Comparing Native Accounts Payable in Business Central with Mekorma Payment Hub
Overview
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central gives AP teams a strong payment foundation. Payment journals, approval workflows, bank-file exports, and check printing are all built in, and for many companies that's everything they need.
As payment volume, entities, and vendor risk grow, some teams choose to extend those native processes. Mekorma runs inside Business Central and builds on the same journals, vendor records, and workflows. It adds centralized payment coordination, scheduling, vendor validation, enhanced check printing, and managed payment delivery.
This guide covers what's built in, how the Payables Agent and Continia fit on the invoice side, and how to tell when extending Business Central makes sense for your team.
What native Business Central does well
Business Central gives AP a solid payment foundation without any add-ons. Out of the box, it can:
Create and post vendor payments through payment journals, including Suggest Vendor Payments to build a payment run.
Route approvals with configurable workflows for finance journals and for changes to sensitive vendor fields like bank details.
Export bank payment files for upload to your bank's portal. Supported formats depend on your country, bank, and installed extensions.
Store vendor and vendor bank information needed to pay suppliers.
Run payments company by company, using each company's own data and processes.
For a single company with manageable volume and a stable bank-file process, that's often everything you need.
Where friction shows up as AP scales
Business Central doesn't stop working as you grow. What changes is how much manual coordination sits around it. These are the patterns we see most often:
The same work, repeated per company. AP switches into each company's payment journal, builds a batch, and repeats. With five or ten entities, that adds up fast.
Approvals that need chasing. Workflows exist, but no single place shows what's waiting, on whom, and across which companies.
Routine steps that never get automated. Building batches and sending approval requests stay user-initiated unless someone sets up job queues, extensions, or custom code.
Check printing that keeps breaking. Blank stock, MICR, signatures and thresholds, remittance overflow, and audit copies all create recurring maintenance.
Vendor bank data as a fraud target. Bank-detail changes are a common entry point for payment fraud, and checking identity, tax IDs, and sanctions status is often manual.
Growth without new headcount. An acquisition or new entity lands on the same AP team, or depends on one or two people who know how it all works.
Native Business Central and Mekorma, side by side
Mekorma runs natively inside Business Central and builds on its payment journals, vendor records, permissions, and workflows. It doesn't replace them.
| Need | Native Business Central | Mekorma adds |
|---|---|---|
| Payment workspace | Payment Journal plus related pages and actions | Action Board: one place to create batches, request approvals, schedule, process, and track status |
| Multi-company AP | Users work in each company's payment journal and switch companies as needed | Single- and multi-company Action Boards, plus Shared Services for centralized, multi-entity teams |
| Routine automation | Core tasks are user-initiated; more automation needs workflow setup, job queues, an extension, or customization | Action Board Scheduler runs predefined payment tasks on a schedule while keeping your approvals and controls |
| Check printing | Basic check printing | Enhanced Check Printing for blank stock, MICR, signatures and thresholds, remittance overflow, and audit copies |
| Vendor controls | Workflows can govern changes to sensitive fields such as bank details | Vendor Validation checks vendor identity, tax-ID matching, sanctions and compliance indicators, and address validity |
| Electronic payments | Exports bank files that you upload to your bank | Remote Payment Services (RPS) sends payments from Business Central to a provider that delivers them by check, ACH/EFT, or virtual card, and manages vendor enrolment |
Native capabilities and payment formats vary by country or region, bank, Business Central version, licensing, and installed Microsoft extensions.
Do you need an add-on for Business Central? A quick self-check
Additional software isn't the right answer for every Business Central customer. Use workload and risk as the test, not company size.
You probably don't need one yet if:
Invoice and payment volume is manageable for your current team.
You run one company, or have little cross-company payment activity.
Native approval workflows meet your requirements.
You use a few payment methods and are comfortable with your bank-file process.
Check volume is low and layouts rarely change.
Vendor setup and compliance checks are manageable with existing controls.
If that's you, start with workflow configuration, process cleanup, and user training. Your Microsoft partner can help.
It's worth exploring Mekorma if:
Payment preparation takes up a meaningful part of AP's week.
AP repeats the same steps across companies, entities, or bank accounts.
Approvals are hard to coordinate, monitor, or move along.
You want one workflow covering both printed checks and outsourced payments.
Check stock, signatures, remittance overflow, or layout changes create recurring work.
Vendor validation, sanctions screening, tax-ID accuracy, or exposure of vendor bank data is a growing concern.
AP needs to support growth without adding headcount or relying on one or two key people.
Customize, use your bank, or add Mekorma?
If native Business Central isn't enough, there are three common routes. Each is a different operating model with different upkeep.
| Option | Good fit when | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Custom workflows or extensions | You have a narrow, well-defined gap and a partner or in-house developer to own it | You take on design, testing, documentation, support, and rework at every Business Central upgrade |
| Your bank's ACH/EFT program | Volume is low and AP is comfortable maintaining vendor bank data and uploading files | AP still owns vendor enrollment, bank-data maintenance, and file handling; checks stay in-house |
| Mekorma | Payment work spans companies, methods, or approvers, or vendor risk is rising | An added product to license and adopt; scope only the modules that solve a documented gap |
What about the Business Central Payables Agent?
The Payables Agent handles the invoice side of AP; Mekorma handles the payment side. They solve different problems and work well together.
According to Microsoft's 2026 release wave 1 plan, the agent reads incoming invoices, matches vendors and accounts, and prepares invoices for approval with human oversight. Since early 2026 it can also match invoices to purchase orders and receipts. It prepares draft purchase invoices rather than posting them.
What it doesn't do is run the payment cycle that follows: building payment batches across companies, routing payment approvals, printing checks, validating vendors before money moves, or delivering payments by ACH, check, or virtual card. That's where Mekorma fits.
When to use Continia for invoice capture instead
The Payables Agent suits a simple intake: PDF invoices arriving by email at moderate volume. It currently handles up to 100 emails a day, with one agent per company. If your invoice side is more demanding, Continia Document Capture is the more complete option. Consider it when you need:
Capture of scanned paper, PDF, and electronic (XML or Peppol) invoices, including splitting multi-invoice PDFs.
A full invoice approval workflow with approval limits, plus a web portal for approvers who don't use Business Central.
Order matching against purchase orders and receipts, and a searchable digital archive for audits.
Mekorma and Continia work together to support a smoother accounts payable process. Continia helps teams capture, match, and approve invoices. Once invoices are posted, Mekorma helps manage the next steps, from preparing and approving payments to printing checks, validating vendors, and delivering payments.
Microsoft updates its agents frequently. This section reflects capabilities as of October 2026.
Questions to ask your AP team
The answers will tell you quickly whether native Business Central is still the right fit.
Workload
How many payment runs, companies, bank accounts, and payment methods does AP manage?
Which steps repeat every run, and how much staff time do they take?
How much depends on one or two experienced people?
Approvals and visibility
Where do payment approvals stall or need follow-up?
Can AP and leadership see payment status across all companies without switching or compiling reports?
Which payment tasks would you schedule if your controls stayed in place?
Checks and electronic payments
How often do check layouts, signatures, bank accounts, or remittance needs change?
Who exports and uploads bank files, maintains vendor bank data, and follows up on failed enrolments?
Do you want to reduce checks, outsource them, or improve in-house printing?
Risk and growth
How do you validate vendor identity, tax information, addresses, sanctions status, and bank changes?
What happens to AP workload after the next acquisition, entity, or volume increase?
Are you trying to scale payments without adding AP headcount?
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central handles accounts payable automation and where Mekorma adds value.
Does Business Central have AP automation built in?
Yes. It supports payment journals, Suggest Vendor Payments, approval workflows, and bank file exports. Mekorma builds on those features rather than replacing them.
Can Business Central do ACH/EFT payments?
Yes. It exports supported bank payment files that you upload to your bank; formats vary by country and bank. Mekorma's Remote Payment Services offers a different model, where a provider delivers ACH, check, and virtual-card payments and manages vendor enrollment.
Does Business Central have payment approvals?
Yes, through configurable approval workflows. Mekorma adds a central Action Board to track and move approvals across batches and companies.
Can native Business Central print checks?
Yes, and that works well for low, stable check volume. Mekorma's Enhanced Check Printing is for teams dealing with blank stock, MICR, signatures, remittance overflow, or frequent layout changes.
Isn't the Payables Agent enough?
The Payables Agent prepares invoices; it doesn't run payments, print checks, or validate vendors before money moves. Many teams use both.
Should we just customize Business Central instead?
That can work for a narrow gap. Custom code needs ongoing testing, support, and rework at every upgrade, which a purpose-built product avoids.
Does Mekorma make Business Central more complicated?
Mekorma runs inside Business Central, so AP stays in a familiar environment and Business Central remains the system of record. You can adopt only the modules you need.
Are we too small for AP automation?
Size isn't the trigger. Smaller teams can still have multiple companies, complex approvals, heavy check volume, or vendor-fraud exposure. Use workload and risk as the test.
