Test punchout

This page explains the portal’s test punchout: a punchout round trip through your shop in which the portal plays the buyer system.

What a test punchout is

A test punchout starts your shop the way a buyer system would. The only difference is where the cart goes at the end: to punchout.dev at api.punchout.dev instead of to a procurement system. The tag, the panel, the cart reading and the transfer are the ones a real buyer uses, so a passing test proves the whole round trip.

Start it in the Test punchout step on the shop’s Setup tab, or with the Test punchout tile on the dashboard. Owners and admins can start a test, and viewers can read the results.

The three protocols

Protocol	What the portal does
OCI (SAP)	Opens your shop the way an SAP system does, at the first allowed origin and the landing path
cXML (Ariba, Coupa)	Starts the punchout the way Ariba or Coupa does, at the shop’s cXML launch URL, and opens the start page it gets back
IDS Connect (craftsman software)	Starts the punchout the way craftsman software does, at the shop’s IDS Connect launch URL, and opens the shop

While a cXML or IDS Connect test runs, the shop’s Buyers list shows a temporary entry “Test-Punchout (temporär)”. It does not count as a connection and is removed after the test.

A test punchout never signs in through auto-login.

Run a test

1. Pick the Protocol and click Start the test.
2. The portal opens your shop in a new tab. If a popup blocker stops it, click Open the shop tab.
3. The punchout panel appears in the shop. Put a few products in the cart and open the cart page. The panel reads the cart and lists the items.
4. Check the items and click Transfer to procurement system. The panel names the destination: api.punchout.dev.
5. The browser shows a page “Transfer received” with “The test punchout was transferred”, the number of line items and a link back to the portal (“Zurück zum Portal”).
6. The portal tab shows the result. Until then it says “Waiting for the transfer from the shop” and checks every 5 seconds.

To test the cancel path instead, click Back to procurement system in the panel and confirm with Yes, go back. The test accepts this empty return as well.

Validity

Fact	Value
Valid for	60 minutes from the start
Uses	One. The first transfer that arrives wins; a repeat gets “This test link is no longer valid.”
Expired	The portal shows “The test has expired.” Start a new one
Result kept	30 days after it arrived

The instant tag on the landing page creates this kind of test too, always with OCI and valid for 60 minutes.

What the result shows

The portal shows “Transfer received” with the number of items and the time, then a table with Description, Quantity, Unit, Price, Currency and Part number, and the Total. Raw fields of the transfer opens the transfer as it arrived: the Kind of transfer, the number of fields and every field per item.

The Kind of transfer names the protocol and says whether items arrived. A test of the cancel path shows as a return or message without items. “unreadable” means that punchout.dev could not read what arrived.

What to check

• Every product in the cart arrived, once, with the right quantity.
• Descriptions and part numbers are the ones your shop shows. The part number is the shop’s article number.
• Prices are net or gross, as your buyers expect. If the cart shows prices with VAT and buyers need net prices, set Price quality to the option that strips VAT, enter the VAT rate on the General tab and test again.
• Currency and unit match what the buyer system expects (Currency and Unit of measure on the General tab).
• The cancel path returns cleanly.

When the test cannot start

Message	Cause	Fix
“The test receiver is not on the list of allowed return hosts.”	The shop restricts Allowed return hosts	Add api.punchout.dev under General → Allowed return hosts
“This shop is inactive.”	Shop active is off	Turn it on under General
“This shop’s sandbox has ended.”	The Sandbox period of the shop is over	Choose a paid plan. See Plans and Sandbox
“The cXML test could not be started.” or “The IDS Connect test could not be started.”	The launch was refused or did not answer	Try again later

The test punchout returns its cart to https://api.punchout.dev, and punchout.dev checks it against Allowed return hosts like any buyer system. A shop that restricts that list must include api.punchout.dev while it uses the test punchout. A shop that sends a Content Security Policy must allow https://api.punchout.dev in form-action for as long. Once api.punchout.dev is on the list, the Embed tab’s form-action line includes it (Install the tag).

How it counts

• A received test completes the checklist step Test punchout for 30 days.
• The Sandbox allows test punchouts. A real buyer’s launch is refused there, a test is not.
• A test transfer shows in the shop’s Transfers on the Usage tab. It is counted separately as a test and never against your plan’s monthly transfer allowance.
• Reading the cart during a test uses the shop’s daily budget like any punchout.
• On the Usage tab, a running test session carries the badge Test.

Next: Connect a buyer.