Email Setup¶

This page covers how to set up email in Business Central so the system can send documents, notifications, and approval emails. This guide assumes your organization's Exchange Online / Microsoft 365 email is already configured.

Why email matters in Business Central¶

Many Business Central features rely on email being configured:

• Sending documents — sales invoices, purchase orders, reminders directly from BC
• Approval workflows — notifications to approvers
• Job Queue notifications — alerts when scheduled tasks fail
• Unattended printing — sending reports to email-enabled printers (see Using Printers)

Without email setup, these features either won't work or will require manual workarounds.

Setting up an email account¶

1. In Business Central, search for Email Accounts
2. Click Add an email account
3. Choose the account type:

Microsoft 365 (shared mailbox)¶

Sends email from a shared mailbox (e.g. invoices@yourcompany.com). Requires a shared mailbox to be set up in Exchange Online.

1. Select Microsoft 365
2. Enter the account name (display name for this email account in BC) and the email address of the shared mailbox
3. Click Next → Finish

Current User¶

Each user sends email from their own sign-in account. Simple, no extra setup needed.

1. Select Current User
2. Click Next → Finish

Every user who sends email from BC uses their own Microsoft 365 mailbox. This is the simplest option but means the sender address varies per user.

SMTP¶

For connecting to external email systems or mail relays.

1. Select SMTP
2. Enter:
   • Server name — your SMTP server address
   • Port — typically 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
   • Authentication — select the appropriate method
   • User name / password — SMTP credentials
3. Enable Secure Connection (TLS/SSL)
4. Click Next → Finish

Testing your email setup¶

After adding an email account:

1. Go to Email Accounts
2. Select the account you want to test
3. Click Send Test Email
4. Enter a recipient address and click Send
5. Verify the email was received

If the test fails, check:

• The email account credentials are correct
• The shared mailbox exists and the user has send-as permissions (for Microsoft 365 accounts)
• Your organization's Conditional Access policies allow the connection
• Firewall rules allow outbound traffic on the SMTP port (for SMTP connections)

Assigning email scenarios¶

Email scenarios determine which email account is used for which purpose. This ensures invoices go from one address and approval notifications from another.

1. Search for Email Scenario Assignment in Business Central
2. You'll see a list of scenarios like:
   • Sales Invoice — used when emailing sales invoices
   • Purchase Order — used when emailing purchase orders
   • Notification — used for workflow approval notifications
   • Job Queue — used for Job Queue error notifications
3. For each scenario, assign the appropriate email account
4. Set a Default account for any scenario that doesn't have a specific assignment

Common issues¶

"You don't have permission to send email"¶

The user doesn't have send-as permission on the shared mailbox. Fix this in Exchange Online Admin Center → Shared Mailboxes → select the mailbox → Delegation → add the user to Send As.

"Email was not sent" with no error details¶

Check the Email Outbox in Business Central (search for "Email Outbox"). Failed emails appear here with error details. Common causes:

• Email account not configured for the scenario
• Attachment too large (Exchange Online has a 25 MB limit by default for single emails)
• Rate limiting — too many emails sent in a short period

Emails from Job Queue are not sent¶

Job Queue runs under a specific user account. Ensure:

1. The Job Queue user has an email account assigned (or a default account is configured)
2. The user has the necessary permissions to send email
3. If using the "Current User" account type, the Job Queue user must have a valid mailbox

Further reading¶

• Set Up Email in Business Central — Microsoft Learn
• Email Scenario Assignment — Microsoft Learn