Top Use Cases of AI in Business Central for Australian Businesses

Top Use Cases of AI in Business Central for Australian Businesses

Australian businesses are under pressure from all sides—tight margins, rising wages, supply chain disruption, and customers who expect fast, flawless service.

AI used to sound like something only big enterprises could afford. Now, AI is built directly into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, giving small and mid-sized Australian businesses access to the same kind of intelligence inside the ERP they already use to run finance, operations, sales, and projects.

Microsoft’s own research shows that 89% of people with access to automation and AI-powered tools feel more fulfilled at work. That’s exactly the kind of impact AI in Business Central is designed to deliver.

In this blog, we’ll walk through the top AI use cases in Business Central - including AI agents and how they help Australian business decision-makers boost productivity, protect cash flow, and make better decisions.

Why AI in Business Central Matters Now for Australian Businesses

Most Australian businesses don’t suffer from a lack of effort. They suffer from:

• Information scattered across systems and spreadsheets
• Rising operational costs
• Manual approvals and reconciliations
• Slow reporting and delayed visibility
• Stockouts or overstock because forecasting is a guess

At the same time, global research on small and mid-sized businesses shows a clear trend:

• Around 7 in 10 SMB leaders say AI is critical to staying competitive
• Yet a majority still don’t have a clear AI vision or roadmap

That gap is a big opportunity.

AI in Business Central changes the game because the intelligence is embedded in the same system that runs your day-to-day operations. Instead of separate “AI tools” that nobody logs into, you get:

• AI-infused processes - credit control, inventory, cash flow.
• AI agents that quietly monitor, suggest, and automate work.
• Insights delivered in the tools your teams already use - Outlook, Teams, Excel .

For Australian businesses spread across multiple states, dealing with import lead times and tight labour markets, this kind of always-on intelligence is a real competitive edge.

“If you’re already running Business Central, the foundations for AI are largely in place – the next step is unlocking value from the data you already have.”

What AI in Business Central Actually Means

Before jumping into use cases, it’s useful to clarify the terminology

Copilot in Business Central – Your Everyday AI Assistant

Copilot is the built-in Business Central AI that:

• Drafts text (product descriptions, emails, summaries)
• Helps you find records using natural language
• Explains data and processes in simpler terms
• It’s like having an assistant sitting inside your ERP.

AI Agents – Always-On Digital Co-Workers

AI agents in Business Central go a step further. They don’t just answer questions, they observe, decide, and act within defined rules. For example:

• A Sales Order Taker agent that interprets customer requests and prepares draft quotes.
• A Payables agent that reads vendor invoices, extracts details, and posts them for approval.
• You can also design your own agents to monitor KPIs or automate repetitive workflows.

Connected Across Outlook, Teams and Excel

Because Business Central sits in the Microsoft cloud, AI can:

• Surface ERP data inside Outlook (e.g., see customer status while replying to an email)
• Help teams collaborate in Teams on approvals and exceptions
• Push data into Excel for deeper analysis with AI helping you summarise and interpret it

This means AI is not “another system”—it’s woven into daily work.

And because Business Central is already used by tens of thousands of companies worldwide, Microsoft has backed it with proven value: independent studies have shown up to 172% ROI over three years, productivity gains of around 18%, and savings of tens of thousands of dollars per year in reduced third-party costs. Those are the kind of numbers decision-makers can take to the board.

Real AI Wins in Business Central: 5 Practical Use Cases

Use Case 1 – Free Your Team from Repetitive Work with Copilot in Business Central

1.AI-Generated Product Descriptions and Documents

With Copilot, you can:

• Generate product descriptions using fields like colour, material, size, and features
• Adjust tone and length to match your brand
• Use content across your website, online marketplaces, or catalogues
• For Australian wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers launching new SKUs, this means faster product rollouts without burning out your marketing or sales teams.

2.Drafting Emails, Quotes and Summaries in Seconds

Copilot can assist with:

• Drafting quote emails based on Business Central data
• Summarising long records or documents so decision-makers get the key points instantly
• Instead of starting from a blank page, your team edits and sends, saving precious time.

3.Natural Language Navigation and “Explain This”

New staff don’t always understand every field or process on day one. With AI:

• A user can ask, “Show me all unpaid invoices from last month over $10,000” or “Explain what this field means” when they’re learning the system
• This shortens onboarding and reduces reliance on “that one expert” everyone keeps calling.
• “If you’re aiming to reduce manual admin time and speed up onboarding, Copilot is often the quickest AI win to implement.”

Use Case 2 – AI-Driven Inventory and Demand Forecasting to Avoid Stockouts

1.Predicting Sales Using Historical and Seasonal Patterns

AI models inside Business Central can:

• Analyse your historical sales, seasons, promotions, and trends
• Forecast expected demand for each item

This is crucial for Australian companies who deal with import lead periods. Your forecast can assist you in taking prompt action if a shipment from overseas is delayed.

2.Intelligent Replenishment Recommendations

Instead of guessing reorder quantities, the system combines demand trends + current stock to suggest:

• What to reorder (high-risk / high-demand items)
• When to reorder (based on lead time + expected run-out)
• How much to reorder (so you don’t overbuy “just in case”)

3.AI Agents Watching Stock and Lead Times

You can configure AI agents to:

• Monitor SKUs that are critical or fast-moving
• Alert planners when the system predicts a potential stockout
• Consider supplier lead times and upcoming promotions
• Instead of firefighting, your team makes proactive inventory decisions.

Use Case 3 – Stronger Cash Flow with AI-Powered Credit & Collections

1.Late Payment Predictions Inside Business Central

AI can analyse your customers’ payment behaviour and :

• Predict which invoices are likely to be paid late
• Highlight high-risk customers so your team can act earlier
• This allows your finance team to prioritise follow-ups instead of working through a long list manually.

2.AI Agents for Receivables and DSO

With AI agents in Business Central, you can:

• Automatically flag high-risk invoices for closer attention
• Suggest changes to payment terms or methods for consistently late customers
• Guide collection teams to focus on the cases that matter most
• This helps reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and smooth out cash flow.

3.Protecting Cash Flow for Australian Businesses

With rising costs and tight credit, having early visibility into upcoming cash constraints can be the difference between:

• Approving that new hire
• Investing in a new machine Or delaying strategic decisions because you’re unsure about your liquidity
• AI in Business Central helps you move from reacting to late payments to anticipating them.

“If late payments and DSO are constant headaches, this is a powerful starting point for an AI readiness session with Dynamics Square.”

Use Case 4 – AI Agents That Handle Sales Orders and Payables

Some of the most powerful Business Central AI use cases live in the “messy middle” of operations—sales orders and supplier invoices.

1.Sales Order Taker Agent – From Enquiry to Quote

Instead of manually keying in every quote:

• An AI agent can read customer requests (from email or form)
• Extract product names, quantities, delivery dates
• Create a draft sales quote or order for your team to review

For busy sales teams, especially those handling lots of small orders, this is a big time-saver.

2.Payables Agent – Automating Invoice Capture and Coding

On the supplier side, a Payables agent can:

• Read vendor invoices (PDF or e-invoice)
• Capture key fields: vendor, amount, dates, line items, tax
• Suggest GL codes and dimensions based on your past postings
• Register invoices for approval in line with your existing rules

This reduces manual data entry, speeds up approvals, and lowers the risk of coding errors.

3.Let Business Users Build Their Own AI Agents

Because these agents rely on low-code tools, you don’t need a large development team. Your business and finance users can work with your partner to design agents that:

• Monitor project profitability
• Track budget vs actuals
• Watch key operational KPIs and surface exceptions automatically

“Dynamics Square can help you decide which agents to start with and how to align them with your existing approval flows and controls.”

Use Case 5 – Better, Faster Decisions with AI in Business Central

AI in Business Central is not just about “doing tasks faster”—it’s also about making better decisions.

1.AI-Enhanced Cash Flow Analysis and Scenario Planning

AI can help you:

Forecast future cash inflows and outflows

Run “what-if” scenarios, such as:

• What if we extend payment terms to certain customers?
• What if we hire 10 more people?
• What if we delay or bring forward a capital purchase?

This gives CEOs and CFOs confidence when presenting to boards or planning growth.

2.Ask Questions in Natural Language Instead of Building Reports

Instead of waiting for someone to build a report, you can ask:

• Who are our most profitable customers this quarter?
• Which items caused the most stockouts in the last six months?
• AI can guide you to the answers using your existing Business Central data.

Standalone AI Tools vs AI in Business Central

Many businesses experiment with stand-alone AI tools. The real leverage, however, comes when AI is baked into your ERP.

It’s now easier than ever for growing businesses to modernize their tech stack and outpace their competitors with a cloud solution featuring built-in AI capabilities.

As a cloud adoption and transition partner, Dynamics Square has the expertise to align your finance, sales, service, and operations teams with a single, easy-to-use application: Dynamics 365 Business Central with AI.

Why Dynamics Square Is the Right Partner for AI in Business Central

You get:

1.Deep Business Central expertise – across finance, projects, supply chain, and service

2.Hands-on AI adoption support – identifying realistic AI and AI agent use cases, not just “nice ideas”

3.A focus on business outcomes – improving cash flow, reducing manual work, increasing visibility

4.Local understanding – Australian tax, compliance, multi-entity, and multi-location operations

You get a partner who can speak both technology and business, and who can help you move from trial to tangible ROI.

Conclusion : Turn AI in Business Central into Real Advantage

AI is no longer a “nice to have.” For Australian businesses, it’s quickly becoming a differentiator in how you:

• Serve customers
• Manage cash flow
• Run operations
• Make decisions

Trusted by more than 45,000 companies worldwide, Business Central connects finance, sales, service, and operations and automates daily processes with AI, allowing forward-thinking businesses to achieve more and scale up without compromise.

By using AI in Business Central and introducing AI agents into your core processes, with Dynamics Square guiding the journey—you move from reactive management to proactive, data-driven control.

If you’re ready to see what this could look like in your own environment, your next step is simple:

Book an AI-in-Business-Central walkthrough with Dynamics Square and identify your first two high-impact AI use cases for your Australian business.