ABN Lookup for WooCommerce — check the buyer’s ABN at the checkout

ABN Lookup for WooCommerce adds an “ABN” field to the WooCommerce checkout (classic and block) and looks up what the buyer types in ABN Lookup, the public view of the Australian Business Register. The entity name, the ABN status and the GST registration appear under the field at once, and a mistyped number or one the register does not know stops the order. It is made for shops that sell to Australian businesses: wholesale, B2B, invoices that carry the buyer’s ABN.

What the free version does

Every ABN first goes through the official check-digit rule (modulus 89) in the shop itself, so a typing mistake shows at once, before anything is sent to the register. When the buyer leaves the field, a line such as “Acme Trading Pty Ltd — Active · registered for GST” appears under it, or a message that the number is not in the register. When the order is placed the number is looked up again on the server: an ABN with wrong check digits, or one the register does not know, stops the order with a plain message (you can switch that off). The ABN, entity name, status, entity type, GST registration, state and postcode are saved on the order with a note and shown in a box on the order screen; the ABN is printed in the order e-mails and on the buyer’s order page. A signed-in buyer finds the field under My account → Account details, and the saved ABN is filled in at the next checkout. The field can be optional (private buyers skip it) or required, and the label is yours to change. If the register is down, the order goes through and a note says the ABN could not be verified.

What Pro adds

Search by name: the buyer types a business name, picks the entity from a list and the ABN is filled in. A nine-digit ACN typed into the field is replaced with the ABN of that company. The entity name, state and postcode from the register go into empty billing fields. An ABN the register shows as cancelled cannot be used for an order. For the roles you choose (wholesale customers, for example) and payment methods (payment on account, for example) an order is not placed without an active ABN. A signed-in buyer whose ABN is active and registered for GST sees prices excluding GST in the catalogue and the cart. The buyer’s ABN is printed under the billing address on the documents of “PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce”. A “Check again” button on the order screen asks the register once more; when an order goes to Processing the register can be asked again and the order put on hold if the ABN is no longer active. ABNs saved on customer accounts are looked up again every 30 days, and the administrator gets an e-mail when one is no longer active. A log of lookups with a CSV export. A separate switch: whether to refuse an order when the register cannot be reached.

Good to know before you start

• Every shop registers its own free GUID with ABN Lookup: on abr.business.gov.au you accept the web services agreement and fill in a form, and the GUID arrives by e-mail. The GUID belongs to the shop, not to us.
• Without a GUID only the ABN check digits work: typing mistakes are caught, but the name, status and GST are not shown, because the register is not asked.
• The register gives only the state and postcode of the main business location, no street address. So autofill puts in the company name, state and postcode, and the buyer types the street and suburb.
• The module shows prices excluding GST and keeps the GST registration flag with the order, but it does not change the tax of an order: that is worked out by the WooCommerce tax settings.
• This is an independent integration. ABN Lookup is a service of the Australian Government; the module is not an official product of the Australian Business Register and is not endorsed or approved by the government.
• The register does not warrant that its data is accurate or complete, and details of an entity may be withdrawn from it.
• The module’s screens and the texts for the buyer are in English.

How it works, step by step

1. Register for the ABN Lookup web services on abr.business.gov.au/Tools/WebServices: accept the agreement and fill in the form. The GUID arrives by e-mail.
2. WooCommerce → ABN Lookup: paste the GUID, press “Check connection” and save.
3. Open the checkout: the “ABN” field is there. Type a number and look at the line under the field.
4. Decide whether the field is required and whether numbers the register does not know are refused.

Under the hood

• The GUID is stored encrypted and stays on the server: the buyer’s browser talks to the shop, not to the register, and never sees the GUID. The buyer’s personal data is not sent to the register.
• Register answers are kept for six hours, and the checkout calls are throttled per address.
• HPOS and block checkout compatible (a WooCommerce additional checkout field); language: English.

How to install

1. Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin: choose the zip and activate it.
2. WooCommerce → ABN Lookup: paste the GUID and press “Check connection”.
3. Save the settings and open the checkout: the “ABN” field is in place.
4. Try a number in the “Try it” box on the settings screen.

The module is not on wordpress.org yet: the free version and Pro are one archive from this page. Without a key it works as the free version.