Accounts Payable Workflow Automation

Large enterprise with a legacy accounting system - High volume of vendor invoices and supplier invoices processed every month.

Business Context

The client operated on a legacy finance system that did not have a built-in Accounts Payable (AP) workflow. As a result, the processing of purchase invoices, vendor invoices, and supplier invoices was largely manual, fragmented across emails, folders, and spreadsheets.

This created challenges around:

• Approval visibility
• Duplicate invoices
• Audit traceability
• Invoice turnaround time
• Lack of real-time status tracking

LeverageAxiom was engaged to design and implement a complete Accounts Payable workflow solution using Microsoft SharePoint, Power Automate, and later Power Apps.

Key Challenges

• No structured workflow for vendor invoice approvals
• Manual data validation and verification
• High risk of duplicate payments
• No discrepancy checks between purchase invoice and accounting entries
• Physical stamping required for compliance but not digitally traceable
• No centralized dashboard for invoice status
• Difficult to identify who approved an invoice and when

Solution Overview

LeverageAxiom built an end-to-end Accounts Payable automation solution that covers the full lifecycle of:

Invoice Upload → Validation → Verification → Multi-level Approval → Duplicate Checks → Accounting Reconciliation → Audit Traceability

The solution was first implemented using SharePoint and Power Automate, and later upgraded into a Power Apps-based system for enhanced user experience and governance.

End-to-End Accounts Payable Automation Flow

1. Vendor Invoice Upload

• Vendor invoices and supplier invoices uploaded to SharePoint
• Supports scanned invoices and digital PDFs
• Acts as a centralized invoice intake repository

2. Data Validation & Verification

Automated checks include:

• Mandatory field validation
• Vendor master verification
• Invoice number and date checks
• Purchase invoice completeness validation

3. Duplicate & Discrepancy Checks

Duplicate invoice detection based on:

• Vendor
• Invoice number
• Amount

Data entry discrepancy checks between:

• Purchase invoice
• Accounting records

4. Multi-Level Approval Workflow

Configurable approval flow based on:

• Invoice value
• Cost center
• Department
• Approval hierarchy

Supports:

• Finance review
• Business owner approval
• Final Accounts Payable authorization

5. OCR-Based Stamping & Indexing

• Physical invoices were scanned and stamped
• Using OCR, the stamping details were:
  • Extracted automatically
  • Indexed and tagged to the correct invoice records
• Enables digital traceability of physical compliance steps

6. Invoice Status Dashboard

Real-time dashboard on SharePoint showing:

• Pending approvals
• Approved invoices
• Rejected invoices
• Paid invoices

Provides transparency across finance and business teams.

7. Power Apps Upgrade with Audit Timestamping

The workflow was further enhanced using Power Apps, adding:

• Automated timestamp affixing on invoice copies
• Displays:
  • Who approved the invoice
  • Date of approval
  • Date of payment
• Stored directly on the invoice file in OneDrive

Anyone opening the invoice can instantly see: Who approved it, when it was approved, and when it was paid.

Technology Stack

• SharePoint
• Power Automate
• Power Apps
• OCR
• OneDrive

Delivery Timeline

| Phase | Duration | |-------|----------| | Process Design & Data Mapping | 1–2 weeks | | Workflow Development & OCR Integration | 2–3 weeks | | Testing, UAT & Go-Live | 1 week | | Total Duration | 4–6 weeks |

Commercials

One-Time Implementation Fee: ₹2,00,000

Includes:

• Accounts Payable workflow automation
• Vendor invoice management
• Duplicate and discrepancy checks
• OCR-based indexing
• Power Apps interface
• SharePoint dashboards

Business Benefits Achieved

• End-to-end digitization of Accounts Payable
• Faster purchase invoice processing
• Reduced duplicate payments
• Full audit trail for supplier invoices
• Clear approval accountability
• Improved compliance and governance
• Real-time visibility for finance leadership

Why LeverageAxiom

We specialize in governance-first automation, helping finance teams modernize critical processes like Accounts Payable, vendor invoice processing, and purchase invoice approvals without replacing core accounting systems.

Assess. Automate. Advance. Turning manual finance workflows into controlled, auditable systems.