Harvest Billing System - Connecting Industry

Industry procedures for connecting to the HBS Registered Website are below.

General Steps

1. Business BCeID - HBS can only associate one business BCeID to one client number.

• Login to BCeID https://www.bceid.ca to create a new business BCeID.
• Set the Business Preference to Yes for “I Consent to BCeID sharing my business contact information with Online Services registered with BCeID”.

2. Registration Key - To obtain a Registration Key and designate an Industry User Administrator (IUA).

• Authorized signing representative, please complete the: Application to Establish IUA Form (PDF, 234.8KB).
• Email completed form to: FORHVAP.BillingBusSprt@gov.bc.ca.
• A Registration Key will be provided, along with instructions to continue the HBS enrolment process.

Note - Scalers require an authentication key to digitally sign their scale returns. If a scaler loses or needs to change their authentication key. Please, contact the Ministry District Scaling Supervisor at their district office in your area.

Data Submission

There are three options Industry clients can submit their data to HBS:

Online Data Entry – Scale data is entered manually into HBS.

• Registered HBS users must be logged into the HBS Registered system to enter scale data.
• Users will be able to enter and view their scale data.
• Users are not able to correct or view other scaler data.

Online Extensible Markup Language (XML) – is designed as a standard way to encode documents and data. XML files generated by Scale Data Collection Software.

• Registered HBS users must be logged into the HBS Registered system to submit electronic XML files.

• Data transfer to HBS is through a secure connection.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Unattended or automated.

• Does not need to be a registered HBS user or logged into the HBS system.
• Industry clients can use batch processing tools to execute unattended, scripted uploads of scale data XML files to HBS at any time of the day.
• Instantaneous feedback regarding the status of an upload is not shared. Industry clients can not take immediate corrective action if the file is not successfully uploaded (the industry client must ensure a file management process is in place).
• Industry clients must connect to the Ministry FTP server using a Secure FTP Protocol and will need to contact the Billing Business Support to provide them with the static IP address of your externally facing firewall.

Note - The testing and software approval of the vendor scale data collection software is ongoing. Vendor software that has been approved for HBS use has been provided with an official approval letter. It is the responsibility of the industry client to ensure they are using HBS approved software. It is the responsibility of the software vendors to conduct the pre-requisite format tests available in HBS Vendor Test Scenarios 1.3

Document Delivery

The Document Delivery Profile contains details about how an Industry Client will receive or retrieve issued documents (invoices, volume estimate statements, compiled sample statements, and ratio statements).

Three document delivery methods are available in HBS.

• Electronic Delivery (Email) – Recommended method. HBS emails the Industry Document Receiver (IDR) links to the Portable Document Format (PDF) & Extensible Mark-up Language (XML). Documents can be downloaded or printed.
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - HBS emails the Industry Document Receiver (IDR) notifying the IDR that the XML documents are available on the Ministry Secure FTP Server and are now ready for transfer into the IDR’s computer systems.
• Print – Paper-based delivery uses the postal system to deliver HBS invoices/statements. This is the default delivery method in HBS.

Note - If using FTP delivery, you will need to provide HBS Billing Business Support with the Static IP address of your externally facing firewall and connect to the FTP server using a secure FTP protocol.

To set up Electronic Delivery (Email) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP), please follow the steps below:

1. Set up an Industry Document Receiver (IDR) - The IDR is the designated recipient for the electronic delivery of issued documents. The company Industry User Administrator (IUA) needs to submit an HBS enrolment request for the IDR role.

2. Download, Fill-in, and sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) - MOU confirms the understanding that the delivery of electronic documents is equivalent to the physical delivery of paper documents. Electronic Delivery MOU (DOCX, 63.3KB).

3. Please email the completed MOU to: FORHVAP.BillingBusSprt@gov.bc.ca.

Stratum Advisor

Each industry client population owner will be required to manage and submit proposed sampling plans through the online HBS Stratum Advisor. The Industry User Administrator (IUA) will need to establish and enroll a Sampling Plan Administrator (IPA). The IPA will access the online HBS Stratum Advisor to create and submit proposed weight scale sampling plans.

Note - Each population owner must have a minimum of one IPA.