Accounts Payable Clerk — Finance guide
Get every supplier bill captured, checked and ready to approve.
Captures what suppliers bill and prepares it for approval — never approves or posts it, which is what keeps payables honest.
What you will be able to do
- See every bill and what state it is in
- Know what is due and how late it is
- Send a whole batch of bills for approval in one go
- Keep supplier details up to date
What this role can and cannot do
| Can | Cannot |
|---|---|
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19 steps, each one carried out in the product on .
Open the supplier bills list #
Where Finance » Payables
- From the launcher, open Finance.
- In the left menu, click Payables.
- Use the tabs across the top: Bills, Approvals, Aging, Payment proposal.
You should see Every bill you have entered is here with its current state.
Enter a supplier bill #
Where Finance » Payables » New bill
- On Payables, click New bill at the top right.
- Choose the supplier, or type a one-off name if they are not in the list.
- Enter the supplier's own invoice number, the bill date and the due date.
- Add one line per charge: description, account, quantity, unit price and tax.
- Check the total against the supplier's document.
- Click Save to keep it as a draft, or Save and submit to send it for approval.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Pick from your supplier list. Their payment terms fill the due date for you. |
| Or one-off vendor name | For a supplier you will not use again — no master record is created. |
| Vendor invoice no. | Their reference, exactly as printed. This is what stops the same bill being paid twice. |
| Bill date | The date on the supplier's document. |
| Due | When they expect to be paid. Filled from payment terms; change it if you agreed something else. |
| WHT rate (non-resident) | Only for suppliers where withholding tax applies. Leave empty otherwise. |
| Description | What the charge was for, per line. |
| Account | The expense account this belongs to. Ask your accountant which one if the charge is unusual. |
| Qty / Unit price | Multiply to the line amount. Use quantity 1 and the full amount when it is a single service. |
| Tax | The tax code for the line. The tax amount is worked out for you. |
You should see The total, the tax and what is left to pay are worked out for you as you add lines.
Watch out If the total is a few fils out, the tax code on a line is usually the reason — not the prices.
Worth knowing Have the supplier's PDF? Use New from document instead and the details are read off it for you to check.
See what is due and how late #
Where Finance » Payables » Ageing
- On Payables, click the Aging tab.
- Read the Bucket column.
You should see You can tell in one look which suppliers need paying first.
Look at the payment runs #
Where Finance » Payment runs
- In the left menu, click Payment runs.
- Open a run to see which bills it covers.
You should see You put the run together; the controller approves it before any money moves. A supplier whose payments are on hold is left out of a new run, and the run says which bills it left out and why.
Worth knowing Paying a held supplier's bill by hand is refused too, with the hold's reason and end date, until the hold is lifted in Parties.
Send a batch of bills for approval #
Where Finance » Payables » tick rows » Submit
- On Payables, tick each bill you have finished entering.
- In the bar at the bottom, click Submit.
- Confirm.
You should see They all go forward in one action, and each bill is still checked on its own — a bill with a problem is named and the others still move.
Watch out A bill that fails its own checks is named in the result and stays where it was — the others still go forward.
Worth knowing Not sure about a batch? Ask for a practice run first — it checks every row and changes nothing.
See where your authority stops #
Where Finance » Payables
- Tick any bill.
- Read the bar at the bottom.
You should see Submit is there; Approve is not. The person who enters a bill never approves it — that is what keeps payables honest.
Edit suppliers, but do not remove them #
Where Finance » Customers & vendors
- Open Customers & vendors.
- Tick a supplier.
- Read the bar.
You should see You can correct a supplier's details, but taking one out of the master list is a different authority.
Payroll is not yours to see #
Where The left menu
- Look down the app list in the left rail.
You should see Someone handling supplier invoices has no reason to see salaries, so the whole area is closed — not just hidden.
Match a bill to a purchase order #
Where Finance » Bills » New bill » Match to PO
- Click New bill, pick the vendor, then Match to PO.
- Lines pre-fill from what was received; the chip names the match or the exception.
You should see A bill that ties to a PO and a receipt needs no phone call.
Work the approvals inbox #
Where Finance » Approvals
- Open Approvals.
- Each row names the document, the amount, the step and how long it has waited.
You should see Approve or reject with a note; escalation moves the rest on.
Accept inbound e-invoices #
Where Finance » Inbound invoices
- Open Inbound invoices.
- Read the supplier match and the duplicate flag; Accept the ones that are right.
You should see A Peppol invoice that arrived by itself is data you should not retype.
Read the vendor-risk findings #
Where Finance » Anomalies » Vendor risk
- Open Anomalies and choose Vendor risk.
You should see Duplicate IBAN, new bank details, near-duplicate bills — each with the reason.
Start a bill from its photo #
Where Finance » Bills » From document
- Click From document and upload the scan.
- The proposal shows supplier, VAT number, totals and VAT with verify markers.
You should see OCR proposes; the clerk verifies.
Record the customs numbers of an imported bill #
Where Finance » Payables » a bill » Customs (imported goods)
- Open Payables and the bill.
- Scroll to Customs (imported goods).
- Press Add customs numbers.
- Type both numbers and press Save.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Customs permit number | As printed on the customs papers |
| Import declaration number | The bill of entry number from the customs declaration |
You should see Both numbers show on the bill and in its history; the FTA audit file lists them with the purchase.
Worth knowing The numbers can be added after the bill is posted or paid — the declaration often arrives later. They never change the totals.
Issue and print a supplier cheque #
Where Finance » Cheque printing » Issue cheque
- Open Cheque printing.
- Press Issue cheque.
- Fill the form and press Issue and print.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Chequebook | The book of the bank account the cheque is drawn on |
| Payee | Exactly as it must be printed |
| Amount / Currency | The amount of the cheque |
| Cheque date | Today, or a later date for a post-dated cheque |
You should see The cheque takes the chequebook's next number, with the amount in words in English and Arabic; a cheque dated in the future is also listed with the post-dated cheques.
Worth knowing A spoiled cheque is voided with a reason and re-issued on the next number; the number is never reused.
Void a spoiled cheque #
Where Finance » Cheque printing » a cheque » Void
- Open Cheque printing.
- Find the cheque and press Void.
- Write the reason and press Void.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Reason | Why the cheque is spoiled — it stays in the number trail |
You should see The number is never reused: it stays in the trail with your reason. A cheque in the post-dated cheque register is cancelled there in the same step and its entry is reversed, so nothing waits on a cheque that no longer exists.
Worth knowing A cheque the bank already has (deposited or cleared) cannot be voided — record the bounce or the stop-payment in the post-dated cheque register instead.
Choose the bank a supplier payment comes from #
Where Finance » Payables » a posted bill » Record payment
- Open Payables and the posted bill.
- Press Record payment.
- Pick the bank in Paid from.
- Fill the amount, date and method, then confirm.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Paid from | The bank the money leaves — only banks that can pay in the bill's currency |
You should see Only banks that can pay in the bill's currency are listed. If the bank you had chosen cannot, the form moves to one that can.
Worth knowing A bank kept in another currency is refused, and the message names the currency it is kept in: pay from a bank in the bill's currency, or record the payment in the bank's.
Record the branch that made a purchase #
Where Finance » Payables » a bill » Branch
- Open the bill.
- Pick the branch in Branch.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Branch | The branch that made the purchase |
You should see The FTA audit file for that branch then lists this purchase.
Give a prepaid bill line its service period #
Where Finance » Payables » New bill » a line » Service period
- Press New bill.
- Fill the line.
- Fill Service period: first and last day.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Service period | Optional — the months a prepaid cost covers |
You should see When the bill is posted, the cost goes to prepayments and is released month by month over that period.
Worth knowing Give both dates or neither. A period that ends in the bill's own month is booked at once.
Use cases — the work, step by step
Each one is a sequence somebody actually performs, with the screen behind every step. Every screen here was opened in the product as this role before it was published.
dailyA day of supplier invoices, entered and sent for approval #
You are the last person who sees the paper. Everything after you depends on what you typed.
Open Payables. The state column tells you whose turn it is on every bill you have entered.
Finance » Payables — verified: 25 row(s) listed Enter each invoice that arrived: supplier, their own invoice number, the dates, then a line per charge. Check the total against the supplier's document to the fils.
Finance » Payables » New bill — verified: the control is offered Tick the bills you finished and submit them together. Each one still runs its own checks, so a problem bill is named and the rest go forward.
Finance » Payables » tick rows » Submit — verified: the control is offered; the control is offered
weeklyWork the week's payables before the payment run #
A supplier at ninety days calls the managing director, not you.
Open the Aging tab and read the Bucket column, oldest first.
Finance » Payables » Ageing — verified: the page says “Bucket”; 66 row(s) listed Look at the payment runs to see what is already scheduled, and what still needs to be added.
Finance » Payment runs — verified: the page says “Payment” Chase your own approvals: anything sitting in submitted is yours to escalate.
Finance » Payables — verified: the control is offered; the action is not offered to this role
urgentA supplier says they were never paid #
Nine times out of ten the answer is on the screen before the call ends: it was never approved, or it was paid and they missed it.
Open Payables and find their bills — search by the supplier's own invoice number, which is exactly what they will quote.
Finance » Payables — verified: 25 row(s) listed Read the state. Submitted means nobody approved it; approved means it is waiting for a payment run.
Finance » Payables — verified: the control is offered; the action is not offered to this role If it was paid, open the payment run and give them its date and reference.
Finance » Payment runs — verified: the page says “Payment”
dailyWork the approval inbox #
An approval that waits is a supplier not paid.
Open Approvals; each row names the document, the amount, the step and the wait.
Finance » Approvals — verified: the page says “Approvals”
dailyAccept an inbound e-invoice as a draft bill #
A Peppol invoice that arrived by itself is data the clerk should not retype.
Open Inbound invoices; accept the matched ones, reject the rest with a note.
Finance » Inbound invoices — verified: the page says “Received e-invoices”
You prepare; someone else approves and pays. If a button you expected is missing, that is the reason — and it protects you as much as the company.