Source to Pay Workflow

The Source to Pay (Procure to Pay) workflow controls corporate expenditures. It ensures every disbursement originates from an authorized requisition, undergoes competitive vendor selection, satisfies 3-way matching, and complies with Ethiopian withholding tax mandates.

End-to-End Workflow Architecture#

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                        SOURCE TO PAY WORKFLOW MAP                        |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [Phase 1: Purchase Requisition & Approval]                               |
|  - Department initiates Purchase Requisition                             |
|  - Tiered approval verifies budget line availability                     |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                    |
                                    v
| [Phase 2: Sealed Vendor Tender Portal]                                   |
|  - Tender published to external portal (smarterp_purchase_portal)        |
|  - Vendors submit sealed technical & financial bids                      |
|  - Committee executes blind composite evaluation                         |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                    |
                                    v
| [Phase 3: Purchase Order & Goods Receipt]                                |
|  - Winning supplier awarded Purchase Order                               |
|  - Warehouse logs physical Goods Receipt (stock.picking)                 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                    |
                                    v
| [Phase 4: 3-Way Match & Withholding Tax Deduction]                       |
|  - AP Accountant matches PO vs. GRN vs. Vendor Bill                      |
|  - wht_at_payment deducts 2% Goods or 30% Non-TIN Services               |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                    |
                                    v
| [Phase 5: Payment Authorization & BPV Disbursement]                      |
|  - Payment Request approved by Financial Controller & CFO                |
|  - Bank Payment Voucher (BPV) issued; bank transfer clears balance       |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Detailed Operational Steps#

Step 1: Requisition & Budget Availability Check#

1. The requesting department creates a Requisition in Approvals -> Purchase Request.
2. SmartERP verifies available funds against the department's annual budget ledger.
3. The request routes through managerial approval tiers based on expenditure value.

Step 2: Sealed Bidding via Supplier Portal#

1. For purchases exceeding the open-tender threshold (e.g., 200,000 ETB), Procurement publishes the RFP to the external Vendor Portal.
2. Suppliers submit sealed proposals. Cryptographic salting prevents bid tampering prior to the official opening deadline.
3. The Tender Evaluation Committee scores technical and commercial matrices, generating the award recommendation.

Step 3: Three-Way Matching & Bill Verification#

When the vendor delivers goods and submits an invoice, the Accounts Payable accountant opens Accounting -> Vendors -> Bills:

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         THREE-WAY MATCH CHECKLIST                        |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [x] Purchase Order (PO): Quantity and unit pricing match authorized PO    |
| [x] Goods Receipt (GRN): Physical warehouse inspection confirms receipt  |
| [x] Vendor Bill (INV): Invoiced quantities <= physically received goods  |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If price variance exceeds 2% or quantity exceeds received items, SmartERP locks the bill in Draft state with a hard validation error.

Step 4: Withholding Tax (WHT) Deduction & BPV Release#

1. Upon posting the vendor bill, the wht_at_payment module inspects statutory criteria:
   • For goods > 10,000 ETB: 2% deducted to Withholding Tax Payable (213200).
   • For services > 3,000 ETB: 2% (TIN registered) or 30% (unregistered).
2. The accountant initiates a Bank Payment Voucher (BPV) for the net payable amount.
3. Dual-executive authorization clears the payment for electronic bank remittance.