Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Jim Snabe, SAP Co-CEO on Business Networks and Crossgate

I came across an interesting video from SAP's last earnings call.  It is a video of SAP's Co-CEO Jim Snabe answering an analyst's question about third party SAP partners and talking about EDI and business networks.

He said that Crossgate is an example of a company with a next generation idea.  The idea that business processes are not just implemented and used internally, but rather they run across complete value chains.  

All of us who have been involved in B2B e-commerce, e-Invoicing and EDI can appreciate his comments.  SAP has invested in Crossgate, and Crossgate has developed a solution for SAP called the SAP Information Interchange for the purpose of bringing consistent integrations and methodologies to the SAP ecosystem.  This is a cloud based global e-invoicing service and EDI hub.

Electronic invoices are now a big part of the value chain in many companies.  In the last few years e-invoicing has become a big deal in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and across Europe.

I have written extensively on this blog site about many of the e-invoicing requirements.  You can use the "search" function on this blog to look up past articles.

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Kevin R Benedict
Independent e-Invoicing/EDI Consultant, Analyst and Blogger
Join the SAP EDI and SAP Information Interchange group on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2884582&trk=anet_ug_grppro

*Full Disclosure: I am an independent consultant that has worked with and for many of the companies mentioned.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

More on Argentina's New e-Invoicing Requirements



 I had the chance to spend some time with several e-invoicing experts this week, and we discussed the new Argentinian e-invoicing requirements.  There is a lot of work involved, so don't be surprised or caught unawares!  Here are some of the items companies need to think about and remember when preparing to support and meet Argentina's e-invoicing 2011 deadlines:
  1. Different industries have different deadlines for supporting these requirements.  Some industries have deadlines starting April 1, 2011.  Make sure you find out about your industry's deadline.
  2. Businesses in Argentina must obtain a valid digital certificate and register it for use through one of the certification channels provided by the Argentinian tax authority (AFIP).
  3. In order to receive a valid digital certificate, companies must first obtain a Clave Fiscal password.
  4. Remember to obtain all the required certificates, and be sure to register for online e-invoicing.
  5. There are different requirements for each of the different invoice types (A, B and E), so your IT and business teams need to study these requirements.
  6. You will be receiving data back from the AFIP that you will need to integrate with your SAP system.  Make sure your IT department plans for this work, or you understand how your managed services provider will integrate with SAP.
  7. If you are going to support these requirements yourself, make sure you develop a contingency mode that preserves invoice sequencing even if a problem arises.  The AFIP requires that official document numbers be issued in sequence, so if there is a problem with one particular invoice, subsequent invoices must be placed on hold until the problem is corrected.   
  8. Attention if you are an SAP user!!!  SAP users can comply with AFIP regulations, register for web services, and connect to the AFIP in real time through their SAP applications (click here to read about Crossgate's SAP e-invoicing support and services).

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Kevin R Benedict
SAP Mentor volunteer and Independent e-Invoicing/EDI Analyst
Join the SAP EDI and SAP Information Interchange group on Linkedin:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2884582&trk=anet_ug_grppro *Full Disclosure: I am an independent consultant that has worked with and for many of the companies mentioned.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Crossgate Offers AFIP-Integrated e-Invoicing Solution for SAP Customers in Argentina

I saw today that Crossgate is expanding their e-invoicing services to address the new deadlines in Argentina.  This is interesting news as there are some deadlines coming up fast in Argentina.

These new regulations require you to register with a number of different organizations and to customize SAP to accept data back from this process.  Your SAP system needs to connect with several different kinds of web services depending on the type of invoice you are using.  SAP users are going to need to quickly decide if they want to learn and support all of these requirements in-house, or outsource to a managed services provider.

Here is the announcement:

Atlanta, Georgia, February 15, 2011 Crossgate Inc., the global expert in business-to-business integration (B2B), is offering a new e-invoicing solution that provides real-time integration with Argentina’s Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP).

Regulatory compliance laws for electronic invoicing are changing in Argentina, with mandates beginning for some industries on April 1, 2011, and launch dates for other industries scheduled throughout the remainder of the year. While many companies are still adapting to major changes that went into effect in 2010 regulating electronic invoicing for Type E export invoices, the new regulations will begin to apply to domestic (Type A and Type B) invoices as well.

Businesses in Argentina must obtain a valid digital certificate and register it for use through one of the certification channels provided by the Argentinian tax authority (AFIP). To do this, companies must first obtain a Clave Fiscal password to gain access to the AFIP web site and then link the certificate to their Clave Única de Identificación Tributaria (CUIT) on file with the government.

“Clearly, obtaining the certificates and registering for online e-invoicing can be confusing for those unfamiliar with the process,” said Scott Lewin, President, Crossgate, Inc. “Crossgate is well acquainted with Argentina’s registration options, and we can help customers navigate this process, both for test and in production. Once live, our cloud-based e-Invoicing solutions allow customers to connect to the AFIP seamlessly and in real-time, straight from their SAP application.”

Crossgate’s real-time e-invoicing solution also offers an automatic contingency mode that preserves invoice sequencing even if a problem arises. The AFIP requires that official document numbers be issued in sequence, so if there is a problem with one particular invoice, subsequent invoices must be placed on hold until the problem is corrected. However, Crossgate’s e-Invoicing client for SAP avoids this problem by dynamically assigning the next sequence number expected by the AFIP, which prevents delays in the invoicing process. This way, invoicing activity can continue on without interruption while preserving the sequencing order expected by the AFIP.

“For SAP users in Argentina, Crossgate’s integration with SAP and the AFIP offers tremendous value,” Lewin said. “Businesses can comply with AFIP regulations in a timely fashion, register for web services, and connect to the AFIP in real time through their SAP applications. Our automatic contingency mode preserves invoice sequencing, and our service is staffed by people who speak Spanish and are familiar Argentina’s electronic invoicing processes. We know the required processes and we can help companies adapt to the changing regulatory landscape in Argentina.”

The new regulations will continue to take effect for different industries throughout the rest of the year, but companies need to start planning for how they will meet the new requirements in a timely and cost-effective manner. Crossgate’s e-Invoicing Network is a proven solution that makes regulatory compliance easy for companies in more than 38 countries including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the European Union.

Read more about Mexico's e-Invoicing requirements here.
Read more about Brazil's e-Invoicing requirements here.

I am researching Latin America's e-invoicing requirements at this time, so if you have any questions let me know (email me), and I will do my best to find the answers for you.  I may not know the answer, but I can ask the right experts.

************************************************
Kevin R Benedict
SAP Mentor volunteer and Independent e-Invoicing/EDI Analyst
Join the SAP EDI and SAP Information Interchange group on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2884582&trk=anet_ug_grppro

*Full Disclosure: I am an independent consultant that has worked with and for many of the companies mentioned.