Invoice capture means getting supplier invoices out of email and paper and into your system as data, without typing them in.
What Business Central does on its own
Payables Agent reads PDF invoices from a mailbox and drafts purchase invoices. An external OCR service also works through Incoming Documents.
- Paid by Copilot credits
- PDF only, size and daily limits
What you need in Business Central
- Payables Agent set up with a Microsoft 365 mailbox
- Copilot credits billing
- Or an external OCR service linked to Incoming Documents
Setting it up in Business Central
Where to find it: Payables Agent (search for it in Business Central)
- Set up a Microsoft 365 mailbox for supplier invoices. A shared mailbox works.
- Turn on the Payables Agent and give agent supervisors access.
- The agent reads PDFs from the mailbox and fills Inbound E-Documents.
- Supervisors check the drafts and finalise the unposted purchase invoice.
- Approval and posting stay manual.
Good to know in Business Central
- Only emails with PDF attachments are read: up to 10 attachments, 10 pages and 5 MB per PDF.
- The limit is 100 emails and 500 invoices a day. The first 50 invoices in trial mode are free, then Copilot credits are billed.
- Vendors the agent creates are blocked until someone unblocks them.
How to do it in Business Central
How to get purchase invoice records in by email to Business Central
Set up one address for purchase invoice records. Ask each vendor to send invoices there. Read and enter each one into Business Central, with the original file attached.
How to enter a purchase invoice with line items in Business Central
In Business Central, open a new purchase invoice, pick the vendor, add one line per invoice row with an G/L account and VAT posting group (GST), then check the total matches the invoice.
What Pulsify adds
- Each company gets its own Pulsify forwarding address. Suppliers send invoices there, or you forward or upload them.
- Pulsify works out what each file is (invoice, credit note, supplier statement or purchase order) and splits a PDF that holds several invoices.
- It unwraps ZIP files and converts Word, Excel, CSV and phone photos.
- Each invoice is read into header fields and line items for review.
- On approval Pulsify creates the purchase invoice in Business Central with the source file attached.
Pulsify connects to Business Central. We set up the connection for you. More about invoice capture in Pulsify.
What Pulsify does not do
- Files over 25 MB are not accepted.
- Pulsify is a web app that installs to a home screen. It is not in the app stores.
More help
- Invoice capture for MYOB Acumatica
- Invoice capture for Sage 200
- Invoice capture for Sage 300
- Supplier credit notes for Business Central
- Duplicate invoice checks for Business Central
- Invoice fraud checks for Business Central
- All Business Central how-to guides
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-19.
Common questions
Does Business Central read PDF invoices itself?
Yes, through the Payables Agent, which reads PDFs from a mailbox and drafts purchase invoices. English (Australia) is supported. It is billed in Copilot credits. An external OCR service can also feed Incoming Documents.
Does the Payables Agent post or approve invoices?
No. It drafts the invoice and a supervisor finalises it. Microsoft says the agent does not run approval flows or anomaly detection, so approval and posting stay manual.
Do suppliers need to change anything?
No. They keep sending PDFs by email. You give them your Pulsify address or forward invoices to it yourself.
Pulsify setup guides
Want this done for you?
Book a call to see how Pulsify handles invoice capture in Business Central.