Purpose: A/P voucher request transactions have no financial impact in the system until posted. The voucher request goes through various workflow steps taking it from a draft to posted. Different workflow steps in the process are handled by different users for a single voucher request. When the voucher request is posted an A/P voucher is added to the system.
Voucher Request Maintenance has to be turned on in the system by CDS. If you would like to use voucher requests, please contact CDS to have this functionality turned on.
Note: There are several parameters used by Voucher Request Maintenance that will also need to be set up by CDS. Please inform CDS if you will be using Mange Documents on the voucher requests. If you will, there are two related parameters. The first is for having the mange documents screen opened automatically each time a new voucher request is added. The second is for requiring a document be attached to the voucher request before it can be submitted for approval. Each association can also specify, via a parameter that CDS sets up, if they want to not have the system send an email notification to all users who have rights to post a voucher request when a request is approved.
Once Voucher Request Maintenance is turned on in your system, and the parameters have been set, there are a few fields used by Voucher Request Maintenance that you need to set on all users involved in the process.
In Users and System Security edit each user who will be involved with voucher requests.
For each user set Manager to that user’s manager, and select who can approve voucher requests added by that user in A/P Approvers.
Manager: The user immediately superior to that user. The user’s manager will be able to access the voucher requests of that user if for example that user is out of the office.
AP Approvers: For voucher requests added by that user, the possible users the voucher requests could be sent to for approval. Note: If the person listed as Manager for that user, is also in the A/P Approvers list for that user, then when that user adds a new voucher request the Approver will default to the person listed as Manager.
Note: Make sure that each user who will be involved in the process has a valid email setup in Email Address since that information will be used when emails are sent during the voucher request process.
For each user who will be adding, editing, submitting or approving voucher requests, assign them rights to Voucher Request Maintenance. For each user who will be posting voucher requests, assign them rights to Post Voucher Requests. Note: Any user who has rights to Post Voucher Requests also must have rights to Add A/P Voucher. Also retain these users’ rights for Approve Vouchers.
Note: For any users who will continue to add A/P vouchers, outside of Voucher Request Maintenance, keep their current rights as they are for Add A/P Vouchers, Edit A/P Vouchers, and/or Approve A/P Vouchers. For any user who will add all vouchers through Voucher Request Maintenance, rights for Add A/P Vouchers, Edit A/P Vouchers, and/or Approve Voucher can be removed (unless they will post voucher requests).
If your association will be attaching documents to voucher requests, rights under Manage Documents also need to be updated. For each user who will be working with documents on voucher requests, assign rights to Manage Documents - Name A/P Voucher Request and Manage Documents - Firm A/P Voucher Request.
If the user should be allowed to delete a document on a voucher request, assign rights to Delete Documents - Name A/P Voucher Request and Delete Documents - Firm A/P Voucher Request.
If a user just needs rights to view a document on a voucher request, assign them rights to View Documents – Name A/P Voucher Request and View Documents – Firm A/P Voucher Requests.
Note: If your association is new to using Manage Documents on vouchers, also review user’s rights for Manage Documents - Name A/P Voucher, Manage Documents - Firm A/P Voucher, Delete Documents - Name A/P Voucher, Delete Documents - Firm A/P Voucher, View Documents – Name A/P Voucher, and View Documents – Firm A/P Voucher.
There are two launch points for Voucher Request Maintenance.
Launch Point:
•A/P → Routines → Vouchers →
•Status Bar text →
Note: double-click on text which will either show ## A/P Voucher Requests or No A/P Voucher Requests
The text in the status bar will either show ## A/P Voucher Requests or No A/P Voucher Requests. When there are voucher requests you added with a status other than approved or requests added by someone else that you need to take action on, the count of those will be shown.
The light bulb in the status bar is yellow when the count is greater than 0. If the count is greater than 0, the light bulb will flash for a few seconds when you first open AM.NET or as changes are made and the count changes.
You can filter the records displayed in the A/P Voucher Requests grid by using the Filters fields above the grid. The records displayed will be updated as the filter fields are changed.
Note: The Do not save filter settings on exit checkbox relates to the A/P Voucher Requests group in User Preferences on the Data Entry Defaults tab. The checkbox is only shown if Save Filter Settings on Exit option is selected.
My Requests: Voucher requests you added with status of template, draft, rejected, pending approval, as well as voucher requests added by someone else you need to take action on.
Supervised employee(s) requests: If you are listed as Manager on a user or users, shows what would be shown for those users if they had My Requests checked. This filter is to be used when a user you supervise is out of the office so you can take action on voucher requests that are on their plate.
Requests ready to Post: Voucher requests with a status of approved where you are the Approver.
Pending My Approval: Voucher requests with a status of Pending Approval that you can approve.
Hide templates: Hide voucher requests with a status of template.
Account: Voucher requests for this A/P Account are displayed in the grid. Account will default to “All Accounts”. If your association has multiple A/P accounts, use the Account filter drop-down list to select which account’s voucher requests to display in the A/P Voucher Requests grid.
ACH: Voucher requests for vendors with this ACH setting are displayed in the grid. Selections in the ACH filter drop-down list are All, Yes, and No.
Refresh: Click to manually refresh the data shown in the A/P Voucher Requests grid.
The A/P Voucher Requests grid is grouped by voucher request. The parent rows display information for the voucher request.
Note: The icon displayed in the column second from the left of a parent row in the A/P Voucher Requests grid relates to the Manage Documents routine.
Click on the plus sign to the left of the voucher request row to see the child rows detailing the line items on the voucher request.
When there is at least one uploaded document on the voucher request, there will also be a child row for each document. To view the document, double-click on the view icon in the far left of the child row.
When entering a voucher request the user has the option to enter special instructions. To see the A/P address and any special instructions for the voucher request, hover the mouse over the Indexname field in the grid on a particular row. The information is displayed as a tooltip.
When working with voucher requests there are multiple users involved with each request and the request passes from one user to the next by changing the status on the voucher request. There are four statuses that a voucher request moves through going from a draft to posted.
Draft: When a voucher request is added, the status is set to draft. A voucher request with a status of draft has never been submitted for approval.
Pending Approval: When a draft voucher request is submitted, the status is changed to pending approval. That means that it is waiting to be approved by the user set as Approver on the voucher request.
Approved: When a pending approval voucher request is approved, the status is changed to approved. That means that it is ready to be posted.
Posted: When a voucher request with a status of approved is posted the voucher request is no longer seen in the voucher request process. An A/P voucher, with a transaction type of Invoice and current transaction date (the current date or the last day of the A/P period if the current A/P period is not the current calendar month.) is created for the voucher request using the same voucher number. The Pay Date on the A/P voucher will be populated using the Invoice Date and the A/P Terms or Terms on the Accounts Payable tab of the file maintenance record. If there are any documents attached, their document class will be updated from Name or Firm A/P Voucher Request to Name or Firm A/P Voucher.
There are three other possible statuses that a voucher request can have.
Rejected: A voucher request with a status of pending approval or approved can be rejected. A voucher request would be rejected if there is an issue with the request and it needs to be reviewed and updated. Note: A voucher request that has been rejected goes back to the start of the process. It is treated like a request with a status of draft. After the rejected voucher request has been corrected, it is submitted and the status is changed from rejected to pending approval.
Deactivated: A voucher request with a status of draft, pending approval, approved, rejected or template can be deactivated. A voucher request would be deactivated if it is no longer needed. A voucher request with a status of deactivated is no longer seen in the voucher request process.
Template: A voucher request can only have the status set to template when adding a new request. If you receive a similar invoice on a regular basis for a specific person or firm, add a template request for that vendor. Each time you receive an invoice from that vendor, the template request can be copied to create a new draft voucher request.
The first step in the process is to add a new voucher request.
Launch Point: This routine can be launched from the following location(s):
•A/P → Routines → Vouchers → Vouchers Request Maintenance → Add Firm Voucher Request Button
•A/P → Routines → Vouchers → Vouchers Request Maintenance → Add Name Voucher Request Button
•Names → File Maintenance → Routines Drop-Down Menu → Add A/P Request
•Firms → File Maintenance → Routines Drop-Down Menu → Add A/P Request
•Status Bar text → Add Name Voucher Request Button
•Status Bar text → Add Firm Voucher Request Button
•A/P → Routines → Vouchers → Vouchers Request Maintenance →Context Menu on A/P Voucher Requests Grid → Add A/P for {name}
Note: The relevant voucher request needs to be highlighted in the grid before you right-click to bring up the context menu. This launch point is only relevant if there is another voucher request for the same person/firm shown in the A/P Voucher Requests grid.
Note: If your association has the System Preference to filter new vouchers to approved individuals/vendors turned on, then you will only be able to add a new voucher request for approved individuals/vendors.
Note: If your association has multiple accounts payable accounts you can set your default A/P account in user preferences. In User Preferences on the Data Entry Defaults tab set the Default A/P Account to the account you enter vouchers to most often.
When launching from either the Add Name Voucher Request or Add Firm Voucher Request button in Voucher Request Maintenance, the appropriate search window will be opened. Locate the appropriate person/firm and the New A/P Voucher Request form will open.
Status: Shows the current status on the voucher request.
Approver: Select the user who will approve this voucher request. Note: If your user account has a Manager set on it, and the manager is also in the A/P Approvers list, this field will default to the manager’s name. Approver can be left blank on a voucher request with a status of draft but must be filled in prior to being submitted.
Invoice Amount: Enter the total amount of the invoice.
Invoice Number: Enter the invoice number from the invoice. Note: The invoice number entered must be unique for the firm or name the voucher is being entered for. Both existing vouchers and voucher requests are looked at.
Invoice Date: Enter the date on the invoice.
Invoice Desc/Acct #: Enter a description for the invoice.
Special Inst.: If there are any special instructions to be passed along with this voucher request enter them here. Note: This text can be seen in the A/P Voucher Requests grid by hovering your mouse over the Indexname field.
Exclude from 1099: Check to exclude this voucher from 1099.
A/P Terms: This information comes from Payment Terms on the Accounts Payable tab in Names file maintenance or Terms on the Accounts Payable tab in Firms file maintenance.
Account: If your association has multiple A/P accounts, select the A/P account for this voucher request. Note: If your association has multiple A/P accounts, when adding a voucher request Account will default to the account set as your user preferences Default A/P Account. An exception to this is when you have the Account filter in Voucher Request Maintenance set to something other than “All Accounts”. In that case, when you add a voucher request, Account will default to the account set in the Account filter field.
Mail to: When entering a voucher request on a Names record, the Voucher Request Details section includes Mail to. Specify the address where the payment for this voucher should be sent. The available options are office or home. If the Names record only has one of these addresses, then the field will default to the address that is available and the field will be disabled. Mail to is not shown when working on a Firms record. On a Firms record, if there is an Accounts Payable Address setup that address is used for the payment, otherwise the firm address is used.
Add line item(s) to the voucher request in the Line Items grid. You can either open the GL Account drop-down list and select the account from the list or enter the GL account number.
Amount in the new line will default to the amount remaining to be applied which is the difference between the Invoice Amount and the Total of the line items already entered.
Note: Once one line item has been entered, when the cursor is in GL Account you can use the F3 button to copy the GL account from the last entered line into the new line. When the cursor is in Description in the new line (top row of the grid) hit Enter to add that row to the voucher and be placed in GL Account of the top row for a new line.
To delete a line item already in the Line Items grid highlight the row and click the Delete button above the grid.
When the full amount of the invoice has been distributed click the Save button to save the voucher request.
Note: If you have another voucher request to add for the same payee, click the New Voucher – Same Payee button instead of the Save button.
A message will then appear asking how to proceed. You can click Cancel to go back to the voucher request without saving, click No to discard the voucher request just input, or click Yes to save the voucher request and start a new voucher request for the same payee.
When Yes is selected, the Add A/P Voucher Request screen is shown with the same payee selected.
Note: When New Voucher – Same Payee is used, Account will default to the account used on the previous voucher request.
When a new voucher request is saved with a status of draft, what you see next will depend on how the parameters for mange documents are set at your association.
If the parameter to have the manage documents screen opened automatically is turned on, after a new voucher request is added the Manage Documents screen will open. The document class will be set to Name A/P Voucher Request or Firm A/P Voucher Request depending on if the voucher request was added for a Name or Firm.
If the parameter to have a document required is turned on, a document must be attached before the voucher request can be submitted for approval. Since a newly added voucher request will have a status of draft, a document does not have to be added before the new voucher request can be saved, but must be added before it is submitted.
Note: These documents are not shown on the Documents tab in Names or Firms file maintenance until the voucher request has been posted. They are only viewable from the A/P Voucher Request grid in Voucher Request Maintenance.
To create a template voucher request, start by adding a new request in the same way you would for a draft voucher request. When the new A/P voucher request screen opens, Status will default to draft. Select template from the status drop-down list. This will disable Approver, Invoice Number, Invoice Date, and Mail to (if launched for a Name record).
A request with a status of template, only requires the entry of Invoice Amount and line items. The manage document functionality is disabled and if a job costed g/l account is used in a line item, the event link functionality is disabled.
To create a new draft voucher request from a template request, copy the template request and add the specific information for the new draft request. In the A/P Voucher Request grid in Voucher Request Maintenance highlight the template to work with. Then either use the Action drop-down list and select Copy, right click on the parent row of the voucher request and select Copy Template ###### for {name} from the context menu, or double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the indexname field) to go into edit mode and click the Copy Template button.
Once added, a voucher request can be edited at any status until posted. Users with rights to Voucher Request Maintenance can edit a voucher request except for those with a status of approved. Users with rights to Post Voucher Requests can edit all requests, including those with a status of approved.
To edit a voucher request open Voucher Request Maintenance. From the A/P Voucher Requests grid either double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the document icon or indexname field), or right click on the parent row of the voucher request and select Edit Voucher ###### for {name} from the context menu.
Make the needed changes and click the Save button.
The next step in the process is to submit the draft voucher request for approval.
Only voucher requests with a status of draft or rejected can be submitted for approval. To submit, from the A/P Voucher Requests grid in Voucher Request Maintenance, either use the Action drop-down list and select Submit, or double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the document icon or indexname field) to go into edit mode and click the Submit button.
When submitting a voucher request a status change note window will open. The optional note entered here will be included in the email sent to the user set as the Approver on the voucher request. When ready to submit click OK button.
When the voucher request has been submitted the status will be changed to pending approval and an email will be sent to the user set as the Approver on the voucher request.
Subject – [AM.Net] – A/P Voucher Request ready
Body - Hello,
There is an A/P Voucher Request (#019947) waiting for your approval in AM.Net.
The note associated with the submission was:
Please process ASAP
If your association has the parameter to have a document required turned on, and there is no document on the voucher request, you will get this message.
To add a document to a voucher request, from the A/P Voucher Requests grid in Voucher Request Maintenance, either double-click on the document icon of the parent row for the voucher request or highlight the row and right click to open the context menu and select Manage Documents.
This will launch the Manage Documents routine for the voucher request. The launch point is what determines the document class. So when launched from a row for a person, the class is Name A/P Voucher Request, and if launched from a row for a firm, the class is Firm A/P Voucher Request.
The next step in the process is to approve the pending approval voucher request so it can be posted.
Only voucher requests with a status of pending approval can be approved. To approve, from the A/P Voucher Requests grid in Voucher Request Maintenance, either use the Action drop-down list and select Approve, or double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the document icon or indexname field) to go into edit mode and click the Approve button.
When the Pending My Approval filter box is checked, a select all check box is shown in the header for the select column. To select to approve multiple voucher requests at the same time, once the select box has been checked on at least one voucher request you can approve, the batch action button will change to Approve Selected and become enabled.
Note: If a particular row selected is not eligible to be approved, text will be shown below the button with details.
Once all voucher requests to approve have been selected, to approve all selected click Approve Selected.
When approving a voucher request a status change note window will open. The optional note entered here will be included in the email sent to all users that have rights to post voucher requests. When ready to approve click OK button.
When multiple voucher requests are approved at one time, the text in the status change note window will be different showing the voucher requests related to this note.
When voucher request(s) have been approved the status will be changed to approved and an email will be sent to all users that have rights to post voucher requests.
Subject – [AM.Net] – A/P request ready to post
Body - Hello,
There is an approved A/P Voucher Request (#019947) ready to be posted.
The note associated with the approval was:
Please get into next check run
Note: When multiple voucher requests are approved at one time the email shows a list of the voucher requests ready to be posted.
Note: If your association has the parameter set to not send the email for approvals then you will not see the status change window and there will be no email sent.
If there is an issue with the voucher request that needs to be fixed, instead of approving the voucher request it should be rejected. To reject the voucher request, from the A/P Voucher Requests grid in Voucher Request Maintenance, either use the Action drop-down list and select Reject, or double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the document icon or indexname field) to go into edit mode and click the Reject button.
When rejecting a voucher request a status change note window will open. The optional note entered here will be included in the email sent. If rejecting a voucher request with a status of pending approval, the email will be sent to the user who added the voucher request. When ready to reject click OK button.
When the voucher request has been rejected the status will be changed to rejected and an email will be to the user who added the voucher request.
Subject – [AM.Net] – A/P Voucher Request rejected
Body - Hello,
A/P Voucher Request (#019895) was rejected by Jane Smith (JMS).
The note associated with the rejection was:
Please correct today
Note: A voucher request that has been rejected goes back to the start of the process meaning that it is treated like a request with a status of draft. After the rejected voucher request has been corrected, submit and the status is changed from rejected to pending approval.
The final step in the process is to post the approved voucher request to generate an A/P Voucher.
Only voucher requests with a status of approved can be posted. To post, from the A/P Voucher Requests grid in Voucher Request Maintenance, either use the Action drop-down list and select Post, or double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the document icon or indexname field) to go into edit mode and click the Post button.
When the Requests ready to Post filter box is checked, a select all check box is shown in the header for the select column. To select to post multiple voucher requests at the same time, once the select box has been checked on at least one voucher request you can post, the batch action button will change to Post Selected and become enabled.
Note: If a particular row selected is not eligible to be posted, text will be shown below the button with details.
Once all voucher requests to post have been selected, to post all selected click Post Selected.
When the status is changed to post, a message is shown asking if you are sure you want to post. The transaction date shown will be used on the new A/P Voucher. Click Yes to continue with the posting.
If there are attached document(s), the document class is changed from Names or Firms A/P Voucher Request to Names or Firms A/P Voucher and the document(s) are moved to the newly created A/P Voucher.
If there is an issue with the voucher request that needs to be fixed, instead of posting the voucher request it should be rejected. To reject the voucher request, from the A/P Voucher Requests grid in Voucher Request Maintenance, either use the Action drop-down list and select Reject, or double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the document icon or indexname field) to go into edit mode and click the Reject button.
When rejecting a voucher request a status change note window will open. The optional note entered here will be included in the email sent. If rejecting a voucher request with a status of approved, the email will be sent to both the user who added the voucher request and the user who approved it. When ready to reject click OK button.
When the voucher request has been rejected the status will be changed to rejected and an email will be sent to both the user who added the voucher request and the user who approved it.
Subject – [AM.Net] – A/P Voucher Request rejected
Body - Hello,
A/P Voucher Request (#019895) was rejected by Jane Smith (JMS).
The note associated with the rejection was:
Please correct today
Note: A voucher request that has been rejected goes back to the start of the process meaning that it is treated like a request with a status of draft. After the rejected voucher request has been corrected, submit and the status is changed from rejected to pending approval.
A voucher request can be deactivated if the status is draft, pending approval, approved, rejected or template.
A voucher request would be deactivated if it is no longer needed. A voucher request with a status of deactivated is not visible in the system.
To deactivate, from the A/P Voucher Requests grid in Voucher Request Maintenance, either use the Action drop-down list and select Deactivate, or double-click anywhere on the parent row of the voucher request (except for on the document icon or indexname field) to go into edit mode and click the Deactivate button.
When deactivating a voucher request that you did not add, a status change note window will open. The optional note entered here will be included in the email sent to the person who added the voucher request. When ready to deactivate click OK button.
When the voucher request has been deactivated the status will be changed to deactivated and an email will be sent to the user who added the voucher request.
Subject – [AM.Net] – A/P Voucher deactivated
Body - Hello,
Your A/P Voucher Request (#019922) with a status of Pending Approval for Jones and Williams
with invoice number 01258 has been deactivated by Jane Smith
The note associated with the deactivation was:
Entered under wrong firm record
Note: If the voucher request being deactivated had a status of template the email will not show an invoice number since that field is disabled on a template.
Note: If the user deactivating the voucher request is the same user who added the voucher request, the status change window will not open and no email will be sent.
Watch the Voucher Request Maintenance Initial Setup video:
Watch the Voucher Request Maintenance Process Overview video:
Watch the Voucher Request Maintenance Screen video:
Watch the Voucher Request Maintenance Add/Edit video:
Watch the Voucher Request Maintenance Process Steps video: