Documentation/ Working with documents/ Document statuses
Document statuses
The status is what the automatic checks came back with. It tells you which documents can be approved as they are and which need you, and exactly where. It is the column that organises your day.
On this page
The four groups
Statuses fall into four groups, by what they are telling you:
- The checks: whether the arithmetic and the completeness came back conclusive.
- Where it is: how far along the document is.
- What it is: whether the document is what it appears to be or needs moving.
- Payment: whether it has been paid.
Statuses about the checks
| Status | What was checked | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Validations correct | The document passes everything. | Nothing. It can be approved as it stands, in a batch if you like. |
| Review totals | Net plus VAT does not come to the total. | Open it and go over the header: net, taxes and total. |
| Review items sum | The lines do not add up to the net amount. | Go through the lines: usually one is missing, one is extra, or a discount went on wrongly. |
| Review VAT | The individual tax amounts do not add up to the tax total. | Go over the VAT breakdown, particularly where the document carries more than one rate. |
| Missing relevant fields | Required data is not on the document. | Open it: the missing fields are highlighted. |
The three arithmetic statuses do not necessarily mean something was read wrongly: they can be reporting an inconsistency in the document itself, such as a discount taken off the total but never broken down on the lines.
Statuses about where it is
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Registered | The initial upload status, before processing has finished. |
| Approved by user | Signed off. This is what the ERP send needs. |
| Rejected by user | The document has been deliberately set aside. |
| Sent to ERP | The data has gone to the management system, or been exported. |
Statuses about what it is
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate document found | Another document with identical values has been spotted. | Work out which to keep and delete the other. Nothing is deleted for you. |
| Possible multi-page document pending to unify | The same document has been spotted with different totals: most likely a document of several pages that came in split. | Merge the parts into one document. |
| Not an invoice | The word "invoice" does not appear on the document. | Check whether it belongs in this list; if not, move it to its own type. |
| Document is a credit note | The document is a credit note or a refund invoice. | Check the sign on the amounts before approving. |
Statuses about payment
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending payment | The document is not marked as paid. |
| Document is paid | It has been marked as paid. |
The due date and how it is worked out are covered on the due dates and payment page.
Working through a list
The usual way to work a list:
- Filter by status to pull out what needs you.
- Deal with them by group: duplicates and anything waiting to be merged first, because they change the shape of the set; then the arithmetic ones, which go document by document.
- Approve in a batch everything whose checks came back correct.
- Send what you have approved.
A review status does not stop you approving a document: it warns you. Approving despite the warning is your call, because you are the one who can confirm whether the discrepancy comes from the original document.