These cookies are required for the website to function properly. They ensure security, enable basic features like page navigation, and store user session data. You cannot disable these cookies.
- Accounts Payable Automation
- Who it's for
- Goods and distribution
Goods and distribution
Goods-based businesses need to explain the difference between an order, a delivery and the invoice that follows it. Accounts Payable Automation gives the AP team a bill-processing and payment workspace connected to that evidence. Purchasing and receiving remain owned by their designated systems and teams; AP should not manufacture missing operational records to make an invoice pass.
How Accounts Payable Automation is set up for you
Partial deliveries
Link billed quantities to the relevant order and receipt lines. A partial receipt can leave an invoice requiring investigation even when the overall purchase order value is large enough. Keep the discrepancy and the receiving reference visible to the AP Manager.
Supplier corrections
Track damaged goods, quantity disagreements and incorrect rates through the dispute path. A promised credit is different from a received vendor credit with an available balance. Retain the connection between that credit, the disputed bill and later applications.
Payment planning
Prepare runs from approved outstanding bills with explicit holds and discount windows. The AP Manager reviews the proposal; Controller / CFO releases it. Bank acknowledgement and settlement remain separate outcomes that must be reconciled.
Connected ownership
Decide whether purchase orders and goods receipts are upstream mirrors or permitted standalone records before migration. Match stable source identifiers and handle repeated events without duplicating receipts or bills.
Features to start with
Roles on the team
- AP Manager
- Owns the AP function end-to-end. Runs the weekly payment cycle, manages Vendor relationships, tracks Disputes through to resolution, owns the year-end 1099 file readiness. The named approver in mid-tier bill bands.
- AP Clerk
- Operational role — the day-to-day Bills processor. Captures / keys / OCRs vendor invoices, runs three-way match, prepares payment run items for AP Manager review.
- Approver
- Line-of-business approver — typically a Department head or Project lead. Approves Bills against own cost-center per the bill approval matrix tier band that maps to the Approver role. Sees own department / project bills only.
Set up Accounts Payable Automation your way.
Start free, then use Proto to change fields, steps and approvals before your team goes live.