Accounts payable guide
What to plan before you outsource accounts payable
A plain-English guide to AP scope, controls, and handoff planning before you hire.
The short answer
Choose one AP lane before you choose a person. Write down what enters the queue, who reviews it, and which decisions must stay with your finance team.
Draw the control line
An AP assistant can collect invoices, prepare coding notes, chase missing documents, and keep the approval list current. Vendor bank changes, invoice approval, and payment release should still belong to named employees.
Put those limits in the role brief. A vague promise to "help with AP" leaves too much room for mistakes.
Pick a queue you can review
Start with one inbox, company entity, or vendor group. Give the assistant examples of complete and incomplete invoice packets, then review the early work against those examples.
The first handoff should be small enough that a finance owner can inspect it without rebuilding the whole packet.
Bring these details to the planning call
- Monthly invoice volume and busy periods
- Accounting system and approval tools
- Current approval owners and escalation rules
- Tasks that must stay with employees