Automation
eMessaging automates document exchange through three mechanisms: job queues for scheduled processing, event-triggered actions for real-time responses, and document sending profiles for per-customer outbound control. Together, these enable fully hands-off document processing from receipt to posting and from posting to delivery.
Job queues
Three job queue entries handle the core automation.
| Job Queue | Purpose | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Send | Outbound documents | Picks up posted sales invoices, credit memos, released purchase orders, and warehouse shipments marked for electronic delivery. Converts them to PEPPOL BIS 3.0 and sends them via CentaraIQ. |
| Receive | Inbound documents | Polls the CentaraIQ API for new incoming documents and downloads them to the Document Inbox |
| Process | Document processing | Takes received documents and runs the processing pipeline: validation, vendor matching, Vendor Posting Setup application, PO matching, approval routing, and auto-posting |
Configure job queues
- Search for Job Queue Entries in Business Central, or select Open Job Queue Entries from the Centara Setup page.
- Find the Centara job queue entries (prefixed with “Centara”).
- Configure the interval and start time for each.
| Field | Description | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Earliest Start Date/Time | When the job first runs | Set to your business start time |
| No. of Minutes between Runs | How often the job runs | 5-15 minutes |
| Maximum No. of Attempts | Retry count on failure | 3 |
| Status | Ready, On Hold, or Error | Ready |
Recommended intervals
| Scenario | Send | Receive | Process |
|---|---|---|---|
| High volume (100+ docs/day) | Every 5 min | Every 5 min | Every 5 min |
| Standard volume | Every 15 min | Every 15 min | Every 15 min |
| Low volume | Every 30 min | Every 30 min | Every 30 min |
Delegated admin note
In Business Central Online, job queues run under a delegated admin context. If you have partner-managed environments, ensure the delegated admin user has the necessary permissions to run eMessaging job queues. The user running the job queue needs the Centara Documents role assigned. See Roles & Permissions.
Event-triggered automation
Beyond scheduled job queues, eMessaging uses Business Central event subscribers to trigger actions in real time. These fire immediately when a specific action occurs — no waiting for the next job queue cycle.
| Event trigger | Action | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Invoice posted | Queue document for electronic delivery | Enable Auto-Send on Post in General Setup |
| Sales Credit Memo posted | Queue document for electronic delivery | Enable Auto-Send on Post in General Setup |
| Purchase Order released | Queue PO for electronic delivery | Enable Auto-Send PO on Release in General Setup |
| Warehouse Shipment posted | Generate and queue Despatch Advice | Enable Auto-Send Despatch on Ship in General Setup |
| Document attachment added | Upload attachment to CentaraIQ external storage | Automatic when Attachments module is active |
| Approval granted (final) | Auto-post the purchase invoice | Enable Auto-Post on Approval in Approval Setup |
| New document received | Trigger processing pipeline immediately | Enable Auto-Process Incoming in General Setup |
Event-triggered actions provide faster response times than job queues. For example, with event-triggered sending, a posted sales invoice is queued for delivery immediately upon posting, rather than waiting up to 15 minutes for the next Send job queue cycle.
Auto-approve rules
eMessaging can automatically approve incoming documents that meet specific criteria, bypassing the manual approval step entirely. This is useful for low-risk, high-volume documents like recurring subscriptions or pre-approved vendors.
Configure auto-approve rules
- Open Centara Setup and go to the Approvals section.
- Select Auto-Approve Rules.
| Rule type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor + Amount below threshold | Auto-approve invoices from specific vendors below a set amount | Vendor V10000, Amount < 1,000 EUR |
| Matched to PO within tolerance | Auto-approve invoices that fully match a PO within configured tolerances | PO match + price tolerance < 2% |
| Recurring document pattern | Auto-approve documents that match a known recurring pattern (vendor, amount, frequency) | Monthly subscription from SaaS vendor |
| Vendor category | Auto-approve all invoices from vendors in a specific category | Utility vendors, petty cash vendors |
When an auto-approve rule matches, the document moves directly from processing to the Approved status (and optionally auto-posts if configured).
Document sending profiles
Document sending profiles control how outgoing documents are formatted and delivered per customer.
Set up a profile
- Search for Document Sending Profiles in Business Central.
- Select New or edit an existing profile.
- Set the Electronic Document field to the desired format (e.g., PEPPOL BIS 3.0).
- Configure additional options as needed.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | Profile identifier |
| Description | Profile name |
| Electronic Document | Format for electronic delivery (PEPPOL BIS 3.0, EDIFACT, etc.) |
| Electronic Service Endpoint | Override endpoint for this profile (optional) |
| Send PDF Copy | Also send a PDF copy via email |
| Email Address for PDF | Where to send the PDF copy |
Assign to a customer
- Open the Customer Card.
- In the Document Sending Profile field, select the profile you created.
- All future documents for this customer will use that profile.
If no profile is set on the customer, eMessaging uses the default sending profile from General Setup.
Per-customer configuration
For customers with specific requirements, you can override defaults at the customer level:
| Customer Card field | Description |
|---|---|
| Document Sending Profile | Which delivery profile to use |
| PEPPOL Identifier | Customer’s PEPPOL endpoint identifier (overrides VAT number) |
| PEPPOL Scheme | Scheme for the PEPPOL identifier |
| Electronic Document Format | Override format for this specific customer |
Manual send and receive
You can always send or receive documents manually:
- Send: Open a posted sales invoice and select Send Electronic Document.
- Receive: Open the Centara Document Inbox and select Receive Documents.
- Process: Select a document in the inbox and select Process.
Manual actions work the same way as the job queue — they just run on demand instead of on a schedule.
Monitoring
In Business Central
- Search for Job Queue Entries in Business Central
- Review the Status column for each Centara entry
- If a job is in Error status, select it to view the error details in Job Queue Log Entries
Captain Central
For multi-environment monitoring, Captain Central provides a centralized dashboard to monitor job queues across all your Business Central environments. Instead of checking each environment individually, Captain Central gives you:
- Real-time status of all Centara job queues across environments
- Alerts when a job queue stops or enters error state
- Historical job queue performance and processing times
- One place to see all your environments at a glance
This is particularly useful for partners managing multiple customer environments or organizations with multiple BC companies.
Application Insights
eMessaging writes telemetry to Application Insights (if configured), providing detailed monitoring of document processing times, success rates, and error patterns.
For common job queue errors, see FAQ & Common Errors.