How do I import invoices from suppliers?

Optimum Control can import digital invoices from your supplier, provided they can export a properly formatted file. By importing invoices, your pricing, stock levels, and account information will be automatically updated.

To Import an Invoice from your Supplier:

Choose "Invoice" (main menu toolbar).
Click "Invoice Import" (invoice toolbar).
Select the supplier from the "Select Supplier" drop-down list.
NOTE: Only suppliers with an Import Configuration setup will be listed.
Click "Get Invoices".
The import process will log into the supplier FTP server (using the credentials in your "Supplier Invoice Import" settings). A list of invoices that have not yet been processed into the system will be listed.
NOTE: Each pending invoice will be displayed with a status listed below.
Any pending invoices will be downloaded.
NOTE:For those suppliers who do not use FTP, you may get invoices by email as an attachment. Save the attachment to the folder you specified for the supplier in the "Suppliers Import Settings".
Correct any invalid lines or invoice total errors as described below in "Invoice Actions".
To select the invoices to process, check the "Import?" box.
Click "Process" (invoice import toolbar).

Status Message	What You Should Do
Invoice Valid	This invoice has been validated and can be processed. Click "Process" on the Invoice Menu Toolbar to save the invoice to the database.
Mismatched Total	This means that the amount validated does not balance to the total on the invoice. Click on the error "Mismatched Total" and the invoice will open, showing you the amount that it is out. In most cases, this is tax. Look at the invoice and enter the tax amount under the "Taxes and Adjustments" tab.
Invalid Lines	Click on this message to view a listing of errors. These are items on the invoice that Optimum Control has no entry for. Select the action required to fix the issue. See the "Action Chart" below.
Delete	In some instances, you may not wish to import certain invoices into the database. To delete, click the "X". This import file will be set as deleted.

*IMPORTANT – With each invalid line, you can select an action to fix the issue. Once you select an action, click "Go" which will prompt a search for an item or account to select.

Invoice Import Invalid Line Actions

Each line will have a detail error. The actions below will allow you to fix these errors.

Message	Fix
"Order code not found"	This could mean the order code does not exist for any items or case sizes listed for this supplier or the order code has been changed, or the pack size has been substituted.
"An item has no case information and is a delivery or tax item."	For this, you can click "General Expense" and select the proper General Ledger (GL) account.
"Case description does not match Suppliers item description"	This means that the item has been found but the supplier's description of the item does not match what is in Optimum Control (e.g. one character different if the supplier has changed). To fix this, click "Modify Case Size" and delete the existing case description. The new one will be copied to the system upon saving.
"Imported unit of measure does not match Purchase unit of measure or case unit of measure"	This message means the invoice import cannot interpret the purchase unit and/or split unit. To fix, choose to "Add a Case Size" and review the existing case size. You may need to change one of those units to match what it is expecting.
"An item is an expense such as cleaning supplies, small wares, office supplies"	To detail non-item and/or tax purchases, you need to choose "General Ledger (GL)". Detail the account to put the expense to.

NOTE – Often the best action to take is to "Add a Case Size" as many times the error appears due to a substitution.

Action	Details
Create Item	Use this action if this is a brand-new item that you have never purchased before. Be very careful that the item is not already in your database. If it is, then this would be a new pack size, and not a new item. NOTE:* This function will not be allowed if you do not have permissions to create items.
Add a Case Size	This action is used if this item already exists in Optimum Control, but this is the first time you are purchasing it from a different supplier or have received a different case size for this item from the same supplier. *Take special care when adding the case size to ensure the entry is accurate.
Modify Case Size	Use this action if the case size for the supplier exists but there needs to be an update such as changing the order code or the supplier description does not match.
General Expense	This action should be used for items/amounts on the invoice that are NOT inventory or stock purchases. It will place the amount to a General Ledger (GL) account of your choice for this import and future imports with the same item number.
General Expense (1 time)	Use this choice if only expensing the item once. Each time the invoice comes in, you will need to choose the GL account.
Ignore	You can only select this action if both the Quantity and Line Total are 0. Some suppliers do this to indicate that you tried to order this, but did not receive it (e.g. out of stock).

Complete Save – Click "Process" and the invoice will either be saved and marked imported or Optimum Control will inform you that it could not successfully process the invoice.

How to set Import Configurations

You can select from a list of preset imports or create a custom import configuration.

To Create a Custom Invoice Import:

Click "Invoice" (main menu toolbar).
Select "Invoice Import" (invoice toolbar).
Choose "Import Config" (invoice import toolbar).
Double-click the supplier you wish to open the configuration wizard for.
Choose to either add a new invoice specification or select a preset one from the drop-down list.
Enter the details as below.
Click "Save".

Field	Details
New Import Configuration	Select a preset configuration from the list. If you need a new custom configuration, select "New/Edit"
Invoice File Location	This is the location that Optimum Control will save the downloaded invoice files to. This will also be the default "To" location when importing to the invoice import window.
FTP URL (if supplier is using)	This is the FTP site that the invoice files are stored on. This would be provided by your supplier's Information Technology (IT) or EDI department. Click to test your connection with the credentials you entered. If there is no connection, either the credentials are wrong or there is a firewall preventing the connection.
Username	FTP account username provided by the supplier.
Password	FTP passwords as provided by the supplier.
UOM (Units of Measure) Alias	You may want to link the UOM that a supplier will use to specific UOM in your database
Expense Codes When detailing an invoice, you will decide on "expensing" some costs to a general expense account. These codes and accounts will be stored so that each time the expense occurs in a downloaded invoice it automatically codes to that account.	Click to view saved item numbers or to delete the link for the item number to expense codes. Click "New" to add a new item number and expense code or "Delete" to remove.