• 1 Introduction
• 2 Procurement
  • 2.1 Awarded date shown when request is awarded
  • 2.2 Email footer added to invitation email to one-off suppliers
  • 2.3 Mapping of punchout agreement and supplier reference domain
  • 2.4 Email approval for purchase requisitions
  • 2.5 Email review for purchase requisitions
  • 2.6 Hide or disable approvers on summary page
  • 2.7 Search and view documents of an inactive organization
  • 2.8 Manufacturer part id and shipping instructions in order messages
  • 2.9 Prevent sending cXML orders that have attachments
• 3 AP Automation
  • 3.1 Enhanced return task action for invoice reviewers and approvers
  • 3.2 Enhanced version upgrade notification
  • 3.3 Partition-specific reports
  • 3.4 Pending deviation time for AP clerk
  • 3.5 Highlight invoices where related goods receipt is marked faulty
• 4 Networked AP
  • 4.1 AP Performance dashboard
  • 4.2 Multiple active row review/approval tasks not created anymore

2.1 Awarded date shown when request is awarded

Module(s): Marketplace
Feature ID: ALUSTA-105977
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: N/A

When awarding the quote received from the supplier in Quick Source, the user will be able to view the awarded date when the request has been awarded.

This will help the user to know the date when the request has been awarded if there is some discrepancy with the awarded RFQ.

2.2 Email footer added to invitation email to one-off suppliers

Module(s): Marketplace
Feature ID: ALUSTA-106013
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: N/A

The requestor sending an invitation email to a one-off supplier now has the ability to add additional information or personal signatures in the footer of the invitation email. An Email Footer option is added in Organization > Option.

The requestor can add the default text to be added to the email, and it will be visible when creating the invitation for the one-off supplier. The requestor can add, edit, or delete the text mentioned in the email footer section on the invite’s one-off supplier pop-up.

2.3 Mapping of punchout agreement and supplier reference domain

Module(s): Marketplace
Feature ID: ALUSTA-106063
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: N/A

Punchout agreements can now be mapped to the supplier reference domain. In some cases, the supplier might have different locations but the same DUNS code. Mapping the supplier in different organization becomes difficult in P2P that requires a unique DUNS code. Punchout agreements can be mapped to supplier codes as these are unique in P2P for each location. 

2.4 Email approval for purchase requisitions

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-24885
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Basware consultant work is needed

With this feature enabled, users can approve purchase requisitions directly from email. If you are interested in using the email approvals, request for the new feature to be enabled through the Basware Support Portal.

User can either approve or reject the purchase requisition lines assigned to them from the approval email:

When the user clicks Approve, they will be navigated to a confirmation page:

User gets a confirmation about the success of the action:

User also gets notified if the action could not be completed or if the link has already expired.

2.5 Email review for purchase requisitions

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-100489
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Basware consultant work is needed

User can review the purchase requisition just by one click in the link in an email.

2.6 Hide or disable approvers on summary page

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-104707
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

When using Integrated shopping experience and when enrichment is in use, the approver selection is not possible on the summary page. It is not possible either when the manual resolver is not configured for the first approval in the requisition workflow.

2.7 Search and view documents of an inactive organization

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-104201
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Purchase professional buyers are now able to view documents that belong to an inactive organization. 

2.8 Manufacturer part id and shipping instructions in order messages

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-102480
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Purchase requisitions and purchase orders have two new fields: 

• Delivery instructions to indicate the preferred delivery method if the buyer and the supplier have agreed about that.
• Manufacturer part ID to send the item’s ID provided by the manufacturer.

The primary reason for these is to improve compliance in cXML ordering, but the new fields will be added to UBL based orders too.

2.9 Prevent sending cXML orders that have attachments

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-104699
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Basware Network does not yet support attachments for cXML orders, but in P2P it is possible to add attachments. The solution to this mismatch it to validate purchase requisitions and purchase orders: If the document has external attachments, it will stop in validation. The error message that will be shown is: “Attachments cannot be sent in the order format that this supplier receives. Please remove external attachments.”

Note: This validation will be removed when Basware Network has support for cXML order attachments. 

3.1 Enhanced return task action for invoice reviewers and approvers

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-99752
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Invoice reviewers and approvers sometimes need to return invoices back to the previous activity and task recipient. If the invoice task was handled by an incorrect user, it is also necessary to change the recipient of the task, which was not possible earlier.

The Return task action has now been enhanced. The invoice reviewers and approvers can freely select a recipient for the activity where the invoice is returned to. This enhancement is available for the invoice reviewers and approvers who have activated the professional view. If you haven’t activated the professional view yet, you can do that in User settings by selecting Professional view.

Moreover, now the invoice reviewers and approvers can return invoices to activities which were skipped during the process. When the user is returning an invoice to a skipped activity, there is an information message shown on top of the dialog, to ensure that the user understands this selection. The user can then freely select a recipient for the task. If the invoice was manually created, the option to select an invoice creator as the task recipient is selected by default. The user can still select another task recipient if needed.

Returning tasks to skipped activities is not possible by default. To enable this, please contact your Basware consultant or Basware Support. The consultant can activate this enhancement for you by using the tenant setting AllowReturningTasksToSkippedActivities. During the activation, the consultant will also validate your invoice process configuration so that it will be safe to return invoices to skipped activities. If your invoice process is not properly configured, the invoices that are returned to skipped activities may get stuck or there may be some other unwanted consequences.

With these enhancements, invoices can be returned directly to correct recipients and activities. This results into less manual work and fewer unnecessary tasks.

3.2 Enhanced version upgrade notification

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-84797
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Hot upgrades and maintenance releases for Basware P2P can happen during the working hours. Earlier, when the update was done, the users were forced to refresh the page immediately. If they were working on a document, the page refresh caused all changes to get lost.

The hot upgrade release notification has now been enhanced. After the 23.6 release, if a user is working on Basware P2P when the version update is done, a banner is shown on top of the navigation that recommends them to refresh the page and take the new features and enhancements in use. The users can continue working and refresh the page at a more convenient time if they don’t want to do it immediately. It is highly recommended to refresh the page as soon as possible to avoid possible issues when continuing with the old version.

The maintenance releases will not show this notification after the 23.6 release, and the users don’t have to refresh the page on maintenance releases anymore.

This enhancement has been implemented in the simple view, professional view, AP Pro, and Invoicing and Spend plans sections in Data management.

3.3 Partition-specific reports

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-103251
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Users can download weekly and monthly SmartCoding reports that contain overall details and specific details of the invoices that have been coded by SmartCoding.

Earlier, all invoices were included in a one report, but now there are separate reports per each SmartCoding partition.

3.4 Pending deviation time for AP clerk

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-92586
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Organizations often have a target to resolve deviations in touchless invoice processing within a certain time frame. For this reason, it is essential for the AP clerks to have visibility in how long the invoices with deviations have been pending for them. This helps them to prioritize their work.

We have now added a new Pending Time (AP clerk) column to all invoice list views in AP Pro. It is an aging indicator that shows the number of days the invoices have been pending for an AP clerk to work on.

The pending time for an invoice starts when a deviation that requires manual processing from an AP clerk occurs. For example, when a pending task gets rejected in the workflow. The pending time is empty if an invoice does not require manual processing from an AP clerk. For example, if an invoice is in automatic matching. If an invoice has many deviations that are pending for an AP clerk, the pending time gets cleared only after all the deviations have been resolved. For the existing invoices this new pending time field is empty by default - the system will update it if a new deviation occurs.

With the Pending Time (AP clerk) column, the AP clerks get visibility in how long the invoices with deviations have been pending for them. The AP clerks can sort, filter, and group invoices based on this column, and this way they can easily prioritize their work. This enables them to resolve deviations in target time and shorten the invoice processing times.

The Pending time (AP clerk) works perfectly with the workload management feature. With workload management the invoices can be automatically or manually assigned to AP clerks, and now the new Pending time (AP clerk) column shows how long the invoices have been pending and for which AP clerk. If workload management is not activated for your organization yet, and you would like to start enjoying from the benefits of this feature, please contact your Basware consultant or Basware Support. 

The Pending time (AP clerk) is available in the Advanced search whenever there is a need to search for invoices with a specific pending time range.

The Pending Time column, that shows the pending time for the business users, has been renamed to Pending Time (task) to differentiate it more clearly from the new Pending Time (AP clerk) column.

3.5 Highlight invoices where related goods receipt is marked faulty

Module(s): Match Orders
Feature ID: ALUSTA-98099
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Basware consultant work is needed

Now users can see if an invoice has been matched with a goods receipt that was marked as faulty, and they can launch an approval flow for the invoice. This way the users can make a decision if the invoice can be paid directly, or if additional steps, such as dispute, are required. Goods receipt details can be viewed in Basware P2P manual order matching view. The info message about faulty goods receipt is available also for business users in review and approve tasks. 

To activate the new matching order fields and quality inspection for your organization, contact Basware Support.

4.1 AP Performance dashboard

Module(s): Analytics
Feature ID: ALUSTA-106116
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: N/A

The AP performance dashboard offers enhanced capabilities that empower AP team/SSC managers to gain comprehensive visibility to monitor and improve their team’s collective and individual productivity. This dashboard empowers managers to make data-driven decisions, optimize resource allocation, effectively measure, plan, and implement measures to enhance the productivity and efficiency of individual contributors and the overall team.

The AP performance dashboard comprises two distinct views, each providing unique perspectives on performance:

Overview Dashboard: The overview dashboard empowers AP managers with a holistic understanding of team productivity by offering an array of essential metrics and indicators:

• Number of received invoices: Gain immediate insight into the volume of incoming invoices, allowing managers to assess workload and resource allocation.
• Number of processed invoices: Track the efficiency and timeliness of invoice processing, ensuring smooth operations and timely payments.
• Number of open invoices: Identify the evolution of your backlog or outstanding invoices which is a key indicator on whether your team is able to process invoices, minimizing potential delays or missed payments.
• Invoice processing time: Understand the average time taken to process invoices per processing phase, enabling managers to identify areas for improvement and streamline workflows.
• Average number of invoices processed per AP clerk: Assess individual AP clerks’ productivity levels, identify top performers, and address any imbalances or bottlenecks in the team.
• Number of invoices transferred on time: Measure the team’s ability to meet designated deadlines, such as invoice due dates, and ensure prompt processing of invoices.
• Number of tasks executed per task group: Evaluate the efficiency of task distribution and workflow management within the team.

By analyzing these metrics, AP managers can easily identify workload capacity, inefficiencies, and potential process bottlenecks, allowing them to make informed decisions to optimize team performance.

Detailed View: The detailed view provides a comprehensive visual representation of invoice processing activities, offering deeper insights and trends over time:

• Heatmap of invoices processed per day: Visualize the distribution of workload (invoices processed) across different days through a dynamic heatmap. This visualization enables managers to identify seasonality in invoice processing, allowing for effective resource allocation, proactive capacity planning, and timely adjustments to meet demanding periods.
• Individual AP clerk performance: Track and compare the number of invoices processed by each AP clerk. This feature facilitates performance evaluation and recognition of high achievers, enabling managers to identify top performers and encourage healthy competition. Additionally, it assists in identifying AP clerks who may require additional support or targeted improvement strategies.
• Trends of invoices processed by each AP clerk: Analyze the historical performance data of individual AP clerks over time. By examining growth patterns and performance trends, managers can gain insights into the progress and development of their team members. This information serves as a valuable resource for performance discussions, coaching, and career development opportunities.

Additionally, the AP performance dashboard introduces a supplier/organization/invoice origin table, enriching the analysis with further insights:

• Number of invoices processed and actions executed per AP clerk: Evaluate the impact of specific suppliers, organizations, or invoice origins on the efficiency of the AP workflow. This analysis enables managers to identify areas of concern, address issues with relevant stakeholders or implement process improvements where necessary.

• Invoice processing time by supplier/organization/invoice origin: Pinpoint suppliers, organizations, or invoice origins with prolonged processing times. This information helps managers identify areas of improvement and take targeted corrective measures, enhancing overall efficiency and streamlining the AP process

4.2 Multiple active row review/approval tasks not created anymore

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-106239
Release: P2P 23.6
Feature Implementation: Feature is in use automatically

Earlier, multiple active header or row level tasks were created for a single invoice or a coding row in certain cases when the backup person setting was active. In these cases, the invoice got stuck. Now the issues have been fixed and the invoices don’t get stuck anymore.

Fixed Issues / Use cases:

Use case 1) Settings: Allow Backup Approval of Self-Handled Tasks is set to “0”. User B has User A as backup person. Invoice tasks are created, for example by forwarding , for Users A and B.

Earlier

User A received two tasks: one task as the original task recipient and the second task as the backup person for User B. User A was able to approve only one of the tasks, and the second task always got stuck.

After the fix

User A will receive only one task in the above scenario. The second task will be created for the User A’s supervisor if the supervisor does not already have a task for the invoice. If supervisor for User A has not been defined, the second task will be created for the User B. Backup task is not created at all because the backup person User A already has the task, and supervisor has not been defined.

Use case 2) Approver A has a backup person, Approver B, for the period of June 15th to June 18th. An invoice is sent to the Reviewer A who uses Review and forward functionality and forwards the invoice to Reviewer B on June 15th.  At the same time P2P creates an approval task for Approver B who is the backup person for Approver A. Reviewer B reviews the invoice after the backup period has ended, on June 19th, and another approval task is created for Approver A who does not have a backup person anymore.

Earlier (applicable for all types of approval scenarios)

In this particular case, two active approval tasks for a single invoice were created. The invoice got stuck because even though one of the users successfully approved the invoice, the invoice was still stuck for the other user with error: “There are no rows to approve”.

After the fix 

When a new task for the same invoice is created, the system recognizes it as a duplicate, and it will no longer be available for the user. Only one active task will exist for a single invoice.