Preparing Supplier Invoices for Payment

Outcome

All invoices are approved and posted to a definite cost account.

For all transactions in foreign currency, the exchange rate gain or loss is calculated and recorded.

For information of journals and lists printed, see the respective process document or instruction.

Use the approved invoices as a basis for creating payment documents and paying the suppliers. This is done either in 'Payment Proposal. Open' (APS130) by automatically selecting invoice records in a payment proposal. You can also manually adjust invoice records and record them as paid in 'Supplier Payment. Enter Manual' (APS120).

Accounts payable and the general ledger are updated. For detailed information, see the respective process or instruction.

Before you start

• The company must have well-defined payment routines. This includes answers to the following questions:

• How will invoices be authorized?
• Which functionality should be applied (for example, batch totals, printing voucher slips)?
• How will invoices in foreign currency be handled (for example, by using future rate agreements, type of exchange rate)?
• Will supplier's normal terms apply on the invoice, for example, payment terms, payment method, currency and VAT calculation method?

• For starting conditions specific to certain processes or instructions, see the respective document.

Follow these steps

1. Manually Enter Supplier Invoices

   Enter your invoices received by mail in 'Supplier Invoice. Record' (APS100). You have a large number of alternative, user-defined workflows at your disposal. You post the invoices as approved, requiring no further processing, or unapproved, to be authorized or adjusted.

   For recurring supplier payments you can enter payment records to be processed in the future in 'Supplier Payment. Open Recurring' (APS095).

2. Verify Automatically Generated Invoices

   Certain types of invoices are automatically generated: batch invoices from an EDI file, scanned invoices, self-billing invoices, and debit notes. Such invoices are received in 'Supplier Invoice Batch. Open' (APS450), where you use the automated functions for verifying the contents and updating accounts payable.

   In cases where an invoice is associated with a Grower Agreement, a block may have been systematically or manually applied against the self billing configuration, to ensure that the downstream settlement process is stopped until such time as all required information for the goods receipt has been received.

3. Match to Purchase Order and Goods Receipt

   If the invoice is based on a purchase order (PO), match it to the goods receipt transactions connected to the purchase order or the PO lines (if no goods are received yet).

   You can do this for both approved and unapproved invoices during the entry. Manually entered invoices are matched in (APS100). Automatically generated invoices (with the exception of debit notes) with a PO number are automatically matched when updating accounts payable in (APS450).

   For invoices that were recorded as unapproved, either deliberately or because there were incorrect invoice lines in need of correction, the matching can be done during the recoding as well.

   Note that for invoices that are matched to purchase orders before goods arrive, you conclude the matching once the goods arrive.

4. Approve and Recode Unapproved Invoices

   You must approve all invoices before they can be paid. All unapproved or invoices with an incomplete PO match are automatically posted to a clearing account. You approve the invoices and/or recode them, that is, you post them to a cost account instead. During the recoding you can also match the invoices to purchase orders and goods receipt, when needed, or delete unapproved invoices.

   Some companies have the policy to always enter the invoices as not approved, even though the coding might be correct. The authorizer approves the invoice and it is quite simply then updated as approved for payment without having been recoded.

   You do this in 'Supplier Invoice. Recode' (APS110).

5. Manage Customer Disputes

   During the entry, from receiving the invoice to finally posting it for payment, you may discover disparities in the invoice. In such a case, contact the supplier and block the disputed invoice from payment. The result can be that the supplier sends you a credit invoice. Or, if everything turns out to be in order, that you unblock the invoice and proceed as usual.

   You block or unblock invoices in 'Accounts Payable. Change Separate Invoice' (APS201), which is accessed from (APS200).