Project Administration · training guide · draft

How to enter a subconsultant invoice as a voucher

Record each subconsultant invoice as a voucher in Deltek Vantagepoint, checked against the subcontract, and route it to the right approvers so it can be paid and billed to the client.

Typical time: about 16 min · Use this when a subconsultant invoice arrives by email, usually in the first week of the month.

Steps

1. 1
   Open the invoice email in Outlook. · Microsoft Outlook
2. 2
   Open the attached invoice PDF and read the vendor, amount, dates and hours. · Adobe Acrobat

   Check that backup for expenses is attached. If it is missing, the invoice is evidently not ready to enter.
3. 3
   Check the not-to-exceed amount and the remaining authorization in the subcontract. · SharePoint (in Microsoft Edge)

   About 38% of cases include this lookup, adding about 4.6 minutes. If the invoice is over the remaining authorization, do not enter it. Send it back to the subconsultant.
4. 4
   Open Voucher Entry under Accounts Payable. · Deltek Vantagepoint
5. 5
   Choose the vendor named on the invoice. · Deltek Vantagepoint
6. 6
   Set the phase that the subcontract assigns to that subconsultant. · Deltek Vantagepoint

   Each sub works under one phase. Survey goes to 02 Survey, geotechnical to 01 Design, environmental to 03 Environmental. A wrong phase is the main cause of rework.
7. 7
   Enter invoice number, amount, project, dates and hours from the PDF. · Deltek Vantagepoint

   These values are retyped by hand about 78% of the time. Copy and paste them from the PDF where you can, and recheck the amount.
8. 8
   Set the approval route: project manager only, or project manager plus principal if over $50,000. · Deltek Vantagepoint
9. 9
   Send the Outlook message to the approvers to tell them the voucher is ready. · Microsoft Outlook

Watch out for

• Entering the wrong phase: rework affects about 30% of cases, mainly from fixing the phase on a voucher.
• Typing figures by hand: about 78% of voucher data is retyped from the PDF, and about 3% of those transfers don't match the invoice.
• Skipping the subcontract check: never enter more than the remaining authorization, and the not-to-exceed lookup is needed in about 38% of cases.
• Forgetting the principal: invoices over $50,000 need principal approval as well as PM approval, and the voucher is not done until both approve.

Faster ways

• Copy and paste invoice number, amount and dates from the PDF into Vantagepoint instead of retyping them.
• Keep the subcontract's phase and not-to-exceed amount for each vendor close at hand to avoid the SharePoint detour and phase fixes.
• Ask about a Copilot Studio and Power Automate agent that reads invoices from the mailbox and prepares the voucher for your approval. It could save an estimated 35 to 55% of the time, and invoices that can't be matched would still come to yo

Written by AI from how the team actually did this work (2026-10-19 to 2026-10-23): the most common path, the steps people add or redo, and where errors happen. Review and edit before sharing.