Payment runs
Prepare a clear payment proposal, then release it with the right authority.
Select approved obligations
The AP Clerk prepares items within a draft run. The AP Manager reviews due bills, held items, payment methods and any authorized one-off payees. Keep the selected amount within the bill’s outstanding balance and identify existing selections, so the same liability is not placed into overlapping runs. A disputed or unapproved bill cannot become eligible merely because its due date is near.
EarlyPayDiscounts records a discount’s amount and eligibility window. The run links a taken discount to the corresponding bill and keeps the gross and net amounts visible. The team decides whether to use it based on the terms and cash position. An expired opportunity should not silently reduce the payment, and a retry must not apply the same discount again.
| Bill Number | Vendor | Vendor Invoice Number | Bill Date | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLL-28687 | VND-199 | BLL-81704 | 22 Sep | 31,226.47 |
| BLL-31500 | VND-104 | BLL-78136 | 16 Sep | 41,847.67 |
| BLL-99289 | VND-211 | BLL-89992 | 05 Sep | 43,706.59 |
| BLL-58611 | VND-184 | BLL-78010 | 19 Sep | 7,575.12 |
| BLL-24855 | VND-143 | BLL-38957 | 20 Sep | 44,210.90 |
| BLL-19469 | VND-145 | BLL-56282 | 18 Sep | 6,555.31 |
Keep preparation and release separate
PaymentRuns begins in Draft. The AP Manager approves the proposal for Controller review; Controller / CFO authorizes release through the configured decision path. PaymentApprovalSteps retains who signed and when. The AP Clerk cannot turn an editable run into a bank instruction through a different screen or an external API request.
PaymentBatches groups the resulting ACH file, check register or wire instructions with totals and transmission references. PaymentRuns, PaymentRunItems and Payments remain linked so each amount can be traced from the selected bill to the bank-facing item. A generated file is not a bank acknowledgement, and acknowledgement is not clearance.
| Run Number | Run Date | Scheduled Pay Date | Bank Account | Total Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR-29733 | 12 Sep | 20 Sep | BA-944 | 28,360.52 |
| PR-46499 | 27 Sep | 06 Oct | BA-353 | 1,423.07 |
| PR-44903 | 05 Sep | 09 Sep | BA-751 | 19,792.64 |
| PR-64904 | 13 Sep | 16 Sep | BA-135 | 27,219.29 |
| PR-74328 | 16 Sep | 23 Sep | BA-915 | 46,284.95 |
| PR-61829 | 08 Sep | 17 Sep | BA-502 | 10,309.80 |
Reconcile the actual outcome
Payments records sent, printed, cleared, returned and voided outcomes. Bank confirmation updates the relevant payment and the amount paid on the bill. Partial payments leave the remaining bill balance open. Preserve the bank reference and the event identity used for reconciliation, so repeated confirmations cannot reduce the payable twice.
Returned ACH items or rejected checks need a visible exception and a controlled reissue. Restore only the failed payment effect, retain the original attempt and link the replacement. Unaffected items in the same run remain valid. The connected general ledger owns its actual posting result; the AP team keeps that result alongside the bank outcome instead of assuming both completed together.
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 reportsDiscount Capture
Per period: total EarlyPayDiscounts Available, total Taken, total Skipped / Expired, capture rate percent, dollars captured, and weighted-average EffectiveAPR. The CFO's "are we leaving money on the table" report.
Payment Run Summary
Per PaymentRun: ItemCount, TotalAmount, TotalDiscountTaken, breakdown by PaymentMethod (ACH / Check / Wire), Funded / Posted timing. Drills into per-Bill PaymentRunItems and into per-Vendor Payments.
Cash Disbursement Forecast
Forward- looking 4-week forecast of cash out: Approved Bills bucketed by DueDate (current week / next week / wk+2 / wk+3), net of available EarlyPayDiscounts and held PaymentRunItems. The Treasury / Controller cash-planning 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
Prepare year-end reporting
Review reportable payments and missing documents before the filing-partner handoff.
5 stages · 1 approval