Invoice

Invoice is the centraQuest application for capturing, analyzing, reviewing, approving, accounting, exporting, and archiving creditor invoices and related documents.

The application focuses on a continuous document-centered invoice process. Each invoice has a status, responsibility, structured metadata, history, and, where required, links to tasks, comments, attachments, master data, and ERP systems.

What Invoice Does

Invoice supports the full invoice process:

Step	Meaning
Intake	Invoices enter the system by e-mail, scan, drag and drop, import, or interface.
Analysis	Content is read, OCR is processed, metadata is recognized, and documents are classified.
Review	Users verify the document, supplier, amount, due date, accounting assignment, and attachments.
Approval	Responsible users approve, reject, request corrections, or forward the invoice.
Accounting	Accounting rows, cost centers, taxes, client, and accounting area are added or checked.
Export	Booking data, documents, or payment information are transferred to ERP or payment processes.
Archiving	Completed invoices remain traceable in the archive.

Purchase to Pay and Purchase Order

Purchase Order is a separate centraQuest module for procurement before the supplier invoice arrives. Invoice can later use a purchase-order reference when a supplier invoice is uploaded or when an incoming invoice contains a PO number. See the Purchase Order User Guide for the purchasing workflow, delivery follow-up, and payment handover.

Typical Roles

Role	Typical tasks
Accounting	Check incoming invoices, maintain master data, complete accounting rows, correct errors, prepare export.
Reviewer	Review invoice content, ask questions, and give factual approval.
Approver	Approve invoices according to responsibility, budget, amount, or organizational unit.
Controller	Check cost centers, budgets, accounting areas, and reports.
Administrator	Maintain master data, jobs, permissions, workflows, reports, and interfaces.

Visible functions depend on role, client, object permissions, workflow status, and configuration.

Process Overview

A typical flow is:

1. An invoice is imported or uploaded manually.
2. centraQuest creates a document and initial metadata.
3. OCR, analysis, or AI rules propose values and accounting assignments.
4. The invoice appears in the dashboard or task list.
5. Accounting or reviewers correct missing data.
6. The workflow routes the invoice to the right person or group.
7. Approvals are documented in the audit trail.
8. The invoice is exported, paid, or archived.

Depending on the installation, individual steps can be automated, skipped, or extended by customer-specific rules.

Important Terms

Term	Meaning
Creditor	Supplier or payee of an invoice.
Client	Accounting entity, mandate, or organizational unit.
Accounting assignment	Booking allocation such as account, cost center, tax, amount, and text.
Approval	Confirmation by a responsible person or role.
Lifecycle status	Technical and business status of the invoice in the process.
AI rule	Rule that derives accounting suggestions from similar invoices or references.
ERP export	Transfer to an accounting or ERP system.

When Invoice Helps Most

Invoice is especially useful when invoices should no longer be controlled through individual mailboxes, manual lists, or loose file shares.

Instead, invoices become centrally visible, filterable, reviewable, and traceable. This reduces search effort, improves approval control, and creates a reliable basis for export, payment, and audit.