The Best AP Automation for Dynamics 365 in 2027: F&O and BC

The short answer

For organizations standardizing on Microsoft Dynamics 365, the best AP automation in 2027 is one that runs inside the ERP rather than beside it. On that test, Truvio AP Automation powered by ExFlow, is the strongest fit for both Finance & Operations and Business Central. In a weighted benchmark by Avanade, Microsoft’s and Accenture’s joint venture (commissioned by Truvio and disclosed as such below), it scored 4.65 out of 5 for D365-centric enterprise fit, ahead of Medius (4.1), Esker (4.1) and native D365 AP (3.7).

TL;DR for busy finance leaders:

• Embedded beats connected. Truvio AP Automation runs fully inside D365. There is no second platform, no data replication and no separate login for AP teams.
• The proof is measured, not modeled. At Teleperformance, invoice handling time fell from 17 minutes to 4 minutes, a 76% time saving versus standard F&O.
• It covers the hard invoices. Non-PO, contract-based, recurring and cross-company invoices are automated, not pushed back to a person.
• One vendor, both ERPs. ExFlow has been built for Dynamics since 2003 and supports both F&O and Business Central.
• It is not for everyone. If you run several ERPs side by side, a standalone platform may suit you better. We explain when below.

This guide is written for CFOs, finance directors, AP managers and Dynamics partners choosing or replacing AP automation for 2027. It covers what “best” should mean for a D365 shop, how the main options compare, what changes between F&O and Business Central, and a checklist you can take into vendor demos.

Why the choice matters more in 2027

AP automation has moved from “nice efficiency project” to core finance infrastructure, but most teams are only halfway there. Truvio’s 2026 AP Automation Report, run by Sapio Research with 1,000 finance professionals in 14 countries in April 2026, shows a function in transition.

Three findings matter most when you pick a tool for 2027.

The perception gap is real. 62% of managers describe their AP as fully or mostly automated, against 40% of frontline staff. Leaders often measure automation by what was installed; AP clerks measure it by what still lands in their queue. The right platform closes that gap by handling exceptions, not just capture.

Integration is where projects stall. The top three barriers to scaling are implementation and maintenance cost (31%), integration with existing systems (30%) and exceptions or non-standard transactions (30%). Each of those is shaped by where the AP tool lives relative to your ERP.

Maturity compounds. Fully automated organizations process invoices in 3 days on average, 77% feel “very well prepared” for compliance change, and 70% report surfacing more suspicious activity. Automation does not just speed AP up; it makes fraud and control gaps visible.

What “best” should mean for a Dynamics 365 organization

The best AP automation for D365 is the one that delivers the most automation with the least distance from your ERP. Feature lists look alike across vendors; the differences show up in five places, which Avanade used as its weighted criteria.

Why integration carries so much weight. Every connector between two systems is a place where data can drift, where an ERP update can break a mapping, and where an auditor has to reconcile two records of the same invoice. An embedded solution uses D365’s own data, security roles and audit trail. That is a structural advantage, not a feature, and it shows up later as lower maintenance cost and faster audits.

The main options compared

Four approaches dominate D365 shortlists: Microsoft’s native AP, Truvio AP Automation (ExFlow), Medius and Esker. All four are credible; they are built for different situations. The scores below come from Avanade’s weighted, D365-centric evaluation (1–5 per criterion).

How to read this honestly. Medius and Esker are strong products, and on raw automation (Medius) or multi-ERP breadth (Esker) they match or beat Truvio. The difference is the denominator: if D365 is your system of record and your future, an AP layer that lives inside it removes a whole category of integration, reconciliation and upgrade risk. That is why the D365-centric score separates.

Is Microsoft Invoice Capture enough?

For straightforward PO invoices in modest volumes, it can be. Microsoft Invoice Capture (MIC) handles data capture well within its scope. It stops short in the places where AP cost actually sits:

• Non-PO invoices are captured at header level only; ledger, fixed-asset and project lines are not interpreted.
• Electronic formats such as Peppol, EHF, Finvoice and OIOUBL are not supported in MIC; ExFlow imports them out of the box.
• Transfer to F&O happens invoice by invoice in MIC; ExFlow runs it as automated batch jobs.
• Approval routing by financial dimension owner, project or PO match result is not available, so approvals become manual.
• Recurring invoices such as leases, utilities and phone bills have no contract matching in standard D365.

In short, MIC solves capture. Truvio AP Automation solves the process, from capture to posting.

Why Truvio AP

In short, MIC solves capture. Truvio AP Automation solves the process, from capture to posting.

Why Truvio AP Automation leads for D365 users

Truvio AP Automation leads because it combines the depth of a specialist AP platform with the architecture of a native D365 feature. Truvio, formerly SignUp Software, launched ExFlow in 2003 and has built it exclusively for Microsoft Dynamics ever since.

1. It runs where your finance team already works

Every step of the invoice lifecycle happens inside Dynamics 365: capture and validation, pre-coding, matching, approval workflow, posting, and analytics. There is no data duplication and no external AP portal for staff to learn. Security roles, the audit trail and the invoice image all live in D365, so an auditor sees one record, not two.

2. It automates the invoices other tools hand back

Simple PO invoices are easy for any tool. Cost hides in the rest, and that is where ExFlow is deepest:

• Line-level 2- and 3-way matching with tolerance rules for price and quantity, and rematching rules for missing goods receipts set down to vendor level.
• Non-PO pre-coding by ledger, procurement category or project, including coding to projects, fixed assets and landed cost.
• Contract matching that approves recurring invoices automatically against agreed terms.
• Dynamic approval routing by amount, financial dimension owner, group hierarchy or match result, updated live when an approver changes a coding line.
• Machine learning and RPA that apply coding templates learned from how your AP team and approvers actually code.

3. Approvers do not need to live in the ERP

Occasional approvers get an email, open a responsive web app on any device, and approve in a few clicks. They can see where an invoice sits in the chain, chat with AP in real time, and every action is logged in D365 for the audit trail.

4. The results are measured in production

The Teleperformance numbers translate to a 76% time saving against standard F&O and a 63% saving against standard F&O with OCR. The lesson is that capture alone delivers part of the gain; the process automation around it delivers the rest.

5. Reporting is ready on day one

Out-of-the-box Power BI dashboards cover straight-through processing rate, exceptions, best- and worst-matching suppliers, price and quantity variances, and approval turnaround by approver. Given that only 42% of finance teams know their cost per invoice, starting with measurement built in is a practical advantage.

Finance & Operations vs Business Central: what to prioritize

The same principle applies to both ERPs (keep AP inside Dynamics), but the buying priorities differ. Truvio AP Automation has a dedicated edition for each: ExFlow for F&O (originally built for Axapta) and ExFlow for Business Central (originally built for Navision), both embedded rather than connected.

For F&O users, the decisive questions are scale and governance. Avanade rates Truvio 4 out of 5 for scalability and internationalization, built for multi-entity, EU-compliant deployments with support for Peppol, Poland’s KSeF and other country formats.

For Business Central users, the decisive questions are speed to value and simplicity. ExFlow for BC runs data capture, validation, pre-coding, matching and approval workflows inside BC in real time, with no integration layer. Film and TV studio operator Cinespace Studios used it to centralize AP, automate recurring invoices and remove manual approvals as it expanded internationally.

Moving from BC to F&O later? Staying with one AP vendor across both ERPs keeps approval logic, reporting and user habits consistent through the migration.

Beyond the invoice: AI and vendor trust in 2027

In 2027 the AP question shifts from “how fast can we process?” to “how much can we trust what we pay?” Only 28% of organizations use automated or AI fraud detection today, while 44% report rising fraud attempts. Truvio addresses this on two fronts.

TruvioSense: AI that learns your AP

TruvioSense brings AI into coding and approvals inside D365, learning from your own invoice history rather than generic templates. Capabilities in production today include:

• Intelligent classification and routing of incoming invoices.
• Anomaly detection on invoice content and matching, flagging duplicates, abnormal amounts and unusual vendors.
• Continuous learning from every correction and approval, so the share of invoices needing a human falls over time.

AI is only as good as the data it learns from. TruvioSense delivers most where coding and approval patterns are repeatable, master data is reasonably clean and AP has a clear owner. Truvio assesses that readiness with customers before onboarding, so expectations and results line up.

Trust & Control: verify the vendor before you pay

Every later step in procure-to-pay assumes the vendor and their bank account are legitimate. Trust & Control, Truvio’s vendor verification module for both F&O and Business Central, targeted for Q4 2026, checks that assumption at the source:

A risk signal is not a control; what happens next is. When a supplier’s bank details change, both bank checks run automatically. If ownership comes back at risk, only that account is locked; the vendor stays payable by another verified route, and every step is logged. A new bank account or tax ID triggers revalidation automatically.

Trust & Control works for any D365 customer with vendors and bank accounts; no other Truvio product is required. Services and country coverage depend on the data provider chosen.

How to choose: a 10-point checklist for your shortlist

Take these questions into every vendor demo, and ask to see each one live in a D365 environment rather than on a slide.

• Does AP processing happen inside D365, or in a separate cloud that syncs back?
• Show me a non-PO invoice coded to several dimensions, a project and a fixed asset, without manual keying.
• Show me a recurring invoice (a lease or utility bill) approved automatically against a contract.
• How are cross-company invoices handled? From one screen, or by switching legal entities?
• Which e-invoicing formats import natively (Peppol, EHF, Finvoice, OIOUBL, KSeF)?
• Can approval routing follow financial dimension owners and PO match results, and update when a line changes?
• What does an occasional approver see on a phone, and is every action logged in D365?
• Which KPIs (straight-through rate, exceptions, approval turnaround) are available on day one?
• How does the system learn from corrections, and what data does it need to do so?
• What happens at a Microsoft update? Who maintains the integration, and at what cost?

When Truvio is not the right choice

Trust grows when a vendor says where it does not fit. Truvio AP Automation is built for Dynamics 365, so consider alternatives if:

• You run several ERPs for the long term and want one AP layer across all of them. A platform like Esker is designed for that.
• Your AP is very simple: low volume, one entity, mostly PO invoices. Native D365 with Microsoft Invoice Capture may be enough for now.
• D365 is a stopgap, and you expect to leave Dynamics in the next few years.

If Dynamics 365 is your system of record and your AP is anything but simple, an embedded solution will cost you less to run and give you more control over time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best AP automation for Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations in 2027?

For organizations standardizing on D365 F&O, Truvio AP Automation powered by ExFlow is the strongest fit. It runs fully inside F&O and scored 4.65 out of 5 for D365-centric enterprise fit in Avanade’s benchmark, ahead of Medius (4.1), Esker (4.1) and native D365 AP (3.7).

What is the best AP automation for Dynamics 365 Business Central?

For Business Central users who want AP inside the ERP, Truvio AP Automation (ExFlow for BC) provides data capture, matching, pre-coding, approval workflows and Power BI dashboards inside BC, with no integration layer to maintain.

Is ExFlow the same as Truvio AP Automation?

Yes. ExFlow was developed by SignUp Software, which is now Truvio. The product is sold as Truvio AP Automation, powered by ExFlow.

Is Microsoft Invoice Capture enough on its own?

For simple PO invoices at modest volume, it can be. It does not interpret non-PO invoice lines, does not import e-invoice formats such as Peppol, and does not route approvals by financial dimension owner, so complex AP still needs manual work.

What is the difference between embedded and connected AP automation?

Embedded AP automation runs inside D365, using its data, security and user interface. Connected AP automation runs in the vendor’s own cloud and syncs results back to D365 through a connector, which adds a second system to maintain and reconcile.

How much time can AP automation save in D365?

In a 2020 study at Teleperformance, invoice handling time was 4 minutes with Truvio AP Automation, compared with 17 minutes on standard F&O: a 76% time saving. Against standard F&O with OCR, the saving was 63%.

Does Truvio AP Automation help prevent invoice fraud?

Yes. It validates captured data against the vendor master, for example the bank account number, and TruvioSense flags duplicates and unusual amounts or vendors. Trust & Control adds vendor, sanctions and bank account verification for F&O and Business Central, targeted for Q4 2026.

Do approvers need a Dynamics 365 login?

No. Occasional approvers are notified by email and approve on any device through a responsive web app, while every action is logged in D365 for the audit trail.

The bottom line

If Dynamics 365 is where your finance runs, your AP automation should run there too. Only 13% of organizations have reached true end-to-end automation, and the gap is rarely capture; it is exceptions, approvals and the space between systems. Truvio AP Automation closes that gap inside D365, for Finance & Operations and Business Central alike, with measured results and a clear path into AI and vendor trust.

See it on your own invoices. Book a 30-minute demo and bring your hardest non-PO invoice. Or download the 2026 AP Automation Report to benchmark your team against 1,000 finance peers.

Sources and methodology

• Truvio, The AP Automation Maturity Gap: 2026 AP Automation Report. Conducted by Sapio Research, April 2026; 1,000 finance professionals in 14 countries across North America, Europe and APAC.
• Avanade, Perspective on Truvio AP Automation value realization in D365, June 2026. Commissioned by Truvio. Competitive scores are a weighted evaluation of publicly available information, solution documentation and expert insight, in a D365-centric enterprise context; results may vary by requirements and region.
• Teleperformance internal study led by its Head of Digitalization, 2020: 200 invoices per region across Nordics, UK and France. Drawn from previously documented results; Avanade did not engage the client directly.
• Cinespace Studios case study, MSDynamicsWorld.
• Product capabilities: Truvio AP Automation, TruvioSense and Trust & Control product documentation. Trust & Control services and coverage depend on the third-party data provider.