Introduction

You can attach scanned invoices, letters, or any other supporting documents to an invoice in Payment Services. The scanned documents will then be associated with the invoice for approvers, auditors, or managers to view online.

Valid scanned file types include .pdf, .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png, .tif, and .tiff. (The file extension .jpeg will not work.) The maximum size of file that can be attached is 8MB. Once uploaded, you cannot edit or delete attachments – contact the servicedesk@sco.idaho.gov for assistance.

Scanned documents can be attached to the invoice any point in the invoice payment process. Thus, approvers, fiscal coders, or other higher level users can attach documents as the documents become available.

Records Retention

Your agency may need to develop document retention rules. Refer to the Idaho State Historical State Records Center web site for record retention information.

Attach a Single Document

Since you add an attachment to a saved invoice, you must open an invoice in the Status, Distribute, Approval, or Multi Proc screen, and then click the Attachments tab.

1. Click the Attachments tab by one of the following methods:

• Immediately after saving the invoice on the Invoice screen, click the Attachments tab. (The invoice does not need to be authorized.)
• If you are working on an invoice in any another screen, click the Attachments tab.
• Select the invoice from the Status screen, and then click the Attachments tab.

2. Click Browse to locate the scanned document file. Valid file types include .pdf, .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png, .tif, and .tiff.  When a file is uploaded, Payment Services will automatically convert it to a PDF file.

Figure 1 - Browse for scanned document

3. Highlight the scanned document file and click Open. The directory path of the document will appear in the Browse Files field.

Figure 2 – Directory path to document

4. Click Add File. The document will be added to a queue. The filename (without the extension) of the scanned document will be entered automatically in the Attachment Title field.

Figure 3 - Document added

5. If desired, change the Attachment Title to something more suitable for the document. Do not use special characters or symbols, including &,',“,<,and \. Otherwise, leave the default title based on the file name.

6. For only one document, leave Create Single Attachment checked. If you have changed the Attachment Title, this will apply the change when the document is uploaded.

7. Click Create Attachment(s). The document will appear in the Attachments area. Once attached, the scanned documents are automatically saved. Once uploaded, you cannot delete attachments.

Figure 4 - Attached document

8. If desired, click View to open and verify the document.

Attach Multiple Documents

You can add multiple scanned documents in a queue, and then attach them as one document. To add multiple documents, each with unique Document Titles, add and create the attachments one at a time as previously described.

1. Add a document as described above, then repeat the steps to add a second document to the queue. Note the Attachment Title keeps the name from the first document added. You can change this title.

2. Continue adding documents as needed.

Figure 5 - Adding multiple documents

3. The Create Single Attachment check box will affect the Attachment Title of the attached documents:

• If you check the Create Single Attachment check box and click Create Attachment(s), all of the documents will upload with the same Attachment Title based on the filename of the first document added or a title you enter.

Figure 6 - Same document title

• If you uncheck the Create Single Attachment check box and click Create Attachment(s), the documents will have different Attachment Titles based on their filenames.

Figure 7 - Different document titles

• Once attached, the scanned documents cannot be deleted by the user.

Attach Documents to Processed Invoices that Have Been Sent to STARS

1. If not on the Invoice screen, click the Invoice tab.

2. Click the asterisk next to Invoice # or place the cursor in the Invoice # field and press F3.

3. Enter any combination of search criteria – vendor name, business name, city, invoice number, etc. in the dialog box. The Status you should use is Sent to STARS. You can enter just the first part of your search criteria, e.g., a vendor name or invoice number.

4. Click Find.

• Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the search results to view all of the column headers (e.g., Address, Status, etc). The Status you should use is Sent to STARS.
• Click the column headers of the search results to sort the list, if needed.

5. Click Select next to the desired invoice number to open it.

6. Click the Attachments tab.

7. Add the attachment files as described above for either single or multiple documents depending on what you need.

View Attached Documents

To view an attached document from the Approval screen, click the Attachments tab,  and then click View next to the attachments. A separate browser window will open to view the attachment. 

You can view attached documents from either the Status screen, the Multi Proc screen, or the Processed Invoice screen. An icon under the Atch column identifies the invoices with attachments. If none of the invoices has attachments, the Atch column will not be displayed.

To view attachments from the Status or Multi Proc screen:

1. Click the Atch icon next to the invoice.

Figure 8 – Status Attachment icon

Figure 9 - Multi Proc Attachment icon

2. The Attachments screen will open. Click View next to the attachment you want to view. (The viewed attachment can be printed.) An attached document will open as a PDF document.

Figure 10 - View attachments

Errors when adding a file

If you receive a message, “Page cannot be displayed”, “Cannot access a closed file”, “Server error”, or “Maximum Request Length Exceeded”, your scanned document file size may be too large. The maximum size of file you can attach is 8MB. Use your scanner/scanning software to reduce the file size or check your scan settings for resolution and file format. Scan pages of multi-page document individually or in groups. If you still get an error message after reducing the file size, trying rebooting your computer to clear any cached memory and then try again.

Scanner settings

Several factors may be considered when scanning documents, – e.g., the type of scanner or multi-function machine you use and its settings, hard disk storage capacity, and the type of originals being scanned (size and color of paper, size and color of print, etc.). Each agency will need to develop their own best practices appropriate for their environment. Two settings often found on scanners and multi-function machines are:

• Resolution: Generally, scanners will offer a scanning resolution setting expressed in “dpi” or dots per inch. The lower the setting the smaller the file size, but the worse quality of image produced. With most documents, a setting of 150dpi seems to work well. 
• File formats: You particular scanner or and multi-function machines may be capable of producing a variety of file formats (e.g., .pdf, .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png, .tif, .tiff ).

You should test your own equipment to see which resolution and file format settings create the smallest file size with acceptable visual quality.

Document Retention

Your agency may need to develop document retention rules to determine if copies will be kept by your agency as well and for how long. Refer to the Idaho State Historical State Records Center web site for record retention information.