Connect Logistics & AGLC integration

Breww has a purpose-built integration for working with Connect Logics platform and the AGLC for use in Alberta, Canada. This makes it really easy to import data from Liquor Connect and AGLC Liquor Agency Portal (LAP) to Breww, and export data from Breww for AGLC Liquor Sales Application (LSA). If you're an alcohol producer in Alberta, this is a game changer!

Once the integration has been set up, you will have access to some tools that make working with Breww and Liquor Connect easier than ever.

It should be noted that the LSA can only process orders with numeric invoice numbers in the range of 1-99999. To help ensure you stay within their restrictions, you can take advantage of separate invoice number sequences in Breww.

Please see our guide on how to set up invoice number sequences and use it in conjunction with the information below.

We would recommend creating number sequences that match the following:

For the "Direct deliveries" sequence (with no prefix), you should make sure to set the Next number to the next invoice number that you'd like to use to ensure you don't re-use a number that has already been submitted to Liquor Connect in the past.

For the other sequence, the prefix "LC-" is just our suggestion, but it's up to you what to use. The only requirement is that there is a prefix that keeps the number ranges separate from the "Direct deliveries" sequence. If you use a sequence prefix that you've not used before Breww, you can set this to start with the Next number of 1 (one).

Then, set your defaults for both invoices and credit notes to the Direct deliveries number sequence:

The plan is for orders fulfilled by Liquor Connect on your behalf to be imported to Breww using the Connect Logistics imports sequence and as such all numbers will be prefixed with LC-. Orders delivered directly to the customer by you will use the sequence with no prefix. This should also be shared with invoices and credit notes. This ensures that when you export these for the AGLC upload file, they will always be suitable numbers for AGLC to process (and fit with their restrictions/limitations).

You should create a Site in Breww to track what stock is available in the Connect Logistics 3PL facility.

We recommend, to avoid any confusion, that you name this site Connect Logistics. If you need a guide on how to create sites, please see Creating sites & locations.

When you physically ship stock to Connect Logistics, you should move/transfer this stock to the Connect Logistics site in Breww. We would recommend using a zero-value stock transfer order, but it's up to you, and you can use any of the stock transfer options.

This ensures that you can easily see available stock levels at the Connect Logistics site at any time. When importing orders to Breww that have already been fulfilled by Liquor Connect, you will be able to link these orders to this fulfillment site to ensure that they are always fulfilled from that site, and stock levels at their site get updated automatically.

Invoices can be completely customised in Breww. As there are strict rules dictating how invoices should be laid out, we have created a dedicated invoice PDF template for use with Alberta orders. The normal "Breww Modern" invoice template will be used by default for all other orders. The way in which you can specify which invoice template will be used by each customer is to set up Invoicing details . You should set up new invoicing details for use with Alberta orders and assign the "AGLC compatible" PDF template to be used by all customers using these invoicing details. You should also tick the box to show product codes. It is strongly advised you set all this up before importing your customers/licensees, as it means these details can be automatically applied to the customers on import.

You'll want to ensure your container types all have the correct sub-type set (specifically bottles/cans). This will ensure the correct deposit and recycling fee is applied.

Having already set up your number sequences and site, as above, to get started with the integration, go to Integrations -> Payments -> Liquor Connect and use the Set up integration button in the top-right.

Our recommended settings for the integration are as follows:

Once you've confirmed your settings, you'll be able to see the import/export tools. If you change your mind on any of these settings, you can always change them later (but they'll only impact imports/exports done from that point on).

Your invoice and wholesale pricing need to be imported into Breww. This is so that your salespeople can quote the wholesale price to customers, but the invoice price can be price saved and uploaded to your accountancy software. A price book will be made for each set of prices. All you need to do is upload your Product List file. Please note, this only imports pricing. The products themselves should be imported prior, ensuring your product codes match. Any products not found in Breww will simply be skipped in the file. This tool can be used repeatedly whenever you have a pricing change that needs importing into Breww.

Before the product list file can be imported successfully, you'll need to ensure the markup categories and any keg deposits have been set up first.

If you use keg deposits with Alberta orders, these must be set up here as dedicated AGLC-compatible keg deposits, and not using the normal container deposit scheme tool in Breww. This is due to them being an integral part of the wholesale price calculation.

This tool allows you to import licensee numbers for customers already in Breww. AGLC requires the licensee number to show on invoices, and it will also allow you to search for customers in Breww using their licensee number rather than just the name. If using the file upload, the tool uses the name and address of each customer in Breww to match up with the licensee row in the file. If it finds a match (name and address must be exactly the same), it will import the licensee number, if it doesn't find a match, it will ignore the customer by default (although you can select to import non-matched licensees as leads, we recommend not doing this initially). If you have your existing customers in Breww and the file import succeeds, but with very few/no licensee numbers imported, this probably means that your addresses are slightly different to the file, and you won't be able to use the file import. You can use the other button to manually set licensee numbers as you go.

As mentioned, the tool can also import any non-matched licensees as leads, where you can use Breww's tools for marketing and turn them into paying customers. We recommend using caution with this option at first (importing all licensees as leads), as this will create a lead in Breww for all licensees, which will likely create 8,000+ leads in your account. You may want to modify the CSV file from Liquor Connect to include only a subset of the leads before you upload it to Breww, so you only create the most suitable leads. If you had trouble importing existing paying customers' licensee numbers, don't use this option.

We recommend using the Weekly Sales by Licensee file to import sales that have been fulfilled by Connect Logistics to your Breww account. The process is simple: export the file from Liquor Connect and import it to Breww. Breww will review the entire file and either import everything at once, or reject the whole file. This ensures that there are never any complications with part-imported files and gives you a chance to resolve the issues and retry the import.

Each customer (licensee) that has been sold to must either already exist in Breww when you run the import, or you'll need to upload the Licensee Master File at the same time, so Breww can find any "missing" customers and create them an account.

Each product will be matched to its Breww product using the code/SKU, so please ensure that the same codes are used in Breww and Liquor Connect.

Breww will use your settings to handle the imports, such as which number sequence to use, which site to fulfil orders from, and whether they should be automatically completed or left for you to review and complete manually.

Each Breww invoice will be uploaded to your accountancy software, where payments from AGLC can be reconciled against these invoices. Breww will then import these payments to mark the Breww invoices as paid.

When you process deliveries directly to your customers, you can export these sales from Breww to the AGLC upload file format. This allows you to get Liquor Connect to process the payment on your behalf.

Whenever you use the export tool, Breww will find all invoices and finalised credit notes that use the dedicated Liquor Connect number sequences and build the CSV file for you. Breww will keep track of which documents have already been exported so the tool can be safely used again without the risk of any duplicates being included - just make sure never to edit invoices after finalising them and exporting them with the tool, or these changes will be missed.

The invoice export process is simple, but there are a few points to note:

Credit note exports work in a similar way, with the following points to note:

If the customer has paid me directly: This payment should be added to your accountancy software outside of Breww. This payment shouldn't be reconciled against an invoice, as the payment is for the wholesale price amount, and the invoice generated in Breww is for the invoice price amount. This customer payment should be reconciled in your accountancy software with the consequent payment forwarded to AGLC. This all currently needs to happen outside of Breww.

Each invoice can be uploaded to your accountancy software where the payments back from AGLC can be reconciled against these invoices. Breww will then import these payments to mark the Breww invoices as paid.

An AGLC order should be created in Breww using a customer set up as a licensee and using the price book set as your "Invoice prices".

If you haven't set up your customers as licensees or imported your prices, please read through the setup steps at the start of this article.

You do not need to do anything extra for these. These fees are accounted for automatically when creating an AGLC order in Breww. You should not set up your own AGLC container deposits in Breww, as these are not compatible with automatically created deposits that are integral to the wholesale price calculation. You can set up regular container deposits for non-AGLC orders, but you should add a rule to exclude orders using your "ALGC invoice prices" price book to avoid conflict.

Invoices will be uploaded using the "invoice price" of your products. This means you can reconcile these amounts with the amount that AGLC pays you, meaning you don't have to account for the container fees/markup.