Custom Document Statuses

Functionality Overview

The Custom Document Statuses functionality allows users to define and assign custom status values to various document types in Business Central. This feature provides enhanced document tracking and workflow management capabilities beyond the standard system statuses.

Supported Document Types

The functionality currently supports the following document types:

  • Sales Quote
  • Sales Order
  • Sales Return Order
  • Purchase Order
  • Purchase Invoice
  • Purchase Credit Memo
  • Planned Production Order
  • Released Production Order
  • Firm Planned Production Order

Configuration

1. Define Custom Statuses

Navigate to N24C | Custom Document Statuses page to manage your custom document statuses configuration.

From this page, you can:

  • View all configured custom document statuses across different document types
  • Configure the order and assignment of statuses to specific document types
  • Access the Custom Status configuration page a through the Custom Statuses action

Custom Status configuration page

Access N24C Custom Status page to define the basic status definitions:

  • ID - Unique identifier for the status (20 characters)
  • Description - Human-readable description of the status (100 characters)

2. Configure Document Status Assignments

In N24C | Custom Document Statuses page, configure how statuses are assigned to document types:

  • Order - Sequence number determining the display order (minimum value 1)
  • Page - Page type where this status assignment applies
  • Status ID - Reference for the custom status
  • Status Description - Auto-generated description combining order and status ID

Usage

Visibility and Access

Custom status fields are automatically added to the supported document pages and become visible only when:

  1. Custom statuses are configured for that specific document type
  2. The system detects existing status definitions for the page

Document Integration

The custom status functionality integrates seamlessly with standard Business Central documents:

Sales Documents

  • Sales Quote - Custom status field appears after the standard Status field
  • Sales Order - Custom status field appears after the standard Status field
  • Sales Return Order - Custom status field appears after the standard Status field
  • Sales Order List - Custom status column is available in the list view
  • Sales Return Order List - Custom status column is available in the list view

Purchase Documents

  • Purchase Order - Custom status field appears after the standard Status field
  • Purchase Invoice - Custom status field appears after the standard Status field
  • Purchase Credit Memo - Custom status field appears after the standard Status field
  • Purchase Order List - Custom status column is available in the list view
  • Purchase Invoice List - Custom status column is available in the list view
  • Purchase Credit Memo List - Custom status column is available in the list view

Production Documents

  • Planned Production Order - Custom status field appears in the General section
  • Released Production Order - Custom status field appears in the General section
  • Firm Planned Production Order - Custom status field appears in the General section
  • Production Order Lists - Custom status columns are available in respective list views

Status Selection

When editing documents, users can select from the configured custom statuses using a list, which is automatically filtered to show only statuses relevant to the current document type.

Examples and Scenarios

Scenario: Tracking sales order fulfillment stages

Need: A manufacturing company wants to track what stage a sales order is at: waiting for materials, in production, ready to ship. The standard BC status (Open/Released) doesn't provide this level of detail.

Configuration:

  1. Open N24C | Custom Document Statuses.
  2. Click Custom Statuses and add:
    • WAITING — Waiting for materials
    • PRODUCTION — In production
    • READY — Ready to ship
  3. Return to the main page and assign statuses to the Sales Order page with order 1, 2, 3.

Result: Each sales order has a dropdown field. The planner changes the status as fulfillment progresses. The sales order list shows a custom status column — users can filter e.g., all "READY" orders for shipping.

Scenario: Purchase order verification status

Need: The compliance department requires that each purchase order above a certain amount has a verification status: unverified, under review, approved. They want to filter orders by this status.

Configuration:

  1. In Custom Statuses add: NEW, REVIEW, APPROVED.
  2. Assign them to the Purchase Order page.

Result: A buyer creates an order — status is "NEW". Compliance changes it to "REVIEW". After positive verification, sets it to "APPROVED". On the purchase order list, compliance filters by status to see only documents requiring their attention.

Tip

Custom statuses work independently of the standard document status (Open/Released) — you can use both in parallel.