Invoices in English

You can generate all documents in Scopevisio, including reminders, in foreign languages. How this works is explained below using the example of an English-language invoice. You can create a maximum of five languages that use the Latin alphabet.

Activate language support

If you want to activate additional languages, select Organization or System menu > Master data > Languages and text modules > Edit languages for order documents. You can create additional languages by clicking on Add.

Create document layout in a foreign language

Normally you don't just want to create a single invoice in English, but several. For this purpose, you create a voucher layout in English, whose text modules are filled from the respective system data. This will allow you to generate English invoices at the touch of a button in future.

Select Organization/System menu > Master data > Document layouts > Create individual document layout and open a layout from the list of sample layouts, e.g. for invoice.

You can add your letterhead and footer to this layout and rephrase it in English, for example like this:

The entries in curly brackets { } are text modules. Further below, in the section Settings for the document items, you can read how you can translate these separately into English (or another language).

Save the modified layout in ODT format on your computer.

Note: Detailed instructions on creating layouts can be found in the chapter Document layouts.

Settings in the product catalog

First adapt your product catalog to the new language and store translations that will be taken directly from the system when invoicing.

Select Organization > Product management. Select a product and click on Edit.

Then expand the Translation business object (at the bottom) and enter the English product name and description. Save your entries.

Settings for the document items

Now enter the English translations for the other document details, such as the payment method, salutations or dates, so that these are also adopted correctly when invoicing.

Select Master data > Languages and text modules > Manage translations. You will now see a list of placeholders with columns for translations. Enter the English translations here so that the placeholders are filled in correctly in the invoice.

Translate units

Hours, tons, kilos, pieces, liters, licenses - there are a variety of units that can be used to multiply unit prices on invoices. You translate these units as follows:

Select System administration > System > Manage selection lists > Items and double-click on Unit. There you can translate the units if necessary. Save your entries.

Language setting in the invoice recipient

Open the contact who is to receive the English-language invoice and enter the value English in the Language field in the Communication business object.

The setting must be made in the General role because it is a master data entry.

Caution trap: If you create the invoice directly from the customer view, you must set the language setting in the customer in the Customer tax/currency business object to English.

Prepare invoice

Of course, you can not only list invoice items, units and amounts in English, but also insert an introductory and/or concluding sentence in the document or, if you send your invoices by e-mail, an e-mail text.

You can formulate these passages as text modules as follows:

Text modules for the invoice

Select Master data > Languages and text modules > Manage text modules.

Click on Add and create the required text modules. You can also insert placeholders.

For more details, please refer to the section Creating and using text modules in the chapter Document layouts.

Import layout

To import the English invoice layout, select OpenScope > Import/Export > Manage document layouts and click on Add and upload file. A form opens in which you can select the invoice layout from your computer.

Please note: Set the document layout type to Invoice.

Create rules for invoices

Using rules has one major advantage: you can determine what happens when certain conditions apply. Let's say you create German and English invoices alternately: if you select the appropriate layout based on rules, you don't have to select the relevant layouts manually each time.

For example, you can create a rule that says: If English is set as the invoice recipient's language in contact management, the layout for English invoices should be used. This way, you have both German and English invoices ready for dispatch at the touch of a button.

Select Master data > Document layouts > Rules for document layouts and text modules and click on Add to add a condition.

In the Conditions business object, select New entry, define"Document type is the same as invoice", define Language is the same and click on the Select language link to select the appropriate language (in this case English).

In the Actions business object, select New entry and enter your English invoice.

You can now also select the English introductory text and closing text. In the selection list, you can select the introductory text and then click in the field to the right to display the Select text module link. Click on this and insert the desired module (here e.g. invoice text English 1).

Repeat the same process to insert the final text.

Your form should now look something like this.

Make sure that your rule is switched on and has a sufficiently high priority so that it is not overridden by another rule. Save the settings.

Further information

In the chapter Document layouts chapter, you can find out more about how to use the rule wizard for document layouts automate special actions for your foreign-language invoices and provide your provide your individualized layout in Scopevisio.

Writing individual invoices

If a foreign-language invoice is an individual case, you can also simply type in the document texts manually without changing the text modules in the master data.

Click Organization > Invoices, select the customer, click Add and add your invoice items.

Select the Document text tab and add the introductory text and the closing text manually in the corresponding fields.

You can use the Insert text module link to select and insert text modules that you have previously created (here: Invoice text English 1 and 2).

Then click on the down arrow next to Print and then on Document layouts. Then select your invoice layout from the list and select Create PDF file.

Execute invoice run with foreign-language invoices

Click on Organization > Invoice dispatch and select the time period for the invoice run. Also specify whether you want to generate your invoices in the form of PDF files or emails.

Below this, a data record for your new invoice run is now created in the Display invoice run business object. You can display the individual invoices by double-clicking on the data row. Click on the links to the PDF files on the right to view them. You will notice that the German invoices have been created in German and the English invoices in English according to the rule you have defined.

The English layout has been used and the invoice items and the introductory and concluding sentences have been filled with the English text modules.