E H SMITH (BUILDERS MERCHANTS) LIMITED

30 days end of month

Supplier invoices are received electronically (predominantly via EDI where applicable) and are matched against the corresponding purchase order using an automated invoice matching process. Invoices that fall within agreed price and quantity tolerances are approved for processing and payment.

Where an invoice cannot be matched, or a discrepancy is identified (such as incorrect price, quantity, product, missing proof of delivery, invoice calculation errors, or goods not received), the invoice is automatically placed into query within the Accounts Payable (AP) system and a workflow task is created.

The Accounts Payable team reviews the query and liaises with the supplier and, where necessary, the originating branch or department to investigate and resolve the issue. Queries are assigned to the appropriate individual for action and tracked within the system.

A report of all outstanding invoice queries is produced and circulated weekly to relevant managers and business areas to monitor progress and ensure timely resolution. Queries that remain unresolved after 10 working days are escalated to the appropriate line manager or senior member of staff in accordance with the escalation process. Where resolution is dependent on information or action from the supplier, the AP team continues to monitor and follow up until the query is resolved and payment can be processed.