SUPPLIER’S GUIDE TO PAYMENTS GE TechM Internal 1 Revision Section Name Reason Date Christine Rogowicz Dinah Bourne Isablle Demars Christa Eames Ryan Sanger Erik Lundquist Creation Updating/review Review Update SMF section Update Update 2005 2005 2009 2011 2013 2014 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................... 4 Invoice Quality – GET PAID ON TIME! ........................................................... 4 Quick 10 Point Guide to Invoicing ................................................................ 4 INVOICING PRACTICES – DOs and DONTs ..................................... 6 Additional information for international suppliers supplying the US: .................. 7 Information for suppliers supplying outside the US: ........................................ 7 TERMS OF SETTLEMENT ......................................................... 11 Payment Terms ...................................................................................... 11 GE Capital’s Accelerated Payment Program ................................................. 11 Early Payment ........................................................................................ 11 TPS (Trade Payable Services) ..................................................................... 11 Receipt of Funds ..................................................................................... 11 The Perfect Invoice for Materials ............................................. 12 The Perfect Invoice for Services ............................................... 13 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE; Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Banking ........................................................................................ 14 ClearOrbit (CO), and iSupplier Web Applications........................................... 14 CREDIT MEMO: .................................................................... 15 MATERIAL DELIVERY ............................................................. 16 Delivery ................................................................................................ 16 Special Note for Shipments Direct to GE Customers: ..................................... 16 Packing Lists .......................................................................................... 16 APSS (Accounts Payable Self Service) ........................................ 16 3 Introduction Meeting customer expectations in every possible way is GE Digital Energy’s key priority. A significant portion of our product is purchased from external suppliers, and supplier satisfaction is also a top priority. Therefore, one of our goals is timely and accurate payment of your (our suppliers’) invoices. This booklet will provide the essential information that we need from you in order to expedite payment of your invoices. Invoice Quality – GET PAID ON TIME! We process hundreds of thousands of invoices per year and have automated and streamlined standard processes to ensure timely and accurate payment. Your role in providing invoices that enable us to quickly process your invoice is crucial. Invoices must accurately show the key information needed to process payment accurately and on time or they may be cancelled, put on hold or returned to you for correction. This inaccuracy will also delay your payments, so please ensure your invoices meet these requirements. Quick 10 Point Guide to Invoicing 1) PO contains terms governing the order. The Purchase Order (PO) is the central authority of the order and contains the GE terms and conditions which the supplier accepts on processing the order. These terms include invoicing instructions and payment terms. 2) Read the “Bill To” section on GE’s PO. The first instructions for invoicing will be on the “Bill To” field of the PO. For POs where electronic invoicing is permitted, there may be further instructions in the body of the PO. 3) Use the Legal Entity and the Address EXACTLY as it is listed on the PO. For POs with a physical “Bill To” address we suggest you copy and paste all the information in the “Bill To” field on the PO to the “Bill To” field of your invoice, without removing or adding any information. This “Bill To” on the PO contains the correct Legal Entity (GE Company name) and the correct address of the GE processing center. Where there is a physical “Bill To” PO address the invoices must be mailed by post to that address. Invoices issued against legal entities within the GE Digital Energy group of companies are processed for payment by APEX Payables Centers world-wide. 4) Include the GE PO Number on the invoice. For all PO based orders GE has a “no PO, no Pay policy”. For all orders processed please ensure you are processing as per the PO line items. For contractor invoicing please ensure you check with the GE requestor when the PO commences (if this is not clear) and keep your own running total of hours so that you know when the PO is due to end. This will enable you to liaise with the GE requestor of the services in good time if an extension is required, and will enable you to reconcile your invoicing with the PO amount. 4 5) Include the PO release number (if applicable since blanket POs will contain the release number), line number, shipment number and/or the description of the PO line number on the invoice. For each invoice, please invoice as per the line items, giving the PO release number, line number, shipment number and PO line description on each billing line of the invoice. However, in all cases the invoice lines must match the PO lines. If there is a PO line for units, that PO line must likewise be invoiced in units. A PO line for an amount must be similarly invoiced by amount. If you are unsure if your invoice has a release number, check the PO Number field on the purchase order. The release number appears after the hyphen: The PO line number and PO shipment number can be found within the PO: 6) Only one PO Number can appear on an invoice. You cannot submit multiple PO’s against one invoice; however, multiple invoices may be submitted against one PO. 7) Ensure that the bank accounts and pay sites are up to date. During the supplier set-up time you should have provided GE with your banking details and/or the pay site address. This information must appear on your invoice, and if you change your banking or pay site details, your company name or main company address from the details you have previously given to us, please send an email either to the buyer listed on your PO. When providing these detail changes, please request they confirm that the details have been updated in our system via a documented email. 8) Please do not send statements, packing lists or shipping tickets/logs. Please do not send any correspondence that is not an invoice (e.g. account statement/reminder) to the Accounts Payment Center (the “Bill To” address on the PO) as these documents are disregarded. The only backup to an invoice that will be kept are hour statements logged for a contracted service PO (e.g. 40 hours logged for employee XXX for week ending 1/4/14). 5 9) If an invoice needs to be corrected, please request that the invoice be cancelled. Invoices containing an error should be cancelled and a new invoice submitted. Please ask your buyer to cancel the incorrect invoice. The invoice number on your corrected invoice will need to be a revision of the original so that it won’t be mistaken for a duplicate. For example, if your incorrect invoice had an invoice number of 1234, when corrected, might show as invoice number 1234A in GE Internal systems. 10) Learn how to help yourself to your invoice and payment information. For all questions related to the status of your invoices, please contact the buyer. A second option to review your information is to set up a Single Sign On account through APSS (Accounts Payable Self Service) (Please see the APSS section further information related to registration and updating your account). Important: DO NOT submit paper (hard copy) invoices in connection with IBS (Internal Billing System), EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) or “paperless invoice” transactions. The information of how to invoice either by electronic or paper invoicing will be on the “Bill To” field of the Purchase Order. INVOICING PRACTICES – DOs and DONTs To ensure timely payment, your invoice must contain certain information. An example of a perfect invoice for Materials and Services can be found in later pages. If your invoices to GE Digital Energy do not currently contain the required information, please make the necessary changes. Reference only pertinent information in the body of the invoice. Other information, not critical for payment, can be included in supplemental pages to the invoice. Please ensure all information on the “Bill To” field of the PO is copied exactly to the “Bill To” on your invoice with no information removed or extra information added. If possible, always submit an original invoice. Submitting an invoice marked as copy or duplicate could potentially cause delays with processing and delay payment. We data enter all invoice information from a scanned image of the invoice you submit. Illegible, smudged or poorly printed invoices can cause delays with processing and in most cases, re-submission. Never use your invoice document to submit a statement, “reminder” or past due notice to our processing center. Such documents, whether on your invoice or other company letterhead, will cause confusion and delays with processing. Do not ink stamp an original invoice as it may be mistaken for a copy. Do not send any physical or email correspondence to the processing center. Invoice inquiries can be sent to the buyer. The buyer’s email address is detailed on the PO. Please note that we have more than one buyer, 6 therefore please ensure that you contact the buyer named on the relevant PO. Additional information for international suppliers supplying the US: For goods imported to the US, because your invoice is used to clear your goods through US Customs, the quality of the data provided on the invoice can affect the timeliness of your payment. To clear Customs, your invoice must be in English (Spanish acceptable from Mexico only), must identify the country of origin, and must contain all elements listed on the ‘perfect invoice’. In addition, items furnished by GE for the production of merchandise not included in PO price (aka Assists), or other additions to value, and other statements for US Customs purposes (GSP/NAFTA) must be included. If you have questions please contact your buyer whose email address is stated on the face of the PO or alternatively if known, the GE requester of the goods or services on the PO.. Information for suppliers supplying outside the US: You should be aware that local country requirements may affect the information you are required to include on your invoicing. These requirements may include, but are not limited to: o Inclusion of your local tax registration number (for VAT, TVA, MST etc…); o Inclusion of your company registration number; o Notification of your trading capital If you are unsure of requirements for international invoicing, please contact your buyer whose email address is stated on the face of the PO. 7 TOP REASONS FOR PAYMENT DELAYS AND INVOICE CANCELLATIONS/REJECTIONS/SEND BACKS Most common payment delays are caused by one or more of the following reasons: PROBLEM SOLUTION Invoice has missing or invalid Purchase Order number. We cannot pay your invoice until we match it against the most current version of the Purchase Order (PO) in our database, using the number you provide. Your invoice must include the complete PO number, exactly as it appears on the PO. If there are questions about the PO number, please contact your buyer. Our Accounts Payable Center handles payments for more than one GE division. Where the PO “Bill To” contains a physical address please copy this to your invoice, exactly as it appears on the PO and post to this address. Please do not add or remove any lines. Missing or incorrect address lines or PO Box numbers may result in failed delivery of the invoice. The Legal Entity is the GE Company name exactly as it appears in the “Bill To” field of the PO. For statutory and tax reasons, it is essential that the invoice addressee matches the Legal Entity name of the company issuing the Purchase Order. Please ensure the GE Company Name is copied from the “Remit To” field on the PO directly above your “Bill To” address on your invoice. Please do not add a second GE Company Name to the “Bill To” field on the invoice. If this is incorrectly displayed on the invoice it will be cancelled and returned. Where payment is made by check (US only), we cannot pay your invoice unless we have a complete mailing address to which to send your payment. If you are being set up as a new supplier please provide the full mailing address of your pay site to the buyer on your PO. Where payment is to be made by Electronic Funds Transfer, your bank details MUST be included on your invoice. In the event you change your bank account please contact the appropriate buyer named on your PO with Invoice was sent to the wrong address. Invoice was addressed to the incorrect Legal Entity. Invoice is missing a “Remit To” address Invoice is missing your EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) Bank details 8 the details of the changes. To prevent fraud, GE’s Accounts Payable team is unable to pay an invoice on the basis of new bank account information presented on an invoice without formal notification and approval from the business leadership. We match every invoiced amount against a specific PO line number. If the correct PO line number is not clearly shown for each invoiced amount, delays will result as we attempt to make a match. Please include the PO line number and the description of the PO line for accurate matching. If the PO Number contains a release number, please include the release number so the invoice can be matched correctly. For each PO line, we compare extended price & quantity on your invoice with the same information on the most current version of the PO in our database. Discrepancies delay your payment. If the PO line is set up in quantities of a unit or item, please invoice likewise in units or per item. If you wish to itemize further this can be performed in the description part of the invoice, quoting the PO line number. If the PO is set up as an amount, please invoice as an amount. We cannot pay your invoice until your item or service has been received into our Purchasing system. If you suspect a delay in receiving, contact the GE Buyer whose email address is detailed on the PO of your material or service. We begin to count days for payment terms on the day your invoice is processed at our processing center and for some GE Operating Units, the terms commence on either the date the invoice is received, the date the goods are received or the invoice date (whichever is the latest. Please see the section on Payment Terms for further clarity.). For invoices physically mailed, please allow time for delivery to GE and 3 business days for scanning and processing before it is visible in the GE payment system. Each invoice can reference only one PO number. If there are multiple lines on the invoice, please ensure that the total amount of the lines add correctly to the total amount of the Invoice has missing or incorrect Purchase Order line number reference(s) Invoice shows incorrect Quantity and/or Unit Price Receipt not recorded in GE Purchasing system Invoice delayed in reaching Accounts Payable Invoice references multiple Purchase Orders The “gross amount” of the invoice is not correct. 9 invoice. Other Common reasons that an invoice would be cancelled / rejected / sent back: The invoice is not clearly marked as an invoice The invoice is not readable. There is no invoice number on the invoice. There is no invoice date on the invoice. There is no gross amount on the invoice. 10 TERMS OF SETTLEMENT Payment Terms Standard payment terms for Oracle based businesses are noted on the Purchase Order Terms & Conditions. These terms are effective from whichever is the latest of these three dates: the invoice date for physical invoices, the date the invoice is scanned and validated at GE or the date the goods are received in the System. GE standard payment terms include a cash discount for early payment. The payment terms are stated on the Purchase Order. If there are questions related to payment, please contact the buyer. SAP based business term of settlement time frames differ from the above. The terms for SAP ERP’s will always begin on the date that the invoice is scanned and validated at GE. GE Capital’s Accelerated Payment Program Early Payment (For US Vendors only) Discount percentage and early payment days are established through automatic enrolment in GE Capital’s Accelerated Payment Program. For more information on this Program please call 1-800-227-3218. TPS (Trade Payable Services) (For EMEA and Asia vendors) Under TPS, GE pays your invoices in full and early, less a commercial discount/fee, determined by the days of acceleration of your payment. This offers an accelerated payment program which equates to our daily payment process that allows for tiers. No changes for you to make: your invoicing process stays the same. To sign up for the Program for deliveries in EMEA & Asia visit our website, www.getps.com, or contact: TPS Customer Service Phone +31 76 573 3000 Fax +31 76 573 3001 Email info@getps.com If your invoice is delayed in reaching the Accounts Payable Processing Center, your payment will be delayed as well. Receipt of Funds Payment terms do not include time for delivery of payment. When planning for receipt of funds, you should consider time for delivery of the funds above and beyond the days described in the payment terms. For payment by check, allow a reasonable time for mail delivery. 11 For Electronic Funds Transfer, allow 3 business days for funds to be available in your bank account once the invoice has been paid. The Perfect Invoice for Materials ANY VENDOR CO ANY STREET ANY TOWN ZIP/ POST CODE INVOICE INV NUMBER INTERNAL CONTACT Accts Department INV DATE 19-Dec-13 12345M TELEPHONE (888) 123-4567 SHIP DATE 18-Dec-13 EMAIL accts@anyco.com BILL TO: DELIVER TO: REMIT TO: SEE INFORMATION ON YOUR GE P/O DELIVERY ADDRESS ANY VENDOR CO PURCHASE ORDER PO BOX 123 OR CONTACT LOCAL BUYER ANYTOWN ZIP/POST CODE GE REQUESTOR: Thomas Edison ORDER NO DESC - LINE - SHIP'T NO PART NO UOM 505XXXXXXX Copper Wi re LINE XX SHIP XX 1200XXXX EA QTY 200 $1.50 Y $300.00 505XXXXXXX Bl a s ting Ki t LINE XX SHIP XX 1200XXXX BOX 50 $0.25 Y $12.50 505XXXXXXX Hi Gl ow Torch LINE XX SHIP XX 1200XXXX EA 5 $4.50 Y $22.50 505XXXXXXX Fus eWi re LINE XX SHIP XX 1200XXXX 30m ROLL 10 $12.50 Y $125.00 SUB TOTAL $460.00 UNIT PRICE TAX EXT PRICE PACKING/ DELIVERY NOTE No: 12356NY CARRIER: UPS VAT DELIVERY TERMS: FOB TOTAL $80.50 $540.40 PAYMENT TERMS: P/O PAYMENT TERMS INVOICE CURRENCY: P/O CURRENCY VENDOR BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS FOR PAYMENT: VENDOR VAT REGISTRATION NUMBER: ‘ ’Bill To’ address: Address must match address shown on GE PO Purchase Order Shipment Number – Invoice line item should reference the corresponding PO shipment line number for the item being billed. Each PO Line must have at least one scheduled shipment line, but may have more Deliver to Address – to correspond with Ship To address on GE PO GE Requestor – Name of the GE Requestor of material or service as indicated on Purchase Order Purchase Order Line Item – Invoice line item must indicate the respective PO line item being billed Internal contact - contact department at vendor, including phone number and email address Part Number – As stated on Purchase Order UOM – Unit of Measure as stated on Purchase Order Quantity – As stated on Purchase Order Remit to address’ Where the payment should be sent: If payment by Electronic Funds Transfer ( EFT), Remit to must match exactly the details submitted on EFT application form If not on EFT, DO NOT change ‘Remit To’ address without emailing the buyer on the PO and asking for confirmation once the changes are completed If Bank information is required, include Bank Name, branch, address (PO Box, Street, City, Country, Routing (ABA, BLZ, CHIPS, Swift, Sortcode, etc) Account number and Beneficiary of Account). Please notify any changes in this information by emailing the buyer on the PO. Unit Price - As stated on Purchase Order Tax – Indicate whether items are taxable using Y/N or indicate rate of tax / tax amount for VAT Delivery terms - terms as stated on Purchase Order Payment terms – terms as stated on Purchase Order Purchase Order Number – must match exactly to the GE PO number. Do not truncate or alter in any way Invoice Currency – Currency of invoice should be stated and should match the currency of Purchase Order Description – As stated on Purchase Order VAT Registration Number – VAT or local tax registration number of vendor company 12 The Perfect Invoice for Services ANY VENDOR CO ANY STREET ANY TOWN ZIP/ POST CODE INVOICE INV NUMBER 12345S INV DATE 19-Dec-13 INTERNAL CONTACT Accts Department TELEPHONE (888) 123-4567 EMAIL accts@anyco.com BILL TO: DELIVER TO: REMIT TO: SEE INFORMATION ON YOUR GE P/O DELIVERY ADDRESS ANY VENDOR CO PURCHASE ORDER PO BOX 123 OR CONTACT LOCAL BUYER ANYTOWN ZIP/POST CODE GE REQUESTOR: Thomas Edison QTY ORDER NO DESCRIPTION - LINE - SHIPMENT NO 505XXXXXXX Total ma n hours UNIT PRICE TAX EXT PRICE 505XXXXXXX Total l a bour hours LINE XX SHIP XX $40.00 Y $440.00 505XXXXXXX Total expens es LINE XX SHIP XX $300.00 Y $300.00 505XXXXXXX Mi s c Expens es LINE XX SHIP XX $625.00 Y $625.00 11 SUB TOTAL VAT TOTAL $1,365.00 $238.88 $1,603.88 PAYMENT TERMS: P/O PAYMENT TERMS INVOICE CURRENCY: P/O CURRENCY VENDOR BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS FOR PAYMENT: VENDOR VAT REGISTRATION NUMBER: ‘’Bill To’ address: Address must match address shown on GE PO Purchase Order Line Item – Invoice line item must indicate the respective PO line item being billed Location of Service: – to correspond with address for service provision on GE PO Purchase Order Shipment Number – Invoice line item should reference the corresponding PO shipment line number for the item being billed. Each PO Line must have at least one line indicating dates of completed service GE Requestor – Name of the GE Requestor of material or service as indicated on Purchase Order Internal contact - contact department at vendor, including phone number and email address Quantity – hours worked or quantity shown on Purchase Order ‘Remit to address’ Where the payment should be sent: If payment by EFT, Remit to must match exactly the details submitted on EFT application form If not on EFT, DO NOT change ‘Remit To’ address without notifying Accounts Payable by emailing the buyer on the PO and asking for confirmation once the changes are completed If Bank information is required, include Bank Name, branch, address (PO Box, Street, City, Country, Routing (ABA, BLZ, CHIPS, Swift, Sortcode, etc) Account number and Beneficiary of Account). Notify Any changes in this information by emailing the buyer with the new information and asking for confirmation once the changes are completed Unit Price - As stated on Purchase Order Purchase Order Number – must match exactly to the GE PO number. Do not truncate or alter in any way VAT Registration Number – VAT or local tax registration number of vendor company Tax – Indicate whether items are taxable using Y/N or indicate rate of tax / tax amount for VAT Payment terms – terms as stated on Purchase Order Invoice Currency – Currency of invoice should be stated and should match the currency of Purchase Order Description – As stated on Purchase Order 13 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE; Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Banking Under this arrangement, invoice payment funds are electronically transferred to the bank account you designate within 3 business days. This is not available for part of Europe, but where operational; we highly recommend EFT as a method of payment and encourage you to use this service. If you have general questions, or would like to sign up for EFT, please contact your buyer. Ask for confirmation once the changes are completed. Note: Each new “Remit To” address must be established in our Supplier database in order for (EFT) payments to be made. If you change your “Remit To” your payments will be delayed until you notify your buyer with your bank account details. Ask for confirmation once the changes are completed. ClearOrbit (CO), and iSupplier Web Applications These web applications allow suppliers to receive Purchase Orders and submit invoices electronically. You can request access to this application by visiting this web site: https://www1.ge-energy.com/scp/endeavour. At this link, you will be required to register for an SSO (single sign on) number which is a user-id that will allow you to access the tool, as well as other GE supplier based applications. We highly recommend CO as a method of securing Purchase Orders and invoicing if available for your Operating Unit. We recognize that some GE businesses may not be using this tool with their suppliers, but we encourage you to investigate this application and use it if you can. To find out please ask the buyer or requestor by their email address. If you have general questions, or if you would like to sign up for the CO application, please contact your buyer. 14 CREDIT MEMO: Regarding pricing errors on invoices it is advisable to ask your buyer (via their email addresses on the PO) to cancel the original invoice. Please re-submit a corrected invoice (if a new invoice is submitted, please append an “A” to the invoice number that you are requesting to be cancelled or provide a fresh invoice number) by the invoicing method as stated on the PO once the invoice is cancelled. The original invoice can also be cancelled by emailing the buyer wiith the details provided. Ask for confirmation once the changes are completed. GE will only pay up to the contracted amount on the PO, and follows a no PO, no PAY policy. Please ensure all goods and services are covered by a Purchase Order before provision. For utility supplies that are not PO-based, please contact your requestor (or buyer if the requestor is unknown) and arrange a meeting with them to discuss how a credit memo can be submitted. In the event that a PO amount was not correct and a payment has been made at a higher amount than due, please issue a credit note including the following information: Purchase Order Number PO Line Item number and quantity being credited Invoice number of original payment Net amount being credited (before any applicable local tax) VAT (or applicable local tax) being credited – where applicable Total amount being credited Important: Credit Memos/Credit Notes issued by a supplier strictly for their own internal accounting purposes should never be transmitted to GE Accounts Payable. Credit Memos/Credit Notes are processed with immediate terms and will apply against future payments that are made to the same Operating Unit, GSL (Global Supplier Listing) Number and pay site. 15 MATERIAL DELIVERY Delivery Material must be delivered in accordance with the instructions on the Purchase Order. Sending material to the wrong location leads to payment delays. Special Note for Shipments Direct to GE Customers: If you are shipping direct to a GE Customer, you must send a bill of lading immediately upon shipment to the Requestor or Buyer of material or service as indicated on the PO, or to your GE Logistics Contact. Bill of Lading delays lead to payment delays. Packing Lists Each shipment must have a complete and accurate Packing List, numbered uniquely. The Packing List must match the Purchase Order and contain the following information: Purchase Order and PO line item number Quantity shipped Unit of measure Part Number and, if applicable, the part number revision referenced on the PO APSS (Accounts Payable Self Service) APSS allows vendors to review statuses of invoices and payment information. In order to access this site, please go to the website http://site.geenergy.com/online_tools/apss.htm and follow the documentation to register for a SSO (single sign on) number. If you already have a valid SSO Number, there is no need to register for an additional SSO. You can also follow the documentation to setup your profile and editing your profile to request additional accesses. Once approved, please use the following link to login to APSS: https://www4.ge-energy.com/apss/ If there are questions, please contact your GE buyer for assistance. Please note APSS is not available for SAP businesses. Suppliers can contact their buyer for further information. 16