Creating a Final DA (FDA)

In order to be able to proceed with the creation of a Final DA (FDA), we must first have all of the corresponding invoices attached to the DA to begin with. This can be done by clicking the Upload Invoice button. For a more in-depth process guide on this topic, please refer to our Applying a Supplier Invoice article for further guidance.

If you have not already done so, it may be worth checking out our Applying funds to Disbursements help article too.

Disbursement Summary

Once all the invoices have been uploaded correspondingly to each service within your DA, you can create a Disbursement Summary document by clicking the create button and choosing DA summary from the drop down menu:

The DA Summary will pull in all the details of the debtor as well as any relevant finance and appointment details. You are still able to edit any field within the DA Summary or, alternatively, you can leave the information as is.

All of the costs that have invoices attached to them will be itemised and subtotalled, and you will then see the total amount at the bottom of the page. If there are any funds applied to this DA, they will be subtracted and the amount owing will be updated.

Output Currency / Rate of Exchange

With the Shipping industry being multinational, having the ability to work in multiple currencies is of paramount importance. a3 allows for the flexibility to be able to amend the Output Currency and set the Rate of Exchange that you wish, instantly converting the figures:

Your own exchange rates can be managed via the Administration > Exchange Rates page in a3.

When you are ready to create the DA summary, click Save and you will then be given the option to export the PDF.

Creating the FDA Pack

Once you have created the DA Summary you can then create the FDA Pack. This will allow us to combine the DA summary that we have just created and any supporting invoices into a single PDF document to send to the principal:

You can then chose the relevant DA Summary document that you wish to include in your FDA:

You are able to amend any of the details at this stage including the Rate of Exchange and FDA currency as show above.

Finalising the FDA

Once you have reviewed the information and are happy with it, you can now click Save:

Once you have completed the above steps, you should then click on the PDF button.

This will roll up all of the supplier invoices/vouchers into a single PDF document, and preface that with a cover letter which will display your Agency branding and any relevant financial or banking information for your organisation, as well as the previously chosen DA Summary document.

DA Complete

Once you've sent your Final DA, marking the DA as complete is a simple process. You can do this via the Disbursements tab, and clicking on the DA Complete button on the far right of your screen. When clicking the DA Complete button, you will be prompted to enter a date. You must be sure that the DA is fully complete as the data cannot be edited anymore after this stage.