ExpediaPay Manual

ExpediaPay Vendor Training Manual 2010

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ExpediaPay Training Manual


Published by: ExpediaPay Technical Support

Last Updated: July 1, 2009

Registered Trademarks – Microsoft, Excel, Access, Internet Explorer and the Internet Explorer icon are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Mozilla, Firefox, and the Firefox icon are registered trademarks of Mozilla Corporation in the United States and other countries.

Expedia, Inc. 2010

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Table of Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................5

Overview of ExpediaPay, ExpediaPay .....................................................................................6

Benefits of Using ExpediaPay. ExpediaPay .............................................................................7

ExpediaPay System Requirements. ExpediaPay.....................................................................8

How to get started using ExpediaPay. .....................................................................................9

Log on to Merchantpoint to Access ExpediaPay. ................................................................................9

Forgot your Password?..........................................................................................................................10

Account Disabled –How to submit a Reset Password request ...........................................................10

Password has Expired/ Change Password Screen. ............................................................................11

Merchantpoint Main Menu. Merchantpoint.......................................................................................12

ExpediaPay - Home Page. ExpediaPay –.............................................................................................13

ExpediaPay Invoicing................................................................................................................14

System Templates – Invoice Format Requirements...........................................................................14

Enter Invoice Screen..............................................................................................................................15

Upload E-bill Files.................................................................................................................................17

E-bill Spreadsheets................................................................................................................................18

Uploading E-bill Spreadsheets..............................................................................................................20

ExpediaPay Notifications. ExpediaPay...................................................................................22

Expedia File Processing Confirmation. Expedia.................................................................................22

File Processed with Errors. ..................................................................................................................22

Expedia File Upload Failure Notification............................................................................................23

Invoice Submission Reminder..............................................................................................................23

Invoice and Payment Research................................................................................................24

Booking Item Search.................................................................................................................25

Booking Item Search – Booking Not Processed or Paid ....................................................................25

Booking Item Search – Processin.........................................................................................................26

Booking Item Search – Paid (Payment History).................................................................................27

Remittance Advice Search.......................................................................................................28

Invoice Status............................................................................................................................29

Invoice Status – Error Correction........................................................................................................30

Invoice Status – View File Detail..........................................................................................................33

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Invoice Status – Invoice Details. ..........................................................................................................33

Invoice Status – Invoice Details. ..........................................................................................................34

Invoice Status – File Processed Email. ................................................................................................35

Report Library. ..........................................................................................................................36

Invoice Submission. ..............................................................................................................................37

Producer & Company User Report. ...................................................................................................37

Validation Error Details Report. .........................................................................................................38

Vendor Payment Report. ......................................................................................................................38

Vendor Remittance Advice Report. ....................................................................................................39

View Input Documents. ........................................................................................................................40

Payment Information.................................................................................................................41

Frequently Asked Questions....................................................................................................42

Contact Information...................................................................................................................46

ExpediaPay Technical Support............................................................................................................46

Supplier Relations Department............................................................................................................47

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Introduction

Dear Valued Partner,

First, we would like to thank you for your time and interest in using ExpediaPay. As you will find in the subsequent pages of this manual, ExpediaPay is an online tool that allows you full control over submitting and controlling invoices electronically for Expedia.com, hotels.com and Egencia merchant bookings. Since everything is done electronically, ExpediaPay eliminates the need for submitting or sharing any paper documents. In a time where we are all trying to reduce our consumption of natural resources, this makes using ExpediaPay all the more valuable. And to top it off, using ExpediaPay also reduces your payment window as it eliminates any mail handling time and puts your invoice(s) into the hands of Expedia within a few clicks of a button.

As you continue on and learn more about ExpediaPay, we hope that you find it as easy to use as many of our existing partners have. Again, we appreciate your time in learning more about ExpediaPay.

Thank you, Expedia, Inc.

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Overview of ExpediaPay

What is ExpediaPay?

ExpediaPay is a self-service; web based extranet application that allows merchant vendors to submit invoice data, view processing and payment status of submitted invoices as well as view remittance data online.

What Does ExpediaPay Do?

ExpediaPay allows vendors to submit invoice data via an e-bill1. You may enter an e-bill online or upload an e-bill online. Both methods are available at all times. You decide which method of invoice submission works best for you.

In addition to submitting e-bills, ExpediaPay allows vendors access to view the processing and payment status of reservations and e-bills once they have been processed. Access to view and print Remittance Advice (payment details) on demand is also included. This gives all vendors access to the processing and payment information of their accounts that would normally be acquired by contacting Supplier Relations. Instead of waiting 3 to 5 business days for a reply from Supplier Relations, you can use ExpediaPay to research the processing and payment information within minutes; anytime, day or night.

1 e-bill = Vendor prepared invoice data, entered online or contained within a file, that is to be processed electronically once submitted through ExpediaPay.

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Benefits of Using ExpediaPay

More control over e-bill submission and payment research.

ExpediaPay allows the vendor to submit e-bills daily, weekly or monthly. You determine how often you will be submitting e-bills. Once the e-bill is submitted, you can view the status of processing and payment of any e-bill.

E-bills are processed within 24 to 48 hours of submission – payments are still remitted after payment terms are met2.

Within 24 to 48 hours of submitting an e-bill, ExpediaPay posts the initial processing results of the e-bill for you to view:

Processing Status of the e-bill (e-bill processing complete or rejected) Possible e-bill errors found during processing Details of what will be paid Exceptions (discrepancies in payment) Expected payment date

Receive email notifications of e-bill receipt and processing.

Receive email reminder notifications when an e-bill is expected.

Ability to research e-bills and reservations for processing and/or payment status.

Vendors can view the status of processing, payment and non-payment of any reservation/booking, invoice or e-bill that is in Expedia’s accounting systems3.

Ability to view and print Remittance Advices (payment details).

ExpediaPay provides access to view and print Remittance Advices (payment details) for any payment made over the last six (6) years.

Save on postage, mail time, envelopes, paper invoices, etc.

ExpediaPay saves all e-bills and stores them for easy access for vendors that submit the e-bill and Expedia employees. While using ExpediaPay to upload or enter your e-bills, there is no need to send a copy of the e-bill by e-mail, fax or mail.

2 For information regarding your company’s payment terms with Expedia and Hotels.com; please review your contract.

3 As long as the reservation/booking, invoice or e-bill that is being searched belongs to the selected vendor.

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ExpediaPay System Requirements

ExpediaPay is a Web Based application – no software to install.

All you need to do is log-in to the secured extranet site Merchantpoint:

https://merchantpoint.expedia.com4

Internet Browsers supported by ExpediaPay:

Internet Explorer version 6.0 or higher ®

Mozilla Firefox ®

E-mail Requirements:

In order to receive password reminder/reset e-mails from Merchantpoint and e-bill processing notifications from ExpediaPay you must make sure your e-mail security settings are set-up to allow e-mails with hyperlinks from the following domain names:

@merchantpoint.com @expedia.com

File Requirements (for uploading e-bills)

ExpediaPay will only accept Excel (*.xls) and Text files. If a file is submitted in Text format, the initial delimiter5 that ExpediaPay is programmed to accept is Tab delimited. Field Delimiters for text files can be changed to better match your billing system. Field Delimiters that are available are: Text (tab delimited)(*.txt), Comma (*.csv), Pipe, Semi-colon, or Tilde6.

PDF, Word or other file types uploaded into ExpediaPay will be rejected.

Please contact ExpediaPay Technical Support for questions regarding system requirements.

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (US, Canada and parts of the Caribbean): 888-EXP-1-STOP (888-397-1-7867)Phone: (European countries): 0-800-9EXPEDIA (0-800-9-397-3342)

or 0-1-817-524-4129(Other Countries): 001-702-933-5452

4 Because everyone's computers are set –up differently (different operating systems, browser settings, etc.) you may encounter problems using ExpediaPay. If you are having difficulties using or accessing the Merchantpoint site or ExpediaPay with Internet Explorer or Firefox, please contact ExpediaPay Technical Support to assist you.

5 A delimiter is any character used to note the boundary of a data field. For example, the (*.csv) file format uses a comma as the delimiter between fields. For instance:

John Smith,123456789,06/1/2009,06/04/2009,3,300.00,30.00,330.00 Each comma in the row represents the beginning or end of a cell on an Excel spreadsheet.

6 See System Templates – Invoice Format Requirements for customizing e-bill templates on Page 12.

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mailto:[email protected]

https://merchantpoint.expedia.com/


How to get started using ExpediaPay

Log on to Merchantpoint to Access ExpediaPay

1. In the address box of your internet browser, type the URL for Merchantpoint:

https://merchantpoint.expedia.com

2. Enter your User Name. Your User Name is your full email address.

Example: [email protected] = Ok

john.smith = Wrong

3. Enter your password. If you have not logged in yet, the temporary password is:

Pasta123

a. All passwords are case sensitive (i.e. pasta123 is invalid because the ‘P’ must be capitalized).

4. Click “Sign in to Merchantpoint”

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Forgot your Password?

If you have forgotten your password or receive an ‘Invalid Password’ message (see below) after attempting to log-in:

a. Click on the “Forgot your password? Click here.” link

b. Enter your User Name/e-mail address

c. Click “Please Send Me My User Name and Password.” The current password will be sent to that e-mail address.

Account Disabled – How to submit a Reset Password request

If your account has been disabled after the 5th consecutive incorrect log-in attempt, you can submit a request for a new password from Merchantpoint.

a. Click on the link: ‘Need to reset your Password? Click here.’

b. From the Password Reset screen, your e-mail should appear in the e-mail address field. Click the link: ‘Please send me my User Id and new Password. Your new password will be sent to your e-mail address.

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Password has Expired/ Change Password Screen

If you log in to Merchantpoint and receive a message stating, “Your password has expired.” you are required to change your password.

The complexity of your new password, to ensure added security for your account, must follow the criteria provided on the Password Change screen.

1. Enter the password that you used to log-in as the ‘Old Password.’

2. Enter your new password in the ‘New Password’ box.

3. Enter the new password into the next box to confirm the new password.

4. Click the change password button.

When a new password is accepted, Merchantpoint will post a message stating the password has been changed and you can continue to the Merchantpoint main menu screen by clicking the link provided.

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Merchantpoint Main Menu

The Merchantpoint Main menu should include access to the following sites:

• Report Library – Contains report versions of the research tools found in ExpediaPay (with a few extra features). All reports within the Report Library are exportable to Excel file format.

• ExpediaPay - Allows merchant vendors to submit and view their invoice and remittance data online.

• Change Password – Allows Users to change their password for the Merchantpoint site (see Password Change screen on previous page).

If you notice that there are other systems links added to your main menu or if you are missing any of the three links mentioned above, contact ExpediaPay Technical Support to submit a request to correct your Merchantpoint account access.

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ExpediaPay - Home Page

If you have access to only 1 vendor, it will automatically be selected for you upon entering ExpediaPay.

Your vendor name will appear to the left side of your Vendor ID. Whenever you contact Supplier Relations Department (Accounting) or ExpediaPay Technical Support, we will ask for the Vendor ID to help us locate your account.

For consolidated vendors7, you can use unique Control Code to access each vendor’s account.

7 A consolidated vendor is a special account set-up by request that allows specified Users within a group of vendors to be able to combine invoice data from multiple vendors on one uploaded e-bill. For more details about consolidated vendors, please contact ExpediaPay Technical Support.

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If you have access to multiple vendors, you need to select a vendor by entering enter the Expedia Vendor ID of the vendor you wish to submit an e-bill or do research on and click the ‘Go’ button.

Or, you can click on the ‘Search by Name’ link.

When the Search window appears, click the ‘GO’ button to view a list of all vendors you have access to. Simply click on the vendor you want to work with.


ExpediaPay Invoicing

System Templates – Invoice Format Requirements

In order to submit invoice data through ExpediaPay, an e-bill template must be programmed to each vendor’s account. The e-bill template is a set of e-bill requirements and data formats that ExpediaPay follows in order to read the information on a submitted e-bill so it can be electronically processed. A default e-bill template has been created for each vendor based on the line of business (Lodging, Destination Services8, etc.). The template requirements and data formats are the same for both e-bill submission options.

E-bill templates can be customized to fit your company’s invoice format or preferences at any time by contacting ExpediaPay Technical Support at [email protected]. All custom templates must be reviewed by ExpediaPay Technical Support to confirm compatibility with ExpediaPay template formatting requirements.

Required Fields for all Lodging Templates must have a column for each of the following: Expedia Booking ID Two out of three date fields (Check-in, Check-out, Nights Billed) Booking Amount Tax Amount Total Amount

Required Fields for all Destination Services Templates must have a column for each of the following:

Expedia Voucher # (number on each voucher that begins with 00) Activity Date Voucher Total Amount

There are two methods for customizing an e-bill template:

1. Customizing the e-bill template that is already programmed for the vendor. Add or remove header rows Change the order of the columns Add or remove columns Change Date formats (there are 9 date formats that can be used)

2. Requesting the e-bill template to match your billing statements (recommended for uploading). By sending a sample billing statement (with multiple bookings/reservations) in an Excel or Text (delimited)9 format to ExpediaPay Technical Support, an e-bill template can be programmed to closely match the statement. There may be instances where they may

8 Destination Services = Non-lodging vendors; includes tours, attractions, shows, etc. Also referred to as Travel Shops9 Field Delimiters that are accepted are: Text (tab delimited)(*.txt), Comma (*.csv), Pipe, Semi-colon, or Tilde

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need to be modifications made to your statement before uploading. The ExpediaPay Technical support staff will inform you of any details regarding adjustments or modifications to the statement that need to be made once the e-bill template has been created.

Enter Invoice Screen

The Enter Invoice screen allows vendors to create an e-bill by entering invoice data online.

It is a fast, easy, secure option to enter invoice data. It is recommended for small to medium e-bills. You can enter the invoice data for up to 100 reservations per entered e-bill. Each vendor is allowed to submit 10 e-bill submissions per day (includes uploaded e-bills10).

To begin entering an e-bill:

1. Enter reservation data into required fields in the format indicated on the screen11.All required fields are listed with a *. All optional fields that do not require data to be entered will be labeled with gray non-bold text.

2. Click ‘Add to Invoice’

Optional: Invoice Number field in the Invoice Header Information is for renaming your e-bill. This allows you to use the Invoice Name/Number to search for the status of this e-bill later in Booking Item Search as well as Remittance Advice search once your e-bill has been processed successfully. This will also appear on your Remittance Advice as the ‘Invoice Number.’

10 If you are entering your e-bills you do not need to upload the same e-bills.11 If a customized template was created for your company, only the fields that are included on the e-bill template will appear for the Enter Invoice screen.

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While entering your invoice data, if you notice a data error after you have added the booking to the invoice, you can Edit or Delete the row and re-enter it.

When all bookings are entered into the Invoice Data field:

1. You can log out and continue to add bookings at a later time/date. Each time the ‘Add To Invoice’ button is clicked, the e-bill information in the Invoice

Data field is saved.2. Submit the e-bill for processing by clicking ‘Submit Invoice’.

After an e-bill is successfully submitted for processing, you will be presented with a pop-up confirmation with the e-bill’s assigned ‘TransmissionQueID’ number.

The ‘TransmissionQueID’ number is a tracking number confirming that ExpediaPay has stored your e-bill for processing which will take place within 24 to 48 hours from the time of the e-bill submission.

This will have two links:

1) Enter Another Invoice.2) Return to Home Page.

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Upload E-bill Files

The Upload Invoice screen allows vendors to upload invoice data via an e-bill spreadsheet. It is recommended for larger e-bills. You can create a spreadsheet that contains the invoice data for up to 100,000 reservations per e-bill. Each vendor is allowed to submit 10 e-bill submissions per day (includes entered e-bills12). This allows any vendor to submit a maximum of 1,000,000 reservations per vendor per day.

12 If you are uploading your e-bills you do not need to enter the same e-bills.

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E-bill Spreadsheets

If you do not have an e-bill spreadsheet, you may request one by contacting ExpediaPay Technical Support. The default e-bill template for each vendor is initially programmed to accept only Excel (*.xls) or Text (Tab delimited)(*.txt) formatted files.

STANDARD 9-COLUMN E-BILL FILE – DEFAULT LODGING TEMPLATE

First 11 rows are for the e-bill header. Header rows are ignored by ExpediaPay during processing. This is for your contact and e-bill information.

Do not remove any information from the header rows. This could cause the first few reservations to be ignored by ExpediaPay

First reservation is entered on row 12, next reservation on row 13, 14, etc.o Do not skip rows or leave any blank cells. This will cause errors.o Enter one reservation/booking per row.

Invoice data must be Excel formatted reservation information either manually entered or pasted to the spreadsheet.

o Comma, Pipe, Semi-colon or Tilde delimited data will not be read properly by ExpediaPay unless the system template is customized to read that delimiter.

Be aware that spaces before or after any data can cause errors.

Do not combine reservations/bookings.

Do not use currency symbols. $ € £ ; 50.00 OK

Do not use formulas or macros.

Do not add any information (e-bill total, remittance information, notes, etc.) below your last reservation or to the right of the last column.

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STANDARD 5-COLUMN E-BILL FILE – DEFAULT DESTINATION SERVICES TEMPLATE

First 8 rows are for the e-bill header. Header rows are ignored by ExpediaPay during processing. This is for your contact and e-bill information.

Do not remove any information from the header rows. This could cause the first few reservations to be ignored by ExpediaPay

First voucher is entered on row 9, next voucher on row 10, 11, etc.

o Do not skip rows or leave any blank cells. This will cause errors.

o Do not combine vouchers. Enter only one voucher per row.

Voucher information can be entered or pasted to the corresponding cells.

Be aware that spaces before or after any data can cause errors.

Invoice data must be Excel formatted voucher information either manually entered or pasted to the spreadsheet.

o Comma, Pipe, Semi-colon or Tilde delimited data will not be read properly by ExpediaPay unless the system template is customized to read that delimiter.

Do not use currency symbols. $ € £ ; 50.00 OK

Do not use formulas or macros.

Do not add any information (e-bill total, remittance information, notes, etc.) below your last voucher or to the right of the last column.

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Uploading E-bill Spreadsheets

When you have completed creating your e-bill; save it somewhere in your system as an Excel (.xls) file. You may continue adding reservations or vouchers to your spreadsheets as long as it does not exceed the maximum number of reservations for an e-bill spreadsheet (100,000 reservations or vouchers). When you are ready to upload your e-bill file:

1. Log into ExpediaPay.

2. Make sure the correct vendor that the reservations or vouchers belong to is selected in the ExpediaPay Home page.

3. Select the Upload Invoice link.

4. Click the Browse button

5. Navigate your system to locate the e-bill file you want to upload.

6. Double click on the file OR select the file and click Open

Once the file to upload has been selected, the path to where the file is located in your system will appear in the File to Upload field.

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Optional: You may enter an invoice number or re-name your e-bill file if you choose to do so. This will allow you to search for this e-bill in Booking Item Search and Remittance Advice search later once the e-bill has been successfully processed. This will also appear on your Remittance Advice as the ‘Invoice Number’

7. ONLY click the ‘Begin Upload’ button one time. If you click it more than once, you will submit duplicate copies of the same e-bill.

After an e-bill is successfully uploaded for processing, you will be presented with a pop-up confirmation with the e-bill’s assigned ‘TransmissionQueID’ number.

The ‘TransmissionQueID’ number is a tracking number confirming that ExpediaPay has stored your e-bill for processing which will take place within 24 to 48 hours from the time of the e-bill file upload.

This will have two links:

1) Enter Another Invoice.

2) Return to Home Page.

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ExpediaPay Notifications

ExpediaPay sends notifications regarding e-bill processing status or reminders to all Users that have access to a vendor. Initially, notifications are not turned on for vendors unless requested. This is to avoid confusion for new vendors if they have not reviewed any training materials or attended any live or online training sessions for ExpediaPay.

This section is to give examples of the notifications that are sent by ExpediaPay so that you can become familiar with what each one looks like and what each notification means to you, the vendor.

Expedia File Processing Confirmation

The Expedia File Processing Confirmation e-mail is sent when an e-bill has been processed in ExpediaPay. This does not guarantee that the e-bill will be processed successfully. The e-bill could still be rejected by Expedia’s accounting system due to excessive data errors.

The e-mail contains a hyperlink to Merchantpoint to access processing details of the e-bill. When the link is clicked (or the URL is copied and pasted into the address bar of your internet browser), it will take you to the Merchantpoint log-in screen. Once logged in, you will be shown the processing results of the e-bill as it is available through Invoice Status in ExpediaPay.

File Processed with Errors

The File Processed with Errors notification is to inform you that most of the file was processed. Only a few errors were found that need to be corrected and resubmitted.

However, if an error is caused by something other than a booking (i.e. ‘Total Amount’ added below the last booking on an e-bill file); you can ignore the error because the bookings were processed.

This e-mail also contains a hyperlink to Merchantpoint to access processing details and the Error Correction screen to correct the errors found on the e-bill.

Expedia File Upload Failure Notification

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If the e-bill was rejected, ExpediaPay will send the File Upload Failure Notification. Rejected files are the result of too many errors found on the e-bill by ExpediaPay or Expedia’s accounting system. ExpediaPay will allow the number of errors to total up to 10% of the total number of reservations/bookings before rejecting the e-bill.

Examples:

100 booking e-bill with 1 to 10 errors = e-bill processed with errors (see File Processed with Errors notification on previous page).

100 booking e-bill with 11+ errors = Rejected4 booking e-bill with 1 error = Rejected

(1 error on a 4 reservation e-bill is 25% of the e-bill.)

All errors must be corrected and resubmitted or they will not be processed in a timely manner.

Invoice Submission Reminder

This notification is an automated e-mail reminder sent by ExpediaPay.

Its purpose to inform vendors that there have been no successfully processed e-bills submitted through ExpediaPay within the last week or month.

If you find that your e-bills were rejected or you have an e-bill that was not submitted for processing; simply submit the e-bill through ExpediaPay. If you do not have any e-bills to submit you may ignore this notification.

If you are not sure that your e-bills have been processed, please use the Booking Item Search13 or Invoice Status14 in ExpediaPay to find the status of processing and/or payment for any bookings or e-bills. This will save you time waiting for a response from either Supplier Relations or ExpediaPay Technical Support.

If a notification has not arrived, you may not be signed up to receive them or your e-bill has not been processed and it cannot be viewed in Booking Item Search or Invoice Status after 72 hours; contact ExpediaPay Technical Support for assistance. If you need further assistance regarding the payment for any outstanding e-bills, please contact your Supplier Relations Representatives15 for further assistance.

13 Booking Item Search see pages: 23 through 2514 Invoice Status see pages: 27 to 3315 Contact information for the Supplier Relations Department is located on the last page of this manual.

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Invoice and Payment Research

In addition to electronically processing e-bills, ExpediaPay is also a convenient, self-service resource for processing and payment information. ExpediaPay provides research tools that vendors can use to view processing details and payment information that was not readily available before. This drastically reduces the amount of time you would spend waiting for answers to invoice processing/payment questions or requests for copies of Remittance Advices. Typically, it could take 3 to 5 business days for a request for a copy of a missing Remittance Advice to be fulfilled. It only takes a few seconds to download the same Remittance Advice through ExpediaPay. Another advantage is you can view this information 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Research Tools Available

Booking Item Search – Review any individual booking, invoice or e-bill for processing and payment status and/or payment history.

Remittance Advice Search – Review and print copies of Remittance Advices (payment details) at any time.

Invoice Status - Allows the vendors to go online and research the e-bills submitted through ExpediaPay to determine the status of processing and/or payment, at any time, day or night.

Report Library – Expanded report versions of the research tools above. Report Library reports are exportable to Excel.

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Booking Item SearchBooking Item Search allows vendors to research the processing and payment status of any

reservation, invoice or e-bill that can be found in Expedia’s accounting system no matter how the reservation, invoice or e-bill was submitted for processing.

Recommended Search criteria for vendors:

Booking Item ID: Expedia Reservation # or Voucher #Or

Supplier Invoice ID (Vendor Invoice #): Vendor Invoice number entered per guest on an e-bill (if required on the e-bill template) can be used to view a single booking or reservation. Or, Invoice Number used for renaming your e-bill (if applicable).

Or Supplier Confirmation: The confirmation number sent to Expedia or Hotels.com by a

vendor’s Reservation Department to confirm the reservation or booking when it was made

Booking Item Search – Booking Not Processed or Paid

Booking Item Search can be used to show if a booking or reservation has not been processed or paid. If a booking or reservation is unpaid or not processed, you may submit the booking on an e-bill. If the booking or reservation was recently submitted through ExpediaPay, allow 24 to 48 hours for processing details to be posted.

Please keep in mind; all e-bills submitted through ExpediaPay; even past due e-bills,

bookings or reservations are processed based on contracted Net payment terms.

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Tip: You can also use this tool to look up guest names and booking dates of any booking or reservation prior to submitting your e-bills to confirm the booking information.


Booking Item Search – Processing

If an invoice or e-bill is currently being processed, Booking Item Search will post the current processing status and expected payment date.

While an invoice or e-bill is processing the Invoice Status field informs you what processing stage the invoice or e-bill is in currently.

INVOICE STATUS DEFINITIONS (IN ORDER OF OCCURRENCE):

In Progress – The booking/reservation or e-bill has been submitted but has not been checked for processing accuracy.

Reconciled – The booking/reservation or e-bill has been checked to ensure accurate processing. The booking/reservation or e-bill will remain in Reconciled status until the Payment Date arrives.

Remitted – The Remittance Advice for the booking/reservation or e-bill becomes available to view. The booking/reservation or e-bill has been sent to Expedia’s payment system but no payment has been issued yet.

Paid – Payment has been issued for the booking/reservation or e-bill on the Payment Date that is posted. For vendors receiving checks, this is the date the check is printed. For vendors receiving EFT16, this is the date the payment is transmitted to your bank to post to your account

Booking Item Search – Paid (Payment History)

16 EFT is Electronic Funds Transfer

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When the payment date has arrived and a payment been issued for a booking, reservation or e-bill, a payment “history” will become available to view. Any payments made for the booking/reservation or e-bill will be posted with:

Payment Dates Amounts Paid Reference # (Check or Electronic Funds

Transfer [EFT] number) Remittance Advice ID (payment details)

The Remittance Advice ID number on this screen is hyperlinked to a copy of the Remittance Advice. Click on the Remittance Advice ID number to view the Remittance Advice. If you wish to print the Remittance Advice, make sure you set your printing preferences to print as “Landscape.”

This screen is also useful when researching if a reservation or booking has been paid as well as if there were multiple payments made for the same reservation or booking. It will post each instance when the reservation or booking was submitted for processing as well as any payments or exceptions (discrepancies) for each submission. This will allow you to view how much your reservation or booking was paid for and when they were paid.

One thing to also keep in mind while using Booking Item Search is that it will only allow you to view reservations or bookings that belong to the vendor that is selected at the time you are using Booking Item Search. If you search for a reservation or booking that does not belong to the vendor you have selected, no results will be posted. If you need to search for bookings that belong to another vendor, go to the Home Page and select the vendor first before selecting Booking Item Search.

Remittance Advice SearchThe Remittance Advice Search screen allows vendors to review or print Remittance Advices

(payment details) at any time. This eliminates the time spent waiting for a copy of your payment details if you requested one be faxed or e-mailed to you.

To begin a search:

1. Enter any of the following into the fields provided:

Remittance Advice ID # Supplier Invoice ID

o Vendor Invoice number used for a single booking or reservation. Or, Invoice Number used for renaming your e-bill [if applicable]

Date range to view multiple remittance advices (up to 6 years).

2. Then, click the ‘Search’ button.

The Remittance Advice list will be in order by Payment Date (most recent payment listed first). Please keep in mind that the Payment Date that is posted may be several days before you received the actual payment depending on your payment method.

Each Remittance Advice ID number is hyperlinked to a copy of the Remittance Advice. Click on the number to view the Remittance Advice. If you wish to print the Remittance Advice, make sure you set your printing preferences to print as “Landscape.”

Invoice StatusWithin the first 24 to 48 hours of submitting an e-bill through ExpediaPay, you can view the

processing status of that or any other previously submitted e-bill by using Invoice Status.

Upon selecting Invoice Status, you will be shown the status of each e-bill that was uploaded or entered within the last 30 days.

To find a specific e-bill:

Enter the TransmissionQueID (posted when you submitted your e-bill for processing) to find the status of a single e-bill uploaded or entered in ExpediaPay.

Or Enter a single date or date range to view the status of multiple e-bill submissions.

Each e-bill will be listed in chronological order with the most recently submitted e-bill listed

first.

The file name of each e-bill (if uploaded) will be the same name as what you saved it as on your system. If the e-bill was submitted using Enter Invoice, it will be named “Vendor Extranet Submittal.” If you correct an e-bill, the file name will be named “ExpediaPaySubmittal.(date: yyyymmdd).(number).txt”

Processing Status will show if the e-bill was processed successfully the system will post “Complete.” If there were too many errors found on the e-bill, it will post “Reject.”

Once you have found the e-bill you wish to view, you can:

Use the Error Count hyperlink to view and correct errors that were found on the e-bill (if necessary)

Use File Details hyperlink to view actual file upload details Use Invoice Details hyperlink to view actual Expedia invoice details (includes

payment exceptions and reasons for the exceptions) Use File Processed Email to view the system generated emails that were created

from your upload

Invoice Status – Error Correction

If your e-bill was successfully processed with errors or it was rejected, you can use the Error Count hyperlink to view and correct the errors without having to create a new e-bill to re-submit the reservations/bookings or e-bill.

Once the Error Count number hyperlink is clicked, the Error Correction screen will appear.

To view the reason(s) for the error(s) that were found on your e-bill you can place your cursor over either of these two error indicators:

For processing errors17 = only the Row number will be bold REDOr

For e-bill formatting errors18 = only one cell will be highlighted entirely in RED

17 Processing Errors are found by Expedia’s accounting system. These errors are caused by the data on the e-bill which either is mathematically incorrect: Example: Total Amounts and Booking Amounts entered are switched; Booked: 330.00 + Tax: 30.00 ≠ Total: 300.00 or if a date is incorrect:

Example: the date entered is 02/30/2009; the date does not exist which causes an error)18 Formatting Errors are found by ExpediaPay. These errors are caused by entering data incorrectly or by not re-formatting the data that is entered or pasted onto the e-bill:

Example: expected format per e-bill template is mm/dd/yyyy. The pasted or entered date on the spreadsheet automatically changes to m/d/yyyy or mm/dd/yy. If the date is not re-formatted, it will cause a formatting error. Formatting errors are also caused by leaving required fields blank

On the Error Correction Screen, the icons on the left and right sides of the grid will allow you to edit/correct only the reservation/booking(s) with errors that ExpediaPay found on your e-bill.

Click on the Delete Icon if you want to delete the reservation/booking.

If the e-bill was processed with errors, all other reservation/booking(s) that were included on the e-bill will not appear on the screen because they have been processed. If the e-bill was rejected (like the example e-bill above), the reservation or booking(s) without errors will appear but will not be available to edit because they do not need to be corrected. If there are extra fields found on a row within the e-bill the row will be removed. Removed rows will be listed separately below the correction grid.

After clicking the Edit icon, the reservation/booking will open the cells for you to enter the invoice data that needs to be corrected or added. When finished with the row, click the Update

icon to update the row or the Cancel icon to cancel the edit. Keep in mind, all required fields must have the appropriate invoice data entered.

If you click the Update icon without filling in all required fields, the system will not allow you to update the row.

Fill in all required fields, when prompted and then click the Update icon .

Click on the Delete icon if you want to delete the reservation/booking.

Click on the Edit icon to begin editing /correction of a reservation/ booking

To re-enter or add a booking or reservation click on the New Row icon.

While correcting errors, if you run out of time or wish to continue correcting the e-bill at a later time, you can click the Save Work button and finish correcting later.

When all errors on the correction grid have been corrected; the ‘Submit Corrections’ button will become active to submit the e-bill or the corrected reservations for processing.

When the ‘Submit Corrections’ button is clicked, the corrected rows (and all other rows if the e-bill was rejected), will be submitted for processing.

ExpediaPay will then provide a new TransmissionQueID for the new file that is generated as the result of the submitted corrections.

Invoice Status – View File Details

The View File Details link will allow you to review your file details. This is close to the same information that is found on the Expedia File Processing Confirmation e-mail19.

Select the ‘View File’ link to view a copy of the actual file that was uploaded.

Select ‘View Invoice’ to view the processing details for each booking. If there are Failed Transactions, a link will appear that will link to the Error Correction screen20.

Invoice Status – Invoice Details

Invoice Details allows vendors the ability to view payment details of the processed e-bill within the first 24 to 48 hours of upload or entry.

19 On Page 1920 Pages 27 through 29

Invoice Status – Invoice Details

The invoice details screen can be used to view how your e-bill and each reservation or booking is being processed. The invoice Details are available to view within 24 to 48 hours after submitting an e-bill through ExpediaPay.

The Invoice Header includes:

Invoice Number (Expedia’s invoice number that is assigned to your e-bill)

Vendor Name Vendor Invoice Amount Invoice Status (see Page 23 for Invoice

Status Definitions) Invoice Amount Billed Received Date Remittance Date (date the Remittance

Advice will become available)

The Invoice Line Items includes:

Reservation Number (Booking ID) Guest Name Beginning Date (Check-in Date) Ending Date (Check-out Date) Confirmation Code (Booking Confirmation) Total Nights Invoice Amount (Total Amount billed on the e-bill) Reconciled Amount (Amount to be paid) Exceptions (Amount that was not processed for payment due to a discrepancy)

You can view the reason for the Exceptions by placing your cursor over the Exception amount.

If an Exception is posted and the Invoice Status in the header shows ‘In Progress’; the invoice will be reviewed for accuracy. If it is determined that the Exception should have been processed, it will be adjusted. If the Exception is adjusted you will still see the Exception; however, the new amount to be paid will be posted in the Reconciled Amount.

Tip: If the Invoice Amount does not equal the Reconciled Amount and the Invoice Status header is ‘Reconciled’; you may contact Supplier Relations to dispute the exception amount before the Remittance Date (if necessary).

Invoice Status – File Processed Email

The File Processed Email link will allow you to view a copy of the e-mail notifications that were sent for each e-bill that was submitted.

If there are any problems using the Invoice Status screen, contact ExpediaPay Technical Support for assistance. Until the problem is fixed, you can view most of the same information from the Booking Item Search screen21.

21 Pages 23 through 25

Report Library

Report Library allows you to view and download the same information found in ExpediaPay with a few added bonuses that can be useful to when you reconcile your books.

While using Report Library, keep in mind that it sometimes takes longer to retrieve information from Report Library than it does from ExpediaPay. This is because Report Library includes more information from multiple systems to produce the report that is requested.

• Keep the searches small; the larger the search, the longer it takes Report Library to retrieve the data. Try to avoid looking for 6 months worth of data when you can break it up into 2 or 3 month intervals. This will help speed up the search for the data. Report Library will not generate a report if the number of rows that are involved in the search exceeds 35,000 rows. Also, some reports only allow searches for a maximum number of days.

• When requesting a report, select ‘Go’ first instead of ‘Export’. It will shorten the time it takes for the report to appear on the screen. Once the report appears, you can then select ‘Export’ if needed.

Invoice Submission

The Invoice Submission report allows vendors the ability to view a processing status report of uploaded or entered e-bills submitted through ExpediaPay; same as Invoice Status in ExpediaPay. However, this report also includes processing and payment information for each e-bill.

How to retrieve the report:

1. Enter the start date for the search.2. Enter the end date of the search (maximum 31 days after start date).3. Use the dropdown list to select the vendor (you will only be able to access the

vendor(s) you are assigned to in ExpediaPay).4. Click ‘Go’.

Vendors can use this report to keep track of which e-bills have been paid.

Producer & Company User Report

The Producer & Company User report allows the ability to view User information for each person that has access your vendor(s). This report is similar to the View All Users link in Payment Information


1. Use the dropdown list to select the vendor (you will only be able to access the vendor(s) you are assigned to in ExpediaPay).

2. Click ‘Go’.

Validation Error Details Report

The Validation Error Details report allows vendors the ability to view the errors found on their uploaded or entered e-bills.

This report should be used if Invoice Status does not list any errors that were found on your e-bill. If you are still not able to determine what caused the error and need assistance, please contact ExpediaPay Technical Support.



2. Enter the start date for the search.3. Enter the end date of the search.4. Click ‘Go’.

Vendor Payment Report

This report allows you to view payment details for any payment issued by Expedia.

This report includes: Payment Reference Number (the check

or EFT number) Payment Date Amount Paid Currency Remittance Advice ID Invoice Amt Received Date Remittance Amt Payment Status Stop Payment Date

Reason (for Stop Payment)

Cleared Date Bank Name Last 4 digits of the

Account Number (for EFT Payments)


1. User the dropdown list to select the vendor (you will only be able to access the vendor(s) you are assigned to in ExpediaPay).

2. Enter the Payment start date for the search.3. Enter the Payment end date of the search.4. Click ‘Go’.

Vendor Remittance Advice Report

The Vendor Remittance Advice report allows the ability to view/download multiple Remittance Advices at the same time.

This report includes the following information listed per reservation or booking:

Remittance Advice Remittance Date Vendor Name Last Payment Date (The date

the check was printed or the EFT was sent)

Invoice Number Date Received (Date the invoice

was received) Expedia Invoice ID Reservation Number Control Code (If applicable for

consolidated vendors) Vendor Invoice Number Guest Name Invoice Amt (Amount that was

billed)

Difference Amt (Exception; amount not paid)

Paid Amt Reference Number (Exception

number) Reference Amount (Exception

amount) Reason (For the exception) Payment Type (Check/EFT/etc.) Payment Reference No

(Check/EFT/etc. number) Travel Product (Expedia or

Hotels.com) Payment Vendor ID Begin Date of Use (Check-in

date) End Date of Use (Check-out

date) Product Description

Tip: If you keep your booking accounts separate, this report also includes a column that lists which website (Expedia or Hotels.com) each reservation was booked from. Exporting this report to Excel will help you sort out which reservation belongs to which account.



2. Enter the Payment start date for the search.3. Enter the Payment end date of the search (Maximum is 365 days).4. Click ‘Go’.

This report could speed up the time spent reconciling accounts if you export the data to an Excel file and combining it with your billing statements using a Data Sort through Excel. Or, if you use Microsoft Office Access, you can import the Remittance Advice Excel file and your billing statement as tables and create a query or produce a payment report.

View Input Documents

Retrieve copies of uploaded or entered e-bills that were submitted through ExpediaPay.



2. Enter the start date for the search.3. Enter the end date of the search (maximum is 90 days).4. Click ‘Go’.5. Select the invoice to export to Excel by clicking on the Input Document ID number.

To transfer Entered Invoice information to an Excel e-bill file:

1. Copy the invoice information on the exported e-bill page.2. Open a new Excel file or e-bill spreadsheet.3. Click on the first cell below the last header row.4. Right mouse click and select ‘Paste”

a. If the exported file information appears within an internet browser window; select “Paste Special”

b. Select ‘Text’.c. Click ‘OK’

5. Correct all errors and re-format the date fields as needed.6. Save the file.7. Log-in to ExpediaPay and follow the procedure to upload the file on pages 15 through

19.

Tip: If you used Enter Invoice to submit your e-bill and it is rejected, the e-bill information can be downloaded to Excel from this report. It can then be corrected (add the appropriate number of header rows) and uploaded into ExpediaPay instead of having to re-enter each booking.

Payment Information

The Payment Information screen allows you to view current payment information and banking details for the selected vendor.

If the payment information or the name of your company is incorrect, you will need to send a Merchant Payment Information Form (MPIF) to Expedia’s Vendor Banking Team to update your account with any updates or corrections that need to be made to your payment information.

MPIF forms can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate link below the Payment Information window. Fill in the information that needs to be changed. When finished, click the ‘Sign Here’ link at the bottom to electronically sign and send the document to Expedia’s Vendor Banking Team.

Click View All Users link to see a list of all Users that currently have access to the selected vendor.

If you need to add or remove a User from the list, you can contact ExpediaPay Technical Support or ExpediaPay New User Account Creation ([email protected]) to update the account.


Frequently Asked Questions

1. I haven’t received payment for an invoice I submitted. What is the status?

Answer: Payments will be made based on the terms set up with your property and are based on date of invoice receipt. You can check the payment status to view payment dates using Booking Item Search (pages: 25 to 27). If the posted payment date has passed and the payment should have arrived, contact Supplier Relations for assistance.

2. My email address has changed and/or I need to add a new User to ExpediaPay; who do I contact?

Answer: Please email [email protected] for any User updates.

3. How do I change my e-bill file or invoice entry format (e-bill template)?

Answer: Please email [email protected] for any format change requests and your e-bill template will be updated accordingly. Once your e-bill template is updated, all subsequent e-bill submissions will need to be in the updated format or they will not be processed.

4. Who can I contact if I still have questions about ExpediaPay?

Answer: Please contact ExpediaPay Technical Support

E-mail: [email protected] Phone (US, Canada and parts of the Caribbean): 888-EXP-1-STOP (888-397-1-7867)Phone (European Countries): 0-800-9EXPEDIA (800-9-397-3342)

Or: 0-1-817-524-4129Phone (All Other Countries): 001-702-933-5452

5. How do I obtain my current password?

Answer: Log on to Merchantpoint; https://merchantpoint.expedia.com. Click on the “Forgot your password?” link. Enter your User Name/email address associated with your account to have it sent to you. Please note that this information is provided to you via email upon initial set up. In order to receive the password reminders you must make sure your e-mail security settings are set-up to allow e-mails from the domain name: @merchantpoint.com

6. What browser does ExpediaPay support?

Answer: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 or higher and Mozilla Firefox are supported.

7. How many e-bills can I submit through ExpediaPay, and what is considered an e-bill?

Answer: 10 e-bill submissions are allowed each day. If more than 10 are submitted, the 11th + e-bill(s) will not be processed. 1 uploaded file or entered invoice submission is considered 1 e-bill.

https://merchantpoint.expedia.com/




8. How many reservations can I submit in 1 e-bill?

Answer: ExpediaPay can process up to 100,000 reservations in one uploaded e-bill spreadsheet. If you are entering your e-bill online, you can enter up to 100 reservations per e-bill.

9. Do I have to use the default template format?

Answer: Yes, if it is the current active e-bill template. However, you can submit a request to ExpediaPay Technical Support to customize your template as long as it contains the minimum required fields.

10. What fields are required in the upload file?

Answer: Required for Lodging vendors: Expedia Booking # 2 out of 3 date fields (check-in, check-out, and number of nights billed) Booking Amount (Net cost for the room) Tax Amount Total Amount.

Required for Destination Services vendors: Expedia Voucher # Activity Date Voucher Amount

11. Is there another way, besides uploading an Excel file, to submit my e-bill?

Answer: Yes you can enter your e-bill information manually on ExpediaPay through the “Enter Invoice” link. This is suited for smaller properties with a low number of reservations.

12. Do I have to enter all of the fields shown during training?

Answer: Only if a field is noted as (optional) it is not required and you do not need to enter any values in that field. You can also request your template to be customized to remove the field if desired.

13. I submitted my invoice and received a success email but never received payment. Why did this happen?

Answer: There are two steps to the e-bill upload/entry process. The first step checks the data formatting for errors. If it is correct ExpediaPay will send out the Expedia File Processing Confirmation e-mail. The second step is the automated upload into Expedia’s accounting system to match the bookings or reservations on the e-bill with booking information in the accounting system. Once reconciled, the e-bill remains in our accounting system until the contracted Net payment terms expire. You can use Booking Item Search (pages: 25 to 27) to view the projected payment date of any reservation, invoice or e-bill.

14. Can I submit reservations for guests that have not yet stayed?

Answer: No, if you submit reservations prior to the guest’s check-out date, the booking will not be processed correctly. Please make sure that the reservations you are submitting for payment are post consumption (the client has checked out or used the service).

15. If only a few reservations were rejected, do I need to resubmit the entire file?

Answer: No, you will only need to correct or resubmit the rejected reservations.

16. Will the email notification tell me if there were any rate discrepancies or other issues with the booking?

Answer: No, the ExpediaPay notifications are only for e-bill processing status updates and data formatting issues (for example a date entered in a currency field), it will not report on payment differences. You can view such discrepancies within 24 to 48 hours of invoice submission through Invoice Status in ExpediaPay (see page 34). You will also continue to receive a remittance advice with each payment which will explain all payment differences in detail.

17. How frequent are payments processed, and is there a limit to them?

Answer: We process payments 5 days a week, Monday thru Friday, with no limits on the number of payments you can receive. The more e-bills you submit the more payments you will receive!

18. How fast will my payment be processed?

Answer: If your e-bill is successfully processed, your payment will be issued according to the terms set up in your contract with Expedia and Hotels.com. EFT payments generally take 24-72 hours of the Paid Date to reach the vendor account. Checks are printed on business days and may take 5-7 days from the Paid Date to arrive depending on postal service schedules.

19. I signed up for EFT, how soon will I see payment in my account?

Answer: Upon receipt of the Merchant Payment Information Form (MPIF; see page 41) it will take approximately 5-7 business days to set up and convert the account.

20. Will I be notified when my account has been set-up for EFT?

Answer: Yes. You will receive an e-mail from the Vendor Banking team notifying you that the MPIF has been received and your account has been updated.

21. Can I look up past invoices I submitted prior to using ExpediaPay?

Answer: Yes, the Booking Item Search (pages: 25 to 27) will allow you to view past invoices submitted.

22. Can I look up past Remittance Advices?

Answer: Yes, the Remittance Advice Search (page 28) will allow you to view past Remittance Advices from 6 years ago. You can also use the Remittance Advice report in Report Library (page 39) to export multiple Remittance Advices into an Excel format.

23. After I submit my e-bill for processing is that it?

Answer: After your e-bill has been processed an email confirmation will be sent stating whether the e-bill was accepted or rejected. The email will contain a hyperlink to Invoice Status to show you the processing status and if there were errors found during processing. The errors will have to be corrected or resubmitted. If the e-bill is processed, you can track the processing of the e-bill in Invoice Status (pages 29 to 35).

Contact Information

ExpediaPay Technical Support: Provides technical assistance and training for vendors using the ExpediaPay site.

What we do:

Provide training for vendors on using ExpediaPay Give technical assistance for vendors if they encounter problems while using

ExpediaPay Customizing e-bill templates Providing copies of e-bill spreadsheets Add or remove Users or vendors from ExpediaPay Provide guidance to vendors for easier use of ExpediaPay

Office Hours: Monday through Friday 6:00AM to 4:00PM (Pacific Time)

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone (US, Canada and parts of the Caribbean): 888-EXP-1-STOP (888-397-1-7867)

Phone (European Countries): 0-800-9EXPEDIA (800-9-397-3342)

Or: 0-1-817-524-4129

Phone (All Other Countries): 001-702-933-5452

ExpediaPay New User Account Creation: Creates User accounts by request

What we do:

Add or remove Users or vendors from ExpediaPay




Supplier Relations Department: Provides assistance for vendors with accounting issues.

What we do:

Tax, Cancellation & Contract rate disputes/discrepancies 365 payment requests Debit memo (credit) requests Relocation invoices

Lodging Vendors (Inside the US)

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 888-EXP-1-STOP (397-1-7867)Fax: 866-572-9505

Lodging Vendors (Nevada)

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 888-673-2075Fax: 866-572-9505

Lodging Vendors (Europe)

E-mail: [email protected] Phone (Europe): 0-800-9EXPEDIA

(800-9-397-3342) or 0-1-817-524-4129

Fax: 001-702-357-8012

Lodging Vendors in Other Countries

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 001-702-933-5452Fax: 001-702-933-5452

Destination Services Vendors (non-lodging vendors: tours, attractions, shows, etc.)


Phone (Inside US): 888-EXP-1-STOP (397-1-7867)

Phone (Europe): 0-800-9EXPEDIA (800-9-397-3342) or 0-1-817-524-4129

Phone (All Other Countries): 001-702-933-5452Fax: 214-792-8677






ExpediaPay Manual

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expediapay notifications

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