E-Documents in Business Central: setup, formats and connectors

The E-Documents framework is Business Central's native module for sending and receiving structured electronic documents such as e-invoices. It supports PEPPOL BIS 3.0 by default, adds formats like XRechnung (UBL) and ZUGFeRD through localization, and exchanges documents through service providers such as Avalara, B2BRouter, Continia, Logiq, Pagero and SignUp. You configure it on the E-Document Services page: choose a connector, map document types and link the service to your workflows.

What the E-Documents framework covers

E-Documents is the module Microsoft ships inside Business Central for structured electronic document exchange. The essentials:

• Native module: E-Documents is built into Business Central and handles sending and receiving structured electronic documents such as sales and purchase invoices.
• Formats: PEPPOL BIS 3.0 is supported by default; for Germany, XRechnung (UBL) and ZUGFeRD are available through localization. Coverage in other countries depends on localization apps.
• Service providers: built-in connector support covers Avalara, B2BRouter, Continia, Logiq, Pagero and SignUp, plus ForNAV. From version 26.1, connectors install natively from AppSource.
• Separate contract: the access point agreement is signed with the service provider, not with Microsoft, and the provider's service can cost extra. Check terms with the provider or your partner.

E-documents setup on the E-Document Services page

Setup happens on the E-Document Services page in Business Central. The three core steps:

• Choose a connector: create an e-document service and select the provider you have a contract with. From version 26.1, the connector apps install directly from AppSource.
• Map document types: define which documents the service handles, for example sales invoices or purchase invoices, and in which format they travel.
• Link to workflows: connect the service to workflows so outbound documents are sent automatically and inbound documents land in a queue for processing.

Where Zentriq fits

E-Documents covers the structured side: domestic flows where both parties exchange machine-readable formats. A lot still arrives as PDF, from foreign suppliers, smaller vendors or expense receipts, and every inbound document still needs review, matching and a posting decision. AI document capture reads those PDFs without templates, creates drafts in Business Central, always leaves approval and posting to a human, and supports the matching and review work after receipt. For the full picture of channels and formats, see the e-invoicing overview.

E-documents in Business Central: FAQ

Going deeper: the Peppol guide explains the network behind PEPPOL BIS 3.0 exchange, and the invoice matching guide covers checking invoices against orders before posting.