What Business Central Must Have in Place
E-Invoice Platform builds on standard Business Central rather than replacing parts of it. This article lists every standard feature the app depends on, what the app needs from each one, and where the app-specific catch is. It does not explain how those standard features work in general — the links go to Microsoft's own documentation for that.
Use this article when you are preparing an environment, or when a feature is not doing what you expect and you want to check whether the foundation under it is set up.
Required before anything works
Business Central version 28 or later, and the E-Document Core app. E-Document Core ships with Business Central and provides the E-Document Service, the Service Participant list, and the import processes the receiving side runs on.
Outbound calls for the extension. Search for Extension Management, select E-Invoice Platform, choose Configure, and on the Extension Settings page switch on Allow HttpClient Requests. Outbound HTTP calls are blocked by default and must be approved per extension. Until this is on, every call fails with no status code at all. Take care not to choose Set up instead — that opens the app's own setup page, not the switch.
These hosts must be reachable from the tenant:
| Host | Used for | When |
|---|---|---|
app.recommand.eu | the e-invoice platform itself | always |
directory.peppol.eu | Peppol Directory searches and endpoint checks | for the directory features |
ec.europa.eu | the EU VAT register (VIES) | only when Look Up Official Data (VIES) is on |
The VIES host is contacted only if you switch that setting on, which is why it ships off.
Sending
Company Information must carry either a VAT Registration No. or, in Belgium, an Enterprise No. Without one of the two, the company's identity cannot be resolved and it will not send.
Report Selection - Sales decides which report renders the PDF attached to outgoing documents, when Attach PDF to Outgoing Documents is on. If no report is configured for the usage, the document still goes out — without the PDF, and with a warning on the send. Per-customer layouts set with the Document Layouts action on the customer card are honoured.
The app renders the report's default layout, not a layout named on the report selection line. That is this app's behavior rather than a documented Business Central rule, so check the result before you rely on a custom layout reaching the receiver.
VAT Posting Setup drives reverse charge. The exemption reason code you configure must come from the VATEX code list, and the reason text is the legal mention your customer reads, so it differs per ground for the reverse charge.
The vendor card's Self-Billing Agreement toggle must be on before anything can be sent for that vendor, because a purchase document only ever leaves as a self-billed document in the supplier's name. Self-billed invoices are standard Business Central functionality, generally available from 2026 release wave 1 — not a country localization.
If you set the self-billed document number to come from Vendor Invoice No., Business Central generates that number from the number series dedicated to self-billed invoices for a vendor with an agreement. For any other vendor it is whatever somebody typed, and it is not checked for uniqueness.
A Job Queue runs the automatic sweep. It refuses to start without Auto-Send From Date, deliberately: without a lower bound the first run would send every posted document still in the company.
Receiving
An E-Document Service with its service integration set to E-Invoice Platform (receive), and Validate Receiving Company turned off. Business Central's check matches on a GLN or the VAT Registration No. on Company Information, and a Belgian company carries neither in the form the check wants — the localization writes Enterprise No. instead. Selecting a non-Microsoft connector requires consenting to the use of non-Microsoft systems. See Set Up Receiving of Supplier Documents.
Text-to-Account Mapping and Purchases & Payables Setup decide which G/L account an incoming line lands on. A mapping is created with the Map Text to Account action; the fallback account sits on Purchases & Payables Setup, on the Default Accounts FastTab. This app checks a mapping on the vendor first, then a mapping for any vendor, then the fallback. The trap is a mapping row that matches the description but leaves the account empty: the import does not stop, it creates a line with no type and no amount, which can neither be posted nor sent for approval. See Assign G/L Accounts by Line Description.
Unit of Measure records must exist for every unit code an incoming document uses, with International Standard Code filled in. On the e-document service, the Resolve Unit Of Measure toggle controls whether Business Central resolves units during import.
An enabled approval workflow for purchase documents, if you set Approval for Incoming Documents to Send for Approval. Without one, documents are left alone and the reason is written on the recognition list. Where the workflow response has Approver Type set to Salesperson/Purchaser, the approver comes from the Salespers./Purch. Code field on Approval User Setup — an empty value there is the usual reason a request fails halfway. See Set Up an Approval Workflow for Purchase Documents for the steps, and Send Incoming Invoices for Approval for what the app does with it.
Document Attachment, and optionally external file storage, is where supplier PDFs are kept. See Where Supplier Documents Are Stored.
Vendor Bank Account and Preferred Bank Account Code are what an approved supplier bank account writes to. Preferred Bank Account Code sits on the Payments FastTab of the vendor card and sets the default account used on payment journal lines. See Approve Supplier Bank Details.
Finding things
The setup page is registered as a guided experience item, so it is reachable through the Set up this app action on Extension Management, and under Advanced Settings → Manual Setup. It is registered with the keywords Peppol, E-Invoice, Electronic Invoice, Recommand and E-Document, so searching any of those finds it.
The E-Invoicing tiles are added to the Business Manager and Accountant role centers, but every tile is off by default and set per user. An empty band is the expected starting state, not a fault. See Show the E-Invoicing Tiles on Your Role Center.
Related information
- Set Up the Platform Connection
- Set Up Receiving of Supplier Documents
- E-Invoice Platform Setup Reference
- Standard Business Central Features This App Uses
- Set up approval workflows
- Walkthrough: Set up and use a purchase approval workflow
- Set up e-document services
- Store document attachments externally