Why it matters for manufacturers
- A supplier can invoice the wrong entity, which puts GST credits and cost in the wrong place.
- Group-wide suppliers such as steel and gas are bought on one agreement but billed to several plants.
For manufacturers in Business Central
- If one plant buys for several companies, enter the vendor invoice in one company and allocate costs to intercompany partners. Use an Intercompany General Journal for services or the purchase order or invoice for centralised buying.
- In the intercompany general journal, enter the vendor's invoice number in External Document No., set the Document Type to Invoice and the Account Type to Vendor. The cost is then allocated to the partner company.
- When you buy from a partner company, you can still update the purchase order as long as the selling company has not shipped the goods.
What Business Central does on its own
Business Central supports intercompany transactions between companies and consolidation of several companies into one. Intercompany partners exchange sales and purchase documents and general journal lines, and a consolidated company collects the results of its business units.
- Set up per company
Purchase invoices are not submitted to partners through intercompany. A sales invoice sent through intercompany becomes a purchase invoice in the receiving company.
What you need and the setup steps: Multi-entity accounts payable for Business Central.
Example
Example Gas Supplies sends one invoice covering bottled gas for Plant 1 in Sydney and Plant 2 in Brisbane, which are separate entities.
| Line | Amount | What the check finds |
|---|---|---|
| Gas cylinders, Plant 1 Sydney | $3,200.00 | Bill to Example Manufacturing East Pty Ltd |
| Gas cylinders, Plant 2 Brisbane | $2,100.00 | Bill to Example Manufacturing North Pty Ltd |
| Cylinder rental, shared | $300.00 | Split by agreed ratio |
Each plant's cost is coded to its own entity and shared rental is split by the agreed ratio. Each entity claims only its own GST.
Common mistakes
- Entering the whole invoice in one entity and fixing it later with an intercompany journal.
- Using different supplier names for the same supplier in each entity, so group spend cannot be added up.
Step-by-step guides for Business Central
- How to close the month in accounts payable in Business Central
- How to set up purchase invoice approval in Business Central
What Pulsify adds
Pulsify gives each company its own address, suppliers and approval rules, with one login across all of them. Pulsify connects to Business Central. We set up the connection for you. More about multi-entity accounts payable in Pulsify or Pulsify for manufacturers.
More help
- Multi-entity accounts payable in Dynamics 365 Finance for manufacturers
- Multi-entity accounts payable in Kinetic for manufacturers
- Multi-entity accounts payable in CloudSuite Industrial for manufacturers
- Duplicate invoice checks in Business Central for manufacturers
- PO matching in Business Central for manufacturers
- Supplier price checks in Business Central for manufacturers
- Invoice approvals in Business Central for manufacturers
- All Business Central how-to guides
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-19.
Common questions
Can one Business Central company buy for its sister plants?
Yes. Centralise the buying in one company and allocate costs to intercompany partners using an intercompany general journal or the purchase document. The partners must share the intercompany chart of accounts and each company needs a unique partner code.
How should a manufacturer handle a bill that covers two entities?
Split the bill by line to each entity, with the supplier ABN on file for both. Each entity claims GST on its own part, and the split should match the supply agreement.
How do I get group results?
Create a consolidated company, add each company as a business unit, test the data, then choose Consolidate on the Business Units page. The consolidated company holds results and no live business data.
Pulsify setup guides
Want this done for you?
Book a call to see how Pulsify handles multi-entity accounts payable in Business Central for manufacturers.