Post automatically when the journal is approved

The journal is approved, but someone else has to remember to click post. Meanwhile time is lost, and the journal sits waiting. This article shows what Business Central can do in standard to let posting follow an approval, where the limits are, and which alternatives exist when you want approved documents to be posted by themselves. You also get an assessment of the risk of removing the last click.

What Learn says about automatic posting

Microsoft Learn says that system tasks such as automatic posting can be steps in a workflow, and that user tasks can come before or after them. A workflow consists of an event and a response, and you choose among responses that Microsoft has already built.

Which responses exist depends on the document type. Open the Workflow Responses page and see whether there is a response for posting the type of document or journal you work with. If it does not exist, the response cannot be added without development.

What Learn does not show

We could not confirm that all journals and documents have a posting response in the standard workflow. The idea of posting automatically after approval has about 170 votes on Microsoft's ideas portal, which suggests that many do not find it where they are looking. Use a sandbox to test before you make changes in production.

Three alternatives to avoid waiting

Scheduled posting is the alternative that is easiest to get started with, because it only requires a job queue entry and a filter. The biggest trap is the filter: if it is too broad, journals and orders get posted that nobody has seen.

Scheduled posting of approved documents. The job queue can run reports such as Batch Post Sales Orders. Set a filter on status Released and posting date today or earlier, otherwise everything is posted, including documents that are not ready. This suits documents, not journals.
Posting through the job queue. In Sales & Receivables Setup and Purchases & Payables Setup you can turn on posting via the job queue, so documents are posted in the background and do not block other users.
A flow in Power Automate. Learn mentions flows that are triggered by changes in Business Central, and approval flows. A flow can react to an approval and start something else, but it requires a Power Automate licence and setup.

Risks of removing the last click

The last click is also a last control point. If you remove it, the approver must know that approving means posting. The posting date must be right, the period must be open and the journal must have been tested. Errors discovered after posting are corrected with reversing entries, not by deleting.

Use 'Preview Posting' before the journal is sent for approval, and let the approver see the result in the approval notification.

Also document who is allowed to approve and which amount limits apply. Automatic posting makes approval more critical, so the limits should be reviewed at least once a year.

When does it make sense

Automatic posting after approval suits repeated, predictable processes where the approver sees exactly what is being posted. It could be payments approved in a journal, or sales orders under a certain amount that are approved routinely anyway.

It suits unknown or large postings less well, where the approver needs to see the consequence in the accounts. Here the last click is part of the control. Decide which processes belong in which category before you automate anything.

Always test with a small batch first. See how errors are handled, who is notified, and what happens if the period is closed or the posting date is wrong.

What we are considering

Approve and Post is on our list of possible apps. The thought is that an approved journal is posted automatically, with a block and a log. It is an idea we are considering, and not an app you can download or buy. See the list if you want to follow along.