Online A/P Invoice Approval

Our Online AP Approval program is ready for release to all community web site customers! This feature adds the most functionality between TOPS 2000™ and community web sites yet! The addition of Online AP Approval completes the cycle of automation for TOPS Accounts Payable procedures. In combination with MICR Check Printing and Digital Signatures, managers can perform the entire AP life cycle without ever having to chase down a board member and beg for authorizations or signatures. This significantly reduces the time it takes to complete the A/P Processing Cycle, giving you more time to work on other things.

How it works

Online AP Approval is available from the Board Only section of the private side of the community web site, but logins are restricted to specific individuals set up in TOPS 2000™. Each login is given a specific level, from Invoice Entry to Approval Levels 1, 2 and 3. Invoices may be added either in TOPS, or on the web site by a user with 'Invoice Entry' level. Regardless of where the invoices are entered, the data are synchronized so that all open AP items are visible in both TOPS and on the web site.

After invoices are loaded on a web site, board members who have been assigned an approval level may log in, review open items, and approve invoices for payment. You may define a minimum number of approvals on an invoice, or additional approvals based on amounts. For example, you might require a minimum of two signatures for every invoice, but a third signature is required for invoices over $1,000.

Once the correct number of approvals have been received, the approved invoices will be synchronized back to TOPS, where they are marked to be paid. The accounting staff can then print checks on the approved invoices. If you have purchased MICR Check Printing with Digital Signatures, you can even take it a step further by printing the authorizing signatures directly on the checks, thus avoiding altogether the need to take a pile of invoices and checks to every board meeting seeking approval and signatures.

When the invoices are paid and checks are posted in TOPS, the data is synched again with the web site, providing a list of paid invoices that stays on the web site for 30 days. Additionally, The web site keeps a list of disapproved invoices, which are also synched to TOPS to allow the accounting staff to take the appropriate action.

How do I Activate Online AP Approval?

Online AP Approval is available to any customer with a TOPS community web site at no additional charge. It cannot be used on a Management Company site, or a non-TOPS site. You must have a TOPS Community Web Site for EACH community that wishes to use this feature.

You will need to download the latest program updates for TOPS 2000™ to activate the Online AP Approval feature. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Make sure you are logged into the computer that will be performing the update. (If you are updating in a networked environment, update the server first, as a workstation, and then run the update on each workstation.)
2. If it is open, close TOPS on your computer.
3. Go online to http://www.topssoft.com/downloads.htm.
4. Under "Program Updates" click the GO button.
5. Click Open, to run the update from the current location.
6. When the TOPS Web Updater appears, click the down arrow next to 'Select Module to Check' and Choose Community Web Sites. (It is very important that you set the Module to Check to Community Web Sites. The Online AP Approval update is not included in the TOPS 2000 updater module.)
   On the bottom right, ensure that the "Workstation Only" option is selected.
7. Click the "Begin Update" button. (The system may prompt you for a User ID. If so, enter in your TOPS Customer ID)
8. Once the update is complete, close this window and re-open TOPS 2000™.
9. Enter the community for which you wish to activate Online AP Approval. (The set up must be done on a community by community basis. Remember that you MUST have a community web site for EACH community that you plan to use with this feature.)
10. Click th AP button, and the Setup tab.
11. Click the AP Online Wizard button.
12. Follow the steps in the wizard to complete the Online AP Approval activation for this community.

Additional Resources:

TOPS Online AP Approval User Manual, Focuses on Online AP Approval setup and usage within TOPS 2000™ property management software. 17 pages, 1.2mb,
Invoice Approval for Board Members, Specifically designed to inform Board Members how to use the service without including TOPS 2000 usage information. Post this to the Board Only documents on your web site, or distribute seperately to the approvers that you set up for this feature. 12 pages, 274kb,
Community Web Site User Manual, Complete user manual for TOPS Interactive Web Sites. Includes instructions for all web site features, along with the above two sections for Online AP Approval. 108 pages, 3.8mb,