Vendor Invoices

How to Create a Vendor Invoice training session held on May 7, 2025

How to Pay a Vendor Invoice training session held on June 19, 2025

Starting in the 2025-26 school year, Budgetary Accounting will have a new tab: Vendor Invoices.  When an invoice is received from a vendor for a purchase order, the invoice, along with the related pertinent information will be stored.  An electronic copy of the vendor invoice can also be uploaded on this tab.   Districts will be able to add Purchase Orders that are ready to be paid to a batch directly from the Vendor Invoice tab.  

Districts will have to add SchoolFi security access to the new Vendor Invoice tab for all non-sysadmin users.  To add access to the Vendor Invoice tab, the District should add the following screen to the SchoolFi role(s) that will access the tab.  Be sure to include Create, Update, and Delete access.

Utilizing the Vendor Invoice Tab

To upload a vendor invoice, navigate to the Budget  >>>  Expenditures  >>>  Purchase Orders  >>>  Vendor Invoices tab and click on the Add Vendor Invoice button.  

This pop-up window opens:

In the popup box:

• Select the Purchase Order for the Vendor Invoice 
• Enter the Invoice Number 
• Enter an optional description
• Enter the amount of the invoice
• Enter the Invoice Date
• Enter the Date the Invoice was received

After creating the Vendor Invoice, SchoolFi will open the Vendor Invoice Edit tab.  You can enter a Due Date if you wish.  Click Save on this section.

Finally, click on the Select Purchase Order Line items button.

For each row/line item, you MUST enter the amount of the PO line item that is included in the Vendor Invoice.  This amount can be the same as, less than or greater than the PO amount.  If the invoice is for the full amount of each line item on the PO, you can click the Auto Fill button to automatically fill in each line amount. In addition, you can enter a note for the PO line.  After the amounts are entered, click Add.

NOTE:  If your district is using the rules of the receiving module, ONLY lines that have all or some items received will be allowed to be paid.  In this example, line 1 has all items received and line 3 has some items received.  Those are the only lines that should be on the invoice and the only lines that should be able to be paid.

The Invoice Line Total MUST match the Invoice Amount.  The Vendor Invoice can not be assigned to a batch for payment unless the total of the Vendor Invoice matches the total of the assigned PO lines. 

Uploading a copy of the Vendor Invoice

You can utilize the Attach Invoice notecard to upload a copy of the Vendor Invoice.  Once the Vendor Invoice is attached, it will be linked to the PO Documents section of the Purchase Order.

Changing the Status to Can Be Paid

Once all of the information has been added to the Vendor Invoice and the total of the Vendor Invoice equals the total of all PO Lines denoted as included in the Vendor Invoice, the status can be changed to Can Be Paid. Click Save after choosing this status.

Once the status Can Be Paid is saved, the Add to Batch button will appear and the Vendor Invoice can be added to a Batch for payment.  

How to Add an Invoice Record to a Batch to be Paid

Step 1 - Create a new payment batch where the invoices that are ready to be paid can be placed.

Step 2 - Click the Add to Batch button.  When the window opens, click on the button for the batch you wish to add the invoice to.  

Step 3 - When the window opens containing all the invoice data, it will only show those items that are fully received or partially received.  Items that are not received cannot be paid.  You can only pay the total amount recorded on the invoice record.  The screen will pull in the amounts recorded on the invoice screen.  Any changes to the distribution between account numbers can be made on this screen.  

NOTICE - in the example below there are two account numbers charged on this PO.  This example shows that the total in red is higher than what the invoice was recorded for.  The reason is that the amount for each line item shows on each account number.  You will need to record which account number you want the amount to be applied.  As long as the amounts total the invoice total, you can distribute the amounts any way you wish.

This is what the screen will look like after the amounts are distributed between the accounts and the amount equals the invoice record.

After the payment amounts are properly distributed, you can use the Final Payment, No Check Payment, Credit Memo checkboxes and Notes field as you have always used during payment processing.

When you are ready to put the data into the payment batch, check off all the line items to be paid and click the Add button.  The PO and invoice data is then moved to the payment batch you chose.  You will then process the batch payments as you have always done.

When the record is in a batch, the In Batches button will show the batch details.

NOTE - if you do not want to use the vendor invoice module, it is at the Business Administrator's discretion to turn the module off so you can pay purchase orders the "old" way.  This link shows the meeting conducted with the B.A.s to demonstrate the options.  No one except the B.A. has access to turn these options on and off.

CLICK HERE to see the meeting recording.