Technical Overview for IT Professionals s1

Application Template: Disputed Invoice Management

Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services 3.0 is technology in Windows Server® that offers an integrated portfolio of collaboration and communication services designed to connect people, information, processes and systems both within and beyond the organizational firewall. Now available at no additional cost, Windows SharePoint Services makes it simpler for IT professionals to implement and manage a team collaboration infrastructure. Application Templates are tailored to address the needs and requirements for specific business processes or sets of tasks for organizations of any size. The templates provide out-of-the-box, customizable scenarios which solve business needs as well as providing a starting point for partners and developers looking to build more sophisticated Windows SharePoint Services solutions.

Description of Template

The Disputed Invoice Management application template for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 helps accounts payable departments track the status of invoices where payment is being withheld. Through the use of a Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007 entry form, accounts payable personnel enter information regarding the disputed invoice, including reasons for the dispute and action items taken. The site tracks this information and also informs visitors to the site of the discounts at risk for missing early payment dates.

The site also includes more detailed metrics such as Accounts Payable Age Analysis, summarized reasons for invoice disputes and a listing of invoice information for invoices received from ‘key’ vendors. The site also includes useful Accounts Payable analysis techniques through a Microsoft Office Excel® 2007 spreadsheet which can be completed by a member of the accounting team.

Activities Performed in this Application Template

Ø Data Entry: The Disputed Invoice Management application template site utilized Office InfoPath 2007 to collect necessary information about the disputed invoice. The form includes required information such as Vendor Number, Invoice number and amount, invoice received date, and a summary of the action items required to clear the dispute. Optional information may also be entered, including invoice total and early payment terms such as 2% discount if paid within 10 days. (2 Ten, Net 30). The information stored in the Office InfoPath 2007 document is used to perform calculations for metrics on the site when the document is saved. As with most Office InfoPath 2007 documents, the Disputed Invoice Management application template document can be created offline and saved to the site when a user returns to the office.

Ø Metrics and Analysis of Disputed Invoices: The site includes several techniques to analyze the status of disputed invoices. The following methods are used within the Disputed Invoice Management site:

o Invoice Reconciliation Summary: The invoice summary lists the status of all disputed invoices on the site. Users can add invoices by completing a new Disputed Invoice Form, and can sort each of the columns by clicking on the column headers.

o Disputed Invoice Metrics: The Disputed Invoice Metrics page groups invoices by their ‘age’ in the system, listing the number and total dollar amount for each age group. The site also provides a listing of the invoices from key vendors that are currently being disputed. An accounts payable department might use this list to help prioritize their attention to keep key vendors satisfied. Also listed is a summary of discounts that will be lost in the upcoming days as well as a overview of the number of invoices being disputed for the three key reasons available in the Office InfoPath document.

o Invoice Tracking Workbook Template: For those teams who wish to perform a more detailed analysis of the company’s disputed invoices, the site provides an Office Excel 2007 workbook template with useful techniques. Accounting managers can enter in information about the disputed invoices and use common Office Excel functionality to organize, analyze and graph information on dispute reasons and resolution.

Site Lists and Libraries

Common Accounts Payable Documents: Use this library to host documents and files used to analyze the Account Payable disputes, including the provide Office Excel 2007 workbook.

Invoice Reconciliation Forms: Track the status of disputed invoices on this page.

Accounts Payable Team Contacts: Track team contact information on this site list.

Customizing SharePoint Sites and Templates

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 is a Web site development and management program that provides powerful tools to build, customize, and contribute to Windows SharePoint Services sites using the latest Web design technologies and established standards in an IT-controlled environment.

Use Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to create and deploy interactive solutions without having to write code. Automate business processes, such as document approval, custom event notification and other collaboration tasks with the workflow designer. Create reporting and tracking applications using data views and forms to easily gather and aggregate data from outside your site and from lists and document libraries on the Web.

Extend your solution by building advanced interactive Microsoft ASP.NET pages. Insert and edit controls with the same powerful activity menus and control property grids previously found only in the Microsoft Visual Studio® development system.

Technical Dependencies

The Disputed Invoice Management application template has the following technical requirements:

Ø Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0*

Ø Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007

Ø Microsoft Office Excel 2007

*Review Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 system requirements for additional information:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sharepoint/techinfo/sysreqs.mspx

More Information

For more information on the technologies described in this article, please visit:

Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0:

http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007:

http://office.microsoft.com/sharepointdesigner

Application Templates for Windows SharePoint Services:

http://www.microsoft.com/sharepointapps

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This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.