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Workflows in Business Central

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You can set up and use workflows to connect business-process tasks performed by different users. System tasks, such as automatic posting, can be included as steps in workflows. System tasks can be preceded or followed by user tasks. Requesting and granting approval to create new records are typical workflow steps.

The default version of Business Central supports these types of workflows:

  • Power Automate flows

    • Automated flows that are triggered by events (such as record or document creation, modification, or deletion) in Business Central. Also included are approval flows created in Power Automate that trigger when an approval is requested in Business Central.

    • Instant flows that are manually triggered from the Automate action menu on lists, cards, and document pages.

      Create and manually trigger a Power Automate flow on a Business Central record, such as a customer, item, or sales order, with options to manipulate information both internally and externally (using integrated tools).

  • Approval workflows based on built-in workflow templates

    On the Workflow Templates page, you can see all available workflows. The trial version of Business Central includes many preconfigured workflows represented by workflow templates you can copy to create new ones. When you open a template from the Workflow Templates page, and the workflow name starts with MS-, then the template was added by Microsoft.

Power Automate flows

With Business Central online, you can sign up for Power Automate to build powerful automated workflows. You run those workflows from inside Business Central. The flows can connect internal and external data sources and tools, without coding knowledge.

To See
Get started with Power Automate, creating flows, and running instant flows Use Power Automate Flows in Business Central
Learn details of how to create, edit, and manage flows Set Up Automated Flows and Set Up Instant Flows
Set up Power Automate integration with Business Central for users as an admin Set Up Power Automate Integration

Approval workflows

Create an approval workflow by defining what starts the workflow and what happens next, as follows:

  • A workflow event, which is moderated by event conditions.
  • A workflow response, which is moderated by response options.

To define workflow steps, fill in fields on workflow lines using the event and response values that represent supported scenarios.

Examples of approval workflow events include the creation of sales or purchase orders/quotes/invoices, price changes, vendor or customer edits, and more.

Note

If a business scenario requires a workflow event or response that is not supported in the default version, sign up for Power Automate. For more information, see Use Business Central in Power Automate Flows. Alternatively, get an app at AppSource or work with a Microsoft partner to customize the application code.

To See
Set up approval workflow users, specify how users get notified, and create new workflows. (To create new workflows for unsupported scenarios, implement the required workflow elements by customizing the application code.) Set Up Approval Workflows
Enable approval workflows, act on workflow notifications, including requesting and approving a workflow step. Archive and delete workflows. Use Approval Workflows

See also

Sales
Purchasing
Managing Projects
Work with Business Central
Troubleshoot Your Business Central Automated Workflows

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