When creating records, default values are filled in automatically. So you only need to fill in the fields you want to change, and leave the default values for the rest.
However, some fields depend on other fields (e.g., the document type or the VAT country determines the VAT rates). Therefore, the application builds a tree of dependent fields, and values are applied so that a value which affects another one is set first. Only then is the dependent field set. In the reverse order, the value would be overwritten.
The order in XML doesn't matter — for attributes
Thanks to this feature, it doesn't matter in what order the attributes are listed in the XML file.
⚠️ On the other hand, the order of individual records does matter — for example, a company must first be created in the address book before an order that references it.
Consequences for incremental updates
The effect of fields influencing one another can also cause a change in a value that isn't explicitly changed during an incremental update.
💡 Before sending the change for real, verify the result with a test save (?dry-run=true). In the response, in the <content /> tag, you'll see what the record would actually look like after saving — including any calculated values.
Validation on save
When a record is saved, validation of the record is performed, and the caller is notified of any errors, warnings, or purely informational messages.