eInvoicing

Implementation-Guide

For suppliers of
Eberspächer Climate Control Systems GmbH & Co. KG
Eberspächer Exhaust Technology GmbH & Co. KG

Version 1.1_engl., 03.05.2016

eInvoicing Implementierungs-Leitfaden

Inhalt
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. About this document .............................................................................................................. 3
1.2. Intended audience .................................................................................................................. 3
2. Tradeshift Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3
3. Eberspächer’s use of Tradeshift ...................................................................................................... 4
3.1. Eberspächer’s current set-up on Tradeshift ........................................................................... 4
3.2. Eberspächer’s scope of use ..................................................................................................... 4
3.2.1. Outbound Purchase orders (PO) ......................................................................................... 4
3.3. Eberspächer validation rules on Tradeshift ............................................................................ 4
4. Getting started on Tradehshift ....................................................................................................... 5
4.1. The basics of Tradeshift .......................................................................................................... 5
4.2. Creating your account in Tradeshift for existing Eberspächer suppliers ................................ 5
4.3. Creating and managing connections....................................................................................... 6
4.4. Navigating through the Tradeshift platform ........................................................................... 6
4.5. Sending your first invoice........................................................................................................ 8
5. Options for automated invoice sending ......................................................................................... 9
5.1. Web Interface ......................................................................................................................... 9
5.2. Cloudscan (PDF) ...................................................................................................................... 9
5.3. Integration options for automated invoice sending ............................................................... 9
5.4. Interoperability ..................................................................................................................... 10
6. Annexes ......................................................................................................................................... 10
6.1. FAQ........................................................................................................................................ 10
6.2. Eberspächer Legal Entities on Tradeshift .............................................................................. 13
6.3. Further information on integration options ......................................................................... 13

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1. Introduction
1.1. About this document
This implementation guide for electronic invoices was prepared by all introducing Business Units from
Eberspächer (in the following referred to Eberspächer) to provide all necessary information to the Eberspächer
suppliers they require in order to be able to send electronic invoices to Eberspächer via the Tradeshift
platform.

If you, at any time, require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Tradeshift’s Support Team on the
following email address:

[email protected]

1.2. Intended audience

This Implementation Guide is designed specifically for employees working within the AR, Credit Control,
Finance and IT functions of suppliers to any of Eberspächer‘s legal entities around the world.

If you are reading this document, you will be required to use Tradeshift in order to send e-invoices to
Eberspächer in the future.

Larger suppliers to Eberspächer will probably need to develop a fully automated integration with Tradeshift,
while for smaller suppliers using Tradeshift’s cloud-based web portal might suffice. Regardless of your needs,
this document contains all the information that you require in order to support the necessary changes to your
existing business processes in relation to working with Eberspächer.

2. Tradeshift Introduction
Founded in 2009 in Denmark, Tradeshift is today the world’s fastest growing business-to-business network,
which supports the exchange of business data in the form of documents such as (but not limited to): quotes,
purchase orders, invoices and credit notes, and the softer communicative processes that typically accompany
the exchange of such documents such as document status.

Tradeshift differs from other EDI based networks on a number of key points:

• Tradeshift is free for suppliers to send documents

• Tradeshift is an “open” network, meaning it can be used by any company wishing to send business
documents, to receivers both on and off the Tradeshift network
• Tradeshift is a cloud-based platform making it both highly scalable, and efficient to manage
• Tradeshift is truly global, meaning that we understand tax and legal compliance
• Tradeshift offers a wide range of options for document sending that suit all businesses
• Tradeshift’s unique app framework makes it simple to extend the functionality of the platform to
support any inter-company business process.

Finally, Tradeshift has all the necessary security and compliance certifications, which are required in order to
run a platform on this scale. For more information regarding security or compliance, please do not hesitate to
contact Tradeshift support.

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3. Eberspächer’s use of Tradeshift

The following section attempts to explain the way in which Eberspächer will use Tradeshift. Please be aware
that this document will be reviewed and updated from time to time.

3.1. Eberspächer’s current set-up on Tradeshift

Eberspächer is planning to roll Tradeshift out to all domestic and international locations. This means that all
Eberspächer’s legal entities within these countries will soon be present on the Tradeshift network. A full
overview of the Eberspächer’s legal entities that are currently implemented onto Tradeshift is available in
Appendix 6.2.

Please remember that in order to send electronic invoices to any member of the Tradeshift network, the
parties must have a mutually accepted connection, see section 4.3. “Creating and managing connections”.

3.2. Eberspächer’s scope of use

Eberspächer will use Tradeshift to facilitate the following business documents and communication flows:
• Inbound invoices (invoices sent from suppliers)
• Inbound credit notes (credit notes sent from suppliers)
• Business firewall validation rules and error messages.
• Supplier Invoice Status Information

3.2.1. Outbound Purchase orders (PO)

Eberspächer will be sending out POs via Quyntess Order Collaboration app that is available as an add-on
on the Tradeshift platform. PO suppliers will be approached by Tradeshift via an email asking to install and
activate the Quyntess Order Collaboration app on their accounts. All instructions are provided in this
email. If you wish to receive POs via Tradeshift as well and haven’t received an email notification yet,
please contact your responsible buyer with Eberspächer.

Once installed, the primary contact and any added members will receive email notifications on any POs
received via the app. One additional advantage is that POs can easily be flipped in an invoice.

3.3. Eberspächer validation rules on Tradeshift

To ensure a quick and efficient handling of invoices and credit notes, Eberspächer has implemented a number
of validation rules on the Tradeshift platform. Those are as follows:

• Eberspächer PO Number: All invoices sent via Tradeshift must contain an Eberspächer PO Number.
This number should be issues to you by your Eberspächer representative at the time of order
placement. These numbers can be provided once at the invoice header level, or, on all lines of the
invoice.
• Person Reference: In some specific cases, a Person Reference might be required instead of a
Eberspächer PO Number. The format of the field is specific, and must be in following format:
“[email protected]”
• Eberspächer material number: All invoices sent via Tradeshift must contain an Eberspächer material
number, which will be indicated on our orders. If the Eberspächer material number is not available,
the supplier-material number is to be used instead. These numbers can be provided on all invoice
lines.

Further to this, it is important to note that there are some standard fields on typical invoices that Eberspächer
does not wish to receive from the Tradeshift platform (not visible in the web interface, and simply ignored in
the case of EDI files). They are:

• Invoice due date: invoices will always be paid based on the previously agreed terms and conditions, as
stipulated in your supplier agreement, and therefore are not necessary within the individual invoice.
The due date will be calculated by using the transmission date to Tradeshift.

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• Payment details: invoices will always be paid, based on the payment details that your customer has
registered within its financial system. If you need these changed, then you should contact your
customer directly.

4. Getting started on Tradehshift

The following section is designed as a hands-on user guide that can help you get started by setting up your
Tradeshift account, creating a valid connection with a customer, and ultimately, sending your first invoice. It is
highly recommended, regardless of how you intend to use Tradeshift in the long-term, that you send your first
invoices through the web interface to get a feel of the software and its capabilities.

4.1. The basics of Tradeshift

Regardless of the size of your company, or your intended method of using Tradeshift, the basics of Tradeshift
are the same. In order to use Tradeshift, all companies need to establish an account on the Tradeshift network.
Once the account is created, connections need to be established between the account and the customers /
suppliers that you wish to do business with.

Once the account has been created, and the connections have been established, it is up to each user to decide
how they would like to use Tradeshift. In order to get you started, the following section will cover account
creation, managing connections and sending your first invoice.

4.2. Creating your account in Tradeshift for existing Eberspächer suppliers

The account creation process is triggered from an “account activation” email, which you should have received
or will be receiving from Eberspächer. In order to create your account on Tradeshift, simply accept the
invitation request that you have received. By accepting this request, your account is automatically created and
connected to the relevant Eberspächer legal entities with which you do business. The account is prepopulated
with a variety of information about your organization that has been supplied by Eberspächer. You are welcome
to change this information if it is incorrect.

Furthermore, the connection that is established between your organization and Eberspächer also contains
“connection properties”. Connection Properties are internal information about the customer or supplier with
which you have a connection, and as such are only visible to the part that creates them. Eberspächer has
stored connection properties on the connection with your organization. These “connection properties” are
internal Eberspächer information and although they are not visible to you they are important to Eberspächer
in order to facilitate faster invoice processing (information includes your Vendor ID number at Eberspächer).

Once created, the account is yours to manage as you please. It is always best to start by editing your company
details, including your company name, address, logo, tax and legal identifiers etc. The tax identifier has to be
completed. The national Tax ID has to be inserted in the field “Steuernr.” and the VAT ID in the field „MwSt-
Nr.“.

One important point to consider is the “Notifications” options, under the “Edit your settings” menu. The
Notifications option allows you to configure what notifications you would like to, and not like to, receive from
the Tradeshift platform.

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As Eberspächer will be using the Tradeshift platform to receive invoices on behalf of many legal entities across
the EU, it is vitally important to consider who from within your organization will receive these notifications
when a new Eberspächer entity wants to connect with you on Tradeshift. Furthermore, as more and more of
your suppliers and customers join Tradeshift, it is important that you manage all “connection requests” that
you might receive. Remember that this account is the face of your company on the Tradeshift network, and
many more of your customers and suppliers will need to find you here in the future.

4.3. Creating and managing connections

Once you have created your account, you will be able to see that the account already has at least one
connection to the Eberspächer branch to which you send invoices; shown in the menu item “Connections” on
the left hand side of the screen. This means that you now have a mutually accepted connection with this
specific Eberspächer legal entity, and are able to commence sending documents via Tradeshift. As more
Eberspächer legal entities join Tradeshift, you will receive “connection requests”. These requests need to be
accepted before any documents can be exchanged.

Regardless of whether your other customers or suppliers are a part of the Tradeshift network or not, you can
use Tradeshift to send documents to these additional customers or suppliers completely free of charge. If your
customers / suppliers are already on the Tradeshift network, you can simply search for them on search bar
under the “’Connections” tab and send a connection request. As soon as the other party has accepted the
connection request, they will become part of your private network and you can start sending invoices to them
immediately.

If your customers / suppliers are not a part of the Tradeshift network, you can simply add them as a “manual
contact”. Any documents sent to your manual contacts will simply be sent as PDF attachments emailed to the
email address that you provide under the manual contact, or in the EDI file you dispatch (in the case of fully
electronic senders).

4.4. Navigating through the Tradeshift platform

The Tradeshift platform is relatively simple and intuitive to use. It has been designed to look, not like typical
accounting software, but more like the social network web services (Skype, LinkedIn, Facebook etc.) that most
of us know and use today.

Regardless of how many invoices your organization sends per year, and regardless of how you are planning to
use Tradeshift (web portal or a fully automated integration) you will need to start the process by having a good
understanding of the Tradeshift web interface, as it is within this interface that you create and manage your
account, connection and any integration efforts.

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Simple navigation
After logging onto the Tradeshift Platform, you will notice the menu on the left of the screen. This
menu is made up of four main sections:

Tasks
This is s new Feed showing what is happening in your network with regards to documents, statuses and
connections.

Profile
The “Profile” sub-section is your profile on Tradeshift and contains all the information about your company’s
presence on Tradeshift that is visible to the entire network.

Network
Shows an overview of your existing network on Tradeshift, including manual and Tradeshift connections, and it
is from here that you can add new receivers and accept connection requests

Documents
This section contains an overview of all your business documents on Tradeshift. Within this section, you can
create and manage all your document types including Purchase Orders, Invoices and Credit Notes.

Support
This section contains a link to Tradeshift’s support site

Settings
In this section you can change your personal settings, company data and notifications.

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4.5. Sending your first invoice

As mentioned earlier, regardless of whether you will send all invoices from within the Tradeshift web interface,
or whether you will eventually create a fully automated integration with Tradeshift, it is highly recommended
that you send your first invoice via the web-interface. Not only does this give you some experience with
navigating through the web interface, but it also allows you to ensure that you are able to successfully send
invoices against the Eberspächer validation rules on Tradeshift. To do this, simply click on the Create New
Invoice button in the menu on the left and you will be taken to the “create invoice” view.

Select the receiver and add the invoice details as per the template. Bank account details, Attachments and
notes can be added to the invoice by clicking the buttons at the bottom of the template. When you are
satisfied with the invoice you can see a preview by selecting “Preview” at the top of the page, otherwise, select
“Send” when you are ready to send the invoice.

If there are any errors with the invoice, you will receive an instant error message on the screen, and you will be
given a chance to rectify the problem. Once successfully dispatched, you can see the document by clicking on
the “Sales” item from the menu on the left. Within this view, you can see the following information about the
document:

• All your documents on Tradeshift, including the invoice number and due date (can be sorted)
• The status bar shows the time left before payment of the invoice is due. Once the payment date is
reached, the status bar will turn red, and the status will become overdue.
• The status of each document is visible when rolling your mouse over the specific document.
• You can click on the documents to see them in detail.
• You can search for specific details about invoices by using the search bar at the top of the screen

Please note that you are able to add base quantity pricing (price per 100/1.000) should there be a need for
that. You can do this when creating invoices in the web UI by choosing the line item Unit and then choosing
"Add Base Quantity" in the same drop down list. This will allow you to define a price such as "5 EUR per 1000
things".

This feature is also available for suppliers sending via an automated solution.

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5. Options for automated invoice sending

5.1. Web Interface

Manual input of invoices data and attachment of original invoice (e.g. as PDF) on the Tradeshift WEB UI (Web
Portal).

This option will be usually chosen with an annual invoice volume up to 10 invoices.

5.2. Cloudscan (PDF)

Tradeshift‘s cloudscan solution offers a unique and effective approach to extract data from documents.
Cloudscan uses machine intelligence of the latest generation as well as machine learning in combination with a
cloud-based OCR-technology to identify data from scanned invoices.

This option will be usually chosen with an annual invoice volume up to 50 invoices.

For this Tradeshift offers two possibilities for invoice transmission:

• „Document-Uploader“ App
• Forwarding via Email
The corresponding email address can be found in the menu under
„network“ -> Eberspächer-entity -> „View company details“

5.3. Integration options for automated invoice sending

For enterprises that send larger invoice volumes, Tradeshift offers many different integration options
completely free of charge. Effectively, there are two decisions that you need to make before engaging in the
integration process:

What integration option would we like to use?

All the information required in order to make these decisions is contained in the following section.

Tradeshift offers a number of free integration options so you can automatically transfer documents.
These options are:

• SFTP (http://tradeshift.com/integrate/sftp/)
• FTPS (http://tradeshift.com/integrate/ftps/)
• Interface / API (http://developer.tradeshift.com/rest-api/)

More information regarding the integration options can be found in Annex 6.3

What document format will we send?

Once you have decided which transfer mechanism suits your requirements, the next thing is to look at
which formats your accounting system can export.

Tradeshift support a wide range of formats. This basically means that if your system exports invoices
in any of the Tradeshift formats, you can upload them to Tradeshift for free and without having to
make changes to the original format.

Most used formats are cXML, BASDA, CSV, EDIFACT and OIOXML. You can find detailed information on
these and the rest of the supported formats here:

http://tradeshift.com/integrate/.

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Within the different formats on http://tradeshift.com/integrate/, there is a zip file. The zip file
package includes further information.

Before you move forward with the integration, we strongly suggest you to look at the zip package for
your file format.

5.4. Interoperability
Tradeshift promotes the use of multilateral interoperability models like PEPPOL (EU), EasyTrade (DK), ELMA
(NO). This ensures full scalability at the lowest costs for customers and their suppliers. Requests to interface
directly with other service providers are also supported as long as the service provider uses Tradeshift API and
send in supported formats. Tradeshift provides all support and traffic free of charge for the service provider in
both of the above cases.

If you know that your buyer is registered on PEPPOL and therefore able to receive via that channel, you
can simply reach out to them, ask for their PEPPOL ID, and use that when dispatching your documents to
them.

You can also reach out to Tradeshift’s support team for any questions around PEPPOL or interoperability in
general.

6. Annexes
6.1. FAQ

What is Eberspächer trying to achieve with regards to e-invoicing and why?

Eberspächer is changing the way it receives invoices by moving to electronic invoicing and phasing out the
paper based process. These changes will make the process more efficient, increase the speed of processing
and reduce the number of queries raised from the previous process. This has the benefit of increased quality,
better compliance and speedier processing.

How will Eberspächer achieve this goal?

In order to achieve this goal, Eberspächer has selected Tradeshift as its electronic invoicing partner. On
Tradeshift, suppliers can send invoices for free. Tradeshift supports a wide number of transfer protocols such
as web-interface, SFTP/FTPS/FTP and to an open API and some 20 document formats, such as cXML, Basda,
EDIFACT and CSV.

Get more information on www.tradeshift.com/integrate.

Will this solution be deployed to all suppliers?

Yes. During the course of 2016, Tradeshift will be rolled out across Germany and afterwards worldwide. Please
ask your Eberspächer contact person to find out if the relevant Eberspächer entity already accepts Tradeshift
invoices.

What are the benefits?

• Improved speed, as Tradeshift eliminates the time constraints fixed to paper and scanning processes
• Improved invoice data quality, leading to higher “accepted” rates, as Eberspächer validation rules
implemented on Tradeshift ensure that the document has all the data required for speedy processing
• A positive green agenda way of processing invoices decreasing carbon footprints by eliminating
paper/postage costs/transport if you currently use hard-copy invoices, plus the non-value time
required for your staff to create, ship and follow-up on paper/PDF based invoices

How much does it cost?

Nothing. Neither Eberspächer nor Tradeshift charge you for the service.

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What is the scope of the e-invoicing project?

Currently, Eberspächer will use Tradeshift to facilitate the following business documents and communication
flows:
• Inbound invoices (invoices sent from suppliers)
• Inbound credit notes (credit notes sent from suppliers)
• Business firewall validation rules and error messages
• In near future orders can be viewed on the platform that can be converted to invoices.

How can I invoice Eberspächer using Tradeshift?

You can only invoice Eberspächer through Tradeshift if you have received an invitation. The invitation will hold
all the necessary information. If you have not received an invitation and have to invoice a certain Eberspächer
legal entity, please contact Tradeshift support for Eberspächer suppliers at:
[email protected]

What are the integration options for automated invoice sending?

Tradeshift offers various free integration options so you can automatically transfer documents.
These options are:
• SFTP (http://tradeshift.com/integrate/sftp/)
• FTPS (http://tradeshift.com/integrate/ftps/)
• API (http://developer.tradeshift.com/rest-api/)
All can be found as Apps on Tradeshift once you have an account.
Where can I test the integration?
Tradeshift offers a complete test environment where you can create as many accounts as you want and test
your integration to Tradeshift and send test invoices to Eberspächer. The link is:
https://sandbox.tradeshift.com/

Once you have created your test account, you are welcome to find and connect with the Eberspächer test
accounts on Tradeshift. Simply search for them in the network and send a connection request. Your request is
automatically approved.

What are validation rules, and why are they put in place?
Validation rules ensure that the sender of a document provides the information necessary to process the
invoice. Eberspächer requires some specific fields in your invoice in order to process them efficiently.
Ultimately they are put in place to make sure that the invoice can be handled without any further contact, and
that the supplier gets paid on time. Validation rules are a way of enforcing business rules.

What rules has Eberspächer put in place on Tradeshift?

To ensure a quick and efficient handling of invoices and credit notes, Eberspächer has implemented a number
of validation rules on the Tradeshift platform.

The validation rules implemented by Eberspächer are listed below:

• Eberspächer PO Number: All invoices sent via Tradeshift must contain a Eberspächer PO Number.
This number should be issues to you by your Eberspächer representative at the time of order
placement. These numbers can be provided once at the invoice header level, or, on all lines of the
invoice.
• Person Reference: In some specific cases, a Person Reference might be required instead of a
Eberspächer PO Number. The format of the field is specific, and must be in following format:
“[email protected]”
• Eberspächer material number: All invoices sent via Tradeshift must contain an Eberspächer material
number, which will be indicated on our orders. If the Eberspächer material number is not available,
the supplier-material number is to be used instead. These numbers can be provided on all invoice
lines.

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Further to this, it is important to note that there are some standard fields on typical invoices that Eberspächer
does not wish to receive from the Tradeshift platform (not visible in the web interface, and simply ignored in
the case of EDI files). They are:

• Invoice due date: invoices will always be paid based on the previously agreed terms and conditions, as
stipulated in your supplier agreement, and therefore are not necessary within the individual invoice.
The due date will be calculated by using the transmission date to Tradeshift.
• Payment details: invoices will always be paid, based on the payment details that your customer has
registered within its financial system. If you need these changed, then you should contact your
customer directly.

On top of these validation rules, please note that if you plan to send invoices and credit notes automatically
from your ERP system, there is a range of mandatory fields you would need to adhere to. For mandatory fields,
please go to http://integrate.tradeshift.com/, and download the specific zip file for the format you wish to use.

What happens if I do not provide the correct information on an invoice?

If you do not provide the correct information on the invoice, you will receive immediate notification. Users of
the web-interface will not be able to send their invoices until all validation rules are upheld. If you send via
another protocol, you will receive instant responses regarding the status of your documents, and why they are
failing the validation rules.

What should I do if I do not have the needed information?

If you do not have the required information to complete the invoice (e.g. missing purchase order
information), please contact Eberspächer directly.

How do I change account details?

You can easily change your company name, address as well as tax IDs on Tradeshift in “Edit your settings”.
However, be aware that these changes are not specifically reflected on the Eberspächer side. As such, should
you need to make Eberspächer aware of such changes, you need to use the normal procedure for such
changes.

How do I change bank details?

In Tradeshift, bank details are not stored on your account. When bank detail changes appear please inform
your contact person within Eberspächer directly

How do I connect to my buyer?

On Tradeshift you can search for all the companies on the network and request a connection. However, in the
Eberspächer case, a request for connection will not be met. If you wish to invoice a certain Eberspächer legal
entity, and you haven’t already been connected, you should contact your Eberspächer contact person
(purchasing dept.) directly and ask to be connected to Eberspächer via Tradeshift. Shortly after this, you will
receive an email asking you to activate your connection on Tradeshift. When activated you can invoice
Eberspächer.

Do I need to add payment information to the invoice?

No, Eberspächer already has your payment information registered as part of the supplier master data, which is
always used when paying. If this payment information needs to be changed you should contact Eberspächer
using your normal channels.

Where do I can more information?

Email to: [email protected]
Or go to: http://de.tradeshift.com/supplier/eberspaecher/

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6.2. Eberspächer Legal Entities on Tradeshift

• Eberspächer Climate Control Systems GmbH & Co. KG

• Eberspächer Exhaust Technology GmbH & Co. KG

6.3. Further information on integration options

Tradeshift offers a number of free integration options so you can automatically transfer documents.

These options are:

• SFTP (http://tradeshift.com/integrate/sftp/)
• FTPS (http://tradeshift.com/integrate/ftps/)
• API (http://developer.tradeshift.com/rest-api/)

Advantages of FTP/SFTP/FTPS:
• Well-known, standard and widely used transfer protocols
• Most likely already used in some of your enterprises in one shape or form
• The integration will - in many cases - need little extra development work.

Disadvantages:
• Basic functionality available only
• Uploading documents have to be finished with files with the so-called semaphore mechanism
• No interaction with documents and companies on Tradeshift
• After uploading and dispatching documents, monitoring the documents on the server is required.

Advantages of API:
• Real time interaction, such as search functionality and immediate response on the status of your
uploaded documents.
• Offers the whole range of functionality from the Tradeshift public API.

Disadvantages:
• Might be a new way of transferring documents for some enterprises and thus more time consuming
in the beginning.

In the following, each integration option is described in more detail. You can also find a lot of useful
information using the links above.

6.3.1. SFTP Integration

It is possible to upload invoices to a SFTP server and have them picked up from there automatically. It
provides secure file system upload over a secure channel. Tradeshift provides a free account to a
server where you can upload your invoices in a variety of formats.

SFTP stands for ‘SSH File Transfer Protocol’. It is not related to FTP except that it also transfers files
and has a similar command set for users. If you are not familiar with SFTP it is recommended to find
out more about it before continuing reading this page. There is plenty of information about SFTP
available on the web.

In order to use this integration method you have to have an accounting or ERP software which is able
to send documents over SFTP or an SFTP client (there are plenty of free SFTP clients available). You
have also to activate the ‘SFTP Uploader‘ app from the Tradeshift apps.

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To integrate your ERP, accounting system or SFTP client with Tradeshift, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the SFTP Uploader app.

2. Generate OpenSSH RSA or DSA public and private keys.
3. Paste generated public key into the text area.
4. Press ‘Save’ button to save the key and create an account at the SFTP server. If the key is invalid
or in a wrong format an error message will show up.
5. Copy the SFTP hostname, port and username shown below the text area.
6. Use SFTP hostname, port, username and your private key to configure your ERP, accounting
software or SFTP client to connect to the SFTP server. SFTP server doesn’t need password.
7. That’s it! You are ready to send invoices from your system or SFTP client to the SFTP server.
8. Try to connect and put a document into the ‘outbox’ directory of the server.

For more detailed information, please refer to http://tradeshift.com/integrate/sftp/ and this article
on the Tradeshift support forum: https://support.tradeshift.com/entries/22975226-SFTP-Uploader.

6.3.2. FTPS integration

It is possible to upload invoices to an FTPS server and have them picked up from there automatically.
Tradeshift provides a free account to a server where you can upload your invoices in a variety of
formats.

FTPS stands for ‘File Transfer Protocol Secure’. It is a standard network protocol used to transfer files
from one host to another over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. If you are not familiar with
FTPS it is recommended to find out more about it before continuing reading this page. There is plenty
of information about FTPS available on the web.

In order to use this integration method you have to have an accounting or ERP software which is able
to send documents over FTPS or an FTPS client (there are plenty of free FTPS clients available). You
have also to activate the ‘FTPS Uploader‘ app from the Tradeshift apps.

To integrate your ERP, accounting system or FTPS client with Tradeshift, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the FTPS Uploader app.

2. Insert a password, which you will be later using to connect to the FTPS server.
3. Press ‘Save’ button to save the password and create an account at the FTPS server.
4. Copy the FTPS hostname (si.tradeshift.com), port (990) and username shown in the bottom of the
app.
5. Use FTPS hostname, port, username and your password to configure your ERP, accounting
software, FTPS client to connect to the server.
6. That’s it! You are ready to send invoices from your system or FTPS client to the FTPS server.
7. Try to connect and put a document into the ‘outbox’ directory of the server.

NOTE: FTPS servers data transfer is enabled in the PASSIVE mode only. FTPS server is using IMPLICIT
data transfer mode.

For more detailed information, please refer to http://tradeshift.com/integrate/ftps/ and this article
on the Tradeshift support forum: https://support.tradeshift.com/entries/22975236-FTPS-Uploader

6.3.3. SFTP, FTP, FTPS usage best practice

If you decide to integrate your system with one of these three integration options, please remember
to check the contents of all folders on a regular basis. Any documents that fail dispatch will be placed
in the “failed” or “dispatch failed” folders and it is your responsibility to make sure that they are acted
upon. We suggest writing a small script that monitors the contents of these folders after dispatch, or
alternatively, contact Tradeshift support about installing the Integration Monitoring App that can

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generate a daily report about the contents of these folders, please also see section “Integration
Monitoring”.

6.3.4. API integration

We provide a free REST API Explorer developed by Tradeshift to test the API connection and help you
while building the connection. The REST API Explorer is an APP and can be activated from your
account.

The API is HTTPS+REST based and talks JSON or XML. Documents, dispatches and everything else is
considered 'resources', which you can use HTTP PUT/POST/GET/DELETE to manage. The Tradeshift
Web portal itself uses the API. Security is 3-legged OAuth-based.

All functionality of Tradeshift is exposed through a REST API, but only a subset of this API is exposed
publicly. The public API gives control over the following resources:

• Content – for handling raw documents (invoices, attachments, any kind of business documents).
• DocumentMetadata– holds document metadata.
• DocumentList – lists of document references, based on filter- and search criteria.
• DispatchRequest – sends documents to other Tradeshift companies, or to external networks.
• TagList - gets a list of tags put on a specific document.

The ‘Connection’ resource is used to manage the business network of your company, and for
referencing senders and receivers of business documents.

• ConnectionTemplate– template-based search for discovering network information.

• ConnectionDetail – for managing the details of a connection.
• ConnectionOverview - summary information of a connection.
• ConnectionList – overview list of connections.
• TradeshiftConnection/ExternalConnection – for managing business connections.

Users and tenants (companies in Tradeshift terms) are handled with the "Tenant" and "User"
resources. Tenants and users are referenced in the API through their Tradeshift-internal IDs.

• Tenant - manages a tenant within Tradeshift. Referenced through 'Tenant ID'.

• User - manages a user within Tradeshift. Referenced through 'Actor ID'.

6.3.5. API usage best practice

The Tradeshift REST API is powerful and can be used in a number of ways. Here are some best practices when
you develop against the API.

Client considerations
• Always send a User-Agent header in all requests. The header should identify your client and
version. Use something like BananaCorpClient/3.4.
• Always send an Accept header indicating either application/json or text/xml
• All requests can fail in a number of ways. For application errors, we always return the same error
structure, so be prepared to handle that always. The structure is described on the REST API page.

Documents considerations
• One often seen use of the API is to synchronize documents to another system. This is possible by
polling the external/documents resource for changes. There are two strategies for this: either poll
for changes since last poll, or poll for unknown documents. When polling for changes since last
poll, simply do a poll, save the timestamp, and include it in the "since" query parameter in the
next poll. When polling for unknown documents, do a poll, loop through all received documents,
use the external/documents/{documentId}/tags/{tag} resource to PUT a custom tag to the
document, such as "POLLED_BY_BANANACORP". All requests to external/documents should then

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include a withouttag=POLLED_BY_BANANACORP query parameter, and will only retrieve

documents that do not have the corresponding tag.
• There's no rate limiting on the API, but that doesn't mean that you should push it too hard. Since
document transfers in Tradeshift are asynchronous by nature, there shouldn't be a need to poll
more often than once per 5 minutes, for example.
• When sending documents, be aware of the asynchronous processing. Even though the dispatch
request returns 200 OK, the dispatch might fail later on, for example due to email bounces,
custom validation rules on the receiving side, and so on. If you want to be sure the document is
delivered, poll the external/documents/{documentId}/dispatches/latest resource until the status
is COMPLETED. If the status changes to FAILED, the dispatch failed, and it will contain information
about the failure. If it's FAILED_TRANSIENT, the dispatch failed, but it will be retried
automatically.

6.3.6. Useful API links

• API site: http://developer.tradeshift.com/rest-api/
• Developer forum: http://devforum.tradeshift.com
• List of REST API resources: http://api.tradeshift.com/tradeshift/rest/doc
• Support forum: https://support.tradeshift.com/entries/23107996-API-Access-to-own-Account

6.3.7. Connectors
http://tradeshift.com/blog/tradeshift-apps-where-do-i-start/

Apart from the FTP/SFTP/FTPS and API integration options, Tradeshift also offered off-the shelf
connectors. Some of these are:

• Sage 50 and Sage Instant Accounts (paid app)

• Kashflow
• QuickBooks
• E-conomic
• Twinfield

Advantages:
• Someone else has done the work
• Needs little effort
• Easy to activate (install) and use
• Integrates Tradeshift with your accounting or ERP system.

Disadvantages:
• Inflexible – you get what’s in the connector
• In some instances the connector is not free
• Usually dependent on a third party provider.

Sage 50 and Sage Instant Accounts

The Connector for Sage 50 and Sage Instant Accounts allows you to export your invoices created in all
versions of Sage 50 and Sage Instant Accounts to Tradeshift, where they are automatically forwarded
to your customer. The Connector for Sage 50 and Sage Instant Accounts is developed by SOFTACRE
LIMITED - a Sage verified company. There is a ten days free trial, and after the trial, the connector's
price is £30 per month (GBP).

QuickBooks
The QuickBooks Online App is currently UK only. You can export Tradeshift invoices to QuickBooks.
You can also import QuickBooks customers into Tradeshift. The App is free.

KashFlow
The KashFlow connector allows you to manage your sales and purchase invoices in KashFlow, and
send and receive them via the Tradeshift network. The connector is free.

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