- Feature
- Formula-based emission calculation in purchase documents
- Availability
- Generally available (October 2026)
- Industry focus
- Courier, parcel and last-mile delivery
For courier and last-mile delivery companies, emissions are mostly about fuel and electricity: diesel for vans, charging for electric vehicles, and power for depots. Customers, especially large retailers, increasingly ask carriers for emissions data per shipment or per contract. The raw data already arrives on purchase invoices. Business Central 29.0 lets that data be turned into emissions as the invoice is processed.
The industry challenge
A delivery company's main emissions sources show up as purchases:
- Fuel card invoices with litres of diesel and petrol
- Electricity bills for depots and EV charging
- Invoices for subcontracted delivery, sometimes priced by distance
Until now, turning these into emissions usually meant exporting purchase data to a spreadsheet and applying emission factors by hand. That's slow, it's done after the fact, and it's easy to apply the wrong factor or miss invoices.
What Microsoft delivered in Business Central 29.0
According to Microsoft, Business Central 29.0 introduces formula-based emission calculations on purchase documents, using the same logic as sustainability journals. It applies emission factors to inputs such as fuel, electricity, distance or custom amounts.
The set-up is on the Sustainability Setup page:
- Turn on Use Emissions in Purchase Documents.
- Turn on Use Formulas in Purchase Documents.
When both are active, extra fields appear on purchase lines. Filling in a formula field calculates CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O using emission factors. Input validation follows the same rules as sustainability journals, based on sustainability account categories. If formula fields have values, manual emissions entry is blocked, and the reverse is also true.
Where the value shows up
| Business area | Impact for a delivery company |
|---|---|
| Emissions reporting | Emissions captured as fuel and energy invoices are processed |
| Accuracy | Consistent emission factors applied by the system |
| Customer requests | Faster answers when retailers ask for carrier emissions |
| Efficiency | No separate spreadsheet calculation each month |
| Control | Clear rules prevent mixing manual and formula-based figures |
The timing matters as much as the accuracy. When emissions are calculated at the point of purchase, monthly emissions are ready as soon as the month's invoices are posted.
A worked scenario
Consider a regional parcel carrier running 250 vans, a third of them electric (an illustrative example). A major online retailer asks for quarterly emissions data for the deliveries made on its behalf.
The carrier enables formula-based emissions on purchase documents and sets up emission factors for diesel and grid electricity. When the AP team posts the monthly fuel card invoice, they enter the litres in the formula field, and Business Central calculates CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O. Depot and charging electricity bills are processed the same way using kWh. At quarter-end, the sustainability lead has fleet and depot emissions ready, and can allocate them to the retailer's contract with confidence.
Adoption considerations
- Maintain emission factors. Use recognized factors for your country and update them when they change.
- Train AP staff. Show them which purchase lines need formula inputs and what to enter.
- Map accounts carefully. Validation depends on sustainability account categories.
- Choose formulas or manual entry. Decide which suppliers use formula-based calculation.
- Reconcile with operations data. Compare fuel volumes with telematics to catch errors.
The bottom line
For courier and last-mile delivery firms, emissions data is becoming part of the service customers expect. Formula-based emissions on purchase documents in Business Central 29.0 turn fuel and energy invoices into consistent emissions data as part of normal accounts payable work. It's a practical step from estimating emissions to measuring them.
If customers are asking for your delivery emissions, it's worth setting up purchase-based emissions tracking with an experienced Business Central adviser.
Source: Microsoft roadmap 573374