Integrating Magento with Microsoft’s Business Central

Integrating Adobe Commerce (Magento) with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central synchronises product catalogs, inventory, orders and customer data between your online store and back-office ERP. This automation streamlines operations, reduces errors and speeds up fulfilment.

In this blog we explain how the integration works, explore tools like Celigo and Patchworks (and custom API approaches), compare Business Central to entry-level systems like QuickBooks or Xero, and share best practices for a successful ERP–eCommerce integration.

What is Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento)?

Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) is a robust e-commerce platform designed for medium to large B2C and B2B retailers. As Adobe’s enterprise e-commerce solution, it supports multi-site and multi-brand storefronts with highly customisable features. Unlike simpler hosted platforms, Adobe Commerce is cloud-native and API-driven.

It lets merchants create lightning-fast storefronts, run multiple language/currency sites, and manage large product catalogs and complex promotions.

For example, Adobe notes that Commerce “simplifies global expansion with a flexible multisite architecture” – allowing businesses to build region-specific sites with native support for multiple languages, currencies and tax rules.

In practice, Adobe Commerce is best suited to businesses that need full control over the shopping experience and expect high traffic or very large catalogues. It supports features like advanced SEO, customer segmentation, personalisation and B2B functionality out-of-the-box.

Many online retailers with substantial volume (tens of thousands of SKUs or more) choose Adobe Commerce for its scalability and flexibility. Unlike small business shopping carts, it can handle millions of products, complex pricing rules and custom checkout flows.

In summary, Adobe Commerce is an enterprise-grade e-commerce engine that shines when you need performance and full customisation across multiple sales channels.

Why pair Magento with Dynamics 365 Business Central (not QuickBooks or Xero)

While entry-level accounting packages (QuickBooks, Xero, etc.) work for very small stores, they quickly reach limits in a growing e-commerce business. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is a full-featured cloud ERP that goes far beyond basic bookkeeping.

Business Central handles accounting, inventory, order fulfilment, purchasing, warehousing and even manufacturing all in one unified system. In contrast, QuickBooks or Xero focus mainly on core accounting and invoicing – requiring third-party add-ons or manual workarounds for inventory, multi-channel sales or analytics.

For example, QuickBooks is known for ease of use but suffers “scalability issues” when transaction volume grows. It lacks built-in inventory or supply-chain modules, so retailers often must juggle spreadsheets or separate tools for stock and shipping.

Business Central’s edge is that it scales with your business. A UK systems consultant notes that BC offers “extensive financial, supply chain, and CRM functionalities” for mid-to-large companies, whereas Xero is ideal only for simple small-business accounting.

In Business Central, you get warehouse and inventory management, multi-currency handling, and advanced reporting included (especially in the Premium plan). For example, Business Central can track stock in multiple locations and automatically reserve inventory for online sales – something QuickBooks and Xero cannot do natively. It also integrates naturally with other Microsoft tools (Office 365, Power BI, etc.), adding to its power.

In practice, this means a Magento merchant using Business Central can have automated end-to-end processes: when a customer places an order on the store, an invoice is created in BC, stock is deducted, and shipping updates flow back – all without manual entry.

With QuickBooks or Xero, these workflows would require custom links or error-prone data imports. In short, pairing Adobe Commerce with Business Central gives growing retailers an integrated system that handles orders, inventory, finance and customers together. This unified approach reduces silos and supports expansion, making Business Central a far better match for a serious Magento store than entry-level finance apps.

Related Article: Business Central and Shopify

How the Magento – Business Central integration works

When you connect Adobe Commerce with Business Central, the two systems share key data in real time (or close to real time). Typical integration flows include:

• Product and Catalog Sync: New products, SKUs, descriptions, prices and categories are sent from Business Central to Magento, or vice versa. For example, a new item created in BC can be published automatically to the online catalog. Prices and inventory levels stay in sync across systems.
• Inventory and Stock Updates: Inventory levels (on-hand stock) in Business Central update the Magento store so customers see accurate availability. Conversely, if you sell on multiple channels, any change in Magento stock can flow back to BC.
• Orders and Sales: When a customer checks out in Adobe Commerce, the order (with customer and payment details) is sent into Business Central as a sales order or invoice. Business Central can then handle fulfilment, invoicing and accounting. If orders are taken offline or in another channel, those can feed into Magento’s back-office if needed.
• Customer Data: Customer accounts or contact information can be created or updated in Business Central when a new Magento customer orders, ensuring a consistent customer record. Similarly, returning customer info (like loyalty data) can be sent to Magento.

The integration ensures products, stock and orders flow seamlessly between the Adobe Commerce store and Business Central. Typical processes include publishing products to the storefront, syncing real-time inventory levels, and turning Magento orders into sales orders in BC.

In technical terms, integration usually relies on APIs or middleware. Adobe Commerce provides REST and SOAP APIs to push and pull data, and Business Central likewise offers web services (OData/REST) for external apps.

A middleware or connector tool will map and transform the data between the two. For instance, a common flow is to use Business Central’s web API to feed product and stock data into Magento’s catalog, while using Magento’s API to pull new orders into BC. Some integrations also use webhooks: whenever a product or order changes in one system, a webhook notifies the other system to update.

For example, a custom integration might work as follows: the Business Central product database is configured to include Magento-specific fields (like online SKU, weight or warehouse). When a new product record is created in BC, a script or middleware sends that item to Magento with the proper category and price. When a customer places an order on the Magento store, an automated process calls Business Central’s API to create the corresponding sales order. That order will include the Magento order ID, customer billing and shipping info, and line items (with SKUs). BC then can complete the order by packing and invoicing from the ERP side.

A real-world example from an implementation partner shows this in action. In one Magento-BC project, the integration specialists “narrowed the key data points to sync between the two platforms — products, inventory, and orders”. They mapped fields so that Magento SKUs, prices and stock levels always matched BC’s item records.

Custom triggers were even added so that if an order synced and a required product or customer didn’t exist in the target system, it would be created on-the-fly. Thorough testing (in a staging copy of the site) ensured that prices, inventory and order details appeared correctly on each side before going live.

Integration tools and approaches

There are two main approaches to integration: using an integration platform/connector or building a custom API solution. Popular tools include Celigo and Patchworks (and others like Zapier, Microsoft Power Automate, etc.). We describe these options below, along with their pros and cons.

Celigo iPaaS:

Celigo is an integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) with prebuilt templates for Magento-BC. It offers drag-and-drop mapping, AI-enhanced error handling, and monitoring tools.

For example, Celigo provides a “Magento 2 – Business Central” template that syncs Magento orders into BC sales orders. The platform emphasizes low-code development and reusability: you can modify flows in a visual editor and leverage Celigo’s built-in best practices.

Pros: Fast to deploy; includes prebuilt flows (orders, products, inventory); robust error alerts; good for teams without deep coding resources.

Cons: It is a commercial subscription (cost increases with volume), and might not cover every special use-case out of the box. But Celigo’s flexibility makes it easy to extend if you do have custom needs.

Patchworks iPaaS:

Patchworks (a UK-based provider) also offers a no-code integration platform for Magento and Business Central. It touts a “Visual Canvas” where you can draw data flows without coding.

Key features include real-time monitoring (with transparent logs and payload tracking) so you can see exactly what data is moving.

For example, Patchworks advertises that the integration “enables real-time data synchronization between sales channels” and automates order fulfilment, shipping and payment processes.

Pros: User-friendly interface; strong monitoring (good for IT teams); designed for retail use-cases; good for UK/Europe customers.

Cons: As with any iPaaS, it’s a paid service; pricing and performance vary by data volume. Also, being a smaller vendor than Microsoft, you’ll rely on Patchworks’ support for updates.

Custom API Integration:

The most flexible (but labour-intensive) approach is to develop a bespoke integration using each system’s APIs. You could write custom code or scripts (for example, an AL extension in Business Central and a PHP/Node.js service for Magento).

Pros: You can tailor every detail exactly to your needs, and avoid third-party subscription fees. This method can handle complex business logic that no generic tool covers.

Cons: It requires skilled developers in both Business Central (AL language) and Magento (PHP) – which can be costly. Maintenance and updates are all on you, so long-term support can be an issue. You must also handle error logging, retry logic, security and performance. This route is best if your integration needs are very unique or volume is low.

In practice, many businesses start with an iPaaS and add custom code where needed. For example, one Magento integration project used Celigo for the core data sync, and then wrote a few custom triggers to handle “complex stock values” (like backordered quantities) and auto-create missing records. The integration was then tested and scheduled via Celigo, and developers only tweaked the parts that needed it.

Synchronisation flow: Products, Orders, Inventory, Customers

To sum up the information flow in a Magento–Business Central integration:

Products/Items:

When new items or SKUs are created in BC, they can be exported to Adobe Commerce. Field mappings ensure Magento gets the right SKU, name, price, description and stock-keeping details. This means your online catalog stays in sync with your ERP data. Conversely, if you add a product in Magento, the integration can create or update the matching item in BC (e.g. copying images or custom attributes back).

Inventory/Stock Levels:

Every sale on the e-commerce site should reduce stock in the ERP. Integrations typically push real-time stock quantities from BC into Magento, so the storefront always reflects actual availability. If inventory is adjusted in BC (e.g. after a warehouse shipment), that new stock level is sent back to the store, preventing overselling.

Orders and Invoices:

Each online order (with its payment details and customer info) is turned into a sales order or invoice in Business Central. This creates an audit trail and triggers fulfilment/ledger postings in the ERP. Some setups even send shipping or tracking updates back to Magento’s order record once fulfilled, keeping the customer’s account page up to date.

Customer Records:

New customers in the store can be synced into BC as contacts, and existing customer accounts updated bi-directionally. For example, if a guest checks out and provides an address, the integration may create a customer card in BC. This ensures all order data in BC is tied to a customer. Similarly, if a customer’s address or email is updated in BC, it can be pushed to Magento.

Prebuilt connectors typically cover all these areas. For instance, common integration maps include Magento Products ↔ BC Items, Magento Customers ↔ BC Customers, Magento Orders → BC Sales Invoices, and even Magento Credit Memos ↔ BC Refunds.

In other words, inventory and catalog data usually flow from BC to Magento, and order/sales data flows from Magento to BC. The key is to keep the attributes aligned: SKUs, customer IDs and payment codes must match across both systems. Proper field-mapping and data cleansing (see below) ensures “single source of truth” consistency.

Why Business Central beats QuickBooks/Xero for Magento stores

As noted above, Business Central’s strength comes from its breadth of features. It is a true ERP rather than just an accounting app. Here are some specific reasons it’s a better pairing with Magento:

• Inventory & Warehousing: BC can track stock in multiple warehouses and automatically allocate it to orders, something Xero/QuickBooks cannot do. A Magento retailer needs accurate inventory so customers don’t buy out-of-stock items. Business Central’s inventory module handles this natively.
• Multi-channel Sales: BC is built for multi-channel businesses – it can consolidate orders from e-commerce, retail POS, and more. QuickBooks, by contrast, is really one channel (your books). As soon as a Magento merchant adds another sales channel (another store, a marketplace, a B2B portal), BC can handle the complexity without needing dozens of spreadsheets.
• Compliance and Localisation: Business Central includes global tax and reporting features (multi-currency, VAT rates, country regulations). QuickBooks/Xero do not have built-in EU VAT or UK VAT (MTD) if you’re outside the Small Business regime, making them less suitable for larger international sellers.
• Scalability and Customisation: Business Central can be extended with modules (projects, service management, manufacturing) as a company grows. In contrast, adding features to QuickBooks usually means patching together separate apps. A survey of finance managers notes that as business complexity grows, “QuickBooks can no longer keep up” and firms move to BC for advanced budgeting, consolidation and analytics.
• Analytics and Insights: Business Central integrates with Power BI and provides detailed reporting. For example, you can run sales, inventory and financial reports on live data. QuickBooks/Xero offer basic reports but need third-party tools for anything elaborate.

In summary, for a mid-sized e-commerce business, Business Central provides a robust financial and ERP backbone that aligns with Magento’s capabilities. While QuickBooks or Xero might seem cheaper or easier at first, they often become bottlenecks.

Upgrading to Dynamics 365 Business Central keeps all your sales and inventory data in one place and unlocks richer automation and insights.

Related Article: Business Central vs Quickbooks

Related Article: Business Central vs Xero

Best practices for a successful ERP–eCommerce integration

Building a smooth Magento–ERP connection requires careful planning. Here are general best practices to follow:

Define Clear Goals and Scope:

Before diving in, map out exactly what you need to sync (products, orders, customers, etc.) and why. As experts advise, “identify the business requirements, and define the processes that you want to automate”.

Decide which data fields are critical (e.g. SKU, price, stock, customer email) and agree on formatting standards. This will prevent scope creep and ensure everyone (IT, sales, finance) is aligned.

Example: if you sell on multiple websites, you might initially sync only stock and orders, leaving promotions and reviews for later.

Choose the Right Integration Solution:

Evaluate whether a connector (Celigo, Patchworks, etc.) fits your needs or if a custom build is required. An iPaaS can speed up development, but check that it supports all the data flows you want.

In some cases, you might start with prebuilt templates and add one-off code for extras (as seen in one project where Celigo handled core flows and developers added custom triggers for special stock logic). Make sure the solution you pick is compatible with your Magento version and Business Central deployment.

Clean and Standardise Your Data:

Integration only works if your data is clean. Before syncing, audit and tidy up data in both systems.

For example, ensure all products have unique SKUs and consistent naming in Business Central. Remove any duplicate or test records. Standardise how you store things like country names, units of measure and currency. One guide stresses that you should “ensure your data is clean, accurate, and standardised” for customers, products, inventory and orders. Good data hygiene prevents mismatches and sync errors down the line.

Secure Your APIs and Credentials:

Use dedicated integration accounts with the minimum necessary permissions. Store API keys or OAuth credentials securely.

Both Adobe Commerce and BC support role-based security. Make sure the integration adheres to PCI and data protection requirements, especially if you’re handling customer payment or personal data.

Use HTTPS/TLS for all data transfer. (For example, Microsoft suggests using encrypted connections and authentication for Business Central web services.)

Involve Your Team and Train Users:

An ERP–eCommerce integration affects many departments. Get input from finance, warehouse, IT and sales early on. Train staff on how the new workflows will work – for instance, order processing shifts from manual entry into BC to an automated queue of Magento orders.

As one expert notes, providing “timely training to the employees and the team members helps in improved productivity”.

Gather feedback from test users: they may spot issues (like missing data fields) that developers miss.

Test Thoroughly Before Go-Live:

Use a staging or sandbox environment. Run realistic test cases: make sample orders in Magento and verify they appear correctly in BC (and vice versa if applicable).

Test edge cases like partial order shipments, backorders, or refunds. Our implementation team emphasised testing “for multiple scenarios” (product sync, order sync, inventory sync) in staging to catch technical bugs before launch. Fix issues early rather than during a live sale.

Monitor and Iterate After Launch:

Once live, monitor the integration logs closely. Automations sometimes drift if data formats change. Use the platform’s monitoring tools (Celigo and Patchworks both provide dashboards) to watch for errors or stalled flows.

According to best-practice guides, you should “monitor performance” and address issues promptly to prevent disruptions. Have a plan for rolling back or pausing integration if something goes wrong during a busy sale period.

Integration in Action: An Example

To illustrate, imagine an online fashion retailer using Adobe Commerce. They have hundreds of products and multiple warehouses.

Before integration, staff were manually exporting sales orders from Magento and importing them into Excel to update inventory – a tedious, error-prone task.

After implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central integration, the workflow changed dramatically:

• The product catalog is managed in BC. When a new clothing item is added (with its size/colour variants and pricing), the integration automatically publishes it to the Magento site. Online images and descriptions are kept in sync too.
• Customers now buy online, and each order is automatically created as a sales order in BC. The ERP immediately reserves stock from the correct warehouse. Warehouse staff see the order in their BC order queue and fulfil it without touching Magento or Excel.
• If stock levels fall below a threshold, a purchase order workflow in BC can automatically reorder materials or notify management. Meanwhile, the Magento site shows “out of stock” to customers, preventing oversells.

In short, the retailer went from fragmented manual processes to an automated, end-to-end system.

This led to faster order processing, far fewer data entry mistakes, and happier customers (faster deliveries). Similar benefits are seen across industries – from electronics and homeware to sporting goods – whenever Magento is synced to a solid ERP like Business Central.

Conclusion

Integrating Adobe Commerce (Magento) with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central brings your e-commerce and back-office together. Products, orders, inventory and customer data all flow seamlessly between the systems, reducing manual work and errors.

Tools like Celigo and Patchworks provide fast, template-based integrations (with drag-and-drop interfaces and real-time monitoring).

Alternatively, a custom API solution offers full control for unique needs. In either case, it’s important to plan carefully, clean your data, test thoroughly and monitor the integration as you grow.

For B2C e-commerce companies, moving beyond entry-level finance software is often critical to scale. As we’ve seen, Dynamics 365 Business Central can handle the complex workflows that Magento demands – from multi-warehouse stock control to consolidated reporting – whereas simpler tools like QuickBooks or Xero would quickly become limiting. By following the best practices above, merchants can achieve a tight ERP–Magento integration that drives efficiency and provides real-time business insights.

Integrating your store with Business Central can be a game-changer: you automate routine tasks, keep your data accurate across platforms, and free up your team to focus on growth. Whether you use an iPaaS connector or custom code, the end result is the same – a unified commerce system that supports your customers, your finances and your operations in harmony.

Next Steps:

If you’re considering Adobe Commerce (Magento) and Business Central, contact us for a free assessment to see if this is the best fit for your business.

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