Six years ago, back in the BC14 time, I built an OnBoarding app to demonstrate a concept for getting Business Central customers up and running after. Recent improvements from Microsoft reminded me of this app. Join me as I tell the story before removing it from AppSource.
In this video, Erik walks through the story of his Business Central “OnBoarding” app — an AppSource app he built back in 2019 to streamline the process of setting up a new Business Central company. He demonstrates how the app works, explains the thinking behind it, and then does something rarely seen on YouTube: he removes the app from AppSource live on camera.
What Is Onboarding, Really?
Erik starts with a fundamental question: what does “onboarding” mean in the context of Business Central? His definition is straightforward — you bring somebody new onto the system and guide them until they can post their first invoice. At that point, they’re on the system and working.
Competitive offerings like QuickBooks have a very guided structure: you answer some questions and then you can write an invoice. With Business Central, it’s considerably more complicated.
The Spark: Microsoft’s New Demo Data Approach
What brought this app back to Erik’s attention was a recent change Microsoft made in version 25.3 to how they handle demo data. When creating a new company (using the “Create New Company” action — not the “New” button, which Erik still doesn’t understand why Microsoft allows), you can now select “Evaluation – Contoso Sample Data” and then choose which modules of sample data you want installed.
That list of selectable modules looked remarkably familiar to something Erik had built many years ago.
The Origin Story
Back in 2019, around the BC14 timeframe and pre-COVID, Erik communicated to Microsoft — in his “usual friendly way” — that they needed to improve onboarding. But as those who follow Erik know, when he has an idea, it typically turns into code before it turns into a PowerPoint.
So he wrote the OnBoarding app and presented it to Microsoft, suggesting either they adopt the approach or use his app directly. Microsoft decided to go a different direction — no hard feelings. But the recent addition of the module selection dialog in the company creation wizard shows that at least some of the thinking has converged.
How the OnBoarding App Works
The app is designed to run in a blank company. Here’s the workflow Erik demonstrates:
- Module Selection: After clicking “Start,” the app reads around 200+ packages and presents a list of available modules (Financial Management, Inventory, Fixed Assets, etc.). You select which ones you want in your system.
- Package Source Selection: All packages are stored on a GitHub repository. For each selected module, you choose from available package variants (e.g., evaluation, extended, or standard configurations for different BC versions and countries).
- Abstract Chart of Accounts: This is where the app really differentiates itself from Microsoft’s approach. Instead of creating fixed G/L account numbers, each package declares that it needs “an account called X that sits in group Y within group Z.” The app understands the hierarchical structure — for example, “Development Expenditure” sits inside “Intangible Fixed Assets,” which sits inside “Assets.” By selecting all your packages, the app compiles the complete set of G/L accounts needed.
- Chart of Accounts Generation: You can generate a chart of accounts automatically based on the required accounts, upload your own and map the needed accounts into it, or use one already in the system. If generating, you specify starting account numbers and increment values.
- Number Series Generation: Similarly, the app identifies all number series requirements from your selected packages and can auto-generate them — “basically just like the new AI version, but I did this six years ago,” Erik notes.
- Create Everything: Finally, one click creates all the data, chart of accounts, and number series. You can also export the result as a configuration package.
The State Machine Wizard
Long-time viewers of Erik’s channel might notice that the wizard interface isn’t a standard Business Central wizard page. It’s built using a state machine pattern that Erik covered in a separate video. Each step is its own page, and a state machine keeps track of navigation and flow between them.
Removing the App from AppSource
With the background explained, Erik moves to the main event. The app came out of a discussion with Microsoft about what they should do for onboarding. It doesn’t contribute to his app offerings in general — it just sits there in AppSource. The last publish date? 2019.
Looking at the original submission timeline is also a window into how AppSource worked back then:
- Automated validation and preview generation were quick
- Certification was still done manually — listed as “usually less than one business day” but actually took 9–10 days
- Final publishing took about three hours
Erik clicks “Stop Distribution,” enters the offer ID (“onboarding”), confirms, and the marketplace begins preparing to stop selling the offer. And just like that, the app is offboarded.
Erik also mentions he plans to open-source the app’s code after reviewing the repository.
Lessons and Reflections
Erik reflects on what can be learned from this experience:
- The fundamental idea — abstracting setup requirements away from specific account numbers and letting the system compose a chart of accounts from modular packages — is still sound.
- There remains a real need in the ecosystem for making it easier to get to that very first invoice.
- Business Central has a wide span in the market, and for the lower, more self-serve segment, tooling like this would serve a genuine purpose.
- Sometimes your ideas don’t get adopted the way you envisioned, but they can still influence the direction things eventually go.
Conclusion
This video is a rare and candid look at the full lifecycle of an AppSource app — from the initial idea and prototype, through publication, years of sitting dormant, and finally being delisted. Erik’s OnBoarding app was ahead of its time in many ways, particularly in its abstract approach to chart of accounts generation and modular package composition. While the app itself is being retired, the concepts it pioneered are clearly echoing in the direction Microsoft is taking with Business Central’s company setup experience. Sometimes the best thing you can do with an old project is learn from it, share the story, and make room for what comes next.
