Architecture suggestion: PDF data sent to BC for Entity creation

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Posted on by Rudylar

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Dear Community,

My question relates to a preliminary phase of a project. I am looking for recommendations on the overall architecture. Goal is explained below, and I added my initial thoughts based on my research:

Project description:

A form (PDF file) gathers projects' specific specification data. This data is currently entered manually in BC by internal team. My goal is to automate the data extraction, sending to BC and perform actions (create entities, etc.) based on the data. Once I have the data in BC, it is pretty clear for me (JSON data conversion into actions with AL code or Power Automate).

Initial thoughts:

Was considering adding a button in the PDF form and Javascript the extraction/ParseJSON and send to a WebService on BC. But not sure about all steps' stakes (i.e. JS code, authentification for sending data.

Own investigation:

1- data form container -> currently it is PDF. Extraction from a button/JS seems very inconsistent (many methods ended not working during my tests). Could potentially move to other solution (offline mode of a page on Dynamics 365 Sales App, excel, etc.). The solution on the CRM would simplify the authentification process.

2- data extraction -> any recommendations if I am keeping the PDF ?

3- export to BC -> thinking about using a WebService (if submited from outside). The OAuth method is a layer that I am wondering where to apply. If the form is already somewhere in the Tenant, integration is easier, but it is extra dev for me.

4- treatment on BC -> AL codeunit triggered by the Webservice or Power Automate

I am curious about your thoughts on that. Thank you. Peace

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Dynamics 365 Business Central

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Gerardo Rentería Ga... 25,236 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Hi, good day
I hope this can help you, and give you some hints.

Demo: Azure AI Document con Business Central

Sácale partido a Azure AI Document Intelligence

Best Regards
Gerardo

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Ramesh Kumar 7,529 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Avoid using PDF if possible – use Power Apps, Excel, or Microsoft Forms for easier integration and authentication.

If PDF is required, use AI Builder or Azure Form Recognizer to extract data automatically Send extracted data to Business Central using: Power Automate (best for internal users)Or an Azure Function with OAuth 2.0 (for external access)In Business Central, create an AL Codeunit exposed as a Web Service to process the incoming JSON and perform actions like creating records.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/release-plan/2024wave2/smb/dynamics365-business-central/planned-features?utm

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YUN ZHU 95,729 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Could you consider using the standard OCR feature?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/across-income-documents?wt.mc_id=DX-MVP-5004336

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8HW3Bnt2EY

Hope this helps.

Thanks

ZHU

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Khushbu Rajvi. 20,603 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Relying on JavaScript within a PDF is unreliable and often blocked by security settings. Using AI Builder/Form Recognizer or Adobe PDF Services for data extraction, followed by Power Automate or Azure Functions to securely route the data to Business Central via OAuth2 (standard for BC APIs), is a robust and scalable approach. It also separates concerns: extraction, transformation, authentication, and entity creation.

https://docparser.com/blog/pdf-to-microsoft-business-central/#:~:text=The%20easiest%20and%20most%20effective,to%20extract%20data%20from%20documents.

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