- All
- 3PLs
- EDI
- EDI Webforms
- E-invoicing
- government
- Logistics
- Retailers
- Single Touch Payroll (STP)
- Software providers
- Suppliers
- XERO
EDI best practices
Establish clear procedures
It’s important to have clear contact point for your trading partners to get in touch with you about EDI-related issues they may have. The last thing you want is a colleague who knows little or nothing about EDI being asked EDI questions and not knowing where to direct the question. Work out who will take care of EDI questions from suppliers and educate your team so they understand where to direct these enquiries. Another thing to think about having is a contingency plan if something goes wrong with your EDI. You need processes in place to be able to keep operating in the unlikely scenario of an issue.Test, test, test
There’s nothing worse than sending EDI messages to your suppliers only for them to not receive it. Or even having suppliers sending you messages incorrectly. This can lead to stock not being on shelves and invoices not getting paid. Testing before going live can make the transition to EDI much more seamless. Organise a time to send and receive test EDI messages to and from your suppliers to ensure that you don’t run into any issues when you go live. If this sounds a bit too manual, you can use our message compliance testing (MCT) service on Colladium to automatically ensure the EDI messages you’ll receive follow the correct syntax and use the right fields.Automate as many processes as possible
Before getting started with EDI, think about all the things you want automated – an EDI automation wish list so to speak. Think about all the areas that take up too much manual processing or add significant costs, for example not knowing if an order can be fulfilled, or not knowing when it’s going to be delivered. You can even look at the invoice payment process, which is often time consuming for your accounts team. EDI can automate matching purchase orders and other EDI documents with your invoices to ensure they are accurate and legitimate.Be picky when choosing an EDI provider
It’ll come as no surprise that it’s important to have a list of things you expect from your ideal EDI provider. Have a think with your team about what you want in your provider. Think about:- if they meet your technical requirements
- if their business aligns with yours
- if they have the right experience
- if their support model works for your business
- if their pricing model suits you.
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Using EDI to improve supply chain efficiency
Reduce costs and errors
The big efficiency with EDI is there’s no need for emailing or paper, which has some obvious benefits. As your number of orders grow, so does manual processing and hence, the need for more hands on deck. EDI does a lot of the heavy lifting for you through automating a lot of your processes. Studies have shown EDI can reduce the cost of a financial transaction by up to 90% and exchanging an invoice through EDI can even cost less than a cent. Automation from EDI can stop those awkward moments where your customer asks why your invoice numbers are wrong or if a supplier delivers the wrong products. EDI can result in a reduction in transactions errors by up to 40%.Faster delivery times from suppliers
For any businesses, one of their biggest nightmares is not receiving goods when they need it. Any way to make the procure-to-pay cycle shorter is always a benefit. EDI sends trade documents directly between your software and your partners’. No more emails and manual inputting. EDI automation can speed up business cycles by 61%.Better supply chain visibility
The best way keep track of all processes in the supply chain is through data. Businesses using EDI can find out whether a supplier can complete a purchase order. If you use advanced shipping notices (ASNs) with your suppliers, you can find out what a supplier is sending you and how they’re sending it. This can help your warehouse teams plan ahead for deliveries, so you can save time and resources. In fact, using ASNs can reduce receiving costs by up to 40%. Have more questions? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.Request a call back
How eInvoicing delivers a better procure-to-pay (P2P) experience for your suppliers
What is eInvoicing?
In short, when your suppliers create an invoice in their invoicing software, it’ll almost ‘magically’ appear in your accounting software. To find out the nitty gritty, have a look at our whitepaper, an introduction to eInvoicing.So how does it benefit your suppliers?
It’s sent directly from the supplier’s software into the customer’s software
Once your supplier enters it into their software, they can be rest assured that it’ll be delivered straight into their customer’s software. And if, for whatever reason it can’t be, the supplier will be sent a notification, so they’re always in the loop. This means their invoice will be received in record time, and the payment process can begin. Winner!It doesn’t get lost among emails or people forgetting to forward it on
Gone are the days of emailing a PDF invoice, waiting for the person the supplier deals with to approve it, pass it onto the accounts payable team for processing and then joining the payments queue. eInvoices go straight into the customer’s software, so there’s not getting lost in emails – it joins the queue, which is often automated by the customer, to speed up the process.Suppliers can get notified of the status of an invoice
One of the real benefits for suppliers is getting notifications of the invoice status. The eInvoicing network (Peppol here in Australia and New Zealand) has a ‘response’ message that goes back to the eInvoice sender to let them know if the eInvoice has been received (or failed or rejected for whatever reason) and can also update the supplier on things like whether it’s been approved for payment, whether it’s been paid, and more. eInvoicing has heaps of benefits for you too, not just your suppliers. You can have peace of mind invoices won’t go missing, plus you don’t have to worry about entering the data incorrectly into your software.Ready to get yourself or your suppliers onboard to eInvoicing? Here’s how…
First, get yourself eInvoicing-enabled
You’ll need an eInvoicing service provider. This is called an ‘Access Point’. The Access Point gets the invoices into your software (and also out of your software if you’re using it for accounts receivable invoicing too). It’s your gateway to the eInvoicing network. Get in touch with us to find out what the best option is, or have a look here.Then get your suppliers onboard
Depending on our suppliers, it could be worth breaking them down into groups to get them onboard. This is handy so that you’re not overwhelmed with the task, but also allows you to tailor your communications, depending on your suppliers. Take a look at our whitepaper, a guide to successfully onboarding trading partners to eInvoicing.Request a call back
Tips for writing a tender document to find an eInvoicing provider
Get to know the ins and outs of eInvoicing
The last thing you want is to be unprepared. Getting to know the basics of eInvoicing makes this process much easier. Make sure you get to know what eInvoicing is and how it works. Learn about the use cases, the benefits, what it will mean for each of your teams (like accounts payable, accounts receivable, IT and others), what it will mean for your customers and suppliers, find out how others have used it as a start.Get to know what eInvoicing providers provide beyond just eInvoicing
Just like most industries, there are some eInvoicing providers who merely pass the invoice from A to B. But there are others who have capability to do much more. Here at MessageXchange, our powerful software can insert missing information, check the information you require is on the invoice and perform complex lookups, workflows, rules and more. This functionality is particularly useful for organisations who have complex business rules, automated payments and integrations with multiple systems.Have a clear view of how eInvoicing will fit into your architecture and processes
For smaller organisations, it can be as simple as eInvoices coming in and out of your software. Even in this simple case, you’ll need to know how they will come in and out – through an API, can it drop and pickup files from an SFTP folder or does it need to use another method – and what format they will come in and out in – will it be an XML format, a CSV or something else? For larger organisations, accounts receivable invoices may come out of one system and accounts payable invoices may go into another. You may have a single integration point for any data coming from the outside world, rather than connect to your systems directly. Be very clear on what this process will look like for your company. On the accounts payable side, many organisations have automated matching against an order, or checking the vendor number or ABN or other data. Make sure you know how eInvoices will fit into this process.Get familiar with your company’s IT policies for external vendors
Some companies require IT vendors to have backup, redundancy and service SLAs. Make sure you’re familiar with what your company requires so you can be clear about this in your tender.Start writing!
- Document your setup and key information like:
- The software you use (and go into detail if your setup isn’t straightforward, for example if you have multiple systems)
- Whether you want to send and/or receive eInvoices
- How many eInvoices you expect to send and/or receive
- Break it down into sections. Example:
- Company information
- Technical requirements
- Business process requirements
- Procurement requirements
- Contract
- Pricing
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Don’t think you’re ready to use eInvoicing? It’s not as difficult as you might think
Get started with a web portal
Did you know you don’t need to spend time and resources integrating eInvoicing into your software? If you’re looking for something quick and easy, all you need is internet access – and if you’re reading this, you’ve got that. Basically, you can login to a web portal like Colladium to send and receive eInvoices using an easy-to-use interface. It’s one of the simplest and most cost-effective options to start eInvoicing. Colladium only takes minutes to sign up and it’s free to use. All you need to do is register and get started!Plug and play software integrations
Your existing software might have some plug-and-play style integrations to start eInvoicing. These allow you to send and receive eInvoices using your own software, and setup is quick and easy. MessageXchange has an easy option for MYOB Account Right and New Essentials users. Send invoices directly to your customers’ software and receive bills directly into your In Tray. Plus, Technology One Ci Anywhere and Oracle Financials Cloud users can take advantage of our eInvoicing Connect product to start receiving eInvoices in just days.Ask your existing Invoicing/ERP software provider
You may not know it, but your current software may be eInvoicing capable. You should ask your provider if eInvoicing is already enabled or whether they plan to make it available.Find an eInvoicing service provider
If you’re working with software that isn’t enabled for eInvoicing you can get easily set up with an eInvoicing service provider, like MessageXchange. We’re able to help you send and receive eInvoices directly from your software. Even if your software doesn’t export or import the Peppol standard file we can translate the files to whatever your software needs. Want to get started with eInvoicing? Get in touch with our eInvoicing experts by filling the form below.Request a call back
How to use EDI with Xero
- Purchase order
- Purchase order response
- Advanced shipping notice
- Invoice.
An EDI web portal is the simplest option
Many Xero users choose to use an EDI web portal. It’s a website you can login to, to view orders and respond to them with the response, advanced shipping notice and invoice. It’s simple to use, inexpensive and gets you compliant with your customer’s requirement. Here at MessageXchange, our EDI web portal is called FormXchange.
Who can you trade with on FormXchange?
Trade with any of these retailers on FormXchange:- Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API)
- Aldi
- Anaconda
- Big W
- Bing Lee
- Bunnings
- Chemist Warehouse
- Coles
- Costco
- David Jones
- Drakes
- Harris Scarfe
- Harvey Norman
- Kmart
- Metcash
- Myer
- Officeworks
- Petbarn
- PFD Foods
- Reece
- Repco
- Sigma
- Spotlight
- Symbion
- Target
- The Good Guys
- Winning Appliances
- Woolworths
How do you get started?
It’s pretty easy:- Head to messagexchange.com and click register
- Enter your details, choose FormXchange as your service and select the retailers you wish to trade with
- You’ll receive a verification email so just click the link in there to verify your account
- Let your customer(s) know that you’re using MessageXchange as your EDI service provider (they might refer to it as a ‘VAN’ or value added network)
- Then once you receive your first order, follow the prompts on screen to respond to it. You can also look at our knowledge base here to walk through the entire process in detail.
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Top 5 EDI questions answered
1. What types of EDI solutions are available for me?
There are two main types of EDI that are available:Integrated EDI (EDI Gateway)
An integrated solution allows you to exchange EDI messages directly from your software. When an order is sent to you, it’ll go to your VAN (value added network) then straight into your software. There’s no need to re-key it or anything. Then when you create the order confirmation, despatch advice or invoice, it will go directly from your software to your VAN and onto your customer. This option has the least impact on your current process and requires minimal manual processing.Web portal/EDI Webforms
The simplest solution for EDI compliance is a webform solution. This allows you to logon to a web portal to view purchase orders and respond by sending back the required information such as purchase order responses, advance shipping notices and invoices. The information input into the web portal is sent directly to your customers’ software.2. How much does EDI cost?
The cost will depend on the product you go with:EDI Gateway
The price to setup an EDI Gateway is determined on a few factors, including how many customers you trade with, your customers’ testing requirements, the complexity of your setup and more. After implementation, our pricing is based on your data consumption (file size) so you only pay for what you use.EDI Webforms
There’s no setup fee to use our EDI Webforms (which we sometimes call FormXchange). You can get started from just $99 a month, which allows you to exchange as many messages as you like with one of your customers. Plus you can add an additional trading partner for just $49 a month.3. How long does it take to implement EDI?
The implementation time varies with every solution.EDI Gateway
The implementation time varies depending on your requirements, complexities, the amount of testing you require, the amount of testing your trading partners require, your availability and more. It can take anywhere from a day or two, through to a month or more to get started.EDI Webforms
For EDI Webforms, you simply register on the platform and you’re good to go. Some retailers require you to go through a testing and accreditation process, but our team are here to help you through that.4. What does my customer mean by ‘accreditation testing’?
Accreditation requires you to test your EDI messages before they’re sent to your retailers’ production systems. This just makes it more likely that you won’t have issues when you’re sending and receiving EDI messages. The testing checks your files and ensures fields are correctly formatted.5. Do l have to make changes to my ERP system to get the EDI message?
No, you shouldn’t need to – as long as your software can export and import files, your EDI provider will do a lot of the work connecting to your ERP system and mapping, or translating, the files to EDI messages. However, if your ERP software doesn’t handle certain EDI messages, like advanced shipping notices, you might need to use another bit of software to do that. We provide our EDI portal, Colladium, to our customers to help them send and receive EDI messages that might not be compatible with their ERP system.Have more questions? Ask our experts by getting in touch below.Request a call back
How leading organisations are managing the transition to eInvoicing
Educating themselves about eInvoicing
Getting your head around eInvoicing – what it is and what it means for your business – is one of the most important steps. It’s a new concept for a lot of people, but there are some fantastic resources out there. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), as the Peppol authorities, have some great information aimed at businesses and Government explaining eInvoicing and its benefits:- ATO eInvoicing: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/eInvoicing/
- MBIE eInvoicing: https://www.einvoicing.govt.nz/
- An introduction to eInvoicing: https://home.messagexchange.com/resources/whitepapers/an-introduction-to-e-invoicing-whitepaper/
- A guide to adopting eInvoicing: https://home.messagexchange.com/resources/whitepapers/a-guide-to-adopting-e-invoicing/
Getting internal teams on board
You might be the one in charge of implementing eInvoicing, but there’s no doubt that it involves a number of teams from IT to accounts payable and accounts receivable and beyond. It’s important you get all the relevant teams involved to make sure their needs are met, so they know how it will impact them and so they can answer any questions they get from others internally or even customers and suppliers. Here are a couple of resources that might help:-
- Getting your IT department ready for eInvoicing: https://home.messagexchange.com/blog/getting-your-it-department-ready-for-e-invoicing/
- Getting your accounts payable department ready for eInvoicing: https://home.messagexchange.com/blog/getting-your-accounts-payable-department-ready-for-e-invoicing/
Integrating eInvoicing into their invoicing software
The first adopters of eInvoicing here in Australia has been Government agencies. With the mandate in place and a fast-approaching deadline, we’ve seen a number of approaches to get themselves up and running.Taking a staged approach to implementing eInvoicing
Many of the successful organisations have taken a staged approach to eInvoicing. Some examples we’ve seen are: governments implementing eInvoicing with one agency first then rolling it out to others, starting with a pilot group of suppliers first then rolling out to others, and we’ve even seen some have their MessageXchange Gateway transform eInvoices to suit their software’s current abilities until their software is upgraded.Using an eInvoicing portal
Another approach when eInvoicing is time-critical is to start with a web portal separate to your eInvoicing software. This is often a good interim step for when you’re only dealing with a small number of eInvoices. Our partner, Colladium, allows organisations to get setup in just minutes and supports both the sending and receiving of eInvoices. Check it out today.Onboarding their suppliers and customers
Even the most advanced organisations have struggled when it comes to onboarding customers and suppliers. The main reason is that eInvoicing was still in its infancy. We’ve come a long way since then though. Now there are a number of software packages that have eInvoicing built into them. Xero and MYOB, who cover a majority of Australian and New Zealand SMEs, allow their customers to send eInvoices free or at a low cost. The most successful organisations who’ve onboarded their suppliers have been very clear with how the supplier can get eInvoicing ready. They hold webinars, send instructions and make it as easy as possible for suppliers. Many also offer incentives, like five-day payment terms, which is a sweetener for suppliers to get on board. We’re lucky to have been chosen as the eInvoicing Access Point for a large number of organisations and we’ve been privy to how they’ve gone about implementing eInvoicing. If you’re looking to get ready for eInvoicing, have a chat to our team today using the form below.Request a call back
How to use eInvoicing when your software isn’t capable
Importing and exporting data from your software
Most software can import and export data. And that’s all we need. You might already be using this sort of functionality today – exporting data in a CSV or XML format to load into other software, to change the data in bulk, or to make some pretty graphs in Excel. If you want to automate the export and import, most software is capable of this too. This means it’ll be done without anyone physically pressing buttons – it’s a task that will run on schedule. Just chat to your software consultant or IT team about this. It should be pretty straightforward though.Converting your exported file to the Peppol eInvoicing format
As we mentioned above, your software might export a CSV or XML file, or perhaps something else. Unless your software has some sort of eInvoicing capability build in, it’s unlikely to handle the format required by the eInvoicing network (the format is called a UBL, by the way). It’s fine if your software doesn’t though – MessageXchange can convert your file, whatever that might be, to and from the Peppol UBL.Getting the data to your Access Point
So, your software can import and export invoice files. Now we need to exchange them. The simplest way to get them to MessageXchange will be through an sFTP folder. We mentioned this at the end of the importing an exporting data from your software section. Your IT team can drop your exported files into an sFTP folder, and for incoming eInvoices, they can pick them up and import them into your software. It’s a pretty basic process. If sFTP doesn’t work for you, there are also other options like API, AS2 and more.Following the same approvals process in your accounts payable software
Many businesses, particularly larger ones, have automated processes in place for approving invoices. If you’re looking to use eInvoicing for accounts payable invoices, there doesn’t need to be any changes to your approvals processes. Just like regular invoices start the process when they’re entered or scanned into your software.Catering for business rules in your accounts payable software
Some software or approvals processes require certain information on invoices like purchase order number or bank details. MessageXchange’s sophisticated software can cater for this. We can make sure invoices have this information on them before they’re imported into your software. If they don’t meet your criteria, MessageXchange can reject them and notify your supplier. Our software can also check for duplicate invoices, to ensure it doesn’t already exist before it’s ingested, to make sure you don’t pay it twice.And if all else fails, use a web portal
We’ve seen organisations who need to get eInvoicing-enabled quickly turn to a web portal. This is often a good interim step for when you’re only dealing with a small number of eInvoices. Our partner, Colladium, allows organisations to get setup in just minutes and supports both the sending and receiving of eInvoices. Check it out today. Interested in learning more about how you can get eInvoicing ready? Have a chat to our team today by filling in the form below.Request a call back
EDI messaging standards and formats
What are EDI messages?
In simple words, EDI messages are business documents, often procurement-related, exchanged between companies’ software, perhaps through EDI provider(s) in the middle. These documents are often exchanged in a standardised format to make it easier to communicate with all of your trading partners. These messages can be purchase orders, despatch advices, invoices and more.Why use standards?
EDI message standards define the rules and requirements for the structure and format of an EDI message. These standards are defined by various organisations like GS1 and Peppol. Organisations choose to exchange data in a standard format because it makes it much easier for their trading partners to get on board. If everyone exchanged a different file format, onboarding one trading partner to EDI would be like starting from scratch every time.What are the different EDI message standards and what EDI message standards are commonly used in Australia?
There are different EDI message standards used around the world. Some of the most popular ones are UN/EDIFACT, ANSI X.12, EANCOM, ODETTE, ebXML, TRADACOMS, HIPAA, and SWIFT.[vc_column width="1/4" css=".vc_custom_1618271818355{padding-right: 10px !important;}"]UN/EDIFACT
ANSI X.12
EANCOM
ODETTE
EbXML
TRADACOMS
HIPAA
SWIFT
[vc_column width="3/4" css=".vc_custom_1618271827363{padding-left: 10px !important;}"]Standard coined by the United Nations and the most commonly used worldwide.
Commonly used in North America
Commonly used in the European retail industry
Commonly used in the European automotive industry
Global standard developed by United Nations body for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business Information Standards (UN/CEFACT) and Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS ).
Commonly used in the UK retail industry
Commonly used in the North American Healthcare industry
Commonly used by financial institutions worldwide.
Out of the many EDI standards, the ones that are commonly used in Australia are UN/EDIFACT, ANSI.X12 and GS1 XML. Let’s have a look:[vc_column width="2/4" css=".vc_custom_1618271818355{padding-right: 10px !important;}"]Transaction
Purchase order
Purchase order response
Invoice
Despatch advice
Remittance advice
Product catalog
Functional acknowledgement
[vc_column width="1/4" css=".vc_custom_1646013227774{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}"]UN/EDIFACT
ORDERS
ORDRSP
INVOIC
DESADV
REMADV
PRICAT
CONTRL
[vc_column width="1/4" css=".vc_custom_1646013158821{padding-left: 10px !important;}"]ANSI X.12
850
855
810
856
820
832
997