Business Central email setup for documents that arrive

Choosing account types in a Business Central email setup

Business Central offers three kinds of email account. A Microsoft 365 account sends from a shared mailbox such as accounts receivable. The current user type sends from the mailbox of whoever is signed in. An SMTP account connects to another mail server. Each suits a different job.

Most companies want a mix. Shared mailboxes suit finance and purchasing documents, so replies go to a team. The current user option suits sales quotes, where a personal reply matters. We agree that mix with you before we add anything in the Email Accounts page.

Email scenarios in Business Central: the right mailbox for each document

An email scenario ties a business process to an account. Sales invoices can leave from the receivables mailbox. Purchase orders can leave from purchasing, and reminders from collections. Everything unassigned falls back to the default account. One rule per process keeps the routing easy to understand and maintain.

We map every document your company emails and assign each to a scenario. Then we check the result with real test sends. The same pass covers document sending profiles. These control whether a customer gets a document by email, as a PDF attachment, as an electronic document or on paper.

Message layouts in your Business Central email setup

A bare message with an attachment looks like spam. In report selections, you can mark a layout for use as the email body. Then the message itself shows a greeting, the document number, the amount due and a payment link where one is set up.

We build these bodies as Word layouts that your own staff can edit later. We also set document layouts per customer. That helps where one client wants invoices sent to a payables inbox and statements to a named contact. Attachment names help the recipient file them without renaming.

Permissions, the outbox and sent history for email setup

Every message passes through the Email Outbox and then appears in Sent Emails. It stays linked to the record it came from. That history answers the everyday question of whether the customer was really sent the invoice, and when. A failed message stays in the outbox with its error text.

View policies control what a user sees. It can be only their own messages, messages related to records they can open, or everything. We set those policies to match your privacy needs. Shared mailbox rights are granted in Microsoft 365. Last, an administrator learns how to resend a message that failed in the outbox.

Why a Business Central email setup fails, and the fixes

The most frequent fault is a user who can open Business Central but has no right to send as the shared mailbox. The message sits in the outbox with an error nobody reads. A close second is basic SMTP sign-in that the mail provider has since blocked.

On-premises installations add one more step. They need an app registration in Microsoft Entra ID before Microsoft 365 accounts work at all. We check each of these points in order and fix the cause. Then we leave a short troubleshooting note, so your administrator can handle the next case alone.

Business Central email setup questions

Can invoices be sent from a shared mailbox?

Yes. Add the shared mailbox as a Microsoft 365 email account and assign it to the sales invoice scenario. Each user who posts and sends invoices also needs permission on that mailbox in Microsoft 365. That is the step most often missed.

Do we need a separate email license for Business Central?

Business Central uses the mailboxes you already have. A shared mailbox in Microsoft 365 generally does not need its own license within Microsoft's size limits. We confirm the current terms on Microsoft's site with you instead of assuming.

Can one customer receive documents at different addresses?

Yes. Document layouts on the customer card let you set a different recipient for each document type. For example, invoices can go to a payables inbox and order confirmations to the buyer. The same idea exists for vendors and purchase documents.

Can we send many invoices in one go?

Yes. In a Business Central email setup, you can select posted invoices together and send them using each customer's document sending profile. So one action emails some, prints others and skips those handled elsewhere. We test this with a small batch before your first full run.

Does email from Business Central work with Gmail or another provider?

A Business Central email setup can use an SMTP account instead, if the provider allows the connection and sign-in method. Shared mailbox features and the Outlook add-in tie to Microsoft 365. So we explain what you gain and lose with each route, then help you choose.

Related setup pages

Email touches most documents in the system. The pages below cover the Outlook add-in, the layouts behind each document, electronic invoices and the statements that many companies send by email each month. Read them to see how a Business Central email setup fits. Then tell us which mailboxes you use, and we will map each document to one. For the product detail, see Set up email in Business Central on Microsoft Learn.