E-Documents in Business Central: how the module is built

Business Central has a module for electronic documents called E-Documents. It is built as a framework in which format, connection and flow are separate. That makes it flexible, but also a little hard to take in. The article goes through the parts that Microsoft Learn describes, so you can see where to start when you want to send or receive e-invoices. You also get a list of what requires agreements outside Business Central.

A core that can be extended

According to Microsoft Learn, you must install the E-Document Core app in your environment to use the features. The app is a common base that can be extended for local and industry-specific requirements by building more apps on top. Microsoft mentions localizations for, among others, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Spain and Australia. The UAE is not on the list as it stood in October 2026.

The service and the document format

The central place is called E-Document Services. Here you create a service and choose a document format. By default there are two choices: PEPPOL BIS 3, which is a generic code-based format, and Data Exchange, where you set up a data exchange definition yourself for import and export.

Types of documents depend on the format. The examples in Microsoft Learn are sales invoice, sales credit memo and purchase invoice. You can see which document types a format covers under the action for configuring documents for export. If a format is not covered, developers can create new ones using the interface Microsoft has documented.

The connection to an access point

To receive documents, you must connect to an external access point. Microsoft Learn mentions Pagero, Avalara, Logiq, SignUp and B2BRouter, and writes that more are available on the Marketplace. You choose the service integration on the E-Document service and fill in the details the provider gives you. These may be client ID, secret, environment and tenant.

Microsoft states clearly that the connections require communication with external providers, who may require their own payments and agreements. So connecting is not free just because the module exists.

The flow: sending profile and workflow

Sending is controlled by two things. The document sending profile on the customer decides that the document is sent as an e-document, and that it happens with the extended E-Document service flow. The workflow decides what happens in which order: create, export, send. Microsoft has templates for sending to one or several services.

You can also create e-documents from posted documents afterwards, if you need to send something that was posted without e-document processing.

Receiving, status and retention

On receipt you can turn on automatic import and decide whether a purchase document is created automatically. You can also choose to create draft lines instead. There are options for item reference lookup, GTIN, account mapping and checking of totals.

Each document has a status and a log. For logs and data you can set up retention policies, because local legislation may require documents to be kept for a certain period.

There is also a Copilot preview for matching e-documents to purchase order lines. It is marked as preview, so assess it yourself before you build a process on it.

What the module does not do for you, and next steps

E-Documents does not decide what a country's legislation requires. It is a technical framework. Which fields must be filled in, which provider you must use, and when the requirement applies, you must find with the authority in the country concerned.

The module also cannot fix poor master data. If the customer lacks a VAT number or a reference that the format requires, the error shows up at export or at the recipient. So spend time testing with real customers, and read Microsoft Learn again when you update Business Central.

We help set up the module and test it. We are working on an e-invoicing app for Business Central. It is an idea under development, it is not available, and it has no price or date. You can see what we are working on at the link below.