Article #92 Solid EDI Set Up

The licensed feature Solid EDI™ (Electronic Data Interchange) is the easiest way to send sales and reporting data to suppliers, store chains, and other corporate groups (Distribution Groups). With a single keystroke, all sales information is transmitted over the internet to Solid, where it is automatically sorted, and a report is generated for the Distribution Groups, allowing them to receive reporting on the information they need without having to sort through any unnecessary details. Once the additional EDI license has been purchased and activated, Solid EDI™ is now ready to be set up within the Solid Route Accounting™ system. Once a business is licensed for Solid EDI™, it can follow the steps below to implement this powerful feature.

EDI Setup

For the EDI reporting to be sorted and sent to the desired Distribution Group, the company or supplier it represents must first be entered into Solid Business Central™ as a MultiVendor Supplier and Customer Record. This will enable Solid to direct the EDI reporting to the appropriate Distribution Group. For assistance with creating MultiVendors, please view Article #88 How to Create a MultiVendor in Solid Business Central. The following steps can be used to configure Solid EDI™ within Solid Business Central™:

1. In Solid Business Central™, navigate to [System / Configure / Bill] and set the field 'Print Super Customer Ref # as Invoice #' to Y to turn this feature on, and save the change with [CTRL+END]. This 'Reference #' is a unique encoded bill number that identifies your company from all other companies using Solid Route Accounting™ that also send EDI reporting, and will print in place of the usual Solid Route Accounting™ invoice number on MultiVendor invoices. The Solid Route Accounting™ invoice number will continue to print at the bottom of MultiVendor invoices, to the right of the company's name.
2. Navigate next to '[System / Configure / Company / Location]', and when asked to enter a specific cost center, leave the field as 999 and use [CTRL+END] to continue. The company's address information will then be displayed, and in the 'Email' field, enter a valid email address and save it using [CTRL+END]. Within half an hour of sending an EDI Export, an email will be sent from Solid to this email address to confirm receipt of the EDI Export. NOTE: If you do not receive this email within an hour after sending an EDI Export, please contact a Solid Innovation Customer Service Representative.
3. The final step in preparing the business system for Solid EDI™ is to adjust the MultiVendor Customer Record to utilize the unique encoded bill numbers and set the correct Distribution Group for the report to be sent to. From the base menu, navigate to [Datafile / Customer / View] and display the MultiVendor Customer Record that represents the Distribution Group to which the EDI Reporting needs to be directed. Once this customer is shown, in the bottom left corner of the screen, just above the grey 'Menu Choices' box, the text [ALT+F3 - for Super Customer] will show by default. If this is the case, use this key combination to change the section just above this option from showing 'Sales History' to showing 'Super Customer and Print Info'.
4. Use the [F2 – Edit] key to make changes to this record, and in the 'Super Customer and Print Info' area, change the 'Encoded Billno' field to Y, and in the 'Distrib Group' field, enter in the two character code for the Distribution Group to which reporting is to be sent to. This 'Distribution Code' will have been provided to you by Solid. If you have not yet received this code, please contact a Solid Innovation Customer Service Representative, who will be happy to assist you. When all is set, use [CTRL+END] to save these changes, and before leaving the Customer View screen, use the [ALT+F3] key combination once again to change this lower left area to show 'Sales History'.
5. We are now ready to add all customers whose transactions are to be sent for reporting when an EDI Export is run. This is done by adding them to the 'EDI Banners' area. In preparation for adding customers as EDI Banner records, especially when a large number of customers need to be added, it may be beneficial to print out a list of all customers in Solid Business Central™ for easy reference. To do this, go to [Datafile / Customer / Report / List]. The EDI Banner records can be added by going to [Datafile / Customer / EDI Banners] and using the [Insert] key to create the new records. For more information on how to add EDI Banner records, please view Article #93, How to Add Solid EDI Banner Records.

EDI Export

EDI Exports can be run as frequently as needed, but at a minimum, should be run weekly. To run an EDI Export, navigate to [Accounting / EDI / Export]. Unless other instructions are given, leave the date range as it is, and leave the 'Include previously exported records' as N. Use [CTRL+END] to continue, which will show a list of all transactions that will be included in the export. If all is acceptable, use [CTRL+END] to send the EDI Export, which will end, once again, with a list of all transactions that were exported. Use the [Escape] key to return to Solid Business Central™'s menus, and a confirmation receipt email from Solid should arrive at the email address specified above within one hour.