Business Central Extension

Approval Workflow for Master Record in Business Central.

1. Overview

This extension automatically blocks newly created Vendor, Customer, and Item records so that they cannot be used in transactions until they have passed through an approval workflow. It removes the risk of a brand-new master record being used — for example, to post a purchase invoice or sales order — before someone has reviewed and approved it.

The extension only takes effect when an approval workflow is enabled for the relevant record type. If no workflow is enabled, new records behave exactly as they do in standard Business Central.

2. What This Extension Does

When a new Vendor, Customer, or Item is created, the extension checks whether an approval workflow is enabled for that record type. If one is enabled, the extension:

1.   Automatically sets the record’s Blocked field so it cannot be used.

2.   Marks the record internally with a new Is New flag.

3.   Prevents anyone from manually changing the Blocked field while the record is in this pending state.

4.   Automatically unblocks the record once the approval workflow completes and the record is released.

3. How It Works

3.1 When a record is created

As soon as a new Vendor, Customer, or Item is saved for the first time, the system checks for an enabled approval workflow that covers “Send for Approval” for that record type.

•     If a workflow is enabled: the record is blocked immediately and flagged as new/pending.

•     If no workflow is enabled: nothing changes — the record behaves as standard.

3.2 While a record is pending approval

While a record carries the pending flag, no one — including the person who created it — can manually block or unblock it from the record card. Attempting to do so displays an error explaining that the record can only be updated once the approval process is complete.

3.3 When the approval is completed

This extension adds a custom workflow response called “Unblock the Related Record.” When this response step runs as part of an approval workflow (typically after the record is approved/released), it:

•     Clears the Blocked field on the Vendor, Customer, or Item.

•     Clears the pending flag, so the record behaves normally going forward.

Note: The unblock step only happens because a workflow administrator has added the “Unblock the Related Record” response to the approval workflow (see Section 4). If that response step is missing from the workflow, approved records will remain blocked and must be unblocked manually.

4. Setup Instructions (Workflow Administrator)

Complete these steps once per company to enable automatic unblocking for each record type you use.

4.1 Prerequisites

•     This extension is installed and published in the environment.

•     You have permission to create and edit workflows (Workflow list, search “Workflows”).

4.2 Configure the approval workflow

1.   In the search box, open Workflows.

2.   Create a new workflow (or open an existing one) for Vendor, Customer, or Item approvals — you can start from the standard “Vendor Approval Workflow,” “Customer Approval Workflow,” or “Item Approval Workflow” template.

3.   Build the workflow as usual, with an event such as “Send Vendor for approval is initiated” and the standard approval steps.

4.   On the step that runs after the record is approved and released, add the response “Unblock the Related Record” (this response is added to the workflow library by this extension and will appear alongside the other response options).

5.   Set the workflow status to Enabled.

Note: Repeat this setup separately for each record type (Vendor, Customer, and Item) that should use the automatic blocking behavior. Enabling the workflow for one record type does not affect the others.

5. What End Users See

5.1 Creating a new record

Create a Vendor, Customer, or Item as you normally would and fill in the required fields. As soon as the record is saved:

•     If an approval workflow is enabled for that record type, the record is automatically marked Blocked. You will typically also see the standard approval status/request fields update as the workflow starts.

•     You can continue editing other information on the record while it is blocked, but you cannot transact with it (for example, use it on a sales or purchase document) until it is unblocked.

5.2 Trying to change the Blocked field manually

If you try to manually block or unblock a record that is still pending approval, the system stops you with an error message.

5.3 After approval

Once the required approver(s) approve the request and the workflow releases the record, the record is automatically unblocked and is available for normal use. No manual action is required, provided the workflow was set up as described in Section 4.