Get started with building apps

Article
02/06/2024

Note

Azure Active Directory is now Microsoft Entra ID. Learn more

Dynamics 365 Business Central is a business management solution that helps companies connect their services and operations to streamline business processes, improve customer interactions and make better decisions. With this modern business platform, you have the convenience to quickly tailor, extend, and build applications so that they fit your specific needs with little to no code development.

Build a business app for a specific industry, process, or department such as HR, finance, marketing, or operations. Then, publish your app to the Microsoft commercial marketplace, where customers can find your app, try it and get in touch with you. For more information, see What is the Microsoft commercial marketplace?.

Learn how you can become a Business Central app publisher in six steps in this article.

Step 1: Become a partner

When you become a Microsoft partner, you get access to the Microsoft resources needed to build, market, and sell your apps. You don't have to be a Microsoft partner to begin developing your apps. But, all of the steps below are required to gain access to the programs that enable you to publish, market, and sell your apps for Business Central.

Obtain your work account

Your work account is the email address provided to you by your company. This email is usually in the format you@yourcompany.com. For more information on work accounts, see Link your work Account.

Join the Microsoft Partner Network

Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) membership unlocks our best resources to differentiate your business, take your product to market, and sell your solutions. To become a partner, you must join the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN), at which time you will be assigned an MPN ID. MPN membership is free to all partners; you can enroll in the MPN here.

Once signed up, you will get an MPN ID – your gateway to access all the membership resources and benefits for your partnership with Microsoft. There is no cost to obtain a MPN ID as a Network member, and with options to upgrade to an Action Pack subscription or work toward a competency, you can access even more benefits.

Set up your Partner Center account

Once you have joined the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN), you can set up your Partner Center (PC) account. The Microsoft Partner Center is a generic portal where partners can sell and manage customer subscriptions for Microsoft services, such as Microsoft 365, Azure, Dynamics 365, and others, as well as for some third-party products. For more information, see the Partner Center documentation.

Your Partner Center account provides you with access to pricing information, tools and services, and enables you to manage admin credentials for your company's work account. Partner Center is also where you can purchase or renew subscriptions to Microsoft Action Packs, create a business profile to receive and manage sales leads from Microsoft, and see if you qualify for co-selling opportunities.

Step 2: Register as a publisher

The first step to becoming a publisher is to register in Partner Center (PC). PC is where you submit your apps for publication, promote them, and manage your offers. To begin the registration process, you must complete these steps. One of our team members follow up to help you complete your registration. Once registered, you can access PC.

For more information, see Partner Center Account.

PartnerSource Business Center (PSBC) account

To develop apps for Business Central, you're required to be known as a Business Central developer. You must also have a unique development license file with a specific object range.

To obtain an object range for developing a Business Central app, you must have access to PartnerSource Business Center (PSBC). Either of the following agreements gives you access to PSBC, which is a first step towards getting a development license:

Partner Registration Agreement (PRA) (PRA)
Solution Provider Agreement (SPA)

Note

We're no longer accepting new partner enrollments for the Solution Provider Agreement.

The relevant contract can be requested through your local Regional Operations Center (ROC) Contracts and Agreements Team below:

partnerlifecycle@microsoft.com (for all regions).

Step 3: Your unique app specifications

Requesting an object range

When you develop an app for Business Central, you must request access to an object range that holds some objects for your solution. To avoid overlap between objects used in different solutions, each partner is assigned many objects in a unique object range. For example, a partner is assigned the object range 70,001,000 – 70,001,999. The object range gives them 1,000 numbered objects that they can use to develop Business Central solutions.

Depending on where you deploy your Business Central solution, online or on-premises, you can use different licensing methods and object ranges.

There are currently two available ranges that you can request. Both have some characteristics to keep in mind:

RSP Object Range (ID range 1,000,000-69,999,999)

This object range is tied to the RSP Program details.

Important

We currently advise new publishers to not request an RSP object range
App Object Range (ID range 70,000,000-74,999,999)

This object range was originally designed just for apps in the Microsoft commercial marketplace to be used in Business Central online.

Important

We currently advise new publishers to request an app object range.

Currently, you can implement apps developed in both the RSP range and the app object range in Business Central online and on-premises, as well as partner-hosted.

You can request an object range by downloading the object range request form here. After completion, send them to your Regional Operational Center (ROC) for processing:

mbsquery@microsoft.com if you're based in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa.
mbsorder@microsoft.com if you're based in the Americas.
mbslques@microsoft.com if you're based in the Asia Pacific region.

Downloading your development license file

After your Regional Operational Center process your Agreements and Object Range Request forms, download your company's unique developer license from PartnerSource Business Center. Find it in the license key configuration section under the developer tools section.

Register your unique prefix or suffix

In your extension, the name of each object must contain a prefix or suffix that is registered for your publisher name. For more information about the use of affixes and the registration process, see Benefits and Guidelines for using a Prefix or Suffix.

Step 4: Getting access to preview bits

Get access to preview builds by joining Microsoft Collaborate.

In Microsoft Collaborate, you get access to a set of Business Central builds:

The current major version
An upcoming major version
Daily builds

You must have the following prerequisites to register on Microsoft Collaborate:

Microsoft Entra ID.

Note

If you have Microsoft 365, then your company most likely has Microsoft Entra ID.
Microsoft Entra Global Administrator permission

Note

To find out if your company has a Microsoft Entra account, check with your system administrator.

Step 4 A: How your Global Administrator must register for Collaborate

Only your company's Global Administrator can start the onboarding to Collaborate. They must register at https://aka.ms/Collaborate, choose the Get Started action, and then complete the registration form.

The administrator can then add the relevant colleagues.

Optional Step: Add your coworkers to Microsoft Collaborate

To add coworkers:

Sign in to Microsoft Collaborate with your Global Administrator account at aka.ms/Collaborate.
Choose the settings icon in the top-right corner of the page, got to on account settings, and choose user management.
Choose the grey ADD USERS button, and leave the default choice to Add existing users as-is. Now, you can search for one or more users that you want to add to Collaborate. To add them, you need to choose them from the menu, and then choose the grey ADD SELECTED button. Make sure to add them as a 'Manager (Collaborate)' for them to have the right permissions.
Once you successfully add your coworkers to Collaborate. Users can now sign in to Microsoft Collaborate using the following link: aka.ms/Collaborate

Step 4 B: Getting access to the available builds and engagements

Once you successfully register on Microsoft Collaborate, Microsoft must assign you to the right programs, and engagements before you can see the preview bits. Contact Dyn365BEP@microsoft.com and provide them with information about the relevant users. The following table illustrates the type of information that you must submit:

Publisher Display Name	MPN ID	First Name	Last Name	Work account Email
Contoso	12345	Eugenia	Lopez	Eugenia.Lopez@Contoso.com
Contoso	12345	Quincy	Watson	Quincy.Watson@Contoso.com

After sending the email, expect a response from Microsoft within 1-2 business days.

Step 5: Resources while you develop your solution

In the following section, you find some guiding resources on how to develop your apps for Business Central.

Microsoft training

Learn new skills and discover the power of Microsoft products with step-by-step guidance. Start your journey today by exploring our learning paths and modules.

Microsoft documentation

Find Developer and administration content.

Join the conversation

In the dedicated Viva Engage network, join the conversation on developing apps.

Join the monthly Office hour calls

Join the monthly Office hour calls to learn more about a hot article.

Get coaching from experts

Need help with developing your apps? There's a community of ISV Development Centers specialized in Business Central ready to engage with you.

Set up DevOps processes for your project

All partners are recommended to set up DevOps processes to ensure that this validation process happens automatically and regularly.

You can find resources for how to set up full plug-and-play DevOps processes using AL-Go for GitHub: https://aka.ms/AL-Go.

Step 6: Publish your app in the Microsoft commercial marketplace

Once your app is ready for submission, you can list your app in the Microsoft commercial marketplace by submitting it in Partner Center. For more information, see Create a Dynamics 365 Business Central offer.

Before you submit, we recommend that you review the technical validation checklist and marketing validation checklist. The two articles list all requirements that you must meet before you submit an app for validation. If you don't meet these mandatory requirements, your extension fails validation.

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