The Quiet Fix That Changes Everything in Accounts Payable
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27 Aug, 2025
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6 min read
In most finance teams, accounts payable is a constant game of catch-up. An invoice arrives, but you now can't find the PO. The wrong delivery note was included in the approval pack. Someone's gone on leave without approving a batch. By the time payment is finally released, the supplier's frustrated and the finance team is drained.
You don't feel it immediately, but this kind of low-grade friction builds up. Over time, it slows decisions, sours supplier relationships, and makes every month-end feel harder than the last.
The process itself is brittle. Too much is dependent on memory, email threads, and error-prone, manual processes. That's not a sustainable way to run any finance function, especially one responsible for large supplier volumes or time-sensitive payments.
At System1A, we see the same thing across teams: talented people working inside broken workflows. The goal is to fix the parts that break most often, and that starts with structure.
One of the most effective AP tactics we've seen finance teams adopt is automated three-way matching. It sounds like a feature, but it changes the entire way accounts payable operates.
How It Works
When an invoice is received, the system automatically matches it against two things: the purchase order (PO) and the goods received note (GRN). If the pricing and details line up, the invoice is cleared for approval. If something is off, the system flags it.
The right person gets notified. There's no need to manually capture (or email) the invoice, open another folder, or track down someone from procurement to explain the variance. The issue is captured, documented, and sent to the right person to resolve.
That one shift does a lot. It eliminates repetitive checking. It catches issues earlier. It gives everyone confidence that what's been approved is actually correct. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, it prevents costly errors such as invoice overpayment or missing out on valuable settlement discounts.
From Bottlenecks to Flow
We've seen teams reduce their invoice processing times by more than 40 percent, just by getting this matching process right. That speed matters, especially when you're managing hundreds or thousands of invoices a month.
However, the real value is in the mental shift.
Instead of spending every week fighting fires, teams move into a rhythm. They trust the system to handle the bulk of the workload. They focus their energy on the outliers. That's where human judgment is actually useful. You need a finance manager to spot patterns, fix breakdowns, and advise the business. Good automation liberates people.
What It Does for Supplier Relationships
There's a secondary benefit too, and it's a big one. Suppliers notice the difference when a business is easy to work with. Payments come through faster. Queries are resolved quickly. The process feels professional and reliable. That builds trust.
That trust gives you leverage. When you need to negotiate better terms or accelerate a key order, your suppliers are more likely to prioritise you. You become a preferred customer because you become a pleasure to work with. That's an underrated advantage, especially in sectors where supplier reliability affects service delivery.
It all comes back to structure. When your internal process is clean, it reflects outward.
A Real-World Example
One of the businesses we worked with described their old AP process as "a series of slow arguments." Every invoice turned into a detective story. There were Slack messages, emails, calls to the warehouse, spreadsheets with notes. Nobody ever had the full picture. People approved things they shouldn't, just to get them out of the way.
After implementing structured matching with System1A, their workflow changed. Now,they are able to clear invoices that pass the match criteria automatically. Those that contain mismatches are flagged, and a short list is reviewed each day. Instead of arguing over every transaction, the team spends thirty minutes each morning resolving a handful of minor exception cases. This resulted in fewer late payments, a more focused team, and a procurement department that doesn't dread month-end.
Why This Works
This works because most AP friction isn't about strategic challenges but all the surrounding challenges. Mismatched documents, missing information, unclear accountability. If you can fix those problems with a singular action, everything downstream improves.
Structured matching fixes those underlying problems. It gives the system rules to follow, and only asks humans to get involved when the rules break. That's how high-performing finance teams operate. They build systems that do the heavy lifting, and then step in where it counts.
It also makes reporting easier. You can track processing times, dispute rates, and exception patterns. You can use that data to tighten policies, improve supplier onboarding, or even change how POs are issued. When your process is consistent, your metrics are useful. When your metrics are useful, you can drive real change.
Insights from the Experts
"What's one tactic that's helped you reduce friction or bottlenecks in your Account Payable (AP) process?"
Maurice Harary, CEO and Co-Founder, The Bid Lab
"We automate as much as we can to help stop bottlenecks before they start. But one effective tactic I've used to reduce friction is to develop and edit a variety of predefined rules based on our previous experiences. By using our previous experiences to direct automation, we're always ready for all sorts of invoice process challenges. We use the human element to direct how we respond, then automate the actual response process to improve our workflow."
Niclas Schlopsna, Managing Consultant and CEO, spectup
One tactic that's made a real difference for us at spectup was introducing a single shared inbox and structured intake form for all incoming invoices. Before that, invoices were floating into every team member's inbox, some via email, others via Slack, and the occasional stray PDF would land through a contact form—complete chaos. We created a simple intake flow linked to a shared inbox, which now captures all key invoice details upfront—vendor name, due date, service provided, and PO reference if applicable.
Heinz Klemann, Senior Marketing Consultant, BeastBI GmbH
"One tactic that really helped streamline our AP process was switching to automated invoice capture and approval workflows. Instead of manually forwarding PDFs or chasing signatures, everything now routes through a shared system with clear status tracking. We also added a rule-based tagging system for faster categorization and review. It cut down approval time significantly and reduced errors from manual data entry. Plus, the finance team now spends more time reviewing exceptions instead of routine tasks."
Start with the basics
If this sounds simple, that's because it is. That being said, it only works when the basics are in place.
If your team doesn't consistently issue POs, if GRNs are missing or late, if the invoice approval process is informal or scattered, then no system will save you. The foundation has to be there.
So before you buy anything, map the current process. Where do approvals get stuck? Which vendors constantly trigger exceptions? Who owns what?
You'll usually find that 80 percent of your issues come from a few repeat scenarios. Fix those first. Then layer in automation.
That's how the best teams do it. They start small. They build structure. They work the exceptions. Over time, they move from firefighting to flow.
You don't feel it immediately, but this kind of low-grade friction builds up. Over time, it slows decisions, sours supplier relationships, and makes every month-end feel harder than the last.
The process itself is brittle. Too much is dependent on memory, email threads, and error-prone, manual processes. That's not a sustainable way to run any finance function, especially one responsible for large supplier volumes or time-sensitive payments.
At System1A, we see the same thing across teams: talented people working inside broken workflows. The goal is to fix the parts that break most often, and that starts with structure.
One of the most effective AP tactics we've seen finance teams adopt is automated three-way matching. It sounds like a feature, but it changes the entire way accounts payable operates.
How It Works
When an invoice is received, the system automatically matches it against two things: the purchase order (PO) and the goods received note (GRN). If the pricing and details line up, the invoice is cleared for approval. If something is off, the system flags it.
The right person gets notified. There's no need to manually capture (or email) the invoice, open another folder, or track down someone from procurement to explain the variance. The issue is captured, documented, and sent to the right person to resolve.
That one shift does a lot. It eliminates repetitive checking. It catches issues earlier. It gives everyone confidence that what's been approved is actually correct. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, it prevents costly errors such as invoice overpayment or missing out on valuable settlement discounts.
From Bottlenecks to Flow
We've seen teams reduce their invoice processing times by more than 40 percent, just by getting this matching process right. That speed matters, especially when you're managing hundreds or thousands of invoices a month.
However, the real value is in the mental shift.
Instead of spending every week fighting fires, teams move into a rhythm. They trust the system to handle the bulk of the workload. They focus their energy on the outliers. That's where human judgment is actually useful. You need a finance manager to spot patterns, fix breakdowns, and advise the business. Good automation liberates people.
What It Does for Supplier Relationships
There's a secondary benefit too, and it's a big one. Suppliers notice the difference when a business is easy to work with. Payments come through faster. Queries are resolved quickly. The process feels professional and reliable. That builds trust.
That trust gives you leverage. When you need to negotiate better terms or accelerate a key order, your suppliers are more likely to prioritise you. You become a preferred customer because you become a pleasure to work with. That's an underrated advantage, especially in sectors where supplier reliability affects service delivery.
It all comes back to structure. When your internal process is clean, it reflects outward.
A Real-World Example
One of the businesses we worked with described their old AP process as "a series of slow arguments." Every invoice turned into a detective story. There were Slack messages, emails, calls to the warehouse, spreadsheets with notes. Nobody ever had the full picture. People approved things they shouldn't, just to get them out of the way.
After implementing structured matching with System1A, their workflow changed. Now,they are able to clear invoices that pass the match criteria automatically. Those that contain mismatches are flagged, and a short list is reviewed each day. Instead of arguing over every transaction, the team spends thirty minutes each morning resolving a handful of minor exception cases. This resulted in fewer late payments, a more focused team, and a procurement department that doesn't dread month-end.
Why This Works
This works because most AP friction isn't about strategic challenges but all the surrounding challenges. Mismatched documents, missing information, unclear accountability. If you can fix those problems with a singular action, everything downstream improves.
Structured matching fixes those underlying problems. It gives the system rules to follow, and only asks humans to get involved when the rules break. That's how high-performing finance teams operate. They build systems that do the heavy lifting, and then step in where it counts.
It also makes reporting easier. You can track processing times, dispute rates, and exception patterns. You can use that data to tighten policies, improve supplier onboarding, or even change how POs are issued. When your process is consistent, your metrics are useful. When your metrics are useful, you can drive real change.
Insights from the Experts
"What's one tactic that's helped you reduce friction or bottlenecks in your Account Payable (AP) process?"
Maurice Harary, CEO and Co-Founder, The Bid Lab
"We automate as much as we can to help stop bottlenecks before they start. But one effective tactic I've used to reduce friction is to develop and edit a variety of predefined rules based on our previous experiences. By using our previous experiences to direct automation, we're always ready for all sorts of invoice process challenges. We use the human element to direct how we respond, then automate the actual response process to improve our workflow."
Niclas Schlopsna, Managing Consultant and CEO, spectup
One tactic that's made a real difference for us at spectup was introducing a single shared inbox and structured intake form for all incoming invoices. Before that, invoices were floating into every team member's inbox, some via email, others via Slack, and the occasional stray PDF would land through a contact form—complete chaos. We created a simple intake flow linked to a shared inbox, which now captures all key invoice details upfront—vendor name, due date, service provided, and PO reference if applicable.
Heinz Klemann, Senior Marketing Consultant, BeastBI GmbH
"One tactic that really helped streamline our AP process was switching to automated invoice capture and approval workflows. Instead of manually forwarding PDFs or chasing signatures, everything now routes through a shared system with clear status tracking. We also added a rule-based tagging system for faster categorization and review. It cut down approval time significantly and reduced errors from manual data entry. Plus, the finance team now spends more time reviewing exceptions instead of routine tasks."
Start with the basics
If this sounds simple, that's because it is. That being said, it only works when the basics are in place.
If your team doesn't consistently issue POs, if GRNs are missing or late, if the invoice approval process is informal or scattered, then no system will save you. The foundation has to be there.
So before you buy anything, map the current process. Where do approvals get stuck? Which vendors constantly trigger exceptions? Who owns what?
You'll usually find that 80 percent of your issues come from a few repeat scenarios. Fix those first. Then layer in automation.
That's how the best teams do it. They start small. They build structure. They work the exceptions. Over time, they move from firefighting to flow.
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