Accounts Payable Automation & Vendor Validation

Accounts Payable Automation Overview

Accounts payable teams often spend significant time reviewing invoice information, confirming vendor status, checking purchase order requirements, identifying possible duplicate invoices, and determining whether an invoice is ready for processing.

This project demonstrates how accounts payable automation can apply those operational controls consistently. As an example of workflow and business process automation, invoice data enters the workflow, vendor information is validated against an approved Vendor Master, invoice requirements are checked, and the transaction is routed either to an exception path or to QuickBooks Online for downstream AP processing.

Accounts Payable Automation Workflow

The workflow below illustrates how invoice information enters the automation, moves through vendor and invoice validation, and is routed to either an exception-review path or the QuickBooks Online processing path.

How the Accounts Payable Automation Works

1. A custom webhook receives structured invoice information.
2. JSON parsing identifies fields including Vendor ID, Vendor Name, Invoice Number, Invoice Date, Amount, Purchase Order, Payment Terms, and Vendor Email.
3. Google Sheets searches the approved Vendor Master using the Vendor ID.
4. The workflow confirms that the vendor exists and is active.
5. Required invoice fields and applicable purchase order requirements are checked.
6. The Invoice Log is searched using the Vendor ID and Invoice Number to identify possible duplicate invoices.
7. A Make.com router directs the invoice to either the approved processing path or the exception management path.
8. Approved invoice data is passed to the QuickBooks Online module for accounts payable processing.
9. The approved transaction is recorded in the Invoice Log.
10. Exceptions are logged and an automated Gmail notification is sent for human review.

AP Vendor & Invoice Validation Rules

The workflow uses defined business rules to determine whether an invoice can continue through automated processing or requires human review.

• The vendor must exist in the approved Vendor Master.
• The vendor must be active.
• Required invoice information must be present.
• Purchase order requirements must be satisfied when applicable.
• The Vendor ID and Invoice Number combination must not already exist in the Invoice Log.
• Only invoices that pass validation are routed to the QuickBooks Online processing step.
• Invoices that fail a control are routed for exception review rather than continuing automatically.

QuickBooks Online AP Integration

QuickBooks Online serves as the downstream financial system after the automated validation controls have been completed.

The workflow is intentionally designed so invoice data does not move into QuickBooks Online until vendor, invoice, purchase order, and duplicate checks have passed.

This creates a clear operational control point between automated invoice validation and downstream accounts payable processing.

Accounts Payable Exception Management

Not every invoice should continue through an automated AP process without review. Unknown vendors, inactive vendors, incomplete invoice information, missing required purchase orders, or possible duplicate invoices are routed to an exception path.

The exception workflow creates visibility into the issue and sends an automated Gmail notification so the transaction can be reviewed before further processing.

This approach uses automation for repeatable validation while preserving human review for transactions that do not meet the defined accounts payable controls.

AP Automation Tools & Methods

Automation Challenges & Problem Solving

One of the most important design considerations was determining which accounts payable decisions could be automated and which conditions should continue to require human review.

Vendor validation required the workflow to compare incoming invoice information against a controlled Vendor Master rather than relying only on the information contained in the invoice.

Duplicate invoice detection required a search of historical invoice records before approving a new transaction. The QuickBooks Online integration was positioned after these controls so it serves as a downstream processing step rather than bypassing the validation process.

Estimated Time Savings

Before automation, each invoice could require approximately 5–8 minutes of manual review to validate the vendor, confirm invoice information, check purchase order requirements, search for possible duplicate invoices, and determine whether the transaction was ready for processing.

For every 100 invoices, these validation activities could represent approximately 8–13 hours of manual processing time.

With the automated workflow, repeatable validation checks are performed automatically. Invoices that meet the defined requirements can continue through the workflow, while exceptions are routed for human review.

This allows staff to focus their time on invoices that actually require attention rather than manually performing the same validation steps on every transaction.

Operational Impact

This accounts payable automation creates a more structured invoice-processing workflow by applying repeatable validation rules before transactions continue to the financial system.

• Potentially saves 8–13 hours of manual validation work per 100 invoices processed.
• Reduces repetitive manual vendor and invoice validation.
• Applies accounts payable business rules more consistently.
• Helps identify possible duplicate invoices before further processing.
• Improves visibility into invoices requiring additional review.
• Creates a structured AP exception-management process.
• Provides a centralized invoice validation log for tracking and review.
• Connects validated accounts payable information with QuickBooks Online for downstream processing.

Accounts Payable & Automation Skills Demonstrated