How to Automate Financial Workflows in Business Central

Managing finances is one of the most time-consuming parts of running a business — especially when teams rely on manual processes, spreadsheets, and emails to handle approvals, invoices, and reconciliations. These manual workflows often lead to delays, errors, and missed opportunities to improve efficiency. 

That’s where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central comes in. Designed for growing businesses, Business Central helps you automate financial workflows — saving time, reducing risk, and providing real-time visibility into your financial health. 

In this blog, we’ll explore how automation in Business Central transforms accounting processes and helps finance teams focus on strategy instead of repetitive tasks. 

Why Automate Financial Workflows? 

Financial automation is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity for accuracy, speed, and scalability. 

Here’s what automation can help you achieve:  

✅ Save time by eliminating manual data entry and approvals.  

✅ Reduce errors through standardized processes and built-in checks.  

✅ Improve visibility with real-time dashboards and reporting.  

✅ Accelerate month-end close with automated reconciliations and journal postings.  

✅ Ensure compliance by tracking every approval and transaction. 

With Business Central, all your financial operations — from purchase orders to bank reconciliations — can be connected and automated, so your team can focus on decision-making, not data entry. 

1️⃣ Automate Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) Workflows 

The purchase-to-pay cycle — from raising a purchase order to paying a vendor — is full of repetitive steps.  In Business Central, you can: 

• Set approval workflows for purchase orders and invoices. 

• Automatically match invoices with purchase receipts and approvals. 

• Schedule payments based on due dates or early payment discounts. 

  
  

💡 Example:  When an invoice is received, Business Central can automatically check if it matches the PO and goods receipt. If it does, the system posts it for payment — no manual review needed. 

This reduces delays and ensures vendor payments stay accurate and on time. 

2️⃣ Streamline Quote-to-Cash (Sales) Processes 

Sales and receivables are just as important to automate.  With Business Central, you can: 

• Automatically send invoices once goods or services are delivered. 

• Set up recurring invoices for ongoing contracts or service agreements. 

• Send reminders for overdue payments or upcoming due dates. 

• Automate customer approvals and track payment statuses in real time. 

  
  

💡 Why it matters:  Automation helps maintain healthy cash flow and improves customer relationships by keeping billing consistent and accurate — without chasing paper trails. 

3️⃣ Automate Bank Reconciliations 

One of the most tedious accounting tasks is bank reconciliation — but in Business Central, it can happen automatically. 

You can: 

• Import bank statements directly from your financial institution. 

• Match transactions automatically with general ledger entries. 

• Flag discrepancies for manual review. 

  
  

💡 Pro Tip: Set up rules for transaction matching (like invoice number or vendor name) to speed up reconciliation even further. 

This not only saves hours each month but also reduces the risk of missed or duplicated entries. 

4️⃣ Journal Entry and Accrual Automation 

Manual journal entries are prone to errors — especially when handled by multiple team members. 

Business Central allows you to: 

• Create recurring journals for monthly entries like rent, utilities, or depreciation. 

• Automate accrual postings for expenses or revenues that span multiple periods. 

• Use templates to ensure consistent formatting and GL coding. 

  
  

💡 Example:  Instead of entering the same rent expense every month, you can set a recurring journal entry that posts automatically on the first of each month — ensuring accuracy and saving time. 

5️⃣ Budgeting and Forecasting Automation 

Financial planning gets easier when data flows automatically between departments. 

In Business Central, you can: 

• Automate budget imports and updates from Excel or Power BI. 

• Link actual vs. budget reports for real-time variance analysis. 

• Set automated notifications when costs exceed thresholds or budgets. 

  
  

💡 Why it matters:  Instead of manually compiling spreadsheets, your finance team can focus on analyzing trends and planning future growth. 

6️⃣ Automate Financial Reporting 

Business Central comes with built-in financial dashboards and reporting automation tools.  

You can: 

• Schedule reports (e.g., profit & loss, balance sheet) to run automatically. 

• Deliver reports via email to management on a set schedule. 

• Integrate with Power BI to visualize KPIs and drill down into details. 

  
  

💡 Example:  Automatically email your CFO a weekly cash flow report every Monday — no need to run it manually. 

7️⃣ Approval Workflows for Financial Control 

Approvals are essential for compliance and internal control.  In Business Central, you can automate approvals for: 

• Purchase orders 

• Vendor invoices 

• Expense reimbursements 

• Journal entries 

  
  

Each approval is logged with timestamps, ensuring a clear audit trail for accountability and compliance. 

💡 Pro Tip: Tailor your approval rules based on departments or amounts — for example, auto-approve invoices under $500 but route anything higher for manager review. 

8️⃣ Leveraging Power Automate for Custom Workflows 

Microsoft Power Automate integrates seamlessly with Business Central to extend automation even further. 

You can create custom workflows such as: 

• Sending Teams or email notifications when a payment is approved. 

• Updating project managers when budgets exceed limits. 

• Generating task reminders for upcoming financial close deadlines. 

  
  

💡 Why it matters:  This flexibility lets you build automations that fit your exact business process — no coding required. 

Benefits of Financial Automation in Business Central 

When you automate your financial workflows, you’re not just saving time — you’re transforming how your finance team operates. 

Here’s what you gain:  

✅ Faster month-end closings  

✅ Greater financial accuracy  

✅ Stronger compliance and audit control  

✅ Better visibility into company performance  

✅ Happier teams focused on strategy, not spreadsheets 

Partner with The BC Team 

At The BC Team, we specialize in helping businesses like yours unlock the full potential of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. 

We’ll help you: 

• Identify and automate your most time-consuming financial workflows. 

• Customize approval processes for your operations. 

• Set up dashboards, reporting, and Power Automate integrations. 

• Train your team to confidently manage automation in-house. 

  
  

💼 Whether you’re a construction firm, distributor, or service-based company, our team ensures your ERP works as efficiently as your business does. 

Final Thoughts 

Automation isn’t about replacing people — it’s about empowering them.  With Business Central, your finance team can spend less time on manual tasks and more time driving strategy and growth. 

🚀 Start your financial automation journey today.  

Contact The BC Team to learn how to transform your accounting workflows with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.  

👉 Visit our website to learn more.