Introduction
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2026 release wave 2, also known as update 29.0 or BC29, is now generally available. It brings stronger AI agents, a more capable reporting toolkit, supply chain and manufacturing refinements, a deeper Shopify connection, and one technical change that deserves early attention: the retirement of SOAP web services on Microsoft UI pages. For finance and operations teams in Japan and across Asia, this wave is less about flashy additions and more about making daily work faster while forcing a few integrations to be updated. Here is what matters and how to prepare.
This blog will cover the following points
- AI agents and Copilot improvements in v29
- New financial reporting and document layout tools
- Supply chain, manufacturing, and sustainability updates
- Shopify ecommerce enhancements
- Developer and platform changes, including the SOAP retirement
- Upgrade timing and how Sysamic can help
AI Agents and Copilot
The Payables Agent now matches purchase orders to invoices more accurately, and the Expense Agent gains broader approval and travel requisition features. A dedicated task pane collects work from every agent in one place, and users can review agent-generated content directly on the page, which keeps a human in control of every posting. Agent permission management has also been tightened. A Copilot chat experience is available in public preview, and MCP Server support lets agents run data queries against your Business Central environment.
Reporting and Document Layouts
Reporting is one of the biggest themes of this release, with more than fifteen enhancements. Finance teams can now group several financial reports into a single PDF report pack, trace G/L account usage, and apply shared document layout headers with custom themes so invoices, quotes, and statements look consistent. An improved Word add-in simplifies layout design, and report outputs can be automated. The new document report experience is optional and off by default, so you can adopt it on your own schedule.
Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Sustainability
Subcontracting gets better instructions, setup options, and inventory handling. Direct transfer orders now work from warehouse-enabled locations, and quality test and inspection features have been refined. For companies reporting on emissions, carbon footprint tracking extends to item journals, fixed assets, and purchase documents, including formula-based calculations. Accelerated depreciation methods for fixed assets are also available as an optional feature.
Shopify Ecommerce
Companies selling online will find more control over sales document creation for orders and returns, along with support for B2B companies, catalogs, and pricing. Order changes, exchanges, and refunds can be processed, and tariff numbers and country of origin values now synchronize, which is helpful for cross-border sellers.
Developer and Platform Changes
Page Scripting reaches general availability, and developers get better AL index management, default interface implementations, and command-line test execution for CI/CD pipelines. Everyday users benefit from “recently searched” items in Tell Me and “recently used records” in lookups, plus image previews in the web client.
The change that needs planning is the retirement of SOAP web services on Microsoft UI pages, which is now a mandatory feature. Any custom integration, connector, or legacy script that publishes UI pages as SOAP endpoints must move to OData or API pages before the update reaches your environment.
Upgrade Timing
Online customers receive v29 in scheduled updates during the five-month window that ends in February 2027. On-premises customers on version 24 or earlier must first upgrade to version 25. Because the update is applied automatically in the cloud, the best time to test extensions, integrations, and report layouts in a sandbox is before your tenant is scheduled.
Conclusion
Business Central v29 rewards companies that prepare early. The AI agents and reporting improvements can save real time, while the SOAP retirement and layout changes call for a proper readiness check of your integrations and extensions. A sandbox test now prevents surprises later.
Sysamic K.K. is a Tokyo-based Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner with more than 20 years of experience helping international companies run compliant, well-configured ERP operations in Japan. We review your integrations and extensions for v29 readiness, help you adopt the new reporting and agent features, and migrate legacy SOAP connections to OData or API pages. If your team wants a readiness assessment before the update arrives, we would be glad to help. Email us at info@sysamic.com or fill out our contact form here to get in touch.