ERP-Embedded AP Automation for Microsoft Dynamics: A Simpler Path for IT Teams

If you support Microsoft Dynamics GP or Business Central, you’ve likely found yourself involved in Accounts Payable (AP) automation decisions, even though AP isn’t technically an IT function. 

That’s because automation choices don’t stop with finance. They have long-term consequences for system stability, security, compliance, and risk. And once a tool is implemented, IT teams are often the ones supporting it indefinitely. 

Many AP automation tools promise efficiency for finance, but introduce new platforms, integrations, and security models that IT must maintain over time. What starts as a productivity win can quietly become another system to secure, audit, and troubleshoot. 

There’s another approach worth considering: ERP-embedded AP automation. By operating directly inside Microsoft Dynamics, embedded solutions reduce system sprawl, inherit ERP security controls, and simplify long-term support. 

For IT teams balancing change with risk management, this approach offers a calmer, more sustainable path forward.  

Why AP Automation Decisions Land with IT 

When finance evaluates AP automation, the implications quickly become architectural: 

Where does the data live? 
Who manages access? 
What happens during ERP updates—or when something breaks? 

Many IT teams find themselves supporting AP tools that live outside Microsoft Dynamics. These separate platforms come with their own databases, authentication layers, and update schedules. Even when integrations work well at launch, they often create ongoing work for IT, such as: 

• Monitoring APIs and data sync jobs
• Managing security reviews and access requests
• Answering audit questions about third-party systems 

Over time, some AP automation tools—particularly external, integrated platforms—can become a source of operational noise. Reviews often cite clunky integrations that require constant monitoring and rigid workflows that force exception handling and workarounds. Instead of simplifying processes, automation becomes another layer of overhead. 

Choosing the right automation approach early helps ensure both finance and IT teams are set up for long-term success.  

The Limits of “Integrated” AP Automation 

Integration is often positioned as best practice. In reality, it can be a compromise. 

Integrated AP solutions connect to Dynamics through APIs or connectors, but they are still separate systems. For IT, that separation matters as it introduces additional points of potential failure, additional security surfaces, and additional systems that IT must understand and maintain. 

For IT teams focused on stability and predictability, integrated AP automation solutions can still leave you wrestling with frustrating architecture challenges and added workload.  

ERP-Embedded AP Automation: A Different Architectural Model 

ERP-embedded AP automation operates directly inside Microsoft Dynamics rather than alongside it.  

From an IT perspective, this changes the equation, ensuring: 

• The ERP remains the system of record
• User access follows existing role-based permissions
• Security, backups, and compliance stay centralized
• Updates align with the ERP’s lifecycle 

Instead of adding another platform to govern, embedded automation works seamlessly within the environment you already trust. That means fewer moving parts and fewer long-term support demands.  
 
To learn more about the differences between embedded and integrated automation, read our blog post Embedded vs. Non-Embedded (Integrated) AP Solutions. What’s Right for Your Team? 

Security, Compliance, and Audit Implications 

Every external system expands your audit footprint. 

Standalone or integrated AP platforms often require IT to manage separate user access policies and explain how sensitive financial data moves between systems. This adds time and risk, even when the tool itself is well designed.  
 
While non-embedded platforms can work well for organizations using multiple ERPs or with complex requirements, from an IT perspective, the benefits of embedded solutions are clear. 

With ERP-embedded AP automation, security remains consistent with your existing Dynamics framework. Permissions, approvals, and data access are governed by the same controls you already manage. 

For IT, this offers: 

• Clearer ownership of risk
• Fewer exceptions during audits
• Less effort in maintaining parallel security models 

Automation becomes easier to approve when it doesn’t complicate compliance. 

Reducing Ongoing IT Overhead 

One of the quiet costs of external AP tools is day-to-day support. 

IT teams are often pulled into issues related to payment workflows, printer challenges, or approval delays. This happens most often when the tools sit outside the ERP and require additional intervention.