3.3.2 Bulk Supplier Invoice Upload

Accessed via the Workbench Menu -> Finance -> Accounts Payable -> Supplier Invoice Upload

Video on how to use the function (please click on link): Bulk Supplier Invoice Upload

Blocks Online provides a Supplier Invoice Upload facility to allow agents to bulk upload supplier invoices.

This facility is of particular use in the following circumstances:

      1.       When agents have many invoices they wish to enter into the system

      2.       When agents have their corporate management fee invoices in a third-party accounting system, like Sage or Xero, and can export those invoices to a file.

The upload facility has the following features:

1. It allows a CSV file of supplier invoice records to be uploaded directly into the system. The supplier invoice records can contain one or multiple lines of information
   
2. Users will be able to upload scanned pdf copies of supplier invoices by including those pdf files along with the CSV file in a single Zip file
   
3. The file will be validated before it can be loaded into the system. If it does not satisfy the validation criteria, then it will be rejected with error messages to identify the issues
   
4. Once the file passes validation the records will be stored in an audit table which can be viewed later. The audit will confirm who loaded the file and when it was loaded
   
5. There is a 'Postpone' button in case, so you can return to the batch at your own time
   

File Format

The Upload facility accepts either a CSV file or a Compressed (zip) file, consisting of the CSV file and pdf files to be attached to the supplier invoices.

CSV file format

A CSV template file can be downloaded from the ‘Supplier Invoice Upload’ screen. To be uploaded into the system the file must be in the following format:

Block Reference	This is the BOL reference for the block It must match an existing block loaded into the system but please remember that any starting with a zero will be auto removed due to Excel file formatting. Change the Format of the cells to TEXT for the leading zeros to be recognised.
Supplier Name	This is the Name of the Supplier It must match an existing supplier already set-up in the system
Account Reference	This is used to identify a specific supplier account if the supplier has more than one account for the block (e.g. an electricity provider). In most circumstances this field can be left blank (i.e. if the supplier has not been set-up for the block or if there is only one account for the supplier)
Invoice Type	This identifies whether the record is an invoice or a credit note Acceptable values for an Invoice are: ‘Invoice’, INV’, or ‘Receivable Invoice’ Acceptable values for a Credit Note are: ‘Credit Note’, ‘CR’ or ‘Receivable Credit Note’
Invoice Number	This is the supplier invoice number An invoice number must be provided for all invoices The invoice number can be Alphanumeric, up to 256 characters
Invoice Date	This is the invoice date. It can be in the format ‘04/05/2020’ or ’04 Jun 2020’ It must be provided for each supplier invoice record. Please enter a valid date so nothing like '04/05/202222'
Fee Type	This specifies whether the expenditure is related to the service charge account, reserve fund or is other (i.e. non-service charge) expenditure It needs to be ‘SC’, ‘RF’, ‘OTH’
Description	This is a description of the product or service provided by the supplier It can be any text up to 256 chars
Service	This is the Service categorisation as used in Blocks Online (typically used in setting the budget for the block) - if it doesn't match to any service names in your account then it will prompt you to pick a service
Amount	This is the amount charged by the supplier for the product or service they have provided. If it is a credit note then do not change the amount to a negative.  The system will determine if it is a credit note or an invoice based on the 'Invoice Type'.
File	This is the name of any pdf file to be attached to the supplier invoice (e.g. a scanned copy of the invoice) This field is optional When adding in the extension, make sure to add it in the right format. So if it is lower case .pdf or upper case .PDF, this needs to be reflected in the spreadsheet.

PLEASE DO NOT ALTER THE TEMPLATE FORMAT AS THE SYSTEM WILL NOT RECOGNISE IT.

1. CSV (Comma Delimited) is the original file format
   
2. Do not use CSV UTF-8 (Comma Delimited)
   
3. No columns to be altered or removed

The following rules must also be satisfied:

1. The first record in the file must contain the field names
   
2. All fields must be present in the file
   
3. There can be no blank records
   
4. If the invoice has multiple lines of information then the Block Reference, Supplier Name, Account Reference, Invoice Type, Invoice Number, Invoice Date and Fee Type must be repeated on each line, and the lines must be sequenced consecutively in the file.
   

If a Supplier Invoice is loaded for a block that has previously not been set-up for that supplier then the system will automatically link the supplier to the block.

Example file layout:

This file contains 2 supplier invoices. The first has an attachment (scan.pdf) and the second consists of two lines of information (‘Communal Cleaning – May 2020’ and ‘Removal of rubbish from bin store’).

Compressed (zip) file format
Scanned copies of supplier invoices (or other pdf files) can be attached to the supplier invoices that are loaded into Blocks Online.

One compressed (zip) file should be created that consists of the CSV file and the pdf documents that are to be uploaded.

Whenever a supplier invoice is added and the service has an allocation mechanism as percentage with the percentages defined, then the split is done automatically for you by the system.

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