Microsoft ships a Business Central 2024 wave release in the first half of the year, documented in its release notes. In this guide, we walk through the key highlights of the 2024 wave release, covering service, project management, finance, Copilot, and config packages. For a video walkthrough, watch the full overview on our YouTube channel.
How the 2024 Wave Release Notes Are Structured
Business Central follows a wave model for its updates. Wave 1 covers the first half of the year, and wave 2 covers the second half. For 2024, the first major release is version 24.0. After that, Microsoft issues smaller follow-up updates – 24.1, 24.2, and so on. In fact, these come out in response to issues found after the main release. These are not planned in advance, so the timing varies.
The release notes for each wave are published on Microsoft’s feature management page. Anyone can access them. When you open that page, you find it split into several areas. These include application, user experience, platform, country-specific versions, and more. For this overview, we focus on two areas: application and user experience. These are the main sections of the 2024 wave 1 release notes.
Notably, not everything in the release notes is live at launch. Some features are live immediately. You need to turn others on first. Some are planned for a later wave. So when you review any set of release notes, always check the status column for each feature. That way you will know what to expect in your system.
Service Module in the 2024 Wave Release
The service module receives real attention in the 2024 wave release. In fact, several long-awaited features are now included. First, you can add attachments to all service documents. Previously, this was not consistent across service document types – now it works the same way. Second, the invoice posting policy is now available for service documents. This control was already available on sales orders, and it is now extended to service as well.
Warehouse Shipment and Item Blocking for Service
Also included in the release notes is full warehouse shipment support for the service module. Service documents can now work with warehouse shipment workflows. In short, they handle warehouse operations the same way other document types do. Notably, this is a gap that has been present for a long time. Specifically, it affects businesses that run both service and warehouse functions.
Also, the release notes add the ability to block an item or a variant specifically for service use. This is a control that has been missing until now. Also, Microsoft notes in the upcoming wave 2 release notes that subscription billing for the service module is planned. Many businesses have been waiting for this, so it is worth keeping an eye on the next update.
Project Management: A New Name and New Features
The 2024 release notes rename what was previously called job management to project management. The change is on purpose. “Project management” is a term that new users understand without needing to learn Business Central-specific terms first. The core features are unchanged. However, the new name makes the module easier to explain to teams and to customers.
However, the update does not stop at a name change. It includes two functional additions as well. First, it is now possible to assign multiple customers to task lines within a single project. Previously, a project could only link to one customer. As a result, teams often had to create a separate project per customer. Now, you can group related work under one project and assign task lines to different customers within it.
Second, you can now create sales invoices from the sales invoice side. You pull in the relevant project planning lines from there. Instead of going to the project planning lines first, you start from the invoice. Then you select the customer and bring in the lines you need. So, the process is more natural for teams that work from the invoice side down.
Finance Highlights in the 2024 Wave Release
Reminders Automation
The finance section of the release notes covers two two improvements. The first is reminders automation. Reminders have been part of Business Central for a long time. They notify customers about overdue invoices. However, the process of sending them has always been manual. In practice, the 2024 release notes change this by adding automation tools. You can set up rules to send reminders on a schedule, with no manual steps. For finance teams handling high invoice volumes, this removes a lot of repetitive work.
Inventory Cost Adjustment Improvements
In addition, the second finance highlight involves inventory cost adjustment. This process keeps your inventory values current and posts them to the general ledger. On large installations with many items, it can run for hours overnight. The problem is that it sometimes runs past the start of the business day, causing posting locks. Users in the warehouse cannot post transactions because the job is still active in the background.
In short, the release notes address this directly. First, you can now set a stop time for the job. This keeps it from running into working hours. Second, if errors occur during the job, the system now captures them clearly. You can then pass that information to a support consultant who can investigate further. Together, these two changes make the process far more manageable in practice.
Copilot in Business Central: What the Release Notes Include
Suggest Sales Lines on a Sales Order
Indeed, Copilot is a major theme in the 2024 wave release. Microsoft has built AI assistance into several areas of Business Central. Two additions stand out. Specifically, the first is the suggest sales lines feature on a sales order. This appears as a button in the sales lines section. When you click it, a prompt dialog opens. You can type a request in plain language. For example, you can ask Copilot to pull in the lines from the last order for this customer. Copilot finds those lines and inserts them into the current sales order. Also, the prompt is flexible. You can ask for specific items or a date range. In short, you can request anything you can describe in your own words.
Copilot for Analysis Mode
The second Copilot addition in the release notes relates to analysis mode. Analysis mode lets users create pivot views of your data inside Business Central. However, setting it up has always required some knowledge of how the filters and groups work. Many users skipped it as a result. Now, a Copilot button inside analysis mode fixes that. You open the prompt, describe the view you need in plain language, and Copilot configures it for you.
For example, on the customer ledger entries page, you can ask Copilot to break down entries by customer. You can also filter by amount. It creates the analysis view ready to use. As a result, analysis mode becomes available to far more users. Moreover, this follows the same approach as the sales lines feature. Both use a plain language prompt in place of manual setup. So both are easy to use without training.
Config Packages: Work Description Fields Now Supported
Finally, one more feature in the release notes is worth calling out, even if it is less flashy than Copilot. Config packages are a tool in Business Central for moving data between environments. This includes customers, vendors, items, and similar records. They are great for moving data and setting up new systems. Until now, however, they could not handle large text fields.
In Business Central, certain fields can hold far more content than a standard character field allows. For instance, the work description field on a sales order is the clearest example. It can contain hundreds of lines of text. Previously, you could not move that content using config packages – BC simply did not support it. The 2024 release notes fix this: work description fields are now included in config package exports and imports. So if you move data to a new system, this content moves too. It now travels with the rest of the record.
Wrapping Up: The 2024 Wave Release in Business Central
The Business Central 2024 wave release covers a wide range of improvements. Service gets several long-requested features. Also, project management gets a new name and two real additions. Finance gains automation for reminders and better tooling for inventory cost adjustment. Copilot adds useful AI tools for sales orders and analysis mode. And config packages gain support for work description fields.
Overall, the best way to stay on top of these changes is to read the release notes directly. Microsoft publishes them on its feature management page. The status column tells you whether a feature is live, needs enabling, or is planned for a later wave. So take time to review it with each update. You will get a clearer picture of what your system can do – and what is coming next.
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