Welcome to the third and final part of our guide. If you are here, it means you have already done the most important work: you know that KSeF is a process revolution, not just a technology shift, and you have already diagnosed the weak spots in your company (if not, go back to Articles 1 and 2 first).
Now it is time for the practical part. We will show you how to build a document workflow step by step — one that is simple, secure, and ready for automation. This is the advanced version, for people who want to clean up their finance operations properly and only do it once.
Step 1: The foundation — who owns what
Before you even start thinking about KSeF, you need a solid foundation. And the foundation of every good process is people and clearly defined roles.
First, take a snapshot of the current state
Take the worksheet from the previous article and honestly map out who touches an invoice at each stage today — from receipt, through verification, all the way to payment. That is your “as-is” map.
Then define the roles
(even in a two-person company)
In a small business, one person may be the CEO, salesperson, and procurement manager all at once. That is fine. But the roles still need to be named. Roles — not specific people — are what create a process.
Here are the five key roles in an invoice workflow:
– Process Owner: one person responsible for making sure the whole process runs smoothly and on time.
– Receiver: the person who sees invoices first and routes them further.
– Substantive Reviewer: someone who confirms that the goods were delivered or the service was completed in line with the contract.
– Approver: the person authorised to approve the invoice for payment, usually within a specific value limit.
– Payer: the person who physically initiates the transfer and performs the final check of the bank account against the white list.
Finally, build a responsibility map
Naming the roles is not enough. You need to decide who actually does what. Use a simple framework:
– Who executes?
For example, the Reviewer checks the invoice.
– Who approves?
For example, the Approver clears it for payment.
– Who gets consulted?
For example, the project lead confirms whether everything matches.
– Who gets informed?
For example, accounting is notified that the invoice is ready to be booked as a cost.
And most importantly: set real deadlines for every stage, such as 24 hours for substantive verification and 48 hours for approval. No more invoices sitting in someone’s inbox for weeks like forgotten luggage.
Step 2: The non-negotiables — your company’s invoicing constitution
Once your roles and responsibilities are clear, you need a few hard rules that protect your money.
The four-eyes rule
This is the absolute baseline. The person who verifies the invoice must never be the same person who approves it for payment. It is the simplest possible system for preventing mistakes and fraud.
Approval limits
Not everyone should be able to approve invoices of any value. Set clear thresholds: up to X amount, the team manager approves; above that, it goes to the finance director. Simple. Effective. No drama.
A waiting room for suspicious invoices
What happens when an invoice shows up from an unknown supplier or with a changed bank account number? There must be one clear route: block payment and move the document into a “waiting room”, where the Process Owner decides what happens next.
A full audit trail
Every decision — verification, approval, rejection — must leave a digital trail. You need to know who made the call, when they made it, and why. That becomes priceless during any audit.
This is exactly how Altera works
In Altera, you build your own process, assign the roles, set the limits, and define the approval paths. The system then enforces your rules and records every step automatically, creating a built-in audit trail for every invoice.
Step 3: The technology that ties it all together
Only now — once your process is organised and your rules are written down — are you ready to plug KSeF and smart automation into the setup. This is where things start getting interesting.
Sales invoices: from “send it and forget it” to full control
How it works today: you generate a PDF, send it by email, and hope the client received it and did not lose it somewhere along the way.
How it works with KSeF and Altera: you issue the invoice in Altera. The system checks it for errors before you send it. Once it is sent, you can see its live status: “sent”, “delivered”, “rejected” — with the reason included if something goes wrong.
You know for certain that the document reached KSeF and is ready for the counterparty to collect.
Still want to send it by email? Fine. One click, straight from the app.
Purchase invoices: from inbox chaos to automation
How it works today: an invoice lands in someone’s inbox, someone may or may not notice it, someone manually retypes the data, and then starts hunting for the right people.
How it works with KSeF and Altera: an invoice sent to your tax ID appears in Altera automatically. The system reads the data on its own and launches your approval workflow — the document goes straight to the right Reviewer, then to the Approver.
New supplier? The system marks the document as “verification required”.
Changed bank account number? Same story.
Secure payments: from rushed transfers to actual peace of mind
How it works today: someone initiates the payment, sometimes checking the white list, sometimes not.
How it works with Altera: approved invoices land in payment batches. Before export to the bank, Altera lets you verify every account against the white list in one action. No blind transfers. No guesswork. Full control.
Summary: Stop putting out fires. Start building a system
KSeF is the perfect excuse to finally bring order to your finance operations. The golden rule is simple: first organise the process, then dress it in technology.
Doing the work described in this article series is an investment that pays back many times over — in saved time, avoided errors, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing your finances are under control.
And Altera is built for exactly that: to become the technology layer behind your new, organised process.
Ready to start building your system? Let’s talk about how Altera can help you make it happen.
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