ERP systems, including Microsoft Business Central, use API (application program interface) connections or a different type of connector to integrate third-party software seamlessly and share data between the software as a unified solution. Business Central is an ERP system for midsize and small businesses.
This article explores the specifics of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central API and covers ERP integrations for Tipalti AP automation software with Business Central. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central was formerly branded as NAV.
Does Business Central Have an API?
Yes. Business Central has a point-to-point API connector (currently API v2.0) for integration with external software that uses Business Central REST API technology to interchange data. Microsoft refers to API connections with its ERP software and third-party software or services as Connect apps. REST stands for REpresentational State Transfer.
With Business Central API integration, your business can use the ERP and add-on third-party software applications as a unified system.
Microsoft provides Business Central API documentation (docs) to help users understand how to make API connections. GitHub also includes documentation for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central AP version 2.0.
When reading Microsoft Business Central API documentation, you’ll find more specific documentation steps for Business Central API endpoints and other topics covering Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises and online version integration. Microsoft also provides guides for Enabling the APIs for Business Central and Troubleshooting REST API/OData calls. Business Central has an API Setup page to Integrate APIs.
You can use either Business Central built-in APIs or customer APIs. According to Microsoft:
“Business Central comes with an extensive list of built-in APIs that requires no code and minimal setup to use. When using the built-in APIs, please choose the highest API version available. You can also develop your own custom APIs using the AL object types API pages and API queries.”
As part of its documentation, Microsoft offers tips for working with APIs. Microsoft defines API page type (PageType = API) as follows:
“Pages of the type API are used to create versioned, webhook-supported, OData v4 enabled REST web services. This type of page can’t be displayed in the user interface, but is intended for building reliable integration services.”
What Type of API Does Business Central Use?
Business Central uses a REST API for third-party software integration. Businesses can develop a Connect app using any coding language capable of calling REST APIs for their Business Central API.
How to Use Business Central API
Microsoft documentation for Business Central API version 2.0 includes instructions for how to develop Connect apps to use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and third-party software or services in a unified system with a point-to-point connection. The Connect app uses standard REST API to interchange data. For API data exchange, JSON is the preferred format.
Any integration uses a web services client for making REST API calls through the REST API interface of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The Business Central Environment includes Custom APIs and Built-in APIs for Data, Environment administration, Tenant administration, and Tenant migration.
Microsoft Business Central provides steps in its documentation for developing a Connect app to set up a trial tenant, then connect and authenticate. Put the environment name in the path to construct the URL for the environment by using the Business Central environments list.
As part of the Business Central Connect app development process, sign in to the Microsoft Azure portal to register Dynamics 365 Business Central as an app. Set up Microsoft Entra ID-based authentication, following the Microsoft instructions. Use OAuth 2 for web services basic authentication (For on-premises, Microsoft provides details for basic authentication with the use of access keys.)
After setting up the username and password, connect and authenticate. The connect and authenticate process can be from your code or API explorers, including Insomnia, Bruno, or Insomnium.
Business Central API FAQs
Following are answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Business Central API and the ERP system.
What is API in Business Central?
API in Business Central is an application programming interface tool for connecting the Microsoft Business Central ERP to other business applications as an integration that seamlessly works together and exchanges data.
How do I connect to API in Business Central?
Microsoft provides documentation for software developers in Business Central to connect third-party software via the Business Central API connector. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central user companies can create a Connect app for their Business Central API connection by using any coding language that can call REST APIs.
How much does Business Central cost for small business?
Business Central ERP costs for small business start at $70 per user/month for the Dynamics 365 Business Central Essentials SaaS plan if these companies don’t need Manufacturing or Service Management features. Businesses may need additional Microsoft software like Microsoft Power BI and Power platform Apps, plus consulting and training fees. Microsoft partners provide custom quotes.
Explore Tipalti’s AP automation software as a leading API integration for Business Central
Tipalti AP automation is an end-to-end accounts payable and invoice processing solution with self-service supplier onboarding and management that eliminates paper and manual processes and improves global payments.
Business Central API + ERP Integrations
By using third-party ERP integrations with Microsoft Business Central through its API, your company can boost functionality and efficiency and save time and money.
Business Central API integration through a Connect app makes it easy for software developers to seamlessly integrate third-party software that will increase the value of their investment in Business Central and fill last-mile ERP software gaps.
Tips for Choosing the Right ERP Integration
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an older ERP system (from NAV roots) with robust functionality. While it may be comfortable to continue using Business Central ERP, third-party add-on ERP integrations through Business Central API provide many benefits to enhance Business Central.
One or more Business Central ERP integrations let your business easily digitize, augment functionality, and modernize it to eliminate manual processing steps and incorporate AI technology and efficient, automated processes. Business Central integration includes finance automation software from Tipalti, including AP automation, and customer relationship management (CRM) from Salesforce.
9 tips for choosing the right ERP integration for Business Central include:
- Establish a multi-functional team to spearhead the project. Get potential software users’ suggestions and feedback.
- Identify add-on software types.
- Generate a list of needs and wants for software features and benefits.
- Identify software products from companies under consideration that work with Business Central.
- Compare the software products in a software evaluation that includes pricing for the number of users and any other costs and fees, such as training and implementation guidance, and any transaction fees.
- Assess their customer retention rate, customer service, and customer testimonials.
- Communicate the software integration initiative and decisions to the entire organization to gain acceptance.
- Integrate and Implement the add-on software with Business Central.
- Hold a post-implementation review meeting to evaluate your company’s software decision and improve the process for future ERP integrations.
To accomplish this Business Central improvement through ERP integration with third-party software, your business needs to understand the possibilities and identify potential software types to fill Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central gaps in the last mile. Gain consensus from the key players and future software users throughout the organization.
Then choose the right third-party add-on software ERP integration to meet your business needs and budget through a team-generated feature needs and wants list for a software evaluation. Compare software for accounts payable automation and other functionality that work with Business Central ERP. Review customer testimonials to determine the potential benefits of implementing and using the third-party add-on software. Look for a high customer retention rate and excellent customer support.
Tipalti AP Automation ERP Integration with Business Central API
Tipalti AP automation software has ERP integration with Microsoft Business Central API. Tipalti finance automation software integrated with Business Central helps your company automate, de-risk, inform, and scale.
Tipalti integrates with several other ERP and accounting software systems, including other Microsoft ERP systems, Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 GP, and other ERPs. Non-Microsoft ERPs include Acumatica, NetSuite, SAP, Sage 100 ERP, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Odoo.
Benefits of Tipalti AP Automation
Tipalti’s cloud-based AP automation software works with Business Central to streamline and automate processes using AI technologies and RPA. This saves time and money and detects more potential errors before approving supplier invoices for payment. The data syncs in both directions between the add-on Tipalti finance automation software and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central integration, eliminating the need for entering data separately into each system.
Tipalti AP Automation Features for Supplier Invoice Processing
Tipalti AP automation begins with guided, self-service supplier onboarding for invoice processing and vendor management through a Supplier Hub. Suppliers enter their contact information, W-9 or W-8 tax form data, preferred payment method from available choices, and payment information. Tipalti validates supplier information, including TIN matching for accuracy and fraud prevention. The Supplier Hub displays invoice receipt and payment status and provides a history of invoices and payments by date.
Supplier invoice processing with Tipalti AP automation begins with AI-assisted receipt data capture with headers and line items, AI Smart Scan with 3-way or 2-way PO matching, application of 26,000 payment rules to reduce errors, guided approvals with communications, and global payments to 196 countries in a choice of 120 local currencies.
Tipalti provides real-time payment reconciliation for large batches using multiple payment methods, containing hundreds or thousands of invoices, to the Business Central synced general ledger. This automatic reconciliation can accelerate an accounting close by up to 25%.
Global Regulatory Compliance and Supplier Tax Compliance
Tipalti automates global regulatory compliance, including screening against OFAC sanctions blacklists to help your company make only legally-allowed payments.
Tipalti AP automation also simplifies tax compliance with tracked payments. It gives you Form 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, and 1042-S preparation reports based on tracked supplier and independent contractor payments. After your company has 12 calendar months of data, you can choose to get a SaaS subscription from natively integrated, partnered Zenwork’s Tax1099 software for automatic eFiling of Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, with distribution to the payee recipients for preparing their IRS and state income tax returns.
Multi-entity Visibility and Spend Management
Tipalti AP automation gives your teams more real-time visibility with multi-entity capabilities. It also offers AI-assisted analytics with a digital assistant, Ask Tipalit AIâ„ , and business intelligence for decision-making. The generative AI tool, ChatGPT4, is built into Tipalti, assisting with coding and spend-related queries. By using Tipalti AP automation, your company will get new features not provided by Business Central ERP alone.
Tipalti AP automation software is paperless, cloud-based, and provides enterprise-grade security and digital audit trails. It scales with growth to handle more business complexity and higher accounts payable invoice volumes with less hiring. To improve business efficiency and financial controls and achieve cost savings, get Tipalti SaaS add-on AP automation software that connects through the Business Central API. Request a demo.
