Overview of Business Functionality
As an extension for Business Central, Document Central provides several functions for the optimization of business processes. These will empower companies to push the digitalisation of their business.
Document Central is based on CORE and contains a range of functionalities that make up the core product.
Benchmark
With the core of Document Central you get all the basic features you need to simplify your document management. You can easily store documents via drag & drop to your business process, create notification to be reminded of the document, return of documents by barcode and much more.
With the subscription to Document Central you get the following features:
| Functionalities | BC Standard | Document Central |
|---|---|---|
| Store documents in BC |  |
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| Document relations | |
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| Basic metadata (uploading user, date/time) | |
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| Factbox integration | |
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| Different file extensions | |
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| Classification through extensive metadata & content types | |
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| Document search by file name, metadata, etc. | |
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| Audit-proof storage of documents | |
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| Connection of different repositories | |
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| Storage via drag & drop | |
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| Automatic archiving of generated reports & documents via shadow printing | |
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| Document preview for many formats directly integrated in BC (docx, xlsx, pdf, images, etc.) | |
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| Document versioning | |
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| Barcode return through barcode split service | |
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| Dynamic metadata mapping | |
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| Allowed file extensions self-definable | |
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| Roles & rights system | |
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| Connector to other Simova solutions (e.g. Document Dispatch and Business Portals) | |
In this benchmark it can be seen that the Business Central standard is always evolving with new functionalities, but compared to special extensions, such as Document Central, it does not offer the full range of functions. Extensions to the standard functionalities created precisely for the tasks will usually always offer more possibilities than the standard offered by Microsoft.
Whether the standard is sufficient for a company or whether the functional enhancements of Document Central offer a company considerable added value can only be said precisely after an individual examination. In general, however, the use of a Document Central can significantly reduce the time spent searching for and finding documents. A report by McKinsey states that employees spend an average of 1.8 hours a day searching for and collecting information. That equates to 9.3 hours per week.
Storing documents in BC
Both in Business Central Standard and with Document Central you can store documents directly in BC.
Document relations
The standard of Business Central and Document Central allow documents to be filed directly to a document, such as a sales quotation or a sales order. The documents can be viewed directly when viewing the respective document. The stored documents are included when a transaction is posted and are also available there.
Basic Metadata (Uploading User, Date/Time)
When storing documents in Business Central, metadata is assigned to the file in both BC Standard and Document Central. In BC Standard, however, this metadata is limited to the user who uploaded the document and the date and time of the upload.
Factbox integration
Both offer the possibility to store documents via a factbox for the respective document. The factbox is accessible from the document itself as well as from the list view.
Different file extensions
Different documents, such as Word documents, Excel lists or PDF files can be stored in Document Central and in BC Standard.
Classification through extensive metadata & content types
Document Central offers the user the possibility to classify the stored documents, i.e. a document type and further metadata is assigned to the document, which makes it easier for the user to find the documents again. In the BC standard no content types are assigned.
Document search by file name, metadata, etc.
The „Document Central | Document Search“ allows a detailed search for all documents and files stored in the system. It is possible to search and filter by metadata, content types, file names and many other criteria.
Audit-proof storage of documents
Through the integration and synchronization of labels created in the Azure Compliance Management, Document Central users can configurate the audit-proof archiving in the Business Central interface and make sure specific documents can not be altered or deleted for a certain amount of time to meet governmental requirements.
Connection of different repositories
Being able to use different repositories is one of the main advantages of Document Central in contrast to the BC standard. We recommend storing the documents in a SharePoint. File systems, database and third-party document management systems can also be connected.
Storage via Drag & Drop
The Document Central Factbox allows documents to be easily filed by drag&drop. This feature makes the Document Central very intuitive and user-friendly. Alternatively, a window can be opened to browse the file system.
Automatic archiving of generated reports & receipts via shadow printing
When posting documents, the reports can be automatically stored in the background by the so-called shadow printing in the Document Central and are thus available to every user.
Document preview for many formats integrated directly in BC (Word, Excel, PDF, image files, etc.)
In the document overview, which clearly displays all documents stored for a document, such as a sales quotation or a sales order, a document preview is integrated directly in Business Central. This allows the user to take a look at the documents without having to leave the BC interface. The common standard formats can all be displayed in the preview.
Document versioning
Compared to the BC Standard, the Document Central solution offers a versioning function. If a document is stored with the same name as an existing document, the user can choose whether the document should be versioned or stored under a different name. The previous versions are still available in the document overview.
Barcode return through Barcode Split Service
Through the Barcode Split Service, documents that are labeled with a special barcode can be directly and automatically returned to the corresponding process in Busienss Central. The barcode labels are generated directly in Business Central via another Document Central barcode factbox and can be applied to the reports.
Dynamic metadata mapping
Dynamic mappings allow documents to be displayed retrospectively on previous processes or documents.
Allowed file extensions can be defined by yourself
An administrator can define the possible file extensions that may be stored in Document Central. This ensures that only relevant files and documents are stored in Document Central.
Roles & rights system
Through a sophisticated roles & rights system, certain users or user groups can be given specific rights in the system. Access to certain documents or entire content types can be regulated in this way.
Connector to other Simova solutions (e.g. Document Dispatch and Business Portals)
Document Central offers the possibility to transfer the stored documents to other Simova extensions, such as Document Dispatch or Business Portals. In this way, documents can be sent directly from Document Central with Document Dispatch or displayed in a customer portal with Business Portals.