›

Email input services

In addition to accepting uploaded invoices, Tungsten AP Essentials can also accept invoices as attachments via email in several formats. This service can greatly increase productivity by reducing the manual tasks involved with uploading invoices manually.

There are two methods for sending invoices via email:

  • Creating custom email addresses which are connected to specific buyers and document types in Tungsten AP Essentials. This is the preferred method if you plan to give the email address to suppliers that send you invoices because the buyer and document type are specified in the email settings. In this case, it does not matter what is written in the email subject.
  • Formatting the email subject to specify the buyer and document type. This method is appropriate for multi-functional printers (MFPs), where there is no chance for syntax errors after the initial setup.

Creating custom email addresses

You can create additional, custom email addresses, so you can set up separate email accounts for each buyer and document type to make it easier for to send invoices. These settings must be adjusted by an administrator in the Email input service settings.

Example

Assume you have two buyer organizations: Buyer 1 and Buyer 2. Ideally, you create a separate email address for each buyer. Use the Email address view  to specify "buyer1" and "buyer2" in the Email address to help you remember which buyer the email corresponds to. Likewise, specify the appropriate buyer in the Buyer box so the invoices are actually routed to the correct buyer. We recommend that you also specify the Document type. This makes it easier for you and your suppliers to send invoices via email because you do not have to bother with typing the buyer and document type in the subject line.

After you specify the email settings, you can distribute the email addresses to personnel or suppliers who send invoices to Tungsten AP Essentials via email. Using the example above, you would give the Buyer 1 email address to suppliers that send invoices to Buyer 1, and you would give the Buyer 2 email address to suppliers that send invoices to Buyer 2.

You are free to create custom email addresses in any way that helps improve your efficiency. For example, you can create multiple email addresses for each buyer, if each buyer processes multiple document types.

Formatting the email subject

If you select Use email subject in the Email address view, you must make sure the subject of incoming emails specify the buyer and the document type in the following format:

ExternalBuyerID | DocumentType

...where ExternalBuyerID is the External ID of the buyer and DocumentType is the System name of the document type.

It is possible to use the email subject for the buyer and not the document type and vice versa. For example, if you select Use email subject in the Buyer setting, and you select Swiss invoices in the Document type setting, a correctly formatted email subject would look like this:

ExternalBuyerID |

In the example above, the external ID of the buyer is specified before the pipe character, and nothing is specified after the pipe character because the document type is specified in the settings on the Email address view.

Conversely, if you select a buyer in the Buyer setting, and you select Use email subject in the Document type setting, a correctly formatted email subject would look like this:

| DocumentType

Formatting the subject correctly ensures invoices are interpreted with the correct settings and saves you time if manual adjustment is required after interpretation.