A company already uses Circula to manage expenses and travel expenses and now wants to bring its Accounts Payable Invoice process into Circula as well. This includes invoices for services, rent, external consultants, and other costs that still need to be paid by the company.

Managing these invoices involves different roles. While the Admin prepares the necessary structures and approval processes, the Accountant handles the invoices as they come in and prepares them for accounting.

The Admin creates the organizational foundation for processing Accounts Payable Invoices in Circula.

Some of the required structures may already exist. Categories, Cost Centers, and Cost Units used for “Expenses” can also be used for Accounts Payable Invoices. Depending on the company’s setup, the Admin may also need to add Suppliers, additional VAT rates, additional Categories for Accounts Payable Invoices, and the relevant approval processes.

The goal is to make sure that:

With these foundations in place, Accountants can process invoices consistently without having to resolve missing assignments or approval responsibilities along the way.

The Accountant handles the day-to-day processing of Accounts Payable Invoices.

Invoices may reach the company through different channels. Some arrive by email and are forwarded to the company-specific Circula inbox, while others need to be uploaded manually.

Once an invoice is available in Circula, the Accountant reviews the extracted invoice data, completes the required assignments, and submits the invoice for approval. After approval, the invoice can be exported to DATEV for further processing.

Without a central workflow, invoices can easily end up spread across different inboxes and storage locations. This makes it harder to keep track of their processing status and ensure that the necessary information is captured consistently.

A reliable invoice process depends on having the right master data and approval rules in place.

Without this preparation:

As the amount of master data grows, maintaining these structures manually can also become increasingly time-consuming.

Before an invoice can move into the approval process, the Accountant needs to make sure that its information is complete and correct.

This includes:

If information is missing or an invoice is rejected during approval, the Accountant needs to be able to update it and submit it for approval again.

Circula brings the different stages of Accounts Payable Invoice processing together in one central workflow—from receiving and reviewing an invoice to approval and export.

Before Accountants start processing invoices, the Admin makes sure the required structures are in place.

The aim is to create a setup that allows invoices to be assigned and routed correctly once they enter Circula.

With the approval process in place, invoices can move from processing to the appropriate Approver without requiring the Accountant to determine the approval path manually each time.

Once the setup is complete, the Accountant’s day-to-day work begins. Invoices arrive at the company through different channels and no longer need to be collected from separate inboxes or folders. Instead, they are brought together centrally in Circula.

This creates a straightforward workflow: an invoice arrives, becomes visible in Circula, is controlled and completed where necessary, and then moves on to approval.

The first step is to collect Accounts Payable Invoices in the system. Some invoices arrive by email and are forwarded to the company-specific Circula inbox, while others can be uploaded manually, for example when they are available as PDF files. This creates a central inbox where new invoices come together.

Once an invoice appears in Circula, the Accountant reviews it. Circula has already extracted relevant information from the document, such as the invoice number, amount, and dates. The Accountant checks this information against the original invoice and corrects or completes it where necessary.

The next step is to assign the invoice correctly. This includes selecting the relevant Supplier and Category and adding any additional assignments where needed.

Some invoices may contain several services or different types of costs. In these cases, the Accountant can split the invoice into individual items so that each item can be assigned appropriately. This keeps the accounting structure clear even when an invoice covers multiple types of costs.

Before the invoice is exported to DATEV, the Accountant can indicate whether it has already been paid or is still awaiting payment. This helps maintain a clear overview of outstanding and completed payments.

Once all information is complete and correct, the Accountant submits the invoice for approval. From this point, the configured approval process determines who needs to review the invoice, and the invoice waits for a decision from the responsible Supervisor.

If the invoice is rejected, the Accountant can make the necessary changes and submit it for approval again.

Once the invoice has been approved, it is ready for further processing by accounting. Approved invoices can be exported collectively and transferred to DATEV, where they can continue through the accounting process.

This gives the Accountant a clear end-to-end workflow: invoices are received, controlled, completed, approved, and forwarded for accounting—all within a structured process in Circula.

Collaboration between the Admin and Accountant creates a clearly structured process:

In this way, Circula brings administrative setup and operational Accounts Payable Invoice processing together in a single workflow, creating greater transparency from the moment an invoice is received through to its handover to DATEV.