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Continia Document Capture is an accounts payable automation solution for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that automates invoice processing. It uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to capture invoice data, supports Purchase Order (PO) matching and approval workflows, and archives documents for retrieval and compliance.
For businesses using Business Central, Document Capture brings these AP activities into the ERP workflow. It can process PDF and XML invoices, capture invoice data, match invoices with orders and receipts, route documents for approval, and retain records for later retrieval.
Continia Document Capture cost depends on the number of documents processed each month and the feature modules your AP process requires. Continia publishes monthly pricing tiers for Business Central Online, so you can estimate costs based on your document volume.
In this guide, we explain how Continia Document Capture works, what the core and feature modules include, how its pricing is calculated, what the free trial covers, and what to consider when evaluating its total cost for your AP team.
What Is the Cost of Continia Document Capture?
Continia Document Capture pricing is based on the number of documents or transactions processed each month in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. For Business Central Online, Continia’s price calculator currently shows $32 per month for 100 documents, or $0.32 per document, before taxes and delivery costs. The final price increases with document volume and with the Feature Modules you add.
The pricing structure includes:
- Essential: Covers core Document Capture functionality. The published price starts at $14 per month for up to 25 registered documents and rises with monthly volume.
- Feature Modules: Additional capabilities such as Advanced Capture, Order Matching, Document Approval, and Purchase Contracts are priced separately based on document volume.
- Module discounts: Activating a second Feature Module gives a 25% discount on that module, while activating a third gives a 50% discount. The published example shows the discount applied to Order Matching, Document Approval, and Purchase Contracts.
- Free trial: The trial includes all modules and ends after 30 days or 25 registered documents, whichever comes first.
All published prices are monthly USD prices and exclude tax. Continia notes that prices are recommended prices and may change based on availability.
Continia Document Capture: Feature Modules and Pricing Tiers
Continia Document Capture pricing has two components for Business Central Online:
- Essential plan
- Feature Modules you activate
Your monthly registered-document volume determines the applicable price for both. Continia does not organize these prices into fixed packages such as Professional or Enterprise. Instead, you select the capabilities you need and apply the corresponding volume tier.
Module | What it covers | Pricing role |
|---|---|---|
Essential | Handles purchase invoices and credit memos as PDF or XML documents using OCR | Base monthly charge |
Advanced Capture | Adds capabilities such as line recognition, unlimited document types, automatic split and merge, and company identification | Feature Module |
Order Matching | Matches purchase invoices with orders, posted receipts, return orders, and posted return shipments | Feature Module |
Document Approval | Supports automated approval flows, approval sharing, validation, permissions, and audit trails | Feature Module |
Purchase Contracts | Supports recurring invoice approval, contract statistics, and contract review | Feature Module |
The following examples show how the Essential subscription and one Feature Module combine at two published volume tiers.
Registered documents per month | Essential per month | One Feature Module per month | Essential + one Feature Module |
|---|---|---|---|
201–300 | $90 | $83 | $173/month |
751–1,000 | $251 | $147 | $398/month |
The Feature Module price covers one selected module, such as Advanced Capture, Order Matching, Document Approval, or Purchase Contracts. Activating additional modules can reduce their price.
Your actual monthly cost therefore depends on how many documents you process and which Feature Modules your AP workflows require.
10 Questions to Ask Before Choosing Continia Document Capture
Before choosing Continia Document Capture, confirm how its pricing, modules, billing rules, deployment model, and implementation requirements apply to your AP process.
The following checklist can help you confirm what you will pay and what your Continia configuration will include:
- How many registered documents will we process each month?
Confirm your expected monthly volume and the pricing tier it places you in.
- What counts as a billable document?
Ask how PDF, XML, attachments, OCR processing, and registration affect consumption. - Which Feature Modules does our AP workflow require?
Identify whether you need Advanced Capture, Order Matching, Document Approval, Purchase Contracts, or other capabilities. - How will adding Feature Modules affect our monthly cost?
Confirm the applicable module rates and discounts when multiple modules are activated. - How does Continia pricing work across multiple companies?
Confirm how documents registered across companies within the same Business Central tenant contribute to monthly usage. - Are we evaluating Business Central Online or on-premises?
The cloud and on-premises models use different licensing approaches, so confirm which pricing structure applies to your deployment. - What is included in the Essential subscription?
Confirm which invoice capture and document-processing capabilities are covered before adding Feature Modules. - What implementation and partner services will we need?
Ask for configuration, integration, migration, training, and support costs to be identified separately in the proposal. - What happens when our document volume or AP requirements change?
Confirm how moving into a different volume tier or adding modules affects the monthly subscription. - What will our first-year cost be?
Ask for a complete estimate covering subscription charges, required modules, implementation, and other applicable costs rather than evaluating the Essential price alone.
What Documents Count Toward Continia Usage?
Continia bases cloud pricing on registered documents, with each registered document counting as one transaction. Page count does not affect consumption. A one-page invoice and a five-page invoice each count as one transaction when registered. The price sheet also states that an imported and registered document, including its attachments, counts as one transaction.
According to Continia’s billing documentation:
- Registered documents count toward usage: A transaction is counted when a document is imported and registered.
- Attachments are included: Attachments submitted with a registered document do not create separate transactions.
- Unregistered PDFs are excluded: OCR-processed PDFs that are not registered do not count toward usage.
- Delivery Network activity is excluded: Documents sent or received through the Continia Delivery Network do not count as transactions.
- Usage is aggregated across the tenant: Registered documents across companies and production environments within the same Business Central tenant are combined for the calendar month.
AP teams should estimate usage based on the total number of registered documents across the tenant, not the number of invoice pages. For example, registering 500 five-page invoices counts as 500 transactions, assuming each invoice is registered once.
One important pricing point: Additional companies do not incur a separate Continia fee, but their registered documents still contribute to the tenant’s monthly transaction volume. Include all relevant companies and production environments when estimating usage. |
Continia Cloud Trial vs On-Premises Licensing
Continia offers different licensing models for Business Central Online and Business Central/NAV on-premises:
- Business Central Online: The 30-day trial includes all Document Capture modules and ends after 30 days or once you register 25 documents, whichever comes first. After the trial, monthly billing is based on registered document volume and activated Feature Modules.
- Business Central/NAV on-premises: Requires a Purchase License or Subscription License through a Microsoft Dynamics Partner. Continia refers to this as the “Pay & Use” model, compared with “Use & Pay” for Business Central Online.
The USD price sheet in this article applies only to Business Central Online. Confirm the applicable license, modules, and partner costs separately for on-premises deployments.
What to Look for in an AP Automation Quote
The following table highlights the key pricing and scope details to verify before choosing an AP automation solution:
Check | What to confirm |
|---|---|
Document volume | Confirm the monthly registered-document volume used for the quote and the pricing tier it falls into. If volume varies seasonally, check how higher-volume months affect the cost. |
Multiple companies | If you process invoices across multiple Business Central companies, confirm that the quote accounts for their combined registered-document volume. |
Implementation and partner services | Identify the costs for configuration, workflow setup, migration, training, integration, and other partner services separately from the software subscription. |
Actual workflow requirements | Map the quoted modules to the AP processes you need to automate. For example, confirm whether the proposed configuration covers PO matching and approval requirements. |
First-year cost | Calculate 12 months of expected subscription charges plus implementation, partner services, and other applicable costs. |
Changes in volume or scope | Ask how the cost changes if document volume moves into a higher tier or your AP team adds another Feature Module. |
Renewal and cancellation terms | Confirm how pricing changes at renewal and what happens to your documents and data if you cancel the service. |
How Does MetaViewer Pricing Work?
MetaViewer uses custom pricing based on your invoice and document volume, number of users, ERP integration, and the modules included in your package. Instead of fixed public rates, it provides tailored quotes based on your AP requirements.
To get a quote tailored to your AP requirements, be ready to share:
- Average and peak invoice and document volumes
- ERP system and integration requirements
- AP workflows, including invoice capture, matching, approvals, and ERP posting
- User requirements
- Additional modules such as payments, document management, or Accounts Receivable (AR)
- Implementation, training, and consulting requirements
MetaViewer’s AP automation platform covers invoice capture, matching, approvals, and ERP posting. You can add modules for payments, document management, or AR as your processes expand. Implementation, training, and consulting are scoped according to the project timeline rather than included in a fixed package.
For teams using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, use the demo to review how AP automation and document management fit with your ERP workflows.
When comparing quotes, ask for clear details on included platform capabilities, modules, users, ERP integration, and services. This helps you understand the total cost and what your AP team will get.
Continia vs MetaViewer: 6 Factors to Evaluate
Continia and MetaViewer use different pricing models and package their AP capabilities differently. Compare them against the same document volume, Business Central requirements, workflows, modules, implementation scope, and evaluation period.
This makes it easier to see what each proposal includes, how costs change as requirements grow, and which AP tasks remain outside the proposed automation.
Evaluation factor | Continia Document Capture | MetaViewer |
|---|---|---|
Pricing transparency | Publishes monthly cloud pricing by registered-document volume, with separate rates for Feature Modules. | Does not publish standard subscription rates. Pricing is tailored to invoice and document volume, users, ERP integration, and selected modules. |
Cost as needs change | Monthly cost changes when registered-document volume moves into another pricing tier or when Feature Modules are added. Additional Feature Modules can qualify for discounts. | Quote changes based on invoice and document volume, users, ERP integration, and selected modules. Ask how changes in volume or scope affect the proposal. |
Business Central fit | Built for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Cloud and on-premises deployments use different licensing models. | Supports AP automation for Business Central. Confirm the proposed integration, deployment requirements, and included capabilities. |
Functional scope | Essential covers core document handling. Advanced Capture, Order Matching, Document Approval, and Purchase Contracts are available as Feature Modules. | Core AP automation covers capture, matching, approvals, and ERP posting. Payments, document management, and AR can be added as modules. |
Implementation and support | A free cloud trial is available, but services and support requirements apply to the paid deployment. | Implementation, training, and consulting are scoped to the project timeline. Confirm what services and support are included in the proposal. |
First-year and ongoing cost | Calculate the monthly subscription from expected document volume and required modules, then add applicable implementation or other quoted costs. | Compare the quoted subscription, modules, users, ERP integration, implementation, training, and other applicable services over the same period. |
Compare Continia Costs With Your AP Requirements
Continia’s published pricing gives you a starting point for estimating your AP automation costs. With MetaViewer, you’ll need a tailored quote to understand the investment. But the subscription cost is only part of the decision. What matters is how much of your AP workflow each platform can handle and how much manual work your team will still need to do.
Look beyond the initial quote and consider how each solution fits your existing processes, where it can reduce manual effort, and how well it can support your AP requirements as they grow.
Book a Demo with MetaViewer and see how it compares with Continia for AP Automation
FAQs
1. Does Continia Document Capture work with ERPs other than Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
No. Continia Document Capture is built specifically for the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem, Business Central Online (cloud) or Business Central/NAV on-premises. It isn't designed for other ERPs such as Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, SAP, or NetSuite, so businesses outside the Business Central/NAV environment would need a different AP automation solution.
2. Does Continia charge differently for invoices that require PO matching versus invoices that don't?
Continia's cloud pricing is based on registered documents (transactions), not document type. Since each imported and registered document counts as one transaction regardless of page count, Essential pricing counts a PO-matched invoice and a non-PO invoice the same way. The Order Matching capability itself, however, is a separate Feature Module with its own cost, so PO matching adds to your monthly bill through the module fee, not through a different per-document rate.
3. Is Continia Document Capture billed monthly only, or is annual billing available?
Continia's published price sheet for Business Central Online lists monthly USD rates, and billing occurs at the end of each month based on that month's usage. The source pricing materials don't reference annual billing or a prepay option, so confirm directly with a Microsoft Dynamics Partner if you need annual terms.
4. Do you need a Microsoft Dynamics Partner to subscribe to Continia Document Capture for Business Central Online?
On-premises deployments explicitly require a Purchase License or Subscription License obtained through a Microsoft Dynamics Partner ("Pay & Use"). For Business Central Online, Continia describes its model as "Use & Pay," which points to a more self-service subscription, but the published pricing information doesn't spell out whether a partner is required to activate or manage that subscription, so it is worth confirming before you commit.
5. What happens to your Continia bill if you cancel partway through a billing cycle?
Continia's materials don't specify proration rules for a mid-cycle cancellation. They only note that you should confirm what happens to your documents and data when you cancel. Before signing, ask your partner directly whether canceling mid-month results in a prorated charge, a credit, or a full month's bill, since this isn't addressed in the standard pricing documentation.
