Product: Transaction Manager

Article Link: http://help.truecommerce.com/en/articles/11127640-transaction-manager-conversion-factor-import-export

At times your Trading Partner may send you a Purchase Order (850) that contains Items on it with a Unit of Measure (UoM) that does not match what your Business System inventory expects. If your system does not contain a built-in conversion system then you can utilize the Conversion Factor Export and the Conversion Factor Import Lookups to configure a translation table that will convert the received items adjusting both the Unit of Measure as well as the Quantity.

This is done simply by Multiplying or Dividing the incoming Quantity by what is known as the Conversion Factor in order to convert that quantity into the appropriate amount desired for the way your Business System is configured to receive that particular Inventory Item.

You receive a Purchase Order (850) from your Trading Partner with an Item on it that is being requested in Cases with a Quantity of 1 but your system deals with Eaches. That particular item is sold with 12 Eaches per Case to this Trading Partner.

You can utilize the Conversion Factor tables to say that for every 1 Case received convert it into 12 Each when being sent to your Business System and then convert it back into a single case when you send your Trading Partner an Invoice (810) allowing both your Business System and the Trading Partner to deal in the quantity required for each respective end.

Depending on which Business System you are utilizing the Conversion Factor Export/Import tables will be provided automatically if that Business System has been identified as not having a viable solution for Unit of Measure (UoM) conversions offered at the base level.

If you do not see the Conversion Factor Export or Conversion Factor Import tables located under your Trading Partner / Global Lookups then there may be a built-in solution already.

The Conversion Factor Export table is utilized to convert the incoming Quantity originally sent by your Trading Partner by breaking it into the relative quantity based on the desired Multiplication or Division (known as the Conversion Factor) expected by your Business System

You most likely will need to first Enable and Configure the Conversion Factor settings per Trading Partner under the Partner Defaults so that the system knows whether or not to perform the conversion and what type of conversion is required.

Navigate: Trading Partners → (Partner) → Translations → Defaults

Locate: Conversion Factor Export ID

Enter: 'CTE' for Case to Each or 'ETC' for Each to Case

Once the Conversion Factor is enabled - you will need to add each item you wish to convert into the Conversion Factor Export translation table so that the system knows how to multiply/divide the incoming quantity properly for that particular item.

Navigate: Trading Partners → (Partner) → Translations → Lookups

Locate: Conversion Factor Export

Select: Add

1st Column (Conversion Factor): Set the desired Conversion Rate

2nd Column (Item #): Enter the Item Code used by your Trading Partner on the incoming Purchase Order.

The Item Code you enter must be the Item Code that is sent by your Trading Partner on the received Purchase Order as this translation happens prior to the Item Catalog converting the item code - as such we cannot use your Business System's item code for this table.

Remember the Conversion Factor is simply a Multiplication or the Division of received Quantity - if you are converting from Case to Each (CTE) this will multiply each received Case by the Conversion Factor.

If you are converting from Each to Case (ETC) the system will divide the received Eaches by the Conversion Factor

The Conversion Factor Import is utilized when creating Invoices (810), Purchase Order Acknowledgements (855), or Advance Ship Notices (856) by importing a document from your Business System and is used to reconvert the Unit of Measure and its Quantity back to the originally received format from your Trading Partner.

Navigate: Trading Partners → (Partner) → Translations → Defaults

Locate: Conversion Factor Import ID

Enter: 'CTE' for Case to Each or 'ETC' for Each to Case

Once the Conversion Factor is enabled - you will need to add each item you wish to convert into the Conversion Factor Export translation table so that the system knows how to multiply/divide the incoming quantity properly for that particular item.

Navigate: Trading Partners → (Partner) → Translations → Lookups

Locate: Conversion Factor Export

Select: Add

1st Column (Item #): Enter your Business System item code

2nd Column (Conversion Factor): Enter Conversion Rate

For the Conversion Factor Import you will need to utilize your Business System item code as this conversion happens prior to the conversion of your Item Code through the Item Catalog

Enter the same conversion factor as you did based on the Primary Item Field for the Conversion Factor Export table into the Import Table - this will perform the inverse of the original conversion to return the Quantity back into its original format.

The Conversion Factor solution is a provided work-around for Business Systems that do not provide a built in solution that uses basic mathematics to either Multiply or Divide based on the item codes and their quantities. So there are a few things to note

If you enter an invalid Quantity such as one that does not multiply or divide evenly the system will produce decimals which represent fractional amounts of the desired result. You will need to work with your Trading Partner and configure the Conversion Factor appropriately to ensure whole numbers if you do not wish to received decimals

If your Conversion Factor table is missing a Conversion Factor but the Item Code is listed or you enter 0 as the Conversion Factor this will result in the system attempting to divide by 0 which can cause issues with many Business Systems as the result will by that of an Infinity (∞) or Not a Number (NaN) which most systems error out on processing.

You will need to ensure that all entries are properly filled out

If your Item is not converting - or you do not wish for it to convert. Simply exclude the item from the Conversion Factor on both the Export and Import tables.

TrueCommerce is not responsible for the Maintenance or Validation of the Conversion Factor tables - it is the responsibility of your company to ensure these tables are maintained and accurate.

TrueCommerce is happy to assist in the initial setup and explanation - but you will need to fill out the table accurately

your system may be missing a Conversion Factor Import ID or a Conversion Factor Export ID within the Defaults section and instead may have a Conversion Factor Type or a Conversion Factor Method option instead.

Some versions of this solution provide a single option rather than two that controls both the Export and Import in a single option for convenience. If you have one of those methods instead - simply enter the desired conversion based on received quantity and Transaction Manager will auto-convert it back to the original on import.

This solution is not recommended for larger Business Systems such as Acumatica, NetSuite, Sage X3, or Microsoft Dynamics as those solutions have built in options or the TrueCommerce Extension already has a built in solution through Cross-Reference tables of Unit of Measure Conversions.

QuickBooks Enterprise offers a Unit of Measure module as an Add-On. You may want to have your VAR or Consultant review whether or not that Add-On has been acquired.

rev 4/22/2025