Overview
- Create and customise an invoice workflow
- The individual steps of the invoice verification process in Alasco, their special features, and which settings can be modified as an admin
Creating invoice workflows in the master data
In the submenu item "Workflows", under master data, you can view the invoice workflows that have already been created and in which projects they are used (the display may vary depending on the user and authorisation). To create a new workflow, click the "+ Add" button at the top right. Clicking on the three dots at the right-hand side of the screen, allows you to delete a workflow (provided it's not currently in use in a project). Additionally, you can duplicate the workflow here as well.
Once you have selected a project, you can adjust which workflow should be used by default for this project in the project settings.
Tip:
During project creation, you must select an invoice workflow. If you have not created one, you can name a default workflow by clicking "+ Add new". You will have to edit it later on by navigating to the submenu item "Workflows".
Tip:
In our Help Center article on rights and roles, you can learn about the permissions associated with different user roles in Alasco.
When you select a workflow, you can activate, deactivate or edit the individual steps by clicking on the pencil icon at the top right of the corresponding step. Greyed-out steps represent optional currently unused steps. In editing mode, move the slider to the right to activate an inactive step. There are 3 mandatory steps; they are demarcated as such with a *.
Note:
Please note that you can edit a verification step in the invoice approval workflow at any time, even of there are currently invoices in this step. However, changes to the verification step will only apply to future invoices. Existing invoices in this step will continue to be processed based on the previously set scheme. Invoices currently in this step will be displayed when hovering over the pencil icon with your cursor.
Changing the invoice workflow assigned
Contract units inherit the invoice workflow assigned to the project. However, it can be replaced by another workflow, or the project's invoice workflow can be modified in the master data.
Note:
If you replace a workflow, the new workflow only applies to invoices uploaded after the change. However, if you adjust the respective workflow, these adjustments take effect immediately from the next workflow step - even for invoices already in the workflow.
The invoice workflow in detail
In the invoice workflow, you can assign a certain task to a specific user. However, the first step, "Invoice: Create" cannot be assigned to a particular user. The option "Uploader" is selected here by default so that every user with the required authorisation can upload an invoice. This user then takes over the respective task in all subsequent workflow steps that use the option "Uploader".
Eleven steps are available; three of them are mandatory. Below, these steps are briefly explained, along with what you can edit in each step.
Tip:
Learn how to assign the configured invoice workflows not only as templates on a project level, but also to individual contract units in the article on the creation of contract units.
Invoice: Create - Step 1 (mandatory)
An invoice is created via the previously defined project email address or by manually uploading an invoice in Alasco. This makes the invoice available in Alasco and can then be edited in the invoice workflow.
This mandatory step cannot be disabled or further customised.
Complete details - Step 2 (optional) and 3 (mandatory)
In these steps, the automatically uploaded invoice data must be reviewed and corrected if necessary. This concerns the basic invoice details, such as the invoice date, the invoice number, and the unverified invoice amount.
In Alasco, you can have the basic invoice details double-checked by activating the optional step 2 and assigning it to a different user than the one from mandatory step 3.
Formal check - Step 4 (optional)
After entering and, if necessary, correcting the invoice details, the formal invoice details, such as the invoice address and the contractor's bank details and tax number, should be reviewed. This optional step can be assigned to a specific user in Alasco.
Tip:
Experience shows that most clients assign the two steps, "Enter details" and "Formal check", to the same user. However, if step 4 is deactivated, the formal check requirements will form part of step 3.
Approval construction manager - Step 5 (optional)
This optional approval step is the first factual and accounting check in Alasco. In this step, you can, for example, have an external construction manager/auditor in the invoice workflow. They must be previously created as a user in Alasco.
Click on the pencil icon to assign this step to an existing user in Alasco. The Alasco invoice cover sheet is created after this step and correspondingly the associated approval stamp. Therefore, you can customise the approval stamp here.
Approval - Step 6 (mandatory)
This step is similar in structure to the previous step 5, except that this step is the only mandatory approval step in the invoice workflow.
You have the same options for editing this step as in the optional step 5.
Approval - Steps 7, 8, 9, and 10 (optional)
You have the option to add up to four additional approval steps to the invoice workflow in Alasco. These optional steps have the same editing options as the two previous steps, 5 and 6. You can assign these steps to different users, and an approval stamp, that can be edited, is also created after each check.
Additionally, you can define a minimum invoice approval amount for each of the four review steps. Meaning that this step is only activated for invoices that exceed the specified minimum invoice amount in net.
Tip:
We recommend to use an approval limit so that particularly high payment amounts undergo an additional review and approval by the managing director.
Payment - Step 11 (optional)
In this step, an approved invoice is marked as paid. If this step is deactivated, the payment can still be manually entered.
Activate the step and assign it to a specific user if you want to create a separate task for the payment of an invoice. Usually, this step is done by the accounting department; therefore, the separate step is convenient. Within the payment step, you can also activate and edit the paid stamp.
This step must be deactivated if you want to use the SEPA export function to export relevant payment information to common banking software.
Note:
Whether you want to handle the payment step manually or though the invoice approval process in Alasco; in both cases, you can transfer the invoice, the cover sheet with the approval stamps, and the required invoice data to DATEV.