Microsoft recently updated the release plan for Business Central 2025 Wave 1, introducing significant changes to the Subscription Billing module. If you missed it, here’s what Søren Friis Alexandersen announced on LinkedIn: Link. This post summarizes the most impactful updates—so buckle up!
Align Subscription Billing with standard user experience and terminology
Several changes have been made to improve consistency and reduce confusion:
- The app name has been simplified from “Subscription & Recurring Billing” to “Subscription Billing”.
- Before, object naming in Subscription Billing resembled that of the Service Module, which caused confusion. The term “Service” has now been replaced with “Subscription” throughout BC26. Examples:
- Service Object → Subscription
- Service Commitment → Subscription Line
- Service Commitment Package → Subscription Package
- This change clarifies the distinction between the Service Module and Subscription Billing.
- The Role Center for Subscription Billing is now exclusive to Subscription Billing. It has been removed from the Service Module Role Center and other Role Centers.
Create demo data for Subscription Billing with demo data tool
In BC25, the Subscription Billing module had an active install Codeunit that automatically set up basic data. However, this led to two issues:
- Unnecessary data was created in every environment, even for those who didn’t use Subscription Billing.
- New companies required manual setup, as the install Codeunit did not trigger on company creation.
To resolve this, Microsoft has integrated Subscription Billing with the Contoso Demo Data Tool. This integration allows users to create demo setup data. Users can also generate full demo data as needed. A third app has been introduced alongside the main and test apps to facilitate this.
Create subscription contract lines manually
Users can now open a Customer Contract, add a new line, and automatically create a Subscription in the background.
- Previously, in BC25, contract lines could not be created directly. Users had to create a Subscription with lines first and then fetch them into the contract.
- Additionally, users can now create contract lines for a G/L Account instead of an Item, simplifying the setup for straightforward scenarios.
Track and rebill quantity changes in subscriptions
This change applies specifically to Usage-Based Billing. Here’s how it works:
- A customer pays upfront for 5 users for a year.
- The provider receives usage data from a supplier (e.g., Microsoft) and issues an invoice.
- The subscription is fully paid.
- Mid-year, the user count increases from 5 to 8.
- The provider receives another usage file covering part of the current year and the full next year.
- The module now supports rebilling previously invoiced periods, enabling adjustments based on updated usage data.
Add unit cost in subscription lines
Previously, in BC25, Subscription Lines only displayed price or total amount, regardless of whether they were bound to a Vendor or Customer.
- In BC26, a “Unit Cost (LCY)” field has been introduced, similar to the one in Sales Lines.
- This enhancement is crucial for profitability analysis, especially with the upcoming Power BI Report in BC26.1.
Redesigned Permission Sets
In BC25, Subscription Billing’s permission sets only covered TableData objects, which led to security issues.
- Users with restrictive permission sets found it difficult to control access effectively.
- Standard D365 permission sets grant access to any object that is not TableData, making security subsystem less secure.
- BC26 now includes an internal permission set covering all Subscription Billing objects beyond TableData, aligning with Microsoft’s security standards.
Various Fixes
As Subscription Billing is now a Microsoft module, it undergoes global testing and adoption. A double-digit number of fixes have been implemented, addressing user feedback and improving stability.
What’s Next?
- Power BI Report for Subscription Billing: Scheduled for release with BC26.1, integrated with the “PowerBI Reports” app.
- Extensibility Improvements: BC26.1 will expose internal objects and events, a frequent request from partners and developers.
With these changes, I expect Subscription Billing adoption to rise significantly. More feedback will certainly come, and I look forward to seeing how the module evolves!
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