Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) must constantly be looking for every edge and advantage to stay ahead in a crowded marketplace. Those that embrace technology will find themselves leading the pack, while those that lag behind will struggle to keep up as the tools and technology available continue to evolve. Artificial Intelligence is here, and it is a game changer, and thanks to Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, it is available to SMBs of any industry, not only enterprise organizations.
Copilot is Microsoft’s next-gen AI tool, designed to assist users with everyday tasks, allowing you to focus on the work that matters. From automating repetitive tasks to finding answers to questions and solutions to business challenges, Copilot offers SMBs a way to streamline and enhance business functions across the board.
Check out these 10 ways Copilot can transform the way you work in Business Central:
Making Writers Block a Thing of the Past
Very few businesses have the luxury of being able to skip advertising and marketing, and many SMBs cannot staff a full-time creative department, and can struggle to create engaging advertising copy. With Business Central, those businesses stand a fighting chance, as Copilot allows users to generate AI-assisted text copy, utilizing information already in BC such as item color or material. This copy can be tailored specifically to the right tone for your business, length, and format. This AI output is completely editable, allowing you to give it the personal touch that sets it apart from other businesses, and can be exported with a single click to platforms like Shopify—no complicated integrations required.
Time is Money—Reclaim Yours
SMBs are often faced with the unenviable task of prioritizing which work will actually get done on a given day, as there aren’t enough hours (or people) to achieve everything that needs to be done. With Copilot, businesses can reclaim some of their precious time by automating every day, non-critical tasks, allowing their employees to focus on the work that requires their specific attention. Copilot’s Conversational Chat feature makes answering every day questions a breeze, streamlining the onboarding process for new employees, as well as making tasks such as searching for and navigating documents quicker and more efficient.
Sales Order Processes Simplified
Filling out sales orders can be a tedious and time-consuming task, and is exactly the scenario where Copilot shines. Copilot has the ability to suggest items from inventory based on user-described needs, saving users the hassle and time spent uselessly searching for an item that is just out of reach. This not only leads to orders being filled faster and more efficiently, but also allows sales staff to focus their attention and energy on the vital task of improving customer service and building relationships with buyers.
Improve Workflows
Automation is one of the most powerful tools SMBs can use to set themselves apart from competitors. The ability to have tasks performed automatically by the system, rather than executed by an employee, not only saves time and money, but also ensures that no human errors are introduced, which improves customer and user experience alike. In Business Central, users can use copilot to create Power Automate flows from written prompts, no programing or coding by the user required.
Organize Your Finances
Dynamics 365 Business Central allows users to map incoming e-invoices to outstanding purchase orders, potentially saving SMBs hours of painstaking matching and reconciling orders with accounts payables. Rule-based matching ensures accuracy, cutting out the tiresome process of cross-referencing sales orders and invoices, and helps build positive relationships with suppliers thanks to on-time, regular payments.
Bank Reconciliation Made Easy
Reconciling bank account charges with orders and other transactions can often be one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks for a SMB at the end of every month. With Copilot, this is no longer the case, as the AI assistant can automatically match bank statements uploaded to Business Central with transaction records and suggest entries for transactions that were not auto-matched by the system. By interpreting and comparing transaction details, such as amount, date, and even patterns, Copilot can help SBMs reduce the time and effort it takes to handle financials while increasing the accuracy of records.
Data Analysis Tools for Everyone
With Copilot, SMBs have the tools to create in-depth data visualizations on par with those created by larger businesses. Rather than requiring time and advanced skill to code reports, Copilot produces data charts and visualizations with totals, groupings, and pivots, as well as the ability to filter results. Users can prompt Copilot with inquiries to identify trends and anomalies, helping users dive deeper into the numbers faster. By utilizing Copilot as a first line of analysis, users can focus on the numbers and data that matter most, filtering out the noise sometimes generated by data overload.
Inventory Forecasting for Top-Tier Customer Service
Inventory management is a key consideration for businesses looking to enhance their customer service experience. Having a clear picture of what items are (or aren’t) going to be available at any given time is vital for ensuring customers have as few issues as possible when ordering. However, most SMBs cannot keep large quantities of multiple items on-hand at all times because of the cost of purchasing and housing them. Copilot’s AI tools analyze past sales data to accurately forecast inventory needs to help SMBs strike the perfect balance between reducing operating costs and maintaining optimal customer service. Copilot can also handle generating purchase requests for items forecasted as being in high demand or low stock, saving work-hours for other tasks.
Late Payment Prediction Lowers Risk
Accounts receivable management is another important piece of the success puzzle for SMBs, and Copilot offers tools to help vendors lower the risk of late payments via forecasting and prediction algorithms. By analyzing customer payment history, Copilot can predict which payments are likely to be made late, allowing businesses to address the issue proactively, possibly changing payment due dates or payment methods, decreasing the risk of delinquent payments.
You can see:
- Late Payments– Shows if the payment for the invoice is predicted to be late.
- Prediction Confidence- Indicates how reliable you should consider the prediction.
- High= > 90%
- Medium= 80% - 90%
- Low= < 80%.
- Prediction Confidence %- Identifies the actual percentage behind the confidence rating.
Cash Flow Analysis for Increased Financial Stability
With Copilot, Business Central allows companies to create a comprehensive cash-flow analysis, enabling them to dive deep into the numbers of their expenditure and income. This type of project would normally require a team of talented analysts, but in BC Copilot handles the creation, allowing your experts to focus all their attention on breaking down the findings and enabling forward-focused solutions.
Copilot Transforms the Workplace for SMBs
In the ever-evolving and hyper-competitive world of business, small to medium-sized companies must constantly be looking for any advantage they can find to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. SMBs can achieve this by powering their business with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and using the advanced AI tool Copilot. With Copilot businesses can streamline and enhance their operations across the board, from data analysis to financials to customer service, enabling them to position themselves as a leader in their space, not a company fighting to catch up.
Looking to leverage Copilot and Business Central better together? Talk to one of our experts today!
