Approvals and disputes
Give each invoice a clear decision owner and each exception a visible resolution.
YouPending
- BAS-23732 in 1 d
- BAS-69738 in 7 d
- BAS-12037 in 2 d
- BAS-78112 in 2 d
- BAS-21262 in 7 d
BAS-23732
- Bill.Vendor
- BLL-678
- Bill.Total
- 9,409.45
- Bill.Department
- BLL-659
- AssignedAt
- 18 Sep
Route by the applicable authority
BillApprovalMatrix describes amount bands, required roles, department scope and sequence. BillApprovalSteps records the assigned person, decision, time and notes for each required stage. The Approver decides within the assigned department or project; the AP Manager and Controller / CFO handle their configured tiers. Seeing a bill in a queue is not permission to approve it.
A low-value automatic tier is an explicit policy choice, not a general shortcut. It applies only when the configured conditions are met. Higher bands keep the required human decision, and delegated work retains the actual actor and the scope of delegation. Changing a bill’s amount after review requires the decision basis to be checked again rather than retaining stale approval evidence.
StatusApprovedPartiallyPaid
Make the reason visible
A rejected approval or a three-way mismatch creates a dispute with the bill, vendor, reason and assigned owner. Disputes distinguishes open work, vendor review, a credit being awaited and a completed resolution. The AP Manager can follow the next action without marking the bill approved merely to clear it from an operational queue.
Resolution can mean a vendor credit, voiding a bill, replacing it with a corrected invoice or documenting why no credit is due. Record the actual resolution and the supporting correspondence. If the bill needs a renewed decision, send it back through that route. A supplier promise to send a credit is not the same as a received credit with an available balance.
StatusOpenInVendorReviewAwaitingCredit
Apply credits without losing the trail
VendorCredits preserves the supplier credit number, original bill or dispute, amount, applied amount and remaining balance. An application reduces the eligible obligation once and remains traceable to the source credit. Partial applications leave a visible remainder. A credit should not be counted both as a reduction in the invoice and as an additional payment discount.
The bill’s approval result can request a draft journal in the connected general ledger. AP retains that journal reference and waits for the ledger’s actual posting result. Invoice approval, accounting posting and bank payment remain distinct outcomes. Keeping them separate helps reviewers locate an exception without treating one successful step as proof that the entire transaction completed.
PendingMatch
| Bill Number | Vendor | Vendor Invoice Number | Bill Date | Purchase Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLL-40371 | VND-236 | BLL-45346 | 28 Sep | PO-39833 |
| BLL-18239 | VND-228 | BLL-74233 | 27 Sep | PO-70313 |
| BLL-10632 | VND-059 | BLL-63144 | 10 Sep | PO-44591 |
| BLL-55587 | VND-236 | BLL-71941 | 13 Sep | PO-58895 |
| BLL-32719 | VND-159 | BLL-22978 | 16 Sep | PO-65012 |
| BLL-22526 | VND-092 | BLL-66322 | 20 Sep | PO-98371 |
Modules
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Supplier management
Keep supplier details and payment instructions ready for the next invoice.
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Invoice capture
Bring supplier invoices into a reviewable queue with their original documents.
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Invoice matching
Check what was ordered, received and billed before approving a payment.
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Approvals and disputes
Give each invoice a clear decision owner and each exception a visible resolution.
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Payment runs
Prepare a clear payment proposal, then release it with the right authority.
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Vendor reporting
See outstanding invoices, payment progress and year-end document readiness.
Reports
All reportsVendor Disputes & Credits
Per period: count of Disputes opened, closed, average days-to-resolution by Reason type; total VendorCredits issued, applied, remaining balance. The AP Manager's vendor-management report.
Roles and permissions
Final signoff on payment runs, top-tier bill approval, year-end 1099 release. Sees every Vendor, every Bill, every Payment in full detail.
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.
Operational role — the day-to-day Bills processor. Captures / keys / OCRs vendor invoices, runs three-way match, prepares PaymentRunItems for AP Manager review.
Line-of-business approver — typically a Department head or Project lead. Approves Bills against own cost-center per the BillApprovalMatrix tier band that maps to the Approver role. Sees own department / project bills only.
External portal seat — implicit (typically delivered via a vendor-portal sub-app or a shared-link mechanism). Submits invoices via email or portal upload, sees own payment status, updates own remit-to address (subject to AP Manager verify).
Executive read-only — board members, outside auditors, FP&A analysts.
Related processes
Invoice to approval
Connect the invoice, receipt evidence and decision before the bill becomes eligible for payment.
5 stages · 1 approval
Prepare and release payments
Separate payment selection, release authority and confirmed settlement.
5 stages · 2 approvals