Capable-to-promise in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central calculates the earliest date you can deliver an item that isn’t already in stock or on order. With MxAPS, the date you promise on a sales order is based on production capacity and material requirements, so it is a date your shop floor can actually meet.
MxAPS is a finite capacity scheduling app for Business Central, published as an extension on Microsoft Marketplace. Its Capable-to-Promise for Order Entry feature builds on the Sales Order Promising feature already in Business Central, so order processors keep working where they always have.
What Is Capable-to-Promise in Business Central?
Capable-to-promise (CTP) answers one question: if we have to make or buy this item, when can the customer have it? It applies only to the quantity you don’t already have in inventory or on scheduled orders.
Microsoft describes it this way: “Capable to promise (CTP) assumes a ‘what if’ scenario, which only applies to item quantities that aren’t in inventory or on scheduled orders.” (Microsoft Learn)
It sits beside available-to-promise (ATP), which checks unreserved inventory against planned receipts. Microsoft’s own example makes the split clear. If a customer orders 10 pieces and 6 are in inventory or on scheduled orders, the capable-to-promise calculation is based on the remaining 4.
In Business Central, both checks run from the Order Promising Lines page on a sales order. The results land in two fields:
- Planned Delivery Date: the date the customer can expect the goods.
- Earliest Shipment Date: the first date the order can leave your building.
When the order processor accepts a capable-to-promise date, Business Central creates a planning line and a reservation entry so the supply to back that promise is already in motion.
How Does MxAPS Add Capable-to-Promise to Order Entry?
MxAPS adds a quick assessment of production capacity and material requirements to the order promising you already run in Business Central. As a result, the delivery date reflects what your plant can actually produce.
That matters because MxAPS already holds a detailed model of your plant. It schedules production orders forward against real machine capacity, using your own scheduling rules. It can also treat material, tooling, and labor as constraints. Capable-to-Promise for Order Entry puts that knowledge in front of the person quoting the date.
Mark Hamblin, Senior Solution Advisor at Insight Works, describes the product plainly: “I prefer to actually call it automated production scheduling because that’s what it does.” Capable-to-Promise for Order Entry extends that automation to the moment a customer asks, “When can I have it?”
Here is how the work flows for an order processor:
- Enter the sales order lines in Business Central as usual.
- Run order promising from the sales order.
- MxAPS assesses production capacity and material requirements for the items being promised.
- Review the realistic delivery date and accept it, or discuss options with the customer.
Because the feature builds on Sales Order Promising, there is no separate screen to learn. The order processor stays on the sales order, and the planner doesn’t have to be asked whether every date is possible.
Business Central Order Promising vs MxAPS Capable-to-Promise
MxAPS doesn’t replace order promising in Business Central; it extends it with a view of production capacity. The table shows where each check fits.
| Available-to-promise (Business Central) | Capable-to-promise (Business Central) | Capable-to-Promise for Order Entry (MxAPS) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Can we ship from stock or scheduled receipts? | When could we have it if we make or buy it? | When can our plant realistically deliver it? |
| Quantity it covers | Unreserved inventory and planned receipts | Quantity not in inventory or on scheduled orders | Quantity being promised on the sales order |
| Basis for the date | Inventory, scheduled receipts, and gross requirements | Earliest date the item could be produced, purchased, or transferred | MxAPS assessment of production capacity and material requirements |
| Where you run it | Order Promising Lines on the sales order | Order Promising Lines on the sales order | Sales Order Promising, extended by MxAPS |
For stocked items, available-to-promise is often all you need. For made-to-order and assembled items, the date depends on what the plant is already committed to, which is where MxAPS extends Business Central.
Who Benefits from Capable-to-Promise in Business Central?
Manufacturers who make or assemble to order benefit most, because their delivery dates depend on open capacity. Each role gets something different:
- Order processors and customer service: quote a delivery date on the call, with confidence that the plant can meet it.
- Production planners: work from promised dates that already consider capacity and materials, instead of reworking the schedule around dates set without them.
- Operations and plant managers: keep on-time delivery commitments tied to what the shop floor can produce.
- Business Central partners: give manufacturing customers a capable-to-promise answer inside the system they already run.
What Do You Need to Use It?
You need MxAPS installed and configured for your plant. Capable-to-Promise for Order Entry relies on the same setup that drives MxAPS scheduling: routings, work centers, and machine centers in good shape, assigned to MxAPS production cells.
MxAPS is sold through Insight Works resellers and priced by the number of production orders scheduled at one time, not per user. A free trial is available through the MxAPS listing on Microsoft Marketplace. Learn more on the MxAPS app page, or read how forward scheduling works in Backward or Forward Scheduling to Optimize Production?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between available-to-promise and capable-to-promise in Business Central?
Available-to-promise checks whether you can ship from stock or scheduled receipts. Capable-to-promise calculates when you could deliver the rest if you have to produce, purchase, or transfer it.
Does MxAPS replace order promising in Business Central?
No. Capable-to-Promise for Order Entry builds on the Sales Order Promising feature in Business Central. MxAPS adds its assessment of production capacity and material requirements to that same process.
Is MxAPS an app, an extension, or an add-on?
All three describe it. MxAPS is a Business Central app, installed as an extension from Microsoft Marketplace, and partners often call it an add-on.
Who should use capable-to-promise?
Manufacturers whose delivery dates depend on production capacity, especially those who make or assemble to order. Stocked items are usually covered by available-to-promise.
How do I try MxAPS?
Start a free trial from the MxAPS listing on Microsoft Marketplace, or ask your Insight Works reseller for a demonstration. For background on how MxAPS schedules, see Automated Production Scheduling Using Dynamics 365 Business Central.