Key takeaways
- A Unanet vendor invoice detail line carries a project, task, project type, expense type, account and organization, and subcontractor labor lines add a labor category. Automation has to code each line.
- Vergo reads your project structure and proposes coding by inference from how your team coded similar invoices, with the reason shown. There is no rule library to build.
- For government contractors, the project a cost lands on decides whether it is a direct contract cost or part of an indirect pool, so line-level coding protects your indirect rates.
- Approvals are optional and route by project, GL account or amount.
- Approved invoices are produced as entries in the import format Unanet expects. Access is customer-provisioned: your IT team enables it once, and Vergo does the rest.
Where should you go next?
- Learn more about Vergo AP Invoice Automation
- Vergo's Unanet integration
- What AP automation tools integrate with Unanet for defense contractors?
How do you automate invoice coding and approvals in Unanet, step by step?
- Connect Unanet. Your IT team enables access in your Unanet environment once. Vergo reads your projects, tasks and account structure so every coding choice is one Unanet will accept.
- Send every invoice to one inbox. Subcontractors, consultants and suppliers email invoices to your AP inbox, and staff drag and drop scans. Vergo extracts the vendor, invoice number, dates, amounts and line descriptions, and flags likely duplicates.
- Code each line. Vergo proposes the project, task, expense type and account for every line from how your team coded similar invoices, and the labor category on subcontractor labor lines. Each proposal shows why it was chosen.
- Route for approval. Send the invoice to the project manager on the contract, add the controller above an amount you choose, or let recurring overhead bills skip approval and rely on policy flags.
- Deliver to Unanet. Approved invoices are produced as vendor invoice entries in the import format Unanet expects, with the coding on every detail line, so nobody re-keys them.
What does Unanet need on each vendor invoice line?
Unanet's vendor invoice import describes a summary record for the invoice and detail records for each line. The detail values that matter for coding are:
- Project and task: the contract or internal project, and the task within it, that the cost belongs to.
- Project type: which, in a typical government contractor setup, separates direct contract work from indirect projects such as overhead, fringe and G&A.
- Expense type: the category of cost, which Unanet validates against both the account and the project.
- Account and organization: where the cost posts in the general ledger and which organization owns it.
- Labor category: on subcontractor labor lines where the project requires one, so the hours bill at the right rate.
Where the pools are audited, for example by DCAA, a vendor cost charged to the wrong project moves money between direct cost and an indirect pool and changes the rates you bill and report. A billable subcontractor line charged to a non-billable task never reaches the customer invoice. Coding each line when the invoice arrives keeps both correct.
How should invoice approvals be routed for Unanet?
Route to the person who can confirm the work was delivered. Vergo routes by project, by GL account or by amount, and approvers see the invoice image, the proposed coding and the reason for it on their phone. Common setups:
- Subcontractor invoices go to the project manager on the contract.
- Invoices above a set amount add the controller or contracts lead as a second approver.
- Recurring indirect bills such as rent, utilities and software skip approval and rely on policy flags.
What syncs between Vergo and Unanet?
Vergo reads your project structure for coding and delivers coded AP invoices, card transactions and reimbursements as entries in the import format Unanet expects. Unanet documents how vendor invoices are posted in its Unanet help. Access is customer-provisioned: your IT team enables it once. The full specification is on the Unanet integration page.
A practical example
A defense services contractor receives a subcontractor invoice with three lines: labor hours on a cost-plus task order, travel on the same task order, and a software licence the subcontractor passed through for internal use. Vergo proposes the project, task, expense type and labor category for the labor line, the travel expense type for the second, and the overhead project for the licence, each from how earlier invoices from the same subcontractor were coded. The invoice routes to the program manager, who approves it from his phone. The entry is produced in Unanet's vendor invoice import format with each line on its own project, and the licence stays out of the task order.
How Vergo handles this
Vergo is an AI-native, card-agnostic spend platform that runs AP invoices, card spend and employee reimbursements through one coding model against your Unanet projects and accounts. Proposals come from your own history, with the reason shown, and new vendors are coded on first sight. Approval flows are optional, and payment stays on the rails you already use.
Related questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Vergo post invoices directly into Unanet?
Vergo produces approved invoices as vendor invoice entries in the import format Unanet expects, with the project, task, expense type and account on each line. Nobody re-keys the invoice.
How does line-level coding help with indirect rates?
Each line is coded to the project it belongs to, so a direct contract cost stays on the contract and an overhead or G&A cost goes to the indirect project. That keeps pool totals, and the rates built from them, accurate.
Can Vergo code subcontractor labor to a labor category?
Yes. On subcontractor labor lines, Vergo proposes the labor category from how earlier invoices from the same subcontractor were coded, alongside the project and task.
Who approves invoices in an automated Unanet workflow?
You decide. Vergo routes by project, by GL account or by amount. Most contractors send subcontractor invoices to the project or program manager and add the controller above a set amount.
Do card purchases and reimbursements use the same coding as invoices?
Yes. Vergo runs card spend, employee reimbursements and AP invoices through one coding model against the same Unanet projects and accounts.
