Process Templates
Status: 02.09.2025 • Reading time: ~15 minutes
Process templates control how data extracted from documents is processed. They define which workflows are triggered and which documents are created in Business Central. Due to the dynamic structure, process templates can be freely configured – from classic invoice processing to individual, complex automations.
This article explains how to create a new template, which options are available, and how to configure it optimally.
Prerequisites
- Access to Business Central with permissions to set up Smart Processing.
- The Document Category is known or already created.
- Optional: Knowledge of No. Series, table and field structure in Business Central.
Create Process Template
- Open Business Central.
- Search for Process Templates or open the Smart Processing Setup page.
- Select the Create action from the menu to start the wizard.
- Fill in the fields in the wizard as described below.
- Save the template to use it in Smart Processing workflows.
General Settings
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Template Code | Unique code of the template. Serves as a technical identifier. |
| Template Description | Free text description of the purpose or use case of the template. |
| Document Category | Links the template to a Document Category. This determines the target table/page of the processing. Required field – only then can fields be added. |
| Activate Document Matching | Activates Document Matching within this template. For more information: see Configure Document Matching. |
Automation & Intelligence Settings
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Smart Field Matching | Enables AI-assisted matching between captured document fields and template fields. When disabled, fields are matched strictly based on field names and alternate field names. Default: Enabled. |
| Smart G/L Account Suggestion | Enables AI-powered G/L Account suggestions for document lines. Option "When Type is Blank" suggests accounts only for lines without a type. Option "When No Mapping Found" suggests accounts when no lookup mapping result is available. |
| Use Historical Learning (Preview) | Analyzes previously processed documents and automatically proposes values when confidence thresholds are met. Applied only when fields are empty or no valid lookup mapping exists. Currently the historical learning is just applied to the same record of the document category. (Feature is in Preview and may change) |
| Template Rules | Allows defining multiple rule conditions that can automatically apply captured document information to template fields. For more information, please refer to the article on Template Rules. |
Process Behavior Settings
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Allow Process With Remark | Specifies whether a document can be processed despite remarks (errors): • Allow with Confirmation – processing after confirmation. • Allow without Confirmation – processing without inquiry. • Do not Allow – processing is blocked if remarks are present. |
| Allow Deletion of Remark | Allows the deletion of remarks in the process. |
| Open Document After Processing | Automatically opens the created document after processing. |
| Display Processed Message | Displays a notification after processing. Available when Open Document After Processing is disabled. |
| Archive Document | Timing of archiving: • Never – no archiving. • Always – always archive after processing. • After Processing – archive after the process is completed. • After Matching – archive after matching is completed. |
| Archive Content Type | Defines the content type in Document Central for archiving. |
Set Up Fields
The heart of a process template is the field setup. You define which fields are used in the template and how they are filled. All fields configured here will later be used when posting the document – you determine how a record is created with which values.
There are two areas:
- Document Header Fields – fields of the header record.
- Document Line Fields – fields of the lines.
The source tables are determined by the Document Category. If no line table is defined in the category, no Document Line Fields will be offered.
To start, first configure the table keys, then add the fields.
Configure Table Keys
Set up the table keys. Smart Processing is completely dynamic and can work with any tables. To ensure records are created correctly, the key fields (Primary Keys) must be linked with appropriate value sources.
- Open the action Configure Table Keys in the field list (Header or Lines).
- Note: The action always refers to the current table (Header and Lines must be configured separately).
- Open the Table Key Setup. Here you will see the primary key fields of the table.
- Set the Value Option for each key.
Value Option – available options
| Option | Scope | Description |
|---|---|---|
| None | Header & Lines | No explicit value is set. The default logic of the target table fills the field (e.g., standard No. Series in the header). |
| Fixed Value | Header & Lines | Fixed value. Useful, for example, in the Sales Header to define the document type (Invoice, Order, etc.) explicitly. |
| Document Header Field | Lines only | Links a Line-Key with a Header field. Select the appropriate header field to be used for the line key under Document Field Reference. |
| No. Series | Header & Lines | Generates values via a number series (No. Series (308)). Select the series to be used. |
| Auto Increment | Mainly Lines | Automatically increments numeric keys (e.g., Line No. in steps of 1,000). Each line receives a unique number. |
Tip
If certain header fields are automatically filled by default (e.g., No.), leave the Value Option set to None. Then the default logic of the table applies.
Add Fields
After the keys are defined, add the required fields in the Header or in the Lines. Only add fields that are important for your setup.
- Open the action Add Field – the wizard will guide you step by step through the setup.
- The following sections describe the individual configuration steps in detail.
Field Details
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Field Name | Technical field name from the target table in Business Central. Select the field you want to fill. |
| Field Display Name | Display name for workflows and the UI. Can be more descriptive than the technical name. |
| Field Type | Data type (Text, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, etc.). Not changeable. |
Field Capture Setup
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Capture Option | Source for the field value: • Document – value is automatically read from the document. • Fixed Value – constant value for all processes. |
| Alternative Search Names | Alternative search terms increase the hit rate during document matching. Here, enter extracted field labels from documents (normalized strings; case sensitivity and special characters are ignored). You can view and adopt the last extracted fields of a document via the ⋯ (lookup) action. |
| Purpose Description | Short description of the purpose of the field to improve AI-supported matching if the automatic mapping is unclear. |
| Fixed Value | Constant value when Capture Option = Fixed Value. |
| ### Field Settings |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Mandatory Field | Marks the field as mandatory. If enabled, a value must be present for the process to be completed successfully. The status can also be toggled in the field list. |
| Exclude from Document Creation | If enabled, the field will be excluded from document creation. The field remains visible in the process draft but will not be used during document creation. |
| Use Field Memory | Enables field memory. When active, the system remembers user corrections and applies them to future documents. For example, if the system recognizes a vendor but the user changes it, the corrected vendor will be suggested next time. |
Numeric Fields (Integer/Decimal)
Fields that contain the types Integer or Decimal have additional options:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| No. of Digits After Decimal | Maximum number of decimal places for decimal values. Default: 2. |
| Negative Value Handling | Handling of negative values: • None – no adjustment. • Error – blocks negative values and generates a warning. • Zero Value – sets negative values to 0. • Absolute Value – converts negative to positive values. |
| Convert Always to Number | Forces conversion to a numeric representation (non-numeric characters are removed). |
Date Fields
For fields of type Date, extended configuration options are now available to improve the recognition and processing of date values.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Convert Calendar Week to Date | Enable this option if fields may contain calendar weeks (e.g., “41/25”). If the option is enabled, the system automatically recognizes calendar weeks and converts them into a valid date. The conversion is based on the set calendar week day rule. |
| Calendar Week Day | Specifies the day of the week to be used when converting a calendar week into a date. Example: If Monday is selected, the date will be set to the Monday of the specified calendar week. Default value: Friday. |
Note
If you are using Content Understanding, the capture type within the schema should not be "Date" to avoid conflicts when converting calendar weeks.
Lookup Validation
The Lookup Validation is a powerful option to check field values against master data. This ensures that only existing records are used.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Use Lookup Validation | Activates validation: • No – no validation. • Yes – standard lookup validation (recommended method). • Custom Codeunit – validation via codeunit. |
Additional Options with Active Lookup Validation
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Lookup Table No. | Reference to the table in which the check is performed (e.g., Customer, Item). |
| Lookup Filters | Define at least one filter for searching the record. Use the field list to select the filter fields and the Lookup Filter Type: • None – no filter. • Search Text – uses search texts from the captured fields of the document (the found value serves as a filter). • Template Field – uses the value of a template field. • Fixed Value – constant filter value. • Allow Null Value – controls whether empty values are also filtered. |
Return Fields
Use the found lookup records to fill template fields. In the list, you will see – depending on the context (Header/Lines) – all template fields.
- Return Field: Field of the target table whose value is returned.
- Example: You validate Customer and fill the currently selected template field (bold) with the value Name; additionally, you fill Customer Id with No. – thus the field No. is referenced with Name.
- Return Empty Value: Returns the value even if it is empty.
Custom Codeunit (Validation)
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Custom Codeunit | Number of the codeunit for validation when Use Lookup Validation = Custom Codeunit. |
The Simova GmbH provides the standard codeunit 5673300 "SIM_DI LookUp Description". It can be used in Lines on fields like No. or Description. The codeunit dynamically validates against the appropriate tables (e.g., Item) depending on the Line Type. If the type changes, the validation adjusts automatically.
Intelligent Master Data Creation
If a record does not exist, you can offer AI-supported creation (only with active lookup validation). In the Smart Process Worksheet, an action appears in the remarks to start the creation.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Allow Smart Master Data Creation | Enables automated master data creation. If no match is found during validation, AI-supported creation of master data can be offered. |
Field Translations
With Field Translations, you can replace unwanted strings, translate abbreviations, or clean up texts. Regular expressions (Regex) are also supported, allowing you to define complex search and replacement patterns.
You can find the settings in the Template Field Card in the Field Translation section.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| From Value | Text to be replaced. Example: "," – removes commas from „Amazon GmbH,“. |
| To Value | Replacement value. Leave the field empty to remove the text. |
| Case Sensitive | If enabled, replacement occurs only if case sensitivity matches exactly. |
Template Field Blacklist
With the new Blacklist action in the template fields, you can define specific values that – if they occur in a record – prevent that record from being further processed. This function allows you to specifically exclude entire lines from processing if they contain unwanted or irrelevant content.
Use Case:
The field blacklist is particularly helpful when:
- You want to exclude certain values (e.g., placeholders, test data, or erroneous entries).
- You want to ensure that only relevant data enters the processing.
- You want to improve efficiency by avoiding unnecessary processing of records.
How it Works:
- Open the desired template.
- Select the field for which you want to define a blacklist.
- Add one or more strings that must not occur in the record.
- Once a value is detected in any blacklist field, the entire line is automatically excluded from further processing.