Frequently Asked Questions
What is a ‘transaction’?
A transaction is another way of describing a group of time critical or business sensitive electronic messages (such as an order, order acknowledgement, delivery note or invoice). The number of product lines (at ISBN level) in a single message will vary. Likewise, the number of messages in a transaction will vary. The variability is dependent on several factors, influenced by the organisation type and its work practices. A message can only contain ISBNs (or other acceptable product identifiers) for one message type (such as an order or order acknowledgement). A transaction can contain multiple messages and multiple message types.
All ‘transactions’ will be sent and received according to a schedule set up in Booksolve Connect. This is known as ‘batch type processing’. It is electronic and automated, but it is not instantaneous (in near real time).
Remember that it is standard industry practice to consolidate physical consignments of book and book related products to include backlist items (ordered recently or recorded due if unavailable) and new titles (usually ordered well in advance of publication date), in the same consignment.
The number of product lines in an order message (and the number of order type messages) downloaded in a transaction by a book supplier will not necessarily reflect the number of lines in the subsequent order acknowledgement, delivery note or invoice message (or the number of messages) downloaded in a transaction by the bookseller. This is because not all titles will be available immediately, and other previously dued lines will have been released.
What is an ‘uploaded transaction’?
An ‘uploaded transaction’ is a group of messages that is sent to another book industry organisation. That organisation saves the messages to their computer or local network. This can be for viewing purposes or to take some further action with the messages (such as importing to EPoS, accounting software or a sales order processing system). Uploads are not charged for.
What is a ‘downloaded transaction’?
A ‘downloaded transaction’ is a group of messages that is received from another book industry organisation. It is saved to the user’s computer or local network for viewing purposes or to take some further action with the messages (such as importing to EPoS, accounting software or a sales order processing system). Downloads are charged for.
What is a ‘bundle of transactions’?
A bundle is simply a block of downloadable transactions. There are two bundle types available, designed for use either by a book supplier or a bookseller.
The bundles reflect the types of transactions that the organisation will download as part of everyday business and will be available in varying sizes. The price per transaction will fall as the bundle size increases. The bundles of transactions can be used for any type of download, based on the organisation type.
What is a ‘free bundle’ of transactions?
The free bundle of downloadable transactions will be allocated to each registrant organisation on successful completion of the registration process. One free bundle will be allocated to the registrant organisation per contract year. The free bundle must be used within the current contract year. Bundles cannot be transferred to another business or carried over from one contract year to the next. There is no entitlement to a refund should there be unused transactions in the bundle at the end of the contract year.
Free bundles are allocated on a discretionary basis and subject to annual review by Booksolve.
What is a contract period?
For the purposes of agreeing to and complying with Booksolve’s business terms and conditions, customers will be subject to a contract period. The contract period will be incorporated into the current subscription period for existing customers.
For new customers, the initial contract period will run from the first day of the calendar month following registration, for 12 calendar months. This will mean that the initial contract period may be slightly longer than one calendar year. For example, if a contract is signed (or the client registers) on 6 October 2023, it will end on 31 October 2024. The second contract period will begin on 1 November 2024 and end on 31 October 2025.
Uploads are not charged for, subject to a fair usage clause.
What bundles of transactions are available for upload?
For booksellers (including wholesalers receiving product):
- Orders
- Returns Announcements (Requests)
- Returns Confirmations
Additionally, booksellers wishing to make stock enquiries in near real time (otherwise known as price & availability (P&A) enquiries), can upload these using Booksolve Connect’s API functionality.
For book suppliers (including self-distributed publishers, distributors and wholesalers supplying product):
- Order Acknowledgements
- Invoices
- Delivery Notes
- Returns Instructions (authorisations and rejections)
- Credit Notes
- Suppliers responding to stock enquiries in near real time (otherwise known as price & availability (P&A) enquiries), can upload these using Booksolve Connect’s API functionality.
What paid for bundles of transactions are available for download?
For booksellers (including wholesalers receiving product), the bundles include the following transactions:
- Order acknowledgments
- Invoices
- Delivery Notes
- Returns Instructions (authorisations and rejections)
- Credit Notes
Booksellers wishing to collect responses to stock enquiries in near real time (otherwise known as price & availability (P&A) enquiries), can download these. Unlike the transactions listed above, near real time enquiries only include one product code (such as an ISBN) per enquiry, so each enquiry represents one thousandth of a transaction for download. One thousand near real time stock enquiry responses are the equivalent of one order acknowledgement, invoice, delivery note, returns instruction or credit note.
For book suppliers (including self-distributed publishers, distributors and wholesalers supplying product), the paid for bundles include the following transactions:
- Orders
- Returns Announcements (Requests)
- Returns Confirmations
Suppliers wishing to collect stock enquiries in near real time (otherwise known as price & availability (P&A) enquiries), can download these. Unlike the transactions listed above, near real time enquiries only include one product code (such as an ISBN) per enquiry, so each enquiry represents one thousandth of a transaction for download. One thousand near real time enquiries are the equivalent of one order, returns announcement or returns confirmation message.
What product identifiers can be used in Booksolve Connect?
Connect supports ISBN13, EAN8, UPC12 or EAN13.
What is a ‘fair usage clause’?
Transactions that are uploaded are not charged for. This means that Booksolve customers can upload substantial volumes of transactions, with each transaction potentially containing multiple messages (and product lines). Whilst in near real time transactions only contain one ISBN per message, the nature of the in near real time service, using API calls, means that many messages can be sent in a very short period.
The uploads are subject to an upper limit or ‘fair usage clause’ of 50,000 transactions (one in near real time message represents one thousandth of an uploaded transaction) in any one contract year. This limit is intended to ensure the on-going availability (uptime), reliability, stability and performance of Booksolve Connect for all customers. It avoids the need for ad hoc fees to be levied.
What are the transaction bundle prices?
The rate card is available on the Booksolve Connect website on https://www.booksolveconnect.com/pricing. There are no administration charges or hidden fees. The rate card is intentionally simple and transparent.
In each contract period, the customer will also be given a free bundle of 1,000 downloadable transactions. For flexibility, the downloadable transactions can be used for in near real time messages too. Remember that near real time enquiries only include one product code (such as an ISBN) per enquiry, so each represents one thousandth of an ordinary transaction for download.
Do paid for bundles of transactions have an expiry date?
Booksolve understands that clients may use transactions at varying speeds. From the point of purchase, clients have 5 calendar years to use all the transactions in a bundle. Unused transactions (and whole, unused bundles) will expire 5 calendar years after their purchase. No refunds will be given for unused bundles or portions of bundles on expiry.
Do the prices of bundles change?
Booksolve reviews pricing on an annual basis to ensure that it remains competitive and reflects the prevailing market conditions. Clients will be given [insert time period] calendar months’ notice of any changes.
THE REGISTRATION PROCESS
Registration on Booksolve Connect is risk free, both for potential users of the service and for those that wish to go live straightaway.
a) For potential users of the platform who want to trial the service before deciding on its suitability, complete the registration process.
For the purposes of trialling the service, a GLN with a ’29’ prefix will be generated as part of the registration process. GLNs prefixed with ‘29’ are intended for in house use (for exchanging files for upload and download between different parties in the same business). These GLNs must never be used in the live book supply chain. A free bundle of 1,000 downloadable transactions will be allocated on successful completion of the registration process to trial the service.
Should the registrant subsequently wish to go live on the Connect service, then a new registration will be required quoting the registrant organisation’s ‘live’ GLN. Again, a free bundle of 1,000 downloadable transactions will be allocated on successful completion of the registration process.
b) For businesses that wish to start using the service immediately, complete the registration process, quoting the registrant organisation’s ‘live’ GLN. Once successful, the registrant organisation will be allocated a free bundle of 1,000 downloadable transactions. There is no obligation to buy any further bundles of transactions until the free bundle is exhausted. At that point, further bundles can be purchased, or the registrant can walk away from the service if it is not deemed suitable.
The purpose of the free bundle allocation is to encourage customers to familiarise themselves with the service and to support the greater use of Booksolve Connect.
Is there a Connect trial period for new or existing Booksolve customers?
Refer to the registration process above. Use of test GLNs and a free bundle of downloadable transactions makes Booksolve Connect risk free.