Finofo and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central: How the Integration Works

How It Works

From Business Central, Finofo uses vendors and the reference data your team codes with, brought in through the connection, a CSV import or manual upkeep: G/L accounts, and the dimensions your coding requires, including global and shortcut dimensions such as department, location or project. Each invoice line in Finofo is coded with those values.

Invoices are captured, read, coded, matched and approved in Finofo. Approved invoices go to Business Central as purchase invoices with their line coding. Posting follows approval, and how payment records go back is agreed with your Finofo team during setup.

Business Central keeps the ledger and financial reporting. The source document, approval history, comments and exceptions stay with each invoice in Finofo.

Check Which Dynamics 365 You Run

Microsoft sells several products under the Dynamics 365 name. This article is for Business Central.

• Dynamics 365 Business Central (online or on premises): Yes.
• Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management: No. Confirm the connection path with your Finofo team.
• Dynamics GP or Dynamics NAV: No. Confirm the connection path with your Finofo team.

What Syncs Between Finofo and Business Central

• Business Central to Finofo: Vendors, each mapped on its Finofo vendor profile.
• Business Central to Finofo: G/L accounts, and the global and shortcut dimensions your coding requires.
• Finofo to Business Central: Approved invoices with G/L account and dimension detail on each line.
• Finofo to Business Central: Payment records, in the form agreed with your Finofo team during setup.
• Stays in Finofo: The source document, approval history, comments and exceptions.

Set Up the Connection

1. Confirm the product, deployment and the companies in scope with your Finofo team.

2. Prepare Business Central access with your administrator or partner.

3. Your Finofo team sets up the Business Central connection with you. The route depends on your Business Central version and what data needs to flow in each direction.

4. Agree the coding dimensions with your Finofo team: which ones each line needs, which are required and which combinations are valid. Reference data comes from your ERP through the connection, a CSV import or manual upkeep.

5. Check that each vendor profile in Finofo holds its ERP mapping, and agree with your Finofo team how payment records are sent back.

6. Test with real invoices before go-live.

Business Central Decisions to Settle During Setup

Each area below shows the question to settle, followed by why it matters.

• Deployment: Online or on premises, and which version?
  Determines the connection path.
• Companies: Which Business Central companies does AP cover?
  Each company keeps its own vendors, accounts and dimensions.
• Dimensions: Which global and shortcut dimensions are required on each line, and do any default from the vendor or account?
  Dimension reports depend on complete lines.
• Posting: Should purchase invoices arrive for review or post directly?
  Keeps posting control with accounting.
• Line types: Do invoices include G/L account, item or fixed asset lines?
  Each line type codes and posts differently.
• Existing workflows: Are purchase invoice approval workflows or document capture apps already running in Business Central?
  Avoids approving or capturing the same invoice twice.

Fix Common Business Central Sync Issues

• A dimension value is missing in Finofo: Check that the value is not blocked in Business Central and that the dimension is set up for coding in Finofo.
• An approved invoice is not in Business Central: With Manual posting, open Post to ERP: the drawer shows whether the invoice is ready or blocked, and why. Check that the vendor profile holds its ERP mapping. Then check the allowed posting dates in Business Central and whether the vendor is blocked.
• Invoices are approved twice: Check whether a Business Central approval workflow also applies to purchase invoices that come from Finofo.
• A line is rejected for a missing dimension: Check the default dimension rules on the vendor or G/L account in Business Central, and require that dimension in Finofo.

Tips

• Ask your partner for the dimension setup and any mandatory default dimensions before setup, so required fields match on both sides.
• Decide what happens to existing Business Central approval workflows before go-live.
• Test a G/L account line and, if you use them, an item line, because they post differently.
• Coverage for Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics GP and Dynamics NAV is not described here. Business Central remains the system of record for the ledger and financial reporting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Finofo support Business Central?

Finofo integrates natively with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Confirm your product (Business Central), deployment and the companies in scope with your Finofo team during setup.

Do occasional approvers need Business Central licences?

Approvals happen in Finofo, including on mobile, so approvers work in Finofo rather than in Business Central. Your Microsoft partner can confirm licensing for anyone else who needs Business Central access.

Will dimensions carry through on each line?

Finofo codes invoices at line level with the dimensions your setup requires. Confirm which dimensions are synced during setup.

Can we pay invoices that are already in Business Central?

Talk to your Finofo team during setup. Whether open invoices already in Business Central come into Finofo for payment is part of the integration design, and approved invoices can then be paid individually or in a batch.

We run Dynamics 365 Finance. Is this article for us?

No. This article covers Business Central. Contact your Finofo team about the connection path for Dynamics 365 Finance.