got it. it works. Although truth be told i didnt get the variable to work but i am using the join - i didnt think that would work in the...

Why did i miss that. 

Ok, last one. SSIS figures out through the lookup what the new rows (invoices) are in the header, how do i capture those rows...

Ok so i looked at the tutorial i used - i grabbed the wrong arrow (apparently obviously). 

What about the other question?

So just to close this thread out... 
I gave up on linked server under the premise that SSIS would probably be a better way to go about doing what i...

Hi Sue, i've set the linked server up following that exact guide.