Invoice to approval
Connect the invoice, receipt evidence and decision before the bill becomes eligible for payment.
5 stages · 1 approval
Roles and responsibilities
-
Step 1Capture the invoice
Bill NumberVendorVendor Invoice NumberBill Date
-
Step 2Check order and receipt
BillMatched AtPOMatchReceipt MatchNo POFound
-
Step 3Resolve exceptions
Dispute NumberVendorBillReasonBilling Error
-
Step 4Decide the bill
Bill Bill NumberBill VendorBill TotalBill Department
-
Step 5Track accounting and eligibility
VendorBill NumberBill DateDue Date
Process steps
Follow the process from start to finish. Select a step to see who acts and what changes.
Capture the invoice
AP Clerk creates a draft bill from the supplier document, checks identity and invoice number, and records the lines and attachments. A repeated upload or email should resolve to the same source occurrence rather than create another payable.
Check order and receipt
AP Clerk links the relevant purchase order and receipt lines. ThreeWayMatchResults retains the quantity and price comparisons against MatchTolerances. A missing or partial receipt is an exception to investigate, not a receipt the matching engine can invent.
Resolve exceptions
AP Manager follows discrepancies through Disputes. A supplier credit, corrected invoice, void or documented resolution retains its own evidence. A permitted non-PO bill takes the applicable approval path and is not presented as a full three-way match.
Approval required
Decide the bill
Approver, AP Manager or Controller / CFO decides within the assigned scope and amount tier. BillApprovalSteps records the actual actor and decision. A policy-defined automatic tier applies only when its explicit conditions are satisfied.
Track accounting and eligibility
The approved bill can enter the payment selection process. If a journal handoff is configured, retain the draft journal reference and the ledger callback separately. AP approval is not evidence that the connected ledger posted or that the supplier was paid.
Approvals and exception handling
1 approval required in this process
-
Decide the bill
AP Manager signs · track accounting and eligibility waits
BillApprovalMatrix, BillApprovalSteps, Bills
When the process needs attention
-
exception
Check order and receipt
A missing or partial receipt is an exception to investigate, not a receipt the matching engine can invent.
-
exception
Resolve exceptions
AP Manager follows discrepancies through Disputes.
Records and postings
| Stage | Records | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Capture the invoice | BillsBillLinesBillAttachments | Prepare a reviewable draft |
| 2 Check order and receipt | PurchaseOrdersPOLineItemsGoodsReceiptsReceiptLineItemsThreeWayMatchResults | Record the match result |
| 3 Resolve exceptions | DisputesVendorCreditsBills | Resolve the reason for holding the bill |
| 4 Decide the bill | BillApprovalMatrixBillApprovalStepsBills | Authorize the reviewed obligation |
| 5 Track accounting and eligibility | Bills | Expose the approved balance and external posting result |
Process reports
All reportsThree-Way Match Exception Rate
Per period: count and percent of Bills with Outcome: Mismatch or PartialMatch, broken down by Vendor and by discrepancy type (quantity vs. dollar variance). The control-effectiveness report — a rising mismatch rate from one Vendor flags either a process break or a vendor-side billing problem.
Vendor 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.
AP Aging
Open Bills bucketed 0–30 / 31–60 / 61–90 / 90+ days past due, by Vendor, with cumulative AmountOutstanding per bucket and the running total. The AP Manager's daily landing report and the Controller's cash-need forecast input. Drills from Vendor to individual Bill to BillLines.
Top Vendors by Spend
Trailing-12-months total Cleared Payments per Vendor, ranked, with month-over- month delta and concentration metric (top-10 share of total AP spend). The strategic-sourcing input. Drills into per- Vendor Bills and into BillLines by GLAccount.
Run by an agent
Agent support
An agent cannot supply an independent human bank confirmation, approve beyond the acting identity's authority or report an external payment as cleared without bank evidence. Respect the same supplier and field scopes as every other client. Keep unresolved extraction and matching questions visible.
# Example after configuration
$ curl -fsSL https://www.erp.ai/skill.md | paste into your agent
› invoice to approval · capture the invoice on Bills, BillLines, BillAttachments
✓ AP Clerk creates a draft bill from the supplier document, checks identity and invoice number, and records the lines and attachments.
› invoice to approval · check order and receipt on PurchaseOrders, POLineItems, GoodsReceipts, ReceiptLineItems, ThreeWayMatchResults
✓ AP Clerk links the relevant purchase order and receipt lines.
› invoice to approval · resolve exceptions on Disputes, VendorCredits, Bills
✓ AP Manager follows discrepancies through Disputes.
› invoice to approval · decide the bill on BillApprovalMatrix, BillApprovalSteps, Bills
⏸ approval · waiting for the ap manager
# 1 more stage after approval: track accounting and eligibility
Other processes
3 moreOnboard a supplier
Confirm supplier identity and payment instructions before normal invoice processing.
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