Inbound e-Documents

The Centara Inbound e-Documents page is your central workspace for all incoming electronic documents. Every document that arrives — whether from the PEPPOL network, EDI, email/PDF, scan, or e-commerce — lands here in a unified list view.

Page layout

The page is divided into three areas:

Area	What it shows
Document list	All inbound documents across all statuses — with inline editing for key fields
PDF preview (right panel)	The original source document (e.g., received invoice PDF) — updates automatically as you navigate the list
Document lines (sub-page)	Line items for the selected document, with PO comparison when a purchase order is linked

All three areas support Business Central’s built-in personalization to show, hide, and reorder columns.

PDF preview

The PDF preview panel shows the original source document alongside the list. As you move between records, it automatically loads the correct PDF — so you can visually verify extracted data against the original without opening separate attachments.

The preview loads directly from CentaraIQ using the document’s unique identifier. If the document was imported as a file (rather than received via PEPPOL), it falls back to the locally stored attachment.

You can open a full-screen view of the PDF for detailed review, or download the original PDF directly from the preview. The downloaded file is named after the supplier and the supplier’s document number (e.g. Acme Suppliers Ltd_INV-2026-0341.pdf), so it lands in your downloads folder ready to archive or forward.

To enable: Go to Purchases & Payables Setup → set Show PDF Factbox to On.

Personalizing columns

Business Central’s personalization applies per user and per page. Changes you make are saved to your profile and persist across sessions.

To add or remove columns:

1. Open the Centara Inbound e-Documents page
2. Click the Settings gear icon (top-right) → Personalize
3. The page enters personalization mode — a banner appears at the top
4. Click + Field in the banner to open the field list panel on the right
5. Drag any field from the panel onto the list to add it as a column
6. To remove a column, click the column header — a handle appears — then click Remove
7. To reorder, drag column headers left or right
8. Click Done when finished

To personalize the Lines or Comparison subpage, scroll down to that subpage while still in personalization mode and repeat the same steps within that section.

Tip: Personalization applies to your user only. To deploy a consistent layout across all users, an administrator can use Profile Customization (via Manage User Personalization or Profile pages). See Personalize Your Workspace on Microsoft Learn for more details.

Document status flow

Every inbound document follows this lifecycle:

flowchart LR
    New --> InMatching[In Matching]
    New --> InApproval[In Approval]
    InApproval -->|PO approved| InMatching
    InMatching --> Ready[Ready for Posting]
    Ready --> Processed

    New -.->|paused| OnHold[On Hold]
    OnHold -.->|resumed| New
    New -.-> Error
    Error -.->|reimport| New

Status meanings

Status	What it means	What to do
New	Document has arrived and is ready for processing	Process manually, auto-process, or link to a PO
On Hold	Processing paused by a user (reason required)	Review the hold reason; change back to New when ready
In Matching	Document is linked to a PO that is not pending approval	Validate or auto-process to move to Ready for Posting
In Approval	Document is linked to a PO that is currently pending approval	Wait for the PO to be approved — status updates automatically
Ready for Posting	Validation has passed — document is ready to be posted	Post the document (F9) or wait for auto-post
Processed	Document has been successfully posted to Business Central	No action needed
Error	Processing or posting failed	Check the error message, fix the issue, and reimport or retry
Rejected	Document was rejected (terminal)	Review and reimport if needed
Deleted	Document was soft-deleted — kept in the table for audit, but hidden from the default view. Prevents the “document already exists” error if a vendor reuses a document number. Use the Show Deleted Documents action to view them.	—

Key status transitions

From	To	Trigger
New → On Hold	User action	User pauses processing — a reason is required via dialog
On Hold → New	User action	User resumes processing — hold reason is cleared
New → In Matching	User links to PO	The linked PO is not pending approval
New → In Approval	User links to PO	The linked PO is currently pending approval
In Approval → In Matching	Automatic	The linked PO gets approved — status updates automatically
New / In Matching → Ready for Posting	Validation	Auto-process or manual validate passes all checks
Ready for Posting → Processed	Posting	Document posted successfully to BC
Any → Error	Automatic	Processing or posting fails
New / Ready for Posting / Error / In Matching → New	Reimport	Document is reset, deleted, and recreated from source

Actions

Processing

Action	Available when	What it does
Validate PO Document	New, In Matching	Runs the validation engine — checks amounts, lines, and PO match
Auto Process Document	New, In Matching	Runs the full auto-process pipeline (validate, match, route, post if configured)
Post (F9)	New	Creates the purchase/sales document and posts it to Business Central
Reimport Inbound e-Document	New, Ready for Posting, Error, In Matching	Resets the document to New status — deletes and recreates from the original source. Shows a progress dialog

Document management

Action	Available when	What it does
Create Vendor/Customer	Always	Creates a new vendor or customer card from the PEPPOL data in the document
Connect Template	Vendor + Accounting Cost filled	Links the vendor/accounting cost combination to a Vendor Posting Template
Change to On Hold	New	Pauses processing — requires a reason via dialog
Change to New	On Hold	Resumes processing — clears the hold reason
Dimensions (Alt+D)	Always	Open the dimension editor for the selected document
Find entries… (Ctrl+Alt+Q)	Document No. or linked PO exists	Navigate to related entries

Approval actions

Action	Available when	What it does
Send to Approval	—	Submit the document to the approval workflow
Cancel Approval	—	Cancel a pending approval request
Approve / Reject / Delegate	—	Act on an approval request directly from the list
Add Comments	—	Add approval comments visible to all approvers

Approval comments are displayed inline in an embedded Approval Comments sub-page below the document lines.

Filtered views

Quick-access views let you focus on documents in a specific status:

View	Shows
New	Documents ready for processing
In Matching	Documents linked to a PO, awaiting validation
Ready for Posting	Validated documents ready to post
In Approval	Documents waiting for PO approval
Processed	Successfully posted documents
On Hold	Paused documents
Error	Failed documents requiring attention

How documents arrive

Documents arrive through several channels, all funneling into the same Inbound e-Documents list:

Channel	How it works
PEPPOL network	The Receive job queue polls CentaraIQ at regular intervals and downloads new documents automatically
EDI (EDIFACT, X12, BASDA)	Documents arrive via SFTP, AS2, or API integration with CentaraIQ
PDF / email	Forwarded to a designated inbox address or uploaded to the CentaraIQ portal — processed by the AI extraction pipeline
Scanned paper	Scanned to PDF and uploaded — handled by the same AI pipeline
E-commerce	Orders from Shopify, WooCommerce imported via API
Manual receive	Use Receive Messages to fetch new documents on demand

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Column reference

The sections below list every column available on the three areas of the page. Columns marked as “hidden by default” can be added through personalization.

Visual indicators

Throughout the page, colour coding highlights items that need attention:

Colour	Meaning
Red	Vendor/customer not found in BC, or a PO vs. invoice value mismatch
Yellow	VAT category on the line resolves to 0% on the assigned G/L account
Red (VAT)	The G/L account’s VAT% does not match the document line VAT%
Yellow (Payment)	Payment method code from the document does not exist in BC

Document header columns

Each row represents one inbound e-document.

Always visible by default:

Column	What it shows
Created At	Date and time the document record was created — typically when the XML was imported
Document Status	Current lifecycle status: New, In Matching, In Approval, Ready for Posting, Processed, Error, On Hold, Rejected
On Hold Reason	Free text explaining why the document was put on hold
Linked to Purchase Order	The Purchase Order number this document has been matched to, if any
Due Date	Payment due date from the e-document. Editable in New status
Currency	Currency code stated in the e-document. Editable in New status
Payable Amount	Total amount payable. Hidden when a prepaid amount exists
Payment Method	Payment method code from the document. Styled yellow when the method does not exist in BC
Vendor/Customer No.	The matched vendor or customer in BC. Shown in red when no match is found — this blocks posting
Supplier Name	Supplier or customer name from the e-document. Shown in red when the counterparty is not found
Posting Template	The Vendor Posting Template assigned, controlling how lines are posted. Editable in New status
Accounting Cost	Accounting cost code from the document header, used for posting template lookup
Posting Description	Description that will appear on ledger entries when posted. Editable in New status
Assigned User	The user currently responsible for this document
Receive E-Document To	Controls whether the system creates a Purchase Invoice or Purchase Order. Credit memos always create a Credit Memo
Document No.	The BC document number assigned after posting. Empty until processed

Visible when the relevant feature is active:

Column	Condition	What it shows
Original Approval User	Approvals enabled	The first approver for this document. Editable in New status
Second Approver	Approvals enabled	A second individual approver (superseded by Workflow User Groups)
Workflow User Group	User group approvals enabled	The approval group this document is routed to. Editable in New status
Four-Eyes User Group	User group approvals enabled	The group responsible for the second approval in a four-eyes workflow
Ship-to Address	Ship-to column enabled in setup	The ship-to address name from the document
Shortcut Dimension 1–8	Dimension configured in GL Setup	Dimension codes assigned to the header

Hidden by default (available via personalization):

Column	What it shows
Tax Exclusive Amount	Document total before tax
Tax Inclusive Amount	Document total including tax
Vendor Contact Email	Contact email from the supplier information block
Last Auto Post Error	Error message from the most recent failed auto-processing attempt — useful for diagnosing errors without opening the document
Posting Date	Issue date used as the posting date
Is OCR Generated	Flags documents from OCR rather than structured XML
Dimension Names	Descriptive names of Dimension 1 and 2 codes

Document lines columns

Shows the individual line items from the e-document. Lines are editable when the document is in New status or linked to a Purchase Order.

Always visible by default:

Column	What it shows
Item Sellers ID	The supplier’s own item/product code from the XML. Used for Vendor Posting Setup lookup
Description	Line description
Item Name	Item name from the e-document (may differ from BC item description)
Item Buyers ID	The buyer’s item code — may correspond to a BC item number
Quantity	Invoiced quantity. Editable for OCR documents
Original Quantity	Quantity as originally received in the XML, preserved even if later modified
Unit Code	Unit of measure from the document. Click to open UoM mapping drill-down
Original Unit Code	Original unit of measure, preserved if the UoM is remapped
Line Amount	Net line amount (quantity x unit price, before VAT)
Line Accounting Cost	Accounting cost on the individual line — can differ from the header and drives line-level template resolution
VAT Category	VAT category code. Yellow = G/L account has 0% VAT. Red = G/L account VAT% doesn’t match document
VAT %	VAT percentage stated on the line
Type	Posting type: G/L Account, Item, Resource, Charge (Item), Allocation Account, or Fixed Asset
No.	Account or item number this line posts to. Required
Default VAT %	Default VAT% based on the assigned G/L Account or Item. Used to flag mismatches. Read-only
Setup Exists	What level of posting setup resolved: No (none), Template, Advanced, Line, or Additional Line. Highlights missing setup
Shortcut Dimension 1–8	Dimension codes assigned to this line

Visible when the relevant feature is active:

Column	Condition	What it shows
Allowance/Charge Factor	DisplayField mode	Multiplier factor for line-level allowances or charges
Allowance/Charge Amount	DisplayField mode	Allowance or charge amount on the line
Unit Price	DisplayField mode	Unit price from the document
Base Quantity	DisplayField mode	Price base quantity (when price is per N units)
Original Approval User	Approvals enabled	Approver assigned at line level
Workflow User Group	User group approvals enabled	Approval group assigned at line level

Hidden by default (available via personalization):

Column	What it shows
Unit Code before Base UoM	Original unit code before base unit of measure conversion
Deferral Code	Deferral template for spreading this line’s cost across periods
Variant Code	Item variant code
Lot No.	Lot number for item tracking
Expiration Date	Expiration date for lot-tracked items
Job No.	Project number for project ledger posting
Job Task No.	Project task number
BC Description	Description derived from the BC item or G/L account name — helpful when the original item number is missing. Display-only
Dimension Names	Descriptive names of the dimension codes

Purchase order comparison columns

Only visible when the document is linked to a Purchase Order. Shows PO lines side by side with the corresponding invoice lines. Fields shown in red indicate a mismatch between the PO and the invoice.

Always visible by default:

Column	What it shows
Purchase Document Type	Type of the linked BC purchase document (Order, Invoice, etc.)
Purchase Order No.	The linked Purchase Order number
PO Item Description	Item description from the Purchase Order line
PO Item No.	Item number from the PO line. Read-only
PO Base Amount	Base line amount from the PO (before discounts). Red when it differs from the invoice
PO Qty	Quantity on the PO line. Red when it differs from the invoice
PO Unit of Measure	Unit of measure on the PO line
PO Line Amount	PO line amount after discounts. Red when it differs from the invoice
Comparison Status	Result of the comparison: matches, partially matches, or has a discrepancy
Invoice Amount	Base line amount from the invoice. Red when it differs from the PO
Invoice Qty	Quantity from the invoice line. Red when it differs. Editable — you can adjust to reconcile with the PO
Invoice Line Amount	Invoice line total. Red when it differs from the PO
Amount Difference	Calculated difference between PO and invoice line amounts. Red when non-zero
Qty Difference	Calculated difference between PO and invoice quantities. Red when non-zero

Hidden by default (available via personalization):

Column	What it shows
Line No.	Internal line number
PO Discount	Line discount % from the PO. Red when it differs from the invoice
Invoice Discount	Line discount % from the invoice
Lot No.	Lot number for tracked items
Expiration Date	Expiration date for lot-tracked items

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
F9	Post the selected document
Alt+D	Open dimensions
Alt+F2	Toggle PDF preview panel
Ctrl+Alt+Q	Find related entries
Shift+F3	Toggle filter pane

See the full Keyboard Shortcuts reference for all pages.

Next steps

• Purchase Order Matching — how auto-matching works
• Approving Documents — the approval workflow
• Posting Documents — final posting to BC
• Purchase Document Worksheet — batch processing workspace