Product: Dynamics 365 Business Central
Article Link: http://help.truecommerce.com/en/articles/11428343-dynamics-365-business-central-enable-api-services
Dynamics 365 Business Central has two primary ways of communicating data with external applications such as Transaction Manager - either through an Open Data Protocol (OData) endpoint or an Application Programming Interface (API) endpoint. Microsoft recommends that you use the their API solution as the primary means, however Transaction Manager is capable of utilizing OData as well.
Enabling API Services
You can enable or disable the API Services within in the Integration Options found under the Business System settings. The API Services are split between two options, one for Inbound Exports (Transaction → Inbox) and Outbound Imports (Transactions → Outbox) to provide flexibility between how Transaction Manager operates.
Adjusting Settings
Navigate: Business System → (Company) → Company Configuration → Integration Options
Enable API Services: Check to enable API for Inbound Exports, Uncheck for OData
Enable API Services for Import: Check to enable API for Outbound Imports, Uncheck for OData
Enabling API Services from Business Central
In order for Transaction Manager to be able to reach the API Endpoints after enabling the Enable API Services option Dynamics 365 Business Central must be configured to allow those services to be contacted.
Enabling API within Business Central
You will need to contact your Value Added Reseller (VAR) to have the API Services enabled for your Business Central environment otherwise Transaction Manager will not be able to access the URLs and will most likely receive a 404 - Not Found or a 403 - Forbidden error.
Enabling API Services is typically done within the Admin Center of Business Central which falls outside of TrueCommerce Support
Difference Between OData and API
The primary difference between Dynamic 365 Business Central's OData and API connections is mostly a matter of raw access (OData) versus a streamlined process (API). Transaction Manager itself benefits greatly from the API Services as the TrueCommerce Integration is focused primarily on performing light-weight Document-Based creation, modification, and querying actions such as creating a document or updating the quantity quickly.
Performance
Dynamic 365 Business Central's API Services support the ability to send both Header Data as well as Line-Level data in a single request resulting in a significantly reduced amount of network calls being made to Business Central compared to through their OData endpoints which requires multiple requests to achieve the same result.
With Enable API Services disabled - Business Central requires Transaction Manager to send a new request for each Item - for Transactions with many items this can cause slow downs
This reduction in calls improves performances greatly especially around larger transactions as the information is condensed into a single call. It is for this reason that it is recommended that to enable API Services to see performance gain, and thus avoid potential Timeout issues from Transaction Manager.
Third Party Customizations
However - if you have further customizations that may cause conflicts with the Transaction Manager utilizing the API Services solution you can disable it and default the system to that of the OData process which can help reduce conflicts from those customizations.
Business Central handles data committing from an API Endpoint through temporary data tables differently than from the OData Endpoints - if your Value Added Resource (VAR) is having issues with another 3rd Party Customization interfering with the TrueCommerce extension disabling the API Service may relieve these issues
TrueCommerce is unable to assist with 3rd Party Customizations
rev 5/27/2025