Integrating Python with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is a powerful ERP system that allows API-based integration. This guide will help you connect Business Central with Python using OData and REST APIs, covering authentication, data retrieval, and automation.

1. Understanding Business Central APIs

Business Central provides two main APIs:

1. OData V4 API – For querying and interacting with ERP data.
2. REST API – For interacting with Business Central web services.

Both require authentication, typically using OAuth2 or Basic Authentication (for on-premises setups).

2. Authentication: Getting Access to Business Central

Option 1: OAuth2 Authentication (Cloud BC - Recommended)

OAuth2 is the preferred method for Business Central Online (SaaS).

Step 1: Register an Azure App

• Go to Azure Portal → App registrations.
• Register a new app and note the Client ID and Tenant ID.
• Generate a Client Secret under “Certificates & secrets”.
• Assign API permissions for Business Central.

Step 2: Get an Access Token Using Python

import requests

TENANT_ID = "your-tenant-id"
CLIENT_ID = "your-client-id"
CLIENT_SECRET = "your-client-secret"
SCOPE = "https://api.businesscentral.dynamics.com/.default"
TOKEN_URL = f"https://login.microsoftonline.com/{TENANT_ID}/oauth2/v2.0/token"

payload = {
    "grant_type": "client_credentials",
    "client_id": CLIENT_ID,
    "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET,
    "scope": SCOPE,
}

response = requests.post(TOKEN_URL, data=payload)
token = response.json().get("access_token")
print("Access Token:", token)

Option 2: Basic Authentication (On-Premises BC Only)

For Business Central On-Premises, use Basic Authentication with a Web Service Access Key.

from requests.auth import HTTPBasicAuth

USER = "your-username"
PASSWORD = "your-web-service-access-key"

auth = HTTPBasicAuth(USER, PASSWORD)

3. Fetching Data from Business Central API

Once authenticated, we can query the Business Central OData API.

Example: Retrieve Customer Data

headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Accept": "application/json"}
URL = "https://api.businesscentral.dynamics.com/v2.0/{tenant_id}/sandbox/ODataV4/Company('CRONUS')/Customers"

response = requests.get(URL, headers=headers)

if response.status_code == 200:
    customers = response.json()
    print(customers)
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}, {response.text}")

4. Creating Records in Business Central

We can send a POST request to create new records.

customer_data = {
    "Name": "Skewed Monk Ltd.",
    "Address": "Kathmandu, Nepal",
    "City": "Kathmandu",
    "PhoneNo": "9800000000",
}

response = requests.post(URL, headers=headers, json=customer_data)

if response.status_code == 201:
    print("Customer created successfully.")
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}, {response.text}")

5. Updating and Deleting Records

Update an Existing Customer

customer_id = "123456"  # Replace with actual Customer ID
update_url = f"{URL}('{customer_id}')"

update_data = {"City": "Pokhara"}  # Updating the city

response = requests.patch(update_url, headers=headers, json=update_data)

if response.status_code == 204:
    print("Customer updated successfully.")
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}, {response.text}")

Delete a Customer Record

delete_url = f"{URL}('{customer_id}')"
response = requests.delete(delete_url, headers=headers)

if response.status_code == 204:
    print("Customer deleted successfully.")
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}, {response.text}")

6. Automating ERP Integration

We can automate API calls using cron jobs (Linux) or Task Scheduler (Windows).

Example: Automating Data Sync

Create a Python script (sync_customers.py) and schedule it to run every night.

import time

def fetch_data_with_retry(url, headers, retries=3, delay=5):
    for i in range(retries):
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            return response.json()
        else:
            print(f"Attempt {i+1} failed: {response.status_code}")
            time.sleep(delay)
    return None

customers = fetch_data_with_retry(URL, headers)

Linux (cron job example):

0 2 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/sync_customers.py

Windows (Task Scheduler example):

1. Create a new task
2. Set the trigger: Daily at 2 AM
3. Set the action: Run python sync_customers.py

7. Handling Common API Issues

1. Rate Limits & Retry Strategy

ERP APIs may throttle requests if you exceed the limit. Implement exponential backoff.

import time

def api_call_with_backoff(url, headers, retries=3):
    delay = 2
    for i in range(retries):
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            return response.json()
        elif response.status_code == 429:  # Too many requests
            print(f"Rate limit hit, retrying in {delay} seconds...")
            time.sleep(delay)
            delay *= 2
        else:
            break
    return None

2. Authentication Expiry

OAuth tokens expire after some time. Implement a token refresh mechanism.

8. Business Use Cases for Python-ERP Integration

Python can be used to automate several ERP-related tasks:

Use Case	Implementation
Customer & Vendor Sync	Fetch/update customers & vendors from BC
Order Processing	Automate sales order creation
Inventory Management	Update stock levels dynamically
Payment Gateway Integration	Sync payments with Business Central
Report Generation & Email Alerts	Generate automated sales reports

Conclusion

Integrating Python with Business Central allows for automation, real-time data exchange, and enhanced ERP functionality. We explored authentication, data retrieval, record creation, updates, and automation.