Academy

Vendor Integrations

Connect Sysco or US Foods so distributor invoices arrive in DishBooks as bills.

Oct 21, 20265 min read

Get distributor invoices without lifting a finger

Your broadline distributor already sends invoices electronically. Connect it to DishBooks and those invoices come straight in as bills, line by line: no photos, no typing, no lost paper in the office.

Works today: Sysco and US Foods. Setup is nearly identical for both, so this article walks through it once. The Connect Sysco and Connect US Foods guides cover what’s specific to each.

How it works

  1. Get your login from your rep. Your distributor gives you a username and password (or a key) for its invoice server.
  2. Enter it in DishBooks. Pick the vendor, paste in the details and switch the connection on.
  3. Match your accounts to locations. The first time invoices arrive, match each distributor account number to the DishBooks location it delivers to.
  4. Review and approve. New invoices are pulled once a day and land in Expenses → Bills, ready for your approval.

You might hear this called EDI (electronic data interchange). It just means the invoice is sent as data instead of paper.

Before you start

  • Ask your sales rep for invoice (EDI) access. Your distributor rep can set you up and send your login: a username plus either a password or a private key (sometimes with a passphrase). This can take a few days, so ask early.
  • Your locations are set up in DishBooks, so each delivery account has somewhere to go. See Set up your locations.
  • Get your account numbers handy. Your distributor gives each delivery location its own account (ship-to) number. You’ll match those to your DishBooks locations.

Step 1 Enter your connection details

  1. Go to Settings → Integrations and click Connect on your distributor’s card (Sysco or US Foods).

  2. The server details (host, port, directory) are already filled in for you. Under Vendor, pick your distributor from your vendor list, or click + New to add it.

  3. Paste in the Username from your rep, plus either the Password or the Private key (and Private key passphrase, if they gave you one).

  4. Switch on Receive invoices from this partner.

  5. Click Save.

DishBooks checks for new invoices once a day. After you place an order, the invoice arrives with the next daily pull.

Step 2 Match your ship-to codes

Your distributor doesn’t know your DishBooks locations. It labels each delivery with its own account number, called a ship-to code. After the first invoices come in, those codes appear under Ship-to codes on the same page.

Match each code to the DishBooks location it delivers to. Now every bill lands on the right location.

Only one restaurant? You’ll still see one ship-to code. Match it once and you’re done.

Step 3 Review and approve your bills

New invoices land in Expenses → Bills, with every line item, quantity and price. Each one arrives as Pending. Open it to check it, fix any GL accountGL accountGeneral ledger account. One of the named buckets on your books, like Food Sales or Sales Tax Payable, that every dollar is sorted into. that needs it, click Accept, then Approve. Distributor bills always need your approval.

Keeping an eye on the connection

The distributor’s page in Settings → Integrations has three sections worth checking now and then:

  • Connection health shows how the latest daily pull went.
  • Received invoices lists every invoice in each file from your distributor, whether it became a bill or not. It’s the first place to look if an invoice seems to be missing.
  • Host key records your distributor’s server fingerprint on the first connection, as a security check. You don’t need to do anything with it.

Tips and common questions

When will an invoice show up?
After you place an order with your distributor, the invoice comes over with the next daily pull.
I don’t have a username or password.
Ask your distributor sales rep for EDI (electronic invoice) access. They’ll send your login details.
Password or private key: which do I use?
Whichever your distributor gave you. You only need one. If they sent a key with a passphrase, fill in both of those fields.
An invoice is missing.
Check Received invoices on your distributor’s page first. Each entry says what happened: Bill created, Already recorded (that vendor and invoice number is already in DishBooks), or Could not be read or Could not be recorded with the reason. If a bill has no location, match its ship-to code and DishBooks moves it for you.
I also use MarginEdge. Should I connect my distributor here too?
Pick one route per distributor. DishBooks refuses a second bill with the same vendor and invoice number, but if your Sysco invoices already flow through MarginEdge, connecting Sysco directly can still create the same bill twice when the numbers or vendors differ.
Can I pause the connection?
Switch off Receive invoices from this partner and click Save. Switch it back on any time.

What’s next

Pick your distributor’s guide for the specifics: