FAQs

Table of Contents:

• Configuring Acquisitions
• Processing Invoice

Configuring Acquisitions:

• Required Roles: Acquisitions Administrator or General System Administrator
• Acquisitions configurations are set at the institution level and apply to all libraries.
• Out of the box settings are likely sufficient for most libraries. Configurations are more applicable when information is being exchanged electronically, either between a vendor and the library or the library and the campus accounting/payments office.

Processing an invoice for one-time physical materials

• Required Roles: Invoice Manager, Invoice Operator, or Invoice Operator Extended
• When you receive an invoice from a vendor and process it in Alma, Alma will close the sent orders and change encumbrances to payments, adjusting fund balances accordingly.
• Alma will let you process an invoice whether the items have been marked received (in Alma) or not.
• If any invoiced price is different from the price you indicated in the POL, you can change it during invoicing.

Steps:

1. With an invoice in hand, go to Acquisitions>Receiving and Invoicing, and click Create Invoice.
2. On the Select Invoice Creation Process screen, leave "Manually" as the default and click Next.
   
   • Note: If you check the box next to Handle Receiving, once the invoice is processed, Alma will take you to a screen to mark all the items on the invoice “received.” In order to receive the items in Alma, you will need the Receiving Operator role and set your location to the one appropriate for receiving.
3. This will take you to the Invoice Details screen. Required fields are:
   • Invoice Number: As assigned by the vendor
   • Vendor: Type the Vendor Code, select from your full list, or from ones you’ve used recently.
   • Total Amount: If the invoice is a credit, enter the total amount as a negative number.
   • Owner: Defaults to your institution.
   • Invoice Date
   • Payment Method defaults to Accounting Department. If your campus payments office is the one actually cutting the checks, use Accounting Department. Payment method types and the default setting can be configured.
4. Complete the required fields and any additional fields and click Save and Create Invoice Lines.
5. On the next screen, click Add Invoice Lines.
   
6. On the Add Invoice Line screen, enter the first item on your invoice in the PO line field.
   • Type in the POL number if you have it, enter the title, or just title keywords, the ISBN (with a scanner or by typing).
   • Alma will search for un-invoiced orders from the vendor identified on the Invoice Details screen.
   • To see all the search options, click on the list button.
     
7. Once an item is identified and selected, additional fields are populated from the PO Line.
   • If everything is correct, and there are more items on the invoice, click Add. Click Add and Close if there are no more items on the invoice.
   • If the invoiced price is different from the one originally entered, you can change it. Change it both in the Price box and the Amount:
     
   • You could also change the fund line or split the price among fund lines even if you did not do this at the point of order.
8. When you are done entering the last item on the invoice, click Add and Close.
9. You will return to the Invoice Details screen.
   • According to local practice, you could a) mark the invoice paid at this stage or b) mark it paid later, when your campus payments office confirms that payment has been made. In either case, the payment amount on the invoice will be an expenditure and the fund balances will reflect this transaction.
   • To mark it paid now, scroll to the Payment Information area of the Invoice Details screen. Change the payment status to Paid, enter the Payment Identifier. This Identifier is required, even though there is no asterisk. If the Identifier is not provided from your payments department, follow local practice to create an Identifier. Click Save and Continue. That completes the steps in the invoicing process.
     
   • To wait and mark it paid later, don’t change anything in the Payment Information area. Click Save and Continue (or, Save and go to Receiving if you made that selection at the beginning of the invoicing process). The invoice is now listed among the Waiting for Payment Invoices. When you receive notice from your accounting department that the invoice has been paid, return to the invoice to update the Payment Information as described above.
     

Ex Libris Documentation:

• Invoicing Training: 6 videos, each with handouts
• Configuring Acquisitions: Includes information on configuring Invoice Line Types, Invoice Review Rules, Invoice Approval Rules, Invoice Disapproval Reasons