Consolidated Payables Complete User Guide

Complete User Guide Sections

KeyBank’s (Key) Consolidated Payables service is a comprehensive Integrated Payables Solution that is designed to simplify and optimize the payables process for companies. You are able to: view files prior to release, approve payments, check job statuses, view reports on all completed jobs, provision users, and maintain visibility into user activity. This guide will not only assist in understanding how the process flows for initiating payments in the system, but also provide product understanding.

Key provides the optimal solution for outsourcing the payment process for check, ACH, wire, virtual card payments and engages a vendor enrollment campaign to support the movement of payments from paper to electronic. Using this intuitive application, payment files are transmitted or uploaded to the Consolidated Payables platform in order for you to review records, release jobs, check the status of files, choose delivery options, and view reports on all completed files.

1.1 Payment Approval Process

Consolidated Payables is designed to start processing immediately when a payment file is uploaded or transmitted to the platform and then released for processing. However, a dual approval/workflow process can be implemented. One group of users would have limited access rights to upload the payment file and another group of users, with separate access rights, will release the file for processing. Email notifications are automatically sent to designated users when files are uploaded, held, released, and completed. For more information on settings for the Payment Approval, see the Administration section of this document.

1.2 Duplicate Files

For every file that is submitted to Consolidated Payables, the system will automatically perform duplicate file checking. The system will compare the submitted payment file from your company with all past payment files processed to check for any possible matches based on the total dollar amount and the total number of payment records in the file. If a match is detected, processing of the submitted payment file is automatically suspended. The system will perform a secondary review to determine if the check dates and check numbers are also duplicated. If they are not, the file is released.

If the check dates and check numbers are the same, a production specialist will visually inspect both the submitted payment file and the matching duplicate file to verify if the payment records in the two files are truly identical. The production specialist will review the payee names, payment numbers, payment amounts, and payment dates in both files. Once the review has been completed, if the submitted file is not identical to the previously processed matching files, the file will be released to the system for processing. In the event that the submitted file was truly a duplicate file, you will be notified and will be asked if the file should be released or cancelled.

1.3 Audit Trail

Upon receipt of the file, automated emails are generated to a distribution list you define. The email contains a job tracking number and a link to the secure website so that you can track the job throughout the entire production process. Users with proper authorization can log on and see what time the file processed and jobs closed.

1.4 Electronic Payments/Conversion of Check Payment to Virtual Card or ACH

Our solution provides a bridge that enables you to make the transition from checks to electronic payments via one-time use only virtual cards and ACH. When processing a payment file, the system performs a match validation query against the vendor database and automatically creates one-time use virtual card payments or ACH transactions rather than printing checks for vendors who have registered to receive a card or ACH payment from you. The vendor will receive an email with payment data and will also have access to the vendor portal for subsequent retrieval and historic reporting.

The ACH payment conversion process requires entry of banking information by the vendor so that that information can be used to complete the ACH translation. You no longer need to obtain, maintain and secure that information. That data will be securely stored on the PCI compliant vendor portal, accessible only by the vendor, and will be used to complete an ACH payment to them. Of course straight through ACH, where you maintain and provide all of the information needed for an ACH transaction, continues to be available.

2.1 Overview

The Consolidated Payables Platform provides robust tools for you to manage your payments, and maintain full visibility and security of your information via the website. The online platform allows you to:

  • Upload Payment Files
  • Manage Payment Jobs
    • Review payment jobs in summary or in detail
    • Put certain payments on hold
    • Submit payment jobs for processing
    • Separate duties by allowing one person to upload the files and another to review and submit the payments
    • Provide additional review of payment above a certain dollar threshold
  • View and download payment information, including reports to help you reconcile
  • View and download virtual card settlement information to help you reconcile
  • Search and view payments with an online 12 month archive
  • Set up and manage user permissions

2.2 How to Access the Log-in Page

You may either log in to KeyNavigatorsm to access the Consolidated Payables Platform, or enter the following URL into your web browser to log into the Consolidated Payables Platform directly: https://consolidatedpayables.key.com/consolidatedpayables/login.aspx

If you choose to log in to KeyNavigator, Consolidated Payables is available in the Quicklinks section on the left-hand side of the page.

If you do not already have a Key Consolidated Payables Quicklink established, follow these steps:

  • Click the gear icon to configure your Quicklinks.
  • The Customize Your Quicklinks page will appear.
  • Click on the File Services drop down, and select Key Consolidated Payables.
  • Click Done.

  • The Key Consolidated Payables link will now appear in your Quicklinks.
  • Click the Key Consolidated Payables link to log in to the system.

  • The Consolidated Payables page will display in KeyNavigator.
  • Click on the Enter Key Consolidated Payables link.

At the log-in page, enter the User ID you received via email (if this is your first time accessing the system).

2.3 Specifications/Rules for Passwords:

  • Passwords must be at least 8 characters long.
  • Passwords must contain at least 3 of the following: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
  • The default setting for password expiration is 75 days.
  • Passwords may not contain the User ID.
  • Users may not reuse the previous 10 passwords.
  • The first five characters of new passwords may not match the first five characters of the existing password.
  • On screen feedback will be provided about the relative strength of the new password.

Failed log-in attempts are limited to a maximum of 6. After that the account is locked. Users must call our support desk to have the account unlocked:
pdo_help_desk@keybank.com Phone: 800-282-1628 M – F, 24 hours

  • When unlocked, a new one-time user password will be emailed to the user.
  • When a new user account is created, a system-generated, one-time use password is emailed to the user. The administrator does not see this password.

Please see the Administration section of this document for more details on creating and maintaining Roles and Users. Functionality that a specific user sees on the screens, and the notification emails they receive, are controlled by the role(s) that are assigned to a user. Email notifications are available at every step along the file processing path.

2.4 Home Screen

After logging in, the home screen dashboard provides a quick reference of the most recent payment file activity. The two main sections that are viewable on the home screen are:

  • Recent Jobs – These are files that have been submitted and/or processed. Summary information pertinent to that job is also displayed. Once a payment file has been submitted for processing, it is assigned a job number by the system. Job details can be viewed by clicking on the job number to the left of each job. The eight most recent jobs will show on the home page.
  • Files on Hold – These are files that have been placed on hold by one of the users, or by parameters that you have set up within the system for upload via FTP.
  • Once a file has been placed on hold, it is assigned a file ID. Details of the file can be viewed by clicking on the file ID to the left of each File.

    Files that are placed on hold must be submitted for processing before the payments will be released into the processing stream.

     

3.1 Transmission and Uploads

Two options are available for delivering your payment file for processing:

  • Transmission of the payment file via a Secure FTP Connection
  • Manual upload through the Consolidated Payables Platform

3.2 FTP File Set-up

Files submitted through FTP can be set up two ways:

  • Straight-Through Processing – Once the file is transmitted and passes the validation tests, it will be submitted for processing. No additional action is needed.
  • File Placed On Hold – Once the file is transmitted, the file will be placed on Hold. The file can then be viewed in the Files on Hold section of the Home page. The file will have to be reviewed and submitted by a User with permission to submit files. For more options about files that are placed on hold, see control totals and approving payments later in Jobs section of this document.

3.3 Manual Uploading Files through the Consolidated Payables Platform

To Upload a payment file through the platform:

  • Choose Jobs on the top navigation bar.
  • Select Upload Files on the secondary navigation bar.

  • From the Application dropdown select the application applicable to this file, to be used to load and map the data. It is not unusual for a user to have just one application.
  • Click Browse to search for the correct file in your computer system (after already having exported it from your accounting system).
  • When the desired file is chosen, click Upload File. To continue with submitting the file into the Consolidated Payables process, see the following section on submitting files.
  • If the file successfully imports, your next options are:
    • Details – To view certain data elements of payments in payment file
    • Hold – To place the file on hold, for later review/approval
    • Next – To proceed to the next step in submitting the file
    • Cancel – To completely cancel the file out of the system, thereby deleting the payments and removing them from further processing

3.4 Submitting Files

For files that have either been sent in via secure FTP or have been manually uploaded to the Consolidated Payables platform and placed on hold, the next section will walk through the submitting of the file for those users with the Submit Jobs option in their user role.

Please note:

  • Files set up for straight through processing, meaning the company does not required it to go on hold, will not require these steps to be taken
  • If you have opted to have Control Total and Payment Approval options, those processes will take place prior to the submit file task.

To Submit a file that has been placed on hold, click on the file ID number from the files on hold list from the home page:

3.5 File Details

The File Details screen shows a summary of the file with details such as:

  • File ID – Assigned at the time of the file importing
  • Application – Payment Application contains the coding built for ingesting the payment file
  • Import Filename – Assigned by you
  • Submitted By – User who uploaded the file

    If the file has been sent in via FTP, the User column will have System in it.

  • Date Submitted – The time and date stamp of when the file was imported into the system
  • Total Dollar Amount
  • Total Item Count
  • Status of the File
  • Breakdown by payment types, including payments converted from check to v-card and from check to ACH.

Clicking the Details button displays a line by line look at all of the payments in the given file. It is a “view only” look at details such as: payee name, payee number, payment number, payment date, payment amount, and payment method.

These details can be exported into an Excel document or HTML by clicking the Export button at the bottom of the screen. Click Return to go back to the File Details page.

The File Details page also shows a breakdown of the item summary within the current file. The listing will show the different payment methods that will be processed, and the number of payments within each method.

The Next button moves the process to the next step of the submission process.

You have the opportunity to release all, or some, of the payments in the current file. By default, the system automatically selects all of the payments for processing, as seen in the above image, in the far right check column. To leave a payment(s) on hold, simply deselect the payment. In the example above, the 5th payment is deselected. Select Next after making your decision to review the Item Summary.

Select Submit once you complete review of the batch breakdowns to release the file for processing.

Once the file has been successfully submitted, you will see a File Submission Complete screen render showing you the new job ID number for the payment file that you have released and the file ID for any batch of payments you may have left on hold.

Due to the expedited nature, the system will break wires out to their own job to process in the system automatically.

At each step in the process, from submission of the file to completion of the file email confirmations are available. Through defining or editing roles under the Administration tab and then assigning those roles to users, you determine which users receive each email. Refer to the Administration section of this document for more information.

3.6 Additional Upload Options – Consolidated Payables Control Totals and Payment Approval

In addition to having your payment instruction file placed on hold for further review, you may also opt to have other approval levels put into place that require additional confirmation steps before the file may be fully released for processing. To have either or both options defined below put into place, please discuss with your Key Client Manager or Implementation Specialist to ensure a smooth set up.

The Consolidated Payables control total does not replace the ACH control total that is required by all ACH originators regardless of method of delivery to Key. ACH control totals can be sent via email or through ACH Direct. The Consolidated Payables control total is an optional, additional control that you can take advantage of if it fits your security and control needs.

With ACH control totals, if you are using the feature to auto-convert check payments to ACH, after vendor enrolment, those totals will be separate from the straight-through ACH payments on your file. They need to be reported separately to the ACH system. In the example below, both totals need to be reported either via ACH direct or through the pre-formatted email.

Consolidated Payables Control Totals (Optional, Additional Control)

Once a payment file has been loaded to the system, but before it can be approved or submitted, the total amount of the file needs to be entered in order for it to be released for the next step of processing. This is a requirement of Consolidated Payables Control Totals. To keep this control true, the payment and total amount fields usually displayed on the Home Page will not be displayed. The user entering the control data will need to have obtained them from the ERP, accounting software, or system of record.

The Files on Hold section of the Home Page will show the status of the file as Awaiting Control Totals and an email notification will go out to the users who have Role configurations containing the Awaiting Control Totals email notification.

Entering Consolidated Payables Control totals may be set up and managed via one of two different methods.

Consolidated Payables Control Totals Method One: Once a payment instruction file is loaded, Consolidated Payables Control Totals may be entered directly into the Consolidated Payables platform.

You will enter the amount of the file, the system will automatically add the decimal place for the amount. Click Submit to proceed with processing the file.

A separate user (not the user who manually uploaded the file) must log in and click on the file ID to proceed with entering the amount.

The maximum number of attempts the system will allow the user to enter the Control Totals is 10. If the Control Total Amount is incorrectly entered beyond this number of attempts, the file will no longer be able to be processed, and the file will need to be resubmitted.

Consolidated Payables Control Totals Method Two: Once a payment instruction file is loaded, Control Totals may be sent via a Control Total File. Control Total Files must be sent in FTP. There are three different file formats that the Control Total File may be in: Comma Delimited, XML, or Fixed Record.

Please see your Implementation Specialist for format layouts and set-up requirements of the Control Total File.

The Control Total File and the Payment Instruction File must both contain a File ID in the file name itself. The File ID is used to pair the files together within the system. The File ID must not be the same as a previously submitted File ID, or the file will not be able to be processed.

The maximum number of attempts at sending a Control Total file is 1. If a failure occurs, the Control Totals will need to be entered on the Platform.

Example –

  • File ID Example Format: ### - ##
  • Your file name before adding the Control Total File ID: PayablesFile.txt
  • Your file name after adding the Control Total File ID: PayablesFile_123-45.txt
  • Your Control Total File name: Payables_Control_123-45.txt

If a file is loaded with the same file ID, it will fail to import, and an error will show on the Upload screen.

Approving Payments

Payment Approval allows you to configure business rules using transaction dollar amount thresholds to require secondary approval of payments of a certain dollar amount (or in a range). Approval rights are different from the Upload/Submit rights access on the system. If you have chosen to utilize the Payment Approval process, the next steps will walk through the process of approving those payments that require the special approvals.

For more information on setting up the Approval Rules, refer to the Administration section of this document.

Depending on the method of upload for your payment instruction file (Secure FTP or manual upload of the file to the platform) when the file is imported, the amounts of each of the payments will be reviewed by the system and compared to the Approval Rules that have been established in the Application Configuration (see the Administration section of this document for more details). Any payments that fall under one of your-defined rules will be placed on Hold, with the status of the file showing Awaiting Approval.

Email notifications are sent out to the user(s) who are assigned to the respective payment approval rule. The user will log in with their assigned credentials and click on the File ID – the status will show as Awaiting Approval.

Clicking on the File ID shows a breakdown of the payments requiring approval. The list of pending approval users will show in the Pending Approval By column to the right. The user will select the check box to the right of each payment they wish to prepare for approval, and then select Next.

The user will review the list of payments that they are confirming they want to approve. Clicking Approve provides the authorization of the user to those payments.

If the Payment Approval Rules that have been set up to require other users to approve, the file will remain on hold in an Awaiting Approval status, and the Pending Approval By column for that file will show the other users who will need to provide approval.

If no other users are required to approve the payments, clicking Approve will now bring the user to the part of the Submit process as described in the Submit Files sub-section of the Jobs section of this document.

When cancelling a Payment that is awaiting approval so that it is not processed through Consolidated Payables, the Authorized Payment Approvers will need to approve the payment first. Once all Approvers required have entered the approval, on the next screen, rather than selecting Submit the user will select Cancel.

3.7 Viewing Recent Jobs

Once a payment file has been submitted for processing, you can view the details associated with that particular job under Recent Jobs on the Home Screen. Click the job ID and a Job Status screen will appear.

The Job Status Screen will provide you with summary level details of the job, including when the payment file was received, who submitted the file, number of items, and the dollar amount of the file. Additionally, the job status will provide you with the current status of the job.

From the Job Status screen, you can click on the View Documents button at the top to display a list all of the payments in the file.

To view the details of a specific payment select View next to that payment.

The payment details that will be displayed are specific to your custom payment details and are not shown in this document.

For checks, this view will be dynamically created from the check information passed in the file. It is not a PDF of the actual check created. If you have opted for Vendor Enrollment Services, the PDFs rendered by clicking the View link in the View Documents section will be an exact copy of what the vendor can view on the Vendor Portal once registering.

The design of the check, ACH Advice, virtual card advice, or wire advice is a part of the Implementation. Should you require updates or changes to the forms, please contact your Client Manager or Payments Advisor.

The View Jobs menu option navigates to a listing of all payment files that have been fully approved and submitted for processing. The View Jobs tab can be found under the Jobs menu.

Selecting View Jobs displays the jobs in date order.

The Status drop down menu allows you to sort the jobs to view based on the processing status in the system.

The Application drop down list will show you any application you have been given access to view. It is not unusual for a user to have just one application.

Status options are:

  • Active – Job of any status, but not yet completed
  • Job Submitted – Job has been approved/released, but has not yet started processing.
  • Processing Started – Job has now begun to process through your specific mapping/coding, developed during implementation, to read the file and to prepare each respective payment to be processed into the needed output
  • Processing Completed – Job has finished processing and has organized electronic payments to be sent to Key in the correct format.
  • Delivered to Carrier – Individual batches of payments have been confirmed successful in transmission to Key.
  • Completed – Batches have been closed by the system, triggering an email notification that the job has fully processed through the system. Wire payments have been delivered to Key to release via FedWire. ACH payments have been delivered to Key to release on the ACH network during the next processing window. Check payments have been delivered to Key to be printed and mailed the following business day, and have been loaded to ARP/Positive Pay. Card payments have generated email to the vendors and have been loaded to the vendor portal.

To view files that have not yet been released for processing, and to sort by their applications, navigate to the View Held Files menu option in the Jobs toolbar.

 

The Application drop down menu will show the list of applications that you have access to see. Selecting the desired application will refresh the page and show that application’s files that are on hold.

4.1 Overview

The Reports section of the Consolidated Payables platform allows you to:

  • Search for particular payments, invoices or vendors
  • View Virtual Card Settlement Report

If you have chosen to participate in the Vendor Enrollment Program for straight through ACH or for the automatic conversion of check payments to virtual card or ACH payments, you can view and run reports related to your Vendor Enrollment Program.

4.2 Document Search – Searching for Payments

The Document Search is a robust search engine that allows you to search for a single payment or invoice, a group of payments or invoices or all payments or invoices for a certain period of time. Document Search criteria include:

  • Search By – Choose Payment Search or Invoice Search.
  • Effective Date or Date Period – Enter a specific date or a date range. (The calendar lookup can be used to look up the dates). Or, you can choose this week, this month or today by choosing the date period option.
  • Status – Only “processed” documents can be searched. Ignore other options if presented.
  • Job ID – Numeric Field that supports exact match for Job ID or range of Job IDs.
  • Payee Name – Character field. Supports exact match or wildcard searches. (e.g. John Doe, John*, *Doe).
  • Payee Number – Character field. Supports exact match or wildcard searches (e.g. 12345, 12*, *345).
  • Check Number – Character field. Supports exact match, wildcard searches or list (e.g. 12345, 12*, or list of check numbers separated by commas).
  • Check Date or Date Period – Enter a specific date or a date range. (The calendar lookup can be used to look up dates). Or, you can choose, this week, this month or today by choosing the date period option.
  • Check Amount – Numeric field. Supports exact matches or ranges (e.g. 123.45, 10.00- 100.00, > 100.00 or < 100.00.

Locate the Document Search by navigating to the tool bar and selecting it from the Reports section.

Searching for Payments

Step 1 Enter the Document Search Criteria for the payments you are searching for and click Search.

In this example, we are searching for a payment to CALIFORNIA ARTS in Job #5036405.

Step 2 Search Results are returned. From here you can view the payment details by clicking View next to the desired payment.

4.3 Vendor Enrollment Reports

If you have chosen to use the Vendor Enrollment value-add program to provide remittance email to vendors for ACH payments and/or to migrate check payments to virtual card or ACH, the Vendor Enrollment Report will provide you with updated information on which of your vendors have chosen to sign up and for what payment option they have registered.

The Vendor Enrollment Report provides you with the opportunity to search for specific vendors or recipients and to create reports related to vendor enrollment, vendor status and vendor payment method. The search criteria include:

  • Search by – Recipient Registration Status (Default).
  • Recipient Name – Vendor/Payee/Recipient Name.
  • Registration Code – Allows you to search by the Registration Code that was sent to a specific vendor. Also allows you to put in a wildcard search (*123) or a list of registration codes.
  • Recipient Registration Status – Non-Registered, Registered (for email and online remittance presentment), or Pending (ACH auto-conversion payments that have not been fully activated – vendor has supplied their banking details but have not confirmed the receipt of the penny transactions).
  • Registration Date or Date Period – Allows you to search by a date range or to choose this week, this month or today.
  • Recipient Number – This is a character field that allows for exact match, wildcard or list of your vendor’s payee number (e.g. 12345, 12*, or list of vendor ID numbers separated by commas).
  • Payment Method – This is a character field that allows for searching via payment method: ACH (auto-conversion taking place), Payer Defined (includes Check, Wire and straight-through ACH), vCard (virtual card auto-conversion taking place).

Payment Method of ‘Payer Defined’ identifies payments where the User identifies the payment type in the file and the payment is NOT auto-converted to ACH or virtual card from a check payment record.

The resultant reports can be exported in Excel or in HTML.

4.4 Card Settlement Report and Card Statuses (For Virtual Card Only)

The Card Settlement Report provides a listing of all Virtual Card Payments issued through Consolidated Payables. Navigate to the report by clicking on Card Settlement from the Reports tab.

Information that can be retrieved from the Card Settlement Report includes details such as the payment number assigned, the masked card number, payment date, payment amount, posted date, settlement amount and status of that card. The report is exportable, and the view can be sorted by using the card status drop down. You can also enter the Date Filter to narrow the card payments displayed.

*** Settlement statuses are updated nightly, and are not shown in real-time.

If you have chosen to allow your vendors to swipe multiple times against the total card value you can click the + sign to the left of the payment to get detail on the individual swipes. The total cannot be greater than the value of the payment/card. However, the total may be less than the value of the payment/card.

 

Virtual Card Statuses and their meanings include the following:

  • All – All virtual cards that have been issued.
  • Unsettled – Virtual cards that have been issued but were not used by the vendor, so the funds have not been settled.
  • Fully Settled – Virtual cards that have been issued and the vendor has used the entire amount of the card.
  • Partially Settled – Virtual cards that have been issued and the vendor has used a portion of the amount of the card, but the full amount has not been settled. This can only occur if you have chosen ‘multi-auth’ as part of your Key2Purchase set up for use with Consolidated Payables. Most organizations allow a single swipe for the full amount. In those cases there will never be a partially settled card.
  • Partially Settled/Expired – Virtual cards that have been issued, the vendor has used a portion of the amount of the card, but the card has expired.
  • Not Settled/Expired – Virtual cards that have been issued, the vendor has not used any portion of the card, and the card has expired.
  • Blocked – Virtual cards that have been Blocked by the Vendor Enrollment team for reasons that may include:
    • Request by you to block the payment
    • Vendor has opted out of the card program and will no longer process the virtual card.

The Administration section of the Consolidated Payables Platform is used to define and set your application settings, and to set up and administer users and permissions

  • View/Edit your own Profile
  • Set up/Edit users and define their permissions
  • Set up/Edit roles within your company and assign users to those roles
  • Set up/Edit your application configurations, including establishing approval criteria and specific business rules for your payment.
  • View the activity for your users

5.1 My Profile

Each user on the system can view or edit information in their User Profile. Users can:

  • Change their password
  • Change their security questions
  • Update the email address for email notifications

5.2 Role Administration

The first thing you will do when setting up users is to establish Roles. More than one role may be established for your company, and there is no limitation to how many roles may be set up. Roles should be established with your company’s policies and practices in mind

To set up a role, go to Role Administration under the Administration tab. Click Add New Role to create a brand new role. Once created, you may edit roles by clicking Edit next to the role that needs to be changed

Choose a Role Name that is descriptive to you and your company. Provide an optional Description to further clarify the function of the role

Choose the Application that this role will need to access. It is not unusual for a user to have just one application for all payment types and locations

Next choose the Features (functions) that you would like for this role to perform

Then choose the email notifications that you would like for this role to receive. Remember that email notifications are sent at each step in the process. Email alerts are also sent to alert particular users to invoke action on their part for steps that need to be completed (e.g. approval required)

Depending on the services your company is using on the Consolidated Payables platform your screen may look different from the one below

5.3 Description of Features for defining a Role

  • Application Configuration – Access to View set-up details such as partial bank account information from where payments will be drafted, fonts used on the online proofs, and approval rules.
  • Approve Payments – If payment approval has been activated, allows a user to approve payments (different from submitting a file). This is connected to payment approval set-up (i.e. setting up payment amount level thresholds)
  • Add/Edit Vendors – If Vendor Onboarding is occurring for ACH or card, allows access to manually add NEW Vendors in order to generate a Registration Code. You cannot edit an existing vendor.
  • Card Settlement – Allows access to view the card settlement report
  • View File Details – Accessibility to view the payments in files on hold
  • View Files – Accessibility to view a listing of all files on hold
  • View Job Details – Accessibility to view a listing of all the payments in files that have been submitted
  • View Jobs – Accessibility to view a listing of all jobs
  • View Vendors – Accessibility to view the vendors and the status of their registration
  • Document Archive – Ability to View/Search payments previously submitted through the system
  • Edit Approval Rules – Allows a user to Add/Edit a payment approval rule (business rules)
  • Enter Control Totals – Allows user to enter control totals via the Consolidated Payables Platform
  • Submit Jobs – Ability to approve a File on Hold
  • Upload Files – Ability to import a file directly into the platform (This does not refer to FTP access)
  • User Administration – Accessibility to Add/Edit user profiles and role configuration
  • View Documents – Ability to view payment images

5.4 Email Notifications

The listing of possible Email Notifications that can be set up on a Role, and their definition are below:

  • Control Totals Entered – Sent once the respective user has manually entered the correct control totals
  • Awaiting Control Totals – Sent once a file has been sent via FTP or manually loaded and you require file level Consolidated Payables control total to be entered or sent before the release of the payments. Optional function on Consolidated Payables and is unrelated to the ACH required control total.
  • Control Totals File Received – Sent once the control total file has been sent via FTP in to confirm receipt of file
  • Control Totals File Match – Sent once the control total file has been sent via FTP in, and the control totals match
  • Control Totals Failed – Sent once the user exceeds the number of opportunities to enter the control totals via the Consolidated Payables platform
  • Control Totals File Failed – Sent once the control total file has been sent via FTP, but the totals do not match
  • File Placed On Hold – Sent once a file is either sent via FTP or manually loaded and placed on hold
  • Approval Required – Sent when one or more payments falls under the payment approval rules established, to each user whose approval is required
  • File Released For Processing – Sent once the file has gone through all applicable approvals (control totals, payment approval, file submission)

5.5 User Administration

After roles are set up, users are defined with appropriate roles assigned. Once defined, you can edit users through the User Administration tab.

Add a New User/Assigning Permissions

To add a new user, an administrator will need to complete the following steps:

  • Click Add new user from the User Administration Page.

  • Assign a User Name.

    Some organizations who also use KeyNavigator choose to use the same IDs on Consolidated Payables. The two systems do not currently sync so if you change your password on one system it will not automatically change it on the other.

  • Assign the Role(s)desired for the user.
  • Provide a contact Phone Number for the user. (Not required).
  • Enter a valid Email Address for the user. (Up to 2 email addresses can be provided)

    Many organizations use just one email address per User ID. It is suggested that you define more than one person (more than one ID) for each role/function that needs to be performed, so that time off or away from the office does not impact the origination, approval and release of payments.

    • Some users define their Administrative Assistant or a co-worker as the second email address. If you, as the person with the ID are out or not accessing email, your Administrative Assistant/co-worker can let you know you need to get online to approve and release.
  • Click Save to confirm the user.
  • Notify the new user of the user name that you just created and of the URL to use: https://consolidatedpayables.key.com/consolidatedpayables/login.aspx
  • A temporary password will be emailed separately from the system.

View existing users

Under the User Administration tab, you can view all of the users that have been set up in the system. To view the details of a user, simply click the user’s name.

The user’s profile will show the Role(s) that the user has been assigned, and the email addresses to which email notifications are being sent.

Users password may be reset by an Administrator selecting the Reset Password button on the user’s profile and clicking Save. A temporary password will be sent to the user with a link that will allow them to reset the password. As part of PCI compliance, no one sees the user’s password – and the password field is grayed out to all but the users themselves.

Active/Inactive Users

Notice that all of the users are marked Active. In order to Deactivate a user, click on the user’s full name and then uncheck the Active check box. Inactive users will not be allowed to log into the system until they are marked as Active. Inactive users are maintained on the system for audit purposes, and can be viewed by checking the box Show Inactive Users in the upper right corner of the User Administration screen.

5.6 Approval Rules (set up in Application Configuration)

The Consolidated Payables system allows you to establish approval rules based on the amount of the payment. If you establish approval rules for your payments, those payments will automatically be placed on hold and you can view the payments on the Home Screen under Hold Files.

To set new approval rules, or modify existing rules you have already established, you can navigate to the Approvals section from the Application Configuration drop down of the Administration Tab.

Click on the Application name to which you want to change or add approvals.

Click Approvals. You may edit or delete existing rules, or add a new rule by clicking the Add New Rule button.

Note that the application names were established during the implementation. For more details on your application names, contact your Key Implementation Specialist.

The payment status for payments awaiting approval (after rules have been established) will show as pending approval. Those payments that do not meet the approval rules will be processed normally.

You may want to have approvals for all payment amounts, but have different people within your company approve different payment amounts. The system allows you to set those rules.

In the example below, the example approval rules are:

  • Payments $1-$1,500 require either of the two users listed to approve the payments
  • Payments from $1,500 and above require one of the two users listed to approve the payments

Note that in the example, the rules were set up to allow any user in the list to approve the payment within that range. More restrictive rules can be established to provide dual approval, or multiple approvals, for certain payments.

Add New Approval Rule

To add an approval rule, first select the payment amount range. Note that you can check the box for No Upper Limit to set payment approvals above a certain amount.

Next, choose the users with approval permissions that can approve payments for the range your chose. All users chosen will be notified via email that a payment is pending approval.

If you select multiple users, you will need to indicate whether Any User or All Users can approve the payment. If only one user is selected then, by default, that person must approve all payments subject to the rule. A best practice is to have two or more users defined for critical functions.

Example:
Here we are setting up a rule that payments that are $25,000, but less than $50,000, require any two of the three users shown under Selected Users to approve the payments.

5.7 Payment Accounts

The Payment Accounts listing under the Application Configuration shows the accounts that you have designated for each of your payment types. This view is read-only.

Should you require any additional accounts to be added to your payment processing, or to make any changes to the existing accounts, please contact your Payments Advisor.

5.8 Activity Log

The Activity Log tab under the Administration tab allows you to display all activity for all users. You can filter by user and through the use of a date range.

Every action taken by a user is captured here.

Note that the report can be expanded to show more items per page and/or you can page through the report pages. The report can be exported in HTML or Excel format for your convenience.

 

The Add Vendor option under the Administration tab can be used if you are using the auto-conversion of payments to virtual card and ACH. It allows you to add new Vendors to the system on an ad hoc basis. Enter the Vendor Information that is required (indicated by the red * beside the field box) and then click Save. Doing so triggers an automated email to be sent to the Vendor with a link to the Vendor Portal and the Registration Code required to complete the set-up to receive their payments electronically from you.

You can use this functionality only for brand new vendors. Any vendor that you have already paid will have their company information already completed from the payment data in your payment file. Existing vendor data (populated from a payment you have made) cannot be edited through this screen.

 

The Consolidated Payables platform provides tools for researching and reconciling card payments. However should you need to 'go to the source' for Key2Purchase transactions here are a couple of tips:

  • Completed transactions, also called settled or closed, can be viewed in the transaction list under the Transaction Maintenance tab, using the Transaction Management option. These transactions show the vendor name that processed the payment.

  • Open cards, also referred to as issued but not swiped, can be viewed in the card list under the Card Management tab, using the Account Management option, by retrieving the status of __Open & ZJ Monitoring Credit.
  • Blocked/cancelled/voided cards can be viewed in the card list under the Card Management tab, using the Account Management option, by retrieving the status of VX Cancelled Customer Request. A block is sometimes placed at your request, and the vendor removed from the card program, because the vendor signed up to receive a card transaction but does not have merchant services allowing them to swipe for payment. These payments may need to be re-issued after the vendor is removed so that the payment can go out as check.

 

  • Expired cards, those that have gone past the expiration date and can no longer be swiped by the vendor, can be viewed in the card list under the Card Management tab, using the Account Management option, by retrieving the status of VP Cancelled Permanent. These payments may need to be re-issued.
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