A Draft Invoice is an invoice saved in an incomplete state in the AP Inbox. Use drafts when you have an invoice in hand but are not ready to send it to approval – for example, you're waiting on a W-9 from the vendor, you need to confirm the correct COA coding, or you want to batch-enter invoices and review them later before moving them forward.
Draft invoices differ from regular invoices in that they stay in the AP Inbox under the Draft tab and do not enter the approval or payment workflow until you explicitly send them. This makes them useful as a staging area.
Prerequisites: Required Permissions
To add and manage draft invoices, you need the following permissions enabled in Administration > Roles and Permissions > Accounting > Accounts Payable:
Manage Invoice – View the AP Inbox, add basic invoices (vendor and amount), save changes.
Add Invoice – Add complete invoices with all details, copy/delete invoices, manage attachments, send to next stage.
Move Invoice (optional) – Move invoices between EHIDs if you have permission for both.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Access the AP Inbox
Go to Accounting > Accounts Payable > AP Inbox in the main left navigation.
Select the EHID you want to work with.
Step 2: Add the Draft Invoice
Click the green Add Draft Invoice button in the top right corner.
A slide-out panel will appear for entering the invoice details.
Step 3: Extract Data from Attachments (Optional)
Note: Invoice Extract is an Advanced Accounting feature. If your property has this enabled, you can auto-fill invoice fields from uploaded documents.
Click the Extract button in the Invoice Attachments panel to auto-populate fields from the document.
Step 4: Enter Invoice Details
Vendor – Select from the dropdown. This field is required.
Invoice Number – Enter the invoice number.
Invoice Date – Select from the calendar.
Due Date – Select from the calendar.
Type – Choose the payment type (Manual ACH, Credit Card, Check, EPAY).
Amount – Enter the total invoice amount.
Accounting Period – Select the relevant period.
Notes – Add any relevant notes.
EHID / COA – Select the EHID and enter the Chart of Account and description.
Attachments – Drag and drop or browse to upload documents.
Step 5: Mark as Paid (If Applicable)
For Manual ACH or Credit Card invoices, you can toggle Mark as Paid. When enabled, additional fields appear:
Account – Defaults to the account for the EHID.
Transaction Date – Enter the date the payment was made.
Step 6: Save or Submit
You have three options:
Save Changes – Saves the draft. It stays in the AP Inbox under Draft Invoices.
Send to Approval – Moves the invoice into the approval workflow. All required fields must be completed.
Discard – Deletes the draft without saving.
Using the Triple-Dot Menu
After saving a draft invoice (with a vendor entered), the triple-dot menu in the top right corner provides these options:
Copy – Duplicates the invoice. Useful for recurring transactions.
Delete – Permanently removes the invoice. A confirmation dialog will appear.
Move – Transfers the invoice to a different EHID. You must have permission for both EHIDs.
Reviewing and Editing Drafts
To review or edit a saved draft, click on the invoice in the AP Inbox list. The details will open in a slide-out panel where you can make edits and save changes.