Steve Endow's Business Central Podcast

I Need Coffee - Episode 188 - Weekly BC Review!

Steve Endow Episode 188

Show Notes: Episode 188 - I Need Coffee (Nov 7, 2025)


1. Still Sick (Week 2)
   - Persistent cold since Halloween → low energy, cancelled calls, mostly resting.

2. Vibe-Coding / AI-Agent-Assisted AL Development
   - Spent the previous weekend refining a full “Vibe Coding Benchmark” PRD for a hypothetical Support Plan / Contract Management app.
   - Now consistently hitting **99 % correct code** from a single prompt + detailed Markdown PRD + PowerPoint wireframes.
   - Tested **Cursor vs GitHub Copilot** head-to-head:
     - Code quality essentially identical.
     - Cursor wins on **UX, speed, and innovation** (rapid new features, smoother flow, no constant approval dialogs).
     - Copilot feels “dialogue-fatigued” and exposes too much plumbing.
   - Best practices he now recommends:
     - Write PRD in **Markdown** (VS Code) → Git from day one.
     - Use **PowerPoint** for quick wireframes (screenshots → docs folder).
     - Explicitly define **launch.json**, **app.json**, **number series**, and **setup pages** — agents have no intuition here.

3. Partner Dashboard (formerly Tenant Admin Dashboard)
   - Actively building an in-BC app to centrally manage all customer environments:
     - Auto-list prod environments, flag non-recommended update windows/next-version settings.
     - Will use BC Admin API to bulk-fix update windows, dates, etc.
   - Triggered by a painful incident: customer auto-scheduled to 27.0 instead of 26.5 → Tuesday morning chaos (PTEs uninstalled, users locked out).

4. BC Update & Admin Center Nightmares
   - New minimum 6-hour update window (can no longer do 2-hour windows).
   - Restore-point quirks: can’t always roll back to just before an upgrade if inside the window.
   - Email notification overload is untenable → partner dashboard is the solution.

5. Funny / Annoying Stuff
   - Windows File Explorer “Date” column is meaningless (random mix of created/modified) → caused PRD rollback disaster → another reason for Git.
   - Got asked to be a “subcontractor” who pretends to work for the customer (use their email, timesheets, etc.) → hard pass.
   - Competitor claiming they’ll migrate **30 years** of history → Steve: “Hand them the deal and grab popcorn.”
   - New Business Central icon announced at Directions EMEA → RIP to the guy with the old BC logo sculpted into his office ceiling.
   - “Set Applies-to ID” in cash receipt journal still applies the **full invoice amount** even when payment is smaller → change request submitted.
 
6. AI Agent Security / Shenanigans
   - Prompt-injection exploits now being embedded invisibly in websites (Oreos & baseball example).
   - Perplexity’s Comet agent shopping on Amazon → Amazon is suing them.

7. Events & Travel
   - Directions EMEA happening now (new icon + 2026 Wave 1 focus areas).
   - DynamicsCon 2026 (Las Vegas, May 12-15) session submissions just opened (closes Dec 31).


8. Berlin, El Salvador Team Updates
   - Joselyn (joined June 2024, zero accounting background) now deep in complex financial reports & RDLC.
   - David crushing report layouts & Simple Object Designer work.
   - Ronald becoming the **Western Hemisphere’s #1 McCorma Super Check + Overflow Remittance guru**; prepping big demo.
   - Franklin refining the partner dashboard (new beta released).
   - Fatima finishing PMP prep (50+ hours study + 100+ practice questions).