If your Power App or Flow uses any premium connector (Business Central is premium), every user needs a premium license—even for read-only access.
| Capability | Benefit for Business Central | |------------|-------------------------------| | | Build custom forms and data entry screens that read/write to BC without touching the BC UI. | | Power Automate | Create automated workflows (e.g., "When a sales invoice exceeds $10k, trigger a VP approval") that run outside BC's native workflow engine. | | Power BI | Visualize BC data in real-time with paginated reports and interactive dashboards embedded directly into BC role centers. | | Power Pages | Build external-facing portals (e.g., vendor registration or customer order status) connected securely to BC. | Key Insight: Microsoft’s strategy is clear—Business Central is the "system of record"; Power Platform is the "system of engagement." 3. Core Scenarios: Extending BC with Power Platform Below are three common, high-value extensions you can build today. Scenario A: Multi-Stage Approval Flows (Power Automate + BC) The Problem: BC’s native approval workflow lacks conditional branching (e.g., if Dept = Sales → approve, if Dept = Finance → escalate). If your Power App or Flow uses any
Use Postman to call https://api.businesscentral.dynamics.com/v2.0/tenantId/api/v2.0/companies and confirm your key BC tables are exposed. | | Power BI | Visualize BC data
Download the official Microsoft "Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Business Central" whitepaper from Microsoft Learn, or contact your partner to run a 1-day design workshop. Appendix: Useful Resources | Resource | Link (QR code placeholder) | |----------|-----------------------------| | Business Central Connector Docs | learn.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/dynamics365businesscentral/ | | Power Platform CoE Toolkit | aka.ms/CoEStarterKit | | API Limits & Performance | docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/performance/performance-users | | Licensing Guide (PDF) | aka.ms/PPLicensingGuide | Legal Disclaimer: This document is for informational purposes only. Microsoft, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Business Central are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Pricing estimates are subject to change. Core Scenarios: Extending BC with Power Platform Below
Traditionally, extending Business Central required hiring AL language developers or purchasing expensive ISV solutions. Today, (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Pages) offers a low-code alternative that empowers both professional developers and citizen integrators.
Create a Center of Excellence (CoE) Starter Kit for Power Platform. 8. Conclusion: The Hybrid Future Extending Business Central with Power Platform is not a "lesser" alternative to AL development—it is a complementary strategy . Use AL for deep, transaction-heavy logic that runs inside BC. Use Power Platform for agility, user experience, cross-system workflows, and analytics.
Organizations that combine BC’s robust ERP backend with Power Platform’s low-code frontend achieve faster time-to-value, lower total cost of ownership, and higher user adoption.