What is PAY?
rCash PAY is a combined service and technology solution that simplifies the process of receiving, entering, and approving paper and electronic invoices. It consists of a processing center that receives, scans, and converts paper invoices into electronic ones, and an Internet application that enables you to quickly and easily view, code, and approve these invoices online using a standard web browser. PAY then completes the invoice processing cycle when it synchronizes your detailed invoice data with your company's accounting systems.

Which vendors are compatible with PAY?
PAY works with any invoice from any vendor. There is no change in the behavior of your vendors -- all they need to do is send their invoices to a new address that you provide.

How does PAY handle my company's paper invoices?
After receiving your company's paper invoices, the rCash Invoice Processing Center (IPC) immediately scans them using best-of-breed hardware, imaging software, and intelligent character recognition systems to identify and convert your invoices into electronic images and electronic data files. Next, PAY's powerful workflow technology automates the routing of these images and electronic invoices to particular users based upon specific approval criteria set by your company. Anybody who is involved in your company's invoice approval process has instant and easy access through the Internet to view and approve invoices.

Can we convert our own invoices?
Yes. Companies that have already made investments in document management systems can leverage those platforms to capture invoice data and images, while still taking advantage of the workflow capabilities of PAY software.

When does PAY scan and process my company's invoices?
Invoices are typically processed within 24 hours after they are received. Invoices are available for review immediately after they are processed.

How does PAY work with my company's accounting system?
PAY automatically synchronizes data with your company's accounting systems throughout the approval process. Building, vendor, and chart of account data is retrieved from these systems enabling your staff to code invoices to the proper vendor, building, and expense accounts. PAY then posts detailed invoice and line-item data into your AP systems at the point in the approval process that you specify. Once the invoices have been paid, accounting details are then synchronized with the invoice records in PAY so that users can go to PAY for all information regarding an invoice, past or present.

Can PAY work with multiple accounting systems at the same time?
Yes. PAY can be integrated with multiple accounting systems simultaneously. PAY delivers a single, consistent process for the entire accounts payable function across the enterprise. You can view and approve accounts payable activity across all of your company's systems using one interface.

Does PAY support chart of accounts at the project or system level?
Both. PAY has been designed to support the variations in chart of account (COA) structures found across accounts payable systems. Depending upon the project that is selected for coding, the PAY application will intelligently determine which COA to use.

How many sub-accounts does PAY support?
PAY supports up to three sub-accounts for each master account. PAY also synchronizes validation tables with your AP system so that users can only code to sub-accounts that are valid for master accounts.

Which accounts payable software systems is PAY compatible with?
PAY can be integrated with any accounts payable system. The rCash Integration Toolkit details the XML and CSV specifications designed to help you extend the PAY application to your various accounting systems such as Yardi, CTI, MRI, JD Edwards, RealPage, B. J. Murray, AMSI, and others.

How often is my company's accounts payable system updated?
The accounts payable system is updated according to a schedule that you create. Updates can occur once a day, every hour, or on demand - whenever you choose.

Are any changes to my company's existing accounts payables processes necessary?
Yes. You can continue to review, authorize, and pay your invoices the way you have in the past - except now, without the paper. PAY is flexible enough to adapt to almost any invoice approval workflow. By centralizing and automating the accounts payable entry process, PAY removes the burden of receiving and entering the piles of invoices your back office receives month after month. PAY leverages the ease-of-access that the internet provides to extend the invoice review and approval process to your property managers without the hassles and delays of transporting paper invoices from location to location.

Do all of my company's invoices have to be sent to PAY?
No. You decide which invoices are processed by PAY. However, your best gains in operating efficiency will be realized when PAY serves as your single-process for all AP transactions.

How do I instruct my vendors to send the invoices to PAY?
Once your vendors have been setup in your AP system, you will then 'register' them in PAY. During the process of registering a vendor, PAY issues a unique billbox number for each project and generates a letter that you can use to notify the vendor of the new address to which they must now send your company's invoices. For bulk registration, PAY can output registration data for mail-merge into customizable template letters provided by PAY. Invoices from vendors which you are not processing through PAY will continue to arrive at your existing business address.

What is a 'billbox' number?
A billbox is a unique number that PAY assigns to each vendor for each project (or property). The vendor then includes this number in the mailing address when they mail your company's invoices to the PAY processing center. PAY uses this number to route invoices to the appropriate users in the approval process. An example of a billbox number is: 01-12-19494 . The first two digits represent the AP system that the invoice is likely to post to (invoices can also be split across systems). The second set of digits indicates the vendor code. The third set of digits indicates the building.

What if something other than an invoice is sent to the PAY processing center?
PAY scans every document that is received in your billbox, including statements and correspondence. You can use PAY to view and classify these documents.

What happens to the actual paper invoices after they have been scanned?
Original documents can either be returned on a predetermined basis - usually weekly - to an address that you specify, or PAY will store them for a short period before they are securely destroyed.

How long are the invoice images and associated data available online?
The average time is 18 months. Your product specialist will help you to determine how long your invoice images need to be available online in PAY. At the end of this predetermined period, PAY can extend online storage for an additional fee or you can use the Archiving Toolkit to download your data and images to an off-line system.

Which file format is used to store images of the invoice?
All invoice images are stored in bi-tonal (black and white) TIFF file format which is the global standard for image processing applications. PAY automatically converts invoices images to the Internet-standard JPEG format when displaying them in your web browser. In addition, you can display invoice data and images in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) file format on demand. Both the JPEG and PDF files can be printed, e-mailed, and saved to your local computer.

Is PAY able to handle electronic invoices?
While most vendors are not able to submit their invoices electronically, the PAY team is working with representative customers to encourage the issuance of invoices in an electronic format. Vendors with the ability to issue electronic invoice files will simply submit their invoices to PAY electronically. PAY will automatically convert these data files into a standardized format that can be read by your company's accounts payable system. These invoices will then flow through the same online approval process as your paper invoices.

Can I print a copy of an invoice?
Yes. Printing a copy of an invoice is as easy as clicking the Print icon.

What are the computer requirements for using PAY?
Your computer must have the latest version of Internet Explorer and a dedicated Internet connection. Due to its comprehensive imaging capabilities, the minimum screen resolution required for PAY is 800 x 600 pixels while 1024 x 768 is recommended. Please ask your product specialist for a copy of the Technology Prerequisites document for further details and for the latest requirements.

How do I pay my company's vendors?
You will continue to pay your company's vendors the way that you do today. As invoices are paid, PAY automatically updates each invoice record with payment details. PAY will soon offer a feature that will enable you to pay your company's vendors electronically.

Is PAY secure?
PAY was developed with a sophisticated security administration system that enables you to control who has access to what information. For example, you can set access privileges so that each property manager can only view and approve invoices specific to the individual properties that they manage.