Allocating cost centers to invoice reference numbers and franking licence numbers Guide to cost manager online service Issued: June 2015 1
Table of contents 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Who is this guide for? 3 1.2 The structure of the customer invoice at the Post 3 2 Service in detail / enter, manage and mutate cost centers 5 2.1 Enter cost centers 5 2.1.1 Enter cost centers in the cost manager 5 2.1.2 Import cost centers from Excel template 7 2.2 Overview of existing cost centers 9 2.3 Edit cost centers in the overview 10 2.3.1 Edit details 10 2.3.2 Deactivate cost center 11 3 Allocate cost centers to services 12 3.1 Number of cost centers per service (IRN and FrLN) 12 3.2 Allocate cost centers 12 3.2.1 Allocate services to cost centers 12 3.2.2 Allocate cost centers to services 14 3.3 Validity of existing cost centers 15 3.4 Additional details 17 4 Analyse invoice data by cost center 18 2
1 Introduction 1.1 Who is this guide for? This guide is intended for the Post business customers who want to achieve greater transparency with regard to the costs incurred for logistics services in their operations. The cost manager online service allows you to keep track of your postal costs by allocating them to your cost centers. In the cost manager online service at www.swisspost.ch/ online-services, you can allocate your cost centers, cost units, WBS elements, order numbers, etc. (the term cost centers is used below to cover all of these elements) to the logistics services provided by the Post. Under Detail analysis in the dropdown menu, you can then analyse the costs for each cost center. 1.2 The structure of the customer invoice at the Post In the Post invoicing system, each customer can maintain multiple debtor numbers. Multiple invoice reference numbers (IRN) can be assigned to each debtor number. A range of franking licence numbers (FrLN) / services can be allocated to each IRN. At www.swisspost.ch/post-rechnung, you can find useful tips and information on the structure of the Post customer invoices. 3
Important terms related to this topic Cost centers Denotes the cost centers used in your company accounting. The term cost centers as used in this guide also denotes order numbers and WBS elements Can be entered and modified independently in the Customer Center at www.swisspost.ch/customer-center Invoice reference number (IRN) Number to uniquely identify a customer The customer receives an invoice for each IRN Franking licence number (FrLN) Assigns the services used to the correct invoice recipient The invoice recipient can have multiple FrLN for each service In the detail data on customer invoices, the services are reported separately for each FrLN Detail analysis data Displays information including the postal costs incurred for each cost center New menu structure in the cost manager online service 4
2 Service in detail / enter, manage and mutate cost centers To use the cost manager online service and allocate postal costs to your cost centers, you must first enter the cost centers. You can then allocate the Post services to the cost centers and view a detailed analysis by cost center via the Detail analysis menu item. 2.1 Enter cost centers There are two ways to enter your cost centers in the cost manager online service: 1. By entering each cost center directly in the online services cost manager. 2. By entering multiple cost centers in an Excel file and importing it into the cost manager online service. This option is only available if you have not yet entered any cost centers in the online service. 2.1.1 Enter cost centers in the cost manager To enter your cost centers directly in the cost manager online service, proceed as follows: Select a structure Select the structure for your cost manager. Create new cost center Select the function Create new cost center. Note Each cost manager has a franking licence number assigned by the Post during registration for the function Manage cost centers. The debtor number (possibly several) for which the structure has been opened is shown in brackets. There is an option to select the structure description during registration. 5
❸ ❹ Choose a cost center number (mandatory input field) Enter the number of your cost center here. The number can include digits and / or letters (alphanumeric). The field is limited to 30 characters. A cost center number can be entered only once. Specify description and unit (optional input field) You can use these fields to enter a description of each cost center number (e.g. Marketing Switzerland) and assign a unit (e.g. Marketing Department). A maximum of 50 characters are allowed. You can also leave these fields empty. If you do not fill in the Description field for each language, the entry in the first field is automatically applied. You can either overwrite these descriptions or confirm them with Save. When you save the entries, all of the descriptions are displayed in black. ❸ Valid from (mandatory input field) In the Valid from field, enter the date on which the cost center is to be created. If you do not enter this field, the system automatically selects the day following data entry. ❹ Valid until (optional input field) You can define the end date in the Valid until field. You can also leave this field empty. After saving your data, under the menu items Allocate services to cost centers or Allocate cost centers to services you can allocate the cost centers to the IRN and FrLN. More on this in section 3 of this guide. 6
2.1.2 Import cost centers from Excel template If you have not yet entered any cost centers in the cost manager, you can use the function Upload cost centers to simultaneously import multiple cost centers from an Excel template. To do this, proceed as follows: Click Download upload template to open the Excel template. Fill in the appropriate fields and save the Excel file for the upload to your computer. Note The requirements for mandatory and optional fields are the same as those described in section 2.1.1 (Enter cost centers in the cost manager). Click the button Upload cost centers. 7
❸ ❹ ❸ Use the Browse button to select the previously saved Excel file. ❹ Click Upload cost centers to import the saved cost centers, descriptions, etc. into the cost manager online service. 8
2.2 Overview of existing cost centers This view provides an overview of all cost centers associated with a structure. If the Post has opened multiple cost managers for you, you can select the structure you need from the "Structure" drop-down menu item. ❹ ❽ ❸ ❺ ❻ ❼ Sort cost centers: The cost centers are sorted in ascending order. You can change the sort order by clicking on the column headings. You can filter the cost centers by clicking in the Value or Current description columns. Search for cost center: You can also search directly for a cost center or a description (G, F, I, E) by entering a value in the Search field. This is useful if you have entered numerous cost centers. ❸ Status of existing mutations: In the column Mutations available, you can see whether a description for a cost center has been mutated. A cross (X) indicates where something has been changed. The date indicates when an item is activated. ❹ Show deactivated cost centers: Select this box to include deactivated cost centers in the display. They are shown in italics in the list. ❺ View details: Overview of the details of this cost center, such as validity, description, etc. ❻ Edit details: Edit the description, unit and validity of existing cost centers. ❼ Deactivate cost center: Delete existing cost centers. ❽ Download / export: You can use this function at any time to export a list of your existing cost centers (including validity, allocation, etc.) as an Excel file. The date of the export can be freely selected. However, the system automatically displays the current date. 9
2.3 Edit cost centers in the overview You can edit your existing cost centers using the icon on the right. 2.3.1 Edit details You can edit the description, unit and validity for an existing cost center. Click the Edit details icon and proceed as follows: ❻ ❹ ❸ ❺ The Future value column is initially a copy of the valid values (description and unit). You can simply overwrite these values. The field Valid from in the column Future value suggests the next possible date (edit date + 1 day). You can leave this date or change it to a future date. ❸ In the field Valid until, you can enter the date to which you want the values entered to remain valid. You can also leave the field empty. ❹ The Valid until field for the current value is filled in automatically by the system on the basis of your change. ❺ With Remove mutations, you can remove the values during the changes. You can use Save to save the new values. ❻ You can change Future value entries that have already been entered and saved at any time. 10
2.3.2 Deactivate cost center You cannot simply overwrite cost center numbers that have already been entered and saved. You must deactivate the cost center number first. To do this, click the Deactivate button and then enter the new cost center. 11
3 Allocate cost centers to services Having entered your cost centers, you can now allocate the services to them. The number of allocations allowed depends on the service in question. 3.1 Number of cost centers per service (IRN and FrLN) For the following services, you can assign the FrLN as many cost centers as required: Domestic letter consignments and international mail with an electronic dispatch list (PP domestic and international), PromoPost consignments Franking with the IFS 3 franking solutions Franking by the Post These services are marked with. For all other services, you can assign only one cost center. These services are marked with. 3.2 Allocate cost centers There are two ways to allocate your cost centers: Allocate services to your cost centers Allocate cost centers to your services 3.2.1 Allocate services to cost centers In this view, click the Allocate services to cost centers tab. On the left, you will see the cost centers that you have entered. On the right, you will see all services that are stored for you in our invoicing system, including the associated IRN and FrLN. Under Selection, you will see details of the cost center or service that you have just allocated. Note When you create an electronic dispatch list or frank a consignment with IFS 3, you can select one of the allocated cost centers. These services are marked with in the views For services without a FrLN, enter the cost center at the IRN level 12
❸ ❹ To allocate services to your cost centers, proceed as follows: Select the cost centers to which you want to allocate services by clicking them. Select the service you want to allocate by ticking its box. ❸ Multiple allocation: You can allocate multiple services to a cost center. To do this, first select the cost center and then tick the boxes for each of the services you want to allocate. ❹ Click Allocate to complete the allocation. Your data will be saved. Note The system displays an error message if you try to allocate a marked service that is already allocated to a cost center to another cost center. 13
3.2.2 Allocate cost centers to services In this view, click the Allocate cost centers to services tab. On the left, you will see the the services (with IRN or FrLN) that are stored for you in our invoicing system. On the right, you will see the cost centers that you have entered. Under Selection, you will see details of the cost center or service that you have just allocated. ❸ ❹ 14
To allocate cost centers to services, proceed as follows: Select the service to which you want to allocate cost centers by clicking it. Select the cost center you want to allocate by ticking its box. ❸ Multiple selection : These services can be allocated multiple cost centers. Select the service to which you want to allocate cost centers by clicking it (e.g. Intelligent franking systems). Then tick the boxes for each of the cost centers you want to allocate. ❹ Click Allocate to complete the allocation. Your data will be saved. Note The system displays an error message if you try to allocate another cost center to a marked service to which you have already allocated a cost center. 3.3 Validity of existing cost centers Under Current allocation, the Valid from column displays the date from which the allocation is valid. The system default is the earliest possible date: the day after data entry. However, you can also set a different future date. The Valid until column displays the date to which the allocation remains valid. The system fills in this field automatically if a Valid until date is available for the services or cost centers. If not, the column remains empty. In this case, you can set the Valid until date yourself if you want to restrict the allocation period. Edit allocation period Delete allocation period Click the Deactivate icon to deactivate or delete an allocation. Change allocation period Click the Edit details icon to open the dialogue box. Here, you can change the validity period for this allocation. 15
Remove allocations You can remove existing allocations to cost centers or services. To do this, proceed as follows: Select the service or cost center on the left side of the view. Click the Remove button. 16
3.4 Additional details ❸ ❹ ❺ Once you have saved the allocation with the Allocate button, the service is shown in bold. Allocations that you have removed remain in effect for two days. These allocations are also shown in bold and marked with an *. After the two days, they no longer appear in the list. ❸ The numbers in brackets are your debtor, invoice reference or franking licence numbers. ❹ Under Selection, you will see details of the cost center or service that you have just allocated. If you have allocated cost centers several times, the right column under Selection remains empty. ❺ Under Current allocation, you will find an overview of all your existing allocations in ascending order from today into the future. Please note: Multiple allocations do not appear in this list. If you tick the Show history box, past allocations also appear in the list. 17
4 Analyse invoice data by cost center ❸ You can select the menu item Call up invoices and statistics to view a detailed analysis by cost center. To do this, proceed as follows: Click the Detail analysis data tab and select the period you want to view one or more months. All results are now displayed. Click the Excel icon to obtain a list of all account details for each month and for each corresponding invoice reference number. ❸ Click the Funnel icon if you want to limit the data using specific criteria before all the data is retrieved (e.g. the Post business units, products). 18
Example of an analysis by cost center The cost centers you have allocated are listed in the respective columns. The column headings also indicate the description and unit if you have entered them using Manage cost centers. You can now analyse your invoice data for each cost center for internal purposes. 19
Post CH Ltd Customer Service Wankdorfallee 4 3030 Berne supportonlinedienste@swisspost.ch www.swisspost.ch 2012-306 (PM) 06.2015 20 20