The IRS is retiring FIRE for good. Business Central already has the tools to keep up, but the connection that makes them work takes months to set up.
If your team files 1099s out of Business Central, you've probably filed the same way for years: same forms, same printer, same routine every January. That routine is about to break, and the fix takes longer to set up than most teams expect.
FIRE Is Going Away, Not Just Getting an Update
For decades, FIRE has been the backbone of electronic 1099 filing. That system retires after tax year 2026, and every filer moves to the IRS's Information Returns Intake System, or IRIS. For most Business Central users, this isn't a settings change. It's a new registration process, a new set of roles, and a new answer to who's responsible for hitting submit on your 1099s.
What's Actually New in Business Central
The good news is Business Central already has the tools this transition requires. You can print 1099s on plain paper, no preprinted forms needed. You can email vendors their 1099s directly, with an approval step built in before anything goes out. And once you're registered, BC can submit straight to the IRS through the Application-to-Application, or A2A, connection, no third-party transmitter required. These aren't features on a roadmap. They're available now. Most BC users just haven't set them up yet, which is exactly what our BC consultants are walking through live on July 30.
The A2A Connection Takes Months, Not Days
Here's the part that catches teams off guard. Registering for A2A means applying for a Transmitter Control Code, running sandbox tests, and getting on the phone with the IRS to confirm results before you're cleared for production. The IRS says to allow 45 business days for that review, and once identity verification and sandbox testing are added in, the full cycle can stretch close to 75 days. Wait until November to start, and you're not filing on time in January. Missing the deadline isn't a minor inconvenience either. Information return penalties start at $60 per form within 30 days, climb to $130 per form through August 1, jump to $340 per form after that, and reach $680 per form for intentional disregard, with no cap. For a mid-sized AP team filing a few hundred 1099s, that adds up fast.
The Gaps Nobody Tells You About Until Filing Season
Business Central doesn't do everything yet, and it's better to know that in July than in December. There's no native CSV export, so if your workflow or your accountant expects one, you'll need a workaround. And the print engine only supports plain paper. If your process depends on preprinted forms, that's a conversation to have with your team well before year end. Neither gap is a dealbreaker. Both are easier to plan around now than to discover mid-filing.
A Plan Beats a Scramble
The teams who get through filing season without a scramble aren't the ones with the most sophisticated setup. They're the ones who started early and worked a plan: apply for A2A in July, audit vendor TINs and email addresses in August, complete sandbox testing and get your production TCC in September, then run a small production batch in October and November. By December, filing in January is routine instead of a fire drill.
Get the Full Plan on July 30
Western Computer has spent more than 35 years and 1,250-plus implementations helping Business Central clients get ahead of changes like this one. On July 30, BC consultants Laurie Millington and Vivian Laska are walking through that complete month-by-month plan live, including the A2A registration steps and sandbox testing details the IRS publications describe but don't make easy to follow. If your team files 1099s out of BC, this is the session to attend before your routine breaks in January. Register for the July 30 webinar here.
