Inventory management depends on more than knowing what is in stock. Purchasing, receiving, supplier invoices, approvals, and financial records all contribute to the accuracy of inventory data. For organizations using , connecting these processes with automated invoice management can help create a more consistent flow of information from purchase order to receipt and payment.
Key Highlights
- Inventory management depends on accurate purchasing and receiving information, not just warehouse counts.
- Dynamics 365 Business Central connects purchasing transactions with inventory and financial records.
- automates invoice capture, coding, approvals, and purchase order matching.
- Three-way matching compares invoices with purchase orders, contracts, and receipts to identify discrepancies.
- Rillion integrates with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, helping organizations connect AP automation with their existing ERP processes.
Why Is AP Important to Inventory Management?
Accounts payable may not be the first process businesses associate with inventory management, but the two are closely connected through purchasing. When an organization purchases inventory, the purchase order, receipt, supplier invoice, and payment all represent different parts of the same transaction.
In Dynamics 365 Business Central, purchase orders and invoices can be used to record purchasing activity, while posting purchases updates inventory and financial records. This makes accurate purchasing and receiving information important to maintaining reliable inventory and financial data.
The challenge becomes greater as invoice volumes increase. Rillion notes that enterprise organizations may process tens of thousands of invoices each month across a global supplier base. Manual data entry, coding, and approval follow-up can create inefficiencies, slow the month-end close, and increase the risk of errors.
How Does Dynamics 365 BC Support Inventory and Purchasing?
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides a connected purchasing process in which inventory purchases can flow through purchase orders, receipts, invoices, and ledger entries. When purchases are posted, the appropriate inventory and financial records are updated, giving organizations a common system for tracking the transaction.
Purchase orders are particularly useful when businesses need to track partial receipts. For example, if a vendor cannot deliver an entire order at once, Business Central can record the quantities received while maintaining the remaining quantity on the purchase order.
This connection matters for inventory management because the purchasing process provides information about goods coming into the business. Business Central also provides inventory reporting that can help users analyze outstanding purchase orders, expected receipt dates, back orders, and expected purchase volume.
What Problems Can Manual Invoice Processing Create?
Manual invoice processing can make it harder to maintain a clear connection between what was ordered, what was received, and what the supplier is charging. Rillion identifies three common enterprise challenges: high invoice volumes, a lack of centralized visibility across entities and regions, and difficulty maintaining consistent controls across complex approval and payment processes.
For inventory-focused organizations, discrepancies between purchasing documents and supplier invoices can also create additional work. Finance teams may have to manually compare documents, investigate differences, chase approvals, and reconcile information before an invoice can move forward.
The result is not simply a slower AP process. When purchasing and invoice information are difficult to reconcile, employees have less time to focus on exceptions and less visibility into the financial side of purchasing activity.
How Does Rillion Connect Invoice Management with Dynamics 365 BC?
Rillion integrates with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to automate invoice data and AP workflows. The integration is designed to allow invoice information to move between Rillion and the ERP, reducing the need for duplicate entry and helping organizations maintain consistent financial records.
The process begins with invoice capture. Rillion uses AI-native technology to extract information from invoices received in formats such as PDFs, scanned documents, XML, and EDI feeds. It identifies information such as supplier details, reference numbers, line items, amounts, and tax information, then applies coding suggestions based on previous behavior.
From there, invoices can be routed automatically according to approval rules. Rillion supports customizable workflows, role-based permissions, reminders, and desktop or mobile approvals, helping keep invoices from sitting in inboxes while teams wait for authorization.
Why Is Three-Way Matching Important for Inventory Management?
Three-way matching is important because it compares an invoice against the purchasing and receiving information associated with the transaction. Rillion's matching engine validates invoices against purchase orders, contracts, and receipts, allowing organizations to identify issues such as duplicate charges, missing credits, or price discrepancies before payment.
This approach can be particularly useful when purchasing activity involves large vendor contracts, recurring charges, or multiple locations. Instead of manually checking every transaction, finance teams can focus their attention on exceptions that require investigation.
When everything aligns, the invoice can move through the workflow and into the ERP. When there is a discrepancy, the system flags it and routes it to the appropriate workflow for review.
How Does Better Invoice Visibility Support Inventory Decisions?
Better invoice visibility gives finance teams a clearer view of liabilities and supplier spending. Rillion provides a centralized dashboard that tracks invoice status across regions and entities, helping finance leaders monitor spending, manage cash flow, and stay prepared for audits.
For organizations using Dynamics 365 BC, this visibility complements the ERP's purchasing and inventory information. Business Central captures purchasing and receipt activity, while automated invoice processing helps ensure that supplier invoices are captured, matched, approved, and transferred accurately.
The goal is not to replace inventory management in Dynamics 365 BC. Instead, AP automation can help strengthen the purchasing-to-payment process that surrounds inventory.
What Should Businesses Look for in an Inventory and AP Process Solution?
A strong process should make it easier to connect purchasing, receiving, invoicing, approvals, and financial records. When evaluating an AP automation approach alongside Dynamics 365 BC, organizations should consider whether it can:
- Capture invoice information without extensive manual entry
- Match invoices against purchase orders and receipts
- Route invoices through appropriate approval workflows
- Support multiple entities, locations, and ERP connections
- Provide centralized visibility into invoice status and spending
- Maintain an audit trail of invoices, approvals, exceptions, and payments
Rillion states that its enterprise platform supports more than 50 ERP integrations and provides multi-entity management, automated workflows, three-way matching, and real-time invoice visibility.
Frequently Asked Questions About Inventory Management and Dynamics 365 BC
Q: How does Dynamics 365 BC connect purchasing and inventory?
A: Business Central connects purchasing transactions with inventory and financial records, including purchase orders, receipts, invoices, and ledger entries.
Q: Why does invoice automation matter for inventory-focused businesses?
A: Invoice automation helps connect supplier invoices with purchase orders and receipts while reducing manual entry, approval delays, and reconciliation work.
Q: What is three-way matching?
A: Three-way matching compares an invoice with purchasing and receiving information to identify discrepancies before payment.
Q: Does Rillion integrate with Dynamics 365 Business Central?
A: Yes. Rillion lists Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central among its ERP integrations for synchronizing invoice data and automating AP workflows.
Q: Can Business Central track partial receipts?
A: Yes. Business Central supports purchase orders when organizations need to record partial receipts of ordered quantities.
Building a More Connected Inventory Management Process
Inventory management is strongest when purchasing, receiving, financial, and supplier information work together. Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the ERP foundation for managing purchasing and inventory transactions, while Rillion can automate the invoice capture, matching, approval, and AP processes that surround those transactions.
For organizations evaluating their current inventory management process, a useful starting point is to look beyond stock quantities and examine how purchasing documents, receipts, invoices, and approvals move through the business. Identifying where manual entry, delayed approvals, or reconciliation work create friction can help clarify where automation may strengthen the overall process.
If you'd like to know more about how Rillion can automate your inventory management in Dynamics 365 Business Central, our experts at Rillion.
By Rillion, rillion.com