AccountsPayableInvoiceProcessingWorkflows

Thisisacombineddocumentwhichincludesallaccountspayableinvoiceprocessingworkflows.Detailsforthe procuringdepartments,aswellasforprocurementservicesareincluded. Hyperlinksareusedtoprovidequicklinksbetweenvariouspointsinthedocumentforyourconvenience.

ProcessOverview
AccountspayableworkflowsareaSAPcentricmethodforprocessinginvoiceexceptions.Whencertaininvoice exceptionsoccur,aworkflowisautomaticallystartedinSAPandroutedtoapersonforresolution. Theworkflowsare:

ItemNotonPurchaseOrder
Thissituationoccurswhenaninvoiceisreceivedreferencingavalidpurchaseorder,buthasoneormoreitemsonthe invoicethatarenotonthereferencedpurchaseorder.

QuantityDifferencePaymentBlock
Thissituationoccurswheneithertheinvoicequantityexceedsthepurchaseorderquantity,ortheinvoicequantity exceedsthegoodsreceiptquantity,orboth.

ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlock
Thissituationoccursonframeworkpurchaseorders(blanketorstandingpurchaseorders)whenthevalueofapurchase orderlineitemhasbeenexceededbythetotaldollaramountofinvoicespostedtothepurchaseorderlineitem.

StandardPurchaseOrderPriceDifferencePaymentBlock
Thissituationoccurswhenaninvoiceispostedwithanitempriceinexcessofthepurchaseorderprice.Theseonly routetoprocurementservicessincetheyareresponsibleforallpricesonpurchaseorders.

TableofContents
ProcessingSteps
ProcuringDepartmentProcessing(APRep)Clickhere
ItemNotonPOClickhere QuantityDifferencePaymentBlockClickhere o Overdelivery,andGoodsReceiptCannotbePostedUntilP.O.QuantityisIncreasedClickhere

ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlockClickhere

ProcurementServicesProcessingClickhere
ItemNotonPOClickhere QuantityDifferencePaymentBlockClickhere o Overdelivery,andGoodsReceiptCannotbePostedUntilP.O.QuantityisIncreasedClickhere

ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlockClickhere StandardPurchaseOrderPriceDifferencePaymentBlockClickhere

Appendices
CreatingDisplayVariantforSAPWorkflowInboxClick_here
Inboxdisplayvariantscanenhancetheinformationavailabletotheuserpriortoprocessingtheworkflow.Thissection liststhestepstocreateadisplayvariantforSAPworkflowinboxtoincludeadditionaltransactiondetailsusefultothe user.Thisonetimesetupmakesadditionalinformationavailabledirectlyintheworkflowinboxdisplayvendor number,vendorname,andinvoiceamount.

ForwardingtoManagerforApprovalinSAPWorkflowInboxClick_here
ForwardingaworkflowtoamanagerforapprovalisusefulfordepartmentswheretheAPRep(gatekeeper)is responsibleforresearchanddocumentation,butsomeoneelseisresponsibleforapprovingthechange.Thisappendix illustrateshowadepartmentalrepresentativecandocumentresearchregardinganinvoiceexception,andforwardthe exceptiontoamanagerforfinalapproval. Notethattheapproverwillnotgetanemailnotification.Thedepartmentalrepresentativemustnotifytheapproverto logontoSAPandprocesstheworkflow.

WorkflowRoutingOverviewClick_here
Workflowroutingexplainstheagentdetermination(whowillreceiveaworkflow).

WorkflowSubstitutionSharinganSAPWorkflowInboxClick_here
SharinganSAPworkflowinboxpermitsanSAPusertoprocesstheSAPworkflowsforanotherSAPuserwhen theworkflowrecipientisunabletoprocesstheirownworkflows. ThisisaonetimesetupintheoriginalworkflowrecipientsSAPinbox,andthissetupmustbedonebythe workflowrecipient.Itisagoodideatocreatethesubstituteassoonastheyareidentifiedtobepreparedin theeventofunscheduledabsencesfromwork.

ProcuringDepartmentProcessingBeginsHere
ReturntoContents ProcurementServicesSteps 1) Youwillreceiveanemailtoyourdesktopemailinbox(e.g.LotusNotes,Outlook,etc.)notifyingyouthatyou haveaworkflowtoprocess

2) GotoyourSAPBusinessWorkplaceandnavigatetoyourworkflows a. ClickontheSAPBusinessWorkplaceicon

3) Doubleclickonaniteminyourworkflowinboxtoprocess.Theworkflowscreenwilllaunch,andWebbrowser windowwilllaunchdisplayingthevendorinvoice. SeeAppendixAforstepstocreatedisplayvariantcontainingvendorinformation. SeeAppendixCforstepstouseworkflowsubstitutionduringemployeeabsences.

4) InvoiceimagedisplayedinWebbrowserwindow

5) Theworkflowscreenisdisplayed.ThisisanexampleofItemNotonP.O.Stepsbelowwilldiscussspecific screencontentsforeachworkflowtype.

6) Screensegmentdefinitions

Processbuttons

Header details

Line item details

Textboxforusertoentercomments regardingthisinvoice Commentsenteredinprevious steps.Allcommentsaresaved. Buttons for departmental representative actions

7) ProcessingSequence: a. Headerdetailscontainaddresseeinformationandhighleveldetailsexplainingthepurposeofthis workflow. b. Lineitemdetailslistdetailsfortheinvoiceitemandpurchaseorderitem. c. Commentsenteredinprevioussteps.Listofallcommentsusersenteredwhileprocessingthis workflow.Thesecommentsareapermanentpartoftherecord. d. Textboxprovidesthecurrentworkflowprocessorabilitytoenterdetailsaboutthistransaction.These commentsareapermanentpartoftherecord. e. Radiobuttonsatbottomofscreenareusedtospecifyactiontaken.NoActionTakenwillkeepthe workflowinyourSAPinboxforprocessinglater. f. Processbuttonsareusedtocompleteprocessingaftercompletingallothersectionsofthescreen.

8) Thefollowingprintsshoweachworkflowscreeninsuccession a. ItemNotonPO b. QuantityDifferencePaymentBlock c. ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlock

ItemNotonPurchaseOrder
ReturntoContents Subsequentstepsillustratescreensfortheotherworkflows. 9) Ontheworkflowscreen,processinformation: SeeAppendixBforinformationonforwardingtomanagerforapproval. a. Clickon+Buttontoaddlinedetailstoauthorizepurchaseorderchange b. Fillinlineitemdetailsfornewlinecreatedinstepa c. Commentsasneeded d. Selectradiobuttonatbottomofscreentoindicateactiontaken. e. ClickontheProcessWorkItembuttonatthetopleftofscreen

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QuantityDifferencePaymentBlock
ReturntoContents 10) Ontheworkflowscreen,processinformation: SeeAppendixBforinformationonforwardingtomanagerforapproval. a. Additionalquantity(enteradditionalquantitytoauthorizepurchaseorderchange) b. Commentsasneeded c. Selectradiobuttonatbottomofscreentoindicateactiontaken. i. SeenextscreenforspecialstepsifP.O.doesnotallowoverdelivery,andyouneedprocurement servicestofirstincreasetheP.O.quantitybeforeyoucancompletethegoodsreceipt. d. ClickontheProcessWorkItembuttonatthetopleftofscreen e. Thisexampleassumesagoodsreceiptisneeded.Entergoodsreceiptusingyournormalprocess.

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QuantityDifferencePaymentBlockOverdeliveryandGoodsReceiptCannotbePerformed
ReturntoContents 11) Incircumstanceswherethereisanoverdelivery,andyoucannotperformagoodsreceiptuntilthepurchase orderquantityhasbeenincreased a. Completeallitemsasdescribedinthepreviousscreen,except i. IntheCommentsfield,askProcurementServicestoreverttheworkflowtoyouafterthey increasetheP.O.quantity b. Whentheworkflowcomesbacktoyourinboxandyouprocessit i. Performthegoodsreceipt ii. EnterCommentsstatingyouhaveperformedthegoodsreceipt iii. Selecttheradiobutton,Idonotauthorizepurchaseorderchangetoaddadditionalquantityfor theitem(s)listedaboveandreturnthistoaccountspayablewithcomments iv. ClickontheProcessWorkItembutton

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ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlock
ReturntoContents 12) Ontheworkflowscreen,processinformation: SeeAppendixBforinformationonforwardingtomanagerforapproval. a. POincreaseamount(enteramountofinvoicetoauthorizepurchaseorderchange) b. Commentsasneeded c. Selectradiobuttonatbottomofscreentoindicateactiontaken. d. ClickontheProcessWorkItembuttonatthetopleftofscreen

ReturntoContents

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ProcurementServicesProcessingBeginsHere
Thesestepsareforthefollowingworkflows: ItemNotonPurchaseOrder QuantityDifferencePaymentBlock ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlock StandardPurchaseOrderPriceDifferencePaymentBlock

ReturntoContents ReturntoProcuringDepartmentProcessing

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1) GotoyourSAPBusinessWorkplaceandnavigatetoyourworkflows a. ClickontheSAPBusinessWorkplaceicon

2) Doubleclickonaniteminyourworkflowinboxtoprocess.Theworkflowscreenwilllaunch,andWebbrowser windowwilllaunchdisplayingthevendorinvoice. SeeAppendixAforstepstocreatedisplayvariantcontainingvendorinformation. SeeAppendixCforstepstouseworkflowsubstitutionduringemployeeabsences.

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 3) InvoiceimagedisplayedinWebbrowserwindow a. Thefollowingprintsshoweachworkflowscreeninsuccession i. ItemNotonPO ii. QuantityDifferencePaymentBlock iii. ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlock

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ItemNotonPurchaseOrder
Subsequentstepsillustratescreensfortheotherworkflows. ReturntoContents 4) Theworkflowscreenisdisplayed

Ontheworkflowscreen,processinformation: a. Commentsasneeded b. Selectradiobuttonatbottomofscreentoindicateactiontaken. c. ClickontheProcessWorkItembuttonatthetopleftofscreen

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QuantityDifferencePaymentBlock
ReturntoContents 5) Theworkflowscreenisdisplayed

Ontheworkflowscreen,processinformation: a. Commentsasneeded b. Selectradiobuttonatbottomofscreentoindicateactiontaken. i. SeenextscreenforspecialstepsifP.O.doesnotallowoverdelivery,andprocurementservices mustfirstincreasetheP.O.quantitybeforetheprocuringdepartmentcancompletethegoods receipt c. ClickontheProcessWorkItembuttonatthetopleftofscreen

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QuantityDifferencePaymentBlockOverdeliveryandGoodsReceiptCannotbePerformed
ReturntoContents 6) Incircumstanceswherethereisanoverdelivery,andtheprocuringdepartmentcannotperformagoods receiptuntilthepurchaseorderquantityisincreased a. Completeallitemsasdescribedinthepreviousscreen,except i. IntheCommentsfield,tellprocuringdepartmenttheycannowperformtheirgoodsreceipt ii. Selecttheradiobutton,Returntodepartmentalrepresentativewithcomments iii. ClickontheProcessWorkItembutton

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ValueExceedsLimitPaymentBlock
ReturntoContents 7) Theworkflowscreenisdisplayed

Ontheworkflowscreen,processinformation: a. Commentsasneeded b. Selectradiobuttonatbottomofscreentoindicateactiontaken. c. ClickontheProcessWorkItembuttonatthetopleftofscreen

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PriceDifferencePaymentBlock
ReturntoContents 8) Theworkflowscreenisdisplayed

Entercommentsinthisarea

Ontheworkflowscreen,processinformation: a. Exceptiontypebaseduponactiontaken b. Commentsasneeded c. Clickonthegreencheckmarktoacceptchanges 21

AppendixACreatingDisplayVariantforSAPWorkflowInbox
ReturntoContents ReturntoProcuringDepartmentSteps ReturntoProcurementServicesSteps

1. NavigatetoSAPWorkplace o ClickonSAPBusinessWorkplaceicon

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2. Changedisplayvariants o o o SelectWorkflowinleftpane Clickonrightmostsideofhighlightedicon ChooseChangeLayout

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3. Addcolumnstodisplayset o o SelectVendorinformationandSubstitutefor:inrightpane Clickon<Buttontoaddselectionstoleftpane,DisplayedColumns

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 4. Movenewcolumnstodisplayindesiredposition o o Selectitemsthatmovedtotheleftwindowpane,sowecanpositionthem Clickon^buttonuntiltheseitemsarebeforePriority

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 5. Optimizecolumnssotheyarenowiderthannecessary o o SelectOptimizeColumnscheckbox ClickonSaveicon

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 6. Providevariantname o o o o o EnteranameinSaveLayout.Donotprefixwitha/ EnteradescriptioninName ClickonGreenCheckMark Messagewillsay,LayoutSaved ClickonGreenCheckMarktocontinue

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 7. Nowthatwehavecreatedanewdisplayvariant,wewillmakethisnewvariantourdefaultvariant o o o EnsureyouhaveWorkflowselectedinleftpane Selectrightmostsideofhighlightedicon ChooseManageLayouts

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 8. Clickinboxtomakeyourdefaultvariant 9. ClickonSaveicontosaveasyourdefaultsetting 10. UsetheGreenArrowtoreturntoyourSAPinbox

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AppendixBForwardingtoManagerforApprovalinSAPWorkflowInbox
ReturntoContents ReturntoProcuringDepartmentSteps

1. ClickonSAPBusinessWorkplaceicon

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 2. SelectWorkflowinleftpane 3. Doubleclickonaniteminyourworkflowinboxtoprocess.Theworkflowscreenwilllaunch,andWebbrowser windowwilllaunchdisplayingthevendorinvoice.

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 4. Addthelineitemdetailstotheworkflowasneeded 5. Addcommentsforyourmanagertofacilitatetheirapproval 6. SelectNoActionTakenradiobutton.Thiswillensureworkitemstaysinyourinbox. 7. ClickonProcessWorkItem.Thiswillrecordyourcomments,andreturnyoutoyourinboxwhereyouwill forwardthisworkflowtoyourmanagerforprocessingandapproval.

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 8. TheworkitemwillbeinyourinboxafteryourefreshthescreenbyclickingtheRefreshbutton 9. Selecttheitem 10. RightclickwithyourmouseonthelineitemandForward,orclickontheForwardworkitembuttononthe toolbar

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 11. TheChooseUserwindowpopsup 12. EnterSAPuserID 13. ClickongreenCheckMark

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 14. ClickonNo,tocompleteforwardingtheitem 15. ClickingonYes,wouldpermitforwardingtomultiplepeople.Thenthefirstonetoprocesswillremovetheitem fromothersSAPinbox. 16. TheitemisremovedfromyourSAPinbox

17. PleaseaskyourmanagertogototheirSAPinboxtoprocessandapprovetheitem.Managerwillnot receiveanyautomaticnotification.

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AppendixCWorkflowSubstitutionSharinganSAPWorkflowInbox
ReturntoContents ReturntoProcuringDepartmentSteps ReturntoProcurementServicesSteps

SharinganSAPworkflowinboxpermitsanSAPusertoprocesstheSAPworkflowsforanotherSAPuserwhen theworkflowrecipientisunabletoprocesstheirownworkflows. ThisisaonetimesetupintheoriginalworkflowrecipientsSAPinbox,andthissetupmustbedonebythe workflowrecipient.Itisagoodideatocreatethesubstituteassoonastheyareidentifiedtobepreparedin theeventofunscheduledabsencesfromwork.

MaintainSubstitute

Thepersonprimarilyresponsiblefortheworkflowswillmaintainasubstitutethatcanprocesstheworkflows whentheyarenotatwork,suchaswhentheyareilloronvacation.Thismustbesetupinadvance,andcan onlybedonebythepersonthatreceivestheinitialworkflows. Userthesesamestepstoeitherdelete,orchangetheeffectivevaliditydatesforasubstitute. InvokingSubstitution Theuserprocessingworkflowsonbehalfofthepersonwithprimaryresponsibilityistheonetoinvoke substitutiontoprocessworkflowsonbehalfoftheprimarilyresponsibleparty.Youcanonlyinvoke substitutionifsomeonehaspreviouslysetyouupasasubstituteasdescribedinMaintainSubstitute.End substitutionasdescribedhere. WorkflowInboxDisplayVariantSetuptoSeeSubstituteForColumn Thiseasilyenablesuserstoseewhichworkflowstheyareprocessingonbehalfofothers,andwhicharetheir own.

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MaintainSubstitute
Return

1) WorkflowrecipientsetuptoshareSAPworkflowinboxwithasubstitute

o NavigateontheSAPmenuontheleftsideofscreen:SAPMenu,office,workplace,or o ClickontheIconontheiconbar

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 2) Maintainsubstitute o FromSAPWorkplacenavigatetheSAPmenuatthetopofscreen:Settings,workflowsettings, maintainsubstitute o Thewindowbelowwillpopup

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 3) Maintainsubstitutescreen2

o InthiswindowyoucancreateaPersonalSubstituteforyou(someonethatcanprocessyour accountspayableworkflows) o SelectyouruserIDbyclickingonitinthewindow.Inthisexample,myuserIDisJWB23 o Next,clickonCreateSubstitutesbutton(F5) o Thewindowbelowwillpopup

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 4) Enteruserthatwillbeyoursubstitute o Enteraportionoftheuserslastnameandanasterisk(*)wildcardtosearchfortheSAPuser name,anddepresstheEnterkey o Thewindowbelowwillpopup

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 5) Enteruserthatwillbeyoursubstitute o Doubleclickontheusertoselect o Thewindowbelowwillpopup

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 6) Detailscreensubstitution o Inthisexample,JamesAllenwillhavetheabilitytoprocessSAPworkflowsonbehalfofJWB23 o Acceptthedefaultvalidityperiod.Youcanrevokethisatanytime. Startdate=today,enddate=12/31/9999 o EnsuretheSubstitutionactivecheckboxisnotselectedandclickontheSavebutton.Ifthis checkboxisselected,thesubstitutewillalwaysreceiveeveryworkflowtotheirSAPinbox. o ClickontheSaveiconandtherelationshiphasbeencreated

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 7) Finalscreendisplayssubstitutionjustcreated

o JamesAllencannowinvokesubstitutioninSAPtoprocessJWB23workflows o Iconsatthebottomofthescreenpermityouto(firstselectthesubstituteusernamebyclicking onit!) Greencheckmarkcontinue Createsubstitutecreateadditionalsubstitutes Delimitchangethevaliditydatesthesubstituteisactive Deletedeletethesubstitute Chooseviewandchangethesubstitutevaliditydate,ormakeactiveallthetime

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InvokingSubstitution
Return

1) NavigateontheSAPmenuontheleftsideofscreen:SAPMenu,office,workplace,or o ClickontheIconontheiconbar

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 2) Adoptsubstitutiontoprocessanothersworkflows o InSAPBusinessWorkplace,usemenupath,Settings,workflowsettings,adoptsubstitution

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 3) Choosesubstitution o Selecttheuserwhoseworkflowsyouwanttoprocessbyplacingclickinginthecheckboxnextto thename o ClickontheContinueiconatthebottomofthewindow o YourSAPworkflowinboxwillnowdisplaytheworkflowsfromtheApproversSAPworkflow inbox

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ChangeWorkflowDisplayVarianttoSeeWorkflowOwner
Return Thisenablesyoutoseewhichworkflowsareinyourinboxasaresultofinvokingsubstitution(processingworkflowsfor anotheruser).Thisisaonetimesetup.

1) Changevarianttoaddcolumn o o EnsureyouhaveselectedWorkflowintheleftnavigationpane Clickontherightmostsideoficon,ChooseLayout,andselectChangeLayout

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2) Addcolumn o SelectSubstituteforinrightpane o Clickonbuttontomovetoleftpane o ClickonSavebutton o Additionalfieldhasbeenaddedtoyourdisplayvariant

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 3) Providevariantname o Completebothfields;SaveLayout(shortname)andName o ClickinUserspecificcheckbox o ClickonGreencheckmark,andyourlayoutissaved

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 4) ClickonGreencheckmarktocontinue

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 5) Setvariantasdefaultdisplaylayoutforyou o o EnsureyouhaveselectedWorkflowintheleftnavigationpane Clickontherightmostsideoficon,ChooseLayout,andselectManageLayouts

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 6) Setnewvariantasdefault o ClickintheDefaultSettingboxnexttoyournewvarianttoselectasyourdefaultdisplaysetting o ClickontheSaveicontosavechanges o ClickonGreenarrowtoreturntoyourinbox

Toendsubstitution,navigatetheSAPmenuatthetopofscreen:Settings,workflowsettings,endsubstitution

Return

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AppendixDWorkflowRoutingOverview
ReturntoContents

PurchaseorderrelatedinvoiceswiththeseproblemswillberoutedtousersviaSAPworkflow:
Itemoninvoicenotincludedonpurchaseorder Quantitydifferencescausingapaymentblock Pricedifferencesonframeworkorders(blanketorstandingorders)causingavalueexceedslimit(VEL)payment block

Theprocessofdeterminingwheretheworkflowwillroutefollowsafivestepconditionalpath.Whenanyconditionis met,thesearchends,andtheworkflowwillroutetothatperson. 1. Purchasegroup o Thismaybeusefulforroutingitemssuchasquantitydifferencepriceblockworkflowswherethereis centralreceiving

2. DepartmentalAccountsPayablerepresentativeorgatekeeper,beforewelooktoseeifthereisanelectronic requisitionforapurchaseorder o Usefulwhenwedonotwanttheitemtoroutetothecreatoroftheelectronicrequisition

3. Creatoroftheelectronicrequisition o Ifthepurchaseorderwascreatedfromanelectronicrequisition,theworkflowwillroutetothecreator oftheelectronicrequisition

4. DepartmentalAccountsPayablerepresentativeorgatekeeper,afterwelooktoseeifthereisanelectronic requisitionforapurchaseorder o Thisprovidesdepartmentswithamethodtoroutetoarequisitioner,whenoneexists

5. AccountsPayablerepresentative o Ifroutingcannotbedeterminedinthepreviousfoursteps,theworkflowwillroutetoAccountsPayable

PurchaseorderrelatedinvoiceswiththeseproblemswillberoutedtousersviaSAPworkflow:
StandardPurchaseOrderPriceDifferencePaymentBlock

Theprocessofdeterminingwheretheworkflowwillroutefollowsathreestepconditionalpath.Whenanyconditionis met,thesearchends,andtheworkflowwillroutetothatperson. 1. Purchaseordercreator 2. DefinedagentforpurchaseorderscreatedbySAPbackgroundprocesses 3. Definedagentforanyexceptionnothandledbythefirsttworules

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