Business Central 28: What's New in the 2026 Release Wave 1
If you're running Dynamics 365 Business Central, version 28 is the one to pay attention to right now. Released in April 2026 as part of the 2026 release wave 1, Business Central 28 brings a significant batch of new features across AI, supply chain, financial management, reporting, and e-commerce, and for the first time in a while, it also makes several previously optional features mandatory.
That last point matters more than most people realise. If you're running extensions or customisations, some of those could break on upgrade if you haven't prepared. We'll get into that below, but first, here's what's actually new.
What Is Business Central 28?
Business Central follows a six-month release cycle called a release wave. Version 28, also referred to as the 2026 release wave 1, covers the period from April 2026 through to September 2026. It's the first major version release of 2026, and Microsoft has used it to push forward on two big themes: AI automation and supply chain depth.
New customers on Business Central online get version 28.0 automatically. Existing customers are notified when the update is available and can schedule it from the admin centre.
Business Central 28 New Features: What's Actually Changed
Here's a breakdown of the most significant changes in this release, by area.
Copilot and AI Agents
This is where Microsoft has put the most visible investment in Business Central 28. The AI agent capabilities that started rolling out in version 27 are now getting a more complete experience, and several of those features have moved from preview to general availability.
The dedicated task pane for AI agents is now live, giving users a central place to manage tasks across all active agents in one view. There's also a new "Stop all active tasks" action for each agent, which is a practical addition if you've ever had an agent loop or stall after processing too many inputs at once. The Payables Agent has been updated to surface emails it has already processed, so your accounts team can see exactly what's been handled without having to dig through their inbox.
One of the more interesting developer-facing additions is the ability to use Business Central's AI resources inside your own Copilot extensions. If you're building on top of Business Central, this opens up meaningful options for creating AI-powered functionality without having to connect to an external model.
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain gets a solid set of improvements in version 28, most of which are focused on giving users more control over how documents flow through purchasing and warehousing.
You can now create purchase orders directly from drop shipments, and post purchase invoices for drop shipments independently of the related sales invoice. Those two changes together significantly reduce the friction that used to come with drop shipment processing, where the purchase and sales sides were tightly coupled in ways that caused timing issues. Reversing drop shipments when documents aren't yet invoiced is also now supported.
There are also improvements to how requisition worksheets and item journals handle approvals, plus a new quality evaluation feature (in public preview) that allows you to assess the quality of goods and materials on receipt. Item variants now support individual attributes and images, which makes product management considerably cleaner for businesses with complex catalogues.
Financial Management
Business Central 28 adds withholding tax calculation for vendors and the ability to calculate plastic and sugar taxes, both in public preview. These are targeted at specific regulatory requirements, so whether they're relevant to you depends on your industry and geography.
Self-billed invoices are also now available in preview, which is useful for businesses where the buyer raises the invoice on behalf of the supplier rather than the other way around.
Financial management features in Business Central
Reporting and Analytics
The reporting improvements in version 28 are largely about modernisation and consistency. The inventory analytics reports have been updated in line with the newer report framework used elsewhere in the product, and the financial reporting module has received enhancements that give more flexibility in how you structure and present financial data.
There are also new APIs for auditing approval workflows and user permissions, which is a useful addition for IT teams and auditors who need to review access controls across the system.
The Power BI Subscription Billing app has been updated, and there's now an option to set a default document language at company level, a small quality-of-life change that matters a lot if you're sending documents to customers in different countries.
E-Commerce and Shopify
The Shopify connector continues to expand in Business Central 28. You can now export items with product options based on item attributes, sync variant images between Business Central and Shopify, and assign custom collections to exported items. There's also support for using the checkout currency when creating sales documents from Shopify orders, which removes a common reconciliation headache for businesses selling in multiple currencies.
Governance and Administration
One of the more significant admin-focused additions is the ability to connect AI agents to the Business Central Admin Centre via MCP server. This is in public preview, but it signals a direction of travel where the admin experience itself becomes more AI-assistable.
There's also a new tool for managing database index usage and cost per company, and cloud migration has been extended to support any SQL database rather than specific on-premises versions only.
What's Becoming Mandatory in Business Central 28?
This is the part that catches people out on upgrade. Microsoft regularly moves features from optional to mandatory when they've been available long enough, and version 28 is no exception.
The features that are expected to become mandatory in 28.0 include:
- G/L currency revaluation — using the updated framework for general ledger currency revaluation
- Track changes through the UI — captures changes made via user interaction, rather than just programmatic changes
- Improved performance in Trial Balance Excel reports — a feature update to how those reports handle data, now being standardised
If you have extensions installed that touch any of these areas, they could behave unexpectedly after the upgrade. The practical thing to do is enable these features now via the Feature Management page in your current environment and test your extensions against them before you update to version 28.
Business Central 28 vs Business Central 27: Key Differences at a Glance
| Area | Version 27 | Version 28 |
|---|---|---|
| AI agent management | Basic agent support | Dedicated task pane, stop-all action, Payables Agent email visibility |
| Drop shipments | Limited purchase/sales coupling | Independent invoice posting, direct PO creation, reversal support |
| Item variants | Basic variant support | Individual attributes, images, and product options per variant |
| Shopify connector | Standard sync | Attribute-based product options, variant images, checkout currency |
| Withholding tax | Not available | Preview in version 28 |
| Cloud migration | Specific on-premises databases | Any SQL database |
| Mandatory features | G/L revaluation optional | G/L revaluation now mandatory |
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Business Central 28 released?
Business Central 28, also known as the 2026 release wave 1, became generally available in April 2026. A public preview version was available in sandbox environments from early March 2026 for testing.
Do I have to update to Business Central 28?
If you're on Business Central online, Microsoft will notify you when the update is available for your tenant. You can schedule the update within the available window from the admin centre. It's not something that happens automatically without notice, but it will eventually be required. Businesses on version 24 or earlier need to upgrade to version 25 before they can move to version 28.
Will my extensions break on the Business Central 28 upgrade?
Potentially, if you haven't prepared. The main risk comes from features that have moved from optional to mandatory in version 28. The safest approach is to enable those features in your current environment now and work with your partner to check any extensions or customisations for compatibility before the upgrade goes ahead.
What's the difference between a public preview feature and generally available?
Public preview features in Business Central 28 are live in the product but not yet fully production-ready. Microsoft uses the preview period to gather feedback and make adjustments before full release. You can use preview features in production if you choose, but they're covered by supplemental terms rather than the standard SLA.
If you want to make sure your upgrade to Business Central 28 goes smoothly, or you're not sure which features apply to your business, speaking to your partner before scheduling the update is always the right call. If you're looking into implementing Business Central for your business, get in touch and Dynamics Connect can help.