Power Apps Custom Connector Integration with Business Central

How Sky Soft Connections enabled a Power Apps Canvas App to securely access Dynamics 365 Business Central customer and Ship-to Address data through a custom API integration.

Power Apps Custom Connector Integration with Business Central

Client & Business Context

The client operates in the wholesale and distribution industry and required a Power Apps Canvas App to support sales invoice-related business processes.

Customer and Ship-to Address information was already available through Dynamics 365 Business Central APIs. However, the required APIs could not be accessed directly from the Canvas App using a suitable standard connector.

Industry: Wholesale / Distribution
Application: Microsoft Power Apps Canvas App
Backend: Dynamics 365 Business Central
Integration: Power Apps Custom Connector
Authentication: OAuth 2.0 / Microsoft Entra ID
Process: Canvas App → Custom Connector → Business Central API

The Business Problem

The Information Was There But Users Couldn’t Easily Access It

The client already had the information they needed in Business Central.

However, their Power Apps application couldn’t directly access the required information using the available standard connection.

The application needed to allow users to:

  • Find a customer

  • Select the customer
  • See the customer’s available delivery addresses
  • Use the selected information during the sales invoice process

Without a better connection between the two systems, the process would become more complicated for both the application and its users.

Business Impact of the Existing Process

Application Impact

  • More complex API integration
  • Additional API-handling requirements
  • Limited direct access to Business Central data

User Experience Impact

  • Difficulty accessing customer information efficiently
  • Additional complexity around retrieving Ship-to Addresses
  • Less seamless interaction within the Canvas App

Integration Impact

  • No native connector for required API access
  • Business Central API needed an extra integration layer
  • Future API work required a structured, reusable approach

The Sky Soft Connections Solution

A Secure Power Apps Custom Connector

Sky Soft Connections implemented a Power Apps Custom Connector to establish a structured connection between the Canvas App and Dynamics 365 Business Central APIs.

Instead of handling individual HTTP requests directly inside the Canvas App, the Custom Connector acts as the integration layer.

The new architecture follows:

Canvas App → Custom Connector → OAuth 2.0 / Microsoft Entra ID → Business Central APIs → Customer / Ship-to Address / Sales Invoice Data

This creates a cleaner separation between the application experience and the underlying Business Central API implementation.

How the Request Queue Works

01 : RETRIEVE CUSTOMERS
The Canvas App calls the Custom Connector to retrieve customer information from Business Central.
02 : SELECT CUSTOMER
The user selects the required customer directly within the Canvas App.
03 : RETRIEVE SHIP-TO ADDRESSES
The application calls the relevant Business Central operation using the required parameters.
04 : DISPLAY DATA
The returned Ship-to Address records are exposed to the Canvas App and displayed to the user.
05 : USE IN SALES INVOICE PROCESS
The selected customer and shipping information can then be used within the sales invoice business process.
01 : RETRIEVE CUSTOMERS
The Canvas App calls the Custom Connector to retrieve customer information from Business Central.
02 : SELECT CUSTOMER
The user selects the required customer directly within the Canvas App.
03 : RETRIEVE SHIP-TO ADDRESSES
The application calls the relevant Business Central operation using the required parameters.
04 : DISPLAY DATA
The returned Ship-to Address records are exposed to the Canvas App and displayed to the user.
05 : USE IN SALES INVOICE PROCESS
The selected customer and shipping information can then be used within the sales invoice business process.
06 : LOG
Structured logging records processing activity, errors, and request status for improved traceability.

Technology & Integration Architecture

Microsoft Power Apps

Provides the Canvas App experience where users interact with customer and shipping information.

Power Apps Custom Connector

Acts as the reusable integration layer between the Canvas App and Business Central APIs.

Microsoft Entra ID

Provides the identity layer for secure authentication.

Dynamics 365 Business Central

Remains the source of customer, Ship-to Address and sales invoice-related business data.

OAuth 2.0

Provides token-based authorization for accessing permitted Business Central resources.

REST APIs

Provide the underlying communication mechanism between the Custom Connector and Business Central.

Reusable Across Business Processes

The architecture was implemented for a wholesale/distribution scenario, but the same integration pattern can support other Business Central and Power Platform use cases.

Potential applications include:

Wholesale & Distribution

  • Customer management
  • Sales invoices
  • Ship-to Address selection
  • Order processing

Manufacturing

  • Customer and delivery management
  • Sales order processing
  • Invoice creation
  • Customer-specific shipping information

Retail

  • Customer information
  • Store and delivery addresses
  • Sales transactions
  • Invoice-related workflows

Field Service

  • Customer lookup
  • Service locations
  • Delivery information
  • Business Central transaction integration

Business Outcomes

Improved Integration

The Canvas App can now communicate with the required Business Central APIs through a dedicated Custom Connector.

Better User Experience

Users can retrieve customer and Ship-to Address information directly within the Canvas App.

Reduced Integration Complexity

The Custom Connector abstracts the underlying API communication instead of requiring API handling to be implemented throughout the Canvas App.

Secure API Access

OAuth 2.0 and Microsoft Entra ID provide the authentication mechanism for accessing authorized Business Central resources.

Reusable Integration Pattern

The connector establishes a foundation that can be extended with additional Business Central API operations.

Connect Power Apps with Business Central

Need to connect your Power Apps solution with Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Sky Soft Connections can help you build secure, reusable integrations using Power Apps Custom Connectors, Microsoft Entra ID, OAuth 2.0, REST APIs, and Business Central.

Turn complex API requirements into a scalable integration layer built around your business processes.

Let’s discuss your Power Platform integration requirements.