Overview
This post explains what is changing with Business Central SOAP web services, and why version 29 matters if you run integrations. You will find a practical checklist for finding, testing and moving your connections before the deadline lands.
Key Takeaways
- Business Central version 29 removes SOAP web services for Microsoft UI pages completely, arriving with 2026 release wave 2 in October.
- SOAP has been disabled by default since version 26, so some businesses have already been running without it and may not know.
- New integration work should target API pages, API queries or OData V4 instead of SOAP endpoints.
- OData on Microsoft pages has its own later deadline, removed in version 30, so it is not a permanent fix either.
- The Web Services page and incoming web service telemetry show exactly which SOAP endpoints are still in use.
- Custom pages built as per-tenant extensions can still be published as SOAP endpoints, if a legacy system genuinely cannot move.
What Is Changing With Business Central SOAP Web Services
Microsoft is removing SOAP web services in Business Central for Microsoft-authored UI pages entirely in version 29, due with 2026 release wave 2 in October. Once this lands, publishing a standard Business Central page as a SOAP endpoint through the Web Services page will no longer be possible.
This is not a sudden change. Microsoft first flagged the deprecation back in 2021, and version 26 already disabled the capability by default. Version 29 removes the option to turn it back on.
If your business took on Business Central through a Migrate from NAV project, this deserves particular attention. Older NAV integrations were often built directly against SOAP endpoints, and those connections are exactly the ones this change targets. Our Business Central 2026 release wave 2 preview covers the rest of what is landing alongside this removal.
Why Microsoft Is Removing SOAP Web Services
A UI page is built for people to click through, not for machines to query. Microsoft can change a page’s layout in any update without calling it a breaking change, because the page itself is not an API.
For a business with an integration built on that page, though, a small UI tweak can break the connection without warning. Microsoft’s fix is to draw a hard line between pages for people and endpoints for systems.
Business Central’s REST APIs are versioned and documented specifically for machine-to-machine use, which SOAP endpoints on UI pages never were. Moving integrations onto that foundation removes the risk of a routine update quietly breaking a connection.
Who This Actually Affects
This change affects anyone with an integration, report or automation that connects to a Microsoft UI page through a SOAP endpoint. That includes older EDI connections, RPA tools, custom Excel add-ins and legacy reporting platforms. Distribution and Wholesale businesses tend to carry the most exposure here, since trading partner integrations are often older than the rest of the system.
Codeunit-based SOAP web services sit outside the scope of this specific removal, according to Microsoft’s current documentation. That said, codeunit integrations still rely on ageing patterns Microsoft is steering partners away from, so check with your partner rather than assuming they are safe long term.
If your integrations were already built through API pages, API queries or Power Automate connectors, none of this affects you directly. This change is squarely about SOAP endpoints on standard Business Central pages.
Step 1: Find Out Where SOAP Is Still In Use
Start by opening the Web Services page inside Business Central and filtering for entries of type Page. Any row pointing at a Microsoft-authored page, rather than a custom one, is a candidate for review.
Business Central also logs incoming web services request telemetry, which shows real calls hitting deprecated SOAP endpoints rather than just what is configured. If you use Application Insights, this is the fastest way to see what is actually still calling in, as opposed to what was set up years ago and forgotten.
Cross-check both lists against your integration inventory. A connector that was configured once and never documented is exactly the kind of thing that gets missed until it breaks.
Step 2: Understand the Timeline
Version 26, released in the 2025 wave 1 cycle, disabled Microsoft UI pages as SOAP endpoints by default through a feature key. Businesses that never touched that setting have effectively been running without SOAP for some time, whether they realised it or not.
Version 29 removes the feature key altogether in October 2026, so there is no re-enabling it after that point. As with any major update, Business Central gives existing customers advance notice and a scheduling window before it lands automatically.
A related deadline follows in version 30, due in 2027 release wave 1. At that point, Microsoft-authored pages can no longer be exposed as OData endpoints either, so treat OData as a bridge rather than a destination.
Step 3: Move Integrations to API Pages and OData
For new integration work, build against Business Central’s built-in APIs first. Most common entities already have API pages ready to use, with no custom code required, and they sit on the same versioned foundation Microsoft is steering everyone towards.
Where a built-in API does not cover what you need, API queries and custom API pages let a developer expose exactly the data an integration needs, without depending on a UI page’s shape. OData V4 remains usable on Microsoft pages for now, so it can buy time during a migration, but plan to be off it before version 30.
If a legacy system genuinely cannot be changed and must keep using SOAP, the fallback is to copy the page’s source code into a per-tenant extension and publish that copy as the SOAP endpoint instead. This keeps the integration running, though it now sits on code your team owns and maintains rather than Microsoft’s.
Step 4: Test Before the Update Lands
Use a sandbox environment on the preview version to confirm which integrations actually stop working once SOAP support is gone. This turns a guess into a tested fact before it affects live data.
Work through your integration inventory one connection at a time, checking authentication as you go. Basic Auth access keys were deprecated back in 2022, so any integration still using them needs attention regardless of this change. Our support team can run this testing alongside you if your internal resource is stretched, and our Business Central features page has more detail on what the API stack now covers.
What Happens if You Do Nothing
Once version 29 lands on your tenant, any integration still calling a SOAP endpoint on a Microsoft page will fail. Depending on the connection, that might mean an EDI feed stops updating, a scheduled report errors silently, or a third-party tool simply stops syncing.
The risk is not the removal itself. It is finding out about a broken connection days or weeks later, once stock counts, orders or customer data have already drifted out of sync.
What This Means for Your Business
A Business Central SOAP web services removal sounds like a small technical footnote, but for anyone with older integrations, it is worth treating as a proper project. Give yourself time to inventory, test and migrate before October 2026, not after.
The businesses that come through this cleanly are the ones auditing their integrations now, while there is still room to plan the move rather than firefight a broken connection.
Get Help Moving Off SOAP Web Services
Tecvia helps UK Business Central users audit their integrations, plan the move to APIs, and test everything before a major update lands. If you are not sure what is still running on SOAP, get in touch with Tecvia for a free review, or read more about why Business Central users choose Tecvia as their support partner.
IT teams managing this kind of change may also find our page for IT Directors and Managers useful, alongside our implementation approach for projects that need a phased, tested rollout.
FAQs
For anything not covered here, get in touch directly. We’re happy to answer questions specific to your business and your ERP requirements.
Support for exposing Microsoft UI pages as SOAP endpoints is removed in version 29, part of the 2026 release wave 2 cycle due in October 2026. The capability has already been disabled by default since version 26.
Use Business Central’s built-in REST APIs for new integration work, either the ready-made API pages or custom API pages and API queries. OData V4 still works on Microsoft pages for now, but it faces its own removal in version 30.
This specific removal targets Microsoft UI pages exposed as SOAP endpoints, not codeunits, according to Microsoft’s current documentation. Check with your partner if you rely on codeunit web services, since guidance in this area can shift.
Yes, but only for custom pages. If a legacy system genuinely cannot move, you can copy a page into a per-tenant extension and publish that extension page as a SOAP endpoint instead.
Open the Web Services page and filter for page-type entries pointing at Microsoft-authored pages. Combine this with incoming web service request telemetry to see which endpoints are actually being called, not just configured.
