Due date validation

Kofax AP Essentials provides functionality for validating and calculating invoice due dates. The Due date validation can be performed with or without master data. Both validation methods provide adequate protection against invalid dates. Using master data, however, provides more control, the ability to calculate expected due dates and the ability to fill in the due date value if it is missing.

The default due-date validation (without master data) works by making sure the extracted due date follows basic, universal rules for due dates. The enhanced due-date validation (with master data) provides additional functionality works by first matching payment-terms to invoices, using supplier mater data, and then calculating the due date according to the settings of the payment term. You can specify several payment terms, each with its own settings.

When you use the enhanced due-date validation (with master data), the default validation is always performed first.

Payment-terms master data is only utilized during extraction and when a document is opened during verification. The enhanced validation is not performed in any other processes after you click OK during verification. The default validation, however, is performed during verification and approval.

Validating due dates without using master data (default)

When due dates are validated without using master data, Kofax AP Essentials makes sure the captured due date:

  • occurs on or after today's date.

  • does not occur too far in the future.

  • is a valid date.

  • does not exceed the due-date limit.

Setting up the default due-date validation

To set up the due-date validation in Admin Center:

  1. While editing a document type in the Extraction service settings, navigate to the Rules tab.

  2. Locate the Due date rule.

    Select the box in the VERIFY column to perform the validation during verification. Select the box in the WORKFLOW column to perform the validation during approval. You can select one or both.

  3. Specify the Due-date limit. Due dates are only valid if they do not exceed the current date plus the number of days you specify here.

    Optionally select Calculate due date from payment-terms master data if you intend to use payment-term master data as described below.

  4. Click OK to save your settings and activate the due date validation.

Validating due dates using master data (enhanced)

You can use payment-term information from supplier master data to enhance the due date validation. Using payment-terms master data, you can specify settings which determine:

  • whether to empty the due-date field or fill it with a calculated value.

  • how to calculate the due date.

  • when to use the calculated due date.

You create payment-term master data by importing it from supplier master data. During verification, Kofax AP Essentials looks at the supplier of the current invoice and matches the payment term code found in the supplier master data with the payment-term code specified in the payment terms master data. Then the due-date validation uses the payment terms settings to perform the validation. Ideally, your supplier master data should contain payment-term master data to utilize this feature to its fullest. However, if your supplier master data does not contain payment terms, you can create one payment term manually and use it as the default payment term.

If Kofax AP Essentials cannot find a matching payment term, and there is no default payment, the default validation (without master data) above is used. Similarly, if the enhanced validation fails for any reason, it falls back to the default validation.

Setting up the due-date validation using payment-terms master data

To set up the due-date validation in Admin Center using payment-terms master data:

  1. Navigate to the Payment terms view.

  2. Click IMPORT FROM SUPPLIERS to import the payment terms from your supplier master data.

    The import is not case sensitive. If your payment terms includes duplicate codes with different cases, for example "N30" and "n30", only one code is imported. The imported payment term code will match the suppliers with code N30 or n30.

    If you do not have supplier master data containing payment-term information, you can manually define one default payment term by clicking ADD and using the view that appears to define the payment term.

  3. Click the code of one of the payment terms in the list and use the view that appears to adjust its settings.

    Repeat this step for each payment term in the list.

  4. Specify a default payment term by selecting the checkbox at the beginning of the row and clicking TOGGLE DEFAULT. The default payment term is used if no match is found during extraction.

  5. Follow the procedure above, Setting up the default due-date validation, and make sure you select Calculate due date from payment-terms master data.