Invoice release workflow

In an invoice approval workflow, you can define the approvers as well as the criteria for approving invoices. The criteria are always checked after invoicing, by suppliers or in the case of self-entered invoices.

You can create a new invoice release workflow under Configuration → Workflows → Invoice Release via the New button.

Basic data tab in the invoice release workflow

Workflow area

• No.: Number for the invoice release workflow. The number is automatically generated in Onventis.
• Title: Title of the requirements approval workflow. This field is mandatory and must be filled in.
• Option “use for self entered invoices”: if you activate this option, the workflow will only be activated for self entered invoices.
• Description: here you can store a short description for the approval workflow.
• Currency: you can select the currency from the selection box. By selecting the currency, the invoice release workflow is always activated for this currency.

Area To be informed in case of refusal

In the section To be informed in case of rejection you have to select a user who should be informed about a rejected invoice by e-mail. The following selection options are available (only one user can be selected):

• Supplier: by selecting the supplier, the message is sent to the supplier who created the invoice.
• Invoicing party: by selecting the invoicing party, the message is sent to the invoicing party. This can be a supplier or a creator in the case of self-created invoices.
• Approver /User: by selecting the approver, the message will be sent to the user who created the order.
• Purchasing group: by selecting the purchasing group, the message is sent to the purchasing group assigned to the purchase order or invoice.

Step tab in the invoice release workflow

By defining several approval steps that are checked one after the other, you can define a multi-level approval procedure.

In the Step tab, you can see all approval steps of an approval workflow, if available.

You can create a new approval step using the New approval step button.

You can make configuration changes to an approval step that has already been created by selecting the approval step.

Hinweis For profound changes, especially deleting or adding steps, in workflows we recommend to create a copy of the existing workflow first. Via the copy icon you can create a backup copy of the existing workflow, afterwards the workflow can be adapted without any risk.

In the approval step, you have the following configuration options:

Description: Entry of a workflow description

Configure approval steps for invoice release

Area Approval step

• Step: you can use the drop-down menu to specify the order in which the approval steps are checked. The approval steps should be set up in the order in which an invoice passes through the approval logic.

Example:
Step 1: Invoice 0,00 – 1000,00 Euro
Step 2: Invoice 1001,00 – 2000,00 Euro
Step 3: Invoice 2001,00 – 3000,00 Euro
etc.

By activating the parallel option and selecting an existing numbering step, you can have two approval steps checked simultaneously. The option of parallel approval steps enables you to accelerate the approval process within your organization.

• Type – Release: in the invoice release workflow, the approval step can only be defined as type Release. The invoice in question must always be approved.
• Return workflow possible: the function allows an invoice to be returned to any approval step within a multi-step approval workflow.
  To do this, the current user rejects the invoice and chooses one of the previous approvers. For this to be possible, the return function must be activated in each approval step.
  This option is only visible in connection with a dynamic workflow.
• Allow forwarding approval to another user: you can enable this option to allow users to forward approvals to another user.
  The user who is the current approver can forward the approval to any user in the user list by clicking the Send approval to other approver button.
  By forwarding, the selected user receives the “approval right for the respective document”.

This transfer is only valid once for the invoice in question and only for the workflow step in question. The new approver therefore takes over all the options from the respective approval step that were available to the original approver, for example, return, forward, approval via direct link, and can execute the approval in his or her place. After forwarding, the document is visible in the release list of the newly selected approver and can be processed as usual. The new approver will be notified by email of the pending approval. Forwarding is possible several times.

Forwarding does not change the sequence of the workflow steps – it only replaces the approver from the step in which the forwarding was performed with the selected user.

• Approver (User): via the radio button you can select the user who is to approve the invoices. The following options are available to you for this purpose:
  • Orderer: by activating the radio button, the orderer must approve the invoice for the order generated by him.
  • Person responsible of the account assignment object: by activating the radio button at Person responsible of the account assignment object, the approval for the invoices is sent to the person responsible of the account assignment object, e.g. Person responsible cost center 4711.
• Approver (user group): by activating the radio button and selecting the user groups, you can set a user group as approver.
  With this option, all users in the user group are informed by e-mail. As soon as one of the users from the user group processes the invoice, the remaining users can no longer process this invoice.
  Further restriction and configuration options are available within the user group:
  • Selection of the approver: if you activate the selection of the approver in addition to the user group, the orderer can specifically select the desired approver of the user group via drop-down menu.
    Thus, the approval can be transferred to a specific group member.

• Allow forwarding the approval to another group member: with this option the current approver has the possibility to forward the approval to another user from the user group.
  In the invoice, in addition to the Reject and Approve buttons, the Submit approval to other approver button is visible. This button allows the approver to select another user from the user group and forward the approval to that user.

• Purchasing group (assigned in the purchase order): if you select the Purchasing group option, the invoice must be approved by the purchasing group assigned to the purchase order.
• Substitute (user) – after X minutes / hours / days: here you have the possibility to select a user from the dropdown menu who will get the invoice forwarded for approval after the selected period (minutes/hours/days).
  Forwarding is automatic if the first user does not process the invoice.
  Users who are assigned as deputies in the invoice release workflow receive a direct link to the release/rejection of invoices by e-mail.
  The selection of days takes into account the workday configuration of your organization.
• Substitute (user group): – after X minutes / hours / days: here you have the possibility to select a user group from the dropdown menu, which will get the invoice forwarded for approval after the selected period (in minutes/hours/days).
  Forwarding is automatic if the first user does not process the invoice.
  The selection of days takes into account the workday configuration of your organization.
• Substitute from the user administration: – after X minutes / hours / days: here, the substitute of the user who is stored in the user administration with the approver is always determined automatically. The permit is forwarded to the representative for approval after the selected time period (in minutes/hours/days).

If a release request is forwarded to another approver and the new approver has a permanent substitute who is valid for approvals, the substitute automatically receives a release request by e-mail after the time defined in the workflow step.

 

Example

For cost center 4711, the approver is the cost center manager Peter Mustermann.
Peter Mustermann has entered Katja Mustermann as a substitute for his holiday period.
The invoice must be approved by Katja Mustermann in the selected period.

• Substitute (higher-ranking person responsible for the account assignment object): – after X minutes / hours / days: with this option you can activate the dynamic determination of substitutes of approvers within the persons responsible for an account assignment object. If an invoice is to be approved by a person responsible for the account assignment object and the person responsible for the cost center with the defined rank has not yet approved the invoice, it is forwarded to the substitute with the next highest rank for approval after the defined time period (minutes/hours/days).
  The determination of the higher-ranking substitutes is carried out automatically, based on the rank of the current approver. The cost center managers with the next highest rank are notified step by step.

  The substitute option ensures that the selected account assignment object is approved even in the case of absences. Through the multi-level “escalation” you can achieve an acceleration of the processes.
  A prerequisite for the dynamic determination of substitutes for a cost center manager is the activation of the option Allow assignment of multiple managers to an account assignment object in the organizational settings, as well as the definition of at least two managers of the account assignment object in the master data.

  • Example
    In step 1, user A is to approve with rank 1. If there is no response within one day, the higher-ranking person responsible for the account assignment object should be notified. On the 3rd day after the invoice is sent, User B with rank 2 and User C with rank 3 will be notified. The approver and the two representatives determined may approve the bill at the same time. If the three users do not react, the next higher cost center manager is notified after a further day. If no higher-ranking user is found, the approval goes to the Super Admin as the final stage of the representative escalation. The Super Admin can approve, reject, or transfer approval of the invoice to any other user.
• In the invoice list, only the initial approver is listed with name and rank. All other representatives who have already been notified are visible via the link “Representative informed s. Track status” visible
• If an approver with a higher rank has approved by proxy, all subsequent workflow steps with a lower rank are skipped. These steps are listed with the status “Not used” (approved by rank {RangNr} ) in the approval history
• The substitute option is only available for non-parallel steps with account assignment object owner as approver. If a user has already approved the invoice as a substitute, the subsequent approval steps are not activated with this user as the account assignment object owner because he or she has already approved the document.

To streamline the approval process, we recommend that you always set up a representative. The approver can always be absent due to vacation or illness. In this case, the permit could not be processed during this period.

• Criteria: here you can define whether ALL criteria (criterion = AND) or at least ONE criterion (criterion = OR) must be met for the approval workflow to take effect for invoices.

  Example 1:
  You want an invoice with a value of 0.00 to 1,000.00 euros AND the material group “Electronics” to go to a specific approver for approval.
  To do this, you must make the following settings in the invoice release workflow:
  Selection of criteria: AND
  Activate from invoice value: from 0,00 to 1.000,00 Euro
  Selection of the material group: Electronics

  Results:
  The approval step is activated if an invoice with a value between 0.00 and 1,000.00 euros AND the material group “Electronics” is to be sent.
  For the invoice approval step to apply, both criteria must be met.

  Example 2:
  You want an invoice with a value of 0.00 to 1,000.00 euros OR the material group “Electronics” to go to a specific approver for approval.
  Selection of criteria: OR
  Activate from invoice value: from 0,00 to 1.000,00 Euro
  Selection of the material group: Electronics

  Results:
  The approval step is activated if an invoice with a value between 0.00 and 1,000.00 euros OR the material group “Electronics” is to be sent.
  For the invoice approval step to apply, only one of the two criteria must be met.

Range Value limits

In the Value Limits area, you can define certain value limits and variances from the purchase order for activating the invoice approval step:

• Deviation from order total: by activating this option, the approval step is always activated if the invoice total deviates from the order total.
• Deviation from item total: by activating this option, the approval step is always activated if an invoice item deviates from the order item.
• Deviation from purchase order unit price: by activating this option, the approval step is always activated if the unit price in the invoice deviates from the unit price in the purchase order.
• Activate order value: by activating this option, the approval step is activated if the invoice deviates from the order value by the stored value range from X% – to Y%.

  Example:
  Activate order value is active.
  Registered value limit: from 0 % – to 10 %.
  Order total = 100,00 Euro
  Invoice total = 105,00 Euro
  Result: Invoices with an invoice value between 100.00 and 110.00 euros activate this approval step.

• Activate purchase order item value: by activating this option, the approval step is activated if an invoice item deviates from the purchase order item by the stored value range from X% – to Y%.

  Example:
  Activate purchase order item value is active.
  Registered value limit: from 0 % – to 10 %.
  Order item = 10,00 Euro
  Invoice item = 10,50 Euro
  Result: Invoices with an invoice value between 10.01 and 11.00 euros activate this approval step.

• Activate invoice value: by activating this option, the approval step is activated if the invoice value is in the stored value range from X Euro – to Y Euro.
  Ex:
  Activate invoice value is active.
  Registered value limit: from 0,00 EUR – to 1000,00 EUR
  Result: Invoices with a value between 0.00 and 1000.00 euros activate this approval step.
• GoodsReceipts / Quantity Variance Goods Receipt to Invoice: by activating this option the quantity in the field “Confirmed GR” of the goods receipt document is compared with the invoice quantity. If the invoice quantity differs from the goods receipt quantity by the defined value range of X % to Y %, the approval step is activated.

Area Other criteria

In the Other criteria area, you can select other criteria relevant to the approval step.

Depending on the selection of the AND / OR link under Criteria, either ALL (AND link) or only ONE (OR link) of the selected criteria must be fulfilled for the approval step to take effect.

The following additional criteria are available:

• Free text items: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if there are free text items in an invoice.
• Dangerous goods items: If this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if there are dangerous goods items in an invoice.
• Trial tool: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if there are trial tool items in an invoice.
• Service item: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if there are service items in an invoice.
• Inventory-managed: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if there are inventory-managed items in an invoice.
• Additional items: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if there are additional items in an invoice compared to the purchase order.
• Vendors: by selecting the vendor, the approval step is activated if a specific vendor has been selected in the invoice item.
  You can select the suppliers via the selection button.
• Vendor categories: via the selection of vendor categories, the approval step is activated if a vendor from a certain vendor category has been selected in the invoice items.
  You can select the supplier categories via the selection button.
• Cost elements: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected cost elements has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the cost types via the selection button.
• Cost centers: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected cost centers has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the cost centers via the selection button.
• Business areas: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected business areas has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the business areas via the selection button.
• WBS elements: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected WBS elements has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the PSP elements using the Select button.
• Account assignment categories: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected account assignment categories has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the account assignment categories via the selection button.
• Orders: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected orders has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the orders via the selection button.
• Projects: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected projects has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the projects via the selection button.
• Material groups: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected material groups has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the material groups via the selection button.
• Purchasing groups: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected purchasing groups has been assigned in an invoice item.
  You can select the purchasing groups via the selection button.
• Organizational units: if this criterion is active, the approval step is activated if one of the selected organizational units has been assigned in an invoice.
  You can select the organizational units using the selection button.

The workflow steps always refer to the document to be checked. The information, e.g. material groups, cost centers, etc., is usually transferred from the purchase order to the invoice document.