Monday, July 03, 2006

Typical Business Requirements while setting up Invoice Approval Workflow

Approving AP Invoices using Oracle Approval Management (OAM) is a fast and easy way of maintaining transparency and accountability in Accounts Payables department. However most of the time OAM setup needs to be modified and workflow customized depending upon the business scenario.
One of the most common business requirement is that organizations do not need approval of invoices that are matched to PO Receipts. Anticipating this request, Oracle has already given this as an Attribute under the Transation Type 'Payables Invoice Approval'. But, apart from this there are several other common requirements which one faces. I have listed down some such requirements. Some of these requirements can be very easily applied using the standard OAM functionalities, while some others require a bit of customization.
Some common requirements include the following:
1)Approver forwarding the invoice to another employee for approval.
2)Approval of an invoice based on criteria like invoice amount, cost centre, account segment, etc.
3)Adding new lines like 'Voucher Number', 'Cost Centre' details, etc., in the approval notification email.
4)Considering scenarios when the Approver is on leave, so that the invoice moves to another person for approval
after some time period.
5)Approver is able to delegate his/her approving right to some other person while going on leave.
6)Control on the email notifications, which tend to fill the mailboxes of approvers.
7)Mixed and Prepayment type of invoices do not require approval.
8)Invoices should go directly to the final approver and not through any hierarchy.
9)Invoice entry clerk should be able to choose the approver from a LOV (list of value). Sometimes the reverse scenario also exists where the Invoice entry clerk should not have a say in selection of Invoice Approver.

It would be great if readers can also add further to the above list so that we can have a comprehensive list of common requirements that come up while setting up Invoice Approval Workflow.

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Krishanu's Oracle Applications Blog - Oracle Apps consulting services scenario in India. Also, an inside view of Oracle Apps outsource services in India. Also the blog features new developments in Oracle Apps and my learning's in this field. The views expressed are my own only and not of my employer Wipro Technologies. The views and opinions expressed by visitors to this blog are theirs and do not necessarily reflect mine.