Integration · Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
AI quote and order automation for Business Central
ERP Agent reads the customer’s request from email, PDF or Excel, identifies the right items in your Business Central item list, brings in that customer’s prices and discounts from Business Central and creates a sales quote or sales order once your rep has approved it. We set up the Business Central connection for your company during onboarding.
What ERP Agent reads from Business Central
The connection runs through the standard Business Central REST API (API v2.0) and signs in with Microsoft Entra ID. ERP Agent works from your item list as it is today.
| Data in Business Central | Where it comes from | What ERP Agent does with it |
|---|---|---|
| Items and item variants | API v2.0: items, itemVariants | Identifies the right item and variant for every request line from the customer’s own wording, and checks each item number exists before anything is written |
| Units of measure | API v2.0: unitsOfMeasure | Puts each line in a unit of measure Business Central knows |
| Customers | API v2.0: customers | Finds the customer behind the request, warns the rep when none matches and flags a delivery address that differs from the one in Business Central |
| Customer prices and discounts | The sales price lists and line discounts set up in Business Central | Brings in the price and discount Business Central sets for that customer, so the rep reviews the draft with real prices |
Your item list, price lists and customer records stay exactly as they are: the agent reads them and never changes them.
What ERP Agent writes to Business Central
Two documents, both written only after a rep has approved the draft.
| Document | API v2.0 | What is written |
|---|---|---|
| Sales quote | salesQuotes, salesQuoteLines | The customer, the customer’s own reference and every approved line with item, variant, quantity and unit of measure, priced from Business Central or at the price your rep set in review |
| Sales order | salesOrders, salesOrderLines | The same lines, plus the requested delivery date and the ship-to address taken from the request |
Both are ordinary Business Central documents your team opens and edits like any other. When a customer accepts a quote, Make Order turns it into a sales order as usual.
Why Business Central teams add an AI quote agent
The hard part of a quote is not typing it into Business Central. It is reading “20 x 2.5 T&E 100m grey” or a customer’s own part number and knowing which item that is, what this customer pays for it and which lines need a second look. According to our case study, a sales rep spends on average 4–7 minutes per line when creating quotes and orders by hand; for a 30-line enquiry, that is two to three and a half hours.
ERP Agent does that groundwork. It is the first agentic AI layer for wholesale distribution ERP systems, and on Business Central it works on top of the system you already run: no replacement project, and nothing changes for your customers. They get answers sooner, reps spend their time on judgement and selling, and new reps are productive sooner. Put a number on today’s manual work with the quote cost calculator.
The same agent runs quote automation and order entry automation on any ERP; this page covers what it does inside Business Central.
How Business Central quote automation works
A request reaches the agent
Reps forward the customer’s email from Outlook to your company’s own agent mailbox, or paste it into the web app as it is and choose quote or sales order. PDF (scanned too), Excel, CSV, Word, images and forwarded emails all work. Your own systems can send requests through the REST API or the MCP server.
It finds the customer and the items
The customer is identified from the request and matched in Business Central. Abbreviations, dimensions, materials, part numbers and customer codes are mapped to your items, and candidates that contradict a stated size, voltage or rating class are pushed down. A request in one language finds items described in another. A line too vague to identify goes on your placeholder item with the customer’s wording kept, never a guess.
Prices come from Business Central
Each line carries the price and line discount your Business Central price lists set for that customer. Standard fee rows, such as packing, are added following your rules.
A rep reviews the draft
Lines appear in the table as they are matched. The rep checks the marked ones, takes an alternative where needed, makes changes in quote chat and approves.
It is created in Business Central
Every item number is checked against Business Central first, so a document never carries a number Business Central doesn’t know. A short countdown lets the rep cancel. The lines your team sends teach the agent: the next time a customer writes the same thing, it picks the same item.
Example: an emailed enquiry becomes a Business Central sales quote
An electrical contractor emails a list to an electrical and industrial wholesaler that runs Business Central. The rep forwards it to the agent mailbox, which is set to create quotes.
“Can you price the below for the Leeds job? Delivery to site next Thursday, usual account.”
- 20 x 2.5 T&E 100m grey
- 10 x 20A DP isolator IP66
- 50 x M20 brass stuffing gland
- 6 x 4ft LED batten 40W 4000K
- 15 x our ref EL-2290
- 1 x misc fixings for tray
| Request line | Proposed Business Central item | Qty | Match | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 T&E 100m grey | Twin & earth cable 6242Y 2.5 mm², grey, 100 m drum | 20 | 96 | “T&E” read as twin and earth; size and drum length match. |
| 20A DP isolator IP66 | Rotary isolator 20 A, double pole, IP66 | 10 | 91 | IP65 models pushed down. |
| M20 brass stuffing gland | Stuffing gland M20, brass | 50 | 93 | Thread size and material match. |
| 4ft LED batten 40W 4000K | LED batten 1200 mm, 40 W, 4000 K, single | 6 | 78 | Single and twin versions both fit; marked for review (under 80). |
| our ref EL-2290 | Cable tray 150 mm, perforated, 3 m | 15 | 98 | The customer’s own code, learned from an earlier quote. |
| misc fixings for tray | Placeholder item, wording kept | 1 | – | Too vague to identify; the rep decides. |
Illustrative example with sample items, codes and scores. In a real draft each line also carries the customer’s price from Business Central, and the Leeds site address is flagged because it differs from the customer’s address in Business Central.
What the rep sees before anything reaches Business Central
- A match score from 0 to 100. Lines under 80 are marked, so review starts where judgement is needed. How the match score works.
- Reasoning. Open a line to see why the agent chose that item.
- Alternatives. Runner-up items are kept for every line; take one instead with a click.
- Quote chat. Add or remove rows or change quantities and prices, then approve or reject each proposed edit line by line.
- Your team stays in control. The rep approves the draft before it is created in Business Central, and nothing reaches a customer without approval.
Security and control
- GDPR-compliant, zero data retention. ERP Agent is GDPR-compliant, and models run with zero data retention. More on security and data handling.
- Access agreed first. Before setup, we agree which data the agent needs and which systems it can access.
- Only the permissions the work needs. The connection signs in as its own Microsoft Entra application, enabled on the Microsoft Entra Applications page in Business Central with just the permission sets we agree. Business Central never gives such an application the SUPER permission set.
- A person approves. Nothing is written to Business Central until a rep approves the draft, and nothing reaches a customer without your team.
- Reads, never rewrites. Items, prices and customer records are read; the agent creates quotes and orders and changes nothing else.
Onboarding: what we need from you
We set up the Business Central connection for your company during onboarding. Your reps don’t wait for it: they start with a catalogue file the same week.
A catalogue export
An export of your item list from Business Central, for example to Excel or CSV. Reps forward real requests from the first week, reviewing every draft in the web app. See starting from a catalogue file.
An app registration
Your Microsoft 365 admin registers an application for ERP Agent in Microsoft Entra ID and enables it in Business Central with the permission sets we agree. We send the exact list.
Your environment and company
Which Business Central environment and company the agent works in. Start in a sandbox environment if you prefer.
Your rules and history
Which placeholder item takes lines too vague to identify, which fee rows the agent adds, and past quotes or Outlook email history, so the agent learns how your customers write.
Live in Business Central
Once the connection is live, customer prices come from Business Central and approved quotes and orders are created there directly.
ERP Agent in numbers
- 4–7 min
- per line to create quotes and orders by hand, according to our case study
- 95%
- average automation across our customers
- 3–8 min
- for the agent to prepare a typical request
- 1–3 min
- in fast mode, for requests of up to about 50 lines
Business Central today, any ERP tomorrow
ERP Agent integrates with Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, Sage and any other ERP or CRM. We set up the connection for your company during onboarding, and you can start with a catalogue file the same week. Group companies on different systems use the same agent and the same review screen on each. See Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management, NetSuite and all integrations.
ERP Agent is live with steel, HVAC and fastener distributors. What it checks on each line follows your trade: cable sizes and IP ratings for electrical wholesalers, DIN and ISO codes for fastener distributors, grades and lengths for steel stockholders.
Frequently asked questions
Does ERP Agent work with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Yes. ERP Agent reads items, customers and prices from Business Central through its standard API and creates sales quotes and sales orders there after a rep approves. We set up the connection for your company during onboarding, and you can start with a catalogue file the same week.
Does it create sales quotes or sales orders in Business Central?
Both. In the web app the rep chooses quote or sales order for each request; emails forwarded to the agent mailbox become the document type your company has chosen. For customer purchase orders arriving by email, see purchase order to sales order automation.
Does ERP Agent replace Business Central’s own Copilot features?
No, it adds a dedicated quote and order agent alongside them. Business Central’s built-in Copilot features are general AI assistance inside the ERP. ERP Agent is built for wholesale requests: it identifies the right items from customers’ shorthand in requests of several hundred lines, scores every line from 0 to 100 with its reasoning and alternatives, matches across languages and learns from the lines your team sends. See AI quote automation for distributors.
What does ERP Agent need access to in Business Central?
Read access to items, item variants, units of measure, customers and pricing, and permission to create sales quotes and sales orders. Access runs through a Microsoft Entra application your admin enables in Business Central with only those permission sets, and we agree the scope with you before setup.
Which Business Central versions does it work with?
Business Central online, and Business Central installed on your own servers in versions that offer API v2.0. Online, the API is always on and signs in with Microsoft Entra ID; on your own servers, your administrator enables the API and makes it reachable. On an older Dynamics NAV version, we look at the web services your version publishes and agree the route during onboarding.
Where do the prices on a Business Central quote come from?
From Business Central: the sales price lists and line discounts set up for that customer apply to each line. The rep can review and edit any price before sending.
How do we get started?
Book a call and bring a few real requests. You start with a catalogue file the same week, and we set up the Business Central connection during onboarding. Pricing is a setup fee plus a monthly subscription, with an itemised quote before you start. See pricing.
Related
- AI quote automation for distributors and wholesalers
- Order entry automation for distributors: customer POs to sales orders
- ERP integrations for AI quote and order automation, on any ERP system
- Microsoft 365 / Outlook integration: the agent mailbox for quotes and orders
- Electrical distributor quote automation with AI: from contractor enquiry to reviewed quote
- Industrial supplies distributor quote automation: from MRO enquiry to reviewed quote
Let’s look at your quote workflow
Bring a request from your inbox
Book a 30-minute call with a few real requests; we’ll show how the agent handles them with your items and what connecting your Business Central involves.
- Your requests and product catalogue
- Your pricing and review process
- A clear scope for the next step
Lauri Pelkonen
Founder & CEO
Book a 30-minute call Request a demo by emailOr use the address directly