Business Central’s 2026 release wave 2 starts with update 29.0. Microsoft’s wave page lists 80 new or updated features, and 68 of them are generally available. Five are worth a look for finance and operations teams: purchase order matching in Payables Agent, one PDF from several financial reports, inventory put-away for subcontracting, Microsoft Copilot chat (a preview), and the updated Word add-in for document reports.
What the wave page covers
The wave page is Microsoft’s list for update 29.0. Each feature sits in a table with an availability column that says either “General availability” or “Public preview”. The status for each feature below comes from that column.
Microsoft used to publish this kind of detail as release plans. Those pages have retired. The release plan hub now says the content is archived, and Microsoft says new Business Central capabilities go to the AI at Work roadmap instead. For new capabilities, use the AI at Work roadmap. For update 29.0 availability, use the wave page.
Existing customers get a notification when update 29.0 is available, and an admin can schedule it for any date in a five-month update period that ends in February 2027. Deployments using version 24 or earlier must upgrade to version 25 before upgrading to version 29.
1. Purchase order matching in Payables Agent (generally available)
Payables Agent can propose purchase order matches as part of processing an invoice. Business Central validates compatible order lines and allocates invoice quantities. The agent never posts the invoice. Review the resulting purchase invoice and its receipt allocations before posting, because receipts must cover the full invoice quantity before posting, and the draft warnings show where any gap sits.
The matching setup is optional, but Payables Agent itself has to be active. Turn on the Active toggle on the Configure Payables Agent page, then set up matching:
- In Purchases & Payables Setup, enter the maximum percentage difference allowed between the invoice’s net unit cost and the purchase order lines’ net unit cost in E-Document Matching Difference %. A difference above that percentage appears as Price difference on the Purchase document draft page.
- On the Vendor Card, the Receipt on Invoice field controls the default for new eligible purchase orders. Manual leaves it off, and a user can turn it on for an order or line. Automatic turns it on for new eligible order headers and lines for the vendor. Business Central doesn’t change existing vendors to Automatic.
Microsoft’s setup page lists Australia among the locales where Payables Agent is validated and supported in English. While it can be used in other languages, it might not function as intended.
2. One PDF from several financial reports (generally available)
Report packages let you run more than one financial report at the same time and combine the results in a single PDF. You can run the packages manually, or on a schedule.
Open Financial Report Packages from the search, and in the Code field enter an identifier for the package. The name is included in the name of the file if you export the PDF, and in the Subject line if you send it by email. In the Reports section, choose each financial report. Choose the Custom Filters action to set the filter values for each report. Choose the Print action to run the package now. To set up a schedule for recurring runs, use the Schedules action.
3. Inventory put-away for subcontracting (generally available)
Use an inventory put-away when the purchase order location requires put-away processing but doesn’t require warehouse receipts. Open the released subcontracting purchase order and choose Create Inventory Put-away/Pick. Enter the quantity in the Qty. to Handle field. If the location uses bins, verify or assign the Bin Code. You can split the quantity across multiple put-away lines to use more than one bin, and you can post part of the quantity and create another inventory put-away for the remainder.
Two documented limits apply. For an intermediate operation, posting records capacity only. Microsoft’s components page says that when components move through a transfer order, inventory put-away creation isn’t supported. The workaround is to post directly from the transfer order.
4. Microsoft Copilot chat (public preview)
The wave page lists this as Public preview, and Microsoft’s own page for it carries the same label. Microsoft says the feature is a production-ready preview, and production-ready previews are subject to supplemental terms of use.
To switch it on, the Chat capability must be active in your environment, and users need permission to use it. Starting with Business Central version 29, that capability controls whether Microsoft Copilot in Business Central is available, instead of the older Chat with Copilot feature. Activate the feature on the Copilot & agent capabilities page, and give the right people the Copilot Sys Features permission set. After Microsoft Copilot is enabled, you can reach it through the Copilot button near the upper-right corner of the page.
Copilot chat is a public-preview feature subject to supplemental terms, so test it before live use.
5. Updated Word add-in for document reports (generally available)
The wave page lists the updated add-in as generally available for designing document reports. To install it, go to the Home tab in Word and select Get Add-ins. Search for Dynamics 365 Business Central Word add-in, select the add-in, and then select Add. The Business Central tab appears on the ribbon.
You don’t need the add-in to design a Word layout. Use Word’s XML Mapping Pane to map report fields directly to content controls.
Questions people ask
Do we need to set up matching to use Payables Agent? No. Microsoft says the matching setup is optional and isn’t required to activate the agent. So the Active toggle is the first step, and matching can wait.
Do we need all five? No. Assess each feature against your own finance and operations needs, and leave the rest until you need them.
Are the preview features safe to rely on? The wave page marks Copilot chat as Public preview. Read the feature’s own Microsoft page before you put it in front of users, and test it in a copy of your environment first.
Where do new capabilities get announced now? Microsoft points to the AI at Work roadmap for new capabilities from September 2026. The wave page is still the list for update 29.0.
If you want a second pair of eyes before you switch anything on, book a consultation with Austral Dynamics.
Sources
- What’s New or Changed in Business Central 2026 release wave 2, Update 29.0. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Release plans for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Payables Agent overview. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Set up Payables Agent. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Match purchase invoice drafts to purchase orders. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- View a financial report. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Order subcontracting. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Manage components. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Use Microsoft Copilot in Business Central (preview). Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Configure Copilot and agent capabilities. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.
- Use the Business Central add-in for Word. Microsoft Learn, read 2026-11-03.