Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central – Version 21.2

Dynamics 365 Business Central v21.2 has just been released by Microsoft. There’s a few new features and a number of hotfixes in this release.

The most notable feature changes are around sending emails, where you can limit the number of email messages sent per minute to enable you to comply with any throttling limits imposed by your Internet Service provider (ISP). You’re also able to use default attachments when sending an email in Business Central – for example if you choose to send a posted sales invoice the send email page will open with a PDF of the chosen invoice attached by default.

There are a number of hotfixes across all functional areas of Business Central including some specifically for Australia in the Finance area. For full information on the hotfixes in v21.2 please visit Microsoft’s support page for this release.

We’ll be testing this release over the coming week or so before scheduling our clients to be upgraded.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central – Version 21.1

Microsoft have recently released Business Central v21.1 which contains a number of new features and hotfixes.

One of the best new features is the ability to embed Business Central data inside Microsoft Teams – utilising tabs in channels and group chats. This gives the team access to live Business Central data that is editable and actionable within Teams (for users with a Business Central license). M365 licensed users (without a Business Central License) can now be given permissions to read this data as well.

The hotfixes are mainly in the finances, inventory and sales areas. For full information on the hotfixes in v21.1 please visit Microsoft’s support page for this release.

We’ll be testing this release over the coming week or so before scheduling our clients to be upgraded.

Additionally, updated versions of the Business Central Mobile app for IOS and Android have recently been released. These 3.8.xxxx versions incorporate some fixes, improvements and newest requirements from recent mobile OS releases. You can download the updated app from the App Store (IOS) or the Play Store (Android).

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central – Version 20.5

Microsoft have just released a minor update for Dynamics 365 Business Central, v20.5 which is a collection of hotfixes.

There are a few hotfixes in the Sales, Inventory and Finance areas – including one specifically for Australia in the BAS & GST reporting area.

We’ll be testing this release over the coming days before scheduling the upgrade for our clients, all clients should be updated over the next couple of weeks.

For full information on the hotfixes please visit Microsoft’s support page for this release.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central – Version 21

Microsoft are working on version 21 of Business Central (also referred to as 2022 Release Wave 2) for release in October this year. This update contains several new features and expansions of existing functionality.

Key improvements to look forward to are;

  • Continued improvement in the integration of Business Central with Power Platform, including improvements to the Power BI integration and support for document attachments in Power Apps and Power Automate.

  • Improved Bank Reconciliation functionality – with better matching rules to improve the efficiency of this key task.

  • Ability to reverse posted payment reconciliation journals – when you correct entries you’ll be able reverse entries that were previously posted, for example if you applied a payment to the wrong customer.

  • Creation of an API to enable more detailed analysis of G/L data in Excel and Power BI – enabling easier creation of your own Excel based or Power BI based financial reports.

  • Tracking of items used in projects, including inventory picking – access item tracking to define lot, serial number or package details from job planning lines, improving the efficiency of the consumption of items and opening up pick and planning scenarios.

For a full list of what’s planned for this release please see Microsoft’s online documentation.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central – Version 20.3

Microsoft have just released a minor update for Dynamics 365 Business Central, v20.3. This release includes a number of hotfixes and a couple of feature updates.

The feature changes are around managing/scheduling updates in the platform and enhancing the jobs area to enable inventory and warehouse picks for consumption on jobs.

Significant hotfixes include a fix for an issue in the web client that was causing web browsers to run out of memory, resulting in slow performance. And a fix for user interface issues in the browser that occurred as a result of recent updates to chromium based browsers (Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome).

For full information on the hotfixes please visit Microsoft’s support page for this release.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central – Version 20

Microsoft have just released Dynamics 365 Business Central  version 20 (also referred to 2022 Release Wave 1). This update contains a number of significant improvements and new features, with more to come over the next few months.

Our pick of some of the best items in this release are;

  • The ability to consolidate (or net off) the balances of a company you do business with that is both a customer and a vendor – arriving at a single amount you owe or are owed.
  • Preview posting of the Payment Reconciliation Journal – making this function more efficient.
  • Enabling sell-to and bill-to customers to be different on project jobs – reflecting the reality that the party paying for the service can be different to the one actually receiving the service.
  • Use of Excel to design layouts for Business Central reports – this is awesome and enables users to create and edit report layouts using the full capabilities of Excel including sliders, charts and pivot tables.

For a full list of what’s new in this release and what’s coming please see Microsoft’s online documentation.

2022 Federal Budget enables 120% deduction on digital technology investments

Last night (29 March 2022) the Australian Federal Government announced a technology investment boost, aimed at small businesses (with aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 Million) to support digital adoption.

From now until 30 June 2023 businesses that fit the turnover criteria will be able to deduct an additional 20% of the cost incurred on business expenses and depreciating assets that support their digital adoption. Examples include portable payment devices, cyber security systems or subscriptions to cloud-based services. 

There’s a cap of $100,000 per income year on eligible expenditure. You can spend more than $100,000 but can only claim the additional 20% deduction on eligible expenditure up to $100,000.

Further details are available on the ATO website.

Business owners are advised to seek advice from their accountants on their eligibility for the additional deductions, before making any purchasing decisions.

The CoreBiz team can help you with your digital transformation projects, built on Microsoft’s leading cloud based (SaaS) solutions – Dynamics 365 Business Central & CRM, Microsoft 365 (Office), Microsoft Teams, Power BI and Power Apps. We pair these leading technologies with our decades of experience in project management and business process engineering to deliver successful implementations for our clients. Get in touch to discuss your project – we’re here to help.