Most conversations about AI in finance start with excitement, but that excitement dwindles with long implementation timelines. Easily connect Dynamics 365 Business Central to Claude or other AI clients. With PopdockAI, the setup takes just a few minutes. Here’s how it works.
See it in action here:
Start with an MCP Server
Everything begins inside the PopdockAI web application. Navigate to the MCP section and you’ll see a list of existing servers, as well as the option to create a new one. Setting up a new server is simple. Just give it a name and description, and then you’re ready to start building tools.
Build Your Tool
The tool you use depends on the function or service you want your AI client to interact with. In this case, the tool needed is the Business Central Get Data tool, which is pointed at a sales lines endpoint.
Inside the tool configuration a few key components come together:
Description: This tells Claude what the tool does and when to use it. Even a simple description like, “get a list of sales line items” gives the AI client enough context to apply the tool correctly in a conversation.
Parameters: These act as the input validation, letting you refine what the AI client searches for rather than pulling every record in the system. Parameters can filter by any field (like customer name or date range), and can be required as needed.
Restrictions: Optional field-level filters that give you additional control over what data is accessible through the tool. There are no restrictions set up for this example.
Response: You control which fields come back in the response. Rather than returning every field on the endpoint, you choose only what’s relevant to your query. You also get to choose what response type you receive (CSV, Excel, JSON, etc.).
Once the tool is set up and active, it’s available within the MCP server to any user with the right security access.
Connecting to Claude
On the Claude side, setup is just as simple. Navigate to ‘Settings’, then ‘Connectors’, and locate the MCP server your administrator has already configured.
Enter your credentials, and the connection is established. From there, you can see exactly which tools your user has access to and adjust how Claude interacts with them.
Back in the chat, everything is set up and ready to go. Enter a prompt, and Claude identifies the right tool, connects to your Business Central environment, and returns the data you asked for. In this example, it returns all sales lines for a specific customer.
Why this Matters
The traditional path to getting ERP data into a usable format involves exports, spreadsheets, and usually someone from IT. With PopdockAI, it’s only a conversation away.
Finance teams, operations managers, and anyone who needs fast access to Business Central data can get it directly through Claude without a custom integration, without a developer, and without leaving the tools they already use.
If your team is spending time searching for data instead of acting on it, it’s time to connect your systems. Contact us and learn more about how PopdockAI can help you create a connection between your ERP and AI client in minutes.
