FAQs

Required Roles:

• Purchasing Operator
• Purchasing Manager

Set up Purchase Order Line:

• The PO Line Type must be Subscription: 
  
• POLs with a line type of “subscription” have an additional section for renewal information:
  
• Users have the option of selecting manual renewal (Manual Renewal box checked) which means when the Renewal Reminder Period is reached, the renewal will appear in the Task List and require manual intervention.
• A user will have to update the POL with the next renewal cycle information (price, fund, renewal date, and renewal reminder period) and create an invoice.
  
• Users have the option of selecting automatic renewal (Manual Renewal box is unchecked) which means when the renewal cycle is reached, the Renewal Date is automatically updated according to the Renewal Cycle and the renewal does not appear in the Task List.
• For more information about renewal workflows, refer to the Ex Libris documentation on Renewal Workflow
• Enter the required and desired optional information in the Renewal section of the POL:
• Manual renewal: leave the box checked for manual renewal or unchecked for automatic renewal
• Subscription from date and Subscription to date are optional
• Renewal date is mandatory and must occur before the Subscription to date
• Renewal reminder period (days): the number of days before the Renewal date that the renewal appears in the Task List
• Renewal Cycle: required for automatic renewal and invisible for manual renewal; the length of the subscription period and cycle when the subscription will be due for renewal.
• When the POL is complete, click Order Now or Save and Continue.
  • Order Now automatically bundles the POL into a single PO for processing.
  • Save and Continue will bundle the POL into a PO during an overnight job.
    

Task List, Manual Renewals only:

• Once the renewal period is reached, the renewal will appear in the task list as “order lines – waiting for renewal”:
  
• Clicking the link for “Order Lines – waiting for renewal” in the task list will route the user to a list of PO Lines to Renew:
  
• Once the desired PO Line is found, the user can edit the POL to reflect the new renewal date, update the renewal cycle or renewal period reminder, and update the price and fund as necessary:
  

• Once the POL is updated, click Renew to put the renewal back into a status of “Waiting for Renewal” until the next subscription renewal.
  

Invoice:

• With each renewal cycle, an invoice will be created and closed. The POL for the order will remain open, and will be updated with each renewal cycle to reflect the new renewal date and pricing.
• The process for invoicing renewals is the same as any other invoice. The only difference is the invoice number has to be unique, and may require modification.
• If creating an invoice manually, the invoice number is entered in the Summary tab:
  
• If creating an invoice from a PO, the invoice number will have to be modified in the Summary tab to be unique:
  
  
  

Please note: If the "Subscription To" field, which appears for continuing resources, is populated, Alma will automatically close the POL. This field should be left blank, unless the subscription is ceasing or expiring on the "Subscription To" date.