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Library Services Assistant Guide

Invoicing Tools

The Invoicing Process: An Overview

Below is a broad overview of the process. Make sure you understand this before you start looking at detailed instructions.

  1. All invoices should be sent from the eResources inbox into libanswers by the person managing the inbox.
  2. Once in LibAnswers, invoices will be tagged as invoices, and assigned to the person paying invoices that day.
  3. The Invoice information needs to be saved in the relevant locations, so it can be found by others as they approve the invoice. This will require having the tracking spreadsheet, the invoices sharepoint folder, and WMS open.
  4. A PO (Purchase Order) is raised in Ebis, this allows the invoice to be confirmed for payment by various line management staff. Once a PO has been raised the LibAnswers ticket status is changed to Pending
  5. Once a PO has been approved you will get an email and you will need to go into eBis and generate the PO document. This will then email you this as an attached Word document. Upload this to the same place you stored the invoice on sharepoint.
  6. Once you have the PO document, you will receipt this document. You can then email the PO and the invoice to accounts for payment. You can now close the LibAnswers ticket, making sure to record the PO number here for easy finding later. You can pay the invoice in WMS to remove the funds from the WMS budget.

Throughout the process, you will need to use internal notes on LibAnswers Tickets to indicate any concerns or hold ups and record dates of progress.

Whole Invoicing Process
If you would prefer a guide with pictures, you can follow the whole process in this word document: Whole Invoicing Process.docx - there are no images with this guide

Invoicing Process

Before you process any payments you will need to:

Check if the supplier has sent a quote or an invoice. As of September 23 Finance will no longer approve POs that have an invoice attached, it must be a quote.

If you receive an invoice rather than a quote, reply to the supplier and request they send over a quote.

Open the invoice's ticket in LibAnswers- ensure it is tagged as an invoice, and is claimed by you.

Open and log in to eBis https://ebis.uos.ac.uk/e.bis/login.html

Open and log into WMS and navigate to the Acquisitions Tab

Open the MASTER Financial Records spreadsheet.

Open the 23-24 Invoice folders. The invoice you are paying will need to be filed in the appropriate subfolder within this large folder.

You may also need a single supplier justification form. These are for payments over £10,000 which are not for 'regular' suppliers (i.e. you do not need one for JISC, or Browns). They may also be suppliers that are part of a framework and therefore will not need a SSJ. A blank template can be found here: TEMPLATE Learning Services UOS Single Supplier Justification Form.docx. Please download this form and fill it in on your computer, not in sharepoint.

Before you can process anything on eBis we need to do some foundational work.

1- The Financial Records Sheet

The first step is to enter the details of your invoice into the Master Financial Records Sheet. Find the correct tab for the type of invoice. All Journals, Databases, Software Licenses and Subscriptions should already be listed in the appropriate tab. Any ad-hoc spend (i.e. monthly book or ILL invoices, one-off eBook invoices, stationery invoices) need to be entered into the appropriate ad-hoc tab.

For all invoices you will need to enter:

  1. The Invoice Number
  2. The Total Cost of the invoice (including VAT). If the invoice is a foreign currency invoice, convert the amount to GBP using https://www.xe.com/ and put the GBP amount in the spreadsheet. Add the original foreign currency amount as a note on the cell.

For Ad-Hoc invoices you will also need to add

  1. Expense Code- A list of all usable budget codes is contained in the ‘Guide’ tab at the front of the document. You should have been told an expense code when you were given the invoice to pay.
  2. Today's date
  3. Description- This will be what we use in eBis to distinguish this invoice, so include the supplier name, the invoice number and a brief description of what the invoice is for if necessary. 
  4. Supplier- Put the supplier named on the invoice.
  5. Select invoice in the 'Payment Type' column

2- The SharePoint

Now we've identified the budget code and title, we can upload our invoice to the relevant folder in the sharepoint.

There is a folder for each budget code (if you can't see one make one). 

Upload the invoice, rename it if necessary to make it clear what the invoice is paying for, and what the invoice number is. 

2.5- Single Supplier forms

If an invoice is over £10k there are two possible types of supplier they could be;

1) They are signed up to a national framework that offers universities certain prices for goods. The most common is the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC). 

2) They are independent from the above and require a single supplier form. This option should be the less common one.

Suppliers Part of SUPC

Below is a list and it has been noted on the Supplier Description on the master tracker. These suppliers do not need a single supplier form BUT they should have noted on their quote/sales order they are part of this framework.

LC to add list

If the invoice is worth over £10,000, and it's not from a regular supplier, you'll also need to complete a single supplier form. Simply put in the name of the supplier and the value of this invoice, and make sure you update the date at the bottom. Then save this to the SharePoint with the name 'Single Supplier Form ORDER TITLE' i.e. Single Supplier Form T&F Read and Publish 900028381

3- Worldshare Acquisitions Invoices

We use WMS to track our budget spend for all invoices. Regular book invoices (such as the monthly invoices from Browns and ProQuest) are already taken out of the budget through the normal acquisitions process. Any invoices for Journals, Databases, Book Stationery, or One-Off Book purchases need to also be put into WMS so they can be taken out of the budget. Interlibrary Loan invoices and Software invoices do not go into WMS.

To do this for Journals and Databases, we need to 'receive' them in WMS (they should already exist as an order, if not speak to the librarians/kim)

  1. Open the Acquisitions tab and select 'Receive & Invoice' from the list on the left hand side. Then click the 'New Invoice' button in that drop down.
  2. Enter the Invoice information (Number, Date and Vendor)
  3. Now you can put the vendor and Invoice number in the Receive & Invoice action. This is a lot like receiving eBooks. For Journals and Databases select 'E-Product' from the 'Processing type' drop down, for management/transaction charges select 'Local- Subscriptions'.
  4. Then click 'Start Receiving' and then 'Finish Receiving'. If the 'Add to invoice' button appears next to the 'Start/Finish' button, click it and make sure to 'Add full amount'.
  5. Click on the invoice number and make sure the invoice amount is correct- change WMS to match the invoice you have. Click Save. We will pay the invoice at a later stage. 

For ad-hoc invoices (i.e. one-off eBooks and book stationery)

  1. Select 'Invoices' from the action list on the left hand side, then click the 'Invoices' button.
  2. Click the 'New Invoice' button at the top of the screen that now appears.
  3. Enter the Invoice number and the date on the Invoice, then select the Vendor from the drop down list
  4. Once you've created the invoice, you need to add the value of the invoice. To do this, open the invoice (should happen automatically after creating) and click the 'Add Item' button. Select 'Debit'
  5. Select Books, Servicing or DDA deposit from the drop down list (depending on what the invoice is for), update the cost and ensure the budget code is correct.
  6. Save the invoice, we will pay it at a later stage.
Once you've completed all the steps above, you're ready to move on to eBis and creating a Purchase Order.

Creating Orders - for a guide with images, click here Creating Amazon Orders on WMS (best viewed in desktop app)

This must be done before you can add items to the order.

Acquisitions Tab->Orders->Orders->New Order

Fill in the order information as below and save:

Order Name: Same as Trolley/List name
Order Type: Purchase Order
Vendor: Amazon GB
Vendor PO#: (leave blank)
Tax Handling: Tax Item Cost
Comments: (leave blank)

(Amazon is the example, use the vendor that has been purchased from ie. Blackwell's. If the vendor hasn't been ordered from before, refer to the Systems Administrator to add a new vendor to WMS).

 

Adding items to the order
Search for the item in Discover items
Acquisitions Tab->Discover items

Check the ISBN matches the book ordered from vendor. Sort by Library Count Highest make sure you are picking Print BookEnglish and always try to pick a record that is says Full and has the highest number of libraries using it.

Check order is correct

 

Add to Order
To the right of the selected item, click Add to... for a drop-down menu. Select Order
In the dialogue box pop-up search for the Order you created and click Add you will see items count will increase.

If there is more than one of the same item, add a line for each item rather than increasing the quantity on the order line.

Repeat this process until all items are added to the order.

 

Adding Budget/Fund location etc to orders
Orders->Orders search for the order

Once you have added every item to the Order you will need to add the Budget/FundLocationQtyUnit Price and Shipping Cost - if there is more than 1 item on the order you can add the delivery charge to any item.

When you have added Budget/Fund, Location, Qty and the unit price place the order by clicking Place Order.

To create a Purchase Order for approval you need to:

  1. Open and log into eBis
  2. Select 'Standard PO Request - Entry'
  3. Click the Green 'Add' Icon
    1. The first time you do this you'll need to select your company. Select 'University of Suffolk' and then 'LSER- Learning Services' and tick the 'Keep Company' button. Then click 'OK'
  4. This will open a new purchase order. The first page is the 'Header' on this page you need to:
    1. Put in the Expected delivery date- this is the date the invoice is meant to be paid by (should say on the invoice itself) if this is a date in the past put the next working day.
    2. Click the blue 'Supplier', this will bring up a pop-up where you can search for a supplier. Search in the Name box, but be aware suppliers may not be called what you expect. If there are multiple suppliers with the same name and you're unsure which to use, it's always best to check with finance before proceeding.
    3. Once you've selected your supplier, take the description from the Financial Master Spreadsheet and place it as the order title. If it is too long, prioritise getting the full invoice number in the title.
    4. The Phone number is always 01473338700
  5. Now navigate to the 'Lines' tab. This is where we'll add the content of the invoice
    1. Click 'New Line' to open a pop-up box
    2. Add a description of the line, make it understandable as this is all you'll see on the purchase order. i.e. don't just call it 'charges'
    3. In the line value box, put the value of the item you are adding before VAT. This will automatically calculate the 'Amount' box. If the invoice is in a foreign currency, put the amount in GBP.
    4. If there is standard (20%) VAT on the item put an 'S' in the VAT Code box, if it is VAT exempt put a 'Z'
    5. Delivery date is the same date as the delivery date on the header page
    6. Cost centre is either 506-02 for Learning Services
    7. The Expense code was identified in the spend overview spreadsheet
    8. Make sure the words explaining the codes appear next to the cost centre and expense code, then click 'Save'
    9. Repeat this process as needed until the entire invoice is added. You can consolidate the entire invoice into one line if everything is either VAT exempt or VAT paid.
  6. Now go back to the Header tab and confirm the document total matches the invoice total before tax, and the tax total matches the tax total on the invoice. 
  7. Click the 'Attachments' icon on the top tool bar. Here is where we'll attach the quote and, if necessary, the single supplier form.
    1. In the pop up box click the 'Upload' icon. 
    2. Click the 'Choose File' button
    3. Select the file you want to upload and click 'Open'
    4. Now give it a name which is meaningful and includes the invoice number
    5. Click the 'Ok' button
    6. If you want to upload more items click the 'Upload' button again, if you're done close this pop-up window.
  8. If the invoice was a foreign currency invoice you need to add a note explaining the exchange rate used. Click 'Notes' add an explanation and click 'Save'
  9. Review the information on the PO request one last time and click 'Send for Approval'

Once you've sent the Purchase Order for Approval make sure to note the date of this on the LibAnswers ticket.

Purchase Orders are sent to various members of the Library & Learning Services teams for approval, and can therefore take between 30 minutes and 3 weeks to be approved. Once they've been approved you should get an email that looks like this:

Once you have an email like the one above, you can move on to the next step: Paying the invoice

Once a Purchase Order has been approved we have a couple more steps to complete before the invoice can be paid. If you've previously closed the LibAnswer ticket and sharepoint it is a good idea to reopen them before proceeding.

The first step is to add the date the PO was approved to the databases or journals spreadsheet if this is being used.

Generating a Purchase Order Document

  1. Log into eBis and select 'Standard PO Request - Awaiting Emailing' (there should be a number in the brackets at the end)
  2. Select the order you would like to pay and open it by clicking on the title. 
  3. At the top there are 3 yellow circle icons: click the one which says 'Email originator'
  4. This will generate a word document file of the Purchase order information and email it to you. This generally takes between 2 and 10 minutes. The email will look like this:
  5. Open the attachment to get the PO number (this is in the top right-hand corner and begins LSER)
  6. Put the PO number in the Master Financial records Spreadsheet
  7. Put the PO number into an internal note in the LibAnswers ticket, but don't post it yet.
  8. Save the attachment to sharepoint in the same location you saved the invoice. Rename it to have the same name as the invoice but add the PO number at the end i.e. Coutts Consolidated Books invoice 9780551 LSER25623

 

Getting an invoice from the supplier

  1. Send a copy of the PO back to the supplier and request they send you an invoice with the PO number on the invoice.
  2. If the supplier is part of a framework (e.g. SUCP) remind them to note this on the invoice.
  3. Once the invoice has been returned by the supplier move on to the next stage.

 

Now you can move back to eBis to complete Receipting

Receipting a Purchase Order for Payment

  1. Once logged into eBis select 'Receipting - Entry' from the bottom of the menu
  2. Click the green 'Add' icon
  3. Select the order you want to receipt from the list and select it by clicking on the blue order number.
  4. Go to the 'Lines' tab and click the 'Auto All' button
    1. This will tick all of the boxes in the 'Complete' column on the right
  5. Click the yellow 'Add GRN' button on the top tool bar. This will close the page and make it possible for finance to pay this invoice.
  6. You can now add a note in front of your PO number in LibAnswers stating: 'Receipted and Paid LSER/...' do not post/close the ticket until the final stage!
  7. You can now add the date receipted to the Financial Records Spreadsheet (in the date paid column).

Marking an Invoice Paid on WMS

  1. Open the Acquisitions- Invoices section of WMS, and click the 'Invoices' button.
  2. Search for the Invoice number you are paying. 
  3. Double check the amount being paid is correct, then click the 'Pay' button in the top right hand corner.

Sending an Invoice to Finance

Now we can send the invoice for payment to finance,

  1. Find the email where you were sent the purchase order document (from the screenshot earlier on this page), click the button to forward this email
  2. Attach the invoice which you are trying to pay
  3. Put 'Accounts payable' as the recipient of the email.(accountspayable@uos.ac.uk)
  4. Send the email in the box to finance (replacing the bits in brackets). If the invoice was foreign currency put the conversion rate you used in the email also. Then:
    1. Add the date the email is sent to the databases/journals spreadsheet
    2. Close the ticket in LibAnswers, therefore adding the note you prepared previously.
Dear Finance, 

Please see attached invoice (INVOICE NUMBER) for payment in relation to LSER/(PO NUMBER) 

Kind regards, 

(Your Name)

You have successfully paid an invoice!!

To Reverse Receipt click here - how_to_reverse_receipt_an_order (6).docx

To Close a PO Request click here - how_to_close_an_order (22).docx

The POs are currently in the unreceipted state. To close them down, you need to go back into the POs and receipt the PO at £0 and tick the complete box.

Go into Receipting, select the PO and then Edit Line Details to update GRN by putting  0 in the value received field.

You also need to make sure that you tick the complete box.