Acumatica 2026 R2 brings practical changes to reporting and daily operations

Acumatica 2026 R2 introduces updates that help users build dashboards, check delivery dates, manage supplier approvals and record production changes. For businesses already using the platform, the value lies in how these features support the work their teams do every day.

During APPSolve’s customer webinar on 29 October, Bettie Heyns demonstrated selected features across finance, customer relationship management, distribution, manufacturing and projects. A recurring message throughout the session was that reliable data and careful configuration remain essential to getting useful results.

AI support for everyday tasks

Bettie demonstrated how AI Assist can answer questions about business data, explain how to complete tasks and generate dashboard widgets. Examples included comparing accounts receivable balances across financial periods and creating a view of the top 10 customers.

Users can add a generated widget to a dashboard and edit it afterwards. This gives teams another way to build useful views of their information without having to configure every element themselves.

The how-to functionality also provides guidance within Acumatica. In one example, Bettie asked how to create an approval map and received instructions covering the prerequisites and setup steps.

Permissions and data quality remain central to using these tools. Bettie explained that AI Assist operates according to the user’s access rights. She also stressed that useful answers depend on accurate underlying information. More complex reporting requirements, including combining information across several generic inquiries, need to be tested against the business’s specific data.

More control over reports and dashboards

Reporting changes extend beyond AI. The session covered data warehousing to support dashboard performance when working with larger datasets, along with cumulative totals for dashboard charts.

Users can also group information directly in generic inquiry screens, which display configurable views of Acumatica data. Bettie demonstrated grouping sales information by customer, allowing users to expand the relevant group and review its details.

The release also includes options for sharing layouts across teams, dark mode and the modern user interface as the default. These changes give businesses a reason to review how their teams navigate the system and whether existing screens and layouts need attention before an upgrade.

Finance controls and better information for sales

For finance teams, Bettie highlighted bank transaction matching that remembers previous matches involving the same payee and description. This can reduce repeated processing work.

She also demonstrated vendor approval workflows. A newly created vendor moved to pending approval before becoming active, with the approval details visible on the record. This provides a standard process for controlling supplier activation.

On the sales side, related items and stock availability information help users respond to customers while preparing opportunities and quotes. Salespeople can view alternatives, substitutes and related products without moving between several screens.

AI sentiment analysis was another feature discussed. It provides an indication of customer sentiment based on recorded activities. Its usefulness depends on teams consistently logging emails, calls and other interactions against the relevant records.

More informed delivery commitments

The available-to-promise functionality was a focus of the distribution demonstration. From a sales order, users can calculate an expected availability date based on configured supply rules.

When the quantity ordered exceeded stock on hand, Bettie showed how the calculation considered an incoming purchase order. Users could then open the supporting document and check the supply details before communicating with the customer.

Warehouse updates included zone-based picking, handling units such as cases and pallets, and pick-list handovers between staff. These features allow businesses to configure processes around how goods are stored and handled in their warehouses.

Recording production changes where they happen

Manufacturing updates included production planning against calendars, shifts and capacity, alongside changes to the shop floor kiosk.

Authorised users can issue additional materials and adjust material quantities directly from the kiosk. Bettie used the example of a production task requiring more material than originally planned. Recording the change at the point of work reduces the need to move to a separate desktop screen or ask a supervisor to capture it.

The session also covered creating production and purchase orders from project materials, carrying relevant project information through to the resulting documents.

Project visibility and upgrade preparation

For project and construction teams, the webinar covered parent-child project relationships, forecasting improvements and the Construction Exchange portal. The portal gives vendors and subcontractors a place to submit documents and view relevant purchasing and subcontract information.

Bettie also highlighted the need to check reporting configuration when linking projects. Businesses should test how they want costs and revenue presented rather than assume that linking a child project automatically consolidates every figure into the parent.

The session closed with advice to review the release notes, test existing processes in a separate sandbox environment and confirm that third-party add-ons support the intended version. Businesses should also check custom fields, reports and screens in the modern interface.

For APPSolve customers, the next step is to identify the updates most relevant to their operations and test them using their own processes and data. Contact the APPSolve team to discuss the features covered in the webinar and plan your upgrade.