FULL GUIDELINE:   5 August 2003

The self-billing process is a re-engineering effort, based on the traditional invoice process, associated with liability settlements arising from supply of goods between customer and supplier. Self-billing is the procedure for authorising payment for received goods based on received or used quantities of goods. Prices must be pre-negotiated and maintained by both the customer and the supplier in their respective applications in order for the process to operate smoothly.

This document describes two distinct business scenarios where self-billing is used:

• Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS)

The self-billing procedure whereby the customer issues the self-billing invoice in respect of a shipment, after receipt of the shipment.

• Consignment stock

Goods on consignment are goods that are physically delivered to a customer or his agent but which remain the property of the supplier. The goods are sold to the customer when he takes them for use or resale. When self-billing on consignment is used, the customer issues the invoice for the goods used by him from the consignment stock.

When the customer has received or used the goods, the Self-billing Invoice (SBI) is created and sent to the supplier. The SBI is calculated on the basis of received or used goods and the agreed prices and it contains the payment due date.

Description of  procedures for handling corrections when an error is found in an SBI. Trading partners are advised to agree on the specific procedures to be implemented. Types of discrepancies are:

• Price - The customer and the supplier do not have the same price in their respective in-house systems.

• Quantity - The received quantity is different from the shipped quantity.

• Quality - Received/used goods were damaged or defective.

• Product identification - The type of goods actually shipped are not those identified in the despatch documents.