Creating a customer profile for a government entity

A Singapore Government agency is set up like any other customer, with one switch that marks it as a government agency and a Business Unit on each contact. Its invoices go straight to the agency when it has its own InvoiceNow ID, and to the Accountant-General's Department (AGD) when it does not. AGD reads the Business Unit to route your invoice to the right part of the agency.

Before you start

• InvoiceNow must be activated. The government switch only appears once it is. See How do I obtain or register my InvoiceNow / Peppol ID?
• Have the agency's UEN ready, and the Business Unit code for each part of the agency you are invoicing. The agency's purchase order or Vendors@Gov shows it.

Add a government customer

1. Open Sales›Customer and click Add.
2. Set Type to Corporate. A government agency is always set up as a corporate customer.
3. Type the agency's UEN in Registration Number and click the retrieve button beside it. If the agency is found in ACRA's records, its registered name and address are filled in for you.
4. Check the agency's name in Name, or type it if nothing was filled in.
5. Check the billing address has its street and Postal Code. If no address was filled in, click Add Address and add it. Both are needed to send an invoice.
6. Below the addresses, switch on Singapore Government Entity. This marks the customer as a government agency and applies AGD's checks to its invoices and credit notes.
7. Click Add Contact and type the officer's Name. It becomes Attention To on invoices, where AGD allows 20 characters.
8. In the same window, pick the Business Unit and, if the agency has standard terms, a Payment Term. Then save the contact.
9. Click Save.

When you save, the agency's UEN is looked up on the InvoiceNow network. If the agency has its own InvoiceNow ID, it shows in the InvoiceNow ID column on Sales›Customer and its invoices are sent straight to it. Otherwise they go to AGD. If the agency joins the network later, open the customer and save it again to look it up afresh.

Ready to invoice the agency? See Sending invoices to a government entity (B2G).

One agency, several business units

Add one contact for each business unit you are invoicing. On an invoice, picking a different Contact Person changes the Business Unit, Attention To and Payment Term with it. The primary contact's details fill in first.

Business units come from AGD's own list. Search for one by its code or by its name.

What can stop you

• If Singapore Government Entity is missing, either InvoiceNow has not been activated or Type is set to Individual.
• If you see "No ACRA record found for this registration number." the UEN is not in ACRA's records. Check it against the agency's purchase order, or type the name and address yourself.
• If you see "The selected business unit is invalid." the code is not on AGD's list. Search for the unit by name and pick it from the results.
• If an invoice reports that Attention To is too long, shorten it on the invoice, or shorten the contact's name here.