How to import purchase invoices into Business Central

Dynamics 365 Business Central imports purchase invoices through a configuration package: Microsoft’s default package includes the Purchase Header and Purchase Line tables, which you can export to Excel, fill in and import back, as described in Use Excel to import data. Microsoft positions configuration packages for setting up a new company, so for invoices that arrive every day the documented routes are the Purchase Invoices page or an integration that creates the invoices for you.

This guide covers the configuration package steps, what Microsoft says about using them in a live company, and where automation fits. Everything about Business Central here comes from Microsoft Learn, checked on 16 October 2026.

Can you import purchase invoices into Business Central from Excel?

Yes. The default configuration package has 27 tables, covering master data such as vendors, items and G/L accounts, plus transaction tables. Purchase Header and Purchase Line are on that list. When you export the package to Excel, the workbook has one worksheet per table, and you can import the completed workbook back on the Configuration Packages page.

There is an important caveat. In Apply company configuration packages, Microsoft says to use RapidStart configuration packages only when setting up a company for the first time, and that they aren’t intended for companies already in production. Large imports can affect performance for every user while they run. For companies in production, Microsoft recommends an XMLport, which is a developer-built import object.

So a configuration package suits a one-off load, such as bringing open invoices across from a previous system during a migration. It is a poor fit as the regular way to get this week’s supplier invoices in.

What you need before you import

• The right permissions. Microsoft’s guide to setting up packages says the user who exports needs Direct Read effective permissions on every table in the package, and the user who imports needs Direct Insert and Direct Modify. Indirect permissions aren’t enough.

• A workbook exported from the Configuration Packages page. Microsoft says Excel data must come from that export so it matches the Business Central data structure.

• Vendors, G/L accounts, items and posting groups already set up, so each invoice line has something valid to point at.

• Unchanged columns. If a column in the exported worksheet is moved, changed or deleted, the worksheet can’t be imported.

You can’t import into tables that hold posted entries, such as vendor ledger entries. Microsoft’s Set up company configuration packages page says to add those through journals after the import.

How to import purchase invoices into Business Central with a configuration package

1. Open the Configuration Packages page and select the default package, or a copy of it. You can also create your own package that holds just the Purchase Header and Purchase Line tables.

2. Export the package to Excel. The workbook has a worksheet for each table in the package.

3. On the Purchase Header worksheet, enter one row for each invoice. On the Purchase Line worksheet, enter the lines for each invoice. Leave the column layout exactly as exported.

4. Back on the Configuration Packages page, import the workbook from Excel.

5. Check the No. of Package Errors field. If it shows errors, drill down to the Config. Package Records page and choose Show Error to see the reason for each one. Fix them in the workbook and import it again.

6. Validate the package, then apply it to write the records into the company.

7. Open the Purchase Invoices page, review the imported invoices and post them. Microsoft’s posting actions include Post, Preview Posting and Post Batch, which posts several documents at once.

Steps checked against Microsoft’s Business Central help on 16 October 2026.

How to enter a purchase invoice in Business Central by hand

For invoices that arrive day to day, Microsoft’s guide to recording purchases with purchase invoices describes the on-screen route. You open the Purchase Invoices page, enter the vendor in the Vendor Name field, add lines with the item or account, quantity and cost, then choose Post. Preview Posting shows the ledger entries before anything is updated.

If the Ext. Doc. No. Mandatory field is selected on the Purchases & Payables Setup page, Business Central won’t post a purchase invoice without a value in the Vendor Invoice No. field. That number is what you later search on to find the posted entry.

What are the limits of a manual import?

• Someone still reads every invoice. The supplier’s PDF has to be turned into rows in the workbook by hand, header and lines, before the import can run.

• Microsoft does not recommend it for a live company. The configuration package route is designed for first-time setup, and its documented production alternative is a developer-built XMLport.

• Errors appear at import time. A wrong vendor number, an invalid option or a date entered as text only shows up in the package errors after the file goes in.

• Coding, matching and approval happen afterwards. The workbook carries values; checking an invoice against its purchase order and receipt, and routing it for approval, happen in Business Central once the invoice exists.

• The invoice image stays behind. The workbook holds field values only, so the supplier’s PDF does not travel with the imported invoice.

How to automate purchase invoice processing in Business Central

The automated route does the same job in a different order. Each invoice is captured as it arrives, read, coded, matched and approved, and only then created in Business Central through the integration. Nobody builds a spreadsheet, and anything that fails a check is held for your team before it reaches the ledger.

Stratas connects directly to Business Central through its API. Vendor records, G/L accounts, dimensions and posting groups sync from Business Central. Invoices are forwarded from any channel, and Stratas reads headers, line items and tax breakdowns from PDFs, scans and e-invoices, with 89% field-level extraction accuracy.

• Matching against Business Central purchase orders and posted receipts, at header or line level, with variance handling that follows your existing tolerances.

• Dimensions assigned to each line: global and shortcut dimensions are kept, coding follows your rules and posting history, and default dimensions from the vendor or G/L account are respected.

• Approval through your existing Business Central approval workflow, so approval entries are created and cleared in Business Central and approvers can act by email or inside it.

• Posting as purchase invoice documents with the correct dimensions, posting groups and VAT product codes, with the original PDF attached to the record.

• Several Business Central companies in one Stratas instance, each with its own dimensions, number series and approval routing.

It works with Business Central online and on-premises, and with Dynamics NAV for teams that haven’t moved yet. For the matching step in more detail, see our guide to three-way matching. If your group runs Dynamics 365 Finance, the equivalent guide is how to automate invoice processing in Dynamics 365 Finance.