Interfacing invoices and credit memos

Apart from updating invoices and credit memos, you can also interface non-Lawson invoices in the Billing application. You can run Billing Interface (BL520) to import invoices and credit memos to the Order Entry orBilling application from an outside source.

When you run Billing Interface (BL520), you can:

  • Produce a single batch of at least one eligible invoice when you select the edit and update mode

  • Create an audit listing of invoices that you can import when in edit and update mode

  • Create an error listing of invoices that you must correct before you can interface invoices

You can select the invoice batch as released or unreleased in the Release Option field. Before you can interface invoices, you must setup the Billing application. During setup, you select whether to post cost for interfaced invoices or not.

For invoices that you interface using Billing Interface (BL520), an online form is available for maintaining an invoice header information. You can use Billing Interface Header Data (BL98.1) to change an invoice header information after you interface the invoices. For information in the required fields and database input and output files for Billing Interface (BL520), see the Billing File Layouts.

Follow these steps to process interfaced invoices and credit memos:

  1. Load the input database files from the outside system.

    The company record is read and updated by the Application Program Interface (API) provided by Lawson reads and updates the company record (or process level, if you invoice at the process level). The API retrieves the next valid invoice prefix and number. For information on the Billing API, see the Billing File Layouts.

  2. Load the invoice number with the non-Lawson invoices into the input database files.
    Note: Lawson does not provide the program to load these input database files.
  3. Optionally, you can run Billing Interface (BL520) to create interfaced invoices in the Billing application. In the Update Option field of the Parameter section, select N - Edit Only to report errors before updating the database files.

    You must correct errors found in the error listing.

  4. To create an audit listing of invoices that you can import, run Billing Interface (BL520) then select Y- Edit and Update Edit in the Update Option field of the Parameter section.

    You can use the Release Option field to import invoice batches into the Billing as released or unreleased. You can change or delete unreleased invoices.

    Note: Any invoices added to the Billing application database are deleted from the input database files. Errors are not removed from the interfaced file.
  5. Optionally, you can release unreleased invoices that you import unreleased.

    Use Invoice Entry (BL20.1) and select the Release form action.

    - or -

    Use Batch Control (BL29.1) to release an invoice batch.

    - or -

    Run Invoice Batch Release (BL120) to release an invoice batch.

    Note: After you release invoices, you can print or delete them, but not change them.
  6. Optionally, you can run Invoice Print Edit Report (BL121) to view the invoices before printing them.
  7. To print the invoices, run Invoice and Register Print (BL122).
  8. To update the invoices to an interface file in the Accounts Receivable and General Ledger, run Subsystem Update (BL123).