User-Defined Holds on Payables Invoices

Configure rules to automatically place an invoice on hold or release a hold. User-defined holds reduce the need for manual intervention, by using business-specific criteria for applying and removing holds. Hold evaluation takes place during invoice import and validation, across all sources including electronic invoicing, IDR, and the supplier portal.

Payables assesses each invoice against a configurable set of rules to determine whether a hold must be placed on it. The invoices may be created automatically by the import process or manually through the UI. The rules are evaluated not just for the purpose of putting holds on invoices, but also to ascertain whether an existing hold on an invoice must be released. User-defined holds let users have total control over how they design their own rules. For example, users can use multiple attributes from invoice lines, descriptive flexfields, invoice headers, and more, to configure rules to enforce their business policies more effectively.

You can download a spreadsheet-based template to set up the rules for Payables. After specifying the rules in the template, upload it back to the application. During the template upload, the application verifies that the rules are configured using appropriate attribute values and displays errors for any validation failures.

The sources for the rule configuration are predefined, and users can't add their own. You can review the available sources by following these steps.

  1. Navigate to Setup and Maintenance page.
  2. Search for the task Manage User-Defined Rules for Payables under the task list Define Payables Configuration.
  3. Select the template User-Defined Holds and click on the download icon.
  4. Navigate to the sheet User-Defined Holds.
  5. Click on the drop-down in the last column of header or lines section. Available sources are displayed in the list of values.

Release of User-Defined Holds

The configured rules are assessed to place holds and release existing holds. During the invoice validation, if the rules don't evaluate to true, the application automatically removes the hold that was placed on the invoice. If the hold is configured to allow manual release, users can manually release it at any time rather than waiting for the validation process to evaluate and automatically remove it.

Holds are automatically released only if they were placed by the application. If you want the manually placed holds to be released automatically, enable the Release Manual Holds option in the Settings tab of the rules configuration template.

Evaluation of Rules

Every eligible Payables invoice is evaluated against the user-configured rules to ascertain if a hold must be placed, or an existing hold must be released from the invoice. The rule evaluation happens during the following events.

  • When invoices are created through the Payables Invoice Import process
  • When invoices are validated either online or through the Validate Payables Invoice process

Business benefits include;

  • Increase productivity by saving the effort spent on placing or releasing of manual holds.
  • Reduce errors and effectively enforce your business policies by automating the manual holds.

Steps to Enable

Use the Opt In UI to enable this feature. For instructions, refer to the Optional Uptake of New Features section of this document.

Offering: Financials  No Longer Optional From: Update 25B

Before you use this spreadsheet to upload the rules, ensure that the hold you want to apply is already defined. If required, create the hold, and then follow these steps to define the rules:

  1. Navigate to Setup and Maintenance page.
  2. Search for the task Manage User-Defined Rules for Payables under the task list Define Payables Configuration.
  3. Select the template User-Defined Holds and click on the download icon.
  4. Navigate to the sheet User-Defined Holds and define the necessary rules.
  5. Select the hold you want to apply.
  6. Click on the upload icon to upload the updated spreadsheet.

Tips And Considerations

The following aren't supported for user-defined holds:

  • The feature supports automatic placement and release of holds that are created manually by the user. However, you can't automatically place or release holds that are predefined in the application, such as matching holds, line holds, and distribution variance holds.
  • Invoices created with validation status as Validated by the application or by the user through invoice import process aren't supported under this feature. For example, invoices created for refunds from the Oracle Receivables module, or for one-time payments.

Key Resources

For more details, refer to:

Overview of User-Defined Holds in the Using Payables Invoice to Pay guide on Oracle Help Center

Access Requirements

Users who are assigned these Payables duty role can access this feature configuration

  • Payables Administration Duty