The most important part of creating an AP approval workflow is to create a workflow document that can be referenced and maintained by your firm and the client. This document should include all of the moving parts of your new approvals workflow, including but not limited to:
- All users/roles involved in the AP workflow (bill creator(s), approver(s), payer(s))
- How vendors will be onboarded and managed, and have their W-9s collected
- How documents will be collected and stored
- Who is responsible for entering invoice details, creating bills, and routing for approval
- How bills will be routed for approval and tracked
- All approval policies and who is responsible for approving in those scenarios
- Who is responsible for fund disbursement for bill payments, vendor credits, etc.
- How bills will be reconciled once payment is remitted, and who will enter those details
- Any other helpful details to ensure an efficient and organized workflow
Remember that this is a process document that will need to be updated and managed over time, so we recommend using an AP software solution to manage the work. This template has been created to help kickstart the process.
Learn more about how to apply this checklist and ask the right questions in our Best Practices Guide: Accounts Payable Approval Workflows.
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