Introduction
Within Purchasing, you can add/view Invoices, Estimates and add Local Cash purchases.
The page will default to the current week, but you can change the year and week by using the drop down options.
If using EDI invoices, an alert will pop up to advise you of the number of invoices that need approval. You can click on Authorise to review/approve those invoices or click on Continue to skip this process, you will land on the Invoices area by default.
All fields marked with a red asterisk are mandatory fields.
Assumptions
You have the permission set to access this area
Where to find this
Within the Outlet > Finance > Purchasing > Invoices or Estimates
Step by Step Guide
Invoices
To manually add an invoice, click on the +Add button
Complete all the fields marked with a red asterix.
It is also advisable to add to the Late Invoice field if the invoice arrived later than the goods and not in the current week.
You may need to split the invoice into categories for reporting purposes, once you have added your 1st category, click on the + button to add another category. Repeat this until you have added the required categories.
You can also approve invoices awaiting approval from within this page by clicking on the Invoices Awaiting Approval button in the top right hand corner.
When an invoice is created in the system, either manually, via EDI or EDI Lite, a mock up invoice can be viewed/printed by clicking on the printer icon at the end of each invoice line. The invoice displays the product lines, line by line showing the VAT for that line if applicable.
Estimates
There are 3 ways to create an estimate in IndiCater:
1. An estimate can be manually added here. The user can enter an estimate invoice or an estimate credit note. From within the Estimates tab, click on +Add.
2. An estimate will be automatically created by booking off an order in Requisitions which has been placed with a supplier when the user clicks the Book Off option.
There are 3 different reasons why the user may select the Book Off option:
a) They have received their goods with a delivery note instead of an invoice
b) Their head office team has made the decision not to activate the Book Off and Convert to Invoice option and so the only option the user will see is Book Off
c) The order is for an EDI supplier which means the user won’t see any other option other than Book Off.
3. An estimate credit note will be automatically created during the Book Off process if the user has amended the quantity and proceeded with a request for a credit note when prompted. This estimate will be created for the value of the credit required.
Users have 3 options when it comes to processing estimates:
1. Convert – the user converts the estimate into an invoice. This is recommended for an audit trail purpose and should be used by clients using e-procurement as it means the purchasing data is carried forward into the invoice. Click on Show All, choose the required Estimate/s, then click on Convert and Confirm. The estimate will be replaced by an invoice. Please note, this option will only be available if the client has the Estimate Conversion option activated.
2. Reverse – this cancels out the estimate leaving the outstanding value at zero. An invoice will need to be manually added. To reverse, click on the Combine/Reverse button, select the supplier and choose the estimate, then select Reverse Estimate.
3. Combine – this enables the user to combine multiple estimates into 1 invoice. To Combine estimates, click on the Combine/Reverse button, select the supplier and choose the estimates, then select Combine Estimate. The estimate will be replaced by an invoice.
EDI and estimates
When booking off an order placed with an EDI supplier, an estimate will be created.
When an electronic invoice comes in, it looks for the PO number which is on the estimate and it also looks for the estimate value. If the 2 match, the estimate is automatically converted into an invoice and the user doesn’t need to do anything else.
If the value sits outside the tolerance specified in the database, eg the tolerance is £10, the estimate is £85 and the invoice is £100, the invoice will be flagged as requiring manual approval and will be listed in the Invoices Awaiting Approval area. Once approved, the invoice will be created.
If the PO number is not found in an existing estimate, the user will need to manually approve the invoice which will be listed in Invoices Awaiting Approval.
Credit notes behave the same way as invoices.
Local Cash Purchases (Petty Cash)
Assuming the supplier has been added, click on Local Cash, then +Add, complete the mandatory fields as you would for an invoice.
Questions......
What if I have entered my estimate incorrectly?
The user can edit their estimate in finance. To find the estimate they can either search in the correct week or click the Show All button to search across all weeks.
Once in the estimate, the value can be amended and the estimate saved.
How long will the estimate remain in the system?
An estimate will remain in the system until it is converted, reversed or combined. It can also be deleted but this would remove all trace of it and so should only be done if the user has genuinely entered it in error.
Until one of the above has happened it will stay as an outstanding estimate and can be seen on the Outstanding Estimates report in Finance reports.
Do I add VAT to an estimate?
The user does not add VAT to an estimate. This is only done at the point of converting the estimate into an invoice or reversing it.
IndiCater note: It is possible to select the Show All button on the estimate page to find an estimate, add a VAT amount and then save the estimate without converting it. This isn’t a process that should be followed but is one to be considered if someone is querying how VAT was added to an estimate.
What if I receive 1 invoice for multiple estimates?
The user can use the Combine option to convert multiple estimates into 1 invoice. This is used by clients who place a weekly order but receive a monthly invoice, eg for a regular delivery of milk.
Where can I see all outstanding estimates?
1. Within an outlet, you can click on Purchasing > Estimates and Show All to see a list of the estimates that are outstanding. This option will only be available if the client have the Estimate Conversion option activated.
2. There is a Purchase Estimates Outstanding report which can be found in Finance > Reports in both Head Office and within an outlet. Alternatively, an Outstanding Estimates report can be found in the Purchasing area of our new Reporting Suite.
3. You can drill down into the estimates in the Trading Report found in Finance > Reports > New Reports. Once the trading report is on the screen you can click on the wording Opening Estimates and Closing Estimates to drill down to get the detail.
I have amended the unit price or the quantity at book-off. Which amount will be displayed on the Outstanding Estimates report?
It depends on whether a Credit Note Request was raised or not (when amending the order at book-off).
If one was requested, the original amount will be displayed on the report AND also an estimate for the Credit Note Request.
If no Credit Note was requested, the amended amount will be displayed on the report.