The Business Central add-in for Outlook helps users work more efficiently by giving them the ability to create and manage Business Central documents directly in Outlook. Information contained in customer emails can be used to generate sales documents without switching between applications.

Setting up the Outlook add-in

Before users can create Business Central documents from Outlook, the Outlook Add-in must be installed and connected to Business Central. The setup process is initiated from Business Central using the Get Outlook add-in feature. Microsoft provides installation guidance to help complete the connection between the two applications.

Using email content to create sales documents

When an email is received, the Outlook add-in can analyze the message content to identify information that may be used on a sales document. For example, item descriptions and quantities contained within the email can be detected and proposed as sales order lines. The sender's email address is also used to identify the associated customer record in Business Central. This connection automatically populates customer information when a sales document is created.

Customer contact requirements

The email sender must be associated with a customer or vendor record in Business Central. If the sender's email address is not linked to an existing contact, the system will prevent document creation to avoid assigning transactions to the wrong customer. If a contact does not exist, users must create and connect the contact record within Business Central before processing documents from that sender's emails.

Creating a sales order from Outlook

When creating a sales order, the add-in scans the email and proposes document lines based on the information it identifies. Users can review the suggested lines and choose which items should be included on the order. After confirming the selections:

• The customer is assigned automatically based on the sender's linked contact record.
• Customer information is populated from the Business Central customer card.
• Suggested item lines and quantities are added to the sales order.
• Existing customer-specific defaults may also be applied.

The sales order can then be reviewed and edited before it is finalized.

Editing and processing documents

Once a document is created, users can make the same updates they would normally perform within Business Central. Lines can be adjusted, quantities can be changed, and additional information can be added as needed. Users can also continue the sales process directly from Outlook, including releasing and posting documents, or switch to Business Central to complete those actions there.

Creating other sales documents

The same process can be used to create additional document types like sales invoices. The add-in reviews the email, proposes applicable lines, allows users to select the information they want to include, and then creates the selected document in Business Central.

Key takeaways

• The Outlook add-in connects Outlook and Business Central to streamline sales processes.
• Email content can be analyzed to create sales orders and sales invoices.
• Senders must be linked to customer or vendor contacts before documents can be created.
• Suggested document lines can be reviewed and modified before finalizing the document.
• Users can edit, release, and post documents directly from Outlook or continue working in Business Central.