Microsoft Dynamics GP and SFTP / Flat Files integration

What moves between them

The main flow moves GL journal entries, invoices, purchase orders, vendors, and customers from Dynamics GP into SFTP files on your schedule. Incoming files (vendor invoices, purchase orders, payments) are fetched from the SFTP inbound folder, parsed according to your file format (CSV, X12, EDIFACT, or fixed-width), and posted into Dynamics GP as unposted Work transactions, ready for approval and posting in the normal GL workflow. Acknowledgment files are generated and deposited in the acks folder after each inbound file is processed. Because Dynamics GP has no push capability, ml-connector polls your SBA or SOAP endpoint and SFTP server at intervals you define, typically aligned with your batch processing schedule.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector maintains a Windows domain account credential set encrypted at rest and uses it to authenticate against your Dynamics GP instance over Windows Authentication (Negotiate/Kerberos or NTLM). It polls your SBA REST or SOAP endpoint with ModifiedDate filters to discover new and changed records since the last run, then transforms them into your target file format (CSV with headers, X12 segments, fixed-width records, etc.). For SFTP, ml-connector stores your host credentials and SSH public/private key pair encrypted, connects to your SFTP server, deposits outbound files in the configured partner folder, and polls the inbound folder for incoming files. On receipt, it validates file format and content against your mapping specification, generates X12 997 or EDIFACT CONTRL acknowledgments, and posts valid records into Dynamics GP as unposted transactions in the appropriate GL or AP/AR module. Company name must match your Dynamics GP SQL Server database name exactly (e.g., FABRIKAM not Fabrikam Inc.). The integration respects Dynamics GP fiscal period open/close status, handles multicurrency requirements if your company is multicurrency-enabled, and retries failed posts with exponential backoff. Every record carries a full audit trail with timestamp, source, target status, and any validation errors.

A real-world example

A mid-market discrete manufacturer runs Dynamics GP on premises for financial operations and inventory, and exchanges purchase orders, invoices, and remittances with suppliers via SFTP as EDI (X12) files. Previously, the AP team exported vendor invoices from their SFTP server as CSV and manually typed invoice amounts and PO line references into Dynamics GP, a weekly task taking 4-6 hours and prone to transcription errors. With Dynamics GP and SFTP / Flat Files connected, incoming vendor invoices land as unposted AP transactions in Dynamics GP automatically, line-matched to the correct PO in the system. GL journal entries and payment registers flow back to suppliers as X12 820 remittance files on the SFTP server. The AP team now spends that time on exception handling and relationship management instead of data re-entry, and invoices are reconciled to POs on the day they arrive.

What you can do

• •Poll Dynamics GP on a schedule to extract GL journal entries, invoices, purchase orders, vendors, and customers.
• •Transform Dynamics GP records into CSV, X12 EDI, EDIFACT, XML, or fixed-width files for delivery to your SFTP server.
• •Fetch incoming files from SFTP, parse them according to your format specification, and post valid records as unposted transactions in Dynamics GP.
• •Generate X12 997 or EDIFACT CONTRL acknowledgment files after processing inbound files and deposit them in your SFTP acks folder.
• •Authenticate Dynamics GP via Windows domain credentials and SFTP via SSH key or password, with encrypted credential storage and automatic retry on transient failures.

Questions

Does ml-connector work with both SBA and SOAP Web Services, or just one?

ml-connector works with both. It accepts either the SBA REST endpoint or the SOAP Web Services endpoint per customer. Verify which one your Dynamics GP version supports (SBA is available in GP 2015 and later); some older installs run SOAP-only or eConnect-only. The integration tests and configures against whichever endpoint you provide.

Can ml-connector post GL entries and invoices back into Dynamics GP from SFTP files?

Yes. It fetches inbound files from SFTP, parses them according to your file format specification (CSV columns, X12 segments, fixed-width positions), validates the data, and posts new records into Dynamics GP as unposted Work transactions. The record stays in Work status until your AP or GL team reviews and posts it through the normal Dynamics GP approval workflow. Read-only constraints apply: if a record arrives with a company name, GL account, or vendor that does not exist or is closed in Dynamics GP, the validation fails and the record is logged to the error folder with details.

What happens if my Dynamics GP fiscal period is closed when a file arrives?

Dynamics GP enforces fiscal period open/close status. If the period is closed, posting the transaction returns a validation error. ml-connector logs the error and retries on the next scheduled run. You can reopen the period, or batch the files until the next open period. The integration surfaces this constraint early so your finance team can plan the batch schedule and avoid surprises.