Accounts payable guide
Your first-week AP onboarding checklist
A simple checklist for tools, SOPs, calls, QA, reporting, and payment controls.
The short answer
Use the first week to teach one AP lane, confirm access limits, and watch real work. Do not open every inbox and accounting permission on day one.
Before access is granted
Choose the first queue, gather good and bad examples, and name the person who will answer questions. Write down the events that require an immediate stop, such as a bank-detail change or a request to release payment.
Begin with read-only access where the task allows it. Add permissions only after the assistant has shown they can follow the review path.
Review real work together
Check the first packets for vendor name, invoice number, amount, due date, coding note, approval owner, and attached source record. Keep an exception log so the same question does not need a fresh answer each time.
At the end of the week, decide whether to keep the lane as it is, narrow it, or add one more task. Add access only when the work calls for it and the review process is holding up.
First-week check
- One queue and one reviewer are named
- Permissions match the work being tested
- Sample invoice packets are available
- Exceptions and corrections are written down