If you would like general information on NES, the NES profiles and their meaning and purpose please visit our On NESUBL page. For information on UBL 2.0 visit our On UBL page.

This profile describes a process comprising a (purchase) order, an simple order response, an invoice and, potentially, a credit note. Billing anomalies are resolved by the issuing of a credit note and a subsequent invoice.

The order may refer to a framework agreement for its terms and conditions; otherwise the customer’s terms and conditions apply.

The order may contain items (goods or services) with item identifiers and items with free text description. Acceptance or rejection of the order in full is communicated by the supplier to the customer in the simple order response.

Following purchase and delivery, the supplier sends the customer an invoice that makes reference to the original order.

This profile may cover invoice factoring arrangements. Invoice errors may be resolved by way of a credit note or a supplementary invoice.

Business benefits

• Systematic acquisition process.
• Automated matching of the invoice with the order; leads to fewer human keying errors and facilitates redeployment of resources.
• Reduced requirement for manual intervention leads to fewer human keying errors.
• Automatic invoice validation.
• Potential for systematic application of invoice control.
• Resource redeployment.

• Electronic delivery of the order allows for automated order processing and facilitates redeployment of resources.
• Faster invoice transfers.
• Acknowledgement of invoice receipt (at technical level).
• Potential for shortened payment cycle and improved cash flow.
• Reduced bad debt.
• Closer customer relations.
• Increased trust in received orders.

Business documents

• Order (basic)
• Order Response Simple
• Invoice (basic)
• Credit Note (basic)

Business scenarios

• Order accepted, invoice accepted.
• Order rejected.
• Order accepted, invoice overcharged.
• Order accepted, invoice undercharged.

Business activities

• Buyer party creates and sends an order to seller party.
• Seller party receives and processes the order.
• In accepting the order in full, the seller party creates and sends a positive simple order response and initiates a delivery and payment request process.
• In rejecting the order, seller party creates and sends a negative simple order response.
• In receiving a positive simple order response, the buyer party awaits delivery and payment request.
• In receiving a negative simple order response, buyer party cancels the order.
• Implied, despatch, delivery and receipt are external to this profile.
• Supplier's accounting party creates and sends an invoice to customer's accounting party.
• Customer's accounting party receives and processes the invoice and matches against the order.
• Customer's accounting party accepts or rejects invoice in full. Acceptance of the invoice initiates a payment process. Rejection leads to customer's accounting party notifying the supplier's accounting party of the discrepancy (external).
• Implied, payment is external to this profile.
• Supplier's accounting party receives and processes the manual notification from customer's accounting party.
• If the notification has (correctly) identified an undercharge, the supplier's accounting party creates and sends a second invoice to customer's accounting party.
• If the notification has (correctly) identified an overcharge, the supplier's accounting party creates and sends a credit note to the customer's accounting party.
• Customer's accounting party receives and processes the second invoice. If the sum of the first and the second invoice equals the correct amount, payment is initiated.
• Customer's accounting party receives and processes the credit note. If the sum of the invoice and the credit note equals the correct amount, payment is initiated.