Mertex¶

Functionality has been added to integrate Blindata to Mertex in the following way.

1. Add/Update Customers from Mertex to Blindata
2. Blindata to Mertex outstanding order totals per customer
3. Posting sales invoices
4. Posting credit notes
5. Posting purchase invoices

Please open the 'Parameters > Set Connection' and enter FTP details.
Then use FTP details to set the path for Metrex:

Please check the Mertex website for more information.

Mertex Invoicing

The format of the ‘Invoice Number’ field (first column) is now “SI” followed by a 7 digit number, and the credit notes are “SN” followed by a 7 digit number.
For example, if the invoice number in Blindata is 45456, then the ‘Invoice Number’ column in the Mertex file will be ‘SI0045456’. In other words, if the invoice number is less than 7 digits, it fills the starting ones with 0s.

The GL amounts in the invoices file in columns 10, 13, 16, 19 & 22 now contain only the net amount, and do not include the Vat amount.

Post Invoices

If the accounting system is set to Mertex and ‘Use Customer Nominal For posting’ is switched on, then the nominal code held in the customer record is now used instead of the order detail line nominal.
Sales Invoice
Column G Currency Amount: this is now the amount on the invoice in the customer currency.

Credit Note
Column G Currency Amount: this is now the amount on the invoice in the customer currency ie same as the sales invoice.

Purchase Invoice
Column G Currency Amount: this is now the amount on the invoice in the supplier currency. Columns for G/L & VAT amounts: are now in the base currency for the company – therefore columns K, M, O etc are now in the base currency of the database.

API For Credit Check in Mertex

There is now a WEB service for checking the credit limit and outstanding balance in the Mertex accounting system. See specific notes.
Credit Control Check (Mertex)

Mertex accounting uses an external Credit Control Spreadsheet to track the customers which are on credit hold. This spreadsheet has a column for “Account Code” and “Account on credit hold (Y/N)”. Every time an order is keyed and saved, it is now possible for Blindata to check inside this spreadsheet to see if the customer is on credit hold or not, and if so, to put the order on credit hold.

There is a new field in Parameters called ‘Credit Control Spreadsheet Location’. This field is only visible if ‘Mertex’ is selected as the accounts system.

When an order is entered and if Mertex is set to true, the spreadsheet is checked and the order put on credit hold if Y is held against the relevant account.

Mertex Credit Control Checking

1. Credit Check for a new order
Once a new order has been saved, Blindata now credit checks the order against the excel Stop List, using the existing logic, with the following amendments:
The Customer Account is not put on Credit Hold if the order fails the check.
If an account code is not found on the Stop List, or the Stop List cannot be found (e.g. deleted), the order being credit-checked is put on credit hold.

2. Credit Check for an existing order
For an existing order, if it is opened, changed and saved, Blindata only credit checks the order if:
There has been an increase to the “Net Total” of the order
The increase in the Net Total exceeds a pre-specified threshold.
It is possible to set and change the pre-specified threshold in the Blindata Parameters.

3. Error message re Web Service URL
Blindata is giving us an error message each time an order is credit checked, relating to the Web Service live credit check into Mertex.
If the “Accounting System” selected is Mertex.

Disabled this warning if “Credit Control Spreadsheet Location” has been specified.
Enabled this warning if “Credit Control Spreadsheet Location” has not been specified.

Mertex Credit Control

If ‘Mertex’ is switched on in Accounting parameters, there is a new parameter displayed called ‘Check Balance and Credit Limit’, which defaults to false.

If the new parameter is set to false, then the functionality works as it currently does.
If the new parameter is switched to true, then when an order is saved, the outstanding order total in Blindata for that customer is added to the customer balance from the customer record,
and if it exceeds the credit limit in the customer record, the order goes on credit hold.

Purchase Invoice Posting To Mertex

This is only applicable if Mertex accounting is switched on.
The CSV files that are exported for sales invoices, credit notes and purchase invoices have all been adjusted according to the specification.

Mertex Purchase Invoice CSV File

If the sequence number is 2, the field is filled as PIB000002 ie it starts PIB and then has six numeric characters, filling with 0 if the Blindata sequence number is less than six characters.
Supplier invoice number – this does not have PI at the start and is just the purchase invoice number eg 2.
This layout is the same for invoices that are posted from either ‘Purchase Order Enquiry’ or ‘Purchase Order Stock Enquiry’.

Post Sales Invoices / Credit Notes

This change is only applicable if Mertex Accounting is switched on.

For each line on the CSV, the data in columns AV, AW and AX now populate to the next available “free” VAT Analysis section (columns AM to AU, which make up 3 VAT analysis sections).
The VAT analysis section always fills from left to right across the page, as a blank VAT Analysis section followed by one with data causes an error in Reflex.
The extra columns have been removed from the transfer file, so the last column on the file is column AU (VAT Amount for code 3).

Charity Charge

There is new functionality to have an agreement with some customers that an extra amount is charged on an invoice for charity.
There is a new field called ‘Charity %’ field in the customer record, which holds a percentage amount to 2 decimal places.

There are two new fields in Company Details, one called ‘Charity Name’ and the second called ‘Charity Nominal Code’.

A new invoice layout has been created based on ‘Invoice Laser Print (Letterhead Logo)called ‘Invoice – Bespoke 52’.

If the charity % in the customer record > 0, a new line appears in the Totals, with the charity name beside it.

Example calculation:

The net amount is 100.00, Vat is 20%, therefore the total would normally be 120.00. But this example invoice could have a 10.00 carriage charge line in it, and the charity % does not apply to carriage charges.

The charity % will not include any carriage lines and so the invoice total is calculated as follows – these figures will show in the footer of the invoice (the charity amount is calculated as 90.00 * 2% = 1.80)

Net Price: 100.00
VAT: 20.00
Charity Name 1.80
Total: 121.80

The figure that gets posted to the Mertex accounting system has also been adjusted – the charity amount goes into the Mertex system in the same way as the carriage amount and nominal is added.
The nominal code is taken from the charity nominal code set up in ‘Company Details’

Mertex CSV File

If an invoice has a charity %, then the next 3 columns (AP, AQ, AR) after the existing VAT columns in the csv file are filled with ‘X’, charity amount, and VAT amount (always 0.00).