How to use Copilot in Dynamics 365 Business Central

Did you know that 80% of SMB employees are already using their own AI tools in their work? As AI adoption continues to rise, so do the opportunities (and risks) associated with its unregulated use. For finance leaders in SMBs, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, powered by Copilot, offers a secure and seamless way to integrate AI into your workflows. By adopting Copilot, you can avoid pitfalls of “Bring Your Own AI” while gaining practical, measurable benefits in your finance and supply chain operations.

Here are four key ways you can start using Business Central with Copilot, bringing efficiency and insight to your team:

1 E-invoice matching

Say goodbye to time-consuming manual comparisons and stay on top of your payables. With Copilot in Business Central, AI automatically analyzes and matches your electronic invoices to purchase orders, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. to analyze electronic invoices and accurately match them to your existing purchase orders. In addition to line-item matching, Copilot can add missing lines from e-documents to purchase orders and configure matched items as item references for smoother future workflows.

2 Simplify bank reconciliation

Reconciliation doesn’t have to be a headache. Copilot acts as your AI-powered bookkeeping assistant, transforming what used to be a manual task into a quick review. Beyond simply using the “Match Automatically” feature, Copilot compares transaction details like descriptions, amounts, and dates to your ledger entries, and even works when multiple bank charges are bundled into a single entry. For unmatched transactions, Copilot will suggest relevant GL accounts to streamline the process.

3 AI-powered analysis

While Business Central comes with powerful built-in analytics, the setup can be complex. Copilot simplifies this by allowing you to use natural language to instantly create custom views, sort data, and pull key insights like pivot tables and charts to uncover trends and anomalies. This makes advanced financial insights accessible to all team members, no specialized skills needed, enabling faster, more informed decisions.

4 Streamline order entry

Your sales team can now spend more time building relationships and less time on tedious data entry. Copilot allows them to copy and paste customer order details from emails, and the system intelligently identifies the products, matching them from your catalog. It even pulls relevant details from previous orders, making the entire order entry process faster and more accurate.

Efficiency gain in numbers

AI-driven tools like Copilot aren’t just about making things easier, they also deliver tangible business results. Here’s how businesses are benefiting:

• Finance: 43% of professionals report increased operational efficiency
• Supply chain: Boost gross margins by 1-3% with low-touch planning

For a deeper dive into how Copilot addresses finance and supply chain challenges, check out our infographic.

While these efficiency gains are significant, it’s also important to implement AI responsibly. Copilot in Business Central offers a secure, integrated solution to automate routine tasks, freeing up your team to focus on driving strategic growth. As a key part of your Business Central subscription, it offers a clear path to leveraging AI’s full potential, without the risks of ungoverned, disconnected tools.