The Tell Me search bar is the fastest way to get around Business Central. Instead of navigating through menus and the Role Center, you type what you are looking for and jump directly to it.
You open Tell Me by pressing Alt + Q from anywhere in Business Central. A search box appears at the top of the screen. As you type, results appear instantly across pages, reports, actions, data records, and help content.
What Tell Me Can Find
Tell Me searches across several categories at once. Understanding what each category returns helps you get to the right place faster.
| Search Type | What It Returns | Example Query |
|---|---|---|
| Pages | List pages, card pages, setup pages | customers, chart of accounts |
| Reports | Printable reports and analysis pages | aged accounts receivable, trial balance |
| Actions | Actions available on your current page | post, release, apply entries |
| Data Records | Specific customers, vendors, items by name or number | Fabrikam, C00010 |
| Help Articles | Microsoft documentation related to the term | how to set up reminders |
Searching for Pages and Setup Areas
Most navigation in Business Central starts from Tell Me. When you search for a setup page, the result appears under a Pages and Tasks heading.
Type a partial name and results narrow down as you continue. For example, typing reminder returns results including Reminder Terms Setup, Reminder Levels, Create Reminders, and Issue Reminders.
Select the page from the list and Business Central opens it directly.
Searching for Reports
Reports appear in Tell Me results under a separate heading. Searching for trial balance returns the Trial Balance report, which you can run immediately.
Some commonly searched reports:
- Aged Accounts Receivable, overdue customer balances by period
- Aged Accounts Payable, overdue vendor balances by period
- Customer Statement, activity summary per customer
- Inventory Valuation, item stock value
If you know the report name, Tell Me is faster than navigating to it through the Role Center.
Searching for Data Records
Tell Me can search across your actual data. If you type a customer name or number, results appear under a Go to or Find heading, depending on your version.
This works for:
- Customers and vendors (by name or number)
- Items (by description or item number)
- Sales orders and purchase orders (by document number)
- G/L accounts (by name or number)
Selecting a data record opens the relevant card or document directly. This is useful when you have a specific record in mind and want to skip the list page.
Searching for Actions on the Current Page
Tell Me also surfaces actions that are available on whatever page you are currently viewing. If you are on a Sales Order and search for release, the Release action appears and you can trigger it from the search result without finding the button manually.
This is particularly useful on pages with many tabs and action groups, where the button you need may not be visible without scrolling.
Finding Help Articles
Below the page and action results, Tell Me shows links to Microsoft help documentation. These open in a side panel or a new tab, depending on your setup.
Searching for dimensions returns both the Dimensions setup page and links to help articles explaining how dimensions work. If you are new to a feature, this is a quick way to read the relevant documentation without leaving Business Central.
Tips for Faster Searching
Use partial words. You do not need to type the full name. alloc finds Allocation Accounts, vat setup finds VAT Posting Setup.
Search by abbreviation. Common Business Central abbreviations like G/L, VAT, and FA work in searches.
Use Tell Me instead of the menu. Even experienced users rely on Tell Me to avoid clicking through navigation menus. It is almost always faster.
Search from any page. Tell Me is available on every page. You do not need to return to the Role Center first.
Action results are page-sensitive. Actions in Tell Me results depend on your current page context. The same search term may return different actions depending on where you are in Business Central.
New to Business Central? The Getting Started guide covers Role Center navigation and the basic page types you will encounter throughout the system.