Multi Entity Management

How to setup replication of Customers/Vendors with associated Contacts

Version: September 2026 / Multi Entity Management 8.8.x / Business Central 28.x

1. Preamble

This How-to document describes the replication setup of Customers or Vendors, together with their associated Contacts, from a publisher company to one or more subscriber companies using Multi Entity Management (MEM).

Customer/Vendor replication with associated Contacts enables centralized management of your business relation master data across multiple companies. In this context, the Customer (Table 18) or Vendor (Table 23) is the primary record being replicated, and the Contact Business Relation (Table 5054) is used to automatically carry the associated Company Contact and/or Primary Contact (Person) along with it. This guide covers internal replication (within the same environment) only.

1.1 Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• Multi Entity Management installed and licensed (version 8.6.x or later)
• Basic understanding of MEM concepts (Publisher/Subscriber companies)
• Understanding of Business Central Contact Management
• All companies are in the same Business Central environment (internal replication only)

2. Understanding Customer/Vendor Contact Replication

2.1 What is Customer/Vendor Contact Replication?

Customer/Vendor Contact replication in Multi Entity Management allows you to maintain centralized Customer and Vendor master data - together with their linked Company Contact and/or Primary Contact - in a publisher company, and automatically distribute it to one or more subscriber companies.

2.2 Key Tables Involved

The following tables are involved in Customer/Vendor Contact replication:

Table ID	Table Name	Type	Description
18	Customer	Primary	Main customer master data table
23	Vendor	Primary	Main vendor master data table
5054	Contact Business Relation	Associated	Links Customer/Vendor to their Company Contact and/or Primary Contact
5050	Contact	Primary	Company Contact and/or Primary Contact record, linked via Table 5054
5053	Business Relation	Support	Defines business relation types for contacts

Note: Associated tables are automatically replicated when their parent Customer or Vendor is replicated.

2.3 Understanding Contact Business Relations

Contact Business Relation (Table 5054) is the most critical component of Customer/Vendor Contact replication. This table creates the link between:

• Customers (Table 18) and their Company Contact and/or Primary Contact (Table 5050)
• Vendors (Table 23) and their Company Contact and/or Primary Contact (Table 5050)
• Bank Accounts (Table 270) and their Contact

Why Contact Business Relations Are Critical:

When a Customer or Vendor is created in Business Central, the system automatically creates a Company Contact and a Contact Business Relation record linking them. If a Primary Contact (Person) is also set up, an additional Contact Business Relation record links that Person Contact to the same Customer or Vendor. These records:

• Link the Customer/Vendor to its Company Contact and/or Primary Contact
• Enable synchronization between Customer/Vendor and Contact information
• Allow you to view Contact information from the Customer/Vendor Card, and vice versa

3. Publishing Customers/Vendors (Publisher Company)

This section describes how to configure the publisher company to make Customers or Vendors - together with their associated Contacts - available for replication.

3.1 Setup Publisher Company

This section describes how to configure all required tables in the publisher company for Customer/Vendor Contact replication.

1. Navigate to Replication List

   • Search for “Replication List”
   • Select your publisher company
   • Click Manage → Edit to open the Replication Card

2. Add Customer and/or Vendor Table

   • In the Publish section, add a new line
   • In the Table ID field, enter 18 (Customer) and/or 23 (Vendor)
   • This is the primary table you want to replicate

3. Add Contact Table (Table 5050)

   • Add another line in the Publish section
   • In the Table ID field, enter 5050 (Contact)
   • This is added as a primary table, just like Customer (18) and/or Vendor (23)

4. Add Business Relation Table (Table 5053)

   • Add another line in the Publish section
   • In the Table ID field, enter 5053 (Business Relation)
   • This is a supporting table that defines business relation types for contacts

5. Configure Associated Tables for Contact Business Relation

   • Select the Contact line (Table 5050) in the Publish section
   • Click Associated Tables
   • Add a new line with Associated Table ID 5054 (Contact Business Relation)
   • Contact Business Relation (Table 5054) ensures that only the Contacts linked to a Customer or Vendor that is being replicated is replicated too

4. Subscribing to Customers/Vendors (Subscriber Company)

This section describes how to configure subscriber companies to receive Customers or Vendors, together with their associated Contacts, from the publisher.

4.1 Setup Subscriber Company

1. Navigate to Replication List

   • Switch to the subscriber company
   • Search for “Replication List”
   • Select the subscriber company
   • Click Manage → Edit to open the Replication Card

2. Add Business Relation Subscription (Table 5053)

   • In the Subscribe section (bottom part of the page), add a new line
   • In the Table ID field, enter 5053 (Business Relation)
   • In the Data Publisher field, select the publisher company
   • Table 5053 must be set up with Auto Insert enabled

3. Add Contact Subscription (Table 5050)

   • In the Subscribe section, add a new line
   • In the Table ID field, enter 5050 (Contact)
   • In the Data Publisher field, select the publisher company
   • When Table 5053 is set up, Table 5054 (Contact Business Relation) is set up automatically

4. Add Customer/Vendor Subscription

   • In the Subscribe section, add a new line
   • In the Table ID field, enter 18 (Customer) and/or 23 (Vendor)
   • In the Data Publisher field, select the publisher company
   • The Table Name field automatically fills with “Customer” or “Vendor”
   • In the Business Relation Handling field, choose how the associated Contact should be transferred, for example:
     • Transfer Company Contact only
     • Transfer Company and Primary Contact

4.2 How to Handle Creation of Custom Contacts

In addition to Contacts that arrive through replication, a subscriber company may need Contacts of its own - for example a local Person Contact who is not part of the publisher’s data. This section describes how to enable and manage such custom Contacts alongside replicated ones.

1. Configure Custom Records (Optional)

   • In the subscriber’s Replication Card, locate the Contact (Table 5050) line in the Subscribe section
   • Check the Custom Records checkbox
   • This allows company-specific (custom) Contacts to be created locally, in addition to the Contacts received from the publisher
   • The system will verify that custom records don’t conflict with publisher records

2. Go to the Publisher Setup

   • In the publisher company, open the Replication Card
   • Select the Customer (Table 18) and/or Vendor (Table 23) line in the Publish section, and click Fields
   • Remove Transfer at Modify on field no. 9 Contact and field no. 5059 Primary Contact No.

3. Avoid Number Conflicts

   • Ensure the number series used for custom Contacts does not overlap with the publisher’s number series
   • Local (custom) Contacts keep their own numbers
   • Replicated Contacts continue to come from the publisher

5. Replication Schema

Using a Replication Schema simplifies setup when you have multiple subscriber companies with the same requirements. Instead of configuring the Publish and Subscribe sections manually for each company, you can define the setup once and apply it wherever it is needed.

Benefits:

• Configure once, apply to multiple subscribers
• Consistent setup across all subscriber companies
• Easier maintenance and updates
• Centralized management of replication rules

5.1 Creating a Replication Schema (Publisher)

To Create a Replication Schema:

1. Navigate to Replication Schema page
2. Create a new schema or edit existing
3. Add Table 18 (Customer) and/or Table 23 (Vendor) with desired settings
4. Add associated tables (5054, 5050, 352)
5. Configure field-level settings
6. Assign the schema to subscriber companies (see Section 5.2)

5.2 Assigning a Replication Schema (Subscriber)

If the publisher has created a Replication Schema for Customers/Vendors:

1. Assign Schema to Subscriber

   • In the subscriber’s Replication Card
   • Click Assign Replication Schema
   • Select the Customer/Vendor replication schema
   • Click OK

2. Verify Schema Application

   • The Subscribe section is automatically populated
   • All associated tables are added
   • Field-level settings are applied
   • Data Publisher is set

Benefits: Faster setup, consistent configuration, easier to maintain.

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Quick Reference

Critical Tables

Table ID	Table Name	Purpose
18	Customer	Primary Customer master data
23	Vendor	Primary Vendor master data
5054	Contact Business Relation	Links Customer/Vendor to Contact
5050	Contact	Company Contact and/or Primary Contact data
352	Default Dimension	Default dimensions

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Glossary

Associated Table: A table that contains data related to another table and is automatically replicated with its parent table.

Company Contact: The Contact record of type “Company” that is automatically created and linked when a Customer or Vendor is set up in Business Central.

Contact Business Relation: The link between a Customer, Vendor, or Bank Account and a Contact. Stored in Table 5054.

Data Publisher: The company that provides master data to other companies (the publisher in a publisher-subscriber relationship).

Custom Records: A setting that allows a subscriber company to have both replicated data and company-specific data.

Primary Contact: The Contact record of type “Person” that is linked to a Customer or Vendor as the main point of contact.

Publisher Company: The company that owns and maintains the master data, sharing it with subscriber companies.

Replication Schema: A template that defines which tables and fields should be replicated, allowing consistent setup across multiple subscribers.

Subscribe: A feature that enables automatic replication of new and modified records from publisher to subscriber.

Subscriber Company: A company that receives master data from a publisher company.

Template Table: A table configured for replication in Multi Entity Management.

Transfer at Insert: A field setting that controls whether the field is transferred when a record is initially replicated.

Transfer at Modify: A field setting that controls whether field changes in the publisher are automatically synchronized to subscribers.

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Document Information

Document Version: 2.0 Last Updated: September 2026 MEM Version: 8.8.x Business Central Version: 28.x Author: Multi Entity Management Documentation Team

Change History:

Version	Date	Changes
1.0	February 2026	Initial release with correct field names and technical approach
1.1	July 2026	Updated version numbers to 8.6.x / BC 28.x. Revised chapter structure: removed Prerequisites (ch.3), Monitoring and Auditing (ch.9). Updated table 2.2, section 2.3, preamble. Removed CRM references throughout.
2.0	September 2026	Restructured document so Customer (Table 18) and Vendor (Table 23) are the primary replicated entities, with Contact Business Relation (Table 5054) and Contact (Table 5050) configured as associated tables carrying the Company Contact and/or Primary Contact. Updated all chapters, Quick Reference, and Glossary accordingly.