The latest update release of PLANERGY went live over the weekend of the 5^th/6^th of March. See below the updates made in this release.

What’s New

This release introduces further improvements to our AP Automation module with even better AI. If you are using the feature to track if a supplier views and/or accepts a PO you have the flexibility to turn it on or off at the supplier level. There is a new optional setting to remove approval requirements for edits to a PO. Our login page has also received a fresh lick of paint, and you may see a hint of some other big news to come on the left side of the screen on the login page, our rebrand to PLANERGY. More on that later. For now, let’s stick with the updates in the release.

AP Automation AI Improvements

When processing invoices using our AP Automation module you will see some improvements to the AI and workflow. Invoice number, invoice date, and the scanned total from the invoice will now be populated on the left of the screen along with the relevant information mapped from the PO. Processing invoices has never been easier!

Remove Approval Requirements When Editing a PO

Over the years we have had many requests to remove the requirement for edits to POs to be approved. In most cases we don’t recommend using this option, because an edit can change the value of the originally approved PO the edit should normally go back through the approval process. But if it suits your requirements to be able to edit POs more quickly without going back through multi-step approval workflows. Just make sure you are careful to only give the right users permission to make edits when using this option as they will be able to edit without further approval.

To enable this option please contact our support team and they can help update your account settings.

When using this feature the person with permissions to edit will be immediately able to save the changes using the ‘Complete Changes’ button on the ‘Pending Changes’ page.

Per Supplier Settings For PO View and Acceptance Tracking

When using tracking of when the supplier views a PO or the workflow that tracks the supplier’s acceptance of a PO with confirmed delivery date this was previously set at the account level and applied to all suppliers. It is now possible to customize this on a per supplier basis.

By default the setting will still be applied to all suppliers but on the Edit Supplier page you will now have an option to disable this for individual suppliers where it may not be relevant to the goods or services they will provide.  

New Login Page Design

The login page has been redesigned to be a bit more pleasing on  the eye and improve user experience when accessing the software.

Other Improvements

• Print and Download Purchase Requisitions: Options to print and download a PDF version of requisitions are now added to the View Requisition page. Previously that was only possible for POs.
• Notifications mobile UX improvements for mobile devices: You can now swipe left to delete a notification or swipe right to mark a notification as read when viewing notifications on a mobile device
• Updated currency list: Zimbabwe dollar (ZWL) has been added to the list of available currencies in the software
• Smaller fixes: Custom exports can now include the ‘Discounted Price’ as a column, Roles can now include the licence type when using the Requesting module, and many other little improvements.

The latest update release of PLANERGY went live over the weekend of the 16^th/17^th of December. See below the updates made in this release.

What’s New

This release introduces a new notifications engine with settings for the notifications received editable at the user level. It is also now possible to add multi-factor authentication for accessing your account, there are improvements to the Twinfield integration, improved display of items with multiple rows of fields, along with many other improvements.

In App Notifications

With the introduction of in application notifications it will be much easier to keep track of any updates directly in the application. A notification bell beside the user settings link at the top right of the screen will highlight with a red circle to let you know you have notifications. How many notifications you have will be shared by a number showing in the circle. 

These new notifications are in addition to the standard email notifications already sent from the application. By default all of the notifications will be shared in both formats. But there is also a new option to edit your user’s notification settings to choose which notifications you receive and when. Don’t want to flood your email inbox with notification emails? The power is yours! You can access the relevant settings from the User Settings page (the link with your user name beside the notifications bell)

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication can now be enabled for any existing account of PLANERGY. When using this option users accessing the system will need to know, the login page for the account, their user email address, and their login password. They will also need an additional factor, a validation code or QR code, depending on the options chosen for MFA.

When using email for MFA a validation code will be sent to the relevant email address:

When using QR authentication a QR code will be available on the login screen that will need to be validated using a QR Authenticator App, such as Microsoft Azure Authenticator:

If you would like to implement multi-factor authentication on your PLANERGY account please contact the support team using the in-app support option or by emailing [email protected].

Multi-Line Item layout on PO and Invoice improved

When using custom fields you will have a multi-line layout for the items section. There have been some design improvements to differentiate more clearly where a row is another part of the existing line item and where the next line item begins. 

Other Improvements

• User Transaction Limit and Monthly Limit upper limit increased: You can now set these user limits to a higher value than ever before, especially useful for currencies with a low value.
• User Search by Licence Type when using Requesting: When using the Requesting module you can now search by the type of licence Request/Enterprise.
• Peoplesoft Integration Improvements: Extra flexibility added for field mapping when integrating with Peoplesoft.
• Advanced Reporting Updates: Improved controls on sharing custom reports, IE layout on Advanced Reporting Favourites page has been improved
• Smaller fixes: Issue with Control Panel Department export, duplicate order terms automatically update to the new default terms for the supplier.

The PLANERGY team have been busy over the past year improving the software. With all that has been going on in the world in 2020 it would have been easy to miss some of the great improvements that could help your company manage Procure-to-Pay better than ever.

To help fill you in on anything you might have missed we have asked some of the key members of our team to rate the features and improvements they consider to be the best from the past year. Here is our summary of the best of the best from a great year of improvements at PLANERGY as we turn the page to hopefully a much more positive 2021 for the world as a whole.

Marija Topovic, CTO:

1. AP Max – AP Automation Module (OCR and AI Invoice Processing)
2. Supplier Acceptance of the PO and Confirmed Delivery Date
3. Requesting Module
4. Amazon Catalog Integration and Punch Out Catalog Integration
5. API

Vilmos Kocis, PLANERGY Product Manager:

1. Requesting Module
2. Amazon Catalog Integration, Punch Out Catalog Integration
3. Supplier Acceptance of the PO and Confirmed Delivery Date
4. AP Max – AP Automation Module (OCR and AI Invoice Processing)
5. Improved and New Graph Reports

Keith Murphy, Head of Content:

1. AP Max – AP Automation Module (OCR and AI Invoice Processing)
2. Integrations Improvements (Xero, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, NetSuite) – including automating export of authorized invoices
3. Amazon Catalog Integration, Punch Out Catalog Integration
4. Improved and New Graph Reports
5. Requesting Module

There is a lot of overlap in the lists but in all cases they are some really useful features. Here is why we feel these improvements should help with your procurement and accounts payable functions.

AP Max – AP Automation Module (OCR and AI Invoice Processing)

Keith: “Manual invoice processing is a slow, time-consuming waste of human effort. This new module, first made available in the summer of 2020, uses modern technology to help reduce AP processing costs by up to 80%. This ties in directly with all the existing AP controls already available in the software. With the procurement data available in PLANERGY this results in a much better version of AP Automation than is available in standalone systems that focus only on invoice processing.”

Supplier Acceptance of the PO and Confirmed Delivery Date

Marija: “Receiving confirmed acceptance of a PO from the supplier is an important part of the process if you want to consider the document as legally binding. Using this feature, you will easily know if supplier has seen and/or accepted the PO and you could plan your work by delivery date confirmed by supplier. All fully tracked in the POs audit trail.”

Requesting Module

Vilmos: “Now your entire team can be given access to request without needing to know relevant suppliers or other information. No need to get requests for purchasing via email, phone or any other application, everything can be in one place, with approval and granular permissions, fully integrated in PLANERGY.”

Amazon Catalog Integration and Punch Out Catalog Integration

Vilmos: “Create purchase requests direct from Amazon web site, no need to copy/paste item names, price and qty from Amazon to PLANERGY. Always up to date catalog that will then process through your approval matrix in PLANERGY before finalizing the purchase.”

API

Marija: “We have focussed strongly on our options for integrating with other software and a key step for that was the release of our API in February 2020. Using the API, your company could automate processes which they need and avoid manual data export/import with whatever other systems you are using.”

Integrations Improvements (Xero, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, NetSuite) – including automating export of authorized invoices

Keith: “Getting the various systems you use to run your company working together is of key importance and this was a focus for PLANERGY in 2020 and will continue to be in 2021. The API was greatly important but I think improvements for our direct integrations were also great steps forward as these integrations are ready to use straight away. There were many improvements made but the highlights for me were 1. Automated export of authorized invoices – this removes the requirement for an additional manual step to push the invoices into your accounting software or ERP after they have been authorized. 2. Scheduled import of data into PLANERGY – regular scheduled checks for changes to your data in your accounting software or ERP and any updates or new data will be imported automatically to PLANERGY to keep all your data fully aligned.”

Improved and New Graph Reports

Keith: “PLANERGY has very powerful, customizable reporting options. In 2020 we saw the introduction of some great standard reports that give better visual representation of the information to help power more analytical and strategic decision making. The improved Check Budgets graphs for approvers makes it much easier to make approval decisions. The Expenditure and Invoiced Bar Chart gives really great insight for budgeting and AP. Sometimes a bit of eye candy in your reporting goes a long way!”

In case you missed the full updates related to these features when they were released, they are included in full below. Improvements related to the integrations are not included as there have been numerous small releases over the course of the year, but they add up to a much, smoother, better, and more flexible integration experience.

Requesting Module

The new Requesting module allows users to make a new type of request which is not directly converted into a Purchase Order. This will allow you to keep all requests in one place even those that previously may have been handled outside the system and inputted by a buyer. The cost of a user with access only to the Requesting module will be much less than a full PLANERGY user.

You can define a completely separate approval workflow for these requests and, if approved, they can be included in a PO to go through the standard PO approval process. The request module also has a full set of separate user permissions with the same granular control as is available for POs. A requester with access to this module can be restricted to only see requests and not have access to view POs.

A requester can place a request with minimal information:

Approved requests can then be used by a user with the required permissions to create POs:

There are many use cases for the module, here are just a few:

• Pre-sourcing approval where a vendor for the purchase has not been defined yet.
• Bill of materials and other requests that include items from multiple vendors in the same request.
• To cover scenarios where the requester shouldn’t have permission to see the agreed purchase price. In that scenario they would be able to track their own item requests but not see the relevant POs.

This initial release is linked to the purchasing process but in the future the module will also be able to be used for approval requests for any number of business requirements. There are many Business Process Automation use cases including Location access requests, annual leave requests, etc.

If you would like to trial the module please reach out to the support team through the application or by emailing [email protected].

AP Max – AP Automation Module (OCR and AI Invoice Processing)

We have added a new module that ties into the existing accounts payable workflow in PLANERGY. The standard 2 or 3 way matching process will work in the same way as before with all the checks in place to ensure only correct invoices are paid. But now you will be able to process invoices at lightning speed powered by a heady cocktail of OCR and AI.

Here’s how it works:

1. Supplier Invoices Received At A Dedicated Email Address

Your suppliers can send their invoices to a dedicated email address where they will be automatically reviewed for import into PLANERGY.

2. Invoices Processed With A Mix of OCR, Machine Learning, and AI

The emails and any attached documents will be scanned and automatically matched against a relevant PO in your PLANERGY account ready for you to review. You will need to make sure your suppliers are referencing the PO number on the invoice or in the email to ensure they can be matched.

3. Automated Invoice Document Management

A new ‘Invoice Documents’ section will be available in the Accounts Payable section of your PLANERGY account storing all of your invoices ready to be matched, authorised, and processed for payment in your accounting software or ERP.

4. Match Invoices Against The PO Line Items

Select the outstanding items from the PO to match against the invoice. You will be able to match with the invoice and invoice form side by side in PLANERGY giving you all the information you need.

5. Authorize Invoices And Send For Payment

The standard authorization process to sign off on the invoices can be followed before sending them through to your accounting software or ERP for payment. No double entry, no wasted time, and no incorrect payments!

Amazon Catalog Integration

With this release you can now integrate PLANERGY with your Amazon Business account. This allows you the flexibility to order through Amazon while retaining compliance with your procurement processes in PLANERGY.

When creating orders you will start out from PLANERGY and access Amazon through the software. From there you will create the order as you normally would in Amazon using the Amazon shopping cart. Instead of placing the order immediately Amazon would push all of the data in the cart back into PLANERGY’s New Order form ready to go through the relevant approval process. When the approval process is completed the Amazon order will be automatically placed as a confirmed Purchase Order.

There will be some additional help added to the PLANERGY Help website in the near future related to this feature. In the meantime, if you would like to start using the feature please create a support ticket and the support team would be happy to help you.

PunchOut Catalog Integration

Amazon have the most commonly used PunchOut catalog but many other suppliers also use this type of electronic catalog. Dell, Roche, and many other large and smaller suppliers can be integrated with. PLANERGY can integrate with any PunchOut catalog.

If you have a specific catalog you are looking to integrate with, please create a support ticket and we would be happy to help with your specific requirements.

Supplier Acceptance of the PO

An optional step can be added to the purchase order process requiring the supplier to accept the terms of the PO and confirm the requested delivery date. When using this option the supplier can send direct communications about the PO and share a confirmed delivery timeline for the PO.

This feature introduces better communication with the supplier and ensures more accurate delivery data can be tracked in PLANERGY.

Improved and New Graph Reports

The graphical reports, mostly available in the Advanced Reporting section of PLANERGY, have received some updates to improve your ability to report and gain actionable insight from the system.

Top 5 Not Invoiced Expenditure

There is a new ‘Top 5 Not Invoiced Expenditure’ donut chart to give you the ability to report on committed spend visually. Report on Category, Cost Code, Department, Item, Location, Supplier, and User. Donut charts also have a new filter for date range to add additional flexibility.

Top 5 Pending Department Expenditure

There is a new ‘Top 5 Pending Department Expenditure’ donut chart allowing you to report on where the expenditure pending approval is assigned per department. This also includes the ability to filter by the date range of the request.

Expenditure and Invoiced Bar Chart

A whole new filterable Expenditure bar chart ‘Expenditure and Invoiced Bar Chart’ has been added to Reports & Searches > Advanced Reporting > Expenditure reports list. Report on the invoiced status of orders by month. See committed expenditure, the value already invoiced, and the remaining uninvoiced values. Data is filterable as needed by Location, Department, User, and much more.

Check Budgets Graph

The check budget graphs now also include percentage values to give you a better understanding of how much of the budget has been used and how much is still available.

Expenditure Line Graph Update

The ‘Expenditure’ line graph showing expenditure for the previous 12 months has been updated. Previously you could report by Department only. It is now also possible to report by Cost Code, User, Supplier, Item, Location, and Category.

API

Our API is now available to be used for custom integrations. We already integrate with many of the leading ERP and accounting software but if we don’t have an existing integration with your other existing software already this could be the opportunity to link PLANERGY with your other tools using our API. Create a support ticket by using the support button on the left of the screen when logged into PLANERGY, if you need help with a specific integration.

The latest update release of PLANERGY went live over the weekend of the 12^th/13^th of December. See below the updates made in this release.

What’s New

This release introduces our new Requesting module’s beta and includes enhancements to reports, the AutoSetup wizard, and Quickbooks and Xero integrations, and a number of other smaller improvements.

Requesting Module

The new Requesting module allows users to make a new type of request which is not directly converted into a Purchase Order. This will allow you to keep all requests in one place even those that previously may have been handled outside the system and inputted by a buyer. The cost of a user with access only to the Requesting module will be much less than a full PLANERGY user.

You can define a completely separate approval workflow for these requests and, if approved, they can be included in a PO to go through the standard PO approval process. The request module also has a full set of separate user permissions with the same granular control as is available for POs. A requester with access to this module can be restricted to only see requests and not have access to view POs.

A requester can place a request with minimal information:

Approved requests can then be used by a user with the required permissions to create POs:

There are many use cases for the module, here are just a few:

• Pre-sourcing approval where a vendor for the purchase has not been defined yet.
• Bill of materials and other requests that include items from multiple vendors in the same request.
• To cover scenarios where the requester shouldn’t have permission to see the agreed purchase price. In that scenario they would be able to track their own item requests but not see the relevant POs.

This initial release is linked to the purchasing process but in the future the module will also be able to be used for approval requests for any number of business requirements. There are many Business Process Automation use cases including Location access requests, annual leave requests, etc.

If you would like to trial the module please reach out to the support team through the application or by emailing [email protected].

Custom Reporting By Invoiced Values At The PO Line Level

Reporting on the values for each line item on a PO to review the value that has been matched to any invoice, Item Invoiced Total, and the value that has been matched to an authorised invoice, Item Invoiced Total Approved, is now much easier with two additional columns available for custom reports using the Type ‘Purchase Order with Items’ in the Advanced Reporting module.

The status will indicate whether the PO has been invoiced or whether that invoice has been approved.

Export Suppliers from PLANERGY into QuickBooks Online and Xero

You can now create a new supplier in PLANERGY and export it to either QuickBooks Online or Xero. This allows for a more flexible workflow for supplier management. This is especially beneficial if you are using PLANERGY’s powerful supplier approval workflows. Previously the supplier needed to be imported from the accounting software before an invoice could be posted.

Total Including Tax Added to PO View, Print, and PDF

When using the option to include tax values on PO the Total Including Tax for the PO will now also be visible on the view, print, and PDF versions of the PO.

Hyperlink Custom Field Improved

How custom fields assigned with the Hyperlink format display in the system has been improved to include the link text, a display name, and a click-to-open link. Thank you for the feedback we have received from those using these custom fields, we hope you like the improvement!

QuickBooks Desktop Integration Has Extended Field Linking Options

Our QuickBooks Desktop integration now has further flexibility in how you link the PLANERGY fields to the QuickBooks Desktop fields

It is now possible to export the Purchase Order Cost Code to the Customer Job field on the line item of the Bill in QuickBooks Desktop. Also, the Department field in PLANERGY can now be linked to the Class field in QuickBooks Desktop. This is managed in the settings of the QuickBooks Desktop integration tool.

You can find the download for the latest version of the QuickBooks Desktop Importer Tool here.

Other Improvements

• Duplicate Purchase Order button renamed to ‘Replicate’: The ‘Duplicate’ button in the Repeat Order and View Purchase Order sections has been renamed to ‘Replicate’. The functionality is the same but our UX team have been juggling with semantics to make things clearer.
• Amazon Punchout: A small issue with the Amazon UK address format has now been fixed.
• Purchase Order tax calculation: Calculation when assigning tax to items on an order has been improved.