Overview
This post shares 13 Business Central tips and tricks that help UK teams work faster in 2026. Each tip is practical, and we have corrected several points from our 2025 version.
Key Takeaways
- Personalise your Role Centre and pages, so each person sees only what they need.
- Learn a handful of shortcuts, such as Alt+Q for Tell Me, F8 to copy from the row above and Ctrl+Alt+F1 for page inspection.
- Use Edit in Excel, job queues and workflows to remove repetitive work.
- Review permissions and extensions regularly, because both affect security and performance.
- Ask Copilot when you are stuck, but remember that it runs on Business Central online only.
- Personalisation shows, hides and moves fields, but it does not rename them.
Business Central Tips and Tricks: What Has Changed since 2025
We checked every tip against Microsoft’s current documentation. Two points from the original were wrong, so we fixed them.
Ctrl+Shift+F12 maximises the line items on a document page. It does not return you to the Role Centre, as we said before. Personalisation also cannot rename fields, so we removed that claim.
We also replaced two workflow examples that standard workflows do not cover, softened the Power BI advice, and added a new tip on Copilot. Our closing section is now called “What This Means for Your Business”.
1. Master the Role Centre for a Tailored Experience
The Role Centre is your home page in Business Central. It shows tasks, insights and data for your job, so tailoring it saves clicks every day.
- Choose the profile that matches your job, such as sales, accounting or warehouse.
- Open the settings cog and choose Personalize to move or hide parts.
- Bookmark the pages you open most often.
2. Save Time with Filters and Saved Views
Filtering is central to Business Central. A good filter turns a long list into the few records you need.
- Press Shift+F3 to open the filter pane.
- Use .. for a range, | for or, and <> for not equal to.
- Save a filtered list as a view, such as Customers with Overdue Payments, and rename it when needed.
3. Learn the Shortcuts That Save the Most Time
If you still click through every menu, shortcuts will speed you up. These four make the biggest difference.
- Alt+Q: opens Tell Me, the quick search.
- F8: copies the field from the row above in an editable list.
- Ctrl+Alt+F1: opens page inspection.
- Ctrl+Shift+F12: maximises the line items on a document page.
Bookmark Microsoft’s full shortcut list for the rest.
4. Use Tell Me to Find Anything
Tell Me searches for pages, reports and actions without menus. You can also use it to search data and to open help articles.
- Press Alt+Q, then start typing.
- Type “payment journal” to jump straight to that page.
- Use it when you are not sure where a feature lives.
5. Use Page Inspection to See behind the Page
Page inspection shows a page’s source table, fields, filters and extensions. It helps when you troubleshoot or work with developers.
- View the underlying table and field names.
- Check which extensions affect the page.
- Tell whether data comes from standard or custom tables.
This also helps when you set up integrations or reports, because you can see exactly where each value comes from.
6. Personalise Pages without Coding
Personalisation lets you tailor pages without a developer. Changes affect only you, and you can reset them at any time.
- Show, hide and move fields and columns.
- Add hidden fields from the Add field to page pane.
- Freeze columns, so they stay visible as you scroll.
Personalisation does not rename fields. Administrators can customise pages for whole roles through profiles, and Microsoft explains the difference in its personalisation guide.
7. Use Excel Integration for Faster Data Entry
Business Central works closely with Excel. Used well, it removes a lot of retyping.
- Choose Open in Excel to analyse a list in a spreadsheet.
- Select Edit in Excel to update prices or contacts in bulk, then publish the changes back.
- Use OData web services to build refreshable Excel reports.
Install the Business Central add-in in Excel first, so Edit in Excel works fully.
8. Let Job Queues Run the Routine Work
You should not wait for slow or repeated tasks. Job queues run them for you in the background.
- Create job queue entries to send reminders, update currency rates or run reports on a schedule.
- Use the Post with Job Queue option when you post documents in batches.
- Check the Job Queue Entries page for failures.
9. Automate Approvals with Workflows
Business Central includes workflows for approvals and notifications. They keep documents moving without chasing people.
- Set up approval workflows for sales and purchase documents and general journals.
- Send email notifications when someone sends, approves or rejects a document.
- Add conditions, such as a purchase invoice above a set amount.
Power Automate can extend these workflows across Microsoft 365.
10. Bring in Power BI for Visual Reporting
Business Central connects to Power BI, Microsoft’s reporting tool. You need a Power BI licence to view reports.
- Show Power BI reports in a Role Centre part or a list FactBox.
- Build custom reports from live Business Central data.
- Share dashboards with colleagues who need the numbers.
Our Power BI for Business Central page explains how we set this up.
11. Keep Permissions Tight
Security in Business Central runs on permission sets. The right permissions protect your data and reduce mistakes.
- Copy a standard permission set and adjust the copy, instead of editing the original.
- Review who holds SUPER permission, because fewer is safer.
- Manage permissions through groups instead of user by user.
- Use the Effective Permissions page to check what a user can do.
12. Keep an Eye on Extensions
Business Central is highly extensible, but more apps are not always better. Each one adds maintenance work.
- Install apps only from trusted publishers, such as those on AppSource.
- Review installed apps regularly for redundancy or performance impact.
- Test new apps in a sandbox before you use them live.
Microsoft updates Business Central online twice a year, so check your extensions after each update. Our post on implementation mistakes explains why.
13. Ask Copilot When You Are Stuck
Chat with Copilot answers questions about Business Central in plain English. It finds records and shows you how to complete a task.
- Ask “How do I post a sales order?” and follow the answer.
- Select Ask Copilot on a field tooltip to see what the field does.
- Use it to help new starters learn the system.
Copilot runs on Business Central online only. Read our guide to Chat with Copilot and our post on ten ways Copilot helps SMEs.
What This Means for Your Business
Small habits add up. Start with the Role Centre, shortcuts and filters, because they help every user from day one.
Then add Excel, job queues and workflows for repeat tasks, and review permissions and extensions every quarter. Consider an illustrative calculation. If ten users each save five minutes a day, that returns 50 minutes a day, or about four hours a week.
Get More from Business Central with Tecvia
Tecvia helps UK businesses train their teams, tidy their setup and get more from the system. Get in touch with Tecvia to book a free review of how your team uses Business Central.
You can also explore our Business Central features, meet our support team, or see our Copilot capabilities. Operations leaders may find our page for Operations Directors and Managers useful too.
See how Business Central supports your sector. We serve Manufacturing and Engineering, Food and Beverage, Distribution and Wholesale, Life Sciences, and Medical Devices and Technology businesses.
FAQs
Start with Alt+Q for Tell Me, F8 to copy the field from the row above, Shift+F3 for the filter pane and Ctrl+Alt+F1 for page inspection. Microsoft publishes a full list on Microsoft Learn. Some business-specific shortcuts also exist, such as F9 to post a document.
Press Shift+F3 to open the filter pane, then choose a field and type your criteria. Use .. for a range, | for or, and <> for not equal to. Save useful filters as views, so you can reuse them.
Tell Me is the quick search. Press Alt+Q and start typing to find pages, reports and actions. It can also search data and open help articles.
Not through personalisation. Users can show, hide and move fields, and administrators can customise pages for whole roles. A developer can change a field caption through an extension.
Open a list, then choose Edit in Excel from the Share or Open in Excel menu. Change the data in the spreadsheet and publish it back. Install the Business Central add-in in Excel first, so the feature works fully.
Use job queues for scheduled tasks, workflows for approvals and notifications, and Power Automate for wider processes. Agents such as the Sales Order Agent can also handle defined tasks on Business Central online. Start with one repetitive task and measure the time saved.
Open the page, then press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to open page inspection. It lists the source table, fields, filters and extensions that affect the page. Use it before you raise a support request.
Most of them do, including shortcuts, filters, Tell Me, Excel and job queues. Copilot and agents run on Business Central online only. Some features also differ between versions, so check your version if a tip does not match your screen.
