Introduction

In 2025-26, UK businesses are under more pressure than ever to streamline operations, reduce manual errors, and improve compliance. Dynamics 365 Business Central workflows have become one of the smartest, most cost-effective ways to automate approvals, standardise processes, and ensure that tasks move through your organisation without delays.

If you're looking to understand how to create custom workflows in Business Central, this comprehensive, step-by-step guide covers everything — from workflow templates and triggers to conditional approvals, Power Automate integrations, and real-world examples.

Whether you want to automate purchase order approvals, leave requests, credit limit checks, or financial postings, this guide will help you build robust, scalable, and audit-friendly Business Central workflows that actually work.

What Are Workflows in Business Central?

Workflows in Business Central allow you to create automated processes that handle tasks such as:

• Approvals
• Notifications
• Document routing
• Data validation
• Process automation
• Role-based task assignments

In simple terms, Business Central workflows replace manual steps with automated actions, ensuring consistency and accuracy across finance, sales, purchase, and operations processes.

Why UK Businesses Use Business Central Workflows

1. Reduces manual work by up to 60%

Automation eliminates repetitive tasks.

2. Boosts compliance and audit control

Every approval is logged and traceable.

3. Faster decision-making

Users get instant notifications for approvals or rejections.

4. Fewer errors and delays

Especially in finance & purchasing.

5. Works seamlessly with Power Automate

Great for advanced workflow automation.

Understanding Workflow Basics: Triggers, Conditions & Responses

Business Central workflows have three main components:

✔ Trigger (When something happens)

Example: A Purchase Order is created.

✔ Condition (If something is true)

Example: PO amount is greater than £2,000.

✔ Response (What should happen)

Example: Send to manager for approval.

These three parts make custom workflows incredibly flexible.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Build Custom Workflows in Business Central

Step 1: Navigate to the Workflow Module

Go to:

Search (Tell Me) → Workflows

Here, you’ll find:

• Workflow templates
• Active workflows
• Events and responses
• Workflow history

If you’re new, start by exploring workflow templates in Business Central — these are ready-made setups that you can customise.

Step 2: Choose a Workflow Template or Start from Scratch

Option A: Use a Workflow Template (Recommended)

Microsoft provides templates for:

• Purchase Order Approval
• Sales Order Approval
• Customer Credit Limit Changes
• General Journal Posting
• Purchase Invoice Approval

Using templates reduces setup time and avoids mistakes.

Option B: Create a New Workflow

If your process is unique, you can create a custom workflow using:

• Workflow events
• Workflow responses
• Workflow conditions

Step 3: Define Workflow Events (Triggers)

Events include:

• Document created
• Document modified
• Value changed
• Status changed
• Record released

For example:
“On Release of Purchase Document”
This means the workflow starts when someone tries to release a PO or invoice.

Step 4: Add Workflow Conditions

Conditions help make workflows smarter.

Examples:

• Amount > £5,000
• Vendor = X
• Location = UK Warehouse
• Posting date = current month
• Payment terms = 30 days

This enables conditional approvals in Business Central.

Step 5: Assign Workflow Responses

Responses determine what the system does.

Examples:

• Request Approval
• Send Notification
• Create Task
• Block Posting
• Auto Approve
• Reject Document
• Send Reminder

One of the most widely used workflows is:

“When PO Amount > £1,000 → Request Approval from Manager”

Step 6: Configure Approvers

Approvers can be:

• Line managers
• Finance controllers
• Project managers
• Purchasing heads
• CEO/Director (for higher thresholds)

Set this under:

Workflow Users → Approval User Setup

Here, you can define:

• Substitutes
• Direct approvers
• Approval chains
• Delegation rules

Step 7: Enable Notifications

Notifications ensure workflow users know when something needs attention.

You can enable:

• Email notifications
• Business Central alerts
• Teams notifications (via Power Automate)
• Mobile push alerts

Step 8: Activate the Workflow

Once everything is configured:

✔ Click "On" to activate your workflow.
✔ Test with a real document.
✔ Check the approval log for errors.

Congratulations — your custom Business Central workflow is now live!

Advanced Automations Using Power Automate

Business Central integrates deeply with Power Automate, allowing you to:

• Trigger Teams approval messages
• Send adaptive cards
• Automatically update SharePoint
• Create alerts in Outlook
• Auto-generate PDFs
• Send documents for e-signatures

This is ideal when BC’s built-in workflow engine is not enough.

Common Workflow Examples (That UK Businesses Use Daily)

1. Purchase Order Approval Workflow

Amount-based approval routing.

2. Sales Order Hold/Approval Workflow

Great for preventing orders from risky customers.

3. Vendor Bank Account Change Approval

Critical for fraud prevention.

4. General Journal Posting Workflow

Ensures financial control and compliance.

5. Customer Credit Limit Change Workflow

Reduces credit risk.

Workflow Best Practices (2025-26 Edition)

✔ Keep workflows simple — avoid too many conditions
✔ Always test with sample transactions
✔ Use templates where possible
✔ Document your workflow rules
✔ Enable approval delegation for holidays
✔ Sync approvals with Teams

Troubleshooting Common Workflow Errors

1. Workflow not triggering

Check if status is "Enabled".

2. Approval request not reaching user

Review approver setup.

3. Error: “Event could not be triggered”

Means document status doesn’t match the workflow trigger.

4. Power Automate flow not running

Check connection references.

Final Thoughts