Overview
Adding a new invoice
Invoice approval: Individual steps of invoice approval and their specifics
Attaching additional documents to an invoice
Before reviewing an invoice with Alasco, an invoice approval workflow should already be set up in the master data. Invoice workflows can be created by admins and can be used in order to review an invoice within the project once assigned to a project.
Adding a new invoice
There are several ways to upload invoices in Alasco.
You can use the "+" button in the navigation bar at the top of the screen. Alternatively, invoices can also be added via the "Costs" menu and the "Invoices" tab, as well as from within a contract.
Using the "+ Add invoice" button, you can upload one or more invoices from your local computer by opening the file explorer or via drag and drop into the upload area.
Invoices can also be sent directly to a project in Alasco via email or an open API.
Tip:
For a detailed guide on adding invoices, see the "Create invoices" article in our Help Center.
Invoice approval
The following explains the individual steps of the invoice approval process. An approval process in Alasco consists of at least three mandatory steps:
Invoice: create
Complete details
Approval
Additionally, the invoice approval workflow can be extended to include up to 11 possible steps, depending on individual requirements and internal procedures:
General functions
Some general functions are available to you in all steps:
- You can add additional documents to the invoice at any time. Once the invoices have been approved, existing documents can no longer be removed or changed.
- Click the "Coversheet with documents" button above the invoice on the right to download the invoice and cover sheet for further processing.
Exception: In the "Complete details" step, the Alasco cover sheet does not yet exist. - You can add or remove tags at any time. You can filter and sort the invoice list using these tags.
- In the viewer, you can use various markup tools to leave review and correction comments, as well as stamps, directly on the invoice or other documents.
Exception: These functions are deactivated in the "Payment" step. - Use the "Delegate" button to delegate the task to another user.
- Return the invoice to the previous approval step by clicking the "Send back" button and specifying a reason.
- Archive the invoice by clicking "Other actions". Here, the invoice can also be postponed for further review by 1-7 days, preventing daily reminders during this period.
- Add a comment about the process step in the "Comments" tab.
- View the invoice's progress in the "History" tab.
- Click on the round icon next to the name of the current step to view the workflow progress.
Note:
Entered comments will appear on the invoice cover sheet (if configured) and will be visible to all process participants. At the moment, it is not possible to modify entered comments retrospectively. Please contact your designated Customer Enablement Manager if you do not wish for comments to appear on the invoice cover sheet.
Invoice: create
This step represents the upload of an invoice and defines the role of the "Uploader", who may receive tasks in further steps. For invoices submitted via email or open API, the uploader is the "Responsible user" that you defined in the project settings.
Complete details
This step is used to record the invoice correctly and completely so that it can be reviewed and approved. Alasco supports you with automatic data extraction and an AI checklist for formal criteria.
Invoice validation
Checking the invoice against legal requirements is carried out together with data extraction using AI. If you do not have access to these functions, a static checklist is available instead.
Review the formal details, such as the invoice number and date, the service period, VAT rates, and the contractor's tax number/VAT ID.
Check the automated query for the validity of the tax waiver statement, if available, and adjust the status to "valid", "invalid", or "not available" accordingly.
Click on the "Edit" button next to the address verification for the contractor and the contracting entity to correct the master data in case any information has changed.
Invoice data entry
Alasco extracts data from invoices using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Ideally, the automatically extracted data (highlighted in blue) only needs to be confirmed.
Mandatory information
- Project and contract
- Invoice type: advance payment, single, installment, partial final or final invoice
- If installment invoice: installment number of the invoice
- Unaudited amount (net, tax, gross)
- Invoice number
- Invoice date, receipt date, due date
Optional information
- Internal invoice number
- Discount period (if not recorded in the contract terms)
After completing the details, click "Pass on" to move the invoice to the next workflow step.
Note:
Please note that for installment invoices, you should always enter the cumulated values of the unaudited invoice amount, as the total amounts already approved in previous installment invoices will be deducted in later workflow steps.
Note:
The details can also be edited in later steps. To do this, go to the "Invoice details" tab and click on the "Edit" button.
Approval construction manager (optional)
Also known as the construction manager approval. In this step, the formal correctness and the correctness of the calculation are reviewed by external participants, such as construction management/site supervision.
The central task in this step is to confirm or adjust the requested invoice amount. The following tools are available for this:
- The automatic calculation check on the right considers the contract volume, contractual deductions and retentions, previous invoices and amounts paid to date, as well as the reported progress.
- Click on the pencil icon next to the retentions to edit the underlying contract terms directly within the contract.
- Click on the "contract approval state" tab to see details of previous invoices.
- You can directly adjust the audited invoice amount, and/or use the "+ Add" button to enter manual retentions and corrections or a different cash discount base.
- In the "Allocations" tab, you can distribute the costs incurred by the invoice to e.g. sub-projects or construction phases.
See the current billing status of the contract for installment invoices in the "contract approval state" tab.
The automatically generated Alasco invoice cover sheet contains the details from the calculation check for further processing and filing. After completing the step, an automatic approval stamp is applied to the cover sheet (if configured).
After completing the formal check and checking the correctness of the calculation, click on "Check & pass on" to move the invoice to the next review step.
Note:
Click the "+ Add" button to define a cash discount reference manually. Alasco calculates the discount amount based on the previously defined contract terms. If your invoice does not follow the predefined logic, you can adjust the cash discount reference manually to ensure the correct amount is deducted.
Approval
In this step, the commercial check and the approval for payment take place. Several approval steps can be assigned to maintain a four- or six-eyes principle and better distribute tasks in your team.
Review the entries from the previous review step and correct them if necessary.
- The automatic calculation check on the right considers the contract volume, contractual deductions and retentions, previous invoices and amounts paid to date, as well as the reported progress.
- Click on the pencil icon next to the retentions to edit the underlying contract terms directly within the contract.
- Click on the "contract approval state" tab to see details of previous invoices.
- You can directly adjust the audited invoice amount, and/or use the "+ Add" button to enter manual retentions and corrections or a different cash discount base.
- In the "Allocations" tab, you can distribute the costs incurred by the invoice to e.g. sub-projects or construction phases.
Use the "+ Add" button to add additional manual retentions, to make manual corrections or to change the cash discount reference.
The automatically generated Alasco invoice cover sheet contains the details from the calculation check for further processing and filing. After completing the step, an automatic approval stamp is applied to the cover sheet (if configured).
After completing the formal check and checking the correctness of the calculation, click on "Approve & pass on" / "Approve" to move the invoice to the next active review step or to finalise the review process.
Note:
Once the invoice has been finally approved in Alasco, the approved amount is displayed in the cost controlling and the payment can be recorded.
Payment (optional)
In this step, you report back when and in what amount the invoice was paid. This information is optional but enables exact cash flow tracking. The payment step can be activated as a task in the invoice approval workflow or it can be done manually without an approval step.
Either open the task or open the invoice and then click on the "Mark as paid" button.
In this step, you will see all the relevant payment amounts, the contractor's bank details, and information about the contract.
Click on the contractor's name to correct the master data if any information has changed.
On the right side, select the payment date and the final paid amount from the suggestions (approved amount or approved amount after cash discount) or enter a custom gross payment amount.
You can add a comment on payment, e.g. to explain a deviating payment.
Alternatively, you can use the "Batch payments" tab in the invoice list to record payments for several invoices at the same time.
Click the "Mark as paid" button to complete the invoice approval process.
Note:
Once the invoice has been marked as paid in Alasco, the paid amount is displayed in the cost controlling.
Note:
For DATEV users: Use the "Login" button to connect to DATEV Unternehmen Online in order to transfer the invoice including the cover sheet and all relevant invoice data to DATEV.
Attaching additional documents to an invoice
You can add additional documents to an invoice at any time. To do this, first open the invoice and click the "Documents" button. Select "Manage documents" to upload more documents.
By default, documents are added as an attachment, but you can choose from the following types:
Invoice
Attachment
External coversheet
Audited invoice
Internal correspondence
External correspondence
Valuations
Plans
Revised invoice
Payment certificate
Protocol
Other
The attachment will then be displayed in additional tabs, just like the invoice cover sheet and the original invoice.