The Business Central Payables Agent is an AI-powered add-on from Microsoft that automates the vendor invoice entry process. Its goal is to reduce manual data entry while maintaining data accuracy, but it still gives users opportunities to review and correct information before invoices are posted. The Payable Agent processes vendor invoices received as PDF attachments and creates purchase invoices ready for standard accounting workflows.
How the Payables Agent Works
The typical process follows these steps:
- A vendor sends an invoice as a PDF attachment to a monitored mailbox, or an employee forwards the invoice to that mailbox.
- The Payables Agent detects unread emails through a job queue.
- Each PDF attachment is imported as an inbound e-document.
- The agent extracts invoice data using Azure Document Intelligence.
- The system identifies the appropriate vendor in Business Central.
- Invoice details are suggested and prepared in a draft purchase document.
- Users review and adjust information if necessary.
- The agent creates a purchase invoice that is ready for posting.
The exact workflow may vary depending on invoice quality, vendor history, and overall confidence in data extraction.
Vendor identification and data extraction
After reading invoice data from the PDF, the Payables Agent attempts to match the invoice to an existing vendor. If the system cannot confidently identify the vendor, users can assist the process and, when appropriate, allow the agent to create a new vendor record. The tool can populate vendor card information using OCR-extracted data, reducing the amount of manual setup required. Before a transaction is finalized, users can review and edit any extracted information.
Setting up the Payables Agent
Configuration is completed through the Payables Agent Setup Wizard.
Key setup steps include:
• Activating the Payables Agent.
• Selecting a monitored shared mailbox.
• Enabling mailbox monitoring.
• Configuring email review preferences.
• Updating processing preferences as needed.
Organizations should carefully determine who has access to the monitored mailbox and establish procedures for managing incoming vendor invoices.
Reviewing and processing invoices
Invoices enter the system through the Inbound E-Documents page, where users can:
• View sender information and received dates.
• Review extracted invoice information.
• Open attached PDFs for verification and auditing purposes.
• Edit incorrectly scanned or incomplete fields.
• Approve the information for processing.
• Create and finalize purchase invoice drafts.
Even though the process is automated, users maintain full control over validating and correcting invoice details before posting.
Benefits of the Payables Agent
Organizations may benefit from:
• Reduced manual invoice entry.
• Faster invoice processing.
• Improved data consistency.
• Automated document capture and extraction.
• Streamlined purchasing workflows.
• Continued user oversight and control.
The solution helps accounts payable teams spend less time entering data and more time maintaining confidence in posted transactions.
Current limitations
Before implementing the Payables Agent, organizations should be aware of several limitations:
• Only PDF attachments are supported.
• A maximum of 10 PDFs can be processed per email.
• PDF files larger than 5 MB are not supported.
• Purchase order matching is not currently supported.
• Approval workflows are not currently supported.
• AI interactions consume Copilot credits and may incur associated costs. Organizations should review licensing, billing, and operational requirements before deployment.
Key takeaways
• The Payables Agent automates invoice intake from emailed PDF documents.
• Azure Document Intelligence extracts invoice data and helps identify vendors.
• Users can review, edit, and approve information throughout the process.
• The solution reduces manual data entry while maintaining data integrity.
• New vendor records can be created using extracted invoice data when needed.
• Organizations should understand current limitations related to file sizes, purchase order matching, and approval workflows.
• Copilot credit consumption and billing requirements should be evaluated before implementation.
