Topic overview
- Adding a new invoice
- Invoice review and workflow
- Invoice types in Alasco
- Invoice cover sheet
- Attaching additional documents to an invoice
- Invoice list and exports
- Payment management and payment reconciliation
Adding a new invoice
In Alasco, invoices are always assigned to a project first. The easiest way to add an invoice is therefore via the dashboard within a project. To do this, first select the relevant project and click “+ Add invoice” in the right-hand corner of the “Tasks in progress” section.
Alternatively, you can also find the “+ Add invoice” button in the sidebar under the "Costs" menu item in the “Invoices” tab, or in the respective contract under the "Invoices" tab.
Tip:
Alternatively, use the Quick-Add button (the + at the top of the screen) to quickly add an invoice, a new contract or a change order to a project.
Similarly, in the multi-project view you can select the “Invoices” tab under the "Costs" menu item and click “+ Add invoice” in the top right-hand corner. Then select the project to which the invoice is to be uploaded.
In all cases, you can now upload your invoice in PDF format or as an e-invoice in XML or ZUGFeRD format. To do this, click “Select” or drag and drop the files into the window. You can also upload several invoices at the same time. Alternatively, you can create new invoices directly from documents already uploaded to the document manager, without uploading them again.
The invoice details are captured automatically by integrated text recognition (OCR). This processing runs in the background without blocking, so you can start entering data manually right away without waiting for the AI. The following data, among others, is captured and enriched:
- Contractor: The AI matches recognised contractors with existing contracts. You can create new contractors directly from the extracted data (incl. address and bank details).
- Additional fields: Cost centres (filled in automatically based on the contract), booking accounts and an automatic internal invoice number (if activated for the project) complete the data entry.
- Cost allocations: You can now conveniently enter cost allocations as percentages instead of only as absolute amounts.
- Cash discount and deadlines: If the OCR does not return any data, Alasco automatically calculates cash discount and due dates from the contract terms.
- Utility bills: Thanks to the integrated OCR and AI pipeline, Alasco now also processes utility bills fully automatically.
Tip:
Invoices can be uploaded to Alasco automatically. This works via the project email address, which can be defined for each project. If you send an email with several documents to this address, Alasco creates an invoice and categorises one attachment as the invoice document and the rest as attachments (this can be adjusted later). If processing fails, the sender automatically receives an error message.
Invoice review and workflow
Once the data has been captured, the invoice is passed into the previously defined invoice workflow. The workflow offers extensive review and communication options:
- "Enter & validate invoice" step: The formerly separate formal review step has been integrated into this step. Even during later approval steps, you still have access to the full functionality (adjusting data, PDF markup) without having to send the invoice back to the beginning.
- AI formal review: For Pro and Advanced customers, an AI performs the formal invoice review for domestic invoices (DE, AT, CH) as well as international reverse charge invoices. The AI assessment can be overridden manually by the user at any time.
- Warnings: Alasco supports you with intelligent warnings. Alasco warns of potential contract overruns (based on amounts before deductions and taking retentions into account) as well as overpayments, so that contractual deductions are not lost with the final invoice.
- Request corrections: If the formal review fails, you can automatically generate an email to the contractor explaining the incorrect points. If the contractor then sends back a corrected invoice, Alasco uploads it automatically and archives the old version.
In the project settings, you can also configure whether notifications are sent in real time and whether the final email to accounting is sent after the final approval or only once the entire workflow has been completed.
Invoice types in Alasco
When you add a new invoice, you can choose from various invoice types:
- Single invoice
- Advance payment
- Installment invoice
- Partial final invoice
- Final invoice
Special features of installment and final invoices:
If, for cumulative invoices, the paid amount of a previous invoice differs from the approved amount, Alasco warns you about this difference. You can decide whether to offset the difference via retentions, manual corrections or by adjusting the reviewed amount on the current invoice, or to correct the payment amount of the old invoice.
In addition, invoice corrections can now be entered as gross values, consistent with other entries.
Special features of the partial final invoice:
Manual retentions are frozen by a partial final invoice, just like retentions (defects liability). They are not copied to subsequent installment invoices and remain in the "Securities" tab, from where they can be paid out.
Recurring invoices:
Recurring invoices now have the same full range of functions as other invoices. They have their own cover sheet, allow file uploads, are included in exports and DATEV transfers, and you can specify whether a workflow task for payment should be created for them automatically.
Note:
In principle, you can set the number of an installment invoice individually and thus determine the order of invoices in Alasco independently of the upload time. However, if a 2nd installment invoice already exists, a newly added installment invoice automatically becomes the 3rd installment invoice.
Invoice cover sheet
For every invoice added, Alasco automatically creates an invoice cover sheet containing the relevant invoice details. Your logo and the individual approval stamps from the invoice review can be added to this cover sheet. For installment invoices, you can display all previous installment invoices on a second page.
The invoice cover sheet now offers the following new options and information:
- Gross instead of net amounts: Via a setting at account level, you can decide whether gross or net amounts are shown on cover sheets.
- Cost allocations: These can optionally be displayed as absolute amounts instead of percentages.
- Cumulative invoices: For installment and final invoices, the progress increase and the approved amounts (instead of deviating paid amounts) of the previous invoices are clearly shown.
- Payment information: A deviating account holder for the contractor, if any (important for Verification of Payee), as well as the payment method stored in the contract are visible on the cover sheet.
- Confidential comments: Invoice comments can be marked as confidential, so they remain visible in Alasco but are never printed on the external cover sheet.
In addition, you can activate in the project settings that all invoice documents are automatically sent to the contractor's primary contact after successful approval, to inform them about the upcoming payment.
Note:
The invoice cover sheet is customisable. If you would like additional information (such as absolute cost allocations) to be displayed, or certain data not to be displayed, please contact our support team.
Attaching additional documents to an invoice
During the invoice review, or after an invoice has been marked as "Paid", you can add further documents. To do this, open the invoice, click the "Documents" button and then "Manage documents".
Select the files or drag them into the window. The documents are now uploaded immediately. Only after the successful upload do you specify the document type (e.g. attachment, external cover sheet, review calculation, measurement etc.). This makes the upload process much smoother.
In addition, the document manager lets you download the original document (without Alasco annotations) or the fully annotated PDF at any time.
Invoice list and exports
The invoice list gives you an overview of all your invoices. You can open it in the sidebar under the "Costs" menu item in the “Invoices” tab. Use the "Edit columns" button to customise the list, use filter functions and save individual views.
Exports:
Using the "Export" button, you can download tables not only as Excel but now also as a CSV file, which makes automated further processing easier. The exports also include the absolute amounts of the cost allocations for invoices.
SEPA export:
You can create a SEPA export in XML format. The current version (ISO 20022 / pain.001.001.09) also supports international transactions (e.g. outside the EEA). For this, you must maintain address data (at least city and country) for your contractors. A deviating account holder stored for a contractor is also taken into account in the SEPA export.
DATEV interface:
Invoices can be transferred seamlessly to DATEV. If advance transfer is enabled in your account, you can send invoices to DATEV before the final approval (as soon as the cover sheet and the review calculation are available). In addition, it is now also possible to transfer invoices to DATEV after they have already been marked as "Paid" in Alasco.
Payment management and payment reconciliation
Payment management has been extensively expanded, so you can handle partial payments and reconciliation with bank accounts directly in Alasco.
Bulk payments and partial payments:
On the bulk payment page, you can process several approved invoices at once and mark them as paid. For each payment, you can adjust the amount individually (e.g. for partial payments) and use a checkbox to control whether it is the final payment. If the final payment checkbox remains unticked, the invoice stays open. Even after an invoice has been set to "Paid", you can still register additional payments or edit payment information afterwards.
Warnings and confirmations:
If you enter a payment amount that differs from the originally approved amount, Alasco requires an explicit confirmation and a mandatory comment so that discrepancies are documented transparently. If you want to mark an invoice as paid that has not yet been transferred to DATEV, you will also receive an additional confirmation prompt.
Payment reconciliation via bank statement:
With the payment reconciliation function, you can import bank statements in the global CAMT.053 (XML) format. Alasco uses these transactions to automatically match approved invoices and mark them as paid. (Please note that this function is currently in beta and initially supports simple matches without partial payments.)