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Do you know that Business Central SharePoint integration can help you simplify your current document management process without requiring any further investment? If not, this blog will give you the information you need to understand how SharePoint integration can work with Business Central.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is a business-centric ERP solution that understands a business's needs and provides solutions accordingly. It offers seamless personalisation and various integrations, including Business Central SharePoint integration, to increase user productivity and overall efficiency.
Table of Contents
Almost all businesses need a solution capable of understanding their unique needs, and Business Central is one such solution. It is also popular for its ease of accessibility and simple yet powerful user interface. Such features not only align the business with its current needs but also prepare it for future requirements. Before getting into the details of the integration, let's understand the basics of SharePoint and D365 Business Central.
What is Microsoft SharePoint?
Microsoft SharePoint is a powerful document management and sharing platform that helps businesses manage documents seamlessly. It empowers employees to work as a team and collaborate more efficiently while enhancing overall productivity. With the ability to manage and organise business content, it provides an interactive user interface with powerful data security features.
SharePoint is a web-based platform capable of sharing documents, archives, reports, resources, news, digital data, and much more. The platform can be accessed from any device, including PCs, Macs, and mobile devices, using a web browser. Microsoft SharePoint consolidates business content and makes it available to users through an intranet, extranet, or the internet.
What is Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an all-in-one business management solution built specifically for SMBs. Previously known as NAV (Navision), it provides SMBs with simple yet powerful business management features that can support businesses across different industries.
As a cloud-based application, it can streamline various departments of a business, including finance, sales, operations, inventory, customer support, and manufacturing, through a single interactive platform.
Business Central not only helps manage business operations but also provides opportunities to improve customer relationships while supporting business growth. D365 Business Central uses modern technologies, including AI, BI, and ML, to support automation and improve overall efficiency while reducing the risk of errors during operations. Reliable Business Central support can also help ensure smooth performance and provide expert assistance.
What is the need for Business Central SharePoint integration?
Business Central supports various business processes and operations. During these processes, data plays a vital role in successfully completing different tasks.
Without integration, you may need to manually transfer data between SharePoint and Business Central. If you regularly use both SharePoint and Business Central, you may need to duplicate data stored in SharePoint before using it in Business Central. This can make the overall process cumbersome, as the same task may need to be completed manually and repeatedly.
With Business Central SharePoint integration, you can transfer or access data between the two systems using automation or a few simple steps, depending on the integration method used. If you want to save time, reduce manual effort, and improve resource efficiency, this integration can be useful.
The integration process can be implemented using APIs, code, extensions, and third-party connectors. In this blog, we will look at the steps involved in connecting SharePoint with Business Central using Microsoft Entra ID app registration, API permissions, and a client secret.
How does Business Central SharePoint integration work?
Business Central SharePoint integration can be implemented in different ways. Depending on the business requirement, organisations can use supported Microsoft APIs, Business Central extensions, AL-based integration, or third-party applications and connectors available through Microsoft AppSource.
For developers, Microsoft provides SharePoint capabilities in Business Central that can be used from AL code to connect to and work with SharePoint files, folders, lists, list items, and attachments through the SharePoint REST API. The appropriate approach depends on the required functionality and technical architecture.
Important: Microsoft has deprecated the older Microsoft SharePoint Connection Setup approach used for legacy OneDrive/SharePoint scenarios. Therefore, the step-by-step process below reflects the legacy setup described in the original article and should not be treated as the standard setup process for current Business Central versions. For current implementations, businesses should use the supported integration approach for their Business Central version and requirement.
Process of Dynamics 365 Business Central SharePoint Integration
In this example, we are going to use a SharePoint connector to connect the two applications. Once the integration is configured, data can be accessed or transferred between SharePoint and Business Central, depending on the connector and configuration used. After integration, you may be able to perform tasks such as:
Duplicate data automatically.
Share files between systems.
Sign files online.
Download and upload data.
Convert documents from Word to PDF.
During this integration, Microsoft Entra ID app registration and the required API permissions are used to establish the connection. The steps are discussed below:
Step 1:
Log in to Business Central and the Microsoft Entra admin centre using your credentials.
Open the Microsoft Entra admin centre and select App registrations under the Manage menu.
Click the New registration button (refer to Image 1). A new screen will be displayed (refer to Image 2).
Step 2:
Enter the name of the application in the Name field and select the required option under Supported account types.
In the Redirect URI option, enter the details shown in Image 3.
Copy the link from here.
Once you have provided the necessary details, click the Register button.
You will receive a notification in the upper-right corner confirming that the application has been created, and you will see a screen similar to Image 4.
Step 3:
From the current screen, click the API permissions option to configure API access.
Now select the Add a permission button; refer to Image 5.
Step 4:
Once you click this button, a new screen will appear with the name Request API permissions. Here, you will see different APIs and integrations. Select SharePoint, as shown in Image 6.
Select the SharePoint option. A new screen will appear where you can select the required permission type.
Select the required permissions as shown in the image below.
Click the Add permissions button and then select Grant admin consent if administrator consent is required.
You will receive a notification once the permissions have been granted.
Step 5:
Now, you need to add a client secret. To do so, select Certificates & secrets under the Manage menu.
Click New client secret and specify the description and expiry period; refer to Image 8.
Copy the value of the client secret immediately after generating it, as it will not be displayed again. Also copy the Application (client) ID available on the Overview tab.
Once the required permissions and credentials have been configured, the next step is to configure the connection in Business Central.
Step 6:
Open the Business Central dashboard and click the Search button at the top of the screen.
Search for SharePoint in the search bar and select Microsoft SharePoint Connection Setup from the search results, where this legacy setup is available in the applicable Business Central environment.
Specify the required details on the setup page, such as the client ID, base URL, client secret, and other required information.
Once you have entered all the required details, click the Connect button.
Once connected, a pop-up window will appear with the message “Authentication finished.” This indicates that the SharePoint connection has been authenticated with Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Step 7:
To transfer or access data between the systems, you need to configure the Table Mapping feature where supported by the connector or integration method being used.
You will see a window where you need to specify the data table to be mapped with SharePoint.
If required, you can upload the desired document using the Upload Document button to transfer the relevant data or document to SharePoint.
Business Central SharePoint integration: Key considerations
Before implementing Business Central SharePoint integration, businesses should consider their Business Central version, SharePoint environment, security requirements, document structure, permissions, and the type of information that needs to be exchanged.
It is also important to determine whether the requirement is for simple document management, document access, data synchronisation, workflow automation, or a more advanced integration. This helps businesses choose an appropriate Microsoft-supported integration, extension, API-based approach, or third-party connector.
Final Thoughts
Business Central SharePoint integration can be implemented using different methods, but this blog has covered one of the available approaches. You can integrate SharePoint with your existing system and also explore other Microsoft Dynamics 365 integrations, such as Office, Skype, Power BI, and more.
It is possible that you may encounter issues while following these steps, particularly because the available Business Central and Microsoft 365 integration options can vary by version and configuration. In such cases, you can contact a certified Microsoft Solutions Partner, such as Dynamics Square, for assistance. We can help integrate the required native and third-party applications with your existing system while supporting your current business processes.
To resolve your integration requirements and accelerate your business growth, contact us on 0203 769 7689 or email info@dynamicssquare.co.uk.
See Also - Vend to Business Central Integration
