Release holds from invoices to allow payment and accounting entry creation for the invoices. You can view the holds on an invoice in either the Invoice Overview window or the Invoice Holds tab. You can see the number of invoice holds on an invoice in the Holds display only region of the Invoices window. Identify invoices on hold with the Invoices On Hold report and the Matching Hold Detail report. These reports aid you in releasing holds from invoices.
After you release all holds from an invoice it is not necessary for you to resubmit Invoice Validation before you can pay or create accounting entries for it. Invoice Validation will not place an invoice on the same type of hold that you manually released.
You must manually release all holds that you apply manually. Payables does not automatically release holds that you apply to invoices. During Invoice Validation, Payables automatically releases system holds (anything other than the user defined holds you define) from invoices with corrected exception conditions. For example, you fix a distribution variance on an invoice, resubmit Invoice Validation, and Payables automatically releases the Distribution Variance hold.
If you release a manually releasable hold that Payables applied during Invoice Validation, the next time you submit Invoice Validation, Payables will not reapply the same hold.
Payables applies some holds that you cannot release. You can use the Invoice Holds tab to view invoices with these holds, but you cannot manually release these holds. You must correct the exception that caused Invoice Validation to place the hold on the invoice, then resubmit Invoice Validation to release the holds. You can correct exceptions by updating the invoice or the purchase order or by changing your Invoice Tolerances.
There are three types of holds you can manually release:
Invoice Hold. You can release one or more Invoice Hold Reason Validations ("holds") from an invoice using the Invoice Holds tab. You can release multiple invoice holds from many invoices at once using the Invoice Actions window. See: Releasing Holds From an Invoice, and Releasing Holds from Multiple Invoices.
Scheduled Payment Hold. You can release a scheduled payment hold in the Scheduled Payments tab. See: Releasing Scheduled Payment Holds.
Supplier Site Hold. Release the Hold All Payments option for a supplier site by unchecking the Hold All Payments option at the supplier site in the Suppliers: Invoice Management page. Holds resulting from the following supplier options must be released from the invoices in the Invoice Holds tab: the Hold Unvalidated Invoices option (Supplier hold), Hold Unmatched Invoices option (Matching Required hold), and the Invoice Amount Limit (Amount hold). See below: Releasing Holds From an Invoice.
Note: You can also use Oracle Workflow to release holds through workflow. See: Releasing Holds Through Workflow.
It is recommended that you do not use Accounting at the same time as the Hold Release as it is results in a significant performance issue. After releasing holds, run the Create Accounting process. You can still use the concurrent process too.
Prerequisite
Define your release codes in the Invoice Hold and Release Names window. See Invoice Hold and Release Names.
In the Invoices window find the invoice from which you want to release holds. See: Finding Invoices.
Choose the Holds tab. Release a hold by selecting a Release Name. You can select from all Invoice Holds and Release Names defined with the type Invoice Release Reason.
To release multiple holds at once, choose Release and select a Release Name. You can select from all Invoice Holds and Release Names defined with the type Invoice Quick Release Reason. When you save your work, Payables automatically assigns the release name to all releasable holds. Choose OK.
Save your work.
Prerequisite
Define your release codes in the Invoice Hold and Release Names window. See Invoice Hold and Release Names.
In the Invoices window, use the Find window to query the invoices for a particular supplier from which you want to release holds. See: Finding Invoices. It is not necessary to enter a particular Hold Name in the Holds region of the Find Invoices window. In the Invoices window, select each invoice for which you want to release holds (use the CTRL key and at the same time right click with your mouse on each invoice to select it).
Choose Actions to navigate to the Invoice Actions window. Select Release Holds. In the Hold Name field, either select the name of the one hold type you want to release, or accept the default of All to release all releasable holds for each selected invoice
Select a Release Name. You can select from all Invoice Holds and Release Names defined with the type Hold Quick Release Reason. Optionally override the release reason associated with the Release Name.
Choose OK. Payables automatically releases all releasable holds and assigns the release name to all releasable holds across the multiple invoices you selected.
Save your work.
Prerequisite
Define your release codes in the Invoice Hold and Release Names window. See Invoice Hold and Release Names.
In the Invoices window, choose the Scheduled Payments tab
Uncheck the Hold check box to release the hold from a scheduled payment.
Save your work.
To release Supplier, Matching Required, and Amount holds from an invoice, see above: To release holds from an invoice. To release a Hold All Payments option for a supplier site, simply uncheck the option in the Suppliers: Invoice Management page.
Holds resolution workflow is initiated during Invoice Validation when:
The Initiate Workflow option is selected for the hold type.
The hold can be released manually.
Note: If the Approvals Manager setup does not provide a valid approver, the workflow terminates without further processing.
Prior to releasing holds through workflow, you must:
Install and set up Oracle Approvals Management (AME) for the transaction type of APHLD.
Define the rules that the system uses to determine who the appropriate approvers are for a hold. Holds resolution requires only one level of approval. For information on defining rules in AME, see: Oracle Approvals Management User Guide.
Set up Oracle Workflow for the workflow item type of APHLD.
For information on setting up Oracle Workflow, see: Setting Up Oracle Workflow, Oracle Workflow Administrator's Guide.
Define your release codes in the Invoice Hold and Release Names window. See: Invoice Hold and Release Names.
Select the Initiate Workflow option for the hold type and specify workflow options.
Access the Workflow Notifications List and select notifications for holds.
Review the information on the Notifications Detail page.
For PO matched invoices, the approver can select:
Release. On receiving this response, the system releases the hold and the invoice becomes eligible for Invoice Validation and payment.
Acknowledge. This indicates that the hold has been handled. For example, you have altered the tolerances so the Quantity Ordered hold is no longer needed and when the invoice is validated the system will release the hold.
The workflow waits for the specific amount of time defined for the hold type, and then determines if the hold is released. If so, the workflow ends. The system sends the notification again if the hold has not been released. This process continues until the hold is resolved.
Negotiate. The approver can negotiate with the supplier on the price or quantity.
Access the Invoice Lines Detail page. When the approver selects Negotiate as the Action for the invoice line, the system sends a workflow notification to the supplier. Negotiation is for all lines involved in the hold. The approver does not have the option to negotiate some lines, they need to negotiate all lines.
The supplier can Accept, Cancel Invoice, or continue the negotiation process. The system sends a notification to the approver if the supplier accepts or cancels the invoice.
Note: The user assigned to the supplier must have access to the cancel invoice function in order to cancel an invoice.
For non-PO matched invoices, the approver can Release or Acknowledge the hold. The approver does not have the option to negotiate the hold.
Note: The non-PO matched invoice negotiation is initiated during the invoice approval process. For more information on invoice approval, see: Invoice Approval Workflow Overview.
The Hold Resolution workflow allows you to release holds through workflow. As a part of the holds resolution, for non-purchase order matched invoices, it allows negotiation between the internal Payables clerk and the supplier. Releasing the holds on an invoice allows it to be eligible for validation and approval.
All holds are available as attributes in AME. You define conditions for the hold attributes that you are using workflow to resolve. Once your Conditions and Approver Groups are finalized, you can create your Approval Rules. You create an approval rule for your purchase order matched invoices and one for your unmatched invoices.
Payables Hold Resolution is supported for only HR people users when using static or dynamic approval groups.
See: Approvals Management Implementation Guide for more details.
Holds resolution workflow runs during validation when the:
Initiate workflow option is selected for the Hold Type.
Hold can be released manually.
If the Approvals Manager setup does not set up a valid approver, then the workflow terminates without further processing.
The holds resolution workflow uses the following process for PO matched invoices. An initial Workflow notification is sent to Internal Approver who is derived from the Approvals Management Engine (AME) setup. The Internal Approver can choose the following actions:
Release the Hold - The Hold is released and the hold history table is updated. The invoice becomes eligible for validation and approval.
Acknowledge the Hold - Acknowledge that the Hold has been taken care of already (say the tolerances have been altered so the Quantity Ordered hold is no longer needed and when the invoice is next validated the hold is released). The workflow waits for specific amount of time setup at the Hold type level, and checks again if the hold is really released. And then the workflow ends. If the hold has still not been released, then the notification is sent again. This is repeated until the hold is resolved.
Negotiate - You can go to the negotiation page through a link in the Notification and negotiate with the supplier on the Quantity Ordered, Quantity Received, Price, Amount Ordered, and Amount Received. Price or the Quantity. Negotiation is only for the lines involved in the hold. When the internal approver chooses to negotiate with a supplier, a Workflow notification is sent to the supplier (selected in the negotiation page by the internal approver).
The supplier has the following choices:
Accept - The Hold is released and logged in the approval history table and a notification is sent to the internal approver who negotiated with the supplier.
Cancel Invoice - The invoice is cancelled and the action logged in the approval history table.
Negotiate - The supplier can negotiate with the internal approver on the Price or the Quantity. Note that the negotiation is only for the lines involved in the hold.
The only difference between the PO Matched and the Non-PO Matched flow is that the Internal Approver does not have the option to negotiate. An initial Workflow notification is sent to the Internal Approver. The Internal Approver can do the following:
Release the Hold - The Hold is released and the hold history table is updated. The invoice becomes eligible for validation and approval.
Acknowledge the Hold - Acknowledge that the Hold has been taken care of already (say the tolerances have been altered so the Quantity Ordered hold is no longer needed and when the invoice is next validated the hold is released).
The workflow waits for specific amount of time setup at the Hold type level, and checks again if the hold is really released. And then the workflow ends. If the hold has still not been released, then the notification is sent again. This is repeated until the hold is resolved.
FIND WINDOW. When you use the Find window to locate invoices from which you want to release holds, Payables releases only the holds that match your invoice find criteria.
SYSTEM HOLDS. Payables applies some holds that you cannot manually release. You can use the Invoice Holds tab of the Invoice Workbench to view invoices with these holds, but you cannot release these holds. You must fix the problem that caused Invoice Validation to place the hold on the invoice then resubmit Invoice Validation to release the holds. You cannot release the following holds:
Dist Variance. Invoice amount does not equal the sum of the invoice distribution amounts.
No Rate. Foreign currency invoice does not have an exchange rate assigned to it.
Can't Funds Check. Budget does not exist for the invoice accounting period, or the invoice distribution account does not equal the purchase order distribution account. This hold is used by Payables only if you use encumbrance accounting and the absolute or advisory method of budgetary control.
Final Matching. Invoice has one or more distributions final matched to a purchase order.
Can't Try PO Close. Invoice is final matched to purchase order, but Invoice Validation placed one or more holds on invoice during validation.
Dist Acct Invalid. Invoice distribution has an invalid account. An invalid account prevents you from creating accounting entries for an invoice or payment.
ERV Acct Invalid. Invoice Validation created an invalid Exchange Rate Variance account for an invoice distribution. Payables only applies this hold if you enable Automatic Offsets.
No AWT Period. Invoice Validation did not find the period in the withholding tax special calendar. Create the period in the special calendar and resubmit Invoice Validation.