Electronic invoicing
How do I know if electronic invoicing is right for me?
Anyone can receive invoices electronically to increase efficiency and save on paper waste, but here are a couple key questions to ask to see if this could be business critical for you.
• Do you audit large numbers of paper invoices only to then have to scan and e-mail someone the same documents?
• Do mailed invoices take too long to get to you?
• Do multiple people in your organization need to see and approve the invoices?
• Do you use a third party to pay your bills, but want a way to see the invoices before and after they approve them?
• Do you store documents on your own internal imaging system?
• Do you use Livingston’s Insight Imaging service, but still require a way to print all your documents quickly?
Livingston offers four billing options to clients. Read on to learn more and see which option best suits your needs.
1
Invoice via Secure Post Billing
Secure Post Billing is a an easy and secure way to have Livingston billing packages, which consist of Livingston invoices,
customs forms, and all backup documents, posted to your own folder. Secure Post Billing uses File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
which is a commonly used method to exchange files over the Internet securely with a username and password, to ensure
your confidential information remains secure. Think of it simply as an online folder that all your bills and backups get saved to
so that you are able to then print, transfer, and copy these documents anywhere on your computer or even share them with
other departments. This is also very similar to how shared folders work across company networks or even on your own home
network.
Why not just use e-mail?
Although we use e-mail on a daily basis to communicate, e-mail is inherently not a secure method of communication. To
illustrate this, just think about the fact that over 95% of all e-mails sent are considered spam. With e-mail, there are also
size limitations and processes required to monitor for bouncebacks and errors. Secure Post Billing with FTP is also a cleaner
process. What would you rather do, sort through all your e-mail or just open a folder on your desktop that has your bills
deposited in it every day?
Additional details
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Files can transfer using FTP or sFTP (secure)
The extract and download to your FTP folder occurs daily
Notifications are sent to you via e-mail whenever new files are posted to your FTP folder
The invoices are created based upon the billing rules that you specify
Files are available in PDF or TIFF format and are named in a consistent manner to allow for automated
downloads, “transaction (entry) number_branch_invoice number_invoice type_extract date time”.
For example: 10827138732392_411_456533_INV_1002021100.pdf
FTP folders are easily accessible through the following: (1) using any FTP program (e.g., Winscp, Fileziller, Core FTP, Cute
FTP, etc.), (2) through Windows Internet Explorer browser, or (3) by setting up a network location on your computer
Extracts can be rerun if any problem occurs
FTP folders are meant for temporary storage only. You should clean out your online folder on a regular basis and save it
to a secure location locally
1 Electronic invoicing
Typical Secure Post Billing flow
Optional: Instead of you having to
forward documents to all your other
internal and external parties, why not
provide access directly to your secure
FTP folder, or even create another
folder for approved documents only.
How do I start using this solution?
In order for you to take advantage of Secure Post Billing, the first thing you will need is an FTP folder. Livingston can host a
folder for you. Or, if you prefer to use your own company FTP folder it’s easy to set one up. Simply ask your IT department
and they should be able to create one for you in short order with little to no cost. Once you have your folder set up or if you
need assistance, contact your Livingston client service representative and they will walk you through the rest of the process.
2
Invoice via E-mail
Livingston billing packages, which consist of Livingston invoices and all backup documents, can be sent to you automatically
using e-mail. Through this process you are able to save, print, transfer and copy these documents to your local computer
or company network storage location. We can preset several e-mail addresses to automatically send a paperless invoice
package to multiple users. For example, the same package can be sent to you and your third party payment company. We
can include either a single invoice or multiple invoices within one e-mail.
Additional details
•
•
•
•
•
The e-mail process happens overnight in order to capture all of the current day’s billing packages
There is a 10 MB default file size limitation per e-mail; however we can adjust the default according to the size your
company’s e-mail servers can accept
Invoice extracts can be rerun if a system problem occurs
The billing package file name is transaction-number-branch-invoice number-invoice type-extract date and time
(10827138732392_411_456533_INV_1002021100.pdf)
The billing package documents are in PDF or TIFF format for easy viewing
How do I start using this solution?
Contact your Client Service Manager or Service Coordinator to get started. We should have you all set up within one
business day. Provide the e-mail addresses of those within your company and/or third party service providers who should
receive your Livingston invoices. Indicate the following: frequency you’d like to receive your invoice e-mails; if you’d like to
have the back-up documentation bundled into the invoice as a single attachment; and whether you would prefer to receive
one invoice attachment or multiple invoice attachments per e-mail.
2 Electronic invoicing
3
Invoice via EDI
Sharing information electronically can be daunting for companies that do not have dedicated IT resources, but for those that have
specific systems or resources dedicated to paying and receiving invoices from service providers, EDI can be a great time saver.
By receiving all the critical details of the invoice over EDI, companies are able to save the hours spent searching and aligning all
the paper copies. We push the data to your accounts payable department and they review and pay; it’s as easy as that.
Additional details
•
•
•
•
Outbound EDI files are created once a day for invoices that have been generated the previous day
Files are sent using 810 EDI transaction set – version 4010
The transmission method can be through a VAN, FTP, sFTP or AS2
The data contained in the transmission can include the invoice details only or a combination of invoice and customs entry
data. Image files captured in the entry release or accounting process cannot be sent via EDI; data only
How do I start using this solution?
Contact your Client Service Manager or Service Coordinator to get started. You will be assigned a Livingston eTeam
Consultant who will work with you and act as a liaison between you, your IT department and Livingston’s IT department to
establish the outbound EDI invoice feeds and data elements that you require.
4
Paperless Summary Billing
Summary Billing is a great option if managing a high volume of individual paper invoices is proving to be challenging.
Instead of receiving hundreds of invoices each week, you may prefer to receive a summary invoice on a biweekly, weekly or
monthly basis. The backup documentation to your Summary Bill can be sent to you via e-mail or FTP or retrieved through
Insight Compliance Center. Insight Compliance Center is a robust system, with search capabilities and data filtering for easy
retrieval and auditing of the work Livingston performs on your behalf.
Additional details
•
•
•
Paperless Summary Billing reports (also known as eReports) can be generated as a PDF, Excel or Text Delimited file
format
They can be sent to you via e-mail or FTP based on a pre-determined schedule that suits your needs
Your back up documentation is available for viewing or retrieval through our Insight Compliance Center online system.
Insight’s features include:
• Quick web-based online search and retrieval capability
• Direct link from search results to associate document images
• Data reporting functionality
• Satisfies full compliance requirements for both data and images
• Satisfies requirements for online record retention and retrieval
How do I start using this solution?
To get set up on Paperless Summary Billing, contact your
Client Service Manager or Service Coordinator. They will
have a brief working session with you to understand the
information you’d like to see in the report and the frequency
that you wish to receive the report. They will then show you
the many eReport options that are available so that you can
select the one that’s right for you.
3 Electronic invoicing
Contact your Livingston account executive
e-mail us at solutions@livingstonintl.com
or give us a call at 1-800-837-1063
Visit www.livingstonintl.com