reliance on third-party add-ons and manual reconciliation processes.

Who it helps: Finance managers tired of piecing together expenses from spreadsheets or disconnected tools.

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Withholding tax calculations for vendors GA Jun 2026

BC can now calculate withholding taxes on vendor payments automatically. For businesses working with contractors or international suppliers, this removes a significant area of manual calculation and potential compliance risk.

Who it helps: Accounts payable teams with complex vendor tax obligations.

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Self-billed invoicing GA Jun 2026

Businesses that issue invoices on behalf of their suppliers — common in media, agriculture, and certain services sectors — can now manage this natively in BC. This reduces the manual workarounds that teams have previously relied on.

Who it helps: Finance teams in industries where buyer-generated invoicing is standard practice.

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UK Payment Practices reporting GA Jun 2026

For UK businesses subject to the Payment Practices and Performance reporting regulations, BC will now support this directly. No more exporting data to compile reports separately — it's built into the UK localisation.

Who it helps: UK finance teams required to report on supplier payment practices to Companies House.

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AUTOMATION & OPERATIONS

Payables Agent: email visibility and tracking GA Apr 2026

The Payables Agent — BC's AI-powered tool for processing purchase invoices from inbound emails - now shows you which emails it has already handled. This gives finance teams a clear audit trail and reduces the risk of duplicate processing or missed documents.

Who it helps: AP teams processing high volumes of supplier invoices via email.

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Match purchase invoices to multiple order and receipt lines GA Apr 2026

Previously, matching a purchase invoice to multiple receipt lines required cumbersome manual steps. This update streamlines the process, making three-way matching significantly less labour-intensive for operations teams handling complex purchasing.

Who it helps: Procurement and AP teams dealing with consolidated deliveries or partial receipts.

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Link inbound e-documents to purchase invoices GA Apr 2026

Incoming electronic invoices can now be directly linked to purchase invoices in BC, improving the e-invoicing workflow end-to-end. As e-invoicing mandates expand across Europe and beyond, this is a genuinely useful piece of infrastructure.

Who it helps: Finance teams receiving e-invoices from suppliers and needing a clean, auditable matching process.

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Approval workflows for requisition worksheets and item journals GA Apr 2026

Approval controls are being extended to requisition worksheets and item journals — two areas that have historically required workarounds to control. Particularly relevant for businesses with governance requirements around inventory adjustments and purchase requests.

Who it helps: Operations managers and finance controllers who need sign-off processes on procurement and stock movements.

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REPORTING & DATA ANALYSIS

Financial reporting enhancements GA Apr 2026

Microsoft has made targeted improvements to BC's built-in financial reporting, giving finance teams more flexibility in how they configure, present and share financial statements without needing custom development.

Who it helps: Finance teams who rely on BC's native financial reports rather than external tools.

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New APIs for approval workflow and permissions analysis GA Apr 2026

Two new API sets give auditors and IT administrators better visibility into who has approved what, and who has access to what. For businesses undergoing audits or managing compliance, this reduces the manual effort of extracting permissions data from BC.

Who it helps: Finance directors, auditors, and system administrators responsible for internal controls.

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Report layout lifecycle management GA Apr 2026

Administrators can now manage the full lifecycle of report layouts — including versioning and deprecation — from within BC. This has a direct impact on finance teams who rely on consistent document formats for invoices, statements, and reports.

Who it helps: BC administrators and finance teams who depend on standardised document templates.

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AI & COPILOT

Unified agent task pane GA Apr 2026

All AI agent activity in BC — from the Payables Agent to any custom agents your business uses — is now visible and manageable from one dedicated pane. This gives operations leads a practical way to oversee what's running automatically and intervene when needed.

Who it helps: Operations managers wanting oversight of automated processes without needing technical knowledge.

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Review AI-generated content inline GA Apr 2026

Where agents have drafted or suggested content — such as invoice details or journal entries — users can now review and approve it directly on the relevant BC page. This removes friction and keeps the human in the loop without adding process steps.

Who it helps: Finance team members working alongside AI agents who need a smooth, low-friction review process.

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On the AI features generally: It's worth being measured about Copilot updates. They're genuinely useful for reducing repetitive work, but they require proper setup and staff familiarity to deliver real value. Getting the foundational data and process configuration right matters more than the AI layer on top of it.

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View the full Microsoft release plan on Microsoft Learn →

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Not sure how these updates affect your setup?

Speak to the team at Creative Computing to understand what Wave 1

2026 means for your specific implementation - and what to prioritise.

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