Use the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen for vouchers that recur on a periodic basis and are similar each time they recur. You can use recurring codes to group vouchers together according to the frequency with which they recur. You must create a template for each voucher that will recur. This template will contain all the header information and the recurring code with which it is associated, as well as the starting and ending fiscal year/period/subperiod in which the voucher is valid. Once you have created the recurring code and the template voucher, you have to run the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers program to create the vouchers. The following is a step-by-step procedure on how to set up recurring vouchers.
You must set up recurring codes before you can enter a voucher template. You use recurring codes to define two variables: the frequency with which a group of vouchers should be created and the periods in which the group of vouchers are valid. Examples of recurring codes are "MONTHLY" and "WEEKLY." Set up these codes in the Recurring A/P Voucher Codes screen. You will also link them to the periods in this screen.
If you set up a "MONTHLY" recurring code, it will most likely be linked to the first subperiod of all periods in a given fiscal year. If you set up a "QUARTERLY" recurring code, it will most likely be linked to the first subperiod of periods "1," "4," "7," and "10." You should carefully select the periods to which a code is linked, as the program will prevent vouchers from being created in periods that have not been linked to the code entered in the Recurring AP Voucher Codes screen. For example, you set up a "MONTHLY" recurring code and link it to all periods in a given fiscal year except period "5," which was inadvertently missed. When you attempt to create recurring A/P vouchers using the "MONTHLY" recurring code with a destination period of "5," the program will not create the vouchers because period "5" is not linked to this recurring code.
You must link any new periods that are added to the system for new fiscal years to existing recurring codes. This should be an integral part of the new fiscal year procedures, as none of the recurring vouchers will be created if they are not linked to the periods in the new fiscal year.
The next step is to set up a template voucher in the Enter A/P Vouchers screen. You should complete all header and line information. Identify the voucher as a template by selecting the Template checkbox in the Enter A/P Vouchers screen. If you select the Template checkbox, you must complete the Recur subtask. The recurring vouchers are created from the template vouchers. The template vouchers are never posted by the system.
The Recur subtask of the Enter A/P Vouchers screen contains information regarding the recurring code, fiscal year/period/subperiod of the last voucher created for this template, the template number from which this voucher was created, and the date ranges that are valid for this voucher. Only the Recurring Code field is required. The system fills out the template number and the last date created when you run the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers process. These fields are not accessible to the user.
Use the valid date ranges to establish a beginning date, ending date, or both for the voucher. None of these fields is required; however, you can use any one of them alone. Use these dates to limit the time period for which an individual voucher is created without having to establish a new recurring code. For example, the voucher will not be created before a beginning date entered or after the ending date specified. After the ending date is reached, the template voucher will never be recreated but will remain in the system. You will have to manually delete the template voucher if it is no longer of use.
The system populates the Last Voucher Created group box in the Recur subtask (of the Enter A/P Vouchers screen) when you run the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers process. The Create Recurring A/P Vouchers process will look at this field to determine whether or not a voucher has already been created for this destination fiscal year/period/subperiod combination. If it finds that the last Fiscal Year, Period, and Subperiod fields in the template voucher are the same as the destination Fiscal Year, Period, and Subperiod fields in the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen, the voucher will not be created. This is done to prevent duplicate vouchers from being created. If you inadvertently delete a voucher that has been created by the system but is not posted, you can use the Clone feature to reestablish the recurring voucher from the template.
Only the system can select the Recurred Voucher checkbox in the Header Info subtask of the Enter A/P Vouchers screen. The system selects this checkbox when a voucher is created by the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers process; this identifies the voucher as one that was created from a template voucher. The Template field in the Header Info subtask identifies the template voucher number from which the recurring voucher was created.
The application will retrieve all the template vouchers with the specified recurring voucher code, voucher numbers, fiscal year, and entry user ID and create a recurring voucher for the specified destination Fiscal Year/Period/Subperiod provided in the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen. Once you have created the vouchers, you can edit them in the Enter A/P Vouchers screen if necessary. During this process, the application updates the last created fiscal year, period, and subperiod, enters the template voucher number into the Template field, and selects the Recurred Voucher checkbox (both in the Header Info subtask of the Enter A/P Vouchers screen).
Voucher Numbering
If you enter a starting voucher number in the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen, the program will assign voucher numbers beginning with the voucher number entered and continue in ascending order. You must identify the starting voucher number each time the process is run if you are using the Manual method of assigning voucher numbers in the A/P Voucher Settings screen. If you leave the starting voucher number blank and are using the System method of assigning voucher numbers, the process will use the last system voucher number used from the A/P Voucher Settings screen and continue in ascending order.
Voucher Information
You can specify an invoice number, invoice date, and due date in the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen. If you enter this information, the system will use it on all vouchers created during the process. You can edit this information in the Enter A/P Vouchers screen after creating the vouchers. If you leave these fields blank, the program will use the information on the template voucher.
All other information will come from the template voucher. If you have a recurring voucher where information changes periodically, you will need to update the template voucher for these changes since the Create process looks at the template voucher only.
Creation Criteria
The three additional ways you can group recurring vouchers are by template voucher number, by entry user ID, and by fiscal year. If you have multiple accounts payable clerks, you may want to consider grouping recurring vouchers by "Entry ID" so that each clerk can create recurring vouchers without affecting other users' vouchers. You can also group vouchers by template voucher number within each user ID. This would allow you to create groups of vouchers for posting at different times. You can also assign vouchers to different fiscal years for additional grouping purposes.
Destination FY/Pd/Subpd
The fiscal/period/subperiod combination that you enter in the Select Destination Subperiods group box in the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen will become the period information in the header of the created voucher. If you specify a range of subperiods, a voucher will be created in each of the subperiods specified. Because of this, you should exercise caution when selecting the range option for subperiods.
The program will compare the destination period information with the starting and ending periods in the template voucher, as well as the linked periods for the Recurring code when creating vouchers. If the destination fiscal/period/subperiod provided in the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen is not linked with the recurring voucher code entered, no vouchers will be created. If the destination fiscal/period/subperiod provided in the Create Recurring A/P Vouchers screen falls outside of either the beginning or ending dates existing on a template voucher, that voucher will not be created.
Reporting
The report printed at the conclusion of this process will give a listing of the vouchers created. This report is not intended to be an edit report. If you need an edit report for recurring vouchers, you can print one in the Print Voucher Edit screen. Select the Recurring checkbox in the Recurrence Status group box of the Print Voucher Edit screen to obtain a report that lists only recurring vouchers with all the detail of that voucher. You can also print only templates.