Connect to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Data Hub connects to Business Central using Service-to-Service (S2S) authentication via Microsoft Entra ID. This method allows Data Hub to access Business Central without requiring a user to sign in interactively. Before creating the connection in Data Hub, you need to register an application in Microsoft Entra ID, configure it in Business Central, and note the credentials you'll use in the connection settings.

Note: The Business Central connection queries data live; no replication environment is required.

Prerequisite Tasks

You need Microsoft Azure administrator access and Business Central administrator access to complete these steps.

Step 1: Register an app in Microsoft Entra ID

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Azure portal as an administrator.
2. Search for and select Microsoft Entra ID.
3. Under Manage, select App registrations, then select New registration.
4. Fill in the registration details:

   Field	Value
   Name	Enter a name. For example, Data Hub.
   Supported account types	Select either Accounts in this organizational directory only (Microsoft only - Single tenant) or Accounts in any organizational directory (Any Microsoft Entra ID directory - Multitenant).

5. Select Register.
6. On the Overview page, copy the Application (client) ID and the Directory (tenant) ID and store them securely. You will need both when creating the connection in Data Hub.

For more information, see Register an application with the Microsoft identity platform in the Microsoft Documentation.

Step 2: Create a client secret

1. In the app registration you just created, select Certificates & secrets under Manage.
2. Select New client secret.
3. Enter a description and select an expiry period. Choose the longest available period to minimize disruption.
4. Select Add.
5. Copy the Value immediately and store it securely. This value is displayed only once and cannot be retrieved after you leave this page.

Important: Do not copy the Secret ID, copy the Value.

For more information, see Add a client secret in the Microsoft Documentation.

Step 3: Grant API permissions

1. In the app registration, select API permissions under Manage.
2. Select Add a permission.
3. Under Select Microsoft APIs, select Dynamics 365 Business Central.
4. Select Application permissions, then select API.ReadWrite.All and Automation.ReadWrite.All.
5. Select Add permissions. The API permissions page will include one of the following entries:

   API/Permission name	Type	Description
   Dynamics 365 Business Central / Automation.ReadWrite.All	Application	Full access to automation
   Dynamics 365 Business Central / API.ReadWrite.All	Application	Access to APIs and webservices

6. Select Grant admin consent for <tenant name> for each permission, then select Yes. The status for the permission should update to Granted. You can also perform this step when configuring the Microsoft Entra app in Business Central.

For more information, see Request API permissions in the Microsoft Documentation.

Step 4: Configure the app in Business Central

1. Sign in to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as an administrator.
2. Select the search icon, search for Microsoft Entra Applications, and select the result.
3. Select New to create a new application entry.
4. Fill in the details:

   Field	Value
   Client ID	Paste the Application (client) ID copied in Step 1.
   Description	Enter a description. For example, Data Hub. If this application is set up by a partner, please enter sufficient partner-identifying information, so all applications set up by this partner can be tracked in the future if necessary.
   State	Select Enabled.

5. Under User Permission Sets, assign permissions to objects as needed. For more information, see Assign Permissions to Users and Groups in the Microsoft documentation.

   Important: Applications cannot be assigned the SUPER permission set. Ensure that applications follow the principle of least privilege by assigning only the permissions required for the integration to function.

   Note: The system permission sets and user groups called D365 AUTOMATION and EXTEN. MGT. - ADMIN provide access to most typical objects used with automation. The EXTEN. MGT. - ADMIN permission set was introduced in Business Central 2021 release wave 1 as a replacement for the D365 EXTENSION MGT permission set in earlier versions.

6. Select Grant Consent at the top of the page. Enter your Business Central credentials when prompted and select Accept. You should see a confirmation message: Consent was given successfully. You can only complete this step if you have configured a redirect URL in the registered Microsoft Entra app.

Create a Connection

Once you have completed the prerequisites, you are ready to set up the connection in Data Hub.

1. In Data Hub, go to Connections and select Add Connection.
2. Search for and select Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Basics tab

1. Enter a Connection Name and an optional Description.
2. Select Next.

Connect tab

Fill in the following fields:

Select Test Connection to verify the connection, then select Next. A successful connection test is required before you can create the connection.

Advanced tab

The following settings are pre-configured with recommended values. You only need to change them if your environment has specific requirements.

Display Settings

Web Client

Performance

Select Create Connection.

Your Business Central data source is ready and appears on the Connections page.