The Hold File - From Initial Review to Ready for Processing

The Hold File - From Initial Review to Ready for Processing

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This article is part of the Hold File section.

Find all related articles here:

The Hold File is like a temporary holding area for all the purchase ledger invoices you've posted. These records won’t appear as charges on client accounts until they’ve been released and the Hold File has been processed.

Whenever invoices are entered via the Purchase Ledger Transactions screen or come through from Proposed Invoices, they are sent to the Hold File. This gives you the opportunity to review and approve them before they move on to the Client Charge File and are ready for invoicing.

To open the Hold File, simply click the Hold File tab on the main CPL screen.

Understanding the Hold File


In the Hold File tab you’ll see:



  1. Filter/Search Options: Use this area to narrow down the list of records by development, property manager, contractor, batch number, diarised charges ("DCs Only" box) and other criteria.

  2. Display Grid: Shows every transaction that has been posted to the Hold File.

  3. Pin Panel: Displays details of a selected item, with options to update its status. Use the Hold File Development and Hold File Contractor buttons to open the related records.
    1. If the selected Hold File record is a diarised charge, a tick will appear next to the Diarised Charge label:



  4. Action Bar: Contains icons to perform tasks such as viewing, amending, allocating, consolidating or excluding records.

Checking a Hold File Record


To check a transaction in the Hold File, use the Filter/Search area to narrow down the list of entries if needed.
  1. For example, you may want to release all records for a single development, all developments managed by one property manager or all records relating to a specific contractor).

  2. Combine multiple filters to display a more specific set of records.

Once you've found the record:
  1. Click to highlight it in the grid.

  2. When selected, a summary of the record appears in the Pin Panel on the right side of the screen:



    1. This includes key details about the transaction, such as development, contractor and status.

    2. It also gives you options for actions like Releasing, Skipping or placing the item On Hold.

If you want to view more detail:
  1. Double-click the record, or

  2. Click once to highlight it and then click the View icon in the action bar.

  3. This opens a full breakdown of the transaction.

    1. From there, you can also click the Invoice Number link to go to the PL Transaction Invoice Details screen:



    2. Here, you can view the invoice details and check whether the invoice has been suspended or completed:




    3. If there are notes on the PL invoice, the Notes checkbox will be ticked. You can view these notes or a scanned copy of the invoice (if attached) by clicking the icons below:



    4. To go straight to the PL Transaction Invoice Details screen, click the magnifying glass in the Pin Panel:



Amending a Hold File Record


If you need to make basic changes (but not the posted amount), highlight the record and click Amend in the action bar. Make your changes, then click Save and Close:


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You can’t change the amount of a transaction directly in the Hold File. To correct an amount:
  1. Create a contra-posting (an equal but opposite amount) via the PL Transactions screen.
  2. Allocate the two records off against each other in the Hold File to cancel them out.
  3. Then post the correct amount as a new transaction to the Hold File. 
For more information, see this and other articles in the Fixing Errors section.

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If a Hold File entry has been released, you’ll need to un-release it before you can amend the PL Account on it.

Releasing and Un-Releasing a Hold File Record


The diagram shows all stages of processing charges; this section focuses on the highlighted steps:
Diagram


Once you’ve confirmed the details are correct:
  1. Select the transaction in the grid.

  2. Click the Release button in the Pin Panel:


The next item in the list will automatically be selected, so you can move through and release items one by one. 

Alternatively, you can highlight a Hold File record, click Amend and tick the Release box:



To un-release, Amend it again and remove the Release tick.

Warning
Only entries with a Normal status can be released. Read more about statuses here.

In the display grid, released entries are indicated by a tick in the Released column:




 Managing Records You Are Not Ready to Release




  1. If you're not ready to release a record, click Skip in the Pin Panel to return to it later.

  2. If a record requires further investigation, click On Hold and enter a reason when prompted.
    1. This will set the record’s status to Hold. 
    2. Your note will appear in the Notes section of the Pin Panel.

  3. When you're ready to proceed, locate the record (using filters if needed), click Off Hold and enter a reason.
    1. Both notes will remain visible in the Notes section for reference.

The status will return to Normal and you can now release the record.

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After releasing the transactions, complete the process by following the steps in this article on processing the Hold File via the Global menu in the Purchase Ledger tab. This will move the records into the Charge File.

Excluding Charges Processed Through to the Charge File


If you've processed a Hold File to the Charge File but don’t want to reverse the entire batch, you can exclude charges from an individual Hold File as follows:
  1. Create a contra-posting with the same details as the original, but with opposite amounts.

  2. Process the contra entry through to the Charge File.

  3. Open the Hold File and highlight both entries.

  4. Click Exclude All Charges to prevent the charges from appearing on the client invoice:

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