Core Setup Essentials

The five essentials

Company information

The Company Information page (Tell Me > “Company Information”) stores your business identity:

Field	Purpose	Appears On
Name	Legal company name	All printed documents
Address	Registered address	Invoices, orders, letters
VAT Registration No.	Tax identifier	Invoices, tax reports
Logo (Picture)	Company logo	Document headers
Bank Details	Default bank account	Payment instructions on invoices
Ship-to Address	Default shipping location	Purchase orders

Sam sets this up first for Nordic Manufacturing because every invoice, purchase order, and report header pulls from this page. Get it wrong and every document goes out with incorrect details.

Number series

Number series are automatic counters that assign sequential codes to records. Every posted invoice, journal entry, customer, vendor, and item gets its number from a number series.

How number series work

Component	Example	Purpose
Code	S-INV	Identifies the series
Description	Sales Invoices	Human-readable name
Starting No.	S-INV-001000	First number in the series
Ending No.	S-INV-999999	Last number (optional)
Last No. Used	S-INV-001042	Current position
Increment	1	Step between numbers
Manual Nos.	Yes/No	Allow manual override?
Default Nos.	Yes	Auto-assign on new records?

Number series relationships

Number series are assigned to document types in setup pages:

• Sales & Receivables Setup → Sales invoice number series, credit memo series, quote series
• Purchases & Payables Setup → Purchase order series, invoice series
• General Ledger Setup → Journal batch number series
• Inventory Setup → Item number series

💡 Exam tip: Number series with multiple lines

A single number series code can have multiple date-range lines. This lets you change numbering at the start of a new fiscal year:

Starting Date	Starting No.	Ending No.
01/01/2025	INV-25-0001	INV-25-9999
01/01/2026	INV-26-0001	INV-26-9999

Business Central automatically uses the correct range based on the posting date. This is how companies include the year in their document numbers.

ℹ️ Number series best practices

Priya’s rules for number series:

• Never allow gaps in posted document numbers (some countries require continuous numbering for tax compliance)
• Use prefixes to identify document types at a glance (SI = Sales Invoice, PO = Purchase Order)
• Leave room — start at 1000, not 1 (you might need to insert earlier numbers during migration)
• Don’t reuse codes — if a series runs out, create a new one rather than resetting

Report layouts

Reports in Business Central can use different layouts that control formatting and content. Common report types:

Report Type	Examples	Layout Options
Sales documents	Invoices, quotes, orders, credit memos	Word, RDLC, Excel
Purchase documents	Purchase orders, receipts	Word, RDLC
Financial reports	Trial balance, aged receivables	RDLC, Excel
Labels	Shipping labels, item labels	Word

Layout types

Report layout types

Layout Type	Created With	Best For	User-Friendly?
Word	Microsoft Word	Simple documents with merge fields	Yes — business users can edit
RDLC	SQL Server Report Builder or Visual Studio	Complex reports with grouping, totals, charts	No — requires developer skills
Excel	Microsoft Excel	Data analysis, pivot tables, charts	Yes — familiar to most users

Configuring report layouts

1. Open Report Layout Selection (Tell Me > “Report Layout Selection”)
2. Find the report (e.g., Sales - Invoice)
3. Choose which layout type to use
4. To customise: select Custom Layouts → copy the built-in layout → edit in Word/Excel
5. Set your customised layout as the default

Olivia at Coastal Traders wants the company logo and payment terms prominently displayed on sales invoices. She uses a Word layout — she can edit it herself without calling a developer.

Email accounts

Business Central can send documents (invoices, purchase orders, remittance advice) by email directly from the application.

Setting up email

1. Open Email Accounts (Tell Me > “Email Accounts”)
2. Choose a connector:
   • Microsoft 365 — uses a shared mailbox or user mailbox via Microsoft Graph
   • SMTP — traditional email server (requires server details, port, authentication)
   • Current User — sends from the logged-in user’s M365 mailbox
3. Configure the connector with the required details
4. Send a test email to verify

Connector	Best For	Requires
Microsoft 365	Companies already using M365	A shared or user mailbox
SMTP	On-premises email servers	Server address, port, credentials
Current User	Each user sends from their own address	User must have M365 licence

Job queues

Job queues run tasks automatically on a schedule — like a timer that triggers actions without someone clicking a button.

Common job queue uses

Job	What It Does	Typical Schedule
Post sales invoices	Automatically posts pending invoices	Hourly
Update currency exchange rates	Fetches latest rates from an exchange service	Daily
Send overdue reminders	Emails customers with past-due invoices	Weekly
Calculate depreciation	Runs fixed asset depreciation	Monthly
Inventory reorder	Creates purchase orders when stock falls below reorder point	Daily

Setting up a job queue entry

1. Open Job Queue Entries (Tell Me > “Job Queue Entries”)
2. Select New
3. Choose the Object Type (Report or Codeunit) and Object ID
4. Set the schedule: Earliest Start Date/Time, Recurring, Run on (days of the week)
5. Set the Status to Ready to start the schedule
6. Optionally set Maximum No. of Attempts for error handling

💡 Exam tip: Job queue status lifecycle

Job queue entries have these statuses:

• On Hold — created but not running
• Ready — scheduled and waiting for the next run time
• In Process — currently executing
• Error — last run failed (check the error message)
• Finished — completed (for non-recurring jobs)

To pause a recurring job, set it to On Hold. To resume, set it back to Ready. Don’t delete it — you’ll lose the schedule configuration.

Question

What is a number series in Business Central?

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Answer

An automatic counter that assigns sequential codes to records (invoices, orders, customers, items). Each document type has its own number series configured in the relevant setup page.

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Question

Can a single number series have different ranges for different years?

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Answer

Yes. A number series can have multiple date-range lines. Business Central automatically uses the correct range based on the posting date. This lets you include the year in document numbers.

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Question

What are the three report layout types in Business Central?

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Answer

Word (simple, user-editable), RDLC (complex, developer-built with Report Builder), and Excel (data analysis, pivot tables). Word layouts are the most user-friendly.

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Question

What does a job queue entry do?

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Answer

It runs a task (report or codeunit) automatically on a schedule. Used for automating recurring tasks like posting invoices, updating exchange rates, or sending reminders.

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Knowledge check

Knowledge Check

Priya is setting up number series for sales documents at Coastal Traders. Olivia wants invoice numbers to include the year (e.g., INV-26-0001 for 2026, INV-27-0001 for 2027). How does Priya configure this?

ACreate two separate number series codes — one for 2026, one for 2027BCreate one number series code with two date-range lines — one starting 01/01/2026 and one starting 01/01/2027CUse a single series with manual numbers enabled so users can type the year prefixDThis isn't possible — number series don't support year-based prefixes

Check Answer

Knowledge Check

Sam sets up a job queue entry to update currency exchange rates daily at 6:00 AM. The entry ran successfully for two weeks, but today it shows an 'Error' status. What should Sam do first?

ADelete the job queue entry and create a new oneBCheck the error message in the job queue entry to understand what failedCSet the status back to 'Ready' — errors auto-resolve on the next runDContact Microsoft Support — job queue errors require a support ticket

Check Answer

🎬 Video coming soon

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Next up: The core plumbing is in place. Now let’s explore one of Business Central’s most powerful features — dimensions — and how they supercharge your reporting.