Data discrepancies between tax document and PO: are we going to solve this problem?

In Brazil, it is estimated that 63% of companies receive invoices with some type of inconsistency in the data. Errors cause a series of inconveniences, resulting in rework, document adjustments and wasted time by the teams. For example, data discrepancies between a company's purchase order, or purchase order (PO), and the corresponding invoice (NF-e), issued by the supplier, generate inefficiencies in the physical and fiscal receipt of goods and can cause problems with the tax authorities.

The way out is to compare this information in advance, even before the product or raw material is shipped by the supplier. Thus, there is time to adjust the documents and eliminate data discrepancies between the NF-e and the PO, increasing the company's logistical and fiscal efficiency.

It's what makes the HomSoft, a solution that performs the automatic entry of electronic fiscal documents – NF-e (merchant invoice), CT-e (bill of transport), NFS-e (service invoice) – in SAP. Upon receiving the XML file of a tax document, the solution automatically compares the XML data with that of the purchase order that originated the transaction. All this before transporting the product or completing the service.

What data is checked?

HomSoft compares and validates the following XML data against the purchase order: unit values; amount; taxes such as ICMS, PIS, COFINS and others; items such as NCM (Common Mercosur Nomenclature), ST (Tax Replacement) and nature of the transaction; quantity, weight and other units of measurement of products; and payment terms.

If discrepancies occur during the automatic verification between the XML and PO data, the solution immediately generates an alert for the responsible area of the company, which can trigger the supplier to make adjustments to the invoice, before the product or material leaves -cousin. If there are no data discrepancies, the solution automatically executes the MIGO (physical) and MIRO (tax) receipt processes in SAP.   

cascading benefits

The comparison of data performed prior to the shipment of products, as in HomSoft, and the advance adjustments in the transaction's tax documents avoid, for example, waiting for trucks in the company's yard, dock or parking lot. With this, the organization increases the efficiency of its logistics chain and tax and purchasing departments.

According to José Geraldo Garcia, CIO at Homine, many companies still prefer to manually check the XML of the invoice and the purchase order – that is, professionals read the documents looking for discrepancies. “Systemic validation is much more agile and accurate in finding these errors compared to the human eye; moreover, by automating data checking, the company can allocate its professionals, previously responsible for this task, in more strategic challenges and of greater value for the company”, concludes Garcia.

Want to learn more about the benefits of automation inbound of tax documents for your company? Get in touch with our team at comercial@homineinfo.com.br and schedule a conversation or a demonstration of HomSoft.