Overview
A new routine has been added to VMC that allows users to control when PG&E can start reviewing and approving invoices. When a tree is completed in VMC, an invoice is created or modified. The invoice number is based on the week-ending date the tree was worked. The status of that invoice will be set to “In Progress”, indicating the invoice is under vendor control and not ready to be reviewed by PGE. Once a user has finished entering completion data for a specific week ending date, they can then mark that invoice as ready to be reviewed using this new routine.
The Work Request header section of VMC is used to display a list of all week ending dates that have been invoiced, along with their current status. Once an invoice is marked as submitted, the checkbox will be checked, and all trees on that invoice can no longer be edited by user. Locked trees are indicated by an orange row on the work request grid. Once user has submitted the invoice, they have a brief period of time (currently 24 hours) where they are allowed to unsubmit the invoice, which will allow them to make additional changes to trees that are on an invoice for the week ending date they unsubmitted.
If an invoice is reviewed by PGE prior to the end of the 24hr grace period, you can no longer unsubmit the invoice.
The status of the invoices (by week ending date) will be updated on the work request header as they change. If an invoice is Returned to Vendor, or Paid, then user will be allowed to un-submit the invoice for additional changes. The process for submitting and unsubmitting invoices is described below.
Work Request Header Pane
The Work Request Header Pane has been modified to show the Invoice Submission Status. The user will click Submit Invoices… button to launch the VMC Invoice Submission Dialog.
VMC Invoice Submission Dialog Interface
After clicking “Submit Invoices…” button on the work request header pane, the following dialog is displayed. On the dialog, submitted invoices will be indicated both by being checked and by having the check box grid cell shaded light blue. The user must place the dialog into EDIT mode to make changes.
BROWSE Mode
In Browse mode the following features will be available:
· Edit Button: The user can enter Edit Mode
· Close Button: Closes the dialog and returns to work request form, same as clicking the X.
Filtering the data grid is supported in both BROWSE and EDIT modes. When items are hidden due to being filtered the filtered count will appear next to the invoice count.
EDIT Mode
When user clicks the EDIT button they are placed in EDIT mode. Any checked invoice that is greyed out cannot be unsubmitted by the user. This would include all invoices that are beyond the grace period after initial submission, and all invoices under review by PGE. Invoices that are in RTV status, or have been paid, will not be greyed out and can be unsubmitted to allow additional edits to the work request.
In Edit mode, check all invoices you wish to submit (or uncheck ones you want to unsubmit), then click the Save button to save your changes. Once saved you are returned to Browse mode where you can review your changes, or just click Close button to return to work request.
In Edit mode the following features will be available:
· Select All Check Box: The user can check this box to select all eligible invoices. They can uncheck the select all box in order to uncheck all eligible invoices.
· Changes to Apply count: This is the number of invoices that will have their submission state changed by the save.
· Visual cue of changed invoices: Invoices that have had their submission state changed by the user as part of this edit session will be styled differently so the user can scroll through the list and easily see which invoices they toggled. The rows will also be styled with a gold background.
· Individual checkboxes editability: Individual checkboxes can be selected if that invoice is eligible for submission state changes.
· X (Windows button): If there are unsaved changes the user will be asked if they want to close and lose all their changes.
Unsubmit Invoice Grace Period and Enforcement Start Date
Once a user has submitted an invoice for review they have the option of unsubmitting it in order to make changes if PG&E has not begun the review process yet. In addition, once an invoice has been submitted for longer than the unsubmit grace period it can no longer be unsubmitted.
Reason Why Tool Tip
If an invoice is not available for submission state changes, then the user can hover over the checkbox in the dialog and a tool tip will appear indicating why the item cannot be modified.
A tool tip is also displayed on the VMC Edit Form Header pane checkbox when the invoice is locked from editing.
Completed Trees requiring additional documentation
When a tree is completed using values different than what was originally prescribed, additional documentation is required for the invoice those trees were worked on. When this occurs the invoice will be highlighted in pink in the work request header.
The Submit Invoices dialog will also highlight the invoices in pink, and will have a check mark on the Auth Req'd checkbox, indicating that such documentation is required. When you try to submit one of these invoices, you are given a reminder to submit the proper documentation.
Synchronization of Affected Invoices between Edit Form and Report
When a change is made to an invoice’s submission state via the VMC Invoice Summary Report then, after saving changes to the server, those changes will be synchronized with any items in the VMC Edit Form (if open) that were affected.
Because it is important that the user does not accidentally work with stale data in the VMC Edit Form, the VMC Invoice Submission dialog cannot be launched from either the VMC Edit Form nor the VMC Invoice Summary Report if the edit form is in EDIT mode. (On the VMC Edit Form the Submit Invoices… button is hidden while in EDIT mode.)
