What is Microsoft Power Automate and how does it work with Business Central?

Introduction

Within many organisations, there is a growing need to make processes smarter, faster, and more consistent. Especially for SMEs and organisations working with Microsoft Business Central, a large part of day-to-day work consists of repetitive tasks: approvals, notifications, document handling, and coordination between systems and departments.

Microsoft Power Automate was designed to support exactly these kinds of activities. Not by taking over core business processes, but by streamlining the processes around them. In this article, we explain what Power Automate is, where it fits within the Microsoft ecosystem, and how it adds practical value when combined with Business Central.

What is Microsoft Power Automate?

Microsoft Power Automate is a low-code automation service that allows you to build so-called flows. A flow starts when a trigger occurs and then automatically performs one or more actions across Microsoft 365, Business Central, or other connected systems.

The purpose of Power Automate is not to replace business logic, but to eliminate manual, error-prone “glue work”. Examples include chasing approvals, saving documents, sending notifications, or passing information between applications.

Power Automate supports two main types of automation:

• Cloud flows: automated, scheduled, or manually triggered workflows.
• Desktop flows (RPA): automation of desktop-based tasks when no clean API or standard integration is available.

When Business Central acts as the system of record for transactions, Power Automate can be seen as the runner that ensures information reaches the right people and systems at the right time.

Where Power Automate fits in the Microsoft stack

Power Automate is part of the Microsoft Power Platform. Within this platform, each component has a clearly defined role:

• Business Central: transactions, financial processing, logistics, and core administration
• Power Automate: process orchestration, notifications, approvals, and system handoffs
• Power Apps: lightweight apps and forms for capturing data and guiding users
• Power BI: reporting and analysis

For organisations, this means process improvements can be implemented without immediately resorting to custom software development or long-running IT projects. Incremental process optimisation becomes both achievable and scalable.

How Power Automate works with Business Central

Business Central Online (SaaS)

For Business Central Online, Microsoft provides a standard Power Automate connector. This supports:

• Automated flows, triggered by events such as record creation, modification, deletion, or schedules
• Instant flows, manually run by users from within Business Central via the Automate action on lists and cards
• Business events, using the “When a business event occurs (V3)” trigger

A key practical limitation is that the Business Central connector currently does not support service-to-service authentication (service principals or managed identities). This impacts certain integration designs and requires deliberate architectural choices.

Business Central On-Premises

There is also a Business Central on-premises connector (currently in preview). This connects via web services using a username and password and is subject to documented throttling limits, such as API calls per connection. While this can be useful for specific scenarios, it is generally not the starting point for high-volume or business-critical integrations without careful design and monitoring.

Who Power Automate is aimed at

Power Automate is particularly well suited for organisations that:

• Run many repeatable administrative processes, such as approvals, document filing, and notifications
• Work extensively with Microsoft 365 tools like Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint
• Use multiple systems and need reliable handoffs between them

In successful Business Central projects, we consistently see the best results when Power Automate is used to manage the process layer, while Business Central remains responsible for transactions and posting logic.

Where Power Automate genuinely adds value with Business Central

1. Approvals that align with real working patterns

Power Automate enables approvals through Teams or Outlook, including reminders, escalations, and routing rules. Business Central remains the system of record for what was approved and why.

2. Document and audit trail automation

A common win for finance teams is automatic document handling. For example, when a document is posted or marked as ready, a copy can be saved to SharePoint and relevant stakeholders notified, without manual intervention.

3. Exception alerts at the right moment

Overdue customers, blocked orders, stock issues, or margin exceptions can be pushed to the right people via Teams or email, ensuring issues are addressed quickly rather than discovered at month-end.

4. User-driven instant flows inside Business Central

Instant flows can be run directly on records from within Business Central. This significantly improves adoption, as users do not need to leave the screen they are already working in.

Power Automate vs Business Central workflows: which should you use?

The choice depends on what you are trying to achieve.

• For posting logic and ledger integrity, Business Central workflows are the right tool.
• For simple approvals fully contained within Business Central, native workflows may be sufficient.
• For approvals combined with Teams or Outlook notifications, escalations, or reminders, Power Automate offers far greater flexibility.
• For multi-app processes involving Business Central, Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook, Power Automate is the preferred option.
• For advanced integration patterns requiring service-to-service authentication, current connector limitations must be taken into account.

Licensing: the part everyone ignores until it hurts

Licensing is often underestimated. Costs depend on whether premium connectors are used and how flows are triggered. If an instant flow uses premium connectors, users who run it typically need a Power Automate Premium licence, or a process-based licence depending on the design.

Microsoft publishes pricing separately, and it changes over time. Always validate licensing assumptions against official Microsoft documentation before scoping a rollout.

Common mistakes to avoid

In practice, we frequently see:

• Automating a broken process, which simply results in broken outcomes faster
• Flows owned by a single individual, creating long-term operational risk
• Lack of error handling and monitoring, leading to silent failures
• Using Power Automate by default for high-volume data synchronisation, even though it is primarily designed for orchestration rather than heavy data integration

A sensible starting point for SMEs

We recommend starting small and focused:

1. Select one measurable process, such as approval routing, document filing, or exception alerts
2. Decide whether the trigger should be automated or user-initiated
3. Establish governance around naming, ownership, permissions, and error notifications
4. Pilot with a small group, then expand in a controlled manner

Conclusion

Power Automate is not a replacement for Business Central, but a powerful complement. When used correctly, it frees employees from repetitive process work while ensuring that information flows reliably and consistently across systems.