Versions Compared

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.

Overview:

New AP Vouchers can be manually created or automatically created using the Image Documents module after training it to recognise each supplier's invoice. This page details the different entry methods and data sources for voucher entry, as well as voucher approval/review. See AP Vouchers for an overview of the voucher module, and Voucher Configuration for more information about the technical setup of vouchers and workflows.

One benefit of using vouchers is that when manually entering data in This Voucher, the system will allow you to save incomplete lines. This means that the accounts team can fill out all known information (quantity, value, tax, etc.) while leaving potentially unknown data (the subjob, activity, or work centre) for the approver to assign.

This guide will reference the Image Documents module (automatic scanning and image recognition of emailed invoices, powered by Xtracta). If your company does not utilise the module, simply ignore these references.

Screen Guide:

Expand
titleHeader

If the invoice has been scanned using Image Documents, the majority of the Header section should already be populated with data. It is good practice to quickly review the fields against the image to ensure there were no mistakes, especially for recently added or infrequently used suppliers. If the voucher is being manually created, you will need to populate all required fields based on the invoice. For new manual vouchers, if Tax Total and Total Incl are left blank, they will be defaulted to the Approved PO outstanding values if a PO is specified.

  • Document Type can be either an Invoice or a Credit, depending on the document being entered. Changing the type to Credit will disable the PO Lines and Docket Lines tabs in favour of selecting an existing AP Invoice from which you can credit lines.

  • Invoice No is the supplier's invoice number that appears on the document.

  • Invoice Date is the date marked on the invoice document, not necessarily the date it was received.

  • Comments is a space for optional commentary on the voucher, expandable by dragging the bottom right corner. The Reason field is commonly used to mark vouchers as "On Hold," "In Dispute," etc. rather than the comments field.

  • Supplier is the Company that sent the invoice, and the GST Number comes from the company file.

  • Payment Due defaults from the Supplier’s Payment Terms on the Company’s details, but can be manually changed. This is mandatory and the Voucher cannot be approved without a Payment Due date. Payment Terms are imported from the Financial system, so it is recommended that if the Supplier does not have this information in Workbench, then to update Payment Terms in the Financial system so the details are imported to Workbench using the integration.

  • Reason contains custom flags for the voucher, such as On Hold, In Dispute, Security of Payment Act, etc. for increased ability to keep track of different states. The system administrator can add or modify reasons in Statuses under "Voucher Reasons."

  • Total Incl shows the total value of the voucher including tax.

  • Total Tax is the tax portion of the invoice value.

  • Total Excl is the value of the invoice excluding tax.

  • Workflow Type gives a list of all Workflow Types available for this voucher. This affects the approval flow of the voucher once you click Submit.

Expand
titleImage

This section of the window is visible either when the data is brought in via Image Documents or manually attached using the Attachments button. It displays a copy of the scanned attachment(s) as well as the option to switch the view to Line Scans in the top right corner if it was processed by Xtracta:

Use the  buttons located between the Image and Header sections to expand or hide the Image/Line Scans section. If you hover your mouse over the image, zoom and page controls will appear along with download and print options. In both views, dollar totals appear at the bottom giving you a quick comparison of document totals versus matched totals.

You can click and drag the Hand column field for each row to the appropriate tab below. This brings the scan lines into either PO Lines, Docket Lines, or This Voucher for manual lines.

Tabs:
The tab visibility in Vouchers can be managed with the ‘Voucher Tabs’ setting at global and person levels. This may be useful where certain aspects may not apply to the business in general or a particular user’s job function. The default is blank which displays all relevant tabs.

Expand
titlePO Lines

This tab is hidden if the Document Type is Credit.

First, choose an Approved PO and apply the filter. If the voucher is created from scanning documents, the PO may automatically be selected. Note that only approved Purchase Orders will be included in this selection, and Docket PO's will be excluded as they are to be processed as Docket Lines. Approved PO field is enabled by either of these two permissions: 'Voucher Lines Edit' or 'Voucher Header Edit'

The Default dropdown includes PO Outstanding (amounts from Purchase Orders that have not yet been invoiced) and Receipted Not Invoiced (amounts that have been recognised in the Inwards Goods process but haven't been included in an AP invoice yet).

The PO lines from the Purchase Order are displayed in the body area. Total Order shows the original PO amounts, while Invoices shows any amounts that have already been sent to AP Invoice Enquiry and Vouchers shows amounts located in other AP Vouchers that are not yet finalised. It is important to reference these amounts so that the PO is not overdrawn.

The fields that are editable are in the This Voucher section. You can change the Qty and Value to reflect the reality of the invoice, with any remaining amounts shown in the Remaining section. If you change the Value to an amount greater than the Total Order Value, or if the values are equal, the line will be marked as Compl(eted) and no further expected cost will remain. You can manually tick the Completed checkbox to complete a line if you know that no more is to come or the line has been cancelled. Remember to Save after making changes, which are updated in the This Voucher tab.

Expand
titleStock Receipted

This tab will only appear if the Control Parameter "Confirm Pos Default Receipted" is set to Yes.

Expand
titleDocket Lines

On this tab, we can match invoiced amounts to entered Docket lines. The docket line must have already been entered into Workbench before attempting to match scanned lines, otherwise it should be entered as Manual Line in This Voucher. Dockets can originate from Dockets Only Entry or the /wiki/spaces/DARCH/pages/704774219 module.

The fields that are editable are in the This Voucher section. You can change the Rate, Qty, and Value to reflect the reality of the invoice. Reducing docketed lines will refund the difference back to the job, while increasing it will charge the additional amount to the job. You cannot partially invoice a docket 

Ticking the checkbox on the right will default the line to its entered value and will be included in the voucher total. Saving the voucher after making changes will insert a Docket Source line in the This Voucher tab, and unticking the docket lines will remove them.

Expand
titleThis Voucher / Manual Lines

To match lines from Xtracta (i.e., for vouchers that are not using PO Lines or Docket Lines), tick each line you want to bring into the voucher, click on the This Voucher tab on the right hand side, then click and drag the  column to the This Voucher tab. The system will ask you to confirm, then the lines will be replicated in the tab:

Image RemovedImage Added

From here, you will need to fill in any missing line information or assign the document to someone who can. To speed up data entry, the Default button is available; simply complete one of the lines, then tick each line you wish to copy the Job, Activity, Work Centre, and  GST Type to and Log No to. Ensure that the original line is highlighted in green, then click the Default button to copy down the fields.

Hiding Work Centre and GST Type columns is supported. This can be done on the 'Voucher Detail' grid. These columns will default based on the standard rules when hidden.

To support manual voucher lines with different work breakdown coding against one PO line commitment, the SplitLine column on the ‘Voucher Detail’ grid must be enabled. The SplitLine copy icon will duplicate the entire voucher line with PO line links intact but with zero qty and value so that you can just delete to reverse action. You may then edit of PO Line-matched Quantities that is not usually available.

For manual lines without Xtracta, click New Manual Line to create a blank line and populate the relevant fields as usual.

A manual Withholding Tax line can be added:

  • The control parameter ‘Withholding Tax Activity’ defines a comma separated list of valid Withholding Tax activities.

  • On ‘This Voucher’ tab a manual line may be added coded against a defined Withholding Tax activity. There is no configuration of rate or calculation, and all values are user specified.

  • The voucher validation rules are enhanced to accommodate for the Withholding Tax difference between the lines and header totals i.e. the voucher lines in the image will pass validation.


Expand
titleAdditional

This tab displays read-only information about the voucher:

  • Voucher Date is the date the voucher was created in Workbench. This can be different from the Invoice Date in the header section.

  • Voucher Type is set to AP Voucher.

  • Currency is the operating Currency for this voucher, based on the supplier Company selected, or the PO if the currency is different.

  • Status displays the Workflow status, with the exception of Assigned status, which is not part of the Workflow Schema. A voucher can be Assigned before it has been submitted into the Workflow (using the [Assign] button). This is typical to clarify voucher coding prior to workflow submission for review and approval (not the Reassign which is a Workflow action). For vouchers in progress of a workflow, the Assign is not available.

  • Entered By is the user that created the voucher.

  • Batch No only displays when the voucher has been finalised.

  • AP Invoice only displays when the voucher has been finalised.

  • Financial Company is the Financial Company that the supplier sits under.

Expand
titleButtons

Buttons shown at the bottom of the screen will change depending on the voucher's status and whether Workflow types are specified.

  • Print gives us a report that can be saved or printed.

  • Attachments is where we can attach the invoice or related documents to the voucher, if not already attached through Xtracta.
    Users might need to load an updated AP Invoice pdf, more recent than the pdf processed by Xtracta, and they can now do so from this button. The pdf processed by Xtracta must be deleted (this will unlink the document to the AP Voucher), and the new pdf must be attached. A note with the DocumentID from Xtracta will be added as a Comment for audit purposes.

  • Inwards Goods navigates directly to Inwards Goods from the [Perform] button and the PO lines will auto display if there is a PO context on the voucher.

  • Transfer to Sub-Claim is used if an AP invoice is captured that should be processed as a subcontract claim.

    This displays the Subcontract Claim & Attachments popup pre-populated with as much information as possible including the invoice image. Typically, only the Subcontract will still be required. Specify the Subcontract, and load any additional attachments, then click on [New Claim]. A new subcontract claim will be created, and the voucher is auto cancelled. The voucher status displays as “Cancelled - Subclaim”. The ‘Transfer to Sub Claim’ feature is no not permission controlled.

  • WFlow | Msg is a combination button that displays a Workflow tab and Messages tab:

  • The Workflow tab displays all Workflow steps for the document. You can click Show Previous History to see previous Workflow sequences.

  • Messages can be sent and viewed on this tab similarly to other messaging in Workbench. Select the Message To person, add a Subject, and write the body of the Message. Click Send when finished.

  • Previous and Next buttons move the desired direction in the preceding screen's list, allowing for faster approvals of all vouchers assigned to you.

  • + New AP Voucher is available to conveniently create another voucher document without having to return to the previous screen.

  • Cancel cancels the entire voucher at whatever stage of the approval process it is in.

  • Assign gives you the option to assign a voucher to an editor for them to prepare or correct. This is not the same as assigning the document for approval.

  • Send Back replaces Assign once the voucher is submitted. This button returns the voucher to the editor, and you can add a comment for them to see.

  • Submit begins the selected Workflow Type process. The system will then propose the next user in the review/approve sequence.

  • Review/Approve replaces Submit for the user it is assigned to, depending on the Workflow step. Once the final approval is made, the voucher is converted to an approved invoice and is ready to be exported to the financial system.

  • An arrow button (^) appears next to the above button that allows you to Reassign the voucher to another user. This is useful in cases where the other person has more knowledge about the document than yourself. See the following section for more information on reassignment.

  • Save should be used when data has changed in any of the above sections.

  • Close will attempt to close the voucher popup window. If there is unsaved data, the system will prompt you that it will be lost if you continue.

Expand
titleAP Voucher Step Reassignment

The AP Voucher Workflows cater for the re-assignment of a workflow step where the person selected by the step is no longer appropriate. This feature allows users to reassign without relying on the Voucher Admin to intervene and perform the step.

A.  Consider if we have an AP Voucher Workflow Schema using a function like Job Manager.
B.  In this example, submitting a voucher has assigned Nigel as the Reviewer since he is the Job Manager.
C.  The Voucher Admin is now able to Re-assign instead of actioning the step.
D.  A list of valid re-assignable people are displayed with a comment. The list of valid alternates depend on the function referenced in the workflow schema.

•  PO Purchaser reassigns to active employees
•  PO Approver reassigns to active people with 'PO Approvers Limit' setting
•  Job Manager reassigns to active people flagged as Job Managers
•  Job Account Manager reassigns to active people flagged as Job Account Managers

E.  Click Reassign to transfer the step to the selected person.
F.  The workflow will indicate the person that actioned the reassignment, and the step is reassigned.
G.  If the "AP Voucher Workflow Email Enabled" Setting is enabled, the reassigned user will also be notified by email.
H.  The Reassign function can also be granted to non-admin users using the "Reassign Vouchers" Permission.

Tax Code Validations for non-zero GST and Zero-GST lines:

To ensure the correct use of Tax codes for non-zero GST and Zero-GST Accounts Payable transactions (on AP Vouchers, AP Voucher Credits, AP Invoices, AP Credits, and Subcontract Claims) there are validation rules in place and Control Parameters 'GST Type for No GST Supplier' is used in this process.

  • if the supplier is flagged to not Use GST, then the system will default the GST Code on every line to the 'GST Type for No GST Supplier' Control parameter value, otherwise, it will default to the GST Type on the Activity.

  • if a line has zero GST value, then the system will validate that the GST Type specified has a zero GST rate. An error message will be displayed if this is not correct.

  • if a line has non-zero GST value, then the system will validate that the GST Type specified has a non-zero GST rate. An error message will be displayed if this is not correct. 

     

Next Steps:

After the voucher document is either sent through the Workflow approval process or directly approved, an approved AP Invoice is created and automatically placed into an AP Invoice Batch, ready to be exported in Export Control.


FAQs:


Process Flow: