Master data: Buyers

In order to use automatic buyer classification, you must provide Tungsten AP Essentials with identifying information about your buyer organizations, such as addresses and telephone numbers, so Tungsten AP Essentials can find buyer information on incoming invoices. You can add buyer information:

using AP Essentials Connect to upload buyer master data in XML format. This is the preferred method. The more master data you provide about each buyer, the better the result.
manually when you create buyer organizations in the Admin Center.
via the API.

In order for automatic buyer classification to work properly, the buyer information you supply must appear on the invoices you receive. When importing buyer master data, Tungsten AP Essentials uses the external ID to identify existing buyers. In other words, to update an existing buyer, the external ID of a buyer you import must match the external ID of an existing buyer. Therefore, we recommend specifying a unique external ID for each of your buyer organizations.

Creating master data in XML format requires knowledge of XML. Master data must adhere to an XML schema, which describes the structure the XML document you upload. Only the fields specified in the schema are allowed. You can omit some elements, but the order must remain the same. See the schema and example XML below for reference.

The AddressCountry element accepts any string value. However, only values that match a value in the Country list are displayed in Admin Center. If you specify countries using master data, the values you specify must match the values in the Country list in order for automatic classification to work optimally.

Buyer XML Schema

The buyer schema is listed below for your convenience. For the most up-to-date and complete schema, refer to the API documentation.

<xs:complexType name="Buyer">
    <xs:annotation>
      <xs:appinfo>
        <typeinformation>
          <originaltype>Buyer</originaltype>
          <schematype>Buyer</schematype>
          <serializationname></serializationname>
        </typeinformation>
      </xs:appinfo>
    </xs:annotation>
    <xs:sequence>
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Id" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Name" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="ExternalId" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="VatNumber" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AddressCountry" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AddressStreetAddress" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AddressPostcode" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AddressCity" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="PhoneNumber" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Fax" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AlternativeName1" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AlternativeName2" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AlternativeName3" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="OrganizationNumber" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="AddressState" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
      <xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Notes" nillable="true" type="xs:string" />
    </xs:sequence>
  </xs:complexType>

Example

You can use the XML below as an example to create your own master data.

<Buyers xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
	<Buyer>
		<Name>Buyer 1</Name>
		<ExternalId>5031151003777</ExternalId>
		<VatNumber /> 
		<AddressCountry>United Kingdom</AddressCountry>
		<AddressStreetAddress>44 Shore St</AddressStreetAddress>
		<AddressPostcode>AB4 1TX</AddressPostcode>
		<AddressCity>Macduff</AddressCity>
		<PhoneNumber>01207 555-5512</PhoneNumber>
		<Fax />
		<AlternativeName1>ACME</AlternativeName1>
		<AlternativeName2>ACME Inc</AlternativeName2>
		<AlternativeName3></AlternativeName3>
		<OrganizationNumber i:nil="true" />
	</Buyer>
	<Buyer>
		<Name>Buyer 2</Name>
		<ExternalId>5031151003789</ExternalId>
		<VatNumber />
		<AddressCountry>United Kingdom</AddressCountry>
		<AddressStreetAddress>14 Westfield Rd</AddressStreetAddress>
		<AddressPostcode>NE33 1DP</AddressPostcode>
		<AddressCity>Newjack</AddressCity>
		<PhoneNumber />
		<Fax />
		<AlternativeName1></AlternativeName1>
		<AlternativeName2></AlternativeName2>
		<AlternativeName3 i:nil="true" />
		<OrganizationNumber i:nil="true" />
	</Buyer>
	<Buyer>
		<Name>Buyer 3</Name>
		<ExternalId>5031151003798</ExternalId>
		<VatNumber />
		<AddressCountry>United Kingdom</AddressCountry>
		<AddressStreetAddress>1 Whitley Bay St</AddressStreetAddress>
		<AddressPostcode>NE26 2SS</AddressPostcode>
		<AddressCity>North Bay</AddressCity>
		<PhoneNumber />
		<Fax />
		<AlternativeName1></AlternativeName1>
		<AlternativeName2></AlternativeName2>
		<AlternativeName3></AlternativeName3>
		<OrganizationNumber i:nil="true" />
	</Buyer>
</Buyers>

To ensure master data is synchronized on a regular basis, export master data from your ERP system and use automatic uploading, or update the master data using the API.