Accounts Payable Best Practices

Mary S. Schaeffer is the Editorial Director and Publisher of Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, a newsletter devoted to payment issues. She also pens, e-News from the AP Front, a complimentary e-zine for the payment community. She's the author of ten books and numerous magazine, newsletter and newspaper articles. Her books have been used in several certification programs. She is a member of the New York Financial Writers Association. She is currently working on two additional books for John Wiley & Sons.

• Introduction xiChapter 1 Invoices 1Invoice Handling: Approvals 1Forwarding Invoices 6Verifying Invoice Data 8Invoice-Coding Standards 11Short-Paying Invoices 16Paying Small-Dollar Invoices 19Handling Unidentified Invoices 21Handling Invoices without Invoice Numbers 23Case Study: How One Pro Took Accounts Payable Out of the Picture when Resolving Customer Discrepancies 25Chapter 2 Checks 29Check Printing 29Check Signing 35Check Stock Storage 40Distribution of Checks 42Check Fraud 45Rush or Emergency Checks 50Case Study: Information Sheet: Segregation of Duties 54Chapter 3 Operational 57Duplicate Payment Avoidance 57Paying When the Original Invoice Is Missing 61Limiting Calls to Accounts Payable 63Petty Cash 65Supplier Statements 69Case Study: Expert Demonstrates How to Put the Web to Work for Accounts Payable 71Chapter 4 Master Vendor File 77Master Vendor File Setup 77Using Naming Conventions 81Making Changes to the Master Vendor File 85Master Vendor File Cleanup 87Case Study: Experienced Accounts Payable Pro Shares Master Vendor File Control Secrets 90Chapter 5 P-Cards 97Design of the P-Card Program 97Establishing Procedures 99Setting Controls 101Increasing Usage 1051099s and P-Cards 106Terms 108Rebates 110Case Study: P-Cards Improve Accounts Payable Process at PETsMART, Rock-Tenn, and Rouse 111Chapter 6 Travel and Entertainment 119Formal Policy 119Cash Advances 123T&E Report Form 125Verifying Data 127Handling Receipts 129Reservations 130Reimbursing Employees 132Unused Tickets 133Case Study: Making the Most of Direct Deposit 134Case Study: TransUnion’s Successful Low-Tech, Low-Budget T&E Solution 136Case Study: Follow IBM’s Lead: 21 Steps to an Award-Winning T&E Process 139Case Study: How Zurich America Developed Its Own Electronic T&E Report 145Chapter 7 Regulatory Issues 1511099s 151Sales and Use Tax 154Unclaimed Property 156Case Study: How to Avoid Sales and Use Tax Audit Disasters 159Case Study: A Typical Company’s Unclaimed Property Experience 162Chapter 8 Cash Management 167Taking Early Payment Discounts 167Payment Status Information for Vendors 170Bank Accounts and Fraud 172Other Cash Management–Related Initiatives 174Case Study: General Electric’s Approach to Electronic Invoicing and Payment Processing 176Chapter 9 Technology 181Imaging and Workflow 181The Internet 185E-Invoicing 187Case Study: PPL Electric Offers Lessons on Setting Up an Accounts Payable Imaging Solution 189Case Study: An Accounts Payable Web Site 194Case Study: How the Accounts Payable Manager at Merck Overhauled Department Procedures and Technology 199Chapter 10 Communications/Customer Relations 209Payment Status Information for Vendors 209Communicating Relevant Information to Vendors 211Communicating with Internal Customers 214Improving the Procure-to-Pay Cycle 217Case Study: Interactive Voice Response Frees Accounts Payable from Annoying “Where’s My Money” Calls 219Case Study: How Automated Accounts Payable and Purchasing Systems Mesh at BNSF 222Index 229