Invoicing Workflow
This page describes the invoicing workflow from creation through to payment and closure. For an overview of working with acquisitions in Alma, including links to relevant sections such as Infrastructure, Renewals, Configuration, etc., see Introduction to Acquisitions. For the end to end purchasing worklfow with links to relevant sections for details see Purchasing Workflow.
The following is an illustration of the invoicing workflow which specifies how an invoice is handled, from the point of its creation to the point at which the invoice is closed. When a PO line is fully invoiced, its associated PO line is closed. If, for some reason, you do not require invoices, use a PO line that does not require a price and funds, such as Technical; see Manually Creating a PO Line.
Watch the Invoicing Workflows video series (4 videos).
The following is a detailed description of the steps within this workflow (with the numbers corresponding to the numbers in the diagram). For the complete list of invoice statuses, see Invoice Statuses.
- An invoice is created in one of the following ways:
- Importing an EDI message from the vendor (see Creating an Invoice by EDI)
- Importing an Excel file (see Creating an Invoice From a File)
- Creating invoices in batch via the Create Invoice API (see Batch invoicing in Alma in the Ex Libris Developer Network)
- Using a PO or manually (see Creating an Invoice From a PO or Manually).
After creating an invoice using a PO or manually, you can choose to move directly to the Receive New Material page (see Receiving Material).
For invoices imported using EDI, if all PO lines in the EDI file that are assigned to this invoice are owned by the same library, then that library will be the owner of the invoice. If all PO lines are assigned to the institution are not for the same library, the invoice will get the institution as the owner.After an invoice is created (whether through importing an EDI/Excel file, manually or API), you can change the Owner. - The invoice is processed to determine whether there are elements that require special attention based on rules pre-configured by an administrator. This processing is performed automatically by the system.
If there are data issues that require attention, the invoice status is set to In Review and the invoice is sent for review (step 3). For information on this manual activity, see Reviewing Invoices. If there are no data issues and the pre-configured rules determine that the invoice can be processed automatically, the invoice moves to step 4.
- If invoice_skip_erp = true on the CustomerParameters Mapping Table page (indicating that the invoice is not to be sent to the ERP; see Configuring Other Settings), the invoice proceeds to the payment stage of the workflow (step 5).
- If invoice_skip_erp = false on the CustomerParameters Mapping Table page (see Configuring Other Settings), the invoice is set to Ready to be Paid and proceeds accordingly in the workflow.
- The review stage in the workflow enables the reviewer to add missing information to the invoice or correct any incorrect information on the invoice. When the reviewer selects Save and Continue on the Review Invoices page, the invoice returns to step 2 in the workflow, where it is reprocessed to determine whether there are elements that require special attention. If data issues are still present, the invoice returns to review. If all data issues have been resolved, the invoice status is set to In Approval and the invoice proceeds to step 4. Invoices that have been closed or sent to the ERP can be sent back to the review stage, to enable editing of the invoice (see Setting Invoices Back to Review).
- (New for November) For invoices with 10 or more PO lines, when updating the invoice, the related PO lines are re-indexed. This is done by a background job that appears in the Monitor Jobs page. The user that made the updates which triggered this re-indexing appears as the operator.
- It is also possible to edit certain fields in the lines of closed invoices. For more information see Creating Invoices.
- The invoice is either automatically approved and sent to the next stage of the workflow (Ready to be Paid), or awaits the appropriate library staff person’s manual approval before continuing with the workflow.
- If the approval rules preconfigured by an administrator determine that the invoice can be approved automatically, the invoice moves to step 5.
- If the approval rules preconfigured by an administrator determine that manual approval is required, the invoice is sent for manual approval. For information on this manual activity, see Approving Invoices. When the person performing the manual approval selects Approve on the Invoice Information page (accessed from the Approve Invoices page), the invoice status is set to Ready to be Paid and the approved invoice is ready to be sent to the payment system or ERP. (If the person rejects the invoice, it is returned to the review stage – see step 3).
- The invoice reaches the payment stage, in which the invoice awaits payment processing, either through Alma or through the institution’s ERP system. (For information on setting up your external system to receive invoices from Alma and running the job that exports invoices from Alma to this external system, see Financial Systems).
- If the handle_invoice_payment parameter in the Acquisitions Configuration Other Settings menu is set to true, the invoice status is set to Waiting for Payment so that the institution itself can manage the payment of the invoice, either automatically through the import process (see https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/integrations/finance), or manually by an operator (see Working with Invoices Waiting for Payment).
- If the handle_invoice_payment parameter in the Acquisitions Configuration Other Settings menu is set to false, the invoice is closed (status Closed) without waiting for payment (regardless of whether it is sent to an ERP system or not).
When a negative amount is entered for the invoice’s amount, a refund is granted to the user (see the Total Amount field description in Invoice Details Page Fields). - The invoice is then closed (status Closed).
Alma checks whether the PO lines associated with the invoice are fully invoiced and paid. The PO lines associated with the invoice are closed if they are received/activated and the invoice was paid or sent to the ERP system. If the PO line’s items are not yet received/activated, the PO line remains open.
Invoice Statuses
An invoice can have one of the following statuses:
- In Review - The invoice was created but not yet reviewed.
- In Approval - The invoice is waiting for manual approval.
- Ready to be Paid - The invoice was approved and is ready to be sent to the ERP.
- Waiting for Payment - The invoice was approved and sent to the ERP (or skipped the ERP if the institution does not use one).
- Closed - The invoice is paid and closed.