Business Central 2026 Release Wave 1 is Here: Everything You Need to Know

Microsoft has officially launched Dynamics 365 Business Central 2026 Release Wave 1 (version 28), and it is one of the most significant updates in years. The features in this wave roll out gradually from April 2026 through September 2026, giving customers and partners time to plan, test, and adopt. If you run your business on Business Central, this release is a clear signal of where the product is heading: an ERP that not only records your transactions, but actively helps you get work done.

The vision behind the wave

Every release wave advances a core idea, and 2026 Wave 1 is all about an intelligent, scalable, and easy-to-use ERP. Instead of adding dozens of unrelated features, Microsoft has focused this wave on a few big themes that reinforce each other:

• Practical AI that does real work — not just chat, but agents that complete multi-step tasks.
• Stronger finance and reporting — a rebuilt reporting engine and embedded analytics.
• Better tools for admins and developers — more control, governance, and extensibility.

What’s actually new

The standout additions include new AI agents (such as the Expense Agent and Payables Agent), deeper Copilot integration across finance and sales, a modernised reporting experience, and administration improvements like partner access control and extended update windows. Developers gain powerful new tooling to build their own agents in AL.

Why it matters for your business

Adopting a release wave is not just about staying current — it is about unlocking measurable time savings. The AI agents in this wave target the exact tasks that eat up your team’s day: entering invoices, reconciling banks, and processing expenses. Businesses that plan their update early get those benefits sooner and reduce manual workload across finance and operations.

For the complete overview, see the 2026 Release Wave 1 plan on Microsoft Learn.