The area of Accounts Payable is in charge of the processing of invoices from third parties. The final goal is the accounting of the invoices, but a significant percentage, to be able to reach this point requires a number of steps to have been previously taken.
The processing of an invoice without incidents, even though it may use up resources, can be quite simple. But everything becomes more complicated if the invoice has some type of problem.
Invoices with issues: The process
The processing of invoices with errors means higher costs for companies. The process involves many participants, occasionally in dispersed internal areas, it is expensive/difficult to follow up and it needs a very robust process to not turn into a real headache.
The first step in an efficient process for the processing of incidents is the correct identification of the problem, which will allow for the assignation of the invoice to the person who truly has the capacity to resolve the incidents.
This identification and the assignation of the responsible person can be automated through the use of workflow tools.
Invoices with incidents: Typology
Basically, there are three main types of incident:
- Those related with form in the documents (provider is present in database, calculations, duplication)
- Those related with verification and comparison (as result of matching the invoices with order number or as result of the approval circuit in the invoices without order number)
- Those related to the accounting administration process (and what are basically internal issues).
Having a procedural circuit for resolving incidents will result in significant savings and a considerable reduction in the cost of processing invoices.
Based on Easyap's experience in projects of and outsourcing of accounts payable and electronic invoicing improvement projects and accounts payable, that we have developed in clients of various sizes and sectors, we have designed the table presented below with the most common types of problem, as well as the person normally responsible for solving it.
| Error Type | Error Description | Responsible |
| Form | Provider not found | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Automatic validation error: mathematical calculation | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Automatic validation error: invoice date | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Automatic validation error: VAT | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Automatic validation error: Income Tax | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Duplicate invoice | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Suspended Provider | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Duplicate Provider | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Possible Duplicate Invoice | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Automatic validation error (with PO) | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Invoice is credit note | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Incomplete Master data | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Duplicate Subsidiary | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Branch not found | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Data error | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Capture error | Accounts Payable |
| Form | Item and/or department error | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | contract not found | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Order not found | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Requisition not found | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Order needed | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Matching error with requisition | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Matching error with contract | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Contract suspended | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Virtual Order not available | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Contract cancelled | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Contract expired | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Requisition cancelled | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Some of the referenced purchase orders not active | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Order not found | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Partial delivery not supported | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Pending receipt | Warehouse/Requester |
| Contract not found | Error Matching Amount | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Error Matching Amount and Units | Warehouse/Requester |
| Contract not found | Order Modified | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Comparison error with requisition due to amount | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Comparison error with contract due to amount | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Incomplete documents | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Exception due to two lines of different provider | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Exception: awaiting provider response | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Exception due to incorrect matching | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Exception by supplier line in campaign | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Error matching different VATs | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Error in delivery note reference number | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Difference in amounts | Warehouse/Requester |
| Contract not found | Exception due to incorrect matching with requisition | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Exception due to incorrect matching with contract | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Requisition after invoice | Buyer/Applicant |
| Contract not found | Validation errors due to new VAT amounts | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Matching rejected | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Purchase order cancelled | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Purchase order dated after invoice | Shopping |
| Contract not found | Invoice not found | Accounts Payable |
| Contract not found | Accounting (incorrect matching) | Accounts Payable |
| Accountant | Unknown exception | Accounts Payable |
| Accountant | Coding unknown | Accounting |
| Accountant | Approval for amount not exceeded | Accounting |
| Accountant | Amount currency exchange error | Accounting |
| Accountant | Accounting (Accrual/Provision) | Accounting |
| Accountant | Accounting (Coding error) | Accounting |
| Accountant | Control Exception | Accounting |
| Accountant | ERP accounting rejected | Accounting |
| Accountant | Budget Exceeded | Accounting |
| Accountant | Budget for period exceeded | Accounting |
| Accountant | Currency type non-existent | Accounting |
| Accountant | Coding not created | Accounting |
| Accountant | Accounting (Data error) | Accounting |
| Accountant | Accounting(Capture error) | Accounting |
| Accountant | Accounting (Incomplete Documents) | Accounting |
| Accountant | Accounting( Unknown Exception) | Accounting |
