Copy Data Between Companies in Business Central (2 Built-In Methods You're Probably Missing)

Overview

The video covers copying data from one company into another, such as specific tables from company A into company B. It does not cover duplicating a whole company. It shows two methods already in the base application as of October 2025.

The first is Master Data Management Setup, which pulls data from a source company into a target company using job queues. The second is the Configuration Worksheet, where a Copy Data from Company action is run by the user. The speaker also explains why configuration packages were dropped on large tables, and mentions a custom-built copy solution he used about 10 years ago.

Key points

• Master Data Management Setup uses a pull strategy: the target company pulls data from the source company.
• You choose which tables and which fields to synchronize, and can validate fields in the target company.
• It works for custom tables and for base application tables such as item and vendor.
• Larger tables such as customer prompt you about synchronizing related tables. Processing runs through job queues.
• Configuration Worksheet has a Copy Data from Company action under Prepare. It is user-initiated, not job queue based.
• Configuration packages caused data corruption on bigger tables with many validations, so the team looked for more stable options.
• A custom-built copy solution is possible but needs development effort and is not part of the base application.

Features

AL objects mentioned

As heard in the captions. A name that matches one object page by exact type and name links to it; the others stay as named.

• table “test” at 2:11
• table “table 5100” at 2:27
• page 7230 “Master Data Management Setup” at 1:16
• page “configuration worksheet” at 5:59

Not found in BC28-30: table “test”, table “table 5100”, page “configuration worksheet”.

Quotes

• 0:22 “We’re not referring here to duplicating a company. We’re referring here to copying table one, two, three from company A into company B.”
• 1:16 “which uh I’m going to show you now master data management setup uh this is based on a on a pull strategy.”
• 1:29 “So from the target you’re pulling data from the source. So how does that work? We’re setting up here in master data management the”
• 4:29 “And this is not only for custom tables, we can do that for uh um even base application tables like item, vendor, c uh”
• 4:40 “when you’re using a bigger table like customer table uh you will be prompted here to um let’s say if we want to choose”

Disclaimers in the video

• 0:34 other: what we have right now available in Business Central in 2025 in October 2025

Presenters (as heard): Business Central Musings host.