Automation: AP Workflow
An illustrative workflow connecting document extraction, purchase-order checks and manager approval requests around existing business systems.
Workflow example
Automating High-Volume Invoice Processing Without Building Bespoke Software
A growing business wants a better way to manage a large volume of supplier and contractor invoices.
Its accounts payable team monitors a shared inbox, downloads PDF attachments, checks invoices against purchase orders and manually enters information into Oracle NetSuite.
When approval is needed, invoices go to managers by email. Reminders and chasing add further work.
The business needs automation that accommodates different departments, project codes and spending thresholds. Building a bespoke application brings development costs and an ongoing maintenance commitment.
An alternative is to connect specialist tools around the systems the business already uses.
An illustrative approach; implementation depends on the business’s systems and approval requirements.
Where manual work accumulates
Shared inbox
Download PDFs
Check purchase orders
Enter invoice data
Email approvals
Chase responses
Start with the points where work gets stuck
The workflow needs to handle more than capturing an invoice total.
Different document formats
Suppliers submit invoices in different layouts, including scanned documents. Information needs to be extracted and checked before it moves further through the process.
Purchase-order checks
Invoice details need to be compared with purchase-order information. Missing references and differences in quantities or prices require investigation.
Approval routing
Requests need to reach the right person according to the business’s approval rules.
Manual chasing
Managers need a clear request, enough information to make a decision and a straightforward way to respond.
Connect the tools into one workflow
Make coordinates the steps between the accounts payable inbox, document processing and the accounting system.
When an invoice arrives, the workflow sends its attachment to Google Cloud Document AI to extract relevant information.
The next stage validates the extracted details and checks them against the records needed for processing. Missing information or discrepancies go to the AP team for review.
This keeps exceptions visible while reducing repetitive handling of straightforward invoices.
From incoming invoice to a recorded outcome
Make — coordination layer across all five stages
Receive
Invoice arrives in the shared inbox.
Extract
Google Cloud Document AI extracts invoice information.
Validate and check
The workflow checks required information and relevant NetSuite purchase-order records.
Review and approve
Exceptions go to the AP team. Manager approval requests are routed through Slack where required.
Process in NetSuite
An authorised integration performs the configured next step, subject to NetSuite controls, and records the outcome.
Bring approval requests into Slack
Approval requests reach managers through Slack, alongside their everyday work.
Each request presents an invoice summary and access to the supporting document. This reduces the need to search email chains for the information behind a decision.
In this illustrative design, the integration verifies the responder’s authority, records the decision and passes it to the configured processing workflow. NetSuite’s permissions and approval requirements govern the accounting action that follows.
A response in Slack is not, by itself, confirmation that a bill has been approved or posted in NetSuite. The workflow records the actual processing outcome.
Keep people involved where judgement matters
Automation handles repeatable steps. The AP team investigates exceptions, checks unclear information and resolves discrepancies.
An unreadable invoice, an unexpected charge or an incomplete purchase order needs attention rather than automatic progression.
The workflow makes those cases easier to identify and directs them to the appropriate person.
What changes—and where people remain involved
- Manual taskRe-key invoice details
- Connected supportExtract information for validation
- Manual taskSearch across documents and purchase orders
- Connected supportBring relevant records into the checking process
- Manual taskForward emails and chase decisions
- Connected supportRoute approval requests and record responses
- Manual taskInvestigate unclear or inconsistent information
- Connected supportDirect exceptions to the AP team
The ROI: measure the work removed
The return depends on invoice volumes, document quality, exception rates and the cost of running the solution.
Assess it across four areas:
- Processing effort
- How much manual entry and document handling is removed?
- Approval delays
- How much time is spent forwarding requests and chasing responses?
- Development and maintenance
- How do connected tools compare with building and supporting a bespoke application?
- Team capacity
- What time becomes available for supplier analysis, cash planning and other finance work?
Include software subscriptions, implementation, support and ongoing reviews in the comparison. A connected workflow still needs ownership and maintenance.
Read the guide to accounts payable automationA practical route to better invoice processing
A business does not always need a new application to improve a complex process.
Connecting specialist tools creates a route from incoming invoice to extraction, checks, approval and accounting—designed around the business’s requirements.
The starting point is a clear view of the existing process: where information is entered repeatedly, where decisions stall and where exceptions need human attention.