Business Central v.26: Copilot Grows Up, and Reporting Gets a Whole Lot Smarter

Remember when Copilot was just a handy little assistant? Helpful, sure – but limited to basic tasks, like finding a few records or reminding you of something important. Those days are long gone. In Business Central v.26, Copilot has evolved into a fully integrated teammate, with a deep understanding of your system, your data, and the way you work.

And AI isn’t the only thing getting an upgrade this time around. Microsoft’s first release wave of version 26 brings smart improvements across the board. Here are our top picks from the updates that really make a difference.

Copilot Now Knows the Add-Ons You Use

One of the standout features in this release is Copilot’s expanded ability to work with third-party extensions from Microsoft AppSource. Whether you’re using an industry-specific add-on or a process-specific tool, Copilot can now explain new fields and guide you through custom functionality, right inside your workflow.

Just click on a field, and you’ll get contextual guidance based on the documentation provided by the app developer. The better the documentation, the smarter the Copilot support. This turns Copilot from a helpful assistant into an in-house expert tailored to your system.

To help you test all of this safely, Microsoft now allows you update sandbox environments to the latest preview version. That means you can explore new features with your own data, test customizations, and prepare your teams, before rolling updates out to production.

Reports With Context. Finally!

It’s not that reporting in Business Central was broken, it just wasn’t always helpful. Version 26 begins to change that. You can now add fields from related tables directly in Analysis Mode. Let’s say you’re reviewing customer revenue. One click, and you’ve also got their contact details, region, or account rep right there in the same view. Suddenly, your report isn’t just a number, it’s a story.

Financial reporting gets an upgrade too. Microsoft has added new templates that let you compare across years and quarters, or prep reports with introduction and summary text already built in. These aren’t flashy features, but they save time – and make your insights easier to explain.

ESG Without Spreadsheets

If you’ve ever tried to track emissions manually, you know how fast the paperwork piles up. Business Central now helps you do it without spreadsheets and guesswork. Using the Sustainability Journal, you can enter basic data (like electricity use or mileage) and Copilot estimates your greenhouse gas emissions. It even suggests which emission factor to apply and lets you reuse it in the future.

All this data can flow into Microsoft’s Project ESG Reporting app, which means your reports don’t just look good, they’re also structured to meet regulatory standards. Whether you’re just starting with ESG or already reporting quarterly, this makes it much easier.

Small Fixes That Actually Matter

Version 26 includes a handful of subtle tweaks that might not grab headlines – but will absolutely improve your day-to-day:

• Resizable FactBox panel: Because sometimes, you just need more room to see what’s important.

• PDF previews in-browser: No more downloading attachments just to check what’s inside. One click, and you’re looking at the document.

If your team relies heavily on attachments, whether invoices, contracts, or delivery notes, you might want something even faster. That’s where our Attachment Viewer comes in. It lets you upload, view, print, and manage documents directly in Business Central. No downloads. No digging through emails. Just everything where you need it.

Version 26 doesn’t reinvent Business Central – it refines it. The updates aren’t loud, but they are meaningful. If your team spends hours every week in reports, documents, or data cleanup, these changes will feel less like a feature list and more like breathing room. You can find the full release overview on Microsoft’s site.