How to approve vendor invoices so nothing is paid twice or late

Supplier invoices arrive by email, by mail and stuffed in delivery boxes. Some get paid twice, some get paid late, and the late fees add up. A simple approval process fixes it without new accounting software.

1. Send every invoice to one place

Give your invoices their own email address and ask vendors to send bills there. Each email becomes a ticket with the PDF attached. Paper invoices? Snap a photo and add it.

2. Record the basics

• Vendor and invoice number (required, which also catches duplicates)
• Amount (required)
• Due on invoice
• Approved by

3. Match it to the order

The first step, Match to order, is checking the invoice against what was actually ordered and received. Wrong quantity or price? Comment on the ticket and hold it.

4. Approve

In Approve, a manager signs off on the payment. The Approved by field records who, so there's an audit trail.

5. Mark it paid

Paid means the payment went out. Now "did we pay that?" is a search, not a hunt.

6. Never miss a due date

Sort the list by due date, or set a due-date reminder to nudge the approver a few days before each bill is due.

Using the template

The free invoice approval workflow template has the fields and the match, approve and paid steps. Turn on the stack's email address so invoices arrive on their own. If invoices pile up in someone's inbox today, read stop using your inbox as a to-do list.