Accounts Payable Process: Steps and Flowchart

Accounts payable process flowchart

Step 1
Receive
Invoice arrives by email, upload or post
Step 2
Capture
Vendor, number, dates, lines and totals extracted
Step 3
Match
Checked against PO and receipt; variances become exceptions
Step 4
Code
GL account, department or cost center assigned
Step 5
Approve
Routed by amount, vendor or department
Step 6
Record
Bill posted to the accounting system
Step 7
Pay
Scheduled by due date and terms
Step 8
Reconcile
AP ledger agreed to the balance sheet at month-end

The steps, in plain language

1
Receive the invoice
Give suppliers one place to send invoices, usually a dedicated email address, so nothing sits in a personal inbox.
2
Capture the data
Record vendor, invoice number, invoice date, due date, line items, tax and total. Check the invoice number against past invoices from the same vendor to catch duplicates early.
3
Match to the PO and receipt
For PO-backed purchases, compare the invoice with the purchase order and the receiving record. Anything outside tolerance becomes an exception.
4
Code to the general ledger
Assign the expense account and any department, cost center or job. Vendor defaults save time for recurring bills.
5
Approve
Route the invoice to the right approver based on amount, vendor or department. Non-PO invoices always need an approval.
6
Record the bill
Post the approved invoice to your accounting system as a bill so it appears in accounts payable and the aging report.
7
Pay on time
Schedule payment by due date, taking early-payment discounts where they are worth it. Verify any change to vendor bank details before paying.
8
Reconcile and close
At month-end, agree the AP aging total to the AP balance on the balance sheet and investigate any difference.

In Aequo AP

Run the process in Aequo AP

Each step maps to a screen in Aequo.

1
Receive
Forward invoices to the address on the Email Ingestion card on the Integrations page, or upload them from Documents › All Documents with Upload Documents.
2
Capture
Aequo extracts the invoice data. Open the invoice to check the Extraction Results section; duplicate warnings appear under Mismatches and duplicate warnings.
3
Match
PO-backed invoices appear in Documents › Matches; variances go to Documents › Exceptions.
4
Code
In the invoice’s coding section, set GL Account, Department and Cost Center, or use Accept AI Suggestions or Apply Vendor Defaults. Defaults are set in Settings › Coding Rules.
5
Approve
Rules in Settings › Approval Rules route the invoice automatically. Approvers act from the Approvals page. If no rule covers an invoice, the approval section suggests an approver you can Assign.
6
Record
Approved bills sync to QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks or Zoho Books. Check Settings › Accounting Sync, or the Failed sync filter in the Work Queue.
7
Pay
Paying vendors from Aequo is coming soon. Today, approved bills sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero and you pay them there.
8
Reconcile
The Dashboard shows a month-end readiness score; the reconciliation itself happens in your accounting system (see the reconcile accounts payable lesson).

In QuickBooks Online

Record and pay the bill in QuickBooks Online

If a bill is entered directly in QuickBooks Online rather than synced, Intuit’s steps are below.

1
Enter the bill
Select + Create, then Bill. Choose the Vendor and Terms, enter the Bill date, Due date and Bill no. exactly as on the invoice, fill in Category details (and Item details if you itemize), then Save and close.
2
Pay it
Schedule an ACH or mailed-check payment through QuickBooks Bill Pay, or record a payment made elsewhere from Pay bills. The QuickBooks Online bill pay lesson has both.

Common mistakes

Letting invoices arrive in several inboxes, so some are never entered.
Approving before matching, so approvers sign off on prices nobody checked.
Changing vendor bank details on the strength of an email.
Leaving reconciliation to year-end instead of every month.

Frequently asked questions

What are the steps in the accounts payable process?

Receive the invoice, capture its data, match it to the PO and receipt, code it to the general ledger, approve it, record it as a bill, pay it, and reconcile at month-end.

Who is responsible for each step?

AP specialists usually own receipt, capture, matching and coding; budget holders approve; the accountant or controller owns recording, payment release and reconciliation. Keeping vendor setup, approval and payment with different people is a basic segregation-of-duties control.

What is the difference between PO and non-PO invoices in the process?

PO invoices go through matching before approval; non-PO invoices skip matching and rely on the approver to confirm the spend.

Try it in Aequo AP

Aequo AP captures invoices, matches them to purchase orders and delivery notes, routes approvals and flags exceptions and duplicates, then syncs approved bills with QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks or Zoho Books.

Start a free trial Book a demo

Sources

Third-party steps follow the vendor’s own help pages. Menus change; check the current page if a label differs.

Intuit: Enter bills in QuickBooks Online — Updated by Intuit 5 August 2026; fetched 23 October 2026.

The accounts payable process, step by step (with flowchart)