Payments are made through the Payment-view in Procountor. The view is accessible through the Go to -button in the Invoice-view or through the Payment-button in the search results in Receipt search. More information about searching invoices is available here.
In order to make payments through Procountor, there has to be at least one Bank connection authorization with an active bank account. The bank account number and the banking code must be saved in the Bank account information -view. The payment methods agreed on with the bank have to be also selected.
Information about paying salaries can be found on this separate article.
The buttons and fields of the Payment-view
Buttons in the upper section of the Payment-view
Pay
- This button pays the invoice according to the payment information that is visible in the Payment-view. The payment information must be filled in the New payment transaction -section of the Payment-view before clicking the Pay-button.
- After clicking the button, the status of the invoice changes to Payment queued and the payment will be on hold until the invoice is duet according to its Payment date. More information about the payment schedules of Procountor can be found here.
Mark as paid elsewhere
- Mark as paid elsewhere -button is useful when an invoice has been paid elsewhere, for example with cash. Another situation for using this button is where an invoice hasn’t been for some reason marked as paid automatically by the reference numbers on bank statements.
- Payment date and the payment sum have to be set in the Payment-view before clicking the Mark as paid elsewhere -button. This information comes by default from the Invoice-view, but it can be changed in the Payment-view if needed.
Attachments
- Attachments set to the invoice can be inspected through this button.
Invoice image
- With this button, the user can choose where the invoice image is shown. By default, the image is not shown in the Payment-view.
Go to
- This button is used to go from one view to another, for example from Payment to Invoice-view.
Previous and Next
- These buttons change the invoice that is shown on the Payment-view.
- This button closes the Payment-view.
New payment transaction
The payment information, such as payment date, payment sum, recipient’s name and bank account number, is filled in the New payment transaction -section in the Payment-view. By default, this information comes from the Invoice-view. However, the information can be edited in the Payment-view if needed.
Payment method
- This menu is used to choose the payment method. By default, the payment method comes from the Invoice-view, but it can be changed in the Payment-view. More information about payment schedules and payment methods can be found here.
From account
- This menu has a list of the available bank accounts for the payment. The default account is determined by the account that has been set as default in Bank account information. However, the account can be changed in the Payment-view if needed.
- It is important to ensure that the chosen bank account supports the payment method that has been agreed with the bank in the bank connection authorization.
- When a bank account is chosen, the account balance and date is shown after the account number. If Bank account balance request is enabled, view has a possibility to show real-time bank account balance on the bank account dropdown, if it's newer than the latest balance from bank statement. The Payments-button next to the menu opens a new window that shows the payment transactions made from the chosen account. The listing shows also other types of payments made from the account.
- It is not possible to make payments from Osuuspankki's bank accounts if the recipients bank account number exceeds 30 characters. In these kind of situations some other bank's account should be used for paying, or the payment should be made from Osuuspankki's net bank.
Payment date
- This field defines the payment date. The payment is transferred to the bank in a certain payment run according to the payment date.
- Payment date is derived from the Invoice-view by default. The date can be still changed in the Payment-view if needed.
Pay
- This field shows the payment amount. By default, the amount is the open amount of the invoice. However, the amount can be changed to a value that is different from the open amount.
- If this field is showing 0,00 as default value, the invoice has already been entirely paid.
Bank reference code
- This field shows bank reference code from the Invoice-view. The bank reference code can’t be altered in the Payment-view.
Message
- This field shows the information that has been filled in Order reference -field in Invoice-view. The field allows maximum of 140 characters of free-form text.
- If there is not any information in the Bank reference code -field and the Order reference -field in the Invoice-view, Message-field will show invoice date as the message. When a payment is made, only reference number or message can be used, not both. If an invoice already has a reference number, the message added to the invoice in Payment-view does not get saved to the payment information.
- If there is no reference code in the payment, it is recommended to add a message to the payment that helps the recipient’s bank to identify the payment.
Recipient’s name
- This field shows the recipient’s name that comes from the Invoice-view by default.
Recipient account
- This field shows the recipient’s account number that comes from the Invoice-view by default.
Recipient BIC code
- This field shows the recipient’s BIC code that comes from the Invoice-view by default.
Fields shown only with foreign payments
The following fields are shown only when the payment method is Foreign payment:
Receiver bank name and address
- The pen-icon opens a separate window that is used to fill in the information about the receiver bank.
Receiver bank clearing code
- Filled if needed.
Intermediary bank name and address
- The pen-icon opens a separate window that is used to fill in the information about the intermediary bank.
Intermediary bank BIC
- Filled if needed.
Service charge
- When paying foreign payment, there is an option to choose how the service charges are distributed to the different parties. The options are The payer and beneficiary both pay their own banking fees and The payer pays both their own and beneficiary's banking fees.
- It is recommended to choose the option “The payer and beneficiary both pay their own banking fees”. This option is also the default option in the Service charge -menu.
Length validations in address fields in foreign payments
- Validations in address fields are the following, when making foreign payments:
-
- Message (max 140 characters)
- Recipient’s Name (80 max)
- Recipient Street Address (80 max)
- Recipient Postal Code (20 max)
- Recipient City (40 max)
- Receiver Name (80 max)
- Receiver Street Address (80 max)
- Receiver Postal Code (20 max)
- Receiver City (40 max)
- Intermediary Name (80 max)
- Intermediary Street Address (80 max)
- Intermediary Postal Code (20 max)
- Intermediary City (40 max)
-
Invoice info
The information in this section comes straight from the Invoice-view.
Sum
- Open sum of the invoice.
Invoice date
- Invoice date saved to the Invoice date -field in Invoice-view.
Term of payment
- Term of payment saved in the Invoice-view.
Additional information
- Information saved to the invoice in Invoice-view. This information can’t be edited anymore in the Payment-view.
Notes
- Notes saved to the invoice in Invoice-view. This information can be edited in the Payment-view.
Payment transactions
This section has information about the payment transactions that have been made with the invoice. The payment information includes such details as payment method, payment transaction status, payment date, payment amount, payer information and recipient’s information.
If the payment information has been edited in the Payment-view before making the payment, the information used in the payment will be visible in the Payment transactions -section after the payment has been made. New payment transaction -section is showing the information that comes from the Invoice-view by default, so the payment information may alter between these two sections of the Payment-view.
Remove payment transaction
- This button can be used to remove a payment transaction that is in Payment sent to bank -status. Transactions should only be deleted when the bank has issued a notification about a payment error.
- If the payment has been handled successfully in the bank, the payment transaction should not be deleted.
- This button can be used also to remove a payment transaction that has the status of Marked as paid.
Cancel payment
- This button can be used to cancel a payment as long as it has the status of Payment queued.
More information about removing and cancelling a payment is found here.
Invoice transaction information
This section shows information about the actions that have been made to the invoice: for example, payment, payment cancellation and payment removal. Listed are also other kinds of actions that are not directly linked to payment, for example approval and returning the invoice to Unfinished-status.
Recipient’s information
Payment to an IBAN bank account
IBAN is a bank account number standard that is used mainly in Europe. If the currency is EUR and the recipient’s account is in IBAN form, the right payment method is Bank transfer. IBAN account number must be filled as a continuous character string without spaces to the field of bank account number.
BIC code must also be entered into the payment information. BIC code might be called also as a SWIFT code. With Finnish bank accounts, Procountor generates the BIC code automatically by the account number. With foreign bank accounts, the BIC or SWIFT code must be entered manually either in the Invoice-view or Payment-view.
Payment to a non-IBAN bank account or with different currency
Procountor can be used to make payments to countries that do not have IBAN system in use or to countries which have different currency. When paying to an account that is not in IBAN form, the chosen payment method is foreign payment. With foreign payments, it has to be ensured that all necessary information has been filled in so that the payment gets forwarded correctly.
The necessary payment information can be saved to Supplier’s basic info in the Supplier register when Foreign payment has been chosen as the Payment method. When Foreign payment is chosen, fields for Clearing code, Receiver bank name and address, Intermediary bank BIC, Intermediary bank name and address become available.
It is always necessary to fill in BIC/SWIFT code or clearing code with foreign payments. If the BIC/SWIFT code is now known, the codes can be searched here. BIC/SWIFT codes are not used in every country; some countries’ banks use clearing codes instead.
The necessary payment information with foreign payments differs with banks and countries. Please check the payment information that is available on the original invoice and / or its attachments. It is also recommended to be in contact with the banks in question in order to ensure that the payment has all the necessary details.
Paying several invoices at once
Payment of multiple invoices -function is used to pay several invoices at once. The function is found in Receipt search: next to the Payment-button is an arrow-icon that opens a menu with Payment of multiple invoices -button. More information about the function can be found here.