Automatically identify duplicate invoices during processing

Up to four invoice fields can be used to identify duplicate invoices in Interpret based on the current corresponding information in the database for previously processed invoices. Invoices identified this way are then placed in the Duplicates folder in the Inbox in Verify. This is configured in two steps:

• Define which fields are used to identify duplicate invoices
• Create a folder for duplicate invoices in the Inbox

Note: This does not apply to XML invoices

Define which fields are used to identify duplicate invoices

1. Using Manager, click Settings > Inbox configuration and then click Configure duplicate invoices.

2. In the Configure fields for duplicate invoices dialog, define up to four fields using AND or OR modifiers to identify the invoices. Note that field priority is from top to bottom in the dialog, and if None is specified for a field, both that field and any subsequent fields specified in the dialog will not be considered when looking to identify duplicate invoices.

3. Click OK to save the changes.

Notes:

• When process log data is removed from the database using a maintenance plan or by clearing the database, there will not be any invoice data to compare to using this functionality until additional invoices have been processed.

• You can limit the fields that are available for selection in the dropdown lists by only listing desired fields in the [DuplicateIdentifier] section of Eiglobal.ini.

Create a folder for duplicate invoices in the Inbox

To display invoices, identified as duplicates, for users in the inbox in a specific folder, complete the following steps:

1. As part of the process to create or edit the inbox, in the Inbox configuration dialog, click Edit folders .
2. In the Edit inbox folders dialog, click to create a root node called Duplicates in the selection hierarchy.
3. Depending on what is best for your situation, you can click once to create one child node for all duplicate invoices, or you can use it multiple times to create a child node for each invoice profile, for example.
4. Click the child node to select it, and then click Apply selection criteria to the folder/group on the right on the screen to display the criteria that can be specified for the folder. If more than one child node has been created, this and the following steps will need to be done for each one.
5. On the Invoice profiles tab, click the invoice profile(s) for which you want duplicate invoices to be placed in the child node.
6. On the Statuses tab, click Duplicate to select it, and remove the selection of any other statuses, if any.
7. Optional: additional criteria can be specified if you want any of these child nodes to apply to duplicate invoices for specific buyers, queues, or user-defined variables. However, note that all specified criteria must be met for the invoices to be put in the corresponding inbox folder.
8. Click OK.
9. If you only want specific users to see these folders, you can create user authorization roles for that purpose and then associate the appropriate users with the role. Note that if a user you select is restricted from seeing an invoice profile that is selected for the role, they will not see duplicate invoices for that invoice profile in the folder in Verify during processing.
10. When finished, click OK to save the changes.

How it works

When the identification of duplicate invoices is configured according to the above, INVOICES checks for the specified fields in Interpret and compares them to the duplicate-invoice information found in the database. If potential invoices with matching fields are found, they are given Duplicate status, and they are put in the corresponding Duplicates folder in the inbox in Verify depending on how it was configured.

Only those invoices, for which all fields receive Complete status, are considered as potential duplicate invoices. In addition, if any field on an invoice has more than one proposed value, that invoice is not considered as a potential duplicate invoice even if the field receives Complete status.

If field values are modified in Verify for an invoice that was previously used to identify duplicate invoices, the updated values are used to identify subsequent duplicate invoices in Interpret. However, if an invoice was identified as a duplicate invoice using the original values, it retains Duplicate status without considering the updated values.

Related topics

Inbox: Overview