🎬 Magazines - XchangeIT Configuration

🎬 Magazines - XchangeIT Configuration

Please note that if you have any help or issues with the XchangeIT website, XchangeIT Sign Up Process, or XchangeIT Newsagent client, you must contact XchangeIT on 1300 551 212. Please do not contact Tower Systems as it is not our company. 




What and who is XchangeIT. 

They are Data distributors. And the data they distribute saves time. So much time that I once calculated that a store who was arriving their magazines manually would save over a minimum 4 - 6 hours per week by signing up and using XchangeIT to get invoices delivered electronically.
Now on minimum Retail wage as of the time of publication of this video, that's between $98.92 and $148.38 in wages per week spent on just arriving the magazines. The whole process of processing the invoices, printing labels and getting the magazines on the shelf (in the ideal uninterrupted world) should take less than an hour, so lets say it costs $24.73 in wages. 
That business has saved between $3,857.88 to $6,429.80 in wages per year by using this process.
Even more by streamlining their returns process as well as not having to send back physical returns*, saving postage costs
AND using the Terminal Connect feature (not available in Western Australia) to connect your Tatts Lotto Terminal to Retailer to speed up transaction times and remove mistakes. No data entry mistakes with lotto sales, paired with Integrated EFTPOS; you and your staff can't make a mistake except of course with cash handling and mistakes with using the Tatts Lotto Terminal. 

*No Physical Returns (NPR) are subject to Are Direct eligibility criteria, including providing accurate sales and returns data through XchangeIT



Step 1. Sign Up for XchangeIT

Sign Up here
Enter your details and store details and continue

Step 2. Pay XchangeIT

Sign in into the XchangeIT website, click on My Account, followed by Billing and Payment. Pay the invoice. 
Without doing this, you can do all the other steps but you will not start receiving data. You must pay their invoices to be able to receive electronic invoices and send sales and returns data. 

Step 3. Download and Install the XchangeIT Newsagent Client

Follow the instructions on the XchangeIT website here.
The Newsagency Client only needs to be installed on 1 computer and that should be your Server for Retailer. 

Step 4. Configure the EDI file paths inside Retailer

On the XchangeIT website, go to My Account, followed by Newsagency Client. 
In the Folder Structure section, the SourceIn and SourceOut are the important paths that you need to check are set inside Retailer as well. Don't worry about the rest. 
By default, XchangeIT will have for the following file paths
SourceIn:
C:\EDI\XchangeIT\Source\In
SourceOut:
C:\EDI\XchangeIT\Source\Out 

In plain terms for none computer people, these paths refer to a series of folders on your computer.
C:\ is your computer hard drive. Everything starts there.
EDI is the first folder in the path and is in the list of first folders in your C drive
XchangeIT is the second folder, found within the EDI folder
Source is the third folder, found within the XchangeIT folder
In is the fouth folder, found within the Source Folder

Inside Retailer on the computer where you have installed the XchangeIT Newsagent Client, go to Setup, followed by EDI
Use the arrows in the top left of the screen to navigate to XchangeIT. 
In the first tab Directories, we can see an Intray and Outtray. To their right is the file path where they are reading. The In tray is where Retailer can get files from. The Out Tray is where Retailer will place files. We need to set these to the same location as XchangeIT
If In Tray and Out Tray do not read the same as the XchangeIT SourceIn and SourceOut file paths then you must change them. 

To change the In Tray File Path, click on the folder Icon to the right of the In Tray path. 
In the new window, you can see the folder at the top of the screen says C:\ 
Double click on the next folder, EDI
Double click on the next folder, XchangeIT
Double click on the next folder, Source
Double click on the next folder, In
Click on Ok at the bottom of the screen

The In Tray file path should now read C:\EDI\XchangeIT\Source\In, exactly the same as the SourceIn path that XchangeIT uses. 

To change the Out Tray File Path, click on the folder Icon to the right of the Out Tray path. The
In the new window, you can see the folder at the top of the screen says C:\ 
Double click on the next folder, EDI
Double click on the next folder, XchangeIT
Double click on the next folder, Source
Double click on the next folder, Out
Click on Ok at the bottom of the screen

The Out Tray file path should now read C:\EDI\XchangeIT\Source\In, exactly the same as the SourceOut path that XchangeIT uses. 

The Other Paths in Retailer do not matter and should be left alone. 

Click on the Utilities tab. 

Tick Enable This EDI System found in the Extra Options. Then click Save, followed by close. 

Step 5 - Link your Suppliers Accounts to XchangeIT

For Are Direct / Ovato / Gordon and Gotch, you need the "Deliver To" number, not your "Account Number" from the company. It can be found on a magazine invoice or call Are Direct / Ovato / Gordon and Gotch.
On the XchangeIT website, sign in, click on My Account, followed by Distributors and Services
Scroll down until you find Are Direct / Ovato / Gordon and Gotch. Enter your "Deliver To" number into the field, click Check. 
Tick Essential Data and Essential Returns

For other suppliers that you want to receive data from, enter your account number and tick the Essential Data and Essential Returns options. 

Click Save Partnerships at the bottom of the page. 

Step 6 - Receive Data

Once your account is linked, it may take a day or two before you any data is received. 
This is because as Are Direct / Ovato / Gordon and Gotch are preparing your magazines to be delivered in the coming days before the delivery day. so you will only receive data once your account is linked and a new invoice/delivery is generated. They are generated serveral days before they are scheduled to be arrived. 

So, lets say you sign up and link your account on Monday. You may get 1 invoice's electronic invoice data for Thursday's delivery. This is because most of Thursday's magazine data has probably already been generated and sent before you signed up. So Thursday comes around and you only have 1 electronic invoice to receive in Retailer.
For the following Monday, you should have most, if not all of the files for the Monday invoices/deliveries. You will absolutely have all the electronic invoices for the coming Thursday Invoices/Deliveries.