The Invoice review process begins when an invoice is uploaded to the Portal. This invoice is sent to the First Approver for review and is then passed to the remaining internal and external approvers.
The Portal offers Invoice Processing features that provide Strata Managers and Approvers with the tools they need to effectively manage invoices within the Portal.
Contents
- Overview of the Invoice Review Process
- Review by the First Approver
- Review by the Internal Approvers
- Review by External Approvers
- Payment Processing
Overview of the Invoice Review Process
When a Service Provider has completed a Job, they must invoice the Strata Organisation by uploading their invoice to the Work Summary page.
If a Service Provider does not upload an invoice to the Portal and instead sends it by email, the email can be redirected to the portal or the invoice can be manually uploaded by the manager.
Invoices will be sent to the First Approver requiring their approval. If they approve the invoice, it will be passed to any remaining Internal Approvers, then any External Approvers.
Committee Members and Owners that are External Approvers for their Building can review and provide feedback on invoices. When all of the information is correct, they should Approve the invoice. If changes need to be made, they can Message the other approvers.
When the invoice has been approved by all Approvers, it's sent to Strata Master for payment.
Review by the First Approver
The First Approver is a Strata Organisation employee that will receive an invoice for review before other approvers.
To view and action their invoices, the First Approver can click the 'Finance' icon, select 'Invoices,' and check the 'For my approval' filter to view invoices awaiting approval.
They can search for an invoice using the plan number or provider name, then click anywhere on the invoice row to open it.
To make changes, click the 'Edit' (pencil) icon.
First Approvers review the invoice details, including the GL code(s), ensuring all information is accurate. They can correct certain details or reject the invoice, requesting the provider to submit an updated version.
If multiple creditors share the same ABN or GST number in the Organisation's Strata Master Database, the First Approver can choose the correct creditor from the Strata Master Creditor Name field.
Selecting a creditor will automatically fill in the payment details based on the saved information in Strata Master.
If a new creditor needs to be paid, they must first be added to Strata Master.
For Australian organisations, an ABN is not required to add a creditor under Creditor Details. However, for New Zealand organisations, a creditor must have either a GST Number or a unique email to be added.
To complete the extraction process, creditors must have an ABN or GST Number
First Approvers can add a 'Due Date' on the Invoice Details.
If a due date is added to an invoice when the invoice is approved, this will populate in the Creditor Invoice screen in Strata Master for the invoice.
Scheduling an invoice’s due date for a future date serves as an alternative way to delay its payment. A creditor payment run will only process invoices with a due date on or before the current date.
Invoices cannot be approved without completed Row Items. When editing the invoice, the First Approver must scroll down to the Row Items section and then click '+ New row item'. If there is a default GL code and description set up in Strata Master for the creditor, these details will auto-populate the row items. If the invoice is linked to a Job, the Job title will auto-populate in the Description box along with the GL code added to the job (if any).
To add additional GL codes to the invoice, click '+ New row item'.
The GL code dropdown will display the five most recently used GL codes for the Plan Number and Service Provider. Prefixes for the budget fund are displayed as Admin, CWF (Capital Works Fund), or All.
If the Provider is registered for GST, a GST amount will be automatically applied under Invoice Details and Row Items but can be overridden if required.
Note: GST is calculated depending on the country where the Organisation is based. In Australia it is 10% while in New Zealand it is 15%. The GST for invoices can be only 10%/15% or less. If the amount entered is more than these percentages, the user will get an error message.
'Group' automatically defaults to 'None'. To select a group code on the row item, simply click the dropdown arrow and choose the correct group code.
Verify that the information is correct, then click 'Approve'.
If the provider is non-compliant based on the organisation's compliance settings, a warning will alert the approver. They can then choose to send a reminder for compliance updates, cancel the approval, or proceed if permitted by the organisation’s settings.
They have the option to cancel an invoice, which prevents it from being processed for payment. However, canceled invoices can be reopened if needed.
If an invoice shouldn't be processed immediately, they can set its status to On Hold by selecting 'Place on hold' from the three-dot dropdown menu. When it's ready for processing, they can choose 'Place off hold' to resume the workflow.
Once the First Approver approves the invoice, it moves to the next internal approver for further review.
If the First Approver has multiple invoices to review and wishes to approve them all at once, they can navigate to their Tasks, check the boxes in the left column for each invoice, and then click 'Approve' in the top right to bulk approve them.
Some Buildings may have a Recurring Rule that allows the First Approver to Override and Approve an Invoice that meets a set criteria. This option bypasses all other approvers and sends the invoice for automated payment processing.
Review by the Internal Approvers
The Internal Approvers are Strata Organisation employees that have been selected to review the invoice. Internal Approvers approve the invoice one at a time to validate the invoice data.
Internal Approvers ensure that all of the information is correct and make certain changes if necessary. When all of the information has been verified, they should approve the invoice and pass it to the next internal or external approver.
When approving an invoice, they have several options aside from approve. They have 'Pass to User', 'Pass to user and open next' and 'Override'.
Note: The availability of the 'Override & Approve' buttons is based on user permissions and Invoice Rules.
When 'Pass to user and open next' is selected, they can select which invoice they should be routed to next, the First Invoice in tasks, the Last Invoice in tasks, and the Same Plan Number.
Note: If there are no other invoices with the same plan number, that option is greyed out. If there are no other invoices for the user to approve, all options are greyed out.
Internal Approvers may also decide to pass the invoice back to someone who previously approved it by selecting 'Pass back to user'.
Users have the option to include a note on any action performed on the invoice, such as Approve, Place On Hold, Cancel, Delete, or Override & Approve.
This note will be visible in the invoice's Document History.
Review by External Approvers
The External Approver is a designated approver that's not part of the Organisation but is required to approve invoices before they're sent to Strata Master for payment. Committee Members and Owners may be selected as External Approvers.
External Approvers will only review an invoice if the Building Rules permit them to do so. Organisation Admins and assigned Strata Managers can make changes to the total number of Internal and External Approvers required from the Building Profile.
External Approvers can Approve and send an invoice for automated payment processing. External Approvers can Message other approvers about the invoice.
Payment Processing
When External Approvers have approved the invoice, it will be processed to Strata Master where the Accounts Team will issue payment to the Service Provider.
Refunds or credits sometimes need to be processed. If the invoice submitted is for a refund or a credit, there will be a negative amount under 'Amount' and 'GST'.
The Invoice Status will change to 'Approved for Payment' after a Transaction ID has been received from Strata Master as this confirms the data export was successful. There will be one Transaction ID per row item.
When an invoice has been paid in Strata Master, the Invoice Status will update to 'Paid'. The Payment Number provided is generated by Strata Master. It will also update the status of a linked Job to 'Completed' on the Work Summary page.
When the invoice has been paid, the Service Provider will be notified by email.
Note: Invoices that have a $0 amount can't be processed for payment. If payment is not required for an invoice, the approvers can select 'No Payment Required'.
Strata Managers should contact us with any further questions regarding this process.
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