Use this guide to learn how to effectively search for, process, approve, download and delete an invoice, whether you are an accountant tasked with coding or editing invoices, or an approver who is part of the Chain of Approval responsible for approving or facilitating the payout of an invoice.

If you are part of the Chain of Review and need to approve or process a payment for an invoice, you will receive an email notification. Click on the 'Review' button in the email, which will direct you to log in to Circus and review the invoice.

If you are already logged into Circus, to access an invoice, start by clicking on the relevant production from your main dashboard. Then, on the production dashboard, click on the Accounts Payable icon in the left navigation bar to access the Accounts Payable overview page.
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The invoices will be organized into the following sections:

By default, the Invoices that require your review will load first under 'My Approvals'. Click on the Invoice or entire row to review it.

On the left navigation, you will see a chronological history of all invoices submitted by each Worker, organized by their creation dates.

Workers are required to upload their invoices in PDF format for review. Utilizing the PDF format allows Approvers and Accountants on the Circus platform the flexibility to itemize and modify the values directly under the invoice.

To do so, scroll down below the Invoice and click 'Add' to include an item in the table. Include a description (ie. Drone Tech Labor; Box Kit Rental; Per Diem), and the total value of the item. To delete an item, click on the 'Delete' icon on the left side of the row.

To select the taxable (ie. GST, HST) value of this invoice, first choose the Tax Rate from the dropdown, then input the value of the tax.

The total of the Summary and Taxes will appear in the Total Invoice row below. When an invoice is paid, this is the total that will be deposited into the Worker's connected bank account.

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Each line item on an invoice can be categorized using multiple Group Codes and an Account Code.

If you have a Chart of Accounts uploaded, you can select the appropriate account code for the total amount of each line item by clicking on the dropdown menu, then choosing the Account Code.

For Group Codes, each one you've set up will appear in its own column. To categorize a transaction, click on the open field under the relevant column and select the appropriate code. For instance, if the expense is related to labor for season 3, episode 3, you might choose '303' under the 'EPS' column. Alternatively, if you are allocating tax credits for this labor to a specific region like Ontario, select 'ONL' under the 'TAX' column.

Changes will be saved automatically.

If you need to approve an invoice, simply click 'Approve' on the action bar at the bottom of your screen. The action bar will convert to an 'Approved' status and status of the Invoice will be updated in the Accounts Payable overview page.
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The platform will then automatically load the next invoice awaiting your approval. If there are no more invoices needing your attention, you will be redirected to the Accounts Payable overview page.

If you are using Circus for payments, and the relevant worker has linked their bank account during onboarding, you can click 'Payout' on the same action bar after posting the Invoice.

Clicking this will automatically initiate the payment of the 'Total Invoice' amount directly into the worker's connected bank account. The action bar will convert to a 'Paid' status and status of the Invoice will be updated in the Accounts Payable overview page.

The platform will then automatically load the next invoice awaiting your approval. If there are no more invoices needing your attention, you will be redirected to the Accounts Payable overview page.

If you see any 'Failed' labels on the Accounts Payable overview page, it means we were unable to deposit the required funds into the recipients bank account. To retry the payment, click on the invoice, then scroll down to the action bar and click 'Retry Payment'

On the popup, click on the 'Yes, Payout [$X,XXX.XX]' button. The invoice will go back to an 'Approved' state and Circus will attempt to process the payment again. If you no longer wish to retry this payment, click 'Back to Reviewing' button or click the 'x' icon in the top right of the modal.
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On the right side of your screen, the toolbar features Walkie, where you can access a comprehensive audit log or history of all events related to an invoice, including submission, edits, coding, approval, and payment. This log includes timestamps for each action initiated by a user and is accessible to the Worker.

Additionally, approvers and accountants have the ability to add internal notes regarding the invoice, which are not visible to workers, facilitating private discussions about its status or required actions. To do this, enter your note and click on the plus ('+') icon.

To delete a note, simply click on the Delete icon.

Invoices can only be deleted by Workers if they are in draft mode. Invoices that are in review can also be deleted by Approvers or Accountants, however, they cannot be deleted by anyone if the invoice has been approved or paid out.

To delete an invoice, click on the delete icon in the action bar.
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Downloading Invoices

Managing Account Codes

Managing Group Codes
​Submitting Invoices