Overview
The Accounts Payable interface is used to export Invoices that have been posted in the Receiving Center, in Receiving Corrections, or via Manual Invoice Entry to a company's accounting software. This article describes the process of using the Accounts Payable Interface in Purchasing & Inventory, including setup, invoice creation and exporting files.
This article is split into two sections, the first is Accounts Payable Interface Information, and the second is Using the Accounts Payable Interface.
For configuration of the Interface please see Purchasing & Inventory - Administration - Interfaces
Accounts Payable Interface Information
This section of the article provides more information and detail on the fields, tabs and functions within the Accounts Payable Interface page.
- To access the Accounts Payable Interface go to Accounting > Accounts Payable Interface - see Fig.1
Fig.1 - Accounts Payable Interface Screen
| Description | Functionality |
| Period | The financial period can be selected (depending on Accounting software interface configured) |
| Export | Will export any Invoices selected |
| Generates a print-out of Invoices in the Invoice tab | |
| Invoice Tab (See Fig.2) | Shows all Invoices not yet exported to the Accounting software |
| Log Tab (See Fig.2) |
Shows all Invoices exported to the Accounting software |
| Invoice Type | Allows the user to select type of Invoice to search below. Invoice types are configured in Property > Setup > Accounting > Payment Methods and selected for AP Export |
| Outlet | Allows users to search Invoices by Outlet |
| Date Selection | Allows users to search by either Invoice Date or Receiving Date |
| Period | Users can search by Financial Period (either of Invoice Date or Receiving Date) |
| From Date/ To Date | Search for Invoices between specified dates |
| Currency | Search Invoices below by Invoice Currency type (if multiple Vendor currencies are applied within the system) |
| Vendor | Search Invoices by specified Vendor |
| Received By | Search Invoices by the user who entered Receiving onto solution |
| Invoice Applied By | Search Invoices by the user who applied the Invoice to the receiving, receiving correction, or posted the manual Invoice entry |
Fig.2 - Invoice / Log Tabs
Invoice Tab
The Invoice tab lists all Invoices yet to be exported to Accounts Payable Software. When exported, Invoices will no longer be shown on this screen, and will show in the Log tab.
| Column Header | Description |
| Select | A check box to select which Invoices will be exported. Please Note - If invoices are selected prior to moving between tabs, invoices will become deselected to prevent errors |
| Invoice Number | Invoice Number entered in the Receiving Center (see Fig.3) or Receiving Corrections |
| Document Reference | Document Reference entered in the Receiving Center (see Fig.3) or Receiving Corrections |
| Fourth Invoice No | Number assigned to the Invoice |
| Invoice Date | Invoice Date entered in the Receiving Center (Fig.3) or Receiving Corrections. |
| Received Date | The date which the Purchase Order was received on. Please Note - This field will be blank if a Manual Invoice Entry |
| Outlet | The Outlet which the Purchase Order was raised for |
| Vendor Name | The Vendor which the Purchase Order was raised for |
| P.O. Number | Purchase Order number assigned upon creation of the Purchase Order. Please Note - This field will be blank if a Manual Invoice Entry |
| Invoice Amount | The amount on the Invoice entered in Receiving Center (Fig.3) or Receiving Corrections |
| Received By | User who entered the Receiving in the Receiving Center. Note: This field will be blank if a Manual Invoice Entry |
| Invoice Applied By | User who applied the Receiving in Receiving Center, Receiving Corrections, or Manual Invoice Entry. |
Fig.3 - Invoice Tab On Receiving
Log Tab
The Log tab shows all the Invoices that have been exported into the Accounting Software (Fig.4).
Fig.4 - Log Tab
| Column Header | Description |
| Restore | Select Invoices to restore to the Invoices tab, and allow re-exporting upon pressing Restore button. Please Note: This will not remove them from any 3rd Party Accounting software systems. |
| Successful | Indicates that the Invoice was exported successfully |
| Invoice Number | Invoice Number entered in the Receiving Center (See Fig.3) or Receiving Corrections |
| Fourth Invoice No. | Number assigned to the Invoice |
| Invoice Date | Invoice Date entered in the Receiving Center (Fig.3) or Receiving Corrections |
| Received Date | The date the Purchase Order was received into the solution. Please Note: This field will be blank if a Manual Invoice Entry |
| Outlet | The Outlet which raised the Purchase Order |
| Vendor Name | The Vendor which the Purchase Order was raised for |
| P.O Number | Purchase Order number assigned upon creation of the Purchase Order. Please Note: This field will be blank if a Manual Invoice Entry |
| Invoice Amount | The amount on the Invoice entered in Receiving Center (Fig.3) or Receiving Corrections |
| Received By | User who entered the Receiving in Receiving Center. Please Note: This field will be blank if a Manual Invoice Entry |
| Invoice Applied By | User who applied the Receiving in Receiving Center, Receiving Corrections, or Manual Invoice Entry |
| Invoice Exported By | User who exported the Invoice via the Accounts Payable Interface |
Using the Accounts Payable Interface
Invoices
There are different types and creation methods of Invoices. Most Invoices are created manually in the Receiving Center, but not all of these will be available to export in the AP Interface.
For further information on Invoice Creation, see the articles below:
- Purchasing & Inventory - Manually Entering an Invoice
- Purchasing & Inventory - Receiving and Invoicing Purchase Orders
Fig.5 shows an example of an order where the goods were paid for in cash.
Fig.5 – Cash Invoice, Receiving Center
In the Advanced Options section, there is a column titled Type. This refers to the type of payment agreed for the order.
Fig.6 – Type Column
To set up Payment Methods, follow the below path:
- Go to Property > Setup > Accounting > Payment Methods
The available Payment Methods will show on this page. New Payment Methods can also be created if required.
Fig.7 shows that the ‘Cash’ Payment Method is not available for AP System Export.
Fig.7 – Property Setup, Payment Methods
The AP System Export column, when enabled, indicates that the Payment Method can be used to create Invoices for the export in the AP Interface. As such, if an Invoice cannot be located within the AP Interface, please confirm the Payment Type chosen is set up to allow for AP System Export.
When creating Payment Types, be aware that a 50-character limit exists in some reports, and exceeding this could result in an error.
For further information, please see the following article:
Exporting
Once the Export path / Server credentials have been confirmed and the Invoices have been created, the export can be processed.
When exporting historical Invoices, ensure that the date criteria is correct. See Fig.8 and the detail below for more information on this.
- Set the Date Selection to Invoice Date or Receiving Date using the drop-down menu
It is important to confirm this when exporting batches of Invoices.
- Using the From Date field means that only Invoices created after that set date will display
If the Payment Type has been correctly set up, the Invoice Date or Receiving Date should be confirmed.
- If there are multiple Invoice Types available for AP Export, select the required type in the Invoice Type drop-down
Fig.8 – AP Interface, Date Search Criteria
Exported Invoices can be viewed in the Log tab on the left hand side (see Fig.9).
Invoices are often exported in error, the Log tab can be used to restore the Invoice for re-export, and alterations can be made in Receiving Corrections
It is not uncommon for Invoices to be exported in error. Using the Log Tab, these Invoices can be restored for re-export and alterations can be made in Receiving Corrections (select Receiving Corrections in the Receiving drop-down menu).
Fig.9 – Account Payable Interface, Log Tab
For further information on the setup and use of Export Restore, see the following article - Purchasing & Inventory - Restoring an Exported Invoice
Reporting
The ‘Invoice Log’ report is used by most to track exported and non-exported invoices. Alternatively, a breakdown of changes made to Invoices can be viewed using the ‘Invoice Audit’ report.
For further information on the above, see the following articles:
Troubleshooting
Exporting to Client
Before exporting the invoices to Client, first ensure that the Export Directory within the system is correct and that the user has access to the required path. If the user does not have write-access to the Export Directory, the error message shown in Fig.10 will display when ‘Export’ is selected.
Fig.10 – Unable to Export AP, Access to the Path is Denied
If this error occurs, contact your Internal IT Department to request write-access to the Export Directory.
Exporting to Server
If Server is chosen to export to, please ensure that an FTP/SFTP Location is available to receive the export. This setting will need to be configured with the assistance of Fourth.
If exporting invoices to a Server Location fails, first confirm the login credentials (URL, username and password) are correct.
If the login credentials are incorrect, the error message shown in Fig.11 may display.
Fig.11 – Unable to Export AP, FTP Transmission Failed
‘FTP Transmission Failed’ error messages can display for other reasons, so if the login credentials have been confirmed and the export is still failing, please contact Fourth’s Technical Support Team in order to resolve.
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