Business Central Expense Agent Filters Project Choices by Employee Assignment in 2026

The entry, titled "Dynamics 365 Business Central: Expense Agent - Use assigned projects only in the web app," is marked In development. It targets the Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant) cloud. Preview is planned for October 2026 and general availability for December 2026. Microsoft says roadmap dates and descriptions can change, so treat these as estimates.

What Microsoft says is changing​

The roadmap lists four planned capabilities for the Expense Agent web app:

• Two levels of assignment: you can assign dedicated resources (employees) to a whole project or to a single project task.
• Assigned-only display: users see only the projects and/or tasks where they are assigned as a resource.
• Automatic filtering: project lists follow the project-resource relationships already recorded in Business Central.
• Fewer wrong choices: Microsoft says the goal is to cut the chance that users pick projects unrelated to their role or assignments.

The filter applies when users create or manage expense entries in the web app. The entry says nothing about email submissions or other clients, so don't assume it covers them.

Section summary: In the web app, the project picker will be driven by resource assignments rather than showing everything. It is in development, with preview planned for October 2026 and GA for December 2026.

Why project selection matters​

A wrong project on an expense line is more than a dropdown mistake, because it changes accounting records. Microsoft's expense documentation says employees can link an expense to a project for tracking and billing purposes. When you post the expense report, Business Central creates a project ledger entry and the standard expense and employee ledger entries. Business Central MVP Yun Zhu's write-up of the expense module says project ledger entries are created only for expense lines that have a Project No. and Project Task No. assigned.

So a mis-picked project means project costs can be booked to the wrong job, which can also distort billing. Fixing that kind of error after posting takes far more work than preventing it at entry.

The users who most need this filter are also the least likely to know the project list. Microsoft's expense management overview says expense users who work exclusively through the Expense Agent web app or email don't need a Business Central license. Partner Crestwood Associates describes these submitters as drivers, technicians, account managers, or project staff who shouldn't need a BC license to submit a meal receipt. Without a filter, these occasional users have to scroll through every active project in the company.

How this builds on existing settings​

Business Central already has project controls for the Expense Agent. The assisted setup includes a Projects area where admins configure whether project fields are visible and which projects submitters can see. Microsoft's user documentation adds that the Project No. and Project Task No. fields are only visible if your administrator enabled project fields in the Expense Agent setup.

The Expense Projects API reference in Microsoft's BCApps repository shows the same two modes. That page describes a read-only beta API that returns the project and task rows an Expense User can post expenses against. If Project Visibility is set to "All projects", the API returns every project that isn't completed. Otherwise it returns only the projects and tasks assigned to that user.

That suggests the assignment-based logic already exists at the data layer, and the roadmap item brings it to the web app's user interface. That is our reading of the documents, not something Microsoft has confirmed. The API page doesn't say whether this behavior is new, and it doesn't prove the web app change has shipped.

Section summary: Admins can already control whether project fields appear and which projects submitters can see. The roadmap item applies assignment-based filtering in the web app's entry and management screens.

Where it fits in the Expense Agent​

The Expense Agent arrived with Business Central 2026 release wave 1. Microsoft's release plan says users can associate expenses with projects or mark them as billable. The agent then groups expenses within a defined time period into an Expense Report and can automatically submit it for approval when approvals are enabled and no rule violations are detected.

Approvers keep their own visibility rules. Microsoft's setup documentation says that when the approval workflow is enabled, managers can only view reports where they're assigned as the approver, unless they have Unlimited Expense Approval permission.

Does the new filter replace approval review? Nothing in the roadmap says so. Microsoft's Expense Agent overview says controllers and approvers can still review and change project and task numbers on expense reports. The filter cuts down on bad choices, while approval stays the formal check. Keep both in place.

A note on availability: a June write-up from UK partner Kick ICT said the Expense Agent was currently in public preview, in English, for US-based organisations. Coverage may have widened since then. Check Microsoft's current country/region and language availability lists before you plan a rollout.

What the roadmap doesn't say​

The entry is short, and these points remain open:

• Whether assignment-only filtering is a setting or always on
• Which Business Central version or update is required
• Any licensing changes (none are mentioned)
• What happens to draft expenses when someone's assignment changes or ends
• Whether users can override the filtered list or request a project they can't see
• How a user assigned to some tasks, but not the whole project, sees the list in every case

Wait for Microsoft's documentation to answer these.

How admins can prepare​

These steps follow from what the roadmap describes. They are not Microsoft's deployment instructions.

1. Check your Project Visibility setting. In the Expense Agent configuration, see whether submitters currently see all projects or a limited set. The new behavior depends on that choice.
2. Clean up resource assignments. If employees aren't assigned to the right projects or tasks, they'll get empty or wrong lists. Check that each expense user is set up as a resource and assigned where they work.
3. Choose whole-project or task-level assignments. Microsoft supports both. Task-level is more precise but takes more upkeep.
4. Test with three kinds of accounts in the preview. Use one user assigned to a whole project, one assigned only to certain tasks, and one with no assignment. Confirm each sees the right options when creating and editing expenses.
5. Check posting results. Make sure approved reports still create the project ledger entries you expect. A tidier picker doesn't help if the postings come out wrong.
6. Brief your help desk. If employees can't find a project they worked on, the cause is probably a missing assignment, not a bug.

The verdict​

This is a small change, but it fixes a real problem. Field staff who submit expenses through the web app won't need to know the full project list, because Business Central will offer only the jobs they're assigned to. The trade-off is that your resource assignments must be accurate, since a missing assignment means a missing project in the list. Use the planned October preview to test it before December's GA, and check whether your assignment data is ready.