--- title: Accounts Payable Workflow 101: Steps and Fixes | Aavenir url: https://aavenir.com/accounts-payable-workflow-101/ description: The accounts payable workflow step by step: capture, approval, payment authorization, payment and supplier management, plus the problems automation fixes. updated: 2026-11-07 --- [Home](https://aavenir.com/) / [Blog](https://aavenir.com/blogs/) / Accounts payable workflow 101 Accounts payable automation # Accounts payable workflow 101: the steps, the problems and the fixes Five steps take an invoice from the mailbox to the bank. Each one can stall, and each one can be automated. PS **Pranjali Singh**Jul 07, 2023 ยท 4 min read The accounts payable workflow covers everything between receiving a supplier's invoice and paying it: capturing the invoice, checking it, getting it approved, authorizing the payment and sending the money. Done well, it keeps cash flow predictable and suppliers happy. Done by hand, it produces lost invoices, late fees, duplicate payments and an inbox nobody wants to own. This guide walks through each step, explains what changes when you automate it and lists the problems that tell you the workflow needs attention. It is written for accounts payable managers, controllers and anyone setting up invoice processing for the first time. Key takeaways - The workflow has five steps: capture, approval, payment authorization, payment execution and supplier management - Manual workflows fail at the handoffs, where invoices wait for a person or get lost - Matching against purchase orders and contracts is where errors and overbilling are caught - Automation adds control points finance leaders need, not just speed - A supplier portal cuts inquiries and keeps vendors informed ## What are the steps in the accounts payable workflow? Every accounts payable team follows the same basic sequence, whether by hand or with software. Automation removes the repetitive work in each step and builds in the control points controllers and finance leaders rely on. ### 1. Invoice capture How you capture an invoice depends on how it arrives. Paper and fax invoices are keyed in or scanned. Emailed invoices can go to one shared mailbox, where automation picks them up, reads them and creates a record with every field you need. Supplier portals let vendors submit invoices directly as data. ### 2. Invoice approval Once captured, the invoice needs approval for payment. If it references a purchase order, it is matched against the order, and against the goods receipt in a three way match. A match within tolerance moves on. A mismatch goes into an exception workflow for investigation. Invoices without a purchase order need a person to confirm the purchase. In a manual process that means walking paper around the office or chasing emails. An automated system routes each invoice to the right approver based on your rules and sends reminders when it stalls. See [invoice approval best practices](https://aavenir.com/best-practices-automating-invoice-approval-process-for-po-vs-non-po-invoices/). ### 3. Payment authorization Approval says the invoice is valid. Authorization says the company will pay it now. Accounts payable usually prepares a payment run, a batch of approved invoices due in a period, for the controller or finance leader to authorize. Manually, that means gathering printouts and supporting documents. With automation, batches queue up for the right authorizer, and scheduling can follow your cash management policy, for example paying early where a discount applies. ### 4. Payment execution Payments go out by check, bank transfer, virtual card or other methods. Without automation, even electronic payments involve logging into banking portals, entering each payment and recording it again in the accounting system. Automated payment files and integration with your bank and enterprise resource planning system remove the double entry. ### 5. Supplier management Supplier management runs through every step. Suppliers want to know whether their invoice arrived, whether it was approved and when they will be paid. A supplier portal answers those questions without a phone call, and a controlled onboarding process keeps supplier and bank details accurate. See [Onboardingflow](https://aavenir.com/solutions/vendor-onboarding-software/). ## Why does managing the workflow matter? A bottleneck or error at any step leads to late payments, duplicate payments, higher costs and wasted time. It also affects your supply chain, because suppliers who are paid late may prioritize other customers or tighten terms. A well managed workflow does the opposite. It handles growing volumes without more staff, captures early payment discounts, reduces risk and makes fraud harder. It also gives finance leaders control points they can rely on: approval limits by role, segregation of duties between entering an invoice and releasing a payment, verified changes to supplier bank details and a full audit trail. Those controls are hard to enforce when the workflow lives in email, and simple to enforce when it lives in a system. ## What problems show your workflow needs attention? | Problem | What causes it | What fixes it | | Missing invoices | Invoices sent to individuals or many inboxes | One capture point for every channel | | --- | --- | --- | | Data entry errors | Manual keying of fields | AI extraction with human review of exceptions | | Volume spikes | Fixed team, variable invoice volume | Touchless processing for clean invoices | | Lost paper | Physical filing | Digital storage linked to the invoice record | | Duplicate invoices | Slow processing prompts suppliers to resend | Duplicate detection before approval | | Overbilling | Purchase order match only | Checking invoice lines against contract terms | One manufacturer that runs on ServiceNow, T.D. Williamson, used to handle invoices across several email inboxes by hand, which led to duplicate payments and long approval cycles. Moving to [Invoiceflow](https://aavenir.com/solutions/accounts-payable-automation/) let the team automate invoice coding and approval workflows. Read more in our [case studies](https://aavenir.com/case-studies/). ## What does an automated workflow look like? In an automated workflow, people handle judgment and the system handles routine: - Invoices arrive by email, portal or scan and land in one queue. - AI extracts header and line item fields from any layout. - The invoice is matched against the purchase order, goods receipt and contract terms. - Clean invoices route for approval automatically. Exceptions go to the buyer or contract owner with the reason. - Approved invoices join a payment run for authorization. - Payments go out, are recorded and the supplier sees the status in the portal. Every step is logged, so auditors can see who approved what and when. **Walk through your accounts payable workflow with us**Bring a sample of invoices. We will show capture, matching, approval and payment runs in Invoiceflow. Schedule a demo ## How should you start improving the workflow? Map your current workflow first, including every inbox and spreadsheet involved. Measure a baseline: days from receipt to approval, exceptions by cause, duplicates found and discounts missed. Then automate the step that causes the most delay, usually capture and matching, and measure again before moving to the next. ## The bottom line The accounts payable workflow is five steps, and each one can stall. Capture every invoice in one place, match it against orders and contracts, route approvals by rule and keep suppliers informed, and the workflow becomes fast, controlled and auditable. ### In this article - What are the steps in the accounts payable workflow? - Why does managing the workflow matter? - What problems show your workflow needs attention? - What does an automated workflow look like? - How should you start improving the workflow? **See Invoiceflow end to end**A short demo of capture, matching, approval and payment runs. Share [in](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faavenir.com%2Faccounts-payable-workflow-101%2F)[X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Faavenir.com%2Faccounts-payable-workflow-101%2F&text=Accounts%20payable%20workflow%20101%3A%20the%20steps%2C%20the%20problems%20and%20the%20fixes) Frequently asked questions (FAQ) ## Frequently asked questions ### ### What are the five steps of the accounts payable workflow? The five steps are invoice capture, invoice approval, payment authorization, payment execution and supplier management. Approval includes matching the invoice against the purchase order and goods receipt, and supplier management runs through every step. Learn more about [accounts payable](https://aavenir.com/glossary/accounts-payable-ap/). ### ### What is the difference between invoice approval and payment authorization? Invoice approval confirms that an invoice is valid and matches what was ordered and received. Payment authorization is a separate decision, usually by a controller, to release a batch of approved invoices for payment in a given period, in line with cash policy. See [Invoiceflow](https://aavenir.com/solutions/accounts-payable-automation/). ### ### How do you prevent duplicate payments in accounts payable? Capture every invoice through one channel, check each new invoice against existing ones for the same supplier, number and amount before approval, and process invoices quickly so suppliers do not resend them. Automation runs these checks on every invoice. Read about [invoice reconciliation](https://aavenir.com/glossary/invoice-reconciliation/). Have a question we have not answered? [Ask the Expert](https://aavenir.com/contact/) ## Keep reading [Accounts payable automation Best practices for automating invoice approval: purchase order vs. non purchase order invoices The difference between purchase order and non purchase order invoices, best practices for approving each, and how to automate both workflows on ServiceNow. Read more](https://aavenir.com/best-practices-automating-invoice-approval-process-for-po-vs-non-po-invoices/)[Accounts payable automation Accounts payable automation: the questions finance teams ask Answers to the questions finance teams ask about accounts payable automation: who it fits, how it differs from optical character recognition, and setup. Read more](https://aavenir.com/accounts-payable-automation-solution-faq/)[Accounts payable automation Touchless invoice processing on ServiceNow with AI How touchless invoice processing works on ServiceNow: AI data capture, automatic two way and three way matching, and approvals that need people only for exceptions. Read more](https://aavenir.com/ai-enabled-touchless-invoice-processing/) Schedule a demo ## See your contracts run on one record. - **1****A 30 minute walkthrough**Built around your team, whether that is procurement, legal, IT or finance. - **2****Your contracts, not ours**Bring a few sample agreements and watch Aavenir AI extract and review them. - **3****ServiceNow or standalone**We show the deployment that fits the systems you already run. Prefer to talk first? [Contact the team](https://aavenir.com/contact/). The form did not load. [Contact the team](https://aavenir.com/contact/) instead, or refresh the page.