Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Bring project and utilisation data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central into MuchSkills. Your administrators register an app in Microsoft Entra and give it read access in Business Central. We map the data and run the sync with you, as part of your MuchSkills implementation.
- Who
- Your Business Central and Microsoft Entra administrators, with our CTO
- How it connects
- Custom set-up, part of your implementation
- Brings in
- Project and utilisation data, including absence
- Access
- Read permissions you assign in Business Central
How to
How it works
MuchSkills signs in to Business Central as an app, without a user, using Microsoft's service-to-service authentication. It reads the records you agree to share on a schedule. Nothing is written back to Business Central, and what the app can see is limited by the permission sets you assign.
Before you start
- A Microsoft Entra administrator who can register an app and grant admin consent. See the roles in the FAQ below.
- A Business Central administrator who can set up Microsoft Entra applications and assign permission sets.
- Your scope: which Business Central environment and companies, and which projects and people should be in MuchSkills.
- Check email addresses. People are matched to MuchSkills members by email. The email in Business Central should be the address each person signs in to MuchSkills with.
Steps
In Microsoft Entra
Microsoft's guide covers these steps in full: Using service-to-service authentication with Business Central.
- Register an app. Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center and go to Entra ID › App registrations › New registration. Name it MuchSkills, keep Single tenant only, leave Redirect URI empty and click Register. On the Overview page, note the Application (client) ID and the Directory (tenant) ID.
- Add the Business Central permission. Open API permissions › Add a permission › Microsoft APIs and choose Dynamics 365 Business Central. Choose Application permissions, tick API.ReadWrite.All and click Add permissions.
- Grant admin consent. On the same page, click Grant admin consent for your organisation and confirm. Wait until the permission shows Granted. Microsoft's guide to admin consent
- Create a client secret. Open Certificates & secrets › Client secrets › New client secret. Add a description, choose an expiry and click Add. Copy the Value straight away. Microsoft shows it only once.
In Business Central
- Add the app to Business Central. Search for Microsoft Entra applications and open the page. Select New. On the card, enter the Application (client) ID in Client ID, write MuchSkills in Description, and set State to Enabled.
- Assign read permissions. On the same card, assign permission sets that let the app read the data in scope, and nothing more. Business Central does not allow the SUPER permission set for apps. We confirm the exact permission sets with you in the technical session.
With MuchSkills
- Send us the connection details. Your tenant ID, the Business Central environment name, the company names, the client ID, the client secret and your scope, through a secure channel we agree.
- Join the technical session. Your Business Central administrator and our CTO map the data and test the connection together.
- Check a first sync. We sync a handful of projects or people. You check them in MuchSkills.
- Widen the scope. We switch the sync on for everything in scope. From then on it runs on a schedule.
Check it worked
- The projects in scope appear in Team Builder.
- Utilisation for the people on those projects shows in Team/Org › Reports.
- Absence from Business Central shows in each person's availability, for example in My Circle.
Benefits
What you get
- Business Central stays the source of truth. Projects and time are entered once, in Business Central, and MuchSkills follows.
- Staffing with real workload. You see who is already booked before you add someone to a team.
- Skills next to delivery. Add skill requirements to synced projects to find gaps and plan who to hire or upskill.
Important to know
Important to know
What syncs. We agree the exact records in the technical session. Typically these are projects, the people working on them, and absence.
Absence comes as dates and percentages only. Reasons are never imported. While Business Central manages absence, change absences there: the MuchSkills API refuses to overwrite them.
Read-only by permission sets. The Entra permission opens the door to the Business Central APIs. The permission sets on the Business Central card decide what the app can see. Assign read permissions only.
Data MuchSkills does not accept. These are blocked when data arrives and never stored, even if the source includes them: age or date of birth, salary or other compensation data, performance ratings, and political, religious or health data.
Our IP addresses. MuchSkills always connects from the same two addresses: 13.51.77.53 and 16.170.107.61. If your system or network limits access by IP address, add both to the allow list.
Keep the secret current. Put the client secret's expiry date in your calendar. When it expires, the sync stops until you send us a new one.
Common errors
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The connection test fails right after set-up | Admin consent was not granted, or the app's State is not Enabled in Business Central | Repeat step 3, and check the Microsoft Entra applications card |
| Some projects or people are missing | The permission sets do not cover them, or they are outside the agreed companies or scope | Check the permission sets on the card and your scope |
| People are not matched to their MuchSkills profiles | Their email in Business Central differs from the address they sign in with | Align the email addresses |
| You cannot change someone's absence through the MuchSkills API | Business Central manages absence for your organisation | Change the absence in Business Central |
| The sync stopped | The client secret expired or was deleted in Microsoft Entra | Create a new secret and send it to us securely |
Frequently asked questions
Business Central shows Contact us in MuchSkills. Can we still connect it?
Yes. Business Central is set up with us rather than from a form, because every Business Central environment is configured differently. Email support@muchskills.com or use the chat, and we book the technical session.
Do we need middleware or an integration platform?
No. MuchSkills reads from the Business Central APIs over HTTPS, signing in as the app you register in Microsoft Entra. Your team only registers the app and gives it read permissions.
Why is the Entra permission called API.ReadWrite.All?
It is the application permission Microsoft offers for reaching the Business Central APIs. What the app can actually see and do is decided by the permission sets you assign to it in Business Central. Assign read permissions only.
Which roles do we need?
In Microsoft Entra, someone who can register apps, and a Cloud Application Administrator, Application Administrator or Privileged Role Administrator to grant admin consent. In Business Central, an administrator who can set up Microsoft Entra applications and assign permission sets. In MuchSkills, the Owner or Admin role.
Can we test with a few projects first?
Yes. The first sync can be limited to a handful of projects or people. You check the result, then we widen the scope.
Do you import absence reasons?
No. MuchSkills takes only the dates and the percentage of time away. Reasons such as sick leave are never imported.
How do we send the credentials safely?
Through a secure channel we agree with you in advance, such as a password manager share. Never by plain email.
What happens when the client secret expires?
The sync stops. Create a new client secret in Microsoft Entra and send it to us through the agreed secure channel. Put the expiry date in your calendar when you create the secret.