In this video, I take a look at the new features that are coming in BC version 28. Check out the video and see if Microsoft has included the feature you really want!
In this video, Erik takes us through a comprehensive preview of what’s coming in Business Central 2026 Wave 1 (BC28), now available as a public preview. He walks through the official Microsoft Learn feature list, offering his developer perspective, commentary, and honest reactions to each new feature and enhancement.
Item Variants Get Some Love
One of the first features Erik highlights is the ability to add pictures to item variants to differentiate product options. He suspects this is a Shopify-inspired change, noting that variants haven’t received much attention in about 20 years. While he appreciates the addition, he points out that Business Central’s variant implementation remains minimal — for example, if you have colors as variants, you often need sizes too, and the system doesn’t handle that matrix-style relationship well.
Later in the list, item attributes for item variants also appear, further confirming that variants are finally getting meaningful attention in this release.
Description Fields and AI Agents
The addition of description fields to various pages might seem mundane, but Erik connects it to a bigger picture: AI agents. Microsoft’s agents operate Business Central through the normal user interface using a text-mode client. They see what users see — and don’t see what users don’t see. Adding more metadata and description fields to screens directly helps these agents perform better.
Semantic Search for Developers
One of the more exciting features for developers is the ability to use semantic search on data and metadata. This release makes it possible for developers to access semantic ranking of virtual metadata business records from the AL language. Effectively, you can now run queries like “top N by similarity to search term.”
The new functionality is available through a new codeunit:
// New Semantic Data Search codeunit
// Methods include:
// - SetMaxResults
// - SetTargetSearchTarget
// - SemanticDataSearch
Codeunit "Semantic Search"
Erik calls this “super cool” — search by similarity opens up significant possibilities for AL developers.
Approval Workflows for Inventory
The ability to approve requisition worksheets and item journals is described as a big ask that’s been long overdue. There are plenty of workflows and approval processes in Business Central, but the inventory side has been largely neglected. Microsoft Power Automate support is included through updated workflow events.
Shopify Integration Enhancements
There’s a substantial list of Shopify-related updates in BC28:
- Assign custom collections to items exported to Shopify
- Export items to Shopify with product options based on item attributes
- Sync images of product variants between Business Central and Shopify
- Use checkout currency when creating sales documents from Shopify orders
- Update unit cost when syncing prices to Shopify
- Various API changes for exporting inventory and product variants
Permission Management Overhaul
The new permission overview provides comprehensive visibility into permission sets across all installed apps and extensions. You can now:
- View permissions from all apps and extensions in a unified view
- Filter data by object scope, extension, or permission set
- Identify which permission sets grant access to specific objects
Erik notes that currently you have to use the “effective permission” list which is slow and breaks when you try to filter. This enhancement is a welcome improvement.
MCP Servers — Admin Center and AL Debugging
BC28 introduces the ability to connect AI agents to the Admin Center through MCP servers. While Erik loves the concept and openness of MCP, he raises a provocative question: do we really want an AI to be able to manage environments, potentially deleting them?
More exciting on the developer side is the troubleshooting MCP server for AL. When you hit a breakpoint during debugging, you can ask the MCP what’s going on — providing AI-assisted debugging directly in your development workflow.
Download Symbols from NuGet
All Microsoft symbols for most versions are now available on a NuGet feed, along with symbols for AppSource apps. This means you no longer necessarily need a running environment to compile against a specific version.
Erik notes this is a step toward better CI/CD pipelines, adding: “If only we could get runtime apps built without having to fire up 25 different environments.”
Report Layout Lifecycle Management
Report layout administrators can now set the status of a report layout to control lifecycle stages:
- Draft — not available to users
- Pending Approval — layout is awaiting approval
- Approved — available for use
- Retired — no longer active
Financial Reporting Enhancements
Several financial reporting improvements caught Erik’s eye:
- Display the company logo on reports
- Global defaults for negative number formats
- Schedule reports for a distribution group (recipients get output via email and inbox)
- Run a report across all values of a dimension
- Run multiple reports and get a single combined PDF
Fully Qualified Names for AL Objects
This feature addresses one of the most frequently asked questions Erik receives: “When do we get rid of object numbers?” While object numbers aren’t going away soon due to legacy dependencies, BC28 introduces the ability to reference objects using fully qualified names:
// Traditional approach - using object number constant
ref.Open(Database::Customer);
// New approach - using fully qualified name (string)
ref.Open('Microsoft.Sales.Customer.Customer');
// Both accomplish the same thing, but the fully qualified name
// removes the dependency on object numbers
Erik sees this as Microsoft starting the actual process of moving away from object numbers. The next logical step would be extending this to field references and field index functions, which are still number-based.
Run AL Tests from Visual Studio Code
You can now use the built-in Test Explorer in VS Code to discover and run AL tests in your workspace. This is only supported on Business Central 2026 Wave 1 or newer, on both sandbox and local servers.
Cloud Migration from Any SQL Database
The cloud migration tool, previously limited to NAV/BC on-prem, Dynamics GP, and Dynamics SL, is being opened up. Developers can now implement a standardized AL interface that defines how data is mapped, replicated, and transformed from external SQL sources to Business Central.
Erik finds this particularly interesting and wonders whether partners could use this to customize the existing GP migration engine — something many partners have been asking for.
Modernized Inventory Reports
Microsoft is modernizing analytical reports for inventory by replacing RDL layouts with Excel and Word layouts. For example, the Inventory Top 10 report now ships with both Excel and Word layout options rather than the traditional RDL approach.
Avatars for Record Creators and Modifiers
A visually interesting addition: avatars in list pages that indicate which user or agent created or last modified a record. This enhances traceability and collaboration by making identity information immediately visible without opening the record. Erik also notes a new extended data type called “task” that appeared in compiler 16.4, which appears related to this feature.
Manage Database Index Usage
Administrators can now access detailed index information directly in the UI through a new Database Index Information page. You can view index usage and cost per company, and even turn off indexes per company — giving much more granular control over database performance.
Manufacturing Usability Improvements
Erik is particularly enthusiastic about improvements to manufacturing, including explode routing, location code control, and warnings for non-certified production BOMs. He appreciates Microsoft giving attention to what he calls “the non-sexy modules” — the ones that real users spend all day working in.
AI Resource Management for Extensions
For developers building Copilot extensions, there’s a discussion around using AI resources. Erik highlights an ongoing quirk: developers must provide their own Azure OpenAI subscription details for authentication, but the authorization process doesn’t actually use them. Microsoft essentially requires you to hand over AI account credentials while promising not to use them — something Erik finds genuinely confusing.
Other Notable Additions
- Withholding tax calculation for vendors — bringing localization features from regions like Malaysia and Singapore into the standard product
- Multiple product tax/VAT rates — supporting reduced rates for items like children’s clothing or pharmaceuticals
- Transfer journal line descriptions to bank statements — making bank reconciliation easier
- Match purchase invoices to multiple orders and receipt lines — long overdue functionality
- Set default language for documents at the company level — previously only available at the customer level
- Read-only APIs for approval workflows, permissions, and sustainability — enabling external reporting and analytics through Power BI or MCP servers
- BCBench — Microsoft’s internal benchmarking framework for evaluating AL coding agents
- Quality Management — available as an extension for evaluating the quality of goods and materials
Summary
BC28 is shaping up to be what Erik characterizes as a “nice” release — perhaps not revolutionary in any single area, but delivering meaningful improvements across the board. The standout themes are: long-neglected modules like manufacturing and inventory finally getting attention; continued heavy investment in AI, MCP, and agent functionality; significant Shopify integration enhancements; important developer tooling improvements like NuGet symbol downloads, semantic search, fully qualified object names, and the VS Code test explorer; and practical usability improvements that real users have been requesting for years. Erik promises deeper dives into several of these features in upcoming videos.
