PeopleSoft eSettlements 9.1 PeopleBook

Disputing Invoices

This chapter provides an overview of invoice disputes and discusses how to:

Review, initiate, and resolve disputes.
Resolve disputes using instant messaging.

Understanding Invoice Disputes

In eSettlements, an invoice cannot be paid until a related dispute is resolved. The system prevents the invoice schedule from being selected for payment. An invoice can consist of multiple payment schedules. Therefore, when you place an invoice on hold, the payment schedule is actually on hold, and the invoice can be partially paid.

If an invoice has multiple payment installments or schedules, you may place one or all of the schedules on hold. To place an entire invoice in dispute—preventing any payment of it—you must put in dispute all payment schedules associated with that invoice. If you place a hold on only one installment of a multiple installment invoice, then all other installments remain eligible to pay.

Invoice payment schedules can be placed on hold at any point in the business process until the actual time of payment. Dispute initiation by the buyer triggers email notification to the recipients specified in the buyer notification setup for the Dispute - Payment Schedules notification type. The supplier can then view the disputed invoice and enter comments for the buyer. Both invoice schedule and line disputes must be resolved before an invoice schedule can be selected for payment.

Saving a new dispute automatically triggers email notification to the supplier. After the dispute is resolved, the system sends the resolution email message to the appropriate roles and user IDs (which are specified during email notification setup) when the buyer clicks Save with the Hold Payment check box deselected and new comments entered.

Buyers can override registration-level notification setup at the agreement level. That way, a different role or user ID can receive the email notifications according to the particular buyer-supplier location combination. The system first checks the agreement level to identify the roles and user IDs that are recipients of dispute notifications. If at the agreement level the user accepted the default email notification definitions, then the default originates at the setID level for each buyer.

Ensure that the Instant Messenger Access check boxes are selected on the Review Buyer Details - Registration page and the Review Supplier Details - Registration page to enable the parties to use the instant messaging feature. You must also enter instant messaging IDs on the Review User Profiles - Buyer User Details and the Review User Profiles - Supplier User Details pages.

If an invoice should not be approved immediately, a buyer can place it on hold and initiate dialog about it with the supplier. Specific comments from the buyer about the invoice accompany the email notification sent to the supplier.

You can place an invoice in dispute at any time after it has been created—even before the approval process runs.

If the invoice has multiple schedules, then once approved, all nondisputed schedules are eligible for payment as long as all lines of the invoice are approved and no lines are in dispute.

Note. The Voucher Approval Creation Workflow Application Engine process (EM_VO_APR_AE) must finish running for the voucher approval information to be useful.

You can dispute individual invoice lines as well. That process is discussed later in this PeopleBook.

Note. In the eSettlements Buyer Direct model, the system does not trigger email notification if you initiate or remove a hold in PeopleSoft Payables. Because this can affect the history of a dispute in PeopleSoft eSettlements, you should dispute invoices only within PeopleSoft eSettlements.

See Also

PeopleTools PeopleBook: Workflow Technology

Processing Invoice Approvals

Reviewing, Initiating, and Resolving Disputes

This section lists prerequisites and discusses how to:

Review invoice disputes.
Review payment installments.
Review disputes in the invoice cycle.
Initiate invoice disputes.
Resolve invoice disputes.
Manage disputes during matching.
Resolve disputes included in a pay cycle.

Both buyer and supplier aging balances, as well as the invoice inquiry pages, reference disputed invoices.

Prerequisites

The buying organization must set up the Dispute Payment Schedule notification type for the supplier to receive notifications.

See Also

Initiating Agreements

Specifying Buyer Notifications

Specifying Supplier Notifications

Pages Used to Review, Initiate, and Resolve Disputes

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry	EM_VOUCHER_INQUIRY	eSettlements, Invoices, Review Invoices, Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry	If you are a buyer, view invoice activity details and access a page to place invoices on hold.
Manage Bills - Invoice Inquiry	EM_SP_VCHR_INQUIRY	eSettlements, Invoices, Manage Bills, Manage Bills - Invoice Inquiry	If you are a supplier, view invoice activity details.
Review Payment Installments - Inquiry	EM_BUY_PYMNT_INSTL	eSettlements, Payments, Review Payment Installments, Review Payment Installments - Inquiry	If you are a buyer, review invoices with multiple payment schedules.
Review Invoices - Invoice Cycle	EM_VCHR_DISP_SUMM	Click the Invoice column link for a line displaying a Dispute button on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page.	If you are a buyer, view the invoice dispute summary and access a page to release a payment schedule from hold.
Review Invoices - Review Invoice Disputes	EM_VOUCHER_DISPUTE	Click the Invoice column link for a line displaying a Dispute button on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page. Click the Review Disputes link on the Review Invoices - Invoice Cycle page. Click the Hold link for the invoice you want to dispute on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page.	If you are a buyer, place invoice payment schedules on hold, release holds, and trigger notification of discrepancies to suppliers.
Manage Bills - Review Invoice Disputes	EM_VOUCHER_DISPUTE	eSettlements, Invoices, Manage Bills Click a Dispute Information button on the Manage Bills - Invoice Inquiry page.	If you are a supplier, review invoices on hold and add comments.
Review Match Exceptions - Inquiry	EM_VCHR_MATCH_INQ	eSettlements, Buyer Dashboard Click the Review Exceptions link on the Buyer Dashboard page.	If you are a buyer, view a list of invoices containing match exceptions.
Approve Payments - Approve Pay Cycle	EM_PYCYCL_SUM	eSettlements, Payments, Approve Payments Click a Details link on the Approve Payments - Pay Cycle Summary page.	View pay cycle details.
Approve Payments - Invoices to be Paid	EM_PAY_PAGE	Click a Details link on the Approve Payments - Approve Pay Cycle page.	Review invoices in the pay cycle and include or exclude them before payment creation, and access a page to release from dispute any invoices that are on hold. If a dispute button is available, it indicates that the installment was placed in dispute after being selected for payment. Note. The Pay Cycle Summary page can be used to resolve disputes but not to initiate them.

Reviewing Invoice Disputes

Access the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page or the Manage Bills - Invoice Inquiry page (eSettlements, Invoices, Review Invoices, Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry).

Select an invoice status of Dispute Schedule or Dispute, respectively.

Here, buyers and suppliers can view all invoice activity and can access pages to review, initiate, and resolve disputes.

The Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page is discussed elsewhere in this PeopleBook.

See Also

Reviewing Invoices

Reviewing Payment Installments

Access the Review Payment Installments - Inquiry page (eSettlements, Payments, Review Payment Installments, Review Payment Installments - Inquiry).

To access the page where you place a payment schedule on hold, click the Hold link on the payment schedule.

Reviewing Disputes in the Invoice Cycle

Access the Review Invoices - Invoice Cycle page (click the Invoice column link for a line displaying a Dispute button on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page).

To access the page to release a payment schedule from hold, click the Review Disputes link at the bottom of the page.

Note. This link is available only to users who are set up to manually schedule payments.

See Also

Viewing the Invoice Life Cycle

Initiating Invoice Disputes

Access the Review Invoices - Review Invoice Disputes page (click the Invoice column link for a line displaying a Dispute button on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page).

Select the Hold Payment check box and enter a reason for the dispute. Then, enter specific new comments for the supplier.

Resolving Invoice Disputes

Access the Review Invoices - Review Invoice Disputes page or the Manage Bills - Review Invoice Disputes page (click the Invoice column link for a line displaying a Dispute button on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page).

Here, buyers and suppliers can view and add comments to disputes. Buyer users can resolve disputes on the Review Invoices - Invoice Dispute page.

Note. Only buyer users who are set up to manually schedule payments can place schedules in dispute. Otherwise, users can only view the disputes.

Deselect the Hold Payment check box and enter specific new comments for the supplier.

You can also enter a reason associated with the resolve, but a reason is not necessary.

Managing Disputes During Matching

Access the Review Match Exceptions - Inquiry page (click the Review Exceptions link on the Buyer Dashboard page).

	Click to review details of the dispute. If this button is available, it indicates that the invoice is on hold because a payment installment is in dispute.
Invoice Number	Click a link in this column to view match exception details and, if necessary, override the exceptions.

See Also

Managing Matches and Match Exceptions

Processing Invoice Approvals

Reviewing Invoices

Resolving Disputes Included in a Pay Cycle

Access the Approve Payments - Approve Pay Cycle page (click a Details link on the Approve Payments - Pay Cycle Summary page).

The Approve Payments component enables review and resolution of any disputed invoices included in a pay cycle.

If a button appears in the Dispute column, it indicates that the summarized payment contains an invoice dispute. Click the adjacent Details link to review installments that are on hold.

To resolve a dispute initiated after an invoice has already been selected by the pay cycle, click the Dispute button on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page.

See Also

Reviewing and Creating Payments

Resolving Disputes Using Instant Messaging

PeopleSoft eSettlements supports instant messaging from Yahoo, Sametime Connect, and America Online. To take advantage of this functionality, you must set up both the buyer and supplier for instant messaging capability on their respective registration pages.

During buyer registration, the buyer sets up the roles and user IDs (in both the buying and selling organizations) that receive dispute schedule email notifications.

This section discusses how to use instant messaging to resolve invoice disputes.

See Also

Creating Suppliers

Creating Buyers

Page Used to Resolve Disputes with Instant Messaging

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Instant Messenger	EM_IM_SEC	eSettlements, Buyer Dashboard Click the Review Exceptions link on the Buyer Dashboard page. Click a link in the Invoice ID column on the Review Match Exceptions - Inquiry page. Click the Set Hold Payment Actions link on the Match Exception Workbench Details page. Click the Discuss with IM link on the Review Match Exceptions - Review Invoice Disputes page. eSettlements, Invoices, Review Invoices Click a Dispute button for the corresponding invoice line on the Review Invoices - Invoice Inquiry page. Click the Discuss with IM link on the Review Invoices - Review Invoice Disputes page.	If you are a buyer, initiate a dialog with a supplier about a disputed invoice.

Using Instant Messaging to Resolve Invoice Disputes

Access the Instant Messenger page (click the Discuss with IM link on the Review Invoices - Review Invoice Disputes page).

View the Instant Messenger Contacts, and then click a button in the Online Now column to open a messaging window in the instant messaging domain of the corresponding user name.

Warning! You must copy and paste the instant messaging dialog into the New Comments field on the Review Invoices - Review Invoice Disputes page or the Review Match Exceptions - Review Invoice Disputes page for the system to save the dialog.