Purpose
There are two reasons why an invoice may require approval by a BuySite users.
1. Matching Exception: The invoice does match the PO.
2. Over Threshold: The invoice is received for a PO above $5,000
This document outlines the steps a BuySite user needs to take to approve an invoice.
Definitions
PO Owner – In general, the person who created the requisition in BuySite is the PO owner. If during the requisition process, the person creating the requisition assigns someone as the “prepared for”, the “prepared for” is considered the PO owner, not the creator.
Authorized Signer - The Authorized Signer is an employee who is designated in the financial system (FAS) to have budgetary authority on a specific account. Each account can have up to four Authorized Signers on it.
Viewing Invoices Needing Approval
If the user’s BuySite Notifications are turned on, the user will receive an email notification any time their approval is needed on an invoice in BuySite. Users can click the link in the email to go directly to the invoice that needs their approval.
Users can also view all invoices needing their approval by logging into BuySite.
1. Click the Notifications Flag and select Invoices
2. If necessary, click the triangle to expand the My Invoice Approvals folder. All the invoices requiring approval will be listed in the folder.
3. Review each invoice to determine why it requires your approval. The column Match Status shows whether the invoice is matched or unmatched.
a. If the invoice is unmatched follow the directions below for Approving Matching Exceptions.
b. If the invoice is matched follow the directions below for Approving Invoices Over Threshold.
Approving Matching Exceptions
If the total amount on the invoice is 10% or $100 more than the PO amount, there is a Matching Exception. BuySite will send a system notification to the PO Owner to review and approve. If the PO Owner approves the invoice because the discrepancy is legitimate or a credit memo was negotiated with a supplier, the PO Owner will Force Match the invoice. Due to a change in the initial budgetary approval, a secondary notification is sent to the Authorized Signers on the account being charged to approve the additional cost on the Invoice.
1. Click the Invoice Number hyperlink to view the unmatched exception details
2. Click on the Matching tab.
3. Review the Matching Summary. Highlighted in yellow will be the amount in which the invoice did not match the PO total. Matching is based off the extended price (quantity x unit price).
4. Click the Invoice dropdown and select the appropriate action.
a. Approve/Complete and Match – You acknowledge the discrepancy between the invoice and PO and would like to approve the invoice for payment. This is called a Force Match.
i. If the PO creator is approving the invoice, they must provide a justification for why the invoice and PO do not match. For example: “Sally Jenson called the vendor after the PO was created to add additional units to the order to accommodate a larger headcount than anticipated.” After the justification has been entered, click Approve/Complete Step.
ii. If the Authorized Signer is approving the invoice, they do not need to enter a justification. Instead, they should review the appropriateness of the PO Creator’s justification prior to approving the invoice.
b. Place Invoice on Hold – the invoice is not ready for payment and requires additional communication with the vendor.
i. An example of this would be if goods received were damaged and a credit memo needs to be received from the vendor prior to paying the invoice.
c. Forward – send the invoice to the PO Owner or additional Authorized Signers for additional review and approval.
i. Forwarding an invoice sends the approval responsibility to the recipient of the forward.
ii. The invoice will not be paid until the person it was forwarded to approves the invoice. Make sure that invoices are only forwarded to staff who are familiar with BuySite and will know what to do when they receive an approval notification.
Approving Over Threshold
Any invoice received for a PO over $5,000 will require the approval of the PO Owner to confirm the goods or services were received and the invoices is okay to pay.
Note: for Standing Orders (U orders) the dollar threshold is based on invoice amount.
1. Click on Invoice Number
2. Scroll down to the Line Item Details to review the details of the invoice and confirm receipt of goods or services invoiced.
3. Scroll up to the Available Actions dropdown and select the appropriate action:
d. Approve/Complete and Match – You approve the invoice. The goods or services were received and the invoice is ready to be paid.
e. Place Invoice on Hold – the invoice is not ready for payment and requires additional communication with the vendor.
i. An example of this would be if goods received were damaged and a credit memo needs to be received from the vendor prior to paying the invoice.
f. Forward – send the invoice to the PO Owner or additional Authorized Signers for additional review and approval.
i. Forwarding an invoice sends the approval responsibility to the recipient of the forward.
ii. The invoice will not be paid until the person it was forwarded to approves the invoice. Make sure that invoices are only forwarded to staff who are familiar with BuySite and will know what to do when they receive an approval notification.