Introduction

When processing Statements, Credit Control Letters or similar, you may encounter the following error message and the PayThem button is not produced:

20240411.123509 04: FAILED to generate valid URL
20240411.123509 01: There was a problem generating the ##PAYTHEMURL## link:Unable to create the payment request.
20240411.123509 01: Some issues were found processing a PayThem statement:
20240411.123509 01: Invoice could not be found in PayThem: 'CustomerABB001Invoice00001234562024-02-01'
20240411.123509 01: Invoice could not be found in PayThem: 'CustomerABB001Invoice00006543212024-03-01'
20240411.123509 01: Payment will not be requested.
20240411.123509 04: FAILED to generate PayThem URL for ##PAYTHEMURL##
20240411.123509 01: WARNING There was a problem with ##PAYTHEMURL##
20240411.123509 01: WARNING The ##PAYTHEMURL## command is empty

Cause

The Basic Statement integration requires that requests for any invoices on the document already exist in the PayThem Portal. Dependingon how old the invoices that appear on the statement are, some of these will pre-date the implementation of PayThem v2 for Invoices.

Resolution

The issue will diminish over time, but if this is not acceptable, then you can re-print the old invoices to Spindle Document Distribution Tools, which would apply the PayThem button and register the invoice as a payment request in the PayThem portal. 

This would create a number of emails which would either clog up the user's Drafts folder or send out-of date invoices to the customers, which is not desirable. Instead we will swap in a replacement Document Automation that does not send any emails.

Process

In Spindle Document Distribution Tools, copy the existing SalesInvoices Document Type by right-clicking it and choosing Copy Document Type:

(NOTE: SalesInvoices is the Document Type used in the example below, the one in use on a customer's site may be named differently. Please adjust the following to reflect the name in use)  

This will create a Document Automation named "Copy of SalesInvoices" - this will be our back-up of the current configuration.

2) Edit the original Document Operation so that it has no Distribution methods set:

3) Ensure that the invoice PayThem integration is configured under the PayThem tab (it should be if we copied the correct Document Type earlier):

4) If there are any other Document Operations under the Document Type, disable these by unchecking "Allow this document operation to be processed":

Warning : At this stage, any new invoices printed to Spindle Pro Auto will not be distributed, but will only have a Payment Request registered.

5) Now re-print the 'missing' invoices to Spindle Pro Auto. Depending on the volumes involved, you may choose to break the reprint process into manageable pieces, for example you might re-print invoices one month at a time until all outstanding invoices have had a payment request registered.

6) Once the invoice reprint is completed, you will need to restore the original Document Type. Simply rename the Document Type SalesInvoices to SalesInvoices-Backfill, and rename Copy of SalesInvoices back to simply SalesInvoices.

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