Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central allows you to add extended descriptions for items, stock-keeping units, standard text, general ledger accounts, VAT clauses, and resources. You can add extra lines as extended text and set up conditions for using them. This feature enables you to provide additional detailed information where a single description line may not be practical. Extended text is also a perfect addition to the Item Translation feature of Business Central.

To set Extended text for an article that supports Extended text:

1. Navigate to the pages for the article you want to add extended text, then select the Extended Text action.
2. Select the New Action from the Extended Text list page.
3. Enter the Language Code field or select the All Language Codes check box if you use language codes.
4.  Enter the Starting and Ending dates to limit the date range for Extended text use, if desired.
5. Enter a meaningful description for the Extended text.
6. Select relevant check boxes for the sales and purchase document types where you want the extended text inserted.

To add Extended text to a document:

1. Create or navigate to an existing sales or purchase document.
2. Enter or navigate to a line for an article with extended text defined for the document’s language.
3.  Select the Insert Ext. Text action from the line action ribbon.

Note: The code and information discussed in this article are for informational and demonstration purposes only. This content was created referencing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 online.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central supports multiple languages for the user interface and how you communicate with your customers.
Item Translations in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central allows you to add and modify language translations for your product data, making it easier for people in different regions to understand. Item Translations are handy for translating descriptions of items you sell or use in different regions.

To set up an Item Translation:

1. Navigate and select the translation action on the Item Page.
2. On the Item Translations Page, select the Language Code and enter the description for that language.
3. Enter the desired Language Code in the Address & Contact section of the Customer Page.
4. Enter a new Sales Document for the Customer; the Item Translation of the Description will match their Language Code.

Note: The Bill-to Customer determines the default language code on a Sales Document.

Note: The code and information discussed in this article are for informational and demonstration purposes only. This content was created referencing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 online.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a multicurrency feature that allows users to work with different currencies. This feature lets users process payments and invoices in various currencies and adjust exchange rates. Multicurrency functionality enables businesses to operate globally, deal with international customers and suppliers, and accurately track financial transactions in different currencies. Users can set up new currencies, define exchange rates, process sales and purchases in foreign currencies, and even set up additional reporting currencies to view business results in different currencies.

If you work with multiple currencies in your environment, you may have experienced the challenge of manually keeping your currency exchange rates up-to-date. Updating the rates becomes even more difficult if you have multiple companies in your environment. Did you know that built into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, there is a way to update these rates automatically?

The Currency Exchange Rate Services functionality, part of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, allows you to fetch and update currency exchange rates from external services automatically. These services provide up-to-date exchange rates for different currencies, essential for businesses that trade in multiple currencies. By using Currency Exchange Rate Services, you can ensure that your currency exchange rates are accurate and reflect the current market conditions.

Business Central requires an exchange rate service that provides XML and JSON currency feeds. There are many services available; one of these services is FloatRates. FloatRates is a service that offers FREE XML and JSON Currency Feeds. (at the time of this writing)

To set up the FloatRates Currency Exchange Rate Service in Business Central, follow these steps:

1. Search for Currency Exchange Rate Services using the Tell Me feature of Business Central.
2. Open the Currency Exchange Rate Services Administration page. 
3. Select the New action to create a new service.
4. Fill in the necessary fields on the Currency Exchange Rate Service page.
5. Enter the URL for your base currency in the Service URL field. In this example, we’re using USD with a feed of http://www.floatrates.com/daily/usd.xml. You can find your currency feed here.
6. Map the data elements from the data feed to the desired currency fields in the field Mapping area of the page. You can enter data transformation rules and default values if necessary.
   Note: For the data source field, you can type or select the values by clicking the ellipsis button.
   Also note, at the time of this writing, I have experienced and heard of instances where the captions may not display correctly in Business Central 2023 Wave 2. The value mapping fields are still the same if you encounter this issue. 
   
7. After completing the field mapping, You can Preview the mapping by selecting the Preview page action.
8. Enable the service by toggling the “Enabled” option.

Once you have set up the Currency Exchange Rate Service, you can use the “Update Exchange Rates” action on the Currencies page in Business Central to fetch the latest currency exchange rates from the service provider. You may also use a Job Queue to schedule the currency update to automate the process.

Note: The code and information discussed in this article are for informational and demonstration purposes only. This content was created referencing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 online.