This article provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) related to requests and purchase orders in Payhawk.
Can employees use the Payhawk Receipts Mailbox for invoices related to requests?
When an invoice states the number of the request and is sent to the Payhawk Receipt Mailbox for paid or unpaid expenses, the Payhawk optical character recognition (OCR) will extract the data and automatically link the invoice to the respective request.
If, for some reason, the number of the request cannot be read, you will have to link the invoice to the request manually.
Can requesters submit requests for approval if the supplier has not been selected?
Yes. The intended process in Payhawk is that the supplier has to be created and added to the request before it is approved.
Can a requester assign a supplier that does not exist in Payhawk when creating a request?
No. The supplier must first be created in the system through the Supplier app by a Payhawk administrator. For more information on the ways to create suppliers, see the FAQ article on suppliers.
Can the request ID for the expense be automatically extracted by the system?
Yes. The Payhawk optical character recognition feature (OCR) will automatically extract the ID and/or PO number if it's included in the uploaded invoice.
Can Payhawk Administrators delete a request after it has been approved?
Requests can be manually closed by the requester or by Payhawk accountants and administrators. For more information, see the article on closing requests.
Do the employees who can delete unsubmitted requests need to be Payhawk administrators?
No. For more information, see the article about editing and deleting requests.
Can Payhawk match multiple invoices to a single request?
Yes.
Can Payhawk match one invoice to multiple requests?
No. If a single invoice relates to two separate requests, you must upload the invoice twice and match each copy to the corresponding request, including only the relevant items in each.
Does Payhawk support a three-way matching process?
Yes. For more information, see the section about the two- and three-way matching accounting process at Payhawk before payment.
How can users configure what categories of requests require a receipt note?
Customers can select the categories that require a receipt note from the Settings > Requests > Receipt note tab. For more information, see the article about setting the expense categories that require receipt notes for requests.
Can Payhawk detect discrepancies automatically?
Yes. Payhawk automatically matches uploaded receipt notes and invoices to requests and notifies in cases of quantity and/or price mismatches. For more information, see the article about defining discrepancy thresholds for requests.
How can users define discrepancy thresholds and workflows?
You can set discrepancy thresholds from the Settings > Requests > Rules tab. For more information, see the article about defining discrepancy thresholds for requests.
At the same time, you can set custom approval workflows in case of discrepancies from the Settings > Workflows > Expense types > Bill field. For more information, see the article about defining workflows for bill payments with requests.
How can users define who can submit purchase orders?
Users can set who can submit requests from Settings > Requests > Purchase orders.
Can users define a custom request numbering and prefix for purchase orders?
Yes. You can customize the data from Settings > Requests > Purchase orders > Customization.
Can users set a central invoicing email address for purchase orders to which the incoming invoices will be sent?
Yes. You can set the email address from the Settings > Requests > General > Customization > Central invoicing email address field. For more information, see the article about configuring the basic settings for requests.
Can a request be approved by multiple people?
Yes. You can customize the request approval workflows from the Settings > Workflows > Requests app. There, you can set a specific role, such as a Payhawk Accountant or Administrator; a person, such as a Team Manager or a manager of a custom expense field, or select an amount-based custom approval workflow.
What are the lifecycle request steps?
Submit - The request is not submitted or has been returned to the employee.
Review - The request is submitted but not reviewed, or it has been returned for review.
Approve - The request is reviewed but not yet approved.
Receive - The request is approved but not fully received.
Invoice - All items are fully received, but the request is not yet invoiced.
Pay - All items are fully received and invoiced, but one or more invoices are still not paid.
Close - All items are received and invoiced, but the request is not yet closed.
For the full details, see the lifecycle of requests at Payhawk.
Can users archive or delete a request that has already been approved?
You cannot delete the request, but you can close it if it's no longer needed.
Can Payhawk generate reports for requests based on specific criteria?
Yes. To filter requests based on specific criteria, go to the Requests app and select the desired filters.
Are the created requests linked to the company's ERP or accounting software?
No.
Can a request be reopened once it's been closed?
Yes, a request can be reopened by anyone who also has permission to close it. This includes all users who can view the request in Payhawk: the request owner and reviewer, the team manager of the request owner, as well as Payhawk accountants and administrators within your company.