In Business Central, a company is a separate data container within the same tenant. Each company has its own chart of accounts, customers, vendors, items, transactions, and configuration. Users can be given access to one or more companies, and switching between them takes only a few clicks.
A single Business Central environment can hold multiple companies. This is common in multi-entity organizations, holding structures, or when a demo or test company is needed alongside the live one.
What Companies Are
Companies share the same BC environment, application code, and user accounts, but their data is fully isolated from each other. A transaction posted in Company A does not appear in Company B. The only things shared across companies are users, permission sets, and profiles.
This isolation makes companies a practical way to separate legal entities, regional operations, or test environments without running separate BC instances.
Navigate to the Companies Page
- Search for Companies using
Alt + Q. - The list shows all companies in the current environment along with their display name and status.
From this page you can create new companies, copy existing ones, and switch between companies.
Create a New Company
- On the Companies page, select New.
- The Create New Company assisted setup wizard opens.
- Enter a Name for the company. This is the internal identifier, keep it short and clear.
- Choose a setup option:
- Evaluation, Sample Data, creates the company with demo data, useful for testing
- Production, Setup Data Only, creates a company with configuration but no transactions
- Create New, No Data, a completely blank company
- Work through the remaining steps in the wizard. For production companies, the wizard covers basic configuration like company information, fiscal year, and chart of accounts selection.
- Select Finish to complete the setup.
The new company appears in the Companies list immediately. It is accessible to users who have the required permissions.
Use Assisted Setup for a New Company
After creating a company, the Assisted Setup page lists the remaining configuration tasks needed to make it operational.
- Switch to the new company (see below).
- Search for Assisted Setup using
Alt + Q. - The page shows setup tasks grouped by area, General, Finance, Sales, Purchasing, and so on.
- Work through each relevant task. Completed tasks are marked with a checkmark.
Assisted setup is a good starting checklist for a new company, but it does not cover every configuration option. Additional setup is typically needed for posting groups, number series, dimensions, and other areas.
Copy an Existing Company
If you already have a company configured the way you want, copying it is the fastest way to create a new one with the same setup.
- On the Companies page, select the company you want to copy from.
- Choose Copy from the action bar.
- Enter a Name for the new company.
- Select OK.
Business Central copies the entire company, all setup data and all transactions. The copy is a full duplicate at the point in time when the copy was made.
After copying, you typically need to:
- Clear or adjust opening balances if the copy is meant to be a fresh start
- Update company information (name, address, VAT number)
- Review and adjust number series to avoid conflicts
- Deactivate or delete the copy of the live bank account connections
If you only want to copy specific setup tables rather than the full company, use Configuration Packages instead. See How to Move Data Between Companies in Business Central.
Switch Between Companies
Users with access to multiple companies can switch without logging out.
- Select the company name in the top-right area of the screen (next to your username).
- Choose Switch Company from the dropdown.
- Select the company you want to open.
Alternatively, you can open a specific company directly via the URL by changing the company parameter in the address bar.
Control Access to Companies
Access to a company is controlled by permission sets. A user must have the COMPANY - VIEW or equivalent permission to see a company in the switcher. Without it, the company does not appear in their list.
You can restrict which users can access specific companies by managing permissions at the company level through security groups or direct permission assignment on the user card.
Data Isolation Between Companies
Each company stores its data in a separate set of database tables (or separate schema, depending on the deployment). From a user’s perspective, nothing from one company leaks into another.
This means:
- Customers in Company A are not visible in Company B unless they have been entered there too
- Journal entries, invoices, and transactions are fully separated
- Reports and lists always show data from the current company only
If you need data to flow between companies, such as intercompany transactions, that requires the Intercompany module, which is a separate setup.