Invoice Processing: Coding Invoices

Summary: This article and tutorial video will demonstrate how to use Vantaca's Complete Data Entry step to assign the service provider, GL details and other invoice information before being sent to someone for approval. *Tutorial video can be found at the end of this article.

Once an invoice has been entered into Vantaca as a new Invoice action item, Vantaca will run an OCR or Optical Character Recognition process in an attempt to identify the Association, Service Provider and Contract associated with the invoice attachment. The invoice will then advance to the Complete Data Entry step of the invoice action item. This step is generally assigned to the role responsible for coding incoming invoices. To Complete Data Entry of an Invoice, you will start by selecting the Invoice you would like to work with in Accounting > Approve Invoices. Any time you select an invoice action item, Vantaca will automatically create a popup with the invoice image attached to the invoice action item you have selected.  Utilizing dual monitors or a split screen is especially helpful for this process, as it will allow you to view the invoice attachment on one screen and code the invoice on your other screen. 

Below are the fields to code in the invoice process:

• Association: Begin by selecting the association.  You may begin typing either the association name or association code.  Select the association from the dropdown menu. 
• Service Provider: Begin typing the service provider’s name and select from the dropdown menu. 
• Invoice Number: Add this if applicable. 
• Account Number: Add this if applicable or if there is a contract associated with an account number under: Association > Services 
• Invoice Date
• Invoice Due Date
• Invoice Total: Add the invoice total and then click “Refresh GL”

The Refresh GL button has two functions: It will populate the Pay Type and the GL Code.

•  The Pay Type will default to the Service Provider payment method.  If the service provider does not have a specific payment method set up in Vantaca, the pay type will default to check.  To verify whether the service provider in question already has a default payment method established, Check the Payment Method page for that Service provider. If you need to, you can override the payment method by changing the selection in the dropdown.
• The GL code will populate under two conditions. First, if the invoice account number matches a service contract, the GL details from that contract will populate. Second, if the service provider has been paid from that association in Vantaca previously, the GL details from the previous invoices will automatically populate for you to reference. If you do not want to use the same GL as the last invoice for that provider, you can click on the GL to edit the GL for this invoice.

To select your GL, click the New Item button and Begin typing the GL Description or GL code to select from the GL Accounts established for the association you have selected above. The Fund will always default to operating if left blank, so you don’t need to select anything, but this can be changed to pay your invoice out of a Reserve account or other account associated to a specific fund.  The description field is optional but will show on financial reports, such as a GL Trial Balance.  The dollar amount will automatically populate from the data entry total.  If additional GLs are needed, click New Item and follow the GL entry process. 

Note: If using Credit Memos, a negative GL amount can be entered on a line item to identify that as a Credit amount.

The Messages tab will show any notes from service providers, as well as the time stamps for the various invoice steps, such as when the invoice was received.  The Recent Invoices tab will show the last ten open and closed invoices for the association and service provider entered.  Although the system will later check for duplicates, this is an excellent resource to quickly determine if the invoice is a duplicate early in the invoice process.  If the invoice is a duplicate, simply click the Hamburger Menu, click Step, change the Next Step to Void, and click Update. 

If you need to send a message on the invoice, perhaps you want to confirm a piece of information before updating, you can use the Save and Message feature to save the details of what you have already completed, and can simultaneously send a message to someone in the same step!

Once you have finished coding your invoice and are ready to move on to the next one, click Update in the bottom-right corner of the page and the Vantaca Action Center will automatically take you to the next invoice to be coded. The invoice image will refresh with each new invoice action item, so you will not need to open new attachments!