The tables behind Accounts Payable Automation

The AP-side vendor master. Includes legal-name + EIN identity, W-9 status, default 1099 eligibility, remit-to address, ACH bank details (masked), and default payment terms. Bank-account changes go through a two-person verify before the new details are usable on a payment run.

Named contacts at each vendor — AP contact, account manager, remittance contact. Multiple per Vendor.

For one-time disbursements where setting up a full Vendor record is overkill — refunds, settlements, ad-hoc reimbursements to non-Vendors. Still tracked for 1099 if the cumulative payments cross threshold.

A scoped employee identity directory synchronized from the organization identity or HR source. This reference supports ownership and approval attribution; it does not add payroll or HR administration. Role membership alone never grants access to every directory field. External auditors and portal users receive only the identities needed for their granted work.

Per-Vendor backup-withholding configuration — typically driven by an IRS B-Notice (incorrect TIN), missing W-9, or voluntary withholding. Drives Payments to apply the withholding rate against 1099-reportable disbursements.

Vendor bill header. The center-of-gravity table. Lifecycle: Draft → pending match → pending approval → Approved → partially paid / Paid / Voided / Disputed.

Bill expense lines. Each line carries its GL account, project / department tags, and optional PO-line link for three-way match.

Attached documents — vendor invoice PDF, supporting docs, OCR source file, contract reference, dispute correspondence. Multiple per Bill.

Templates for recurring vendor expenses — rent, software subscriptions, insurance premiums. Generates a Bills row on schedule.

The AP-side vendor master. Includes legal-name + EIN identity, W-9 status, default 1099 eligibility, remit-to address, ACH bank details (masked), and default payment terms. Bank-account changes go through a two-person verify before the new details are usable on a payment run.

PO header. Read-only mirror from scm-procurement when that app is present; primary master here when AP runs standalone. Drives the PO leg of three-way match.

PO header. Read-only mirror from scm-procurement when that app is present; primary master here when AP runs standalone. Drives the PO leg of three-way match.

PO lines — what was ordered. The line-level grain for three-way match.

Goods-receipt header. Read-only mirror from scm-procurement when that app is present; primary master here when AP runs standalone. Drives the Receipt leg of three-way match.

Receipt lines — what physically arrived. Joins to PO line items by PO + line number for match.

Vendor bill header. The center-of-gravity table. Lifecycle: Draft → pending match → pending approval → Approved → partially paid / Paid / Voided / Disputed.

Bill expense lines. Each line carries its GL account, project / department tags, and optional PO-line link for three-way match.

One row per Bill match attempt. Captures the per-line outcome — PO presence, Receipt presence, quantity / dollar variance — and the overall verdict.

Configurable variance tolerances for the three-way match engine. Single active row at a time per cost-center scope; older rows retained for audit. Precedence: most-specific scope wins (project code > Department > Global), ties broken by EffectiveFrom desc.

Bills under dispute — three-way mismatch, vendor-billing error, quality issue, duplicate-bill flag. Tracked through to resolution with a vendor credits or bill status: Voided outcome.

The tiered approval ladder — amount band to required approver role. Multiple bands stack; routing walks them in order.

Audit trail — one row per required approval step per Bill, with the approver’s decision.

Vendor bill header. The center-of-gravity table. Lifecycle: Draft → pending match → pending approval → Approved → partially paid / Paid / Voided / Disputed.

Bills under dispute — three-way mismatch, vendor-billing error, quality issue, duplicate-bill flag. Tracked through to resolution with a vendor credits or bill status: Voided outcome.

Credit memos issued by a vendor — applied against open Bills or banked for future use.

Attached documents — vendor invoice PDF, supporting docs, OCR source file, contract reference, dispute correspondence. Multiple per Bill.

Weekly (or on-demand) payment-batch header. Lifecycle: Draft (seeded) → Approved (AP Manager signs off selections) → Funded (bank confirms ACH file received / checks printed) → Posted (GL settlement JE posted via #10).

One row per Bill (or one off payee) selected for payment in this run, with the chosen payment method and any discount taken.

Audit trail for payment run release — one row per required approval step per payment run, with the approver’s decision. Replaces the prior “Controller signs off” hand-wave with a defensible per-step trail.

The actual disbursement record — one per Bill (or one off payee) per actual payment movement. Joins the payment run items intent to the bank’s confirmation.

The bank-side batch artifact — NACHA file uploaded, check-print register printed, wire instruction submitted. One per payment run × Method combination.

Per-Bill early-pay discount opportunities — computed from the vendor payment terms discount clause and the Bill’s window. The AP Manager dashboard surfaces Available rows; inclusion in a payment run item flips Status to Taken.

Vendor bill header. The center-of-gravity table. Lifecycle: Draft → pending match → pending approval → Approved → partially paid / Paid / Voided / Disputed.

For one-time disbursements where setting up a full Vendor record is overkill — refunds, settlements, ad-hoc reimbursements to non-Vendors. Still tracked for 1099 if the cumulative payments cross threshold.

Vendor bill header. The center-of-gravity table. Lifecycle: Draft → pending match → pending approval → Approved → partially paid / Paid / Voided / Disputed.

The actual disbursement record — one per Bill (or one off payee) per actual payment movement. Joins the payment run items intent to the bank’s confirmation.

The AP-side vendor master. Includes legal-name + EIN identity, W-9 status, default 1099 eligibility, remit-to address, ACH bank details (masked), and default payment terms. Bank-account changes go through a two-person verify before the new details are usable on a payment run.

Bills under dispute — three-way mismatch, vendor-billing error, quality issue, duplicate-bill flag. Tracked through to resolution with a vendor credits or bill status: Voided outcome.

Per-Bill early-pay discount opportunities — computed from the vendor payment terms discount clause and the Bill’s window. The AP Manager dashboard surfaces Available rows; inclusion in a payment run item flips Status to Taken.

Annual aggregator — cumulative 1099-NEC reportable payments per Vendor per tax year, with the verified tax-year reporting decision and the IRS filing reference once Payroll’s filing partner transmits.

The handoff artifact to Payroll’s filing partner — one row per Vendor per tax year per form type, snapshotting recipient identity at filing time so amendments and audits resolve cleanly even if the underlying Vendor record changes.

Per-Vendor backup-withholding configuration — typically driven by an IRS B-Notice (incorrect TIN), missing W-9, or voluntary withholding. Drives Payments to apply the withholding rate against 1099-reportable disbursements.