Multi-Company A/P is an add-on feature to the Accounts Payable Module. It allows you to enter an invoice into one (parent) company but code the entries (expenses) into multiple companies. Companies can either be Cash, Accrual, or a mix of each. See the summaries below for each option for information on how entries will be booked.

When using Multi-Company A/P with Pak Accounting's Scanning feature, the images scanned at the time of invoice entry will also be sent to the subsidiary company for viewing. Multi-Company can also be used in Standard Entries.

There are three different ways of using Multi-Company A/P:

(Option #1 - No) The entire invoice is paid by one company (uses an inter-company account to record due to/from both the paying and the expensing set of books).

• Invoices are entered into the company that will write the check and the user codes, and the invoices are broken down into the appropriate company, account, and cost center combination.
• The system automatically uses an inter-company account (with a separate Sub-Account for each company) to offset the recorded expenses in the other set of books. Still, the entire invoice stays intact in the accounts payable to the company into which it is entered.
• Checks are written from A/P as normal, and there is no concern about which company(s) the invoices were coded to.
• Sharing images across companies.
• Able to code deck in non-primary company.
• If cash, accrual, or a mix of both: The invoice portion will be dated according to the company in which it's entered. The due to/from account will have the same date as the invoice regardless of whether the company it's going into is Cash or Accrual.

(Option #2—Yes) The invoice is split and paid by the company(s) expensing it (Split Invoice).

• All Invoices (regardless of the company that is to pay them) can be entered into one company.
• When the entered invoices are updated, the system will automatically send the invoices as a whole or split the invoices into as many pieces as needed to correspond with which company(s) the invoice was coded to.
• Checks are written out of each company.
• Multiple company check writing and a Due date list are available to facilitate printing checks from two to hundreds of companies with one touch of the button (the magic of the system's MICR encoding).
• Sharing images across companies.
• Able to code deck in non-primary company.
• If Cash, Accrual, or a mix of both: The invoice date will depend on the company it's going to. For example, if it's going into a cash-basis company, the date will be 12/31/9999. It will be the invoice date if it's going into an Accrual company, it will be the invoice date.

(Option #3 - First Coded Company) First Coded Company Option. The invoice is coded to the company to which the first expense is coded to.

• All invoices (regardless of the company that is to pay them) can be entered into one company.
• When entered, the First Coded Expense is the company to which the Invoice will be posted to.
• One check, Written out of First company of first code expense.
• Sharing images across companies.
• Able to code deck in non-primary company.
• If Cash, Accrual, or a mix of both: For this option, all companies must be the same, either on a Cash or Accrual basis. If they are a mix, an error will appear upon posting, stating that this action cannot be completed.

NOTE: The advantage of using the First Coded Company Option is that A/P Approvals can also be handled A/P Routing Approval also can be taken care of through one company.

Accounts Payable duplicate checking will still work with Multi-Company A/P enabled. If you want to enable duplicate checking across multiple companies, you must enable this feature in A/P Company Maintenance > Multi-Co Options. This option can be enabled via a switch in A/P Company Maintenance.

BONUS FEATURE: When the Multi-Company option is turned on, the multiple-company coding option becomes available in Standard Entries!

Multi-Company A/P (Option #1 – Entire Invoice Paid by one Company):

Setup:

1. ALL companies (Parent and subs) must have the same setup for:
   • Inter-company account (2105 in our example).
   • Sub-Table for inter-company (65 A/P inter-company in our example).
   • Chart of Accounts, Vendor Sub-Table, and Sub-Account maintenance.
2. Set up Sub-Accounts (using the inter-company Sub-Table) for each company (parent and subs). Use the 5-digit company code for the Sub-Account.
3. In Company Master Maintenance, under the A/P Entry > Multi-Co Options Tab, enter the Inter-company account and Sub-Table for inter-company. 
   For this option of Multi co A/P, the Split Invoice by Amount is set to NO.

NOTE: The company from which the A/P invoices are keyed into must have A/P set up on an Accrual basis, and all of the G/L entries will be created on an Accrual basis (i.e., recorded into the G/L based on the entry's effective date). (Company books can still be maintained on a cash basis by knowing when an invoice is going to be paid and recording the invoice with an effective date of the payment date.)

USE:

Once you have Multi-Company A/P setup…

1. Enter invoices into the parent company using the Enter Invoices to Pay screen.
   A new option will be available on this screen for you to select the company to record the entry.
2. Update/Post invoices.
   
   NOTE: If you un-update the invoice, the system will un-update the parent company's portion of the invoice to the expense account, BUT NOT the sub-company's portion of the invoice to the inter-company account. To make changes to the sub-company's invoice, you must unpost the entries in General Ledger > Manual Entries > Unpost Entries in the sub-company, not the parent company. If you make changes to the amount, make sure you create corresponding entries in the parent company's inter-company account.
   TIP: If the entry you want to un-update involves a large amount of subsidiary companies, it would be more effective to enter a credit invoice reversing the invoice out. This will save you from having to un-update the invoice in each subsidiary company.
3. Print checks using normal A/P check writing.
4. Generate Reconcile Interco Account report to help you reconcile your inter-company accounts (account #2105) if they get out of balance.
   

Split Invoice A/P (Option #2)

SETUP:

1. ALL companies (Parent and subs), must have the same setup for:
   • Inter-company account (2105 in our example).
   • Sub-Table for inter-company (65 <A/P inter-company> in our example).
   • Vendor Sub-Table and setup in Sub-Account maintenance.
2. Set up Sub-Accounts (using the inter-company Sub-Table) for each company (parent and subs). Use the 5-digit company code for the Sub-Account.
3. In Company Master Maintenance > A/P Entry > Multi-Co Options Tab, enter the Intercompany account and Sub-Table for intercompany. For this option of Multi-Co A/P, the Split Invoice by company is set to YES.
   NOTE: The company from which the A/P invoices are keyed into must have A/P set up on an Accrual basis, and all of the G/L entries will be created on an "Accrual basis" (i.e., recorded into the G/L based on the entry's effective date). (Company books can still be maintained on a cash basis by knowing when an invoice is going to be paid and recording the invoice with an effective date of the payment date.)

USE:

Once you have Multi-Company A/P setup…

1. Enter invoices into the parent company using the Enter Invoices to Pay Screen in Accounts Payable. A new option will be available on this screen for you to select the company to record the entry.
2. Update/Post invoices.
   NOTE: If you un-update the invoice, the system will only un-update the parent company's portion of the invoice. To make changes to the sub-company's invoice, you must unpost the entry in General Ledger > Manual Entries > Unpost Entries in the sub-company, not the parent company. If you make changes to the amount, make sure you create corresponding entries in the parent company's inter-company account.
   TECH TIP: If the entry you want to unupdate involves a large amount of subsidiary companies, it would be more effective to enter a credit invoice reversing the invoice out. This will save you from having to unupdate the invoice in each of the subsidiary companies.
3. Writing check procedures
   • Instead of writing checks using Pay AP, use the Multi-Company check writing option. (NOTE: This menu item is only available if you use the Yes option for Split invoice in company maintenance.)
   • Print the Open Item report (under Multi-Company) to view open item invoices that will be paid. Select the companies to print.
     NOTE: The open item list will print one company at a time.
   • The Check writing screen for Multi-Company (similar to the Open Item report screen. Allows you to select the company's checks to write, which checks to write (by the due date, all invoices, or marked invoices (invoices are marked in the individual companies), and enter the check date to print on the checks.
     NOTE: The checks will be printed one company at time.
     

First Coded Company Option (Option #3)

SETUP:

1. ALL companies (Parent and subs), must have the same setup for:
   • Inter-company account (2105 in our example).
   • Sub-Table for inter-company (65 <A/P inter-company> in our example).
   • Vendor Sub-Table and setup in Sub-Account maintenance.
2. Set up Sub-Accounts (using the inter-company Sub-Table) for each company (parent and subs). Use the 5-digit company code for the Sub-Account.
3. In Company Master maintenance, under A/P Entry > Multi-Co Options Tab, enter the Inter-company account and Sub-Table for inter-company. For this option of Multi-Co A/P, the Split Invoice by company is set to First Coded Company.
   The reason behind using the First Coded Company option is it allows you to stay in one company code to create all A/P Invoices for as many different company codes as you have set, ultimately saving you time from having to change company codes just to create invoices, have them recorded and paid out of the company code that is listed on the first line item of the coding part of the invoice. So, whether you use a single invoice or a split invoice, it will always look at the first line of coding to determine which company code is receiving and paying the invoice.
   NOTE: When using First Coded, Intercompany Duplicates needs to be enabled.

USE:

Once you have Multi-Company A/P setup…

1. Enter invoices into the parent company using the Enter Invoices to Pay Screen in Accounts Payable. A new option will be available on this screen for you to select the company to record the entry.
2. Update/Post invoices.
   NOTE: If you un-update the invoice, the system will only un-update the parent company's portion of the invoice. To make changes to the sub-company's invoice, you must unpost the entry in General Ledger > Manual Entries > Unpost Entries in the sub-company, not the parent company. If you make changes to the amount, make sure you create corresponding entries in the parent company's inter-company account.
   TECH TIP: If the entry you want to unupdate involves a large amount of subsidiary companies, it would be more effective to enter a credit invoice reversing the invoice out. This will save you from having to unupdate the invoice in each of the subsidiary companies.
3. Writing check procedures
   Use the Multi-Company check writing option. (NOTE: This menu item is only available if you use the Yes option for Split invoice or the First Coded Company in company maintenance.)
   Print the Open Item report (under Multi-company) to view open item invoices that will be paid. Select the companies to print.
   NOTE: The open item list will print one company at a time. Therefore, after you are done Viewing/Printing the Open Item Report for one company, close the report by using the Red Door, and the system will generate the Open Item Report for the next company that you have selected to see.
   
   The Check writing screen for Multi-Company (similar to the open item report screen) allows you to select the companies checks to write, which checks to write (by the due date, all invoices, or marked invoices are marked in the individual companies), and enter the check date to print on the checks.
   NOTE: The checks will print one company at a time consecutively, so you don't have to log off and log on repeatedly.

Multi Company A/P and General Ledger Standard Entries

• An added bonus feature to Multi-Company A/P allows users to enter in Standard Entries.
• Standard A/P entries are similar to the A/P invoice entry screen. On the expense side of the entry, select the company to which you want to post the invoice.
• (To access the Standard Entries screen, first go to General Ledger > expand Automatic Entries > select Standard Entries)
• Standard Entries – G/L Entry Option also features the ability to handle Multi-Company GL entries!

Multi-Company A/P Invoice Duplicate Checking

Just like your standard A/P duplicate invoice checking, Multi-Company A/P Invoice Duplicate Checking will check across all Multi-Company invoices for duplicates. It will display which company it finds a duplicate invoice in. The criteria for which the duplicate is validating are the invoice number, date, and optional amount. See Multi-Company A/P Invoice Duplicate Checking.