Documentation/ Uploading documents/ Choosing type and project before uploading
Choosing type and project before uploading
Two decisions get made before you upload anything: what type of document this is, and which project it belongs to. Both can be put right afterwards, but they cost a great deal more then.
Document upload › document type, and the Project section
On this page
The document type
An upload is always of one particular type: you go in to upload purchase invoices, or expenses, or delivery notes. There is no general upload that works it out for you.
| Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Purchase invoices | What a supplier bills you for goods. |
| Expense invoices | Utilities, services, receipts. |
| Sales invoices | What you bill out. |
| Delivery notes | What comes with the goods. |
| Sales delivery notes | What you deliver. |
Why it matters beforehand
The type is not a label: it decides how the document is read and what is asked for.
- The header fields change with the type.
- So do the columns in the line items: the batch number only appears on purchase invoices, the country of origin only on customs documents.
- The requirements for sending to the ERP differ: an expense invoice needs only an account; a purchase invoice needs the item, the account and the batch.
- Each type has its own list, and a document of the wrong type is not where you go looking for it.
The project
The upload screen has a project section that folds out, marked optional, with its effect spelled out: the documents you upload will be tied to the project you choose and you will be able to filter by it in the main table.
The section starts folded away and shows the chosen project next to its title, so you can see it without opening it.
It is the most efficient way to classify anything. If you work by site or by outlet and upload your documents separated by where they came from, choosing the project here removes all the work afterwards.
On some set-ups the project is required before you can upload, and the application will not let you go on without one.
What it costs to fix each one
| What | How you fix it | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Assign it to a batch from the list. | Low: tick them and assign. |
| Type | Move the document to another type. | High: one at a time. |
Hence the imbalance: the project is recoverable in a minute, the type is not. If you are going to hesitate over one thing before pressing process, hesitate over the type.
A routine that works
- Separate the documents by type before you upload. One batch of invoices, another of delivery notes.
- And by project, if you work with them.
- Choose type and project on the upload screen.
- Upload the whole batch.
- Do the next one.
A minute of tidiness first saves going through them one by one later.
On the automatic routes
With email and with Dropbox, the type is not chosen per document: it is set on the connection, and everything that comes in through it carries that type.
The way to handle several types is to have several ways in: one Dropbox folder per type, or one mail folder per type with its own rule.
Things that come up
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A document is not in its list | It was uploaded as another type. | Find it in the other list and move it. |
| Columns are missing from the line items | This document type does not handle them. | Check the type is right. |
| The documents have no project on them | None was chosen on the upload screen. | Assign it to the batch from the list. |
| It will not let you upload without a project | The set-up requires one. | Choose it before processing. |
| Everything arriving by email has the same type | The type is set on the connection. | Use one folder and one connection per type. |