• 1 Introduction
• 2 AP Automation
  • 2.1 Cancel process as a batch
  • 2.2 Remove invoices as a batch
  • 2.3 Link to “What’s new in this release” blog
  • 2.4 Invoice exception handling
  • 2.5 Validate invoices as a batch
  • 2.6 Select invoice process as a batch
• 3 Procurement
  • 3.1 Purchase needs to manage price unit other than one from punchout
  • 3.2 Manage my own purchase orders
  • 3.3 External attachments to supplier as XML order
  • 3.4 Multi-category & multi-supplier external webshop
  • 3.5 Purchase business document (PR/PO/GR) line numbering enhancement
  • 3.6 Advanced Validation API
  • 3.7 Cost split with largest split approval workflow
• 4 Analytics
  • 4.1 Analytics rationalization with a new concept
• 5 General
  • 5.1 User import should import email notification preferences
  • 5.2 User import missing option to set approval password in use

2.1 Cancel process as a batch

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-1252

The Cancel Process function has been enhanced by enabling the function for a batch of invoices. The process of up to 2 000 invoices can now be canceled simultaneously. Earlier it was possible for a single invoice only. This function is available on theMatching, Workflow, Transfer, and Search list pages.

2.2 Remove invoices as a batch

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-1246

The Remove Invoice function has been enhanced by enabling the function for a batch of invoices. Up to 2 000 invoices can now be removed. Earlier it was possible for a single invoice only. This function is available on the Received, Matching, Workflow, Transfer, and Search list pages.

2.3 Link to “What’s new in this release” blog

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-1241

Users can now access the Basware Purchase-to Pay New features blog that describes the new features per release by clicking a link in the user interface. 

2.4 Invoice exception handling

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-1150

The Workflow page in Professional Mode has been enhanced with new filters. Now a Professional Mode user can easily find invoices that are rejected, disputed, on hold, or missing a task recipient.

Moreover, a new Exceptions field is available on the Workflow page. It helps users find invoices with exceptions.

2.5 Validate invoices as a batch

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-806

The Validate function has been enhanced by enabling the function for a batch of invoices. Up to 2 000 invoices can now be validated. Earlier this was possible for a single invoice only. This function is available on the Received list page.

2.6 Select invoice process as a batch

Module(s): Invoice Automation
Feature ID: ALUSTA-805

The Select Process function has been enhanced by enabling the function for a batch of invoices. It is possible now to select a process up to 2 000 invoices. Earlier it was possible for a single invoice only. This function is available on the Received, Matching, Workflow, Transfer, and Search list pages.

3.1 Purchase needs to manage price unit other than one from punchout

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-960

Some external webshops that return the items in the basket with quantity and unit price information also use the Price unit field. The role of the Price unit field is to tell that the price returned does not correspond to price per one item but to the price of price unit items. Basware Purchase, however, does not yet support handling of other prices than that of one (1).

The problem with price unit other than 1 has now been fixed by recalculating the price to correspond to the price of one unit (which is achieved by dividing the price by the number in the Price unit field). The implemented fix does not change the purchasing process in any other way, because the quantity field is not changed and the total price can therefore still be calculated by multiplying the quantity with the price (that being the price of one item).

3.2 Manage my own purchase orders

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-917

Now it is possible for advanced needers with the Manage my own purchase orders user right to act as a buyer for the purchase orders related to their own purchase requisitions. Such users have access to Search Purchase Orders and My Tasks Purchase Orders views to search, view, and edit orders. Users can also navigate through Related Documents to the purchase orders related to their own requests.

Self-service instructions to take the feature into use

3.3 External attachments to supplier as XML order

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-906

Earlier, only the supplier, who was using the email order type, had the possibility to receive external attachments with the PO. This feature extends the external attachment functionality to cover also the XML order type. With the external attachment functionality, the user can define the attachments to be external on the purchase requisition in P2P Purchase. These external attachments are sent to a supplier together with the purchase order to provide more information on the order.

3.4 Multi-category & multi-supplier external webshop

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-899

Now the P2P shopping basket provides improved support for determining the supplier and purchasing category based on the data provided by the external webshop’s OCI inbound message. The supplier is determined based on the DUNS number. The purchasing category is determined based on the classification code and standard. Now supplier and purchasing category are shown also in the shopping basket.

This requires that some settings are configured in the P2P system. Earlier,  in Data management > Purchase > External webshops, it was only possible to configure an external webshop with one default purchasing category and one supplier. Now it is possible to leave purchasing category and supplier as undefined in the external webshop configuration. Now P2P supports importing cross-reference lists in Data Management > Purchase > Cross-reference lists by the user having the Manage cross-reference lists user right. The cross-reference list defines the used product classification standard and classification/commodity codes and the corresponding purchasing category in the P2P system. 

The P2P shopping basket uses primarily the information provided in the OCI inbound message from the external webshop to determine the purchasing category and supplier. Cross-reference lists are used in the P2P shopping basket so that products in the inbound message from the external webshop are linked based on the given source code: product classification code to target code purchasing category code. The P2P shopping basket uses primarily the DUNS number defined in the inbound message if the same DUNS number is defined in the P2P Administration supplier data. If the required product classification code and supplier DUNS number are not defined in the P2P system, the shopping basket checks these from the external webshop configuration. If purchasing category and supplier are not defined there either, the user needs to manually enter those on purchase requisition.

With the correct settings, products from external webshops can automatically have the correct purchasing category and supplier information on the purchase requisition even if products are from multiple purchasing categories and/or from multiple suppliers.

Self-service instructions to take the feature into use

3.5 Purchase business document (PR/PO/GR) line numbering enhancement

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-655

This feature extends the current Purchase business documents’ (purchase requisition, purchase order, goods receipt) line numbering so that lines are automatically sorted based on the supplier and product name when the document is saved. Purchase requisition lines with status Rejected  and cost lines on the purchase order are the last lines, irrespective of the supplier and product names. The purchase order line numbers are now the same on the purchase order details view and the purchase order in the PDF format.

3.6 Advanced Validation API

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-631

Now it is possible to set advanced validation in the purchase requisition process to check for instance the correctness of each line coding dimension combination. For example, it is checked that when a certain account is selected, the cost center is mandatory within certain range. The advanced validation is enabled in the GDM purchase configuration. The advanced validation validates the purchase requisition in the following phases: draft, review, finalize, and approve when the user is saving the document. The validation can result in OK, warning, or error depending on configurations. Line-level results, including line split validation, are shown in the tooltip of the header icon and also in the corresponding line icon. Header level results are shown only on header level icon tooltip. If the document has errors, it can be saved but not taken to the next process step. If the document has only warnings and/or success on validation, it can be saved or sent to next process step. The advanced validation rules can be set on standard mode or customized mode. The standard mode uses GDM routines and rules.

3.7 Cost split with largest split approval workflow

Module(s): Purchase
Feature ID: ALUSTA-606

Now it is possible to do cost splitting in the invoicing tab of the purchase requisition’s Draft view. The purchase requisition creator can share a line cost between invoicing tab dimensions, like cost centers based on percentage (%). There is no separate user right to do this so anyone can do it, but by default no line is split. Primarily, the splitting is done and can be copied to other lines in the Draft phase but the validator can still edit the splitting or do splitting. The reviewer and approver mainly confirm the done splitting or edit the dimensions like cost center on those splits. The whole line goes for approval to a person based on largest split dimensions with the normal workflow logic. On PO task, the buyer can edit splits on the PO details when editable. The receiving is done on line-level like before. The splits are taken as coding rows to the invoice when matched.

4.1 Analytics rationalization with a new concept

Module(s): Analytics
Feature ID: ALUSTA-1058

In this version, 27 dashboards have been replaced with 8 better designed dashboards:

• Earlier the dashboards were not very well organized and sometimes differentiated from each other only marginally. For example, there was a dashboard called Spend by Organization, which basically was the same dashboard as Spend by Cost Center, the difference being ultimately one dimension used. In total, there were 8 dashboards related to Spend. In the new set of dashboards there are only two dashboards related to Spend: One giving an overview on Spend over various dimensions and the other from the supplier management point of view.
• The new designs leverage more widely accepted Tableau design principles, which mean that dashboards are more action-based (click-based) and have less filters, thus improving the analytical workflow.
• The categorization of the dashboards remain the same. However, there are only 2 dashboards in each category (AP KPI, AP Financial, AP Process, and Spend).

Performance and technical integrity have been enhanced as follows:

• Improved database design: Fewer data sources per workbook, data extracts to improve the performance, better use of aggregated data
• Tableau JavaScript API Tableau Rest API: More solid integration to Alusta
• Newer version of Tableau (9.1): Noticeable improvement in loading times and responsiveness
• HTML 5 (previously based on Silverlight): Allows improvements on navigation and overall look and feel

In addition, many changes to navigation were done in Basware P2P, including Analytics launch and new top navigation for choosing dashboards.

New deployment procedures: Many of the previous tasks that were manual are now automated.

5.1 User import should import email notification preferences

Module(s): P2P Admin
Feature ID: ALUSTA-1064

The user import has been enhanced in this release. A setting has been added to the P2P_User_Import_Object.xml. This enables now the setting for email notifications to be set as part of the user import.

5.2 User import missing option to set approval password in use

Module(s): P2P Admin
Feature ID: ALUSTA-1055

The user import has been enhanced in this release. A setting has been added to the P2P_User_Import_Object.xml. This enables now the setting for Approval Password to be set as part of the user import.