INSIGHT

What’s New in Sage Intacct 2026 R1:  What It Means for Your Finance Operations 

Tom Achor, Angela Thomas • February 27, 2026

Services: Sage Intacct

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If you’re running your financial operations on Sage Intacct, February brought a significant upgrade. Sage Intacct 2026 Release 1 (R1) launched on February 13, 2026, and it delivers a meaningful step forward in AI-powered automation, intelligent reconciliation, and operational efficiency across core finance functions. 

This isn’t a cosmetic refresh. The updates in 2026 R1 are designed to reduce the manual workload that burdens finance teams, sharpen the accuracy of financial data, and surface actionable insights faster than ever before. Here’s what you need to know — and where the biggest opportunities lie for your organization. 

AI Is No Longer a Feature. It’s the Foundation. 

The most significant shift in Sage Intacct 2026 R1 is how deeply AI has been woven into everyday workflows. Rather than offering standalone AI tools, Sage is embedding intelligence directly into the processes your finance team relies on daily. 

Finance Intelligence Agent 

The new Finance Intelligence Agent — launching initially through an early adopter program — allows users to ask questions in plain language and receive instant answers drawn from their own financial data. Instead of navigating multiple screens or building manual reports, your team can surface insights on demand, directly within the platform. 

AI-Powered Import Agent 

Data imports have long been a source of friction and error. The new AI-powered import agent uses natural language prompts to transform, map, and clean transaction lines before posting, with instant previews that significantly reduce the time to load data and the risk of entry errors. This is a meaningful time-saver for teams managing high transaction volumes. 

Close Analytics 

For finance teams who are working to tighten month-end or year-end close timelines, the new Close Analytics feature is worth particular attention. It uses AI to analyze close patterns, identify bottlenecks, and track days-to-close across entities and periods — giving you a data-driven roadmap for improving close consistency over time. Like the Finance Intelligence Agent, this feature is initially available through the early adopter program. 

Smarter AP Automation and Reconciliation 

Accounts payable and general ledger workflows receive some of the most impactful upgrades in this release. 

Line-Level Matching in AP Automation 

AP automation now predicts transaction lines from supplier documents and matches each invoice line to the corresponding purchase order and receipt line. The system flags discrepancies automatically, so your team can confirm that what you’re paying for aligns with what was ordered and received. The result is faster invoice processing with fewer errors making it through to posting. 

GL Account Reconciliation 

General ledger reconciliation gets a cleaner, more focused workflow. Rather than scanning through long lists of posted entries, your team can now quickly pair offsetting debit and credit lines on balance sheet accounts and filter out what’s already matched — leaving only the unmatched transactions that actually need attention. For finance professionals managing complex, multi-entity environments, this can meaningfully accelerate close cycles. 

Enhanced Dynamic Allocations 

The updated dynamic allocations functionality allows you to more easily allocate account balances across dimensions without altering original GL accounts, supporting more accurate expense allocations in complex financial scenarios. This is especially relevant for organizations operating across multiple entities or business units. 

Fixed Assets: More Visibility, More Control 

Fixed assets management receives a comprehensive set of updates in 2026 R1 that improve both flexibility and reporting accuracy. 

• Construction in Progress (CIP) Asset Management: You can now acquire, track, and capitalize CIP assets seamlessly through integration with accounts payable and purchasing transactions. 
• AP Adjustment Cost Updates: Asset costs can be modified directly from an AP adjustment, with unposted depreciation recalculated automatically. 
• Roll Forward Report: A new standardized report covering asset costs, depreciation, and net book value makes it easier to reconcile account balances for a specific period. 

For organizations with significant capital assets — particularly in construction, healthcare, nonprofit, or hospitality — these updates improve compliance-readiness and reporting confidence. 

Project Management and Billing Improvements 

Project-driven organizations benefit from several workflow enhancements that improve both visibility and billing efficiency. 

The ability to filter projects and update multiple project fields simultaneously reduces manual effort during pricing changes or operational updates. New functionality also allows you to link projects directly to CIP assets for better cost tracking. And with customer billing groups, you can simplify accounts receivable by grouping customers and applying recurring charges consistently in a single location — a welcome improvement for organizations managing complex billing arrangements. 

A Few Other Enhancements Worth Noting 

Beyond the headline features, several additional updates in 2026 R1 merit attention depending on your organization’s specific needs: 

• Embedded Customer Payment Services (Early Adopter): Accept payments directly within Sage Intacct through integrations with providers like Fortis, simplifying accounts receivable workflows. 
• Cash Requirements Forecasting with Expanded Currency Support (Early Adopter): Improved visibility into expected cash flow requirements across currencies supports better forecasting and liquidity planning for multi-currency organizations. 
• Paperless Processing for Construction: Supporting documents can now be captured, routed, and stored in one location, reducing reliance on manual document management. 
• Geofencing for Sage Intelligent Time and Expense (Early Adopter): Track employee location-based time and expense data through the mobile app — a useful tool for organizations with distributed field operations. 

What You Should Do Next 

Sage Intacct 2026 R1 is a cloud-based platform, so updates are automatically deployed — but not all features are automatically enabled. Some capabilities require added permissions, configuration changes, module activation, or enrollment in Sage’s early adopter program. Taking the time to review the official release notes and assess which features align with your current processes and priorities is a worthwhile investment. 

If you’re not sure which updates are most relevant to your organization, or if you want to understand how these changes interact with your existing Sage Intacct configuration, BPM’s advisory professionals can help. BPM brings recognized depth in Sage Intacct implementation and optimization to every engagement. We’ll help you evaluate your options and develop a plan to take full advantage of what’s new. 

Ready to make the most of Sage Intacct 2026 R1? Contact BPM today to connect with one of our Sage Intacct advisory professionals and learn how these updates can strengthen your financial operations.