Accounting Integration for Glass Companies: From Delivery Note to Invoice

For many glass companies the most tiring job at month end is invoicing: shipped glass is read off waybills one by one, retyped into the accounting program and extras get forgotten. In this article we explain how accounting integration works in a glass program, the path from delivery note to invoice and what to watch out for.

The cost of retyping invoices

When orders live in one program, shipping on paper and invoices in the accounting program, the same information is typed at least three times. Every retype carries a risk of error:

• The quantity shipped and the quantity invoiced do not match,
• The list price is written instead of the customer's own price,
• Extras such as argon gas, bonding or transport are left off the invoice,
• A waybill slips through and is never invoiced.

Each of these means either an argument with the customer or lost revenue.

An unbroken chain from order to invoice

The real value of accounting integration is that information flows as a single chain from start to finish:

1. Order: entered with the customer's price; m², linear metres, weight and amount are calculated by the program.
2. Production: panes are marked at the stations.
3. Shipping: ready panes leave on a single delivery note.
4. Accounting: the delivery note is transferred to the accounting program and marked.

The price entered on the order, the glass produced and the quantity shipped go to accounting exactly as they are. Nobody retypes the figures in between.

How is a delivery note transferred to accounting?

In OGTOGLASS, delivery notes are transferred to the accounting software you use as waybills or invoices. It does not matter which accounting program you use; the integration is set up for your company's program during installation. Your accountant no longer reads waybills one by one but checks and approves the transferred document.

Account and item codes: preventing errors up front

The most common integration problem is a customer account or product in the glass program that has no counterpart in the accounting program. During transfer OGTOGLASS checks account and item codes against your accounting software. A missing code shows up at transfer time, not as an invoice to the wrong customer at month end.

Argon, bonding, transport: extras on the invoice too

Extras take a small but important share of insulated glass revenue. Argon gas is calculated from the glass area and bonding from the perimeter; drilling, sandblasting and transport are added to the order as well (see our insulated glass m² and linear metre calculation article for details). These extras are transferred to accounting as separate lines with their own accounting codes, so no extra is forgotten on the invoice.

Transferred documents are marked automatically

Invoices taken into the accounting program are marked automatically in OGTOGLASS. The ready-to-ship and delivery notes lists show which shipments have been transferred and which are waiting. The same shipment is never invoiced twice and no shipment is left uninvoiced.

Checklist for accounting integration

1. Match the codes. When switching, match customer accounts and products to their codes in the accounting program; our switching guide covers this step in detail.
2. Give extras an accounting code. Decide up front which account argon, bonding, transport and similar items go to.
3. Waybill or invoice? Decide with your accountant whether delivery notes go to accounting as waybills or directly as invoices.
4. Complete customer-specific prices. If the price on the order is right, the price on the invoice is right.
5. Check the accounting status regularly. Make sure every week that no delivery note is left untransferred.

Frequently asked questions