Microsoft’s 2025
Release Wave 1 for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations brings a fresh wave of
innovation, with AI, automation, and smarter data handling at its core. In this
post I will share my thoughts on top 5 feature which I think will make huge difference
in your day-to-day operations in near future.
1. Copilot-Powered Financial Task Assistance
What it does: Copilot now integrates directly into finance workspaces, allowing
users to interact with financial data using natural language. It can generate
reports, surface insights, and even guide users through complex processes. It helps users resolve financial tasks directly
within their workspace using natural language prompts.
Why it matters: Imagine reconciling accounts or generating reports just by asking
Copilot. This reduces time spent navigating menus and boosts productivity for
finance teams.
ü Reduces reliance on IT or power users for data queries.
ü Speeds up decision-making with instant access to insights.
ü Minimizes training time for new users.
Some Use case:
ü A finance manager can ask Copilot to “show unreconciled transactions
for April” or “generate a cash flow forecast,” saving hours of manual work.
ü A CFO types: “Show me overdue customer invoices over £10,000” — Copilot
instantly returns a filtered list.
ü An accountant asks: “What’s the variance in budget vs actuals for Q1?”
— Copilot generates a visual report.
ü A finance analyst says: “Create a journal entry for payroll accruals” —
Copilot guides them through the process.
2. Prepayment Sales Invoices
What it does: This feature allows businesses to issue and manage prepayment
invoices as part of the sales order process. It supports partial or full
prepayments and automatically applies them to final invoices. It enables
businesses to create and manage prepayment invoices directly within the sales
process.
Why it matters: This is a game-changer for industries where upfront payments are
standard (e.g., manufacturing, construction). It ensures better cash flow and
reduces manual tracking.
ü Improves cash flow by collecting payments earlier.
ü Reduces manual tracking of prepayments.
ü Enhances customer transparency and compliance.
Some Use case: A sales team can issue a prepayment invoice before shipping
goods, and the system automatically applies it to the final invoice.
ü A construction company requires 30% upfront before starting a project.
The system generates a prepayment invoice and applies it to the final billing
automatically.
ü A manufacturing firm selling custom machinery can issue a 50%
prepayment invoice upon order confirmation, ensuring financial commitment
before production begins.
3. Bank Foreign Currency Reconciliation
Automation
What it does: This feature automates the reconciliation of foreign currency
transactions by matching bank statement lines with ledger entries, even when
exchange rates differ. Automates the reconciliation of foreign currency
transactions in bank statements.
Why it matters: Manual reconciliation of multi-currency accounts is
time-consuming and error-prone. Automation ensures accuracy and saves time.
ü Saves hours of manual reconciliation work.
ü Reduces errors in multi-currency environments.
ü Improves audit readiness and financial accuracy.
Some use case: A global finance team can reconcile USD, EUR, and GBP
transactions with minimal manual intervention, improving month-end closing
speed.
ü A global retailer with bank accounts in USD, EUR, and GBP can
automatically reconcile daily transactions, even when exchange rates fluctuate.
ü A finance team can close books faster by letting the system auto-match
90% of foreign currency entries, flagging only exceptions for review.
4. Create Dimensions and Cubes with Copilot
What it does: Users can now define financial dimensions and analytical cubes
using natural language. Copilot helps configure these for use in reporting and
Power BI dashboards.
Why it matters: This democratizes data modeling—no need for deep technical skills
to build powerful analytics.
ü Empowers business users to build analytics without technical help.
ü Accelerates time-to-insight for decision-makers.
ü Reduces dependency on IT or BI teams.
Some Use case: A business analyst can say, “Create a cube for sales by region
and product line,” and Copilot builds it, ready for Power BI integration.
ü A controller says: “Create a dimension for marketing spend by campaign
and region” — Copilot sets it up and links it to the general ledger.
ü A business analyst asks: “Build a cube showing sales, cost, and margin
by product category” — Copilot generates the model, ready for Power BI.
5. Streamlined Integration with Business
Performance Analytics
What it does: This feature enhances the integration between D365FO and
Business Performance Analytics (BPA), enabling real-time data refresh and
seamless KPI tracking.
Why it matters: Real-time data refresh and seamless integration mean faster
insights and better decision-making.
ü Ensures executives always have access to the latest data.
ü Reduces manual data exports and refresh cycles.
ü Supports proactive decision-making with live dashboards.
Some use case: Executives can view up-to-date KPIs and forecasts in dashboards
without waiting for manual data exports or refreshes.
ü A CEO views a live dashboard showing revenue, gross margin, and
customer churn — all updated in real time from D365FO.
ü A finance team builds a rolling forecast model in BPA that pulls
actuals from D365FO every hour, ensuring up-to-date planning.
Final Thoughts
[To try them
out, head to the Feature Management workspace in D365FO and
enable them in a test environment first.]
These features
reflect Microsoft’s commitment to AI-first, user-centric design.
Whether you're in finance, operations, or analytics, these tools are built
to save time, reduce errors, and empower smarter decisions.
If you're
considering enabling these features, check the Feature Management
workspace in D365FO to toggle them on and explore their setup.
