Setting up Replicate Master Data on Sales Orders and Purchase Orders

The Replicate Master Data functionality in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is not limited to basic tables. You can also set it up on sales orders and purchase orders, both on document headers and on document lines. This lets you copy selected master data fields onto your orders automatically when the document is created, while still giving you the option to override values manually.

When you add a field through the Replicate Master Data setup, the value is stored in the underlying master data information field. That means a document layout that already prints master data information can print the field without further customisation, even if you only added it as a column on the order.

If a customer or item has no value for a field you have set up to transfer, nothing is copied. You can still look up and select the value manually on the order.

Setting up replicated fields on sales and purchase documents

On a sales order header you might already have a Contact field that is a replicated field, pulled from the master data information value list. To add more fields, go to the Master Data Information Setup and open the Replicate Master Data Setup, exactly as you do for the basic tables.

Here you can see the fields already configured, such as the Contact field on the sales header. You select the table you want to extend. For sales orders the header table is the Sales Header. You then pick a field that holds something useful from the customer, for example the ABC Code, which is an information value.

You can do the same on the sales line. Scroll to the relevant fields on the Sales Line table and add what you need, for instance fields such as Gear and Material. The same applies to the Purchase Header and Purchase Line, so you can extend purchase documents in the same way.

These are fields you can configure yourself. After making changes, remember to update your card pages so the new information is reflected, which updates all the entities.

How values are copied when you create an order

The master data is created when you add the sales order. If you create a new sales order, the configured fields are applied from the customer. In a typical example the Contact field is filled in automatically, but the ABC Code is not, because that particular customer is not set up with an ABC Code to transfer to the order.

When a value is missing, the field is simply left blank on the order. You can still open the ABC Code field, look it up and select a value manually.

If you enter the master data information behind the sales header, you are adding the information value directly. You can also change a replicated value manually behind the header, which updates the value shown on the header as well.

Adding lines and transferring values to the sales line

The same behaviour applies when you add lines to a document. When you enter an item number on a line, the master data information you have configured to transfer is added. The standard master data fields appear directly on the sales line, typically on the right hand side, for example Gear and Material.

For a field to flow to the order line, you must set it up in the master data document to be transferred to the order line, just as you do for the header. If a field such as Material has no value yet, you can add it either in the master data information or directly on the line. If you type the material on the sales line, for example “Steel”, the value is written back to the master data information, and the sales order line shows Material: Steel.

This way you can use the master data information columns as standard fields. You can also add them as columns on the document if you prefer that layout, but it is not required for the values to be available for printing.

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