Invoice Approvals

Use invoice approvals feature in iAccess to move invoices that were submitted in Vision through the approval process to produce final invoices.

iAccess and Vision work together to provide a seamless means for moving invoices through the approval process. After an invoice is submitted in Vision, you can use iAccess or Vision to approve (or reject) the invoice. You can also enter comments related to the invoice, and they available automatically in both applications.

Configuration

You can use the invoice approval process for a project in iAccess if these requirements are met::

• On the iAccess tab of the Roles form (Configuration > Security > Roles), your security role is given access to the Invoices tab in the Project Management workspace in iAccess.
• Your firm uses the Vision Accounting, Project Control, and Billing modules.
• The Enable Invoice Approvals option is selected for the project's company on the Miscellaneous tab of the Billing Setup form (Configuration > Billing > General).
• You are assigned to approve or reject the project's invoices.
• An invoice for the project has been submitted for approval.

The approval process settings that are configured in Vision are automatically applied to iAccess. For example, for a given project in Vision, you can select the appropriate approval process from a list of available processes. Each approval process includes who can approve and reject invoices (project managers or principals, for example), who receives alerts during the process, and the type and frequency of those alerts.

Approval Process

If you take advantage of the invoice approval feature in iAccess, the approval process includes the following stages:

• Submittal: The person responsible for submitting invoices for the project uses either Vision Interactive Billing or Batch Billing to submit the invoice for approval. After it is submitted, the invoice is ready for approval and the following occurs:
  • If alerts are configured in Vision, an alert is sent to the person responsible for approving invoices for the project.
  • In iAccess, the invoices awaiting approval indicator () displays on the iAccess toolbar and lists the number of projects with draft invoices awaiting your approval.
• Approval: The person responsible for approving invoices views the submitted invoice for approval in iAccess. After reviewing the invoice, the approver can choose to approve or reject the invoice, and add billing comments as needed. If approved, the invoice moves on for finalizing, but if rejected, the invoice is returned to the biller for modification and then must be resubmitted for approval. All comments entered that are related to the approval or rejection are shared with Vision to ensure that all information related to the invoice is accessible in both applications.

Alerts

If you are the approver of a project's invoices and the invoice approval process alerts are configured, you receive an email alert when an invoice is submitted for approval. If a URL is entered in the iAccess URL field on the Email tab of the General System Settings form (Configuration > General > System Settings), the email contain links to both Vision and iAccess so you can quickly access the approval features in either application.