Raise and pay a payment voucher

When a finance request (a cash advance, a refund, an allowance claim …) has been fully approved and authorised, Finance raises a payment voucher against it, the voucher is confirmed, and the money is paid out. This page walks through each step.

How a payment moves

1. The request is approved. The staff member’s request goes through its own approval chain first (for finance requests: CMD, DFA, the processing unit, Checking, Audit and finally the CMD’s payment authorisation). See Approve, return or reject.
2. It waits in the Accounts Queue. Request templates marked Payment follows approval land here once approved. The request shows Approved — awaiting voucher.
3. Finance raises the voucher. A finance officer opens the request and selects Raise voucher. The voucher is numbered (for example PV/2026/00012) and goes to its approver.
4. The voucher is confirmed. For most vouchers the head of 024 Central Payments confirms it; refund vouchers are confirmed by the head of 026 Billing & Refunds. The voucher is then Authorized — awaiting disbursement.
5. Finance pays it. A finance officer selects Mark as Paid. The voucher and the request both show Disbursed, the payer account is debited and the requester is notified.

1. Find the request in the Accounts Queue

Select Accounts Queue in the Finance part of the menu. It lists every approved request that is still owed a voucher. A request leaves the queue as soon as a voucher is raised against it (unless that voucher is later rejected or voided).

1. Accounts Queue in the menu.
2. The queue. The same list as Requests, showing only requests that are owed a voucher. Use search, type and date filters to narrow it.
3. A request owed a voucher. Its status is Approved and its payment state is Approved — awaiting voucher. Select it to open it.

2. Raise the voucher

1. Open the request. Read the decisions and comments on it, especially the amount the CMD approved.
2. Select Raise voucher. It is in the Payment panel beside the request.

1. Payment state. Where the money stands for this request.
2. Raise voucher. Opens a new voucher already linked to this request.

The Create Payment page opens with the voucher type and the request filled in. Further down, under Line Items, the request’s lines are copied in (Lines copied from …), with the approvers’ comments listed so you can see any change to the amount.

1. Payment type. The kind of voucher, chosen by the request template (here Disbursement Voucher). It decides the voucher’s number, its printed layout and who confirms it.
2. This payment goes through approval. A reminder that the voucher can only be paid after its approvers confirm it.
3. Voucher fields. The type’s own questions, such as Purpose of payment (required), Details, Budget line / sub-head and Invoice / claim number.

3. Fill in the voucher fields. At least Purpose of payment. An Imprest Voucher also asks Retire by; a Refund Voucher asks for the Original receipt number.
4. Choose the Payer Account. The hospital account the money comes from. Its balance is shown underneath.
5. Check the payee and method. Payee full name, Payee phone and Payment Method (bank transfer by default).
6. Adjust the lines to the approved amount. If the CMD approved less than was asked for, change the line items so the total matches what was approved.
7. Optionally, select Preview the voucher to see the printed voucher with sample figures.
8. Select Create Payment. The voucher gets its number and goes to its approver.

1. Source Type. Approved request for a voucher raised from the queue.
2. Request Form. The request the voucher pays. Only approved requests still owed a voucher can be chosen.
3. Payer Account. Required. See Accounts.
4. Payment basics. Currency, method, payee and dates.
5. Line Items. What is being paid. The totals update as you change them.

3. Confirm the voucher (024 or 026 head)

The approver gets a notification and finds the voucher under Action required on My Desk.

1. Open the voucher. The Approval chain card shows each step; the printed voucher is shown below it.
2. Check it against the request. Amount, payee, budget line and the authorisation on the request.
3. Add a comment and select Approve, or Reject with a reason. You need a signature on your profile to approve; see Your profile & settings.

Once approved the voucher’s status becomes scheduled, which the hospital reads as Authorized — awaiting disbursement. A rejected voucher puts the request back in the Accounts Queue so a corrected one can be raised.

4. Mark the voucher as paid

1. Open the voucher from Payment Vouchers. Filter by status scheduled to see the ones ready to pay.
2. Make the payment through the bank or cash office as usual.
3. Select Mark as Paid at the top of the voucher. The button only appears once the voucher is approved and has a payer account.

The suite then:

• sets the voucher to paid (shown to the hospital as Disbursed);
• takes the amount off the payer account and records it in the account’s transactions;
• shows Disbursed on the request and notifies the requester;
• tells the offices listed on the voucher type (Audit, for post-audit).

A payment that does not come from a request

For payments that no request covers (for example statutory remittances), select New Payment on Payment Vouchers and choose the Standard Payment Voucher type. Add the lines yourself. It goes through the full finance route: the head of department recommends, the Director of Finance & Accounts approves and the CMD gives final approval. Contract Payment Voucher works the same way against a request or a project, and asks for the contract reference and the work certified.

What the requester sees

On their request, the Payment panel moves through: Payment follows approval → Approved — awaiting voucher → Voucher in review → Authorized — awaiting disbursement → Disbursed. They can see the voucher number, amount and status, but cannot open the voucher itself.

Related

• Payments & payment types reference
• Payment types (setting up voucher types)
• Requests
• Guide for Finance & Accounts