Scope: This document outlines LCRA's procedures for processing invoices in Alma and the storage of invoices in the department Box space.

Department: Licensing & Continuing Resource Acquisitions

Contact: @Bethany Blankemeyer

Date last reviewed: 2/20/2026

Adding invoices to the Invoices Tracker Spreadsheet

1. Receive invoice, either through the dul-eresources@duke.edu inbox, the dul-serials@duke.edu inbox, or a paper copy with a shipment of serials. Save or scan to PDF and save a copy of the invoice to the current FY Invoices folder in the LCRA Box space. If you receive a paper invoice, please add to the Tracker upon receipt even before you are ready to process the physical material included in the shipment.

   1. For invoices received through dul-eresources@duke.edu, the Electronic Resources Acquisitions & Licensing Librarian checks pricing and adds to the spreadsheet.

   2. For invoices received through dul-serials@duke.edu, the Serials Management Associate assigned to monitor that inbox will check pricing and add to the spreadsheet.

   3. For invoices received with shipments, the LCRA staff member who opened the shipment will scan a copy of the paper invoice to PDF and save in the current FY Invoices folder in the LCRA Box space.

2. Open the Invoices Tracker Spreadsheet and add the following information:

   1. Invoice number

   2. Vendor

   3. Resource

   4. PO line

   5. Invoice date

   6. Invoice amount

   7. Subscription term

   8. Notes about resource (vol. Information if no subscription term)

   9. Approved? Y/N

      1. Mark Y in this column if the invoice is ready to be paid. Mark N if the invoice needs to be held for some reason.

   10. Processed?

       1. Mark Y once the invoice has been processed in Alma. Leave this blank until you’ve processed the invoice in Alma.

   11. Processed By

       1. Include the initials of the LCRA staff member responsible for processing the invoice. 

   12. LCRA Notes

       1. Add any notes you deem appropriate. Examples include: reminders to close the order record after payment if it is a one-time payment, if a JV is required, or if we are paying by method other than check or automatic ACH.

3. Change the color of the row to green to indicate that the invoice is ready for payment. If you are waiting on final confirmation to pay the invoice, change the color of the row to yellow and leave a note in the LCRA Notes column.

Submitting EDI loaded invoices for payment in Alma 

All invoices from EBSCO, Harrassowitz, and CIBTC will be loaded into Alma via EDI. We need to check the EDI-loaded invoice against the PDF copy of the invoice before submitting these for payment in Alma.

1. With the invoice in hand, navigate to Acquisitions -> Review (Invoice) in the black navigation bar on the left-hand side of Alma.

2. You will be taken to a screen that lists In Review Invoices. This screen includes two tabs: “Assigned to Me” and “Unassigned”. It defaults to your “Assigned to Me” list. Navigate to the "Unassigned" tab to search for the relevant invoice number.

3. Once you’ve identified the correct invoice, click on the grey three dots button to open a drop-down menu with more options. Select Edit from the list of options.

4. Verify that the information on the Invoice Summary tab matches the PDF copy of the invoice before moving to the Invoice Lines tab:

   1. Invoice number

   2. Invoice date

   3. Vendor

   4. Total amount

   5. Additional Charges:

      1. Harrassowitz invoices loaded via EDI will be handled differently:

         1. For monographic series/sets invoices, check “Use pro rata” box, verify “Additional charges total amount” and “Overhead amount” matches with the “postage and handling” amount on the invoice.

         2. For subscription invoices, make sure the pro rata checkbox is unchecked. This is because Harrassowitz includes separate invoice lines for additional service charges.

   6. Save and move on to verifying information on the Invoice Lines tab.

5. Verify that each Invoice Line has the correct title, POL, fund code, and amount listed on the PDF copy of the invoice.

6. Once you’ve completed review of the Invoice Lines, double-check the following:

   1. On the Summary tab: Check that the total amount and any additional charges are correct.

   2. Note: It is very important that we double-check the invoice summary and invoice lines information before moving forward. Once we submit the invoice, it moves out of In Review status and we will no longer be able to make changes to it. If a mistake has been made, Financial Services staff will notify us and move it back into In Review status so that we can edit and resubmit.

7. When you are ready to submit the invoice, Select the blue “Save and Continue” button.

   1. Sometimes you will receive a Confirmation Message, example screenshot below. Click the blue “Confirm” button to continue.

8. You have successfully submitted the invoice and will be taken to a screen that says “Waiting for Approval Invoices.” Financial Services staff moves invoices from In Approval status to Approved.

Manually created invoices in Alma 

Invoices not loaded into Alma via EDI will need to be created manually. Currently, we load all EBSCO, Harrassowitz, and CIBTC invoices via EDI. All other invoices received by the department will be created manually by the following process:

1. With the invoice in hand, navigate to Acquisitions -> Create Invoice in the black navigation bar on the left-hand side of Alma.

2. Create the invoice:

   1. Invoice Creation: Manually

   2. Handle Receiving: Leave this unchecked if you don’t want to be taken to the Receiving tab after processing the invoice.

   3. Click the blue button with the text “Next” in order to continue.

3. Fill in Invoice Details:

   1. Invoice Details:

   2. Invoice number

      1. If the invoice number has a – or other special characters, remove them and use just numbers and letters. For example, invoice number 0830106-IN becomes 0830106IN.

   3. Invoice date

   4. Vendor

      1. You can type in either the vendor name or the vendor code, if known. Once you start typing, possible options will appear in a menu below the box. Select the appropriate one. DUL vendors always begin with P.

   5. Total Amount

      1. Add the total amount on the invoice (including shipping and/or any additional charges). To apply the amount to the invoice, take your cursor and click anywhere outside of the box where you entered the amount.

   6. Payment method: will almost always be Accounting Department (unless pcard or wire)

   7. Owner: Duke University is the default option

   8. Additional Charges:

      1. Pro rata checkbox: Check this checkbox if your invoice includes shipping charges. More options will appear and you will be able to enter the shipping amount. Additionally, this should also be checked if service charges are at the invoice header level. This will tell Alma to distribute the amount across all of the invoice lines.

      2. Uncheck the pro rata checkbox if your invoice does not include shipping and/or other charges. You will also need to uncheck this checkbox if the invoice includes service charges as additional invoice lines.

   9. VAT: No need to input anything in this section.

   10. Payment Information: Most of the time, this section can be ignored.

4. When you are ready to move on to adding Invoice Lines, click on the blue button with text” Save and Create Invoice Lines.

5. Select the blue text “Add Invoice Line” to create an invoice line. A screen will appear with additional fields to populate:

   1. Type: Regular is the default and this will be the majority of invoice lines.

   2. PO line: PO or order number referenced on the invoice

      1. Note: When you type in the order number, an option will appear below showing the order number and the title associated with that order. Use your cursor to select that option to apply it to the invoice line.

      2. Once you enter the PO line, more information will appear on the invoice line:

         1. The PO line price under the title is the amount currently encumbered on the order.

         2. Uncheck subscription date overlap box

         3. Subscription dates range: Enter if a subscription

         4. Additional information: Enter volume number, issue number, or other helpful information.

6. Price: Enter the price for the line item. Note: Once you’ve entered the correct amount here, use your cursor to click outside of the box, applying the price to the invoice line. Do not use the enter key, or it will take you out of the line and you will have to get back in.

7. Price note: We do not currently utilize this field.

8. Release remaining encumbrance checkbox: We do not currently use this feature.

9. There are 5 reporting code fields. We do not currently utilize these fields.

10. At the bottom, you will see that the fund code was automatically added when you added the PO line information. Check to make sure that the fund code and amount are correct.

11. You have two options to add the invoice line:

    1. Select “Add” at the bottom to create this invoice line and start working on another invoice line. You will do this if you have a multi-line invoice.

    2. Select the blue button with text “Add and Close” if you either have a one-line invoice or you have added all of the necessary lines.

12. Once you’ve added all the invoice lines, double-check the following:

    1. On the Invoice Lines tab: Check that the Price reflects the price on the invoice for each invoice line. Check that the correct PO line is reflected for each invoice line.

    2. On the Summary tab: Check that the total amount and any additional charges are correct.

    3. Note: It is very important that we double-check the invoice summary and invoice lines information before moving forward. Once we submit the invoice, it moves out of In Review status and we will no longer be able to make changes to it. If a mistake has been made, Financial Services staff will notify us and move it back into In Review status so that we can edit and resubmit.

13. When you are ready to submit the invoice, Select the blue “Save and Continue” button.

    1. Note: Sometimes you will receive a Confirmation Message, example screenshot below. Click the blue “Confirm” button to continue.

14. You have successfully submitted the invoice and will be taken to a screen that says “Waiting for Approval Invoices.” Financial Services staff moves invoices from In Approval status to Approved.

Processing Invoices on the tracker spreadsheet & submitting to Financial Services 

1. Follow the documentation for processing invoices in Alma.

2. Once you’ve processed the invoice in Alma and you are ready to send to Financial Services, mark up the invoice with the following information:

   1. Circle the invoice number

   2. Circle the payment amount

   3. Order number/PO number if the PO number if not already on the invoice.

   4. Add your initials and date to the top right corner

   5. Add the Alma vendor code and SAP code:

      1. The DUL Alma vendor code will always begin with a P

      2. The SAP code is located in the Additional code field on the vendor record

3. After processing the invoice in Alma and marking up a PDF copy, you will upload the invoice to the appropriate Box folder for Financial Services to further process:

   1. Acquisitions – Unpaid: for invoices with the Alma Payment Method: Accounting Department. This is the majority of our invoices.

   2. Wire Payments: for invoices paid by wire

   3. PCard invoices: for invoices paid by pcard

4. Make the following changes to the Invoices Tracker Spreadsheet:

   1. Mark Y in the “Processed?” column to indicate the invoice has been processed.

   2. Remove the green highlight from the row.

5. Save a copy of the invoice in the current FY Invoices folder to the Processed and Sent to Financial Services subfolder in Box.