[Wactclc-alma] Using Acquisitions?

Thu Jun 20 12:00:11 PDT 2019

I think Paula Laine, Bellevue, offers the best tip for making invoices easier to balance.

  1.  Remove any previously configured VAT amounts and percentages from your vendor records, so nothing is calculated automatically.
  2.  Under Alma Config / Acquisitions / Invoice line types, rename the description for the INSURANCE line type to Taxes, and enable it.
  3.  On your invoices, simple use that invoice line type to manually add the tax to your invoice, based on the actual amount on the invoice.

This 'lifehack' will allow you to more easily get your Alma invoices to match exactly the actual billed amounts.

As far as future integration with ctcLink, a lot will depend on the amount of work your local ctcLink team is willing to put in.

Alma can deliver invoice information electronically, in XML format, after which it considers those invoices paid.

It will be up to the ctcLink team to customize the ability of ctcLink to interpret that XML, process the information, and pay the noted amounts to the noted vendors using the funds identified. This means, at minimum,

1) coordination of fund codes and vendor identities between Alma and your ctcLink data

2) Good match between Alma and ctcLink regarding the fund's budgeted amount and FY

3) a willingness of your financial team to pay invoices based on electronic information (rather than paper trail, which could be filed, but wouldn't necessarily be available with the electronic invoice in real time), and

4) accurate "first time" billing from your vendors, so that you aren't having to make adjustments to invoices after the fact, which would become more difficult in an electronically invoiced workflow, where Alma is going to consider electronic invoices closed once they are transferred to ctcLink.

There is not central ctcLink or CTC team that is going to do this integration on behalf of institutions. I'm sure individual institutions would be willing to share their code bases. But I don't have enough visibility into ctcLink or institutional organizational structures outside of the library to know whether or at how many places this kind of thing would be a viable project to pursue.

Those of you interested in this level of campus integration will have to take the lead on the conversation at your campus, through your ctcLink teams. I can support the workflow and the technical aspects of integration, from the Alma side. But I don't have the reach or authority to call up VPs of Finance at campuses and start giving them directives. The library will first need to make the case to the campus ctcLink team that the benefits of this kind of integration will be worth the effort. (Other, analogous integrations with other 3rd party campus systems, like emergency alert systems, student warning systems, are probably already being debated in the same way.)

Wade Guidry
Library Consortium Services Manager, WACTCLC
wadeg at bigbend.edu<mailto:wadeg at bigbend.edu>
(509) 760-4474
http://www.wactclc.org

From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Cara Beth Stevenson
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2019 10:08 AM
To: 'WACTCLC Alma Discussion' <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Wactclc-alma] Using Acquisitions?

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Grays Harbor has Acquisitions set up only for serials receiving, as we had done previously in Voyager.

Last summer I tried to set up physical monographic orders. But couldn't get the invoices to balance.  :(
I had to delete the POLs that were never completed because they were causing issues for Circ staff.
This past year, I've heard more about how to set up vendors & invoices to get consistent balances, and I'm going to try again this summer and fall.

I'm curious about how Alma acquisitions will link up with CTCLink.

Cara Beth Stevenson
Grays Harbor College
1620 Edward P. Smith Drive
Aberdeen, WA 98520
360-538-4057
cara.stevenson at ghc.edu<mailto:cara.stevenson at ghc.edu>

From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Thomas, Kirsti
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2019 9:39 AM
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Wactclc-alma] Using Acquisitions?

We're using it at all the Seattle Colleges.  We've added things in stages.  We started using Alma acquisitions immediately for monographic physical orders.  Last summer, we added in e-resource subscriptions (This is the especially challenging piece for us, given all the different people and budgets involved).  Currently, we're working on getting all our print serial subscriptions into Alma before the end of the fiscal year.

It will be ok!

Kirsti S. Thomas
Library Technical Services Manager
Seattle Colleges
kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu<mailto:kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu>
206-934-4106

From: Wactclc-alma [mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Traci Taylor
Sent: Thursday, 20 June, 2019 09:25
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: [Wactclc-alma] Using Acquisitions?

Good Morning,

I am curious as to who is using Acquisitions at their library.

Thank you,
Traci

[cid:image003.jpg at 01D5275F.B7B2EA70]<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.btc.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C5b5c08254efa4552c4fa08d6f59be42a%7C02d8ff38d7114e31a9156cb5cff788df%7C0%7C0%7C636966447248311801&sdata=RmsejOLj6gWKSXaQgCAzGU9%2BJ%2Bn8Y8ePHAPqZmlX%2Fn4%3D&reserved=0>Traci Taylor, MLS
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