Flux checks every bill in your proposed payment run the day before it goes out. Each one is checked against recent bills, open POs, approvals and the vendor change log. Anything that doesn't pass is held with the evidence and a question for the person who can answer it. Nothing is paid until your reviewer releases the run.
What Goes Wrong Today
In most teams the check is someone reading down the proposed run by hand, the morning it goes out, with the bank cutoff a few hours away. They're looking for:
- The same bill entered twice, sometimes with a slightly different invoice number.
- Bills with no PO, when your policy says they need one.
- Bills that never got the approval they needed.
- Bills that come in over their PO.
- A vendor whose bank details were changed after an email asking for it.
On a long run that's slow, and what gets caught depends on who's reading. A bank change that slips through sends the money to someone else.
What Flux Runs Before Each Payment Run
- Duplicate check. Every bill in the run against the last six months of bills and payments: same vendor and amount, near-matches on invoice number, and bills already paid.
- PO check. Bills with no PO where one is required, bills over the PO they're billed against, and bills coded to a project or job that's closed or doesn't exist.
- Approval check. Bills with no recorded approval, or approved by someone outside your approval rules.
- Vendor bank changes. Any vendor whose bank details changed since their last payment, checked against the vendor change log.
- Held list. Each held bill with the evidence behind it and one question for a named person, like the AP clerk, the project manager or the approver.
- Checked run. The bills that passed every check, totalled, ready for your reviewer.
It runs the day before, so there's time to get answers. Nothing is paid until your reviewer releases the run. We don't post or pay anything.
What Your Team Keeps
- Releasing the run. Nothing goes to the bank until your reviewer does.
- Every held bill: pay it, hold it or reject it.
- The call-back on any bank detail change, to the number you already had on file.
- Making the payments in your AP tool or bank.
What We Need From You
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bills in the run | The bills in one past payment run, or aged payables the day before it went out |
| Bill and payment history | Six months of bills and payments, exported from QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage Intacct or Xero |
| PO list | Your purchase orders, with what's been billed against each one |
| Project or job list | Open and closed projects or jobs, so coding can be checked |
| Time from you | About 30 minutes to send files, then the 15-minute review |
Approvals and bank changes are checked from what the bill and vendor exports show. If your AP tool can export an approval history or a vendor change log, add it.
What You Get Back
For the First Workflow Build you get the held list and the checked run for last month's payment runs, within 5 working days of complete files. We show what we would have held back and why, so you can compare it with what actually went out.
What It Looks Like
Figures are illustrative.
A US$18,400 bill from an equipment rental vendor is in Thursday's run. The same vendor billed US$18,400 three weeks ago under an invoice number one digit different, and that one was paid. The bill is held with both invoices side by side and a question for the AP clerk: a second month's rental, or the same bill entered twice? A subcontractor in the same run had its bank details changed on Tuesday after an email. That payment is held until someone calls the subcontractor on the number already on file.
How Flux Runs This
We work as part of your team on the payment run, not as a tool you configure.
The first runs go on learning your rules. Which vendors never have POs. Who can approve what. The vendor who bills the same amount twice a month, so a matching bill isn't a duplicate. We write those into the checks so the held list stays short.
Every match and total is done in code against your files. AI reads the messy parts, like bill descriptions and change log notes, and drafts the question for each held bill. It never decides whether a bill gets paid.
Your reviewer releases the run. We keep each call your team makes, so the next run holds fewer bills that turn out to be fine.
Common Questions
Does this replace our AP tool?
No. Your AP tool still holds the bills and makes the payments. We check what it produces before the run goes out.
What about bank detail changes?
Any vendor whose bank details changed since their last payment is held for a call-back. The call goes to the number you already had on file, not the one in the email that asked for the change.
How often does it run?
Every week, the day before the run. If you pay on a different cycle, it runs the day before each one.
Do you need access to our AP tool or bank?
No. We work from exports you send. We don't log in to your systems, and we don't post or pay anything.
Start With the First Workflow Build
If someone on your team still reads down the run by hand the morning it goes out, start with the First Workflow Build. We sign a mutual NDA first, then we both sign one page that says what done looks like, the due date and the monthly fee. We send the export list for your system, about 15 minutes of your team's time, and rebuild the check on last month's payment runs within 5 working days of complete files. No build fee. If it meets the page, we run it from your next close for a fixed monthly fee, and you can stop any month. If it misses, you owe nothing, and you keep what we found either way. See how the First Workflow Build works, book 30 minutes or email Gary.