Business Central rebrands Jobs to Projects and boosts functionality with several significant updates

In the latest release of Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft introduces significant enhancements to the Jobs module which has been rebranded to “Projects.” In this blog, we’ll explore the rationale behind this rebrand and uncover the enhancements and functionalities accompanying the Projects module in Dynamics 365 Business Central’s latest release.

To learn more about the latest release of Business Central, read our blog on the 2024 release wave 1.

In the 2024 release wave 1 of Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft has rebranded the “Jobs” module as “Projects.” This change aims to align the platform’s project accounting features with standard industry terminology, addressing historical confusion among users. By adopting terms like “Projects,” “Project Tasks,” and “Project Journals,” Microsoft seeks to enhance clarity in documentation and improve the user experience. Despite the rebranding, underlying data structures remain unchanged, ensuring seamless integration with existing customizations and workflows.

Moving forward, users can expect a more intuitive experience when navigating project-related functionalities within Business Central. Whether creating project tasks or recording transactions, the transition to standardized terminology reflects Microsoft’s commitment to improving usability and fostering better collaboration across teams. Using the search functionality, when users query terms like “Jobs” within Business Central, they will seamlessly receive results associated with “Projects,” further enhancing the platform’s usability and accessibility.

In the 2024 release wave 1 of Dynamics 365 Business Central, managing projects involving multiple customers becomes more streamlined with the ability to create invoices for each customer associated with specific project tasks. This feature simplifies billing complexities by allowing users to specify bill-to and sell-to customers for individual project task lines, ensuring accurate invoicing for each customer involved.

Key features and functionalities include:

• Detailed customer information: Users can define bill-to and sell-to customer details, including names, addresses, contacts, and payment information, for each project task line.
• Enhanced task management: The Project Task Card page provides comprehensive fields for customer details, project planning, posting, invoicing, and shipping, facilitating efficient task management and invoicing processes.
• Flexible billing options: Users have the flexibility to choose between billing per project or per project task, with options to enable or disable the feature as per their invoicing requirements.
• Seamless integration: Billing preferences can be configured easily through the Project Setup page, allowing users to switch between billing methods and ensuring compatibility with existing invoicing workflows.

The 2024 release wave 1 of Dynamics 365 Business Central simplifies the process of invoicing a customer for multiple projects. With this update, users can create a single sales invoice for multiple projects for a single customer. This feature simplifies the invoicing process, reducing manual effort and enhancing accuracy by allowing users to combine project planning lines from multiple projects into one invoice effortlessly.

To create a single invoice for multiple projects, follow the steps below:

1. Create a new sales invoice
2. Fill in the Sell-to Customer No. field
3. If needed, fill in the Bill-to Customer No. and Currency Code fields
4. Select the Lines FastTab >> Get Project Planning Lines
   The Get Project Planning Lines page shows billable project planning lines from projects for the sell-to customer, bill-to customer, and invoicing currency where the quantity to invoice is more than zero.
5. Select the lines you want to add to the invoice
6. Select OK

Repeat these steps to add another set of project planning lines as needed.

In the 2024 release wave 1 of Business Central, Microsoft introduces the Archive Projects feature designed to streamline data management within the Projects module. This feature enables users to automate archiving processes, generating new versions of archived documents in response to actions such as status changes, deletions, document interactions, and invoice postings. Users retain control over archiving preferences, with options to specify triggers, customize archival intervals, and set retention policies. This enhancement ensures comprehensive audit trails and version control, simplifying project management while maintaining data integrity and compliance.

• Automatic archiving: Projects can be set up to archive automatically, eliminating the need for manual intervention. Business Central generates a new version of the archived document when specific actions occur, such as status changes, deletions, printing, or posting invoices.
• Flexible archiving options: Users have full control over archiving preferences, with options to never archive automatically, prompt for archiving decisions, or silently archive projects based on predefined criteria.
• Version restoration: Archived projects can be reused by restoring earlier versions, especially useful for projects where the original data remains unposted.
• Database management: Archived projects are systematically managed to control database size, ensuring efficient storage and retrieval processes.

In the 2024 release wave 1 of Dynamics 365 Business Central, usability enhancements streamline processes and improve accessibility in project management. These improvements are designed to boost productivity by simplifying tasks and making data more readily available for informed decision-making.

Key enhancements include:

• Power BI: The addition of Power BI and Project Details FactBoxes on the Project List page enables users to access comprehensive project details directly from the list view.
• Improved visibility: The External Document No. and Your reference columns can be added to the project list, enhancing visibility and organizational clarity within project management workflows.

These enhancements, informed by customer feedback, aim to simplify processes and optimize user experience in project management within Dynamics 365 Business Central.

In the latest update of Dynamics 365 Business Central, users can streamline project logistics by defining default locations and bins. This feature simplifies data entry for project tasks, planning lines, and journal lines, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in project management processes.

Key features and functionalities include:

• Project Card: Location Code and Bin Code fields are available on the Posting Tab. Users can define a To-Project Bin Code on the location, automating bin code population upon location selection. Additionally, users can define alternative bins for item consumption in warehouse flow scenarios.
• Project Tasks: Although not displayed by default, users can personalize the display of Location Code and Bin Code fields. These fields serve as defaults for creating project planning lines and journal lines, ensuring consistency in data entry while retaining flexibility for adjustments.
• Project Planning Lines: The Location Code is determined by the value selected on the job planning line when selecting an item. In the absence of a defined bin code for the project task, the bin from default bin content is automatically selected, with the option for manual changes.
• Project Journal Lines: Similar to project planning lines, the Location Code is derived from the value selected on the job journal line. Users have the flexibility to manually adjust both the location and bin code as needed.
• Purchase Lines: This default location setup does not impact purchase documents, maintaining existing processes for purchase transactions.

By implementing default location settings, Dynamics 365 Business Central empowers users to optimize project logistics, facilitating smoother operations and improved project management outcomes.

In Dynamics 365 Business Central, the new Assemble to Project feature enhances inventory management by enabling on-demand assembly and customization for project-related items. When an assemble-to-order item is added to a project planning line, an assembly order is automatically generated based on the project specifications and the item’s assembly Bill of Materials (BOM). This streamlines the assembly process by ensuring that components are assembled only when required, improving efficiency and reducing excess inventory.

Key functionalities of Assemble to Project include:

• Automated assembly orders: Assemble to Project automatically creates assembly orders when assemble-to-order items are added to project planning lines, simplifying the assembly process and ensuring accurate inventory tracking.
• Customization capabilities: Users can customize assembly items using the Assemble-to-Order Lines page, which provides details about linked assembly order lines. This allows for flexibility in meeting project requirements and customization needs.
• Warehouse integration: Assemble to Project seamlessly integrates with warehouse management features, supporting various warehouse configurations such as no warehouse handling, inventory pick, and warehouse pick. This ensures smooth assembly and shipping processes while maintaining accurate inventory records.
• Explode BOM functionality: Users can utilize the Explode BOM action in Project Planning Lines to convert products into sets of components, further enhancing flexibility in project assembly processes.

The 2024 release wave 1 of Dynamics 365 Business Central, with the shift from “Jobs” to Projects” and the numerous updates to the module, promises an enhanced project management experience. To learn more about the Projects module or other updates included in the latest release, contact Rand Group today.