This screen enables you to enter and review expense claims from contributors and any other miscellaneous payments such as tip fees and supplementary commission fees.
It is designed like a spreadsheet to facilitate batch inputting of invoices and has a movable middle section. In default mode, all the main information concerning a payment request or expense claim is on screen, such as the payee details and the amount invoiced; to see other information, e.g. Invoice date or Description, use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the screen.
To enter a payment request:
1. Maximise the Chart of Accounts window and make sure the correct values are selected. There should be a set of default values already entered, if not please contact RCS administrator to set these.
2. With the cursor in the Payee field, select a payee that matches the name on the invoice or expense claim either by typing the name of the payee (for individuals lead with the surname) or by bringing up a list of available payees either by clicking on the ellipsis button or arrow alongside the Payee field
(or hit Control L)
Payees can be contributors, staff members or agents. If the payee you are seeking is not in any list, click on New payee. NB You cannot enter or edit NCS supplier records. See Notes below.
3. Under Classification, select the payment type.
4. Where you can, link the payment to a specific Contributor and C/ARN. This data can be bypassed but it is preferred. The list of commissions and contracts is ordered by CRN or ARN so if the contributor has written this number on the invoice (as they are requested to do), you can quickly locate the right commission or contract by typing in the number until you find a match and clicking on OK. NB If you selected a contributor as the Payee, Contributor will be pre-populated.
5. Fill out Invoice date and Invoice no. NB ONLY input an invoice no. if a VAT invoice has been supplied by the payee.
6. Due date defaults to the same date as the Invoice date although this can overwritten. RCS uses this date to determine when a payment should be instructed to Accounts. NB This will often be the reason why a payment you are expecting to have been paid has not been instructed to Accounts.
7. Enter in Description the items being charged for or any other descriptive text. To make editing easier, double-click in the field.
8. If the payment is not being made in £ sterling, choose an alternative Currency from the list.
9. Enter in Net the net amount being invoiced, i.e. minus any value added tax or VAT. This field is disabled for contributor and staff payments.
10. Save the record and and copy the PRN , shown to the left of Payee, onto the invoice and any accompanying paperwork. NB Without the PRN , the invoice will be rejected by the Accounts Payable.
11. Where appropriate forward the invoice to your Department Head for approval.
Hint
The quickest way to enter payment requests is to treat the screen as a spreadsheet and TAB through each of the fields using the keyboard to select and enter data. Working from left to right, the screen is designed in a hierarchy to enable you to record the maximum detail about payment requests and expense claims. At the highest level payments are linked to desks; ideally, you should link them directly to specific contributors and then a related commission or contract.
Track existing payments
To query existing payments use one of the following options:
Find: ...PRN - if you know the PRN or it is attached to the invoice or other paperwork, click on this button. In the pop-up window type in the number until you find a match and then click on OK;
Find: ...payee - if you wish to view payment requests from a particular Supplier, click on this button. In the pop-up LOV window type in the name until you find a match and then click on OK.
Show ...all to see a list of all payments/invoices entered by the Cost Centre(s) for which you work within the last two months.
Show ...unsent to view all approved payments which have not been sent to accounts
Show ...unpaid to view all approved payments which remain unpaid. You can then click on an entry, and check the Payee... to view the details of the payee.
If you have entered an expense claim as an estimate, convert the claim or payment to an actual by double-clicking in the Estimate field. Remember also to update the Invoice no.
Click on Payee... to view a payee's contact details.
To check the progress of a payment request on the system, click on Status.
Should you make an error and wish to delete a payment request, select the record for deleting and either type Control + Up or click on Remove in the toolbar. If the payment request has been approved - you can check this by clicking on Status - you will need to ask RCS administration to remove the payment for you.
Notes
All fields should be entered: Mandatory fields are identified by red prompts. PNI fields colour yellow on saving and can be entered, if necessary, at a later stage.
All staff payments go to Payroll. Payments are sent to Payroll in the first week of each month to be included in that month's pay packet. NB Staff expenses must NOT be entered in RCS.
Do not use this screen to enter credit notes. Go to Administration > Credit notes.
Unlike commissions, if you select a contributor as the payee, any payment will be made directly to them and NOT via their agent should they have one set up in RCS. On those rare occasions when an agent invoices for out-of-pocket expenses on behalf of their contributor, select the agent as the payee.
You cannot enter duplicate invoice numbers as they will be rejected. RCS runs the following duplicate checks:
(a) Invoice NUMBER and supplier combination already exists.
(b) The same (net) fee has been entered against the supplier elsewhere in RCS within +/- 7 days of the invoice date you are entering.
In all of the above cases, RCS gives you a warning which when acknowledged then displays a list of potential duplicate payments to the supplier.
Period allows you to allocate contributor expense claims to a future financial period, i.e. costs will show in GNM's accounts in the (future) period you chose rather than the (current) month in which invoices are paid. Examples might be costs for future sporting events or next year's party conference season. You can enter your own Period, otherwise it will be set by the Invoice date. NB You cannot enter a Period earlier than the Invoice date.
To quickly enter payments to the same payee, at the end of the first line save the record (CTRL + S), hit TAB and then with the cursor in the Payee field hit SHIFT + F6. This copies the whole of the last record down.
If you have entered an expense claim as an estimate, convert the claim or payment to an actual by double-clicking in the Estimate field.
Expenses limit is picked up from the limit input when the commission or contract was created on the system.
Running total shows the total amount entered as expenses against a particular commission or contract. It appears in red if the total expenses exceed the Expenses limit.
Click on Payee details to view a payee's contact details.
To check the progress of a payment request on the system, click on Status.
Should you make an error and wish to delete a payment request, select the record for deleting and either type Control + Up or click on Remove in the toolbar. If the payment request has been approved - you can check this by clicking on Status - you will need to contact rcs.administrator@theguardian.com.