Electronic Invoicing
You have been asked by one (or more) of your customers to submit invoices and credit notes/credit memos electronically and have been directed to this page to learn more about what is involved.
Fortunately, the process is very simple. The easiest option is to submit them by email to the address contained in the email you received from your customer.
Don’t worry if your system cannot issue invoices and credit notes/credit memos by email – there are other options available (see below).
Removing Paper
As well as benefiting the environment, removing paper from the billing process has direct financial benefits.
After all, paper handling is manually intensive and costly. It is also prone to error as billing data created on one computer system is printed and re-keyed onto another computer system.
Filing and storage is not very efficient or convenient, and ultimately there are paper disposal costs to consider.
Go Beyond Email
Email is often used to distribute invoices and credit notes/credit memos but without enhanced features such as those provided by OnePosting, it is only marginally better than distributing them in paper format.
For example, invoices distributed by email can be lost and may have to be resent. Neither is there visibility over whether or not invoices have actually been accessed. Invoices can hit an email inbox, but if this is not being monitored, they will not be seen and the knock-on impact is that there will be delays in getting paid.
How to submit electronically
Each of the methods available is listed here, with the preferred option being to submit invoices and credit notes/credit memos by email. It is quick and easy, very convenient and is available on most systems that generate invoices.
Submit by email
The email you received from your customer directing you to this page contained the email address that you must use to send invoices and credit notes/credit memos to that customer.
Any other details required by your customer such as the inclusion of a store number were also contained in the email.
When sending invoices and credit notes/credit memos by email please ensure that:
- The correct email address is used for the customer
- Any updates to customer records, for example to include store numbers, have been made
- Invoices and credit notes/credit memos are sent as PDF attachments on emails
- The PDF attachments should be originals, generated by your billing system, and not scanned images manually attached to emails
Please Note
If you received requests to submit invoices and credit notes/credit memos by email from a number of customers, please pay specific attention to the instructions from each customer as data such as the email address to which invoices should be sent and the use of store numbers are customer specific.
Upload CSV or XML files
Invoices and credit notes/credit memos can be uploaded in CSV or XML formats. The steps involved are:
- Generate a sample file
- Make sure that the file contains sample invoices and credit notes/credit memos
- Prepare an explanation for each piece of data in the file
- Send the sample file and explanation to OnePosting
- Sign off the PDFs created by OnePosting that show how data has been mapped
- Agree the method to be used to upload files to OnePosting
- Test the upload
- Go Live
If invoices and credit notes/credit memos can be sent by email, that would be the preferred method to use.
However if that is not possible, the steps above outline how CSV or XML files can be used to submit invoices and credit notes/credit memos electronically.
EDI
Invoices and credit notes/credit memos can be formatted into EDI 810 format but they should not be distributed over an EDI network.
Instead invoices and credit notes/credit memos in this format must be uploaded to OnePosting using Secure FTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol).
The steps involved in this process are:
- Generate sample EDI 810 messages containing both invoices and credit notes/credit memos
- Send these message together with a description of how you interpret the EDI 810 standard to OnePosting
- Ensure that all SAC details are included in the description
- Verify that all line items and SAC amounts equal the totals on each document transmitted
- Use SFTP to route EDI files to OnePosting
The preferred method of invoice and credit note/credit memo delivery is via email, but an EDI 810 message can be used although it will have to be uploaded directly to OnePosting rather than passing over an EDI network.
Online Entry
Online entry is suitable for anyone who:
- Does not have a computerized invoicing system
- Cannot sent invoices and credit notes/credit memos by email or any of the other electronic delivery mechanisms
- Generates so few invoices and credit notes/credit memos that it is quicker and easier to input them online
Full instructions on how to input invoices and credit notes/credit memos online will be provided.
Where your customer uses OnePosting to issue purchase orders, you can simply ‘flip’ a purchase order into an invoice which eliminates any need for data entry.
Paste from Microsoft Excel
This is a variation on the online entry option outlined previously.
Using the online entry option, invoice and credit note/credit memo lines can be copied and pasted from Microsoft Excel into the online form.
Thus invoices and credit notes/credit memos can be created in Microsoft Excel and ‘pasted’ to OnePosting.
Direct Connect to Accounting Software
Native integrations have been created with a number of software packages such as Sage 50 and Sage 200.
These are used where all invoices and credit notes/credit memos for all customers are to be routed through OnePosting for onward distribution.
It is not used to distribute a subset of invoices or credit notes/credit memos to your customer.
If you already use OnePosting for invoice distribution, then there is nothing to do – OnePosting will take care of everything.
Timeframe
Naturally, your customer would like to deploy the solution as soon as possible while taking into account factors such as your readiness and the steps required from you to go live.
Either your customer or OnePosting will be in contact to arrange a suitable ‘Go Live’ date with you.
To ensure an orderly transition to electronic invoicing, it is important to agree the date from which invoices and credit notes/credit memos will be submitted electronically with your customer. This allows everyone to be prepared and ensures that no invoices or credit notes/credit memos are ‘lost’ in the transition process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I already send invoices and credit notes/credit memos by email?
All you need to do is to change the email address you use to the one provided by your customer.
What if my system doesn’t allow me to send invoices and credit notes/credit memos by email?
That is no problem as there are a number of alternatives available as outlined above. Please engage with OnePosting to select the one that suits.
I don’t have an invoicing system – how do I submit invoices and credit notes/credit memos electronically?
OnePosting provides an online portal that enables you to input invoices and credit notes/credit memos or to receive a purchase order and convert it to an invoice.
Can I print and then scan my invoices and credit notes/credit memos before sending them by email?
The short answer is no. Invoices and credit notes/credit memos should only be sent by email if they are generated directly by your billing system. Scanned invoices or credit notes/credit memos should not be sent by email.
When do I have to start sending invoices and credit notes/credit memos electronically?
The exact date is contained in the email you received from your customer requesting you to submit invoices and credit notes/credit memos electronically.
Invoices are sent with the goods – what should we do?
As soon as invoices are generated, send them by email to the address provided and continue to send them with the goods if you wish.
How do I know my invoices and credit notes/credit memos have been delivered?
If there are any issues with invoices or credit notes/credit memos, you will be notified automatically by email. You can also upgrade your installation to view the progress of any invoice or credit note/credit memo.
What file formats are supported?
If email is not being used, any consistent data format is acceptable, e.g. CSV, XML, Fixed Length Fields, and EDI messages.
Next Steps
Let us know which method of submitting invoices and credit notes/credit memos electronically that you wish to use by completing the following information. This is especially important if you cannot provide them by email and need to choose one of the other options.
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