MDM Cheatsheet - Master Data Management for Business Central
Steps to Implement and Test
Access the Subsidiary Company.
Open Master Data Management Setup.
Specify the Source Company.
Enable Synchronization.
Configure Synchronization Tables.
Select Fields for Synchronization.
Use Match-Based Coupling
Initiate Initial Synchronization.
Monitor Synchronization.
Test Inserts and Updates to Master Tables
Export Setup file from Subsidiary Company to additional Subsidiaries.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
• Setting up MDM in BC – from Master Company to Subsidiary (one company at a time)
• ALL TESTING MUST BE DONE IN A SANDBOX ENVIRONMENT
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
• From the Subsidiary Company, choose Master Company and Enable Data Synchronization
• The system will PULL the DATA from the MASTER to the SUBSIDIARY Company
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
• Click on Synchronization Tables to determine which Master Data tables need synchronization.
• This would normally include Customer, Vendor, G/L, and Item – with all their related tables.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
• All Tables have their Status as Enabled by default
• Except the Item Table is not in this list.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
• The Item Table was missing from the default list, so I added it.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
• A system message appears asking if you want to Enable synchronization of tables related to the Item Table. Best to answer “Yes”.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
• Moving back to the Table Sync Window, highlight the Customer Table and choose which fields you will need to synchronize
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Accept the default settings for the Enabled or Disabled fields, or Enable all.
Update Fields button is only necessary if you have created a customization adding new fields to that table after the initial Synchronization.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Match-Based Coupling is a feature used during the initial synchronization of data between companies. It helps link existing records in the subsidiary company (target) to their corresponding records in the master company (source) based on defined matching criteria. This ensures that duplicates are not created and data remains consistent across companies.
Why Use Match-Based Coupling?
1.Avoid Duplicate Records: If similar records (e.g., customers, vendors) already exist in both the master and subsidiary companies, match-based coupling ensures that these are treated as the same entity, preventing the creation of unnecessary duplicate records.
2.Maintain Data Consistency: By linking records, subsequent updates in the master company are correctly applied to the corresponding records in the subsidiary.
3.Custom Matching Logic: You can define how records should be matched—for instance, by matching on unique identifiers, names, or combinations of fields.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Set up Match-Based Coupling for the Customer Table
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Matching on Primary Key is a good practice
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
If the Status of all fields in the Item Table default is Disabled, then Select All and use the Enable button to Enable All.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Select the field or fields that comprise the Primary Key as the Match Field(s)
Turn on "Sync after Coupling"
Select the Option to Create New if unable to Couple
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Enable fields from the Vendor Table
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Accept the default (mostly Enabled)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Match Vendor Table on Primary Key (Match-Based Coupling)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Highlight the G/L Account Table and choose the Fields button.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Accept the default Status (95% Enabled) for the G/L Account Table.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
G/L Account - Match-Based Coupling. Match on Primary Key (No.)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Random checking of the 60 Master Data Tables shows that the significant fields of each are Enabled for Synchronization – by default
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Selecting “Match-Coupling” settings for Contact and Dimension Tables
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Open the Synchronization Job Queue Entries List Page
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Inspect Synchronization Job Queue Errors in the Item Variant and Unit of Measure Tables
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Show the error for the Item Variant Table
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
The “no field mapping …” error seems related to “Disabled” Fields
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Enable the “Disabled” fields for the Item Variant Table.
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Fields are Enabled for the Item Variant Table
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Enabling the Unit of Measure Table and its fields, fixes that error
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Fields in the Unit of Measure table are now Enabled
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Fixing the error on the Item Variant Table
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Set Match-Based Coupling for the Item Variant Table
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Testing new and modified records for:
•Customer,
•Vendor,
•Item,
•G/L Account,
•Contact,
•Item Variant,
•Unit of Measure
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New Customer inserted in Master Company
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Modified Customer Record from Master replicated to Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New Vendor inserted to Master Company
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New Vendor replicated to Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Vendor name modified in Master and name change replicated to Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New Item in Master Inventory
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Dirt Bike now replicated to Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
•Item 1003 Modified in Master
•Modified record replicated in Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New G/L Account inserted into Master Company
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New G/L Account inserted into Subsidiary Company (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
G/L Account Modified in Master – replicated in Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New Contact replicated from Master into Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Item Variants added to Master are immediately added to Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
New Unit of Measure from Master inserted into Subsidiary (Chronus)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Export the entire MDM Setup from the Chronus Company
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
Import the MDM Setup .xml file from Chronus to a different Subsidiary (Chronus 2)
MDM – Master Data Management in Business Central
After the Import from Chronus the new Master Records now appear in Chronus 2
MDM Cheatsheet –
Master Data Management in Business Central
These steps were completed and Testing was done.
The subsidiary company was accessed.
Master Data Management Setup was opened.
The source company was specified.
Synchronization was enabled.
Synchronization tables were configured.
Fields for synchronization were selected.
Match-based coupling was used.
Initial synchronization was initiated.
Synchronization was monitored.
Inserts and updates to master tables were tested.
The setup file was exported from the subsidiary company to additional subsidiaries.
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