Basware Purchase-to-Pay 21.6 New Features


Contents

1 Introduction

This document contains descriptions of new features in Basware Purchase-to-Pay 21.6 and its maintenance releases.

2 Procurement

2.1 Catalog quality scoring

Module(s): Marketplace
Feature ID: ALUSTA-85331
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Product Manager is pleased to re-launch the improved catalog quality scoring feature! With quality scoring, buyer administrators can define what elements of a catalog are important to them and easily see what quality of price list a supplier has provided you. This rating can inform approval decisions for individual price list items or the price list as a whole, and help buyer administrators maintain high-quality catalog content.

Catalog quality scoring is defined by buyer administrators as part of an approval scheme. Any combination of the 5 available rules can be used:

Price list items are scored using points. The number of stars given for each item is the average of the points earned in each category. 

When an organization agreement is assigned an approval scheme with quality scoring, the buyer administrator can see the quality score for the supplier’s submitted price list and for each item as a rating from 1 to 5 stars. Hover over the star rating to see a breakdown of the rating based on each rule selected for the quality score.

2.2 Import and export a bill of materials with up to 100 catalog or free-text items

Module(s): Marketplace
Feature ID: ALUSTA-82088
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Customer can take into use

A bill of materials (BOM) is a comprehensive list of all items that are needed for a manufacturing product or other purpose. The list can include many items from different suppliers, and is a valuable tool for managing stock and production schedules. 

Bills of materials are now supported in Marketplace. Users can create the initial bill of materials by adding all items to the shopping basket, then exporting the basket. Then, the user can import that file to Marketplace anytime to re-order similar items. 

Export the basket to a bill of materials

To easily create an initial bill of materials, a requester can add up to 100 items they want to be included on the bill of materials to the shopping basket, then click Export. This action exports the contents of the basket to an Excel spreadsheet. 

 

Import the bill of materials

Whenever the user wants to order the items on that bill of materials, they can easily Import the file to the shopping basket. This way, the user does not have to rebuild the shopping basket each time to order the same items. The system imports the items and takes the user to the BOM processing page, where the items from the Excel sheet are automatically matched to the correct items in the catalog. 

Match imported items to catalog items.

 Matching is currently done by Item ID and supplier. Items that are successfully matched turn blue. If needed, the user can delete any items from the bill of materials.

The details of each matched item can be viewed by clicking the down arrow. Details include the percentage match of the item, basic item details, quantity, unit, and unit price. 

If the item is not matched, or the user is not happy with the matching item, the user can create a free text item. That is an item that has been agreed off-line with the supplier, for example.

Order multiples

To order multiples of the items on the BOM, the user can enter a number in the field Enter Multiples and click Run. This multiplies the original quantity of all items in the BOM by the number the user entered. 

Add to basket and order

When the needed items are all successfully matched, the user clicks Add to basket. All of the relevant catalog items are added to the basket and ready to order. 

Free-text items

Users can also upload a bill of materials with only free-text items. First, the user downloads the Bill of Materials(Free text) - Excel as shown below, then fills in the spreadsheet and uploads it. The user can then use the same spreadsheet in the future to upload the same free-text items again. 

Enablement

The bill-of-materials feature is enabled using a toggle and requires the user to have “Product Manager” rights. If you do not have sufficient user rights to manage your organization’s feature toggles, request for the new feature to be enabled through the Basware Support Portal.  

2.3 Quick Quote enhancements for buyers and suppliers

Module(s): Marketplace
Feature ID: ALUSTA-85326
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

We have enhanced the Quick Quote functionality for buyers and suppliers.

Buyers


Suppliers

Below is the supplier view and the quoted items. Quote lines can be edited and deleted using the icons beside each line. Multiple attachments can be added by clicking next to the Attachments field.

After sending the quote, the supplier can click Withdraw to recall the quote and exit the quote process.

2.4 Super Content Loader enhancements

Module(s): Marketplace
Feature ID: ALUSTA-85467
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

The Super Content Loader Excel file has been updated with the following enhancements: 

 


Download the newest Super Content Loader template from Product Manager > Loader > Content loading templates. 

2.5 Send blanket purchase orders

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-84472
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Basware consultant work is needed

Blanket orders are sum-based purchase orders that allow buyers to allocate a specific order amount to a supplier over a set amount of time. Blanket purchase orders are particularly useful if the service is invoiced in several parts during the validity period, such as buying a service for a year. Blanket orders can also be used for ordering consumable goods, such as office supplies, over a period of time.

Order matching in Basware P2P already supported blanket purchase orders for orders coming from the ERP systems. Now, buyers can create and send blanket purchase orders directly from Basware P2P.

Buyers can start creating the blanket order from a dedicated free-text form. Basware provides a template blanket order form that each customer can modify to fit their needs.

Once the form has been filled out and added to a purchase requisition, it becomes a purchase requisition line with the order type “blanket”. The user can submit the requisition for approval directly from the blanket order form or from the requisition draft view, depending on the configured process. The requisition is then routed to the standard requisition approval workflow.

After the purchase requisition is approved, the blanket purchase order is created and sent to the supplier by email. In the first phase, blanket orders can only be sent as PDF files to suppliers who receive email orders. Blanket orders cannot yet be sent as SmartOrders or Network orders.

Blanket purchase orders do not require goods receiving. Multiple invoices can be sent for the blanket order. Since the blanket purchase orders are sum-based orders, the invoices will be matched only against the available sum on the order. Additionally, invoices can be checked to ensure they are within the order’s validity period.

Blanket purchase orders can be managed and edited in the same way as standard orders. Editing the orders requires that the user has either Manage my own purchase orders or Use Purchase Professional tools user right. If the order total increases due to the edits, the purchase order change may require additional approval.

If you are interested in using blanket purchase orders, request for the new feature to be enabled through the Basware Support Portal.

2.6 Show contract details in Purchase Professional Tools split view

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-78964
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Users of Purchase Professional Tools can now find details on contracts that have been imported to Basware P2P from within Professional Tools. Earlier, contract details were only accessible from the Documents tab, using the Edge Personal view. 

By enabling split view from the contract search, users can see contract details side-by-side with the contracts list. All contracts are read-only, and users can add comments to the contracts from this view. 

2.7 Show contract spend for purchase orders in Purchase Professional Tools

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-82736
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

It is now possible to collect and view spend information for contracts. When enabled, purchase orders that have a contract number are listed in contract’s Orders tab when viewing the contract from Procurement > Contracts. The total spend on purchase orders associated with the contract is also calculated.

Contract spend visibility is possible only for imported contracts. The feature can be set separately for each contract and order spend collection starts from the moment it has been enabled. Historical spend information is not collected.

The information to be collected is defined using true/false (Boolean) values when importing each contract via OpenAPI or anyERP integration. 

Only one document option is currently available: 

Two additional options can be enabled in the OpenAPI or anyERP import, but the spend information is not yet visible in Basware P2P: 

If you are interested in enabling spend collection for contracts, request for the new feature to be enabled through the Basware Support Portal.

2.8 State name and code available for addresses on purchase documents

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-81555
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Basware consultant work is needed

In Edge, it is now possible to include the State in addresses for purchase requisitions and purchase orders. The screen can be configured to have fields for the state name, state code, or both. Previously these values were stored in P2P Admin as Country sub-entity and country sub-entity code, and they were not available in the Edge user interface.

At this phase, only the state code is sent to Basware Network using the Order API. In the cXML for a Network purchase order, the information is in the element . 

If you are interested in using the State field in purchase document addresses, request for the new feature to be enabled through the  Basware Support Portal .

3 AP Automation

3.1 Auto-fill new coding row total and auto-apply coding difference to existing rows on invoices and spend plans

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-76346
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

AP Pro and professional invoice details view in Edge now have two enhancements to make invoice coding faster and more accurate. 

Firstly, a user can double-click an invoice coding row total field to automatically code the difference to the selected cell. This enhancement is available automatically for all users.

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Secondly, AP Pro and professional invoice details view can now be configured to automatically enter the total for a new coding row that a user creates. This behavior is controlled using an existing system setting, “EdgeAutoFillCodingSum”. 

If your organization already has this system setting enabled for Edge, this enhancement will be available automatically. If you want to change the system setting for your organization, submit a change request through the Basware Support Portal.

3.2 Lookup lists’ column orders and sizes saved for AP Pro users

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-76677
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Now in AP Pro, user preferences for lookup list columns are saved. The user can rearrange and resize columns in any lookup list in AP Pro, and their changes are saved even if the user logs out and logs back in. The changes will even be present if the user is logged in from a different browser or device.

3.3 Service PO import and BestFitGrouping value

Module(s): Match Orders
Feature ID: ALUSTA-79870
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Now it is possible to group service receipts in a way that the sum of a group is compared with the total of an invoice at the time of automatic matching. The grouping is done with a best-fit grouping keyword, which is applied to the receipts. This keyword will enable more accurate automatic matching results for service purchase orders.

Service purchase orders can be imported to Basware P2P using anyERP integration only. To use best-fit grouping for service receipts, request for the new feature to be enabled through the Basware Support Portal

3.4 Matching error message shown when invoice does not match spend plan

Module(s): Spend Plans
Feature ID: ALUSTA-82050
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

AP clerks and business users are now informed of when an invoice fails to match to a spend plan. The message tells the user why the matching has failed and provides a link that users can click to view the spend plan. 

4 Platform

4.1 Thai language available for Basware P2P

Module(s): Platform
Feature ID: ALUSTA-75401
Release: P2P 21.6
Feature Implementation: Basware consultant work is needed before customer can take into use

Thai is the latest language to be supported in Basware Purchase-to-Pay. The new language option will be made available shortly after the 21.6 version is released. If you are interested in using Thai, request for the new feature to be enabled through the Basware Support Portal.

After it is enabled, users can select Thai as the user interface language from the User settings page.