User Guide

Overview

This guide covers day-to-day operations with BRC Connect, from processing incoming orders to managing outbound data synchronization. Whether you’re handling orders manually or monitoring automated processes, this guide provides step-by-step instructions.

User Roles

BRC Connect supports different user roles with varying responsibilities:

Daily Operations Workflow

Typical Daily Flow

Morning (Start of Day):

1. Check overnight processing results
2. Review BRC Connect Error List for issues
3. Process any failed orders manually
4. Monitor BRC Outgoing Sync Queue for pending items

Throughout Day:

1. Orders process automatically (if automation enabled)
2. Monitor BRC Connect Entries for new downloads
3. Handle customer service escalations
4. Post shipments as orders fulfilled

End of Day:

1. Verify all orders processed
2. Clear error queue
3. Confirm inventory synchronized
4. Review processing statistics

Core Processes

1. Order Download and Processing

Automated Processing (Recommended):

When automation is enabled, BRC Connect automatically:

• Downloads new orders every 5 minutes (configurable)
• Parses JSON content into structured data
• Validates customers, items, and totals
• Creates Sales Orders in Business Central
• Logs any errors for manual review

Manual Processing:

For testing or troubleshooting, process orders manually:

1. Download Orders

   • Open BRC Connect Entries
   • Choose Actions → Get All Documents
   • System creates entry with Status = “Not Sent”
   • Entry progresses to “Sent and Received” when data downloaded

2. View Downloaded Content

   • Open BRC Connect Content
   • Filter BRC Connect Type = DOCUMENT
   • Filter Status = New
   • Review JSON Content field to see raw data

3. Parse Content

   • Select content record
   • Choose Actions → Read Content
   • System parses JSON into BRC Connect Value records
   • Status changes from “New” to “Read”

4. Validate Order

   • Select content record (Status = Read)
   • Choose Actions → Validate Content
   • System validates customer, items, totals
   • Status changes to “Validated” if successful
   • Status changes to “Error” if validation fails

5. Create Sales Order

   • Select content record (Status = Validated)
   • Choose Actions → Create/Update BC Record
   • System creates Sales Order in BC
   • Status changes to “OK”
   • Record ID field links to created Sales Order

6. View Created Order

   • Click Record ID hyperlink, or
   • Note External ID and search for Sales Order
   • Review order details
   • Post or release as normal BC process

2. Manual Order Creation

For orders entered directly by staff (phone, email, etc.):

1. Open Manual Order Page

   • Search for BRC Manual Order
   • Page provides simplified order entry

2. Enter Header Information

   • Customer: Select existing or create new
   • Order Date: Date order received
   • External ID: Reference number from customer
   • Source: Identify source (e.g., PHONE, EMAIL)

3. Add Line Items

   • Enter Item No. or Item Reference
   • Enter Quantity
   • System fills Unit Price from BC
   • Add additional lines as needed

4. Create Order

   • Choose Create Sales Order action
   • System validates and creates Sales Order
   • Opens created order for review

5. Optional: Send to Web

   • If customer needs confirmation via external system
   • Choose Send to Web action
   • System queues order confirmation to external API

3. Error Handling

When orders fail validation or creation:

View Errors:

1. Open BRC Connect Error List
2. Filter by:
   • Error Type: Error (critical) vs. Warning (informational)
   • BRC Connect Type: DOCUMENT, CUSTOMER, ITEM, etc.
   • Date: Today, This Week, etc.

Common Errors and Resolutions:

Fix and Retry:

1. Note Entry No. or Content ID from error
2. Fix underlying issue (create customer, map value, etc.)
3. Open BRC Connect Content
4. Find record with error
5. Choose Actions → Reset Status
6. Choose Actions → Create/Update BC Record
7. Verify Status = OK

Ignore Errors:

For errors that can’t be fixed (e.g., test orders, spam):

1. Open BRC Connect Content
2. Find record with error
3. Choose Actions → Ignore
4. Record no longer appears in error list

4. Outbound Inventory Synchronization

BRC Connect automatically updates external systems when inventory changes:

How It Works:

1. User posts inventory transaction in BC (purchase receipt, sales shipment, adjustment)
2. System adds affected items to BRC Outgoing Sync Queue
3. Job queue processes queue every 5 minutes
4. System builds inventory JSON and POSTs to external API
5. Entry appears in BRC Connect Entries with Service Type = “Update”

Manual Inventory Update:

Force immediate inventory sync:

1. Open BRC Outgoing Sync Queue
2. Select item(s) to sync
3. Choose Actions → Send Now
4. System immediately processes and sends

Monitor Inventory Sync:

1. Open BRC Connect Entries
2. Filter Service Type = Update
3. Filter BRC Connect Type = INVENTORY
4. Verify Status = “Finished” for successful sync
5. Check Error Text for failures

Configure Inventory Settings:

1. Open BRC Connect Setup
2. Configure Inventory to Web:
   • Real-time: Current inventory on-hand
   • Available: Projected available (on-hand - committed)
   • Grouped by Location: Separate by warehouse
3. Configure Outstanding Qty. Max: Exclude purchase order quantities
4. Enable Send Virtual Inv. for BOM Item: Calculate component availability

5. Price Synchronization

Send price updates to external systems:

Automatic Price Sync:

1. Update sales prices in BC (Sales Prices, Price Lists)
2. System adds to BRC Outgoing Sync Queue
3. Job queue processes and sends to external API

Manual Price Update:

1. Open Items or Price Lists
2. Select item(s)
3. Choose Actions → Send to BRC Connect (if available)
4. Or navigate to BRC Outgoing Sync Queue and send manually

Price Types Supported:

• Sales Prices (customer-specific, general)
• Price List Lines (BC 2020+)
• Purchase Prices (if configured)
• Minimum Quantity pricing

Product Range Filtering:

Control which items’ prices sync:

1. Open BRC Connect Setup
2. Enable Product Range on Price
3. Configure Product Range field on items
4. Only items with matching product range sync

6. Shipment Notifications

Notify external systems when orders ship:

Automatic Shipment Notification:

1. Post Sales Shipment in BC
2. System adds shipment to BRC Outgoing Sync Queue
3. Job queue sends shipment details to external API
4. External system notifies customer of shipment

Manual Shipment Notification:

1. Open Posted Sales Shipments
2. Select shipment
3. Choose Actions → Send to BRC Connect
4. Verify in BRC Outgoing Sync Queue

Delayed Shipment Notification:

Configure delay between posting and sending:

1. Open BRC Connect Setup
2. Set Auto Send Shipment Delay Minutes (e.g., 30)
3. System waits configured minutes before sending
4. Allows for shipment corrections before external notification

What Gets Sent:

• Shipment No.
• Order No. (external reference)
• Line items with quantities shipped
• Tracking numbers (if configured)
• Shipment date
• Carrier information (if configured)

7. Payment Processing

Handle payments from external systems:

Payment Options:

BRC Connect supports these payment handling modes:

Configure Payment Processing:

1. Open BRC Connect Setup
2. Set Payment Option to desired mode
3. Configure Payment Journal Template and Batch
4. Enable Post Payments for automatic posting

Map Payment Methods:

1. Open BRC Mapping
2. Add mappings for each external payment method:
   • Source: External system (e.g., SHOPIFY)
   • BRC Connect Type: PAYMENT
   • From: External code (e.g., “credit_card”)
   • To: BC Payment Method Code (e.g., “CC”)

Review Payment Journals:

1. Open Payment Journals
2. Select batch configured in BRC Connect Setup
3. Review payment lines created by BRC Connect
4. Post or modify as needed

8. Customer Management

Handle customer auto-creation and matching:

Customer Matching:

BRC Connect uses two-pass matching:

1. Pass 1: Fast exact match on unique identifiers (email, phone, web ID)
2. Pass 2: Settings-driven fuzzy match with case sensitivity options

Configure Unique Identifiers:

1. Open BRC Content Type Field Setup
2. Filter BRC Connect Type = CUSTOMER
3. Mark fields as Unique Identifier:
   • buyer.email - Priority 1
   • buyer.phone - Priority 2
   • buyer.webId - Priority 3
4. System tries Priority 1 first, then 2, then 3

Customer Auto-Creation:

When no match found:

1. System creates new customer in BC
2. Uses customer template (configure in BC)
3. Fills fields from JSON mapping
4. Assigns next available customer number
5. Links to order

Manual Customer Review:

1. Open Customers
2. Filter Created by BRC Connect (if field exists)
3. Review for duplicates or data quality
4. Merge duplicates using BC’s customer merge tools

9. Item Management

Handle item auto-creation and variant matching:

Item Matching:

System matches items by:

1. Item Reference (cross-reference, barcode)
2. Item No. (direct match)
3. Variant Code (for product variants)

Configure Item References:

1. Open Item References (or Item Cross References in older BC)
2. For each item, add:
   • Reference Type: Customer, Vendor, or Bar Code
   • Reference No.: External SKU from e-commerce system
   • Unit of Measure: Matching UOM

Item Auto-Creation:

Enable in BRC Connect Setup:

1. Set Auto Create/Update Item = ON
2. System creates items when not found
3. Uses item template
4. Maps fields from JSON

Variant Handling:

For products with sizes, colors, etc.:

1. Create item in BC with variants
2. Add Item References for each variant
3. Map variant JSON field to Variant Code BC field
4. System matches to specific variant

10. Monitoring and Reporting

Track integration health and performance:

Key Monitoring Pages:

Email Monitoring:

Enable automated alerts:

1. Open BRC Connect Setup
2. Set Monitor Active = ON
3. Enter Monitor E-Mail List (semicolon-separated)
4. System emails when errors exceed threshold

Performance Metrics:

Track these KPIs:

• Order Processing Time: Entry created to Sales Order created
• Error Rate: % of orders with errors
• Sync Latency: Time from BC change to external system update
• Throughput: Orders processed per hour/day

Health Check Queries:

Run these checks regularly:

// Orders pending processing
BRC Connect Content where Status IN (New, Read, Validated)

// Outbound records not synced
BRC Outgoing Sync Queue where Synced = FALSE AND Date < TODAY

// Recent errors
BRC Connect Error List where Date >= TODAY

// Failed HTTP requests
BRC Connect Entries where Status = Error

Best Practices

Order Processing

• ✅ Enable automation only after thorough testing
• ✅ Monitor errors daily, don’t let error queue grow
• ✅ Set up email alerts for critical errors
• ✅ Clean up old entries regularly (configure “Delete Content After”)
• ✅ Use sandbox environment for testing changes

Data Quality

• ✅ Keep item references up-to-date with external SKUs
• ✅ Maintain clean customer data for accurate matching
• ✅ Regular review auto-created customers for duplicates
• ✅ Validate totals to catch pricing discrepancies early

Performance

• ✅ Set appropriate Process Entry Max Count (100-500 depending on volume)
• ✅ Run job queues during off-peak hours for large batches
• ✅ Use product range filtering to reduce unnecessary data sync
• ✅ Archive old entries to keep tables lean

Security

• ✅ Limit BRC CONNECT - EDIT permission to admins only
• ✅ Rotate bearer tokens periodically
• ✅ Review HTTP logs for suspicious activity
• ✅ Disable Debug Mode in production (logs sensitive data)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up common tasks:

Common Scenarios

Scenario: High Order Volume Day

Situation: Black Friday, 500 orders in one hour

Actions:

1. Increase Process Entry Max Count to 500 temporarily
2. Reduce No. of Minutes between Runs to 2 minutes
3. Monitor BRC Connect Error List more frequently
4. Add warehouse staff to handle increased shipment volume
5. Revert settings after peak period

Scenario: External System Down

Situation: E-commerce site is down, orders not downloading

Actions:

1. Check Service Health of external system
2. Disable Integration Active temporarily (prevents error buildup)
3. When system restored, re-enable Integration Active
4. Orders since last successful download will download automatically
5. Monitor for gaps in order sequences

Scenario: Pricing Discrepancy

Situation: Order totals in BC don’t match external order totals

Actions:

1. Review BRC Connect Values for the order
2. Compare external line prices vs. BC prices
3. Check Unit Price Rounding and Discount Rounding settings
4. Verify VAT calculations match
5. Adjust Total Amt. Document Tolerance if differences within acceptable range
6. Update BC prices if BC is wrong

Scenario: Duplicate Customers

Situation: Same customer created multiple times

Actions:

1. Review Unique Identifier configuration in BRC Content Type Field Setup
2. Verify external system sends consistent email/phone values
3. Use BC’s customer merge functionality to consolidate
4. Update Unique Identifier Priority to prefer most reliable field
5. Consider case sensitivity settings if email capitalization varies

Next Steps

• Integrations - Deep dive into integration architecture
• Troubleshooting - Detailed error resolution guide
• Reference - API and permission reference